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HomeMy WebLinkAbout03/07/2016 Work Session City of Springfield Work Session Meeting MINUTES OF THE WORK SESSION MEETING OF THE SPRINGFIELD CITY COUNCIL HELD MONDAY MARCH 7, 2016 The City of Springfield Council met in a work session in the Jesse Maine Meeting Room,225 Fifth Street, Springfield, Oregon, on Monday March 7, 2016 at 5:58 p.m.,with Mayor Lundberg presiding. ATTENDANCE Present were Mayor Lundberg and Councilors VanGordon, Wylie,Moore, Ralston,Woodrow and Pishioneri.Also present were Assistant City Manager Jeff Towery, City Attorney Mary Bridget Smith, City Recorder Amy Sowa and members of the staff. 1. Proposed Regulations of Medical and/or Recreational Marijuana. Jim Donovan,Planning Supervisor, presented the staff report on this item. In November 2015,the Council conducted a work session discussion regarding the potential appropriate regulation of recreational marijuana activities approved by voters as Measure 91 in November, 2014. This new law legalized the growth, sale,and use of marijuana for recreational purposes. The Council discussion focused on three major topics: Taxes,business licensing, and land use regulation. At the conclusion of the November 9, 2015 work session,the Council directed staff to schedule work sessions of the Planning Commission to discuss the various options available in the Development Code to regulate the four activities subject to licensing by the OLCC: production, processing, wholesaling, and retailing. The Council did not indicate a preference for allowances or prohibitions;they wanted the Planning Commission to explore these topics and then provide the Council with options. The Council did indicate a concern that an overly aggressive site eligibility regulation based on separation between uses might make most sites unsuitable and therefore artificially limit the potential number of businesses. With this possible outcome in mind,the two Planning Commission work sessions conducted in December and the final work session in January included several maps displaying site availability for each license type. Largely due to the information provided by these maps,the Planning Commission has recommended various separation standards(all statutory setbacks are observed)that are included in the proposed Code going before the Planning Commission at public hearing on March 1, 2016. In summary,the proposed amendments allow retail businesses in two commercial zoning districts, and allow wholesaling, production and processing in three industrial zoning districts;these uses are prohibited in all other zones and anywhere outside the city limits. Where production and processing are proposed,these activities may either be indoors with mechanically controlled ventilation systems, or outdoors; on lots at least 5 or 10 acres in size depending on the size of the operation; and separated from any district allowing residential use by either 500 feet or 1,000 feet depending upon the size of the operation. Mr. Donovan noted the map at each councilor's place. Page 7 in Attachment 1, identified State standards for indoor and outdoor production(grow sites), both with two tiers by State statute. Tier One in indoors is up to 5,000 square feet of canopy and Tier Two is 5,000-10,000 square feet. Tier One for City of Springfield Council Work Session Minutes March 7,2016 Page 2 outdoors is up to approximately half an acre and Tier Two goes up to approximately one acre. Looking at this issue with the Planning Commission, staff created a system of minimal lot sizes and setbacks. Lot sizes are somewhat tied to the size of the operation,but also lend themselves to the distance and buffering. The buffers are in place as a back-up because on any parcel of a significant size you can have the actual operation either close to the adjacent residences or further away. Production Facilities#1-#4 address that situation-#1 and#2 for indoor; and#3 and#4 for outdoor. He described the minimum lot sizes and buffers. Mayor Lundberg asked if the canopy referred to the plants and the space they take up. Mr. Donovan said that is correct. The State regulations go by canopy size inside or outside the building. Tier Two of the outdoor has the largest buffer. The only other buffer of note is a 500 foot buffer on types of production that creates extract. The map shows the 1,000 foot buffer. With the buffers proposed and the minimum lot sizes in heavy industrial(where growing is allowed), it created 18 potential sites of 5 acres or more, reducing to a 500 foot buffer opened up 12 more sites. Councilor Wylie asked why it isn't considered agriculture. Mr.Donovan said in the City it is an urban use. The level of utilities makes it an urban use inside the City of Springfield. They are not able to enforce some of our Municipal Code regulations on property outside City limits. The majority of grow will be indoors. Councilor Ralston said he is not aware of many buildings that are one acre in size for growers. Mr. Donovan said the lot size would be one acre. Mr. Donovan said there are four licenses: production(grow); processing(initial manufacturing of extracts);wholesale; and retail sales. The 1,000 foot separation has been maintained for new recreational sales outlets from the existing dispensaries. The State did not do,but is maintained in the Code with the support of local industry representatives. Councilor Pishioneri asked what the Fire Department said about a safe distance for possible explosions from butane and if it fits our Code. Mr. Donovan said processing facilities on page 8 of Attachment 1 address that they shall be 500 feet from any district allowing residential and shall have controlled exhaust systems with filters designed to reduce or eliminate odors. It also addresses some of the hazards of that particular process. That danger basically arises when processing is done in a residential district. This would provide areas for State licensed operations that follow our Building Code, Fire Code and land development through site plan review procedures. 500 feet and the application of those Codes has been deemed sufficient in industrial district to protect residents. The other Codes should address some of the faulty processing practices and procedures that might occur in other settings. Deputy Fire Marshal Gilbert Gordon has joined the development team and he is comfortable with application of current Codes. Mayor Lundberg said this focuses on moving toward recreational laws and more opportunities for larger growing operations. Mr. Donovan said the Planning Commission discussed that in terms of non-conforming uses for the existing dispensaries. There are other grows that exist in Springfield under the Oregon Health City of Springfield Council Work Session Minutes March 7,2016 Page 3 Administration (OHA)rules.People can grow with a medical card for themselves or transfer their rights to grow to a registered grower. Any excess can be transferred to the dispensaries. There may be other grows that are registered with OHA as personal use. They hope to address that when looking at indoor and outdoor limitation on grows. That is contrasted against the timelines of the OLCC licensing and whether or not there will be two systems in the future. Salem is still looking at having one or two systems. If Council would like to move on to some of these other impacts in the City after adopting recreational marijuana regulations, staff could look into those and bring information back to Council. Mayor Lundberg asked if we know where all the personal grows are in the City. Mr. Donovan said they do not because it's the personal use approach regulated through the OHA. The City is not tracking that. Mayor Lundberg said it is confusing to have regulations around commercial grows for recreational use, and others are selling for medicinal use under different regulations. It's awkward because they aren't regulated the same. Mr. Donovan said two people testified in support of the ordinance at the Planning Commission. Both were industry representatives and each provided recommended revisions. The Planning Commission took the testimony,reviewed the staff report and notes, and directed staff to address three areas prior to the Council public hearing. The first was the issue of having a secure disposal of remnants or bi- products. The representatives asked if they could do secure storage in locked areas and then disposed. It was generally a small amount and the cost of secure disposal was high. The Planning Commission asked staff to make a revision to that regulation. The second item addressed was the requirement for retail outlets to be on collector or arterial streets. With the 1000 foot buffer from existing uses,the addition of that regulation would preclude some of the Commercial district from being available. The real intent of that regulation was to control heavy vehicles. They could strike that regulation for Council's consideration. The third item was to finalize the 500 foot buffer on Willamalane properties that are destination parks. Mr. Donovan said staff had received input from Willamalane on that buffer and went from 1,000 feet to 500 feet. Most parks are well within the residential districts, so are not necessarily affected by either the 1,000 or 500 foot buffer. Councilor Pishioneri asked if the disposal section was only for retail. Mr. Donovan said it was only for retail. Grow areas will be responsible for having secure disposal. Councilor Pishioneri said he supports being on arterial or collector streets. He asked about the Rivers to Ridges and Clearwater Trails. Mr. Donovan said there is a distinction between travel corridors and actual parks where children frequent. They would discuss that approach with Willamalane as well as the issue of planned parks versus parks that already exist. Councilor Pishioneri said we know about planned parks so can regulate towards those. When enforcement occurs on corridors,they are identified as a park.If it is owned by Willamalane, it fits the description of a park. Ms. Smith said the feedback from the Planning Commission is that some parks would be more likely to have children and people congregating. There would be less people congregating on a path so the City of Springfield Council Work Session Minutes March 7,2016 Page 4 risk would be less. She would need to research the question about jurisdiction and how enforcement cites those. Councilor Pishioneri said he would support designating corridors where families frequent. Mayor Lundberg said buffers are for where businesses cannot locate. She confirmed staff would be talking with the Willamalane Board. Councilor Ralston asked about the 1,000 foot buffer and 500 foot buffer. Mr. Donovan said the buffer was for locating grow facilities. Maps showing both buffers were distributed. Changing from 1,000 to 500 feet created a small increase in the number of sites eligible for a grow facility. He pointed out the lines and the difference on the maps. Mayor Lundberg said there are still a lot of options at the 1,000 foot buffer. She asked if anyone has approached the City about the regulations. Mr. Donovan said the Oregon Health Authority(OHA)regulations limit the number of grows and the size of the grows. Retail grows are substantially larger and regulations adopted by the City will address where those occur. These are just the grows within City limits and some sites that are eligible will not be available so all 30 sites may not be viable. Councilor Ralston said there is no guarantee any of those sites is truly available. The market will determine where they locate. Mayor Lundberg said she's trying to determine if 18 available sites is an appropriate number. Councilor Pishioneri said there are 8,200 card holders in Lane County and each can grow 12 plants. Mr. Donovan said those are OHA regulations for medical marijuana. They can sell excess to medical dispensaries. The City is addressing four licensed state uses at this time and not addressing what is currently allowed by OHA at this time. Staff will be researching the questions and feedback from Council and will bring this back on March 21 for a public hearing. They can then follow-up with a second reading during the April 4 regular meeting. Mayor Lundberg said if the City has an idea of where medical cardholders are growing. Mr. Donovan said staff will see what they can find. Once they address the four licenses for recreational marijuana,they will then look closer at residential medical growing. Councilor Moore asked if there would be another work session in order to see the Planning Commission recommendations prior to the March 21 public hearing. Mr. Donovan said that information would be included in the agenda packet for March 21. The Planning Commission asked that the 1,000 foot buffers be referred to Council for consideration. City of Springfield Council Work Session Minutes March 7,2016 Page 5 2. Lane Transit District(LTD)Annual Route Review. Emma Newman, Transportation Planner, presented the staff report on this item. She introduced Tim Simon from Lane Transit District(LTD). The City Council received a memo briefing on the first draft of the LTD Annual Route Review on February 1st. LTD will present a revised route review to Council and provide an opportunity for questions and feedback regarding the proposed service changes within the LTD system, in particular in Springfield. LTD staff have updated the draft Annual Route Review since the first draft memo was provided to Council in the February 1 communication packet. The changes in the revised Annual Route Review draft pertain to section 4,New Service to South of Main connector proposal. Buses were unable to operate out of Thurston Station with the original configuration included in the first draft,the southbound left turn from Daisy onto 42nd Street was not feasible due to safety and sight distance concerns, and there was lack of certainty as to whether LTD could operate along Daisy Street. Due to these concerns,the revised proposal shows a new configuration to provide additional bus service to the area south of Main St. The LTD Board will host a public hearing on March 16th to receive feedback from the public on the draft Annual Route Review. Mr. Simon presented a power point presentation. They were asking for Council input for their final recommendation to the LTD Board. Mayor Lundberg said the routes most critical to her were in Springfield and one leading to the Veteran's Administrative(VA)Clinic. Mr. Simon said his presentation would focus only on routes in Springfield. Ridership overall was down across the whole system, so they would be addressing that this year by looking at where ridership has increased. Last year they extended Route 12 to the VA Clinic and also created a cross town connection between Springfield and Eugene so people don't have to travel out of direction. Where that connection was made, ridership tripled. They are looking at increasing frequency in Eugene which will affect Springfield by making more connections into Springfield. They are proposing extending their Sunday hours on Routes 11, 12, 13 and the EmX)to be later in the evening. The other proposal is to run Route 11 and EmX every 15 minutes instead of 30 minutes. They feel Routes 17 and 18 meet the current demand, but these routes may need to be addressed later depending on future development. A couple of years ago they looked at Jasper Road between 32nd and 42nd Street, but decided to wait on that route at that time. This year,they are proposing an overlay along this area which wouldn't deviate Route 11. Councilor Woodrow said this route concerns her. She asked if they would use regular size buses or smaller buses. Mr. Simon said they decided for this year that this would not be a recommendation to move forward on this overlay route. They first want to learn more about the demand in this area so they can do it right. Adding a coverage route is not the direction they want to go at this time with ridership down. City of Springfield Council Work Session Minutes March 7,2016 Page 6 Councilor Woodrow said a lot of people travel on Jasper Road to avoid traffic on Main Street, including the buses. They are also looking at moving the bicycles off of Main Street over to Daisy. Jasper is always busy out to Lowell. The new developments in that area have families with two cars so bus service may not be a need in that area. There are also two school zones along Jasper Road. She is glad they are waiting to look at this area more closely. Mr.'Simon said it may eventually move to that route in the future, but they want to make sure they do it right. At this time,they are looking at more frequency to address the current demand. They also need to see what is going to happen with the Main Street study. Councilor VanGordon asked if the student population at the colleges directly translates to a drop in ridership from those locations. Mr. Simon said the drop in ridership for those routes is actually less than the drop in enrollment. The overall drop in ridership is about ten percent,with the college routes included. They are extending hours and services in other places that have a higher demand and increased ridership. Councilor VanGordon said it will be important to increase ridership with the changes. LTD Board Member Angelynn Pierce said the LTD Board asked staff to find efficiency of trips, what factors cause our ridership to go down, such as fewer transfers. Councilor VanGordon asked if Route 12 was the main route serving the VA Clinic. Mr. Simon said it was. Councilor Wylie asked if some of the increases were to bring back some of the services they had to cut back when gas prices were so high. LTD Planning and Development Manager Tom Schwetz said they did take cuts in service several years ago and they are now in a position to add services back, but still aren't back to the full service they had before those cuts. Mr. Simon said the annual report and different options are more of a circular loop to look at adding things back in the right way. Councilor Moore said she would encourage the route down South 42nd Street to Jasper to South 32nd Street due to the Relief Nursery being located on 42nd Street. The Willamalane Center and Fields are on South 32nd Street and many people ride the bus to events. She is hopeful it will be added. Councilor Wylie said by going through this process, and adding back routes to address the need keeps the whole plan fresh. It is a good process. Mayor Lundberg said she likes the idea of better Sunday service for those that work jobs that are on weekends and different hours. Until they can get 10 minute bus service everywhere, she doesn't feel they will substantially increase ridership. In Washington DC,people have to walk 10 minutes to get to the Metro. She wants to balance the idea that the bus comes right to your doorstep. She would rather see 10-minute service rather than close to homes. They also need to increase the bus traffic along South A Street and look at it for the whole distance. City of Springfield Council Work Session Minutes March 7,2016 Page 7 ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 7:00 p.m. Minutes Recorder—Amy Sowa �7 Christine L. Lundberg Mayor Attest: Amy So City Rec rder