HomeMy WebLinkAbout10/26/1998 Work Session
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MINUTES OF THE WORK SESSION MEETING OF
THE SPRINGFIELD CITY COUNCIL HELD
MONDAY, OCTOBER 26, 1998
The city of Springfield council met in work session in the Jesse Maine Room, 225 Fifth Street,
Springfield, Oregon, on Monday, October 26, 1998, at 600 p.m., with Mayor Morrisette
presiding.
ATTENDANCE.
Present were Mayor Morrisette, Councilors Ballew, Dahlquist, Leiken, and Shaver. Councilors
Beyer and Maine were absent (excused). Also present were Assistant City Manager Gino
Grimaldi, City Attorney Tim Harold, Senior Management Analyst Rosie Pryor, City Recorder
Julie Wilson and members of the staff.
Mayor Morrisette announced that the order of the agenda would be changed. The annexation
item would be first, the Main Street item second and amendment to the Municipal Code last.
1. Draft Resolution of City Annexation Procedures.
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Planning Manager Greg Mott presented the staff report on this issue. There are two proposals
available for annexation: property owner initiated and council initiated. Property owner
initiated annexations occur without council involvement, are filed directly with the Boundary
Commission and can be expedited upon request. Council initiated annexations require a
council public hearing but can be expedited by the Boundary Commission. The council
should establish a specific set of annexation guidelines identifying the circumstances that
would require council review.
The council discussed this proposal during its May 11, 1998, work session because existing
policy is biased toward delayed effective date annexations, a policy made impractical by
Ballot Measure 50. The remaining options for council consideration are citizen initiated or
council initiated annexations. The former can be filed directly with the Boundary
Commission (bypassing the council) while the council must review the latter.
The council discussion of May 11 focused on the need to keep the,council informed and
involved, but not to require council participation unless the annexation was currently or
potentially significant. The council felt that significance could be quantified, for example,
based on distance from existing sewer, and/or the volume of auto trips that could be
generated by the property at full urban build out, etc.
In consultation with Boundary Commission staff, city staff has revised the proposed
annexation review process in the staff report to reflect the concerns raised by council. The
issue for the council to decide is if these revisions provide the control sought by council over
when and where annexations to the city occur and what circumstances would require council
reVIew.
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Staff requests direction on the following actions: 1) continue with current policy in
Resolution 95-29 or 2) change policy based on factors identified in draft Annexation
Resolution. Staff recommends the second option.
Work Session - Meeting Minutes
October 26, 1998
Page 2
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Mr. Mott explained that the language in the draft ordinance was a suggestion only. He
discussed the draft resolution, attachment 2-2, item C. It read, "non-contiguous property,
whether vacant or developed with urban uses land urban densities allowed by the Metro Plan,
300 feet or more from the city limits, shall be reviewed by the city council." The 300 feet
was discussed. Item D, the number of250 or more vehicle trips per day, was discussed. He
said the draft resolution provided for a starting point for discussion. He discussed the
contiguous and non-contiguous annexations.
Mr. Mott discussed item C and the 300 feet or more language. He said you would have to
infer from omission of a text regarding less than 300 feet. He said council could clarify that
language if they wanted to. Councilor Shaver thought that would be a good idea. Mr. Mott
said possible revised language could be 'any non contiguous annexation.' He said that would
make it clear that council wanted to review those. Mr. Mott discussed extra territorial
extension and services.
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Councilor Dahlquist said the simple thing would be to eliminate the 300 feet or more
language from item C. He suggested requiring all to come before council for review.
Mr. Mott said the council conducts a hearing and adopts the resolution either in support or not
in support of the request. That support / rejection is forwarded to the Lane County Boundary
Commission. They meet every other month. The deadline to schedule items for the
Boundary Commission is 45 days prior to their hearing. The hearings are scheduled for the .
first Thursday of every month.
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Mayor Morrisette supported the Lane County Boundary Commission and their role. He said
they make good decisions.
Chief DeForrest said depending on where the city limits line is, on occasion, it may go down
the middle of the street. If there ~s a major accident, the question becomes where did the
accident begin and where did it end. In the case of a fatal accident, the question may become
who will take and investigate the accident. It can become an issue. He used River Road and
Santa Clara area as an example. Lane County has jurisdiction anywhere. He suggested that
if a street was going to be annexed, annex the entire street, not just a portion.
Public Works Director Dan Brown discussed urban transition and the transfer of roads from
the county to the city. Previous council had taken the position that if the street was fully
improved (or close to that), the city would take over the street. Ifthe street was not
improved, the County would need to fix the street and then turn it over to the city.
Council discussed road improvements needing to meet city standards.
Mr. Mott discussed delayed effective date annexations in detail.
Mr. Mott referenced item number C regarding non-contiguous property. The language read:
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c. Non-contiguous property, whether vacant or developed with urban uses and urban
densities allowed in the Metro Plan, 300 feet or more from the city limits, shall be
reviewed by the City Council.
Work Session - Meeting Minutes
October 26, 1998
Page 3
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Council discussed amending item C, elimination of the foot requirement and non-contiguous
property language. The group also discussed items related to the 250 or more vehicle trips
per day. Major development, even if contiguous, should be reviewed by council.
Item C would be modified as discussed.
2. Main Street Access Control, Highway 126 to 58th Street.
Transportation Planning Engineer Masood Mirza, City Engineer Al Peroutka and Public
Works Director Dan Brown provided information regarding this issue. As endorsed by the
council last August, ODOT has completed a final design concept for the placement of
medians on Main Street east of Highway 126 and is ready to implement the project. Council
has requested to review the final proposed design, especially in light of letters and comments
received from area businesses. Council has also expressed an interest in discussing the policy
used by city and ODOT stafffor the placement of medians in the city.
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Department of Transportation Representative Terry Tames also answered questions from
council. He said anything done with raised medians, they work with city staff. He said the
Highway was of statewide importance. He said the use has increased on this highway. He
discussed Oregon Administrative Regulations regarding traffic control measures required, at
the city's expense. He said they prefer to work with developers and public agencies as the
need arises. He discussed the median policy in the new proposed regulations. He discussed
the benefits of medians and the reduction of accidents. He discussed the preferred median
type on multi lane highways. He said raised medians will become the preferred alternative.
He said if this is adopted by the council, it will require approval by a licensed professional
engineer. He said what is proposed on the wall diagrams, it is a minimum fix. If additional
openings are requested by the council, that is something that ODOT is not willing to support.
ODOT hopes the council supports the proposal. He discussed emerging small business
program funds that were available to fund a portion of development along with additional
funding. They do not think they will need to collect funding from adjacent property owners.
Councilor Ballew asked what signage was available to warn motorist of upcoming raised
islands. Special striping is a possibility, although, what is planned is a raisedhandlemarker .
on the leading edge along the portion just on the East Side of 58th Street.
Councilor Leiken discussed the location near the station byBi-Mart.Mr. Tames discussed the
need to provide adequate holding storage.
Council-elect Fred Simmons discussed traffic patterns and incoming lanes near McDonalds.
He discussed traffic holding patterns, accidents and the driveway. Terry Tames responded
that medians are placed to help in reducing severe accidents.
Mr. Mirza said the median concentrates traffic so people know where to make a choice. He
said the analysis has been done.
Dennis Stahl, Bi Mart, discussed the intersection near that area and said it was a fairly narrow
street and discussed traffic issues.
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Mr. Mirza discussed the shopping center access, intersection and lane demands.
Work Session - Meeting Minutes
October 26, 1998
Page 4
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Councilor Dahlquist said he saw potential problem trying to turn left onto main from Bi-Mart
because the turn lane was stacked up. He asked about ability to change signal patterns. Mr.
Barnett said if there was a queue problem, it could easily be addressed. He said it may
impact the level of service for other users.
Scott Robbins, property owner, expressed concern regarding statistical analysis. He owns the
property where the Flower Mart is located. He concurred that the majority of the accidents
are rear-end accidents, rather than turning accidents. He also asked about slow-down
devices. He said if the island or median model is accepted and implemented to resolve
conflicts, he feared that access to his property may be a problem.
Mayor Morrisette said some of these things my need to be redone at a later date. There will
be issues to deal with in the future.
Councilor Shaver looked at four factors to make a decision, volume, which is highest in city,
speed in traffic, number of conflicts, and history of accidents.
He said the numbers of accident rate are much higher in this area. Councilor Shaver hesitated
to do something to make change unless it is safer for everyone. He discussed traffic flow
during certain times of day and discussed turning lanes. At some later date other changes
may need to be made, including closing off or placing separate turning lanes. Signal timing
adjustments may also need to be made.
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Councilor Dahlquist discussed closing of a middle drive way but wondered if vehicles would
be able to get out of the gas station parking lot. Mr. Tames said they are always willing to
close off drive ways but need to work with the property owners.
Mr. Mirza said with current proposal no driveways are being closed. Mr. Tames said they
could talk to the property owner but usually they are not supportive.
Councilor Shaver discussed safety issues, surveys and accidents.
Councilor Ballew said this issue has been in the works for at least one year and commended
staff for their efforts.
Staff would schedule this item for action at an upcoming council meeting.
Staff clarified that the proposed plan addressed specific areas.
. Councilor Shaver said it sounds like new councilors would like to participate in discussion
regarding policy. It was agreed that this issue needed to be addressed at this time for this
particular area and the overall open process can wait for new council to participate in future
discussion.
3. Ordinance Amending Chapter 5, Public Protection and Sections 5.400 Et. Seq. Control of
Dogs and Other Animals.
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Captain Swenson presented the staff report on this issue. This is a follow-up to the discussion
of this issue on August 17, 1998. Staff was directed to research the issue further with city
attorney Joe Leahy and report back to council.
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Work Session - Meeting Minutes
October 26, 1998
Page 5
By the end of 1998, the Oregon Department of Agriculture will discontinue regulation of
wolf-dog hybrids as exotic animals. Regulation of these animals will be returned to local
jurisdictions. The proposed ordinance is necessary to provide for local regulation. There are
presently two concerns in licensing wolf-dog hybrids under local dog control authority;
identification and rabies vaccination. Identification of canine as a wolf-dog hybrid is by
declaration of the owner. There is no scientific method to differentiate between dogs and a
wolf-hybrid. There is no rabies vaccine licensed for use in wolf-dog hybrids. Any rabies
vaccination of these animals is extra-label and cannot be considered a legal vaccinate. Public
health officials may require euthanasia of wolf-dog hybrids after they bite a person or are
exposed to a rabid animal, regardless of their vaccination status. For these reasons, public
safety is best served by ordinances that encourage owners to declare wold-dog hybrid breeds
by exempting them from rabies vaccination but regulates how the animal and owner behave.
There is no financial impact resulting from the adoption of this ordinance.
Council provided direction and approval to go forward with this item.
ADJOURNMENT
The meeting was adjourned at 7:30 p.m.
Minutes Recorder - Julie Wilson
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Mayor Pro Tern / Council President Greg Shave
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