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HomeMy WebLinkAbout03/08/1999 Work Session . MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE SPRINGFIELD CITY COUNCIL HELD MONDAY, MARCH 8, 1999 The Springfield City Council met in Work Session at Springfield City Hall, Jesse Maine Room, 225 Fifth Street, Springfield, Oregon, on Monday, March 8, 1999, at 6:00 p.m. with Council President Ballew presiding. Present were Councilor President Ballew and Councilors Fitch, Hatfield,. Leiken, Lundberg and Simmons. Mayor Maine was absent (excused). Also present was City Manager Mike Kelly, Assistant City Manager Gino Grimaldi, City Attorney Joe Leahy, Senior Management Analyst Rosie Pryor, Administrative Aide Shari Higgins, Planning Manager Greg Mott, Planner II Robin Johnson, and members of staff. Guests Claire VanBloem, Jim Croteau, Tom Schwetz and Gary McKinney. 1. Review of Council Operating Policies and Procedures. Councilor Ballew conducted the review ofthe Council's Operating Policies and Procedures. She explained items higWighted in bold were suggested changes by staff. By consensus, the changes were approved. Councilor Ballew then provided copies of a memo titled, Council Operating Policies and Procedures Amendment. She said she had contacted members ofthe council for their input into the policies document, but the comments were minimal and she felt there was more of a need for a councilor handbook. . After council discussion, it was decided the following items would appear in the handbook: detailed instructions and samples of commonly used fonns i.e. reimbursement, mileage, etc; state laws and regulations for conflict of interest, elections, public notice, etc.; reimbursement and outside meeting attendance guidelines; an annual calendar of events, including city holidays council recess dates, etc.; a delineation of duties among the City Council, Mayor, City Manager and Management Team members; council committee duties for council subcommittees; and what the role of council liaison is to city boards, commissions and committees. Other items needing follow-up were providing current phone directories to all councilors and the idea of forming a council subcommittee to begin review of the City Charter. It was clarified the Charter review would begin with general housekeeping and non-controversial items. Councilor Ballew agreed to. lead the subcommittee, with Councilors Simmons and Hatfield agreeing to participate. After further discussion, council also agreed to hold their work session meetings (scheduled the second and fourth Monday's) beginning at 5:00 p.rn. instead of the standard time of 6:00 p.m. It was decided this would occur on a trial basis for the balance of the month of March and the entire month of April. After the trial time period, the time change would be discussed, prior to a formal decision being made. 2. Metropolitan Area Residential Land and Housing Study. . Planner II Robin Johnson was present for the staff report. She introduced Clair Van Bloem from Lane Council of Governments (LCOG) who is the project coordinator, and Jim Croteau representing the City of Eugene on the study. Springfield City Council Work Session - 3/8/99 Page 2 . Also introduced were Councilor Hatfield who led the Planning Commission process, and current Planning Commission member Don Lutes. Ms. Johnson said the Residential Land Use and Housing Element of the Eugene-Springfield Metropolitan Area General Plan contains broad policy direction for residential land use, density, housing types and other related issues. The recommendations being forwarded to the council from the Springfield, Eugene, and Lane County Planning Commissions, if adopted by the Springfield and Eugene City Council's and the Lane County Board of Commissioners, would replace the exiting Housing Element of the plan. She said the study is a major work task associated with the state-mandated Periodic Review process and would update local comprehensive plans to bring them into compliance with new state regulations and changing local conditions. Ms. Van Bloem began her formal presentation with powerpoint information on the Eugene/Springfield Residential Land Study, Supply and Demand Analysis. Paper copies of the presentation were also distributed. Council members asked questions regarding the number of housing units predicted, the new endangered species listing of fish, and floodplain and riparian buffering. Mr. Leahy said the study does not take any private property, but it did include a buffer. It was also clarified that land owned by the University of Oregon, Lane Community College, the Springfield Utility and the Board, Eugene Water and Electric Board are all public parcels removedJrom the inventory. Ms. Van Bloem clarified that through the study it was determined some land would be used to build schools, churches, and parks but other parcels may also be removed. . Ms . Van Bloem said historic housing was not excluded, but assumptions were made on the acreage and the ability to partition the land. Ms. Johnson said only lots of one-third acre or larger were considered on the basis of being partitioned. There was a discussion on infilllots and the conversion factor. Councilor Simmons said a rural home with a larger lot would become more of a commodity in the future. Council discussed household needs, policies which promote housing choices and the need to not preclude any type of housing. Councilor Lundberg said the process of determining policies is a way to mitigate the issues which density creates. Ms. Johnson provided the Residential Land Use and Housing Study, Recommended Goal, Findings, and Policies. This item was included in the original hand-out distributed. Discussion items included meeting state land use goals, the city's policy on extension of services pertaining to development outside the city limits, the city's adopted strategy for annexation of unincorporated areas, and continuing to provide key urban services as stated in the Metro Plan. Eugene staff member, Jim Croteau said the legal counsels of Eugene and Springfield reviewed the goal, findings and policy document to try to ensure the five-year supply, but the supply is not necessarily within a city's control. . City Manager Mike Kelly asked how large of an inventory the metro area has had in the past. He also inquired about the rate per acre growing faster than inflation for development of residential property. Springfield City Council Work Session - 3/8/99 Page 3 . Mr. Kelly's concern was people being able to afford the land in the residential supply. Mr. Croteau said that was a key issue in Eugene's Growth Management Study. Land costs have increased at a larger rate than inflation, but it is hard to set policy in an open market of supply and demand, even based on factual information. By consensus, council said they were comfortable with this item and did not need further review prior to the scheduled April 14, Joint Elected Officials Meeting. Ms. Johnson said the Springfield Planning Commission went over the document, word for word, and it was also reviewed by the Planning Commission's of Eugene and Lane County. 3. Review of Draft TransPlan. Project Coordinator Tom Schwetz from LCOG was present for the staff report. Also Gary McKinney. Mr. Schwetz said the Eugene/Springfield Metropolitan Area Transportation Plan (Trans Plan) guides regional transportation system planning for a 20-year period. It also establishes the framework upon which all public agencies can make consistent and coordinated planning decisions regarding inter jurisdictional transportation. Mr. Schwetz said it is a federal requirement to have a transportation plan for our urban area. . Mr. Schwetz said the Eugene, Springfield and Lane County Planning Commissions and Roads Advisory Committee had all recently completed their review of the TransPlan. Their review followed a set of four public hearings and two joint work sessions. Their recommendations followed the goals, policies and implementation measures as contained in the draft plan. Mr. Schwetz said the next public review period would occur in May, in order to provide sufficient time for review prior to the Joint Elected Officials meeting scheduled in June. Mr. Schwetz reviewed with council the Summary of Planning Commission/Roads Advisory Committee Review of TransPlan, Attachment 2, page 3 of the agenda item. He explained the goals, policies, project lists, financial constraints, performance measures, nodal development, and Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) issues, as well as the coordinating Planning Commission action. Councilor Leiken said he just returned from the United Front trip to Washington and commended the process and the draft plan. He said Springfield is an area where people want to locate and the local officials are preparing well for quick growth. Councilor Hatfield agreed and said there were issues of alternative modes of transportation at the Planning Commission level, but felt personally that the plan was well balanced. Councilor Simmons asked why the plan didn't address clean water, as it did clean air. Mr. Schwetz said work is currently occurring on addressing clean water issues in conjunction with the plan, but the information is not included. Councilor Simmons said the plan should show the impacts and be revised if necessary. Council had a lengthy discussion on the topic of clean air and water. Councilor Simmons complimented the work which had gone into the plan to date. . Councilor Lundberg said she would like to see more bike transit encouraged to help eliminate traffic flow issues and produce alternative transportation incentives. Although she recognized this would be a community challenge, as we are still a car based city. Councilor Hatfield said citizens are living and working closer together now that in the past, with stronger livability occurring in neighborhoods. Springfield City Council Work Session - 3/8/99 Page 4 . Stephano Viggiano from Lane Transit District (LTD) and Peter Watt from LCOG were introduced. They discussed briefly, BRT and nodal development. Councilor Lundberg shared her concern that BRT would not solve the problem that neighborhoods have in getting to bus stops. Mr. Viggiano explained the process which L TD had designed that has a neighborhood bus concept from shopping center and residential areas which connects to bus stops. Councilor Simmons shared his concern over bus routes being lost in nodal development and spoke about other types of alternative transportation. He felt nodal development needed a lot of community support and was too new at this time. Mr. Schwetz closed his presentation by discussing roadways versus costs. Future efforts will look at improving technology which would lower the cost of building and maintaining roads. Mr. McKinney spoke to concerns raised regarding trucking and rail transportation. ADJOURNMENT The meeting adjourned at 8:20 p.m. Minutes Recorder - Shari Higgins . ~JWf21~-M.~ Maureen M. M~ine, Mayor ATTEST: L~J .