HomeMy WebLinkAbout04/10/2017 Work Session 4
City of Springfield
Work Session Meeting
MINUTES OF THE WORK SESSION MEETING OF
THE SPRINGFIELD CITY COUNCIL HELD
MONDAY APRIL 10,2017
The City of Springfield Council met in a work session in the Jesse Maine Meeting Room,225 Fifth
Street, Springfield, Oregon, on Monday April 10,2017 at 5:30 p.m.,with Council President
VanGordon presiding.
ATTENDANCE
Present were Council President VanGordon and Councilors Wylie,Moore, Stoehr, Woodrow and
Pishioneri.Also present were City Manager Gino Grimaldi,City Attorney Mary Bridget Smith,City
Recorder Amy Sowa and members of the staff.
Mayor Lundberg was absent(excused).
1. Annual Joint Work Session with Springfield Museum Board and Director.
Councilor VanGordon asked everyone to introduce themselves.
Those attending from the Museum Board were President Michael Herron,Vice President Megan
Lallier-Barron, Secretary Tiffany Sandell,Kathryn Rifenburg and Erin Selvey.
Taylor Harwood, Interim Museum Director presented the staff report on this item.
Ms.Harwood said it has been a very exciting year for the Museum with a lot of transition and growth.
They have put on a number and variety of exhibits in 2016 and 2017 that were made possible through
partnerships. The Museum has a balanced budget; however,the 2017 projections show a deficit
because of the need to add back in the full amount for an Executive Director. The Museum has
increased their income this year and projecting increased income again next year through fundraising.
She noted some of the fundraising events planned for the coming year. The Board has been very active
in the Museum by increasing Museum membership,putting on the fundraisers,and preparing to hire a
new Executive Director.
Ms.Harwood said the number of volunteers has increased from five to nine volunteers.With the
additional volunteers,the Museum has been able to offer tours two Saturdays a month. Other
volunteers help with archiving, greeting Museum visitors, putting together exhibits, and helping with
events in a variety of other ways. The Museum has increased outreach and are regularly in the Register
Guard calendar for exhibits and on Social Media.Being on both FaceBook and Twitter,and having a
good website that is updated and informative, allows them to reach more members of the community'
to let them know what's going on at the Museum. As part of that, she has started a monthly e-
newsletter to keep Museum supporters more engaged and aware of impending events and exhibits.
Collections management is going very well. Part of what the Museum was to be doing is maintaining
the collection for Springfield artifacts and photographs. One of the ways they have been doing a good
job with collection management is by doing a complete inventory of the Museum collection.Museum
volunteers have completed this for the Museum and have started on exhibits stored offsite at Booth
Kelly. She is hoping to make the collections more accessible to the public by adding collections to
each exhibit while also bringing in outside artifacts.Artifacts are being made available to researchers
and have put photographs of Springfield's history on display in the Museum.
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Ms. Harwood since taking this position, she has started compiling information for a future director and
basic information about the Museum that can be added to each year as a resource.
Mr. Herron said Ms. Harwood has done a great job over the last several months. It helped having
interim directors because there were some lower costs.Having a full time staff next year will affect the
budget. They would like to focus on how to continue with a balanced budget moving forward,
including a lot of fundraising, sponsors and how they are can best operate.
Councilor Pishioneri asked how many hours they expected would be needed for a director.
Mr. Herron said about 44-50 hours per week.
Councilor Pishioneri said$40,000 per year not reasonable for that number of hours,but could be
appropriate if they could perform the job in 20 hours per week.
Mr.Herron said it depends on what level they want the Museum to operate.
Councilor Pishioneri said maybe the expectation can be adjusted to match the value.
Ms. Harwood said the only hired staff is the director. When they had the director transition,the interim
was working 15-20 hours a week which was only enough to continue functioning. She worries that
they would be cutting themselves short in terms of the ability to increase capacity if they reduced the
hours any less than 40.Forty hours a week was the minimum needed for this job.
Councilor Moore asked how many hours per week Ms. Harwood had been working.
Ms. Harwood said about 40 or more per week.Part of the savings last year was having the interim
director that wasn't working full time.
Mr. Herron said they recently renegotiated Ms.Harwood's pay so she is making a rate comparable to
the amount they are proposing for the full time director.
Councilor Woodrow said as one of the Museum's partners,the Springfield Christmas Parade loves
being their partner.Ms.Harwood has done a wonderful job communicating about the exhibits and
what is going on at the Museum. She asked about the details if the Museum was to come back under
the City's umbrella.
Mr. Grimaldi said during some of the discussion about this they have looked at where it would best fit
in the organization.It seems to make sense to put it in the Library since they do similar type of work.
Costing things out,they could hire one to two positions. Initially they were thinking of someone with
credentials in Museum management.The salary and fringe benefits would be fairly expensive and the
City would have to increase our contributions to that effort by about$50,000 or$60,000 in addition to
the $40,000 already contributed. Discussions would need to be held regarding when the transition
would occur and the governance model.
Councilor Woodrow asked if the Museum could continue with fundraising.
Mr. Grimaldi said fundraising would be very important. As they look at the figures,they include at
least$20,000 in grants and other fundraising.
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Councilor Wylie said she appreciates the organizational presentation. Perhaps they could look into
having the Executive Director work 32 hours per week(10am-5pm),with an Assistant Director 20
hours a week in the afternoons. That is 52 hours and keeps the Museum covered.
Ms. Harwood said they are still developing the application for the new Director.
Mr. Herron said he appreciates the ideas for a different model. It is likely that at the lower wage,they
will get people who are only temporary and using this position as a stepping stone for another position.
To be competitive and retain someone,they would need to offer more.
Councilor Moore said the benefit of reduced costs in hiring someone as a contract employee makes
more sense fiscally, but there could be other advantages in having them as a City employee. She
appreciates seeing all of the new board members. She asked how much volunteers help with the day-
to-day operations of the Museum.
Ms. Harwood said the Museum couldn't operate without volunteers.They have a half-time staff
person who is paid through a federally funded program,who works about 20 hours per week. They
also have a volunteer archivist who works five days a week. Other volunteers make it possible for the
Museum to be open.
Councilor VanGordon said the Council needs to decide what kind of museum they want. It will take a
longer discussion with the Council with options showing what the actual costs would be if the City
were to take the Museum into the organization compared to the City providing the Museum with the
additional$20,000 they are requesting.His concern is whether or not they get a better Museum by just
giving them the$20,000.
Mr. Grimaldi asked the Museum Board what the ideal timing would be for a transition.
Mr. Herron said Ms. Harwood is leaving the end of August and the Board has started the beginnings of
the hiring process.They would want input by August on whether or not they could run with an interim
director.
Mr. Grimaldi said if there was a transition to the City,they would need to start the hiring process on
the city side which is a three to four month process.
Councilor VanGordon suggested hiring an interim director while they have the discussions.
Ms. Selvey said the hiring committee met recently to review the posting. They had planned on posting
the position after their May meeting,closing in June with the hope of having an overlap between the
Interim Director with the new Director.
Councilor Moore asked about how much the school uses the Museum.
Ms.Harwood said not as much as they used to, in part because the Museum doesn't have the
resources.They have established contact with the School District and can see that relationship
improving.
Councilor Moore asked if they have history boxes with antique kitchenware that they take to
classrooms.
Ms.Harwood said they don't currently have that.
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Councilor Moore said she is looking for ways to increase visibility, use and income for the Museum.
She asked how much the Museum was used.
Ms. Harwood said in 2016 there were close to 5000 people that visited the Museum.
Councilor Woodrow said over the past 2-3 years,the Museum has come a long way. The expectation
level is higher and should be kept high whether it comes into City management or stays a stand-alone
agency. She is thrilled that the closet is archived,and that they are doing the same at Booth Kelly. This
is Springfield's history and belongs to the City, and is part of the expectation and level of
professionalism of the Museum. She would like that level to continue.
Councilor Stoehr asked if the Museum ever had touring exhibits.
Ms.Harwood said not often because they do have to pay. It is at the discretion of the Director.
Councilor Stoehr said the new Director might look into putting together a show using things from
Springfield's history that come from other sources, such as State Archives.
Councilor VanGordon said he is supportive of looking at bringing the Museum into the City,but
wouldn't want to change the staff liaison.
Mr. Grimaldi said there is interest in exploring moving the Museum back into the City organization.
That discussion should happen as soon as possible so staff will try to fmd time to schedule that
discussion before the Council goes on summer break.
2. Developing an Affordable Housing Strategy.
Sandy Belson, Comprehensive Planning Manager,presented the staff report on this item.
Ms. Belson said it would be appropriate to break up this discussion. There are different aspects to the
housing strategy. She started by reviewing her responses to questions the Council had at their last
meeting. She discussed"tiny"homes and the cost of each option.
Councilor Stoehr discussed the different types of houses. The two most affordable options would get
the most people housed. The Conestoga Huts do appear less durable, so perhaps the Opportunity
Village style houses would be a better option. He suggested taking a tour of Opportunity Village.
Councilor VanGordon said he views the"tiny"home project,he looks at it as a Community
Development Block Grant(CDBG)project with landbanking and housing homeless families in
partnership with the School District.His vision is not an Opportunity Village,but working with a
partner to develop property for affordable housing. This could also be tied in with some of our
economic development discussions and innovative housing types.
Councilor Woodrow said she felt the housing options portrayed could be used for auxiliary housing
for people with room on their property. She would not want to see the City administer a program with
the development of"tiny"homes.
Councilor Pishioneri referred to a chart with options for reducing SDCs for a typical ADU, and asked
if these were taxable units. Ms. Belson said they are. Councilor Pishioneri asked what the rate of
0.
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return would be from increased tax subsidies and how fast the City would recover that investment with
the additional taxes
Ms.Belson said she would ask Management Analyst Liz Butterfield to respond since she had done
some analysis. She asked if they were ready for that discussion or had more questions on the tiny
homes.
Councilor VanGordon said the Council would first finish the discussion on tiny homes.
Councilor Wylie said some of the housing options shown are not appropriate for families. The micro
homes costing$19,000 would be a better option. Council should be thinking about what's appropriate
families since that is their focus. She feels it is something the City should be engaged in if it could be
done reasonably. It would help provide more resources for our community.
Ms.Belson said at the end of their discussion, if time allows,they could loop back on what type of
project they want to achieve and their objectives.
Councilor Stoehr asked if the Opportunity Village style housing required a change in Springfield's
code.
Ms.Belson said the City would need to change the Springfield Development Code to allow a
homeless shelter type of development.
Ms.Belson said next is the next topic is property tax exemptions. At the last work session,Council
asked for a comparison of the Vertical Housing Development Program(VHDP)and Multi-Unit
Property Tax Exemption(MUPTE).Both programs could be used as tools for incentivizing
development of multi-unit housing. While researching this topic,they discovered that the City already
has,within our Municipal Code, a provision that corresponds with state statute for low-income
housing exemption. That provision in the Code has expired for new construction so would need
updated in order to be used.If there was a current project that needed to move forward quickly or lose
their funding,the City could use that section to exempt them from taxes in order to enable the project
to move forward.
Councilor Pishioneri said that makes sense,but he wants to make sure there is a trigger for review to
make sure the property remained in compliance, so it is not tax exempt for perpetuity.
Ms. Belson said there would be some other source to make it continually affordable. The tax
exemption is for 20 years and is for rental housing only. It is not limited to non-profit organizations,
but is open to any organization or developer that wants to provide rental housing for households of
low income.
Councilor Pishioneri asked about the maximum allowable average annual income.
Ms. Belson said she would guess it is 80%of area median income, but will verify.
Councilor VanGordon asked about the benefit of staying with the vertical housing tax credit.
Ms.Belson said the City is familiar with the VHDP. It encourages multiple stories more than the
multi-unit housing tax credit. It also requires the ground floor commercial so if they want to incentive
that mixed use development, it would be a good tool. The MUPTE has more flexibility,especially if
administered by the City. There is legislation to change vertical housing to more local control.
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Councilor VanGordon said he is supportive of looking more at the MUPTE program.
Ms. Belson asked if they would like to look at it for housing in general,or target it to low income
housing.
Council members supported looking at all price points, stressing low-income.
Councilor Moore asked for examples of`public benefit' as noted under the MUPTE.
Ms.Belson said public benefit could be included in open space, a day care center or commercial
development.
Councilor VanGordon said they need to make sure they have well-crafted sideboards.
Councilor Pishioneri said he would like to see the other taxing partners involved in this discussion
(Willamalane and School District).
Ms. Belson said generally they need 51%of the taxing district to opt in, if the school district agrees
everyone would be included. There are other ways they can make it add up to 51%and they can look
at that more. She asked if Council wanted to look at allowing the provision already in the Code to
include new construction.
The Council said they would.
Ms. Belson spoke regarding the waiver or discount specifically for ADU. The discount or waiver
comes from capital to construct facilities to serve the development. Some of them are reimbursement
and some are for future impacts. In a sense,those funds will never be repaid. The City has only had 2
in the past 8 years, so unless they have a lot more development in the future, it may not make a big
impact. She explained further.They could try this incentive for one year to see if there is interest. They
could also put a cap on the overall funds provided.
Management Analyst Liz Butterfield responded to Councilor Pishioneri's earlier question regarding
how much we would gain in property taxes from ADU. She said it would depend on the value of the
ADU. A medium size dwelling($67,000 to $80,000), it would increase property taxes about$1000
annually. It would take between 4 and 6 years for the City to recoup what was lost in SDC waivers.
That is only calculated on the City portion of the taxes. If more than $25,000 in improvements are
made on the house,the entire property would be reassessed.
Councilor Moore said an ADU could be an attic over a garage. She asked if those types of
improvements require SDCs.
Ms. Butterfield said one of the differences between converting to an ADU and converting to additional
building space, is that an ADU would be required to pay the additional SDC to Willamalane. If it was
a permitted ADU, it would be added to the housing stock in Springfield,which would be one unit for
the census measure. If it is a unit inside an existing structure, it has to have its own entrance.
Councilor VanGordon said he is comfortable with either Options 5 or 8 regarding reducing/waiving
SDCs. The first two options seemed too cumbersome.He would hope Willamalane would follow
along as this is very important. He is comfortable trying it for one year and putting a cap.
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Councilor Pishioneri said public awareness is needed through the local media because most citizens
won't know the meaning of ADU.
Councilor Woodrow agreed they should try it for one year and get the information out to the public.
She would like to see that number after one year.
Councilor Moore said she would like answers to some of the questions such as whether or not a
mobile home would be considered an ADU before they move forward. She appreciated the options
and the answers to the questions.
Councilor Pishioneri said he was concerned that an improvement over$25,000 triggered a
reassessment of a property.
Ms. Spickard said under the old property tax statutes it would have triggered reassessment of the
original property,but under current statutes,building an ADU doesn't trigger reassessment of the
original house.
Councilor Wylie said most people don't know what an ADU is,but are familiar with a mother-in-law
house. She noted difficulties with the Code when trying to design a tiny house.We need housing.
Ms.Belson said the discount or waiver of SDCs will require a more streamlined Code and public
awareness. She asked if Springfield should allow ADUs in the Medium Density Residential(MDR)
zones.Medium density is intended for multi-unit housing. She described the pros and cons of allowing
ADUs in the MDR.
Councilor VanGordon asked if it would be possible to meet the minimum requirement for MDR by
putting an ADU on a single family property.
Ms.Belson said that may be possible if the lot was 6250 square feet or less and an ADU was added.
Currently,the Code only allows one ADU per property,but that could be changed if Council chose.
Councilor Pishioneri said the Code allows a lot of 10,000 square feet or more to be subdivided. If that
was done,an ADU could be added to each newly divided lot.
Councilor Moore discussed some of the restraints of their large lot in terms of adding density. There
are a number of rental properties that are not well maintained and if they were allowed to add ADUs,
those could also end up not being maintained which could be a problem. It would be reasonable to
allow ADUs on MDR with some additional regulation. She wants to make sure an ADU increases the
value of the City and neighborhood.
Councilor VanGordon said he is comfortable keeping the density requirement.
Ms.Belson said she could look into the idea of adding more than one ADU in the MDR zone.
Councilor VanGordon said he is comfortable with Option C with the provision that there might be
more than one dwelling.
Ms.Belson referred to Question#2 of whether or not the City should require on-site parking for
ADU's.
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Councilor Woodrow said she is leaning toward Option B. If there is going to be a living area,there
needs to be somewhere to park.
Councilor Moore said they need to be aware that many renters don't drive. She felt not paving would
be best to allow water to go into the ground.
Councilor VanGordon said this may require more discussion. He would like to see parking provided,
but is fine with it being paved or gravel.
Councilor Pishioneri said he also supports Option B. Often this is transitional housing. He is not stuck
on whether the parking area is pervious or impervious.
The Council chose Option B.
Ms.Belson referenced the third question about whether or not the Council should eliminate the size
for an ADU.
Councilor Stoehr said he felt it was important to limit the size of the ADU.
Councilor Woodrow said it ties in with the next question about design standards. She feels keeping the
minimum size at 300 square feet was appropriate.
Councilor Pishioenri said many cities have a minimum size,with the smallest being 300 square feet.
Councilor Moore asked if a loft would be counted in the 300 square feet.
Ms.Belson said currently the size is based on the footprint,but if the Council wanted to change how it
is calculated,they could account for lofts.
Councilor Stoehr said he would like to look into a ratio per tenant.
It was noted that would be difficult to regulate.
Councilor Stoehr said he is against any minimum square footage requirement.
Councilor VanGordon said he felt 300 square feet is a good place to start and that we should have a
minimum. If there was information to support smaller sizes,he would be willing to reconsider.
Councilor Wylie said she agrees that any permanent housing should be a minimum of 300 square feet.
Mr. Belson said any Code changes would go through the public process with the Planning
Commission and Council. She referenced the fourth question about whether or not ADUs should be
required to meet any design standards.
Councilor Woodrow said she is not sure how easy it would be to have everything match the primary
dwelling,but she would like some standard of how they look like externally so they look like they
belong and complement the property. She is not locked into the standards because it may be difficult
especially where older homes are located.
Councilor Pishioneri said Option C makes sense. He feels they should require some standards that can
be changed. He suggested talking with people in the marketplace to come up with standards that are
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reasonable. They need to be affordable and use common sense.This may be another topic at a later
date to get more specific.
Councilor Wylie said she agrees that they need to be reasonable and not too expensive.
Ms.Belson said they will have to comply with the Building Code regardless.The State is looking at
changing codes regarding park models and homes on wheels. She would recommend staying with
permanent housing permitted by the Building Official.
Councilor Moore said she agrees with the rest of the Council on the design standards.
Councilor VanGordon said we want to maintain a hometown feel and have something nice that
belongs in the neighborhood.
Ms.Belson referenced the fifth question about whether or not the City should allow structures other
than those that are site built or modular.
Councilor Stoehr said he would like them to be code compliant which is Option B
Councilor Woodrow said the Code doesn't currently allow housing on wheels
Ms. Belson said only if they are built to Housing and Urban Development(HUD)standards, such as
manufactured homes.
Councilor Woodrow said she is comfortable staying with the Code and not making any changes.
Councilor Wylie said she would like to see a permit program put into place so people could park an
RV on property so a relative could stay there for a time frame,which could be renewed.
Ms. Belson said currently that is only allowed with a medical hardship.
Councilor Woodrow said that may be a separate conversation.
Councilor Pishioneri said that is worthy of a discussion in terms of Code Enforcement. There are
many ADU manufacturers who build the homes offsite and then trailer them to the lot. The City must
have Codes and standards that would allow those types of structures to be brought in and placed as a
permanent structure. That would fit under Option C as a temporary dwelling that arrives on wheels,
but not a typical RV. It would need to meet building codes once it was removed from the wheels.
There could be a special permit to use an RV for temporary housing,but that could be a separate
discussion.
Ms.Belson said her understanding is that the Council would like to allow small manufactured homes
and allow homes that come on wheels as long as they meet building code and can be removed from
wheels to become permanent.
Councilor VanGordon said they would also like to look at Code Enforcement regarding RV's for
temporary use in a hardship.
Council decided to continue their discussion on this topic during the May 1 work session.
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3. Downtown Design Standards.
Linda Pauly,Principal Planner,presented the staff report on this item.
Ms.Pauly said from the last work session, she heard that Council wanted design standards specific to
the Downtown to ensure that construction of new buildings or alterations of existing buildings will"fit
in"with the historic Main Street pattern of Downtown Springfield while encouraging economic
revitalization and creating opportunities for jobs and housing. She presented a slide show of design
standards in Springfield Downtown and other cities. She would like to get Council input on what they
would like to incorporate in our standards.
Ms. Pauly said Springfield's Downtown has fairly small block sizes which affects the scale of
development. Existing code allows buildings in Mixed-Use Commercial zoning to be 90 feet high
(approximately 7 stories). The Council could look at building something larger by vacating an alley or
street to increase the block size. It is important to have design standards that are flexible enough to
allow multiple options. Building larger buildings requiring multiple property owners may be more
burdensome than the Council would like, so smaller to moderate buildings may work better. She noted
the area in Downtown and those buildings that face Main Street,and those that face the Washburne
District. She spoke regarding signs and style and the importance of allowing some variation to be
more interesting.
Ms. Pauly referred to the council briefing memo and the two questions:
1. Should staff work to develop and refine a set of design compatibility standards based on
important physical characteristics of Downtown's historic buildings and blocks?
2. Is Council interested in applying the design compatibility standards throughout the entire
Downtown Mixed Use District or only to development along Main Street between 8th and
Island Park and along the Washburne Historic District boundary—while continuing to allow
larger scale buildings and contemporary materials throughout the rest of the Downtown Mixed
Use District?
Councilor Pishioneri referred to question#1 and said it may be difficult for staff to determine what the
Council wants.Much of this will be private enterprise driven.He referred to corners of city blocks.
Anytime you have a building with an engaged corner,people want to check out both sides. He would
love to see the Historic Commission engaged in this discussion so the history of Downtown is not lost.
Lighting standards are more attractive in his opinion when they are consistent. Two opposing doors
are interesting and inviting. He likes the step back approach and feels there needs to be a mix. He is
not into modern looking buildings. The Council needs to remain engaged in this discussion.
Councilor Stoehr said he would be for standards for things the City takes on such as lights. He likes a
variety of designs and looks and asked if design standards would force conformity. That could
inadvertently work against what they want.
Councilor Wylie said she likes engaged corners,but doesn't want every corner the same. She loves the
old,historic buildings,but doesn't want new buildings to look like old buildings. Springfield is a
growing modern community. Variety is important for a healthy community and she agrees it needs to
be an ongoing discussion.
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Councilor Woodrow asked at what point and how these design standards are going to be applied.
There are a lot of stores currently downtown that could really be improved with just a little bit of
work.
Ms. Pauly said currently,the design standards only go into effect for new buildings or those
undergoing a major renovation. The Code states that building facade improvements are checked for
basic standards,but are not generally modifying entrances or windows. They try to encourage those
updates through incentive programs. Some communities do it through the design review process.
Councilor Woodrow said she is excited to see this come forward and she likes the variety rather than a
consistent set of design standards. She would like to see what could make a difference in the existing
buildings. If they could get something started, it could encourage more. She would like something that
would encourage improvements in the next three years.
Councilor Moore said the City can continue with the lighting projects and could perhaps add hanging
plants in the summer. Those are beautiful and create an inviting atmosphere. She felt it was a good
investment.There is an empty space between 4`h and 5th Streets and she could see something small
built there if the Code allows. It would be great if someone came in with ideas and money to
contribute to this effort. The standards need flexibility to maintain flexibility.
Ms. Pauly said a list of things the developer could choose from could be provided.
Councilor VanGordon said he could support something like a list. The physics of Main Street aren't
going to change without a lot of investment. He doesn't mind having buildings that have a modern
look to them,but have characteristics that identify them with Main Street.Variations are good and he
likes the characteristics of some of the signs presented.He wants a Code that supports that variety.
ADJOURNMENT
The meeting was adjourned at 7:50 p.m.
Minutes Recorder—Amy Sowa
//_
_ its
Christine L. Lund•erg
Mayor
Attest:
Amy Sowa
City Recorder