HomeMy WebLinkAbout11/06/2017 Work Session City of Springfield
Work Session Meeting
MINUTES OF THE WORK SESSION MEE TING OF
THE SPRINGFIELD CITY COUNCIL HELD
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 2017
The City of Springfield Council met in a work session in the Jesse Maine Meeting Room, 225 Fifth
Street, Springfield, Oregon, on Monday.November 6.2017 at 6:00 p.m , with Mayor Lundberg
presiding.
ATTENDANCE
Present were Mayor Lundberg and Councilors VanGordon, Wylie, Moore, Stoehr, Woodrow and
Pishioneri. Also present were City Manager Gino Grimaldi, Assistant City Attorney Kristina Kraaz,
City Recorder Am) Sowa and members of the staff.
1. Council Discussion on Proposed Development Code Update Project Commencing in FY18
Development and Public Works Director Anette Spickard and Planning Manager Greg Mott presented
the staff report on this item. Ms. Spickard said the Council provided direction to staff in February
regarding the Development Code update. Since that time,the Budget Committee put a limited duration
position into the Development and Public Works Department budget to be the project manager for this
project. Council had also asked staff to come back before they kicked off the project to check in on a
couple of the elements related to this project. Tonight, staff would like to get the Councils feedback
and preference about the structure of stakeholder involvement and how staff would bring the code
updates to them for review.
Councilor Moore asked if it would be possible if after the format is determined,they could upload
revisions online as they go rather than waiting for the full code to be revised.
Ms. Spickard said the Council could take individual sections at a time. To do a full code update will
take more time. The project manager will be coming to the Council regularly with updates.
Councilor Woodrow said it looked very well planned out. She had a question about the committees
and their duration. She likes the concept of shorter duration committees,with the final review
committee lasting longer She would like to see something incorporated in the plan about how we
want to be a business serving the community for our customers. That needs to be part of this process
and in any changes It should be in the forefront.
Councilor Stoehr asked about building height restrictions and if that was part of the existing code. He
would like to see building up rather than building out. He asked if there was any existing language
regarding inclusionary zones.
Mr Mott said the code is currently written to respond to certain types of development types or density.
It does exclude uses and certain activities, but they can reexamine that piece. Throughout this process,
staff will circle back to get advice from legal and input from stakeholders, and weigh those against the
way they want the community, to change. They can experiment in making changes to the inclusionary
vs.exclusionary process to see where they want to go.
City of Springfield
Council Work Session Minutes
November 6,2017
Page 2
Councilor Stoehr said the Council wants affordable housing and developers want higher end housing.
He appreciates any efforts in that arca.
Councilor VanGordon said this is a ery complex project He asked how the project manager would
coordinate this with all of the other changes occurring
Ms. Spickard said their department coordinates currently ith many projects. The project manager
will serve as the expert of this project The department currently has a very robust internal review
process. There is also a public participation process All will be coordinated.
Councilor VanGordon said he would like the Council to interview for the stakeholder committee to
make sure they get the right group. He is interested in updating in a sequential order, but does not have
a particular order in mind He would like to leave that to staff to bring those pieces back to Council.
This code update is as important as any other discussion regarding customer service. An important
consideration is how to protect vv hat we build together for years to come, allowing changes to be made
strategically to protect this investment. He is not in favor of inclusionary zoning. People will build
affordable housing if it pencils out
Councilor Pishioneri said it w ill he critical who the project manager will be and he would like to know
who that will be before they start He wants the project manager to make this the Council's project and
not their own. In terms of order of work, it would seem to be the most logical to go after pieces that
are being cited as the most difficult to process and problematic first. Regarding inclusion or exclusion
zoning, when writing the policies, it makes more sense and provides more clarity to say what you
can't do rather than a list of things you can do. Special situations can be addressed on a case by case
basis. There are extensive studies showing a housing shortage in all levels, and he would like to
encourage housing at all levels. He wants the Code to he manageable,clear,concise and navigable
He recommended hay ing it electronically so it is searchable and usable for the lay person.
Councilor Moore asked what was meant about"supportive of all economic sectors'
Ms Spickard said Council feedback was that the code works for all types of business.
Mr. Mott said this code will get some changes on the ground and all business will be held to these
standards It is not intended to make it easier for a specific sector, but will treat all development fairly
without a burden on another type of dev elopment.
Councilor Moore asked if Council could contribute their thoughts through the process
Mr. Mott said if the Council is concerned that the normal process might he four or five months of
internal work that they are not aware of,the) could request a more frequent regular report. They can
ask specifically about check-ins.
Councilor Stoehr said Councilor Pishioneri's point regarding exclusion versus inclusion was well
taken—it is easier to prohibit something rather than mandate something He would have no problem
adding language with prohibitions rather than mandates. He would like to encourage developers to
build on smaller properties,and would like to see what we can do about getting affordable housing.
Councilor Wy lie said we are facing a shortage of housing and it will get worse. This is an opportunity
to build our code in a direction to help that situation. There are standards that must be met, but we
City of Springfield
Council Work Session Minutes
November 6.2017
Page 3
have some real crisis in our culture. this is the opportunity to build the safety in the code and address
questions about tiny houses, etc
Mayor Lundberg said this meeting is to decide that we will do a Development Code update. The
Council would like staff to start from scratch One committee chosen by the Council could be
appropriate, but there could be smaller work groups working on specific areas. They will want to
include people who are out there doing the work in the development world.
Ms. Spickard asked if Council wants to appoint the smaller groups,or if they would he fine with the
Planning Commission appointing them.
Council agreed they could have the Planning Commission appoint the smaller groups
Mat or Lundberg said regarding the order, she would agree we should start with the areas that are
problematic first that would make life easier, such as housing. Council agreed. She referred to
something written in the council briefing memorandum where it said something about"honor"which
was actually quite fitting She would like to see that paragraph every time they see this as a reminder
that they are rewriting the canvas of this community. The Council will see this every step of the way
because it is their document. She liked the •purpose' written by Salem which included protect,
preserve, promote, etc Those are simple to read and understood by all people.
Councilor Pishioneri said he would like to know the plan to hold the project manager to a time limit
that is acceptable to Council.
Ms. Spickard said there will he a detailed scope of work with timeframes and the work plan laid out.
That will be provided to the Planning Commission and the Cit} Council. Some of the timing will
depend on the availability of the Council.
Mayor Lundberg said this is similar to a refinement plan process
2. Dey eloping an Affordable Housing Strategy.
Comprehensive Planning Manager Sandy Belson presented the staff report on this item. She
acknoyv ledged staff members Neil Obringer and Liz Butterfield who prepared most of the information
for tonight's discussion. Tonight they are talking about the multi-unit property tax exemption
(MUPTE I as an option Springfield could consider as a way to promote diverse housing types. The
cities of Eugene and Portland have used this approached,with both developing over time to meet
changing needs of the city. This is a tool that can be used to obtain a public benefit that would not be
realized otherwise It could also be an incentive for development that wouldn't otherwise happen.
Staff at Eugene said much of the market rate housing downtown would not have been built without the
program Ultimately, although forgoing tax income for up to 10 years, over the life of the project much
more tax income would be gained. Staff is asking Council if they want to continue pursuing this
program and what public benefit they are interested in seeing as an outcome They would also like to
hear from Council if there are geographic areas of the city they would like to target.
Councilor Moore said she is in fax or of looking into this and setting parameters about how long it
should he in effect to see how it's working, and especially the quality of development. She
appreciates looking at neighborhoods and is interested in the Mohawk area because transportation and
commercial are already in place. She asked if they were limited to one area.
Cif) of Springfield
Council Work Session Minutes
November 6.2017
Paee 4
Councilor Stoehr said there would likely be less pushback to multi-unit housing in Gateway Other
residential areas may be more apprehensive of multi-use housing
Councilor Woodrow said she would like to see this utilized in some way. Main Street has empty
pockets and potential,especialh in the areas mentioned in the materials,to attract more businesses
along the corridor. They need to start somewhere and this could be a good start.
Councilor VanGordon asked how this would be navigated in the urban renewal districts
Ms. Belson said if Council wanted to look at the urban renewal (UR)districts, staff would need to look
further into that option. Springfield staff aren't sure if those would work in concert
Councilor VanGordon said he would like to see how those two could work together before adding
them to the list. He is comfortable w ith the first group of areas(Mohawk, Main Street, Marcola
Meadows) having a MUPTE,but is concerned about the UR districts Gateway is a logical place to
think about this, but transportation is a big concern He would keep the first three areas,but have the
other two areas as tentative until more information can be gathered He would propose looking for as
broad a MUPTE as possible, with a check in to see if it needs refined. He would like to see what is
most effective in terms of public benefit
Ms. Belson asked if he would want a program that applied everywhere,or a program that tailors the
public benefit per area.
Councilor VanGordon said he would like to select separate public benefit for each area
Councilor Pishioneri said keeping it simple and easy to nay igate is important He doesn't think
Council needs to target areas, as he believes developers will target areas. He is not sure he wants to
include Main Street for additional living because they should hay e businesses along Main Street with
residential on the streets behind them.
Ms. Belson said they are not limited to the street,but could build around and back away from Main
Street
Councilor Pishionen said he was fine with that approach. He is concerned about mixing the MUPTE
with the UR districts. Whatever they do should be easy for des elopers.
Councilor Stoehr asked if the City had approached the owner of Marcola Meadow s to find out what it
would take to start developing that property.
Mr. Grimaldi said they have been in contact. The owner is looking at revising their Master Plan to
make it more desirable.
Councilor Moore asked if there was a set boundary for each area.
Management Analyst Neil Obringer said they would identify each through lines on the map
Ms Belson said they could do it by zoning district. Council would set that up when setting up the
program.
City of Springfield
Council Work Session Minutes
November 6, '_017
Pane 5
Councilor Pishtoenn said he would prefer to do this for 5 y ears rather than 10 y ears They could then
decide if they wanted to extend it out further.
Mayor Lundberg said currently we have HOME applications out there and Springfield has no
incentives Because Eugene has incentive programs, it looks more attractive to develop in Eugene
without this type of program in Springfield She agrees that 5 years would be appropriate. Each area
might have a different public benefit. She likes the Mohawk, Main and Marcola Meadows areas and
thinks the other areas will develop themselves. She suggested separating Q Street from Mohawk
because it has different characteristics and has some areas to consider.
Ms Belson reviewed the direction from Council:
• Do not include in UR areas at this time
• Do not include Gateway
• Include Mohawk,Main and Marcola Meadows, and add the Q Street area
• Keep it simple and make it broad
ADJOURNMENT
The meeting was adjourned at 6:59 p.m.
Minutes Recorder—Amy Sowa
eith (o3
Christine L Lundberg
May or
Attest'
Am}'
City Recorder