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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMarch 4 2008 CCI Minutes MINUTES— Springfield Planning Commission – Committee for Citizen Involvement March 4, 2008 Page 1 M I N U T E S Springfield Planning Commission Committee for Citizen Involvement Springfield City Hall Jesse Main Room 225 Fifth Street, Springfield March 4, 2008 6 p.m. PRESENT: Frank Cross, Chair; Johnny Kirschenmann Vice-Chair, Bill Carpenter, Eric Smith, and Sheri Moore, PC Members; Greg Mott, Brenda Jones, Matt Stouder, George Walker, City of Springfield staff; Joe Leahy, City Attorney’s Office. ABSENT: Lee Beyer, Terri Leezer Commissioner Cross called the Committee for Citizen Involvement to order at 6:30. 1. Citizen Involvement Review – City of Springfield Wastewater Master Plan Update – (Matt Stouder – PW) The WWMP is a public infrastructure plan that takes a citywide look at the wastewater system to identify both existing and future needs. The WWMP update will replace the City’s existing and outdated 1980 Sanitary Sewer Master Plan. The updated was initiated by the City Council, and preliminary work on the master planning effort started several years ago, when the City selected CH2MHill as the consultant. The WWMP update will provide basic data for the City’s capital improvement Program, System Development Charge methodology, and support for the development community. Staff has met with the City Council on two separate occasions this past year to inform the Council of the WWMP update progress. Due to the technical engineering nature of the plan update, staff elected to wait until a draft plan was available to initiate public involvement. As the final documents are being General Plan and the Public Facilities and Services Plan (PFSP). The draft plan identifies wastewater improvements within the City in two general categories. Improvements to the existing system (attachment 2) will address existing infrastructure capacity constraints, while new systems that will be consty5ructed as a result of growth are shown on Attachment 3. The attached Public Involvement Process incorporates many aspects of public involvement with citizens and stakeholders throughout the WWMP adopting process. Staff will facilitate a public workshop at City Hall, which will explore the issues identified in the draft master plan and allow for public input. The draft WWMP will be posted to the City’s website for review and comment, and meetings with both the Planning Commission and City Council for adoption will be open to the public. Mr. Mott explained that all comprehensive plans have a public facilities plans element that was governed to Statewide Goal 11. In the case of the Eugene-Springfield Metropolitan Area General Plan (Metro Plan), the community had a functional plan known as the Public Minutes Approved by Springfield Planning Commission: June 17, 2008 MINUTES— Springfield Planning Commission – Committee for Citizen Involvement March 4, 2008 Page 2 Facilities and Services Plan, which was part of the plan in the same way as TransPlan. The local plan addressed water, stormwater, electricity, and wastewater. The City had recently completed master planning for stormwater and wastewater based on the existing urban growth boundary and several new projects had come out of that process that must be added to the Public Facilities and Services Plan. The reference to the plan in the Metro Plan text would also have to be amended. He said that the process also involved citizen participation, and staff had prepared a plan for which it was seeking commission endorsement. Mr. Mott noted the Planning Commission would hold a hearing on the wastewater master plan on May 6, with a hearing on the stormwater plan to follow in the fall. He anticipated that the other local jurisdictions would participate in those decisions. Mr. Stouder joined the commission for the item. He provided an overview of the wastewater master plan, briefly noting the State and federal regulatory changes that impelled the amendments being proposed. Responding to a question from Commissioner Smith, Mr. Stouder indicated that the consultant, CH2M Hill, was selected as a result of a Request for Proposals process. He referred the commission to Attachment 2 for a list of projects. He called attention to Attachment 3, which showed new areas to be served in the future. Commissioner Carpenter asked if the east interceptor would be large enough to accommodate the areas to be annexed in the future that were now served by septic tanks. Mr. Stouder said yes. Mr. Stouder reviewed the plan for public involvement, noting the City’s plans to employ the Web page for information and to mail notice to the engineering and development community, and neighborhood associations. He anticipated a public workshop would be held at City Hall in early April. Responding to a question from Commissioner Moore, Mr. Stouder anticipated the plan could last for more than 20 years with amendments, depending on the nature of the development that Springfield experienced. He confirmed, in response to a follow-up question from Commissioner Moore, that all plan amendments required a public process. Commissioner Moore asked if the area in the vicinity of PeaceHealth had sufficient capacity. Mr. Stouder said yes. He clarified that the master plan did not address what he termed the “street-level” system, which would largely be designed by private engineers. Mr. Walker said the trunk sewer intended to serve the area was planned for in 1994 and it was now constructed and had been sized to account for the development that was anticipated. Mr. Stouder anticipated the process would be completed by the end of June 2008. He requested commission approval of the public involvement process. Commissioner Carpenter pointed out an error in the depiction of I-105 on the map. Commissioner Carpenter, seconded by Commissioner Smith, moved to approve the public involvement process for the Springfield Wastewater Master Plan update. The motion passed, 5:0. MINUTES— Springfield Planning Commission – Committee for Citizen Involvement March 4, 2008 Page 3 2. Citizen Involvement Review – City of Springfield Stormwater Facility Master Plan Update – (George Walker – PW) The SWFMP is a public infrastructure plan that takes a citywide look at the stormwater system to identify both existing and future needs. The SWFMP project was initiated by the City Council, and represents an update of two existing plans developed in the mid 1980’s. The project was initiated, and URS Corporation was selected as our consultant, in 2003. The plan will identify and provide solutions to chronic capacity problems and outline capital projects to provide for future growth in the City, including Glenwood, Thurston area, and the Gateway area. The plan will also address water quality policies, best management practices and sustainable development to support compliance with the Clean Water Act and Endangered Species Act, not addressed in our existing plans. The SWFMP will also provide basic data for the City’s capital Improvement program, system development charge methodology update, and system information for the development community. The initial citizen involvement, facilitated through an inter-governmental agreement with Lane Council of Government (LCOG) staff, occurred through news media outreach selected mailings, and two area-focused open houses held in May of 2006. The outreach was intended to inform citizens and developing the plan. This is consistent with the watershed approach of the plan. Staff has briefed the City Council on two occasions in the past year. The attached Public Involvement Plan describes the next steps in the public involvement efforts with citizens and stakeholders during the SWGMP adoption process. A public workshop is planned at City Hall, which will present the issues identified in the draft master plan and allow for public input. The draft SWFMP will also be posted to the City’s website for a public comment period. At the end of the comment period, necessary revisions will be incorporated and open public meetings with public officials for adoption will be help. Mr. Walker provided a brief overview of the proposed Stormwater Master Plan, noting the plan was only partially drafted and emphasizing staff’s effort to work toward flexibility in a rapidly changing world as it related to stormwater conveyance technology. Mr. Walker reviewed the public outreach plan, which would include targeted mailings, newspaper advertisements, and a public workshop that would touch on not only flooding and capacity issues, but on water quality, best management practices, and the operations and maintenance recommendations that would arise from the plan. That would be followed by public hearings and plan adoption. Commissioner Carpenter suggested that the plan be placed on the Web. Mr. Walker indicated that was staff’s intent. Responding to a question from Commissioner Moore, Mr. Walker said that there were two fees that appeared on local bills, a stormwater fee and a wastewater fee. The stormwater fee was a flat fee fixed at a certain rate for residents, while the wastewater fee was based on usage. User fees were allocated to a number of different uses, including maintenance and operations of the treatment plant and new facilities. Responding to a follow-up question from Commissioner Moore about the planned improvements in Glenwood, Mr. Walker said that a portion of the cost would come from the revenues generated by MINUTES— Springfield Planning Commission – Committee for Citizen Involvement March 4, 2008 Page 4 systems development charges paid by new development. There were also maintenance and capacity enhancing projects planned for that area that would be paid by other sources. Commissioner Moore, seconded by Commissioner Smith, moved to approve the public involvement process for the Stormwater Facility Plan. Commissioner Carpenter offered a friendly amendment to add the plan to the City Web Site. The motion passed unanimously, 5:0. 3. ADJOURN Commissioner Cross adjourned the Committee for Citizen Involvement at 6:46 p.m. He convened a work session of the Planning Commission to determine if members had any questions about the changes to the Oregon ethics law that they received in the mail. He invited questions, saying he would refer them to the appropriate staff. He adjourned the meeting at 6:48 p.m. (Recorded by Brenda Jones and Transcribed by Kimberly Young)