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HomeMy WebLinkAbout03/18/1996 Work Session . City of Springfield Work Session Meeting MINUTES OF THE WORK SESSION MEETING OF THE SPRINGFIELD CITY COUNCIL HELD MONDAY, MARCH 18,1996 The City of Springfield Council met in Work Session in the Jesse Maine Room, 225 Fifth Street, Springfield, Oregon, on Monday, March 18, at 6:05 p.m., with Mayor Morrisette presiding. ATTENDANCE Present were Mayor Morrisette, Councilors Ballew, Beyer, Burge, Dahlquist (6:08 p.m.), Maine and Shaver. Also present were City Manager Michael Kelly (6: 10 p.m.), Assistant City Manager Gino Grimaldi, City Attorney Joe Leahy, City Recorder Eileen Stein, Administrative Aide Julie Wilson and members of the staff. 1. Springwood Site Industrial Use. Councilor Burge stated there was the potential he could have a future conflict of interest on this matter and wanted to note this for the record. . Planning Manager Greg Mott presented the staff report on this issue. Council has directed staff to prepare a report identifying any factors or circumstances which may be relevant to a Council discussion concerning the possibility of redesignating some or all of the Springwood property for industrial development. Mr. Mott stated the focus and content of the report is the identification of issues which would confront the City or any developer proposing to use this site for industrial purposes. Most of these issues involve on-site public improvements (i.e. roads, storm and sanitary sewer, etc.). He stated the relationship between development of the site and the provision of public improvements both on and off site is also a significant consideration, particularly for the City. He reviewed the recent US Supreme Court decision in Dolan v. the City ofTigard which places a much higher burden of proof on government to show that development exaction (land dedication, construction of public improvements, etc.) are in proportion to the demand for these facilities generated by the proposed development. He stated it is rare that a development would be the exclusive cause of, or derive exclusive benefit from, a public improvement. Therefore, the donation of land and the financing of public improvements can no longer be assumed to be the sole responsibility of the private sector. He stated this is a significant departure from past practices and must be factored in to any discussion of the development potential of a site. . Mr. Mott referenced his report titled Report of Factors Related to the Industrial Development Potential of Springwood Site~ dated March 8, 1996. He stated the report reviewed existing documentation regarding the development potential of the site. However, he stated the report did not address whether the medium density residential (MDR) zoning designation should remain on the site. He stated the development applications that have been processed for the residential use of the site are instrumental in determining the site's Work Session Meeting Minutes March 18, 1996 Page 2 . suitability for development of any kind because there are many common issues involved in the development of the site for any purpose. Mr. Mott provided Council with a map of the site. He reviewed the boundary of the Mid- Springfield Refinement Plan area. He noted the property was rezoned, consistent with the action to amend both the Refinement Plan and the Metro Plan. He highlighted the MDR designation on the map as well as the light medium industrial (LMI) area, also in the ownership of the Springwood Group. He stated he provided the map so Council would know what some of the surrounding facilities and properties looked like in relation to the site. Mr. Mott discussed the recommendations in the report which examined the development feasibility of the site in 1990-91, and some of the requirements imposed on the subdivision, which include residential development, in accordance with the Refinement Plan amendment. He stated there is a relationship in terms of access and domain through the north and east of the property as referenced in the report. He stated he wanted to show how the linkage relates to the surrounding properties. . Mr. Mott referenced the map of the development proposal which shows the creation of a new portion of 30th Street through the property, how it turns eastward and terminates at the property line. He stated staff recommendation for this development, be it either residential or industrial, would probably be to extend to this street to the east to connect it to Commercial Street. He stated that in terms of movement of freight, residents, emergency vehicle access, etc., it was critical to have the through street system. Mr. Mott commented the Mid Springfield Refinement Plan suggests a street which would cross the railroad tracks, continuing north, and connecting to Industrial Street and connecting with Centennial at 28th Street. This would require two railroad crossings which currently do not exist. Both the Mid Springfield Refinement Plan and the Mitchell Nelson report recommended this occur to facilitate the successful development of the site. Otherwise, the sole access is limited to Main Street, which would create problems from both traffic and safety standpoints, emergency vehicle access and simple efficiency. Another factor related to access is Main Street and to what extent and how much traffic volume would occur at the intersection of the new 30th Street with Main Street before some type of controlled intersection would be needed. He discussed the phases of the development and the street and traffic improvements needed at each phase. . Councilor Burge asked whether the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) would approve a signal at the location of the new 30th and Main Streets when there were already signals at 28th and 32nd Streets. Mr. Mott responded that due to the classification of Main Street, normal spacing pattern is compromised by the signals at 28th and 32nd Streets. He stated the new signal would not meet ODOT standards and a signal between those streets would be a reduction in their separation standards. Mr. Mott stated that it was not to say there were not options available, such as reducing speed on Main Street. However, he could not guarantee the signals could be placed there without some changes to the plan. Work Session Meeting Minutes March 18, 1996 Page 3 . Mr. Mott stated the status to date was that the development proposal for this project has received approval, although final development approval has not yet occurred. Nevertheless, he stated that it has initial approval and, assuming resolution of certain issues, Springwood can proceed with it's development. 2. Springwood's Property Tax Exemption for New Low-Income Housing. Management Analyst Lynn Nakamura presented the staff report on this issue. On June 21, 1993, Council granted Springwood a 20-year property tax exemption of $1 00,000 annually for the construction of 429 units of very low-income elderly housing on 29th and Main Streets. She stated ORS Chapter 307 and Section 2-14 of the Springfield City Code outline the provisions by which the City Manager can recommend to Council the termination of a property tax exemption if construction of the housing units is not completed within two years after the date of approval. She stated nearly three years have gone by and construction of housing units on the Springwood site has not yet begun. . Ms. Nakamura commented that the City Council created the Property Tax Exemption Program for New Low-Income Elderly Rental Housing in February, 1993. The purpose of the program was to create affordable rents for elderly tenants with very low incomes by passing on the full value of the property tax savings to the rent of each unit. The program was adopted with an annual cap of$IOO,OOO in property tax exemptions, but the cap was later increased to $115,000 with the approval of a development application from the Bowen Real Estate Group. She stated Bowen has since withdrawn it's application. In addition, the program was limited to very low-income elderly housing projects only and provided a property tax exemption for a period not to exceed twenty consecutive years. Ms. Nakamura stated that if Council chose to accept the City Manager's recommendation, the Council's direction to begin the termination process will require at least a 20-day notice to the property owner. She stated the Council could also take action to continue the previously granted tax exemption, by rejecting the City Manger's recommendation. City Attorney Joe Leahy stated Council should make a finding that the development has note been completed two years after the application was approved, or any other grounds for non- compliance that Council wanted to include as a matter of notice to the applicant. Staff could present a resolution which sets forth the findings and Council could make the preliminary decision and send notice to the applicant. He stated such findings need to be established in order to start the process. Ms. Nakamura stated a resolution of findings would be brought forward to Council at the next regular meeting. The Council asked that Finance Director Bob Duey review prior Council action in originally establishing the cap, the impact that it has on lost property tax revenues, due to the adoption of the program so soon after the adoption of the statewide Ballot Measure 5 property tax initiative. The review would help Council determine whether the cap is still an appropriate dollar cap for the program. . Mr. Ron Harden, Executive Director of Goodwill Industries provided Council with a handout regarding employment, training and education centers. .. . ~ .... . . . Work Session Meeting Minutes March 18, 1996 Page 4 ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 6:55 p.m. Minutes Recorder - Julie Wilson ~B.~II~W~ I orrtsett Mayor Attest: ~~ Eileen Stein I City Recorder