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HomeMy WebLinkAbout10/28/1996 Work Session . MINUTES OF THE WORK SESSION MEETING OF THE SPRINGFIELD CITY COUNCIL HELD MONDAY, OCTOBER 28, 1996 The City of Springfield Council met in Work Session in the Jesse Maine Room, 225 Fifth Street, Springfield, Oregon, on Monday, October 28, 1996, at 6:05 p.m., with Council President Stu Burge presiding. ATTENDANCE Present were Councilors Ballew, Beyer, Burge, Dahlquist (6:05), Maine and Shaver (6:05). Mayor Morrisette was absent (excused). Also present were City Manager Michael Kelly, Assistant City Manager Gino Grimaldi, City Attorney Tim Harold, City Recorder Eileen Stein, Administrative Aide Julie Wilson and members ofthe staff. CALL TO ORDER Council President Stu Burge complemented staff and the Police Department for being responsible in expending public funds in response to the purchase of the SWAT command vehicle. ' 1. Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) 1-5 Beltline Refinement. .' Transportation Planning Engineer Masood Mirza introduced Nick Arnis, Regional Planner, District 5, ODOT. Mr. Arnis introduced Jerry Juster, Designer, ODOT and Craig Black, Transportation Analyst, ODOT. Mr. Arnis presented the staff report on this issue. ODOT is conducting a corridor wide traffic study to identify problems and strategies to mitigate traffic problems in the I-5/Beltline/Gateway area. Staff wishes to present the status of this ongoing project to the council and to invite the council to provide appropriate input to ODOT and city staff. The BeltlinelI-5 interchange was constructed in 1967. At that time, land uses in the area were primarily rural. Beltline Road crossed the interchange and stopped at Gateway Street, which was a paved two lane road with gravel shoulders. The land uses have changed and traffic volumes have increased tremendously. These changes dramatically impacted the function of the interchange and surrounding transportation system. The interchange ramps, especially the northbound off-ramp, occasionally backup onto the freeway. Other safety and capacity concerns have also been identified and have been previously shared with the council. After consultation with city staff, ODOT has decided that a refinement plan is needed to ascertain the transportation issues and identify possible solutions. The city staff strongly supports ODOT's effort to develop long term solutions, with the understanding that some interim safety improvements must be installed in the near future. Mr. Arnis provided council with a memo dated October 28, 1996, regarding an outline and briefing about the proposed plan. He also provided a September 1996 BeltlinelI-5 Refinement Plan Milestone Schedule and Scope of Work report. . Mr. Arnis explained that the Beltline/I-5 Refinement Plan has created a steering committee and an ODOT technical staff to create the plan. The steering committee includes: city of Work Session Meeting Minutes October 28, 1996 Page 2 . Springfield, city of Eugene, Lane County, LCOG, Lane Transit District, Harlow Neighbors, Game Farm Neighbors, Sycan Corp., Gateway Mall, and Banfield Properties. ODOT's technical staff is: Region 2 Planning, District 5 Assistant Manager, Traffic Planning and Analysis Unit, and the Preliminary Design Unit. The steering committee has met four times and the next meeting will be held on November 19 at the city of Springfield City Hall. The steering committee is almost complete with the research/inventory and problem definition phases. Councilor Shaver referenced page seven, of the schedule report and asked about the implementation. Mr. Arnis eXplained that ODOT was a leg up because they have identified problem areas and have worked at a local level with citizen input regarding the STIP. He clarified that implementation was a step toward obtaining funding and they were in a better position than possibly other projects due to the Refinement Plan. It could be expected that in approximately five years, the project could be included on the STIP. The intention ofODOT was to provide clear and coherent information to the public and elected officials. In ODOT parlance, a refinement plan is a more detailed analysis of a problem or set of issues regarding a section of roadway or facility. In this particular case, the Beltline/I-5 interchange is a facility that warrants attention because of the real and perceived issues of safety, capacity, and intensified land uses in the area. Generally, a refinement plan comes at the end of an ODOT corridor planning process that calls for further study or refinement of a facility or section of a facility. . A refinement plan requires participation by local agencies, and interested groups and individuals. The outcome of a plan depends on the situation, but a plan may include changes in land uses, traffic operations or connectivity of streets. The Oregon Transportation Commission reviews a refinement plan and LCD and FHW A are notified throughout the process. In essence, such a plan is a major scoping of a transportation issue and attempts to ascertain the problems, range of solutions and a preferred solution. City Engineer Al Peroutka answered questions from council regarding projects. Mr. Arnis discussed the safety related conditions regarding the 42nd Street improvement project. He also explained that another draft plan would be provided in the future. He felt that there was an 80 percent chance of the project being placed on the list. He also answered questions regarding federal surface transportation funding. State regulations would need to be followed. Mr. Arnis explained that the state does perform maintenance on interchange and state highways. Economic Development Manager John Tamulonis and City Planner Mel Oberst were Springfield representatives on the committee. 2. Process for Updating the Springfield Economic Development Plan . Work Session Meeting Minutes October 28, 1996 Page 3 . Development Services Director Susan Daluddung presented the staff report on this issue. Economic Development Manager John Tamulonis also provided information regarding this issue. The Economic Development (ED) Plan was adopted in November of 1987. The city has followed the plan with annual guidance from the City Council. This update will advance a City Council Top Priority target for 1996. The revised ED Plan will guide the city's economic development efforts into the coming millennium. Though the 1987 ED Plan was to be in effect for five years, it has been effective nearly nine years. In addition, City Council has guided major projects, like the development of the Gateway Mall and Olympic Street improvement projects, McKenzie-Gateway Corporate Park development, Sony's campus industrial development, and financing and construction of public infrastructure. ' Mr. Tamulonis eXplained the proposed process, including four major steps involving the City Council's Economic Development Committee: . 1. Review the ED Plan and actions taken since adoption of the Plan; 2. Direct staff in revising the ED Plan to reflect current Springfield issues and concerns to best meet the future needs of the community; 3. Request review and comment on Draft ED Plan from community organizations, citizens, businesses, developers, and property owners; and 4. Guide staff in preparing a final versionofthe ED Plan for the City Council to formally consider for adoption. Mr. Tamulonis reviewed the four step process to revise the Economic Development Plan in detail and referenced Attachment I of the staff report This plan is not adopted as a refinement plan to allow both flexibility and rapid response to opportunities without the processing constraints of a technical land use document. However, the ED Plan does establish policy and set the tone for the city's long-term economic development efforts. The timeline proposed will depend how much the committee wishes to revise the existing ED Plan and the comments of the Citizen Involvement Committee. Staffwill prepare a draft plan for the community to review by mid February 1997. The community review and comment period will take several months, with formal and informal comments gathered from a variety of sources. The process will also allow integration with other processes (like the Commercial Lands Study, strategic planning, etc.). The committee will direct changes to the ED Plan so staff can bring it to City Council to consider adoption in May 1997. Ms. Daluddung asked if each council member wished to be involved on the ED Committee or if a few representatives would serve on the Committee. Council agreed that they all wanted to participate. . Ms. Daluddung also asked if the council approved of the process. Councilor Maine suggested that the plan be fine tuned first, then move forward for review. This plan would be used as a base and the new plan would be presented for review and input. . . . Work Session Meeting Minutes , . October 28, 1996 Page 4 Ms. Daluddung also asked if they wished to have an input group. Councilor Ballew wanted to be sure that the city did not short change itself by not receiving public involvement and input. Councilor Maine did not feel people would be left out and that those needing to be involved in the process would be. Mr. Tamulonis reminded council to contact he or Ms. Daluddung if they had questions or concerns. Ms. Daluddung also noted that if there were any funding issues, they would be presented to council during the budget review process. 3. Review of Draft Chapter 8 "Building" Springfield City Code Recodification City Recorder Eileen Stein presented the staff report on this issue. A newly revised draft of Chapter 8 (old Chapter 9) "Buildings" of the Springfield City Code has been prepared as part of the City Code recodification project. Staffis ready for council review and comment on the draft chapter. The proposed draft simply codifies existing ordinances. Most of the previous articles of this Code were repealed in 1983. In summary the changes to this chapter are: Article 1 - Codifies Ordinance 5718, adopted on December 6, 1993, pertaining to the use of churches as temporary emergency shelter. Article 7 - Codifies Ordinance 5633, adopted on May 4, 1992, and Ordinance 5685, adopted on April 19, 1993, pertaining to sign standards. Councilor Maine asked if anyone regulated signs on trailers or trucks. Development Services Director Susan Daluddung responded that Development Services does enforce sign regulations. Councilor Maine asked about provisions regarding campers, trailers and other type vehicles parking in areas such as in church parking lots designated as a shelter. Councilor Maine asked for clarification regarding the maximum time allowed for a church to be designated and/or used as an emergency shelter for 15 consecutive days or longer. She wondered if the language should be revised to state for the maximum of 15 days. Staff would revise the language to provide clarification. . . . Work Session Meeting Minutes , .," October 28, 1996 Page 5 ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 7:05 p.m. Minutes Recorder - Julie Wilson f32dflM~ Bill Morrisette Mayor [ Attest: ~ UrllS:5W Deputy City Recorder