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HomeMy WebLinkAbout11/25/1996 Work Session . City of Springfield Work Session MINUTES OF THE WORK SESSION MEETING OF THE SPRINGFIELD CITY COUNCIL HELD MONDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 1996 The City of Springfield Council met in Work Session in the Jesse Maine Room, 225 Fifth Street, Springfield, Oregon, on Monday, November 25, 1996, at 6:03 p.m. with Mayor Morrisette presiding. Present were Mayor Morrisette and Councilors Ballew, Beyer, Burge, Dahlquist, Maine and Shaver (6: 15 p.m.). Also present were City Manager Mike Kelly, Assistant City Manager Gino Grimaldi, City Attorney's Tim Harold and Joe Trudeau, City Recorder Eileen Stein, Administrative Aide Shari Higgins, Planning Manager Greg Mott and Communications Administrator Mike Moskovitz. 1. Discussion with Providers of Wireless Telecommunications Systems Mr. Kelly introduced Planning Manager Greg Mott and stated the purpose for this open dialogue between the City Council and wireless service providers is to discuss the changes in the communications industry and provide council with a chance to ask providers questions before they adopt a telecommunications ordinance. . Mr. Mott introduced the service providers present, including: Spencer Vale from AT &T Wireless (previously Cellular One), Kevin Martin, Sprint PCS and Steve Lewotsky, Western PCS. Mr. Mott stated staff has reviewed information regarding the Federal law and what type of ordinances other jurisdictions are adopting. He stated the service providers have also met with the Planning Commission in a similar setting, to provide the commission with information and answers to their questions. Mr. Vale opened the discussion by providing council with information on the Telecommunications Act of 1996. He discussed the issues of frequency and capacity problems, which have been and will continue to occur happening. Mr. Vale described universal coverage and explained the differences between Personal Communication Services (PCS) and cellular usage. Mr. Martin handed out a one-page summary of Sprint PCS. He explained who they are, how they are licensed and provide the council with frequency and base station information. He stated all Sprint sites have been built for initial expansion, and they are currently in the process of citing approval for three towers in Springfield (MountainGate). . Mr. Vale explained that all carriers licensed in the State of Oregon, lease space from others. He provided the council with specific information regarding the size of the siting, which usually occur on at 40 to 50 square foot piece of property. No siting require water or sewer service, just electrical service with a phone line. The buildings on the site are small and are not staffed, rather visited one to two times per month. The typical location ofthe siting are in industrial or commercials areas, but sometimes a residential citing is necessary, and the group urged the council not to totally deny that option, but place rigid restrictions in residential zones. . . . ; " City of Springfield Work Session - 11/25/96 Page two The providers explained that selecting standards which are obtainable to the providers will be essential to their success in Springfield. Mr. Martin explained that antennas can be pained to match existing buildings and the more dense the system, the shorter the pole must be. Council discussed the height of existing poles within the City and their hopes for shorter poles as new siting are added. Mr. Lewotsky stated there are two technologies, PCS and cellular, and he explained how both can co-locate on the same pole. He explained antenna separation and maintenance issues and how frequency levels can assist in allowing co-location. Mr. Martin expanded by explaining co-locates can occur on the same pole, but that antennas can not be shared as they are individual to frequencies. Councilor Shaver asked about specific language which could be incorporated into Springfield's Ordinance which would provide fairness between providers, and not allow one company to site a tower and then gouge other companies who would like to co-locate on the pole. Mr. Vale explained that language is already in place between the providers and there is . no need by the City to further intervene. He explained that providers will not overcharge or take advantage of each other as they need each others assistance. Currently, sharing or co- locating towers is a common practice by the service providers. Councilor Burge asked if providers would consider leasing space that belongs to landlords. Mr. Martin explained that substations are currently run by those who own towers and then lease space to providers. PCS equipment is smaller than cellular equipment, but antenna size is not necessarily smaller. IIi the future, either a coax cable or a fiber optic line will replace the current copper lines. Mr. Martin added the expense of replacing either poles or lines is very high. There was a discussion of the wording the act regarding placement of siting in residential zones. Mr. Lewotsky asked council to create an ordinance which would benefit both the community and the providers. He described one tower which is cited in Lake Oswego High School which is ajoint site used by both Sprint and Western. Mr. Vale discussed trends in the industry and how it has grown with recent changes in both PCS and cellular usage. Councilor Maine asked ifthe providers construct towers based on the amount of people who use their service and when. Mr. Martin replied yes, and stated until product begins to sell, that the providers will not know the extent of the coverage needs and what locations they will be needed at. Mr. Lewotsky asked the council to consider set backs when creating Springfield's ordinance. He explained if the siting are deemed buildings, then they are very limited in where they can be placed and how they are camouflaged. He added that ground level screening of the buildings is acceptable by the providers. . . . ,!'"' ~,. City of Springfield Work Session - 11/25/96 Page three Councilor Shaver asked if staff has received model ordinances from other cities. Mr. Mott replied yes, and the providers stated that they would ensure Mr. Mott receives as much information as he would like. Mayor Morrisette thanked the services providers for attending the meeting. 2. Review of Draft Chapter 4 "Utilities" and Chapter 6 "Traffic" Springfield City Code Recodification City Recorder Eileen Stein presented the staff report. She commented in the interest of time that she would be presenting two chapters. After this review, she stated that only three chapters remained for review by the council. Ms. Stein explained that Chapter 4 is a combination ofthe old Chapter 3 "Utilities" and the old Chapter 4 "Sanitation". Both chapters were combined in the recodification project. She stated the sections pertaining to sewer and garbage rates, which change frequently, will have wording added which states "Rates shall be established by Council Resolution". This new wording will eliminate any fee or rate change needing to occur by Ordinance (which changes the City Code) and will allow the change to occur by Resolution; Ms. Stein stated this change will cause less changes to the code and be an easier process for staff also. ' Council agreed by consensus to support the use of resolutions versus ordinances once the City Code is recodified. Councilor Maine that Ms. Stein have the Lane Regional Air Pollution Authority review the air quality section. Ms. Stein agreed. She stated the League of Oregon Cities will re-group and re-number the titles in each chapter, so that they follow a logical order (i.e., all sewer together, all garbage together.) Councilor Shaver commented that some things may need to be deleted from the code. Page A-26, Section 4-2-10 (4), he felt is outdated and need updating. He also asked for cross references in addition to the index, at the minimum using an asterisk. Ms. Stein introduced Police Captain Dick Golden and stated he will review Chap~er 6 "Traffic". Captain Golden stated the chapter was updated per the Uniform Traffic Code and Oregon Revised Statues, plus some housecleaning items. He explained sections 6-1-2 and 6-1-5, regarding bike lane and path usage for both crossing and travel and provided clarification. Council had a lengthy discussion regarding page B-9, Section 6-6-3 (3)(c), and whether or not it should include bus signage, political signs or any other type of a sign on a vehicle. Council brought up issues with the Sign Code where signs are placed by unauthorized individuals in the right-of-way for advertising purposes. Captain Golden told Council that a group of staff (including Public Works and Code Enforcement) are working toward the elimination of' illegal signage within the city limits. . . . r '" --..'" City of Springfield Work Session - 11/25/96 Page four Captain Golden stated staff would review section 6-6-3 (3)(c) and try to use language which would better represent Council's views on display advertising on vehicles. Captain Golden explained on Page B-16, 6-10-5, that a new section had been created regarding nuisance vehicles, which would provide assistance to the Police Department in removing hazardous or nuisance vehicles in public. Council discussed the length of time needed by the Police Department before vehicles are impounded. Captain Golden reviewed Page B-18, Section 6-9-1 regarding Truck Routes. Councilor Burge asked if only the streets listed are considered allowable trucks routes. Captain Golden replied that others could be allowed if deemed appropriate by the transportation division and that staff is currently reviewing and updating the list. Ms. Stein showed the Council two initiative petitions that were submitted today by a citizen named Larry Faught. One petition would eliminate the words "health, cleanliness and ornament" in the City Charter and the second petition would repeal sections 5., 1 ~ lto 5-1-10 of the Springfield City Code. Ms. Stein briefly reviewed the process that the petitions would take if enough signatures are gathered. Councilor Burge asked that a compilation of Code Enforcement's contacts and citations to Mr. Faught be provided to the Counci}Yia the Communication Packet. 3. Springfield Spring Project Mayor Morrisette stated there would be no costs associated with the location of the original Springfield spring project. He stated he would be assisted by several community volunteers and the project would not incur any stafftime or City expense. Mayor Morrisette explained how the process will occur. Councilor Burge stated he had asked for review of this item because when he made his initial request for information, that he did not receive the answers which support this agenda item summary. Councilor Burge commented on the board, commission and committee recruitment which was currently underway. He had specific concern over the amount of applications received for the Budget Committee and asked Council if they would concur with his opinion to extend the recruitment deadlin,e to December 20. Administrative Aide Shari Higgins explained that by extending the deadline, the interviews would then take place in mid-January and appointments would be ratified in early February. By consensus, council agreed to extend the recruitment deadline to December 20, at 5:00 p.m. . . . ~.;. .. . :-. City of Springfield Work Session - 11/25/96 Page five ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 8:00 p.m. Minutes Recorder - Shari Higgins ATTEST: ~L0~ Depu Ity Recorder \~A~AI Mayor \