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HomeMy WebLinkAbout04/28/1997 Work Session . . . -~ City of Springfield Work Session MINUTES OF THE WORK SESSION MEETING OF THE SPRINGFIELD CITY COUNCIL HELD MONDAY, APRIL 28, 1997 The City of Springfield Council met in Work Session in the Jesse Maine Room, 225 Fifth Street, Springfield, Oregon, on Monday, April 28, 1997, at 6:02 p.m., with Mayor Morrisette presiding. ATTENDANCE Present were Mayor Morrisette and Councilors Ballew, Beyer, Burge, Dahlquist, Maine and Shaver. Also present were City Manager Mike Kelly, Assistant City Manager Gino Grimaldi, City Recorder Eileen Stein, Administrative Aide Shari Higgins, Planning Manager Greg Mott and members of staff. 1. Discontinuance of permitting requirements for Home Occupations and Minimum Development Standards Site Plan Planning Manager Greg Mott presented the staff report. Councilor Maine asked why there is a vacancy for a Planner position in the Development Services Department. Mr. Mott eXplained that Julia Hajduk is moving from the area and the vacancy is to replace an existing planner position. The issue of discontinuance of requirements is to help the Planning Division streamline their process for land use application review and respond to reductions in light of Ballot Measure 47. Mr. Mott said feedback was received from both staff and developers who have been through the processes of Home Occupation Permits (Home Occ's) and Minimum Development Standards (MDS). The feedback was then compared to council goals, state law and land use compliance regulations. Mr. Mott said Home Occ's and MDS are two land use processes that are not mandated, but still require the same public notice, Development Review Committee (DRC) review time, staff time and general governance. He stated most applicants believe Home Occ's are an intrusion into their privacy and MDS requirements have excessive costs associated with complying with development code standards. Mr. Mott explained the city's mechanism for enforcement would be basically the same for Home Occ's, only no application process would occur. The penalty for violations would still occur, but enforcement would have a little less authority by not requiring people to first apply and then meet the development code standards. Mr. Mott said most Home Occ's do not influence or affect adjoining neighbors. Mayor Morrisette clarified that citizens inquiring about Home Occ's would still receive the rules and applicable development code section. Councilor Ballew asked who applies for Home Occ's and what purpose they serve in the land use arena. Mr. Mott explained what types ofhusinesses usually fall under a Home Occ permit. He said many code amendments have occurred regarding Home Occ's in the past few years and he provided background information. ... l' _.Jrr. City of Springfield Work Session - 4/28/97 Page 2 . Councilor Shaver said people need to know what the boundaries are when running a business out of their home. He said having to pay for a permit would make people comply based on their financial output. He suggested a Home Occupation license versus a permit. He suggested the fee would be the same as a permit is now, but it would be a one-time license fee. In getting the license, people would agree to obey by the rules of the license. Councilor Shaver commented he is not advocating for a general or annual business license for other types of businesses in Springfield, but only for Home Occ's. He explained that by signing for the license and paying the fee, the business agrees to abide by the rules but it would still allow for enforcement, but less time and expense spent by the Planning Division. Mr. Harold explained under Ballot Measure 47, it is within the law to charge a new fee if it is not to off-set a property tax reduction. Councilor Maine cautioned that incremental costs add up and a license or fee that would need to be processed which would require additional staff time. Council should take all staff time constraints into consideration. Councilor Burge said he is supportive of staffs proposal and did not favor a fee for a Home Occ license. He suggested a brochure be placed in the lobby of the Development Services Department and citizens could get the SDC rules without assistance from a Planner. He said there will always be complaints and they should continue to be forwarded to code enforcement staff. . Mr. Mott explained that neither child care requirements or Home Business permits for the Washburne Historic District are covered under Home Occ permit process and this SDC amendment would not change the way that either are governed by the city. Councilor Maine asked if more code amendments will be coming before the council due to Ballot Measure #47. Mr. Mott replied no, but said other amendments are forthcoming due to other needs. Councilor Beyer asked how much stafftime is currently spent on enforcement of Home Occ issues currently. Mr. Mott explained there are two types of enforcement now, 1) people who do not have viable permits; and 2) people who violate their current permit agreements. He said that only two permits have been revoked since the mid-1980's. Mr. Mott said code enforcement's first direction is to correct Home Occ's who do not comply and then ifthe situation is not rectified, they are cited or the permit is revoked. Council agreed by consensus to eliminate Home Occupation permit requirements. . Council then discussed MDS. Mr. Mott provided background on a past council goal which provided a budget amount of$50,000 for providing a 50/50 match of up to $1,500 per property, for public improvements, which would include sidewalk, street trees, lighting, etc. Private improvements were also a concern and the city set up a bonding procedure to assist property owners in getting private improvements installed with the balance due at a future date. Mr. Mott said circumstances involving confrontations frequently occurred between staff and developers or property owners. .. ~.,... . . . City of Springfield Work Session - 4/28/97 Page 3 Mr. Kelly spoke of the subsidy the city has provided in the past to get sidewalks from the bridge to 77th on Main Street. He commented that assessments were lowered in order for all property owners to participate in the project. Councilor Burge discussed his support of MDS and said that developers should be required to bring substandard properties up to city standards upon change in ownership. He said the city should continue to do what is good for the community. Councilor Maine asked for clarification on the effects of eliminating MDS. Councilor Ballew asked if other code sections would apply to some of the requirements. Mr. Mott explained the MDS standards become the maximum development standards when site plan review is triggered. All new construction on vacant property involving multi-family residential, except duplexes, on individual lots of 10,000 square feet or less; commercial, industrial, public and semi-public uses including parking lots, parking garages and outdoor storage areas or yards; and an addition or expansion of multi-family residential, commercial, industrial, public and semi-private buildings, structures or outdoor storage areas or yards, whichever is greater, and any addition or expansion totaling 4,000 square feet or more. Existing parking lots and circulation areas shall be excluded from the calculation determining the percent of expansion. Mr. Mott said there is currently no fees for MDS or any notice requirements. The planner currently assigned to MDS spends only 20% less time on a MDS review versus a site plan review and that there are no fees for MDS, yet a $150 fee is charged for site plan review. By consensus, council decided to revisit this topic again in the future. Mr. Kelly suggested council wait until the Development Services Department budget presentation is given so council could hear all of the proposed reductions planned and then rate MDS as a comparison to other services currently being provided. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 6:57 p.m. Minutes Recorder - Shari Higgins s~~~~ Mayor ATTEST: .~ l.9..)~ .. D uty CIty Recorder . . . MINUTES OF THE WORK SESSION MEETING OF THE SPRINGFIELD CITY COUNCIL HELD MONDAY, APRIL 28, 1997 The City of Springfield Council met in Work Session in the Jesse Maine Room, 225 Fifth Street, Springfield, Oregon, on Monday, April 28, 1997 at 7:26 p.m., with Mayor Morrisette presiding. ATTENDANCE Present were Mayor Morrisette and Councilors Ballew, Beyer, Burge, Dahlquist, Maine and Shaver. Also present were Administrative Aide Shari Higgins, Human Resources Director Frank Hotchkiss and Police ChiefBiII DeForrest. 1. Municipal Court Judges Performance Evaluation - Judge Curtis Judge Curtis said he is able to keep up with the trial docket and praised the staff of the Court for assisting him with the workload. He said it was a good year with some tough cases, but that overall things are going well. Councilors discussed their personal experiences in the courtroom and praised Judge Curtis for his strict, yet pleasant demeanor. Judge Curtis spoke of the increased security features which were installed during the Police/Court remodel last year. He said the additional space which the Court was given has made the working conditions for the staff better. ADJOURNMENT Council recessed at 7:37 p.m. Minutes Recorder - Shari Higgins ~/~~ Mayor ATTEST: ... ~ UoJU-QMJ ~ty Recorder . MINUTES OF THE WORK SESSION MEETING OF THE SPRINGFIELD CITY COUNCIL HELD MONDAY, APRIL 28,1997 The City of Springfield Council met in Work Session in the Jesse Maine Room, 225 Fifth Street, Springfield, Oregon, on Monday, April 28, 1997 at 7:51 p.m., with Mayor Morrisette presiding. ATTENDANCE Present were Mayor Morrisette and Councilors Ballew, Beyer, Burge, Dahlquist, Maine and Shaver. Also present were Administrative Aide Shari Higgins, Human Resources Director Frank Hotchkiss and Police Chief Bill DeForrest. 1. Municipal Court Judges Performance Evaluation - Judge Strickland Judge Strickland suggested the city purchase Premise, a computer program manufactured by WestLaw, which has all of the Oregon Revised Statues (ORS) and Oregon laws on disc. This would reduce the number of books that the judges/attorneys must purchase and which need to be updated regularly. He explained the initial purchase cost is $1,600 and then it would be $400 annually for updates. . Judge Strickland discussed the problems with matrixing at the Lane County jail. He also mentioned changing the city's nuisance ordinance would assist him in trials and he suggested increasing nuisance fines (currently at $100). He said there are increasing numbers of repeat nuisance offenders and a jail sentence may be necessary when reviewing the ordinance. ADJOURNMENT Council recessed at 7:55 p.m. Minutes Recorder - Shari Higgins ,~~~ 11ayor ' ATTEST: ~ (!)~ Depu CIty Recorder . . MINUTES OF THE WORK SESSION MEETING OF THE SPRINGFIELD CITY COUNCIL HELD MONDAY, APRIL 28,1997 The City of Springfield Council met in Work Session in the Jesse Maine Room, 225 Fifth Street, Springfield, Oregon, on Monday, April 28, 1997 at 8:05 p.m., with Mayor Morrisette presiding. ATTENDANCE Present were Mayor Morrisette and Councilors Ballew, Beyer, Burge, Dahlquist, Maine and Shaver. Also present were Administrative Aide Shari Higgins, Human Resources Director Frank Hotchkiss and Police ChiefBiII DeForrest. 1. Municipal Court Judges Performance Evaluation - Judge Joseph Judge Joseph commented that things function well in the Court, Court Supervisor Kathy Cunningham is marvelous and City Prosecutor Dave Logan has very good common sense and judgment. Judge Joseph talked about the problems with matrixing and the limited space in the Lane County jail. . Councilor Maine suggested holding an informal work session, gathering with all three judges at the same time to talk about general topics, and possibly invite Dave Logan and Kathy Cunningham (with the City Manager's approval). Brief Executive Sessions for evaluation purposes with each judge could then be held separately. ADJOURNMENT The Work Session was adjourned at 8: 15 p.m. Minutes Recorder - Shari Higgins ~~/~~~ Mayor ATTEST: '- .