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HomeMy WebLinkAbout05/12/1997 Work Session .' ..<11 City of Springfield Work Session . MINUTES OF THE WORK SESSION MEETING OF THE SPRINGFIELD CITY COUNCIL HELD MONDAY, MAY 12, 1997 The City of Springfield Council met in Work Session in the Jesse Maine Room, 225 Fifth Street, Springfield, Oregon, on Monday, May 12, 1997, at 6:02 p.m., with Mayor Morrisette presiding. ATTENDANCE Present were Mayor Morrisette and Councilors Ballew (6:03), Beyer, Burge, Dahlquist (6:03), Maine and Shaver. Also present were City Manager Mike Kelly, Assistant City Manager Gino Grimaldi, City Attorney Joe Leahy, City Recorder Eileen Stein, Administrative Aide Shari Higgins, Community and Economic Development Manager John Tamulonis, Planning Manager Greg Mott, Planner II Lydia Neill, Planner II Mel Oberst, Public Works Director Dan Brown, Transportation Engineer Masood Mirza and members of staff. 1. Update of the Springfield Economic Development Plan Mr. Tamulonis explained the current Economic Development (ED) Plan was adopted in November 1987. The city followed the plan with annual guidance from the council, but it has been some time, since the council extensively revised the plan to guide the city's economic development efforts into the coming millennium. . In March 1997, the Mayor and City Council were provided with the first part of the ED plan via the Communication Packet. It provided a brief history of the significant economic development activities during the last 10 years. Staff would now like direction on preparation of the ED plan for the next 10 years. Mr. Tamulonis spoke about general topics for inclusion, as well as the four plan cornerstones: 1) assisting existing businesses; 2) supporting tourism and convention activities; 3) attracting new industry and development; and 4) enhancing the quality of life. Mr. Tamulonis provided options for the council to develop the plan, depending on the depth of the revisions. He said all options would go through the citizen involvement process approved by the Committee for Citizen Involvement (CCI). He asked for council input regarding their preference for a citizen involvement process. Councilor Burge asked about the industrial property in the Gateway area, specifically the property owned by Sony and expressed his concern about land being held and not being developed. He asked if the city was defeating its own goals and objectives by allowing Sony to keep land that it is not planning on developing. Mr. Tamulonis spoke about the property owned by Sony and future development plans the company has. Councilor Burge said he felt the size of the parcels which were divided on the Pierce property are not as marketable as smaller parcels would be. He spoke in support of the diversified job base and market and said he would support future land division on the Pierce properties. . Councilor Ballew asked if the city could take option on properties and then lease to prospective companies. Mr. Tamulonis said most firms are not interested in leasing and previous council consensus has been to not own property and lease to others. Councilor Burge said that city infrastructure funds used to jump start an industrial or commercial area should be returned to the city, when the area becomes enhanced and marketable. City of Springfield Work Session - 5/12/97 Page 2 . Councilor Shaver said he had small technical items regarding the ED plan that he will e-mail to Mr. Tamulonis and the council members. He felt the city of Eugene may opt out of the Eugene/Springfield Metro Partnership and Lane County may also, due to funding reductions. Councilor Shaver said he would like the ED plan to focus on industrial/commercial businesses which can add family-wage jobs to the community. He suggested a type of manufacturing zoning be added to the plan and said the city should invite John Lively to the next meeting in which the ED plan will be discussed. Councilor Beyer said she reviewed the report as to what was present, not what items should be added or were missing. She agreed that some changes should be made to guide the plan through the next 10 years. Councilor Maine did not favor a large public involvement process but would welcome input from the Eugene/Springfield Metro Partnership Board and the Chamber of Commerce Future Committee. She supports continued cooperation between the city's agencies and business and suggested tying in the ED plan with community policing, with Business Alert or a similar program. She agreed with the policy and direction previously given by council regarding the city's enterprise zone. . Councilor Ballew asked about the local unemployment rate. Mr. Tamulonis explained about population increases and unemployment figures compared with population numbers. He said Springfield is right on target for our growth. There was a general discussion regarding the local economy. Councilor Dahlquist agreed that the Pierce property should be allowed to subdivide into smaller lots. Regarding infrastructure qevelopment, he felt the city should recapture most costs after industrial or commercial development occurs. There was a discussion of recovering public infr~structure costs, and how after a delayed period, an assessment could occur with the property owner. Mayor Morrisette spoke about what occurred in 1987 and how depressed the economy was. He spoke about the million dollar budget shortfall, Bancroft lots, Booth-Kelly, and other major problems the city was facing. Councilor Shaver said although the plan discusses the Eugene/Springfield Metro Partnership, it also needs additional language added that says how we differ in approach to economic development from the City of Eugene. He suggested some wording the allows Springfield to stand alone in our approach to development. Councilor Burge agreed and said the ED plan needs a positive theme. Councilor Shaver clarified council did want to further discuss industrial and commercial issues. It was agreed it would occur at a future work session with other community members invited. Mr. Tamulonis said he would complete the minor revisions suggested and ask other community/development members to review the plan and provide additional commentary. . City of Springfield Work Session - 5/12/97 Page 3 . 2. Review of the Local Street Plan and Amendments to Article 32. Jo. No. 97-03-066 Planner II Lydia Neill provided the staff report. Council was asked to review the Local Street Connectivity map and suggest any changes necessary to the Springfield Development Code (SDC) Article 32, Public Improvements. Ms. Neill reported in 1996 the city received an Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) grant to hire a consultant, Kimley-Horn, to prepare a document that included proposed street design standards and a Local Street Connectivity Map in response to Transportation Rule 12 (Oregon Administrative Rule 660-12). Transportation Rule 12 requires local jurisdictions to develop local street connectivity and design standards and to fulfill those requirements staff is recommending a two-step process: 1) to adopt the Local Street Connectivity Map and a set of standards detailing the use of the document; and 2) to adopt SDC amendments to Article 32, relating to design standards for streets. Ms. Neill said this process is good for the city as it will allow for future street planning and will assist developers also. The standards allow for a developer to provide input to the city for a better street design and would give staff discretion to make map changes without council approval or discussion. As long as the guidelines and standards as set forth are met, then future city transportation changes could occur. . Ms. Neill outlined two major changes in the SDC, which were proposed. One was regarding street alignment with existing streets (making "T" intersections prohibitive) and ensuring the same names are used for new streets aligning with existing streets. This information was included in the staff report, attachment B, page 3. The second major change would occur when a land use change would generate 100 or more vehicle trips per day. Ms. Neill stated the language was changed from 1,000 trips to 100 trips per day, after careful review by staff. There was a lengthy discussion regarding the city's traffic impact studies and what the number of trips generated should be to trigger a traffic analysis. Transportation Engineer Masood Mirza said the number of trips planned and the subsequent analysis would assist staff in their development review process. Planning Manager Greg Mott added that many local and arterial streets are beginning to deteriorate and that the lack of trip calculations prior to development approval have caused much of the trouble. He said the 120-day rule regarding land use application review would also be a factor if transportation information is not included in an applicants initial submittal. Planner II Mel Oberst said most land in the city was zoned over 20 years ago and that traffic modeling occurred at that time with a 30 percent error rate. Current TransPlan figures show the average household trips are up from nine to eleven within the past ten years. The city is trying to maintain streets with increased usage and deterioration. Councilor Ballew asked what the number of vehicle trips per day is for other cities who request the information for development review. Mr. Mirza replied that 100 is somewhere in the middle range for most cities, and was chosen as a medium point for Springfield. . Councilor Burge said the city may be limiting too much of what occurs on private property. Councilor Maine said a traffic analysis is to make sure that proposed development can occur, not prohibit it. '10, ... City of Springfield Work Session - 5/12/97 Page 4 . Mr. Kelly said the vehicle trips per day provision would be good knowledge for the city as it addresses both economic development and planning requirements. Public Works Director Dan Brown said the 100 trips per day trigger may be too low, but the number could be increased per council direction. He felt most developers would have the data available, per their design requirements and it would be more efficient if staff could review the developers information during the application process. Council discussed a median figure of 500 vehicle trips and the time, cost and work involved in such an analysis. Councilor Shaver asked to see examples of 200 trips per vehicle reports. Councilor Dahlquist asked if different standards could be used for different zoning levels. Councilor Burge said staff needs discretionary authority when choosing the vehicle trips per day numbers. More discussion occurred on the number of vehicle trips proposed in the SDC amendment. Mr. Kelly stated staff would research the additional information requested by council and provide an opportunity at a future work session for revisiting this topic. 3. Amendments to Article 27 Floodplain Overlay District . Planner II Mel Oberst provided the staff report. He said the proposed amendments to the SDC are being initiated to bring the city into compliance with federal requirements. ' He explained Article 27 Floodplain Overlay District applies to all areas of special flood hazard within the urban growth boundary of Springfield. As a condition of participating in the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), the city must enforce Article 27 through its development review procedures. He said the Federal Emergency Management Agency finds the city's development review procedures are insufficient to enforce the provisions of Article 27 in the urbanizing area and must be amended to maintain eligibility in the NFIP. Mr. Oberst said pages were missing from the letter to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), attachment #2. He provided copies of the letter and spoke about the need to remove the standards for floodplain management from the City Code to the SDC. Mr. Oberst stated City Code Chapter 10 is being merged into SDC Article 27 to meet requirements by FEMA and has a June deadline. He explained why these requirements are so important and the need for the city to continue participating in the NFIP. Since 40% ofFEMA claims are repetitive claims, the new SDC section has information which would allow staff to report floodplain damage directly to FEMA, per their requirements. . Mr. Oberst highlighted the changes proposed in article 27. Language will be added under section 27.090 regarding land drainage and alternation permits with application and enforcement information. Mr. Oberst and Mr. Leahy provided information on enforcement procedures through Circuit Court proceedings. Also changed were sections 27.070 and 27.080 regarding damage procedures and inspections. After discussion, it was agreed to amend the wording in section 27.080 to state "periodic" inspections instead of "weekly" inspections. Mr. Leahy provided some alternate wording regarding responsibility for inspections and costs, as the section will be used as a trigger to bring homes up to FEMA standards through compliance of city SDC regulations. '" 6" ~ " . . . City of Springfield Work Session - 5/12/97 Page 5 Mr. Oberst said he would make the changes discussed and bring the amended SDC Article 27 back to council at a future work session meeting for final comments. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 7:57 p.m. Minutes Recorder - Shari Higgins ~e~ ATTEST: ~~ ~ City Re{:order Wls~ C 11 Pres1dent