Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout06/23/1997 Work Session . MINUTES OF THE WORK SESSION MEETING OF THE SPRINGFIELD CITY COUNCIL HELD MONDAY, JUNE 23,197 The City of Springfield Council met in Work Session at Springfield City Hall, Jesse Maine Room, 225 Fifth Street, Springfield, Oregon, on Monday, June 23, 1997, at 7:06 p.m. with Mayor Morrisette presiding. Present were Mayor Morrisette and Councilors Ballew, Beyer (7:30 p.m.), Burge, Maine and Shaver. Councilor Dahlquist was absent (excused). Also present were City Manager Mike Kelly, Assistant City Manager Gino Grimaldi, City Recorder Eileen Stein, Administrative Aide Shari Higgins, and members of the staff. 1. Intergovernmental Agreement Regarding Transit Signal Priority. City Recorder/Administrative Assistant Eileen Stein introduced this item. She said the city has been asked to review a proposed Intergovernmental Agreement between the City of Springfield and the Lane Transit District (LTD) regarding transit signal priority and provide staff direction to modify and/or enter into the agreement. Ms. Stein said she worked with L TD staff, Councilor Shaver, and city staff on the proposed agreement content. . Councilor Shaver stated why he provided input to staff to support the agreement. He explained there are unanswered questions on how the transit signal priority would affect the city. He felt the modifications that needed to take place should be addressed and the unanswered questions should be answered. He said city staffwill assist with the pilot project and would be reimbursed up to $10,000 for their services. Once the study is complete, then identified mitigating factors would be discussed between the two agencies. At that time, if consensus between the two agencies do not occur, then the further discussions or project dissolution would occur. Council discussed Senate Bill 150 which would provide the authority for transit signal priority technology to be used for emergency response and transit operations. Ms. Stein explained L TD has applied for a loan through the Oregon Transportation Infrastructure Bank (OTIB) to assist them in implementing a transit signal preemption pilot project in the metropolitan area. As part of the loan application process, LTD is required to enter intergovernmental agreements with various local road authorities. Ms. Stein said staff is in agreement with the recommendations as amended. Councilor Burge showed concern over Item A-2, #4, and said it should add, "the city at it's sole discretion." He asked to see to study, as he has concern over the validity for transit. L TD representative Steffano Vigganio answered Council questions and responded to concerns about preemption versus priority. He explained priority can be set within certain agreeable parameters. . Councilor Shaver said there are two phases to the project: 1) research half of the project, hence this agreement; and 2) implement half of the project, which would not occur without researching the new transportation/traffic software capabilities and careful review of the results. City of Springfield Work Session - 6/23/97 Page 2 . Public Works Director Dan Brown said some preemption techniques would not impair the traffic signal settings and is hoping that concerns will be addressed through the study to satisfy the city's traffic engineers. After further discussion, Council provided consensus to enter into the Intergovernmental Agreement with L TD regarding transit signal priority. 2. Proposed Amendments to Springfield Development Code Articles 2 and 32, Local Street Standards, Jo. No. 97-03-066. Planner II Lydia Neill said staff is responding to Council's request to discuss the proposed standards for requiring a Traffic Impact Analysis (TIA) in the amendments to the Springfield Development Code (SDC) Articles 2 and 32, Local Street Standards. Staff is proposing to decrease the average daily trips required to trigger the inclusion of a TIA from 1,000 to 250 (minor) and 500 (major). Ms. Neill explained minor TIA requirements provide basic information concerning description of the project, existing conditions, average daily trips (ADT) and trip assignment associated with the site. Major TIA would only be required when trips exceed 500 ADT and include all components included in the minor study in addition to an analysis of traffic volumes and a level of service (LOS) analysis of the site at full build out. . Ms. Neill explained staff had revised the original numbers since her first council presentation on this issue. Staff tried to provide a number for TIA requirements which is pertinent to the review process. Ms. Neill clarified that a development which would generate 1,000 trips is a very large development in Springfield. She answered questions from Councilor Burge regarding specific TIA information. Councilor Burge suggested a minor include all trips of 500 to 1,000 and a major to include any trips over 1,000. Councilor Shaver said after discussions with staff that some things can not continue to be reviewed at by staff due to current FTE levels. He felt with neighborhoods increasing in size, that TIA's should occur at a lesser amount than 500. Councilor Shaver added that Springfield is changing, society is changing and said this revised TIA is appropriate for Springfield at this time. Councilor Maine said council should take more care in planning for transportation congestion and felt 100 ADT seemed to have changed to trigger at TIA, but she could support 500 ADT. Ms. Neill explained staff has only 30 days to accept an application and there is a critical time period for obtaining traffic information. Since staff levels are decreasing and TIAs are becoming more cumbersome, she said staff recommendation was a needed component of a land use application. Councilor Burge said this would be passing off the duties and responsibilities of government, by transfer, to the public. He asked if this process circumvents Ballot Measures 47 and 50. Councilor Burge asked Transportation Plan Engineer Masood Mirza how a trip is identified. Mr. Mirza explained how trips are calculated. . City of Springfield Work Session - 6/23/97 Page 3 . Traffic Engineer Brian Barnett explained that "passer-by" trips are not included in true transportation studies and how commercial land use trips are also calculated differently. He further explained how private engineering studies are compiled and reviewed by staff. By consensus, Council agreed to support staffs recommendation and stated their approval for the proposed amendments to the SDC. 3. Periodic Review Update - Residential and Commercial Land Use Allocations. Planning Manager Greg Mott introduced the item and said Council was being asked to discuss the Supply and Demand Analysis prepared for the two Periodic Review work tasks of residential and commercial land use allocations. He introduced City Planner II Robin Johnson, and Claire VanBloom, from Lane Council of Governments (L-COG). Mr. Mott referenced the Metro Area General Plan Designations Map and showed Council specific areas which are being reviewed by staff. Ms. Johnson provided a staff report of the residential lands and housing study process. She also provided a copy of the Residential Lands and Housing Study CAC. She explained timelines for the remaining work plan on the study for 1997-98. . Ms. VanBloom discussed population figures in relation to the TransPlan area. She also discussed demographics and the range of residential land demands. She also discussed the preliminary Supply and Demand Analysis. She explained the methodology for Supply and Demand Analysis for the Residential Land and Housing Study. She gave an overview of maps related to service availability for future development and site inventory for the metropolitan area. Mr. Mott said the cost for development has recently increased for high density residential, and thus the average density in Springfield between high and medium in about 16 units per acres, which is still well under what is allowed for high density. Mr. Mott discussed the areas in Springfield which are high density. Council discussed the transition areas between low density and medium density. Council discussed open space with medium and high density. Ms. Johnson said the design guidelines for multi-unit housing will be available on July 1. She suggested Council hold a work session to review and discuss design implementation and future guideline standards. Councilor Shaver said this topic addresses livability and density issues. The policy issues will directly affect livability in Springfield for the future. He further discussed this issue and suggested Springfield not allow any more medium or high density in Springfield. He also suggested looking at major changes to metro plan regarding density and zoning. . Mayor Morrisette said Springfield needs an upscale retirement development in Springfield. He spoke about the Willamette Oaks project located in Eugene and its zoning. Ms. Johnson explained that the property was medium density, planned unit development. City of Springfield Work Session - 6/23/97 Page 4 . Councilor Maine raised the issue of how Springfield will customize zoning for areas which are liked and areas which need to be changed. She also raised the question of how people are living today and how council should plan for the future. She is concerned that zoning for the future might be impacted by the needs of the community zoning today. She wishes Eugene and Springfield were split regarding the study. Councilor Burge said medium density does not have to be just investment level housing. Councilor Shaver said you can have buffer zones between zoning and place separate sewer, power, etc. to provide for future condominium development. He said this type of a scenario would service today's needs with future developments in mind. Mr. Mott discussed the population expectations for the year 2015. He said this estimate was between 70,000 - 75,000, inside the city limits of Springfield. He said the city should be able to accommodate that increased population within the city limits with the land use designations as shown in the Metro Plan map. He said m9st elements of the plan are geared towards the population figures and if too many changes are made to the residential inventory, then changes would occur to other zones and the services which they may be able to provide to the residential citizens. . Councilor Maine said this is a design issue. She said not everyone wants to live in a single family dwelling and the city should attract certain developers who place buffers and livability issues first for residential areas. Mayor Morrisette said staff should not develop high or medium density in the fringe area, outside of the city limits. He suggested placing higher density in the limits and use more bus transit. Council discussed zoning density and the future development of Springfield in detail. Councilor Burge discussed the benefits of multi-family developments. Councilor Shaver agreed that there was a need to increase the quality of multi-family developments. Maybe some higher density should be moved to Eugene. Councilor Ballew discussed the need for balance between commercial and industrial, not residential. Councilor Burge explained the cost difference between residential, commercial and industrial, which was not much different. Councilor Beyer shared many of the same concerns stated by Councilor Ballew. Councilor Shaver said this was the appropriate time to respond and provide input. The state will not let Eugene/Springfield out of periodic review until the process is completed. Mr. Mott said the state does not compare the two cities, but the plan area itself is in compliance with the state land use goals. Mr. Mott said the findings used show that the City is using state-accepted methodology to forecast population and employment. . . . City of Springfield Work Session - 6/23/97 Page 5 . Mr. Mott stated the plan needs to show the natural evolution of the commercial development. He said the increase of each of the zones must show, at a metropolitan level, that the city is in compliance with State Goal 10, which is housing. Mr. Mott said the dialogue needs to begin now if Springfield wants to change future zonings. Council also discussed inventory changing and how that would affect the attributes which would influence future industries coming to Springfield. Staff said the Housing Task Force will meet in early July, following development of the policy discussion. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 9:00 p.m. Minutes Recorder - Shari Higgins/Julie Wilson b/~/zkf# Mayor . ATTEST: ~ j Jul !Wilson City ecorder "- ~ .