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HomeMy WebLinkAbout06/25/2007 Work Session City of Springfield Work Session Meeting MINUTES OF THE WORK SESSION MEETING OF THE SPRINGFIELD CITY COUNCIL HELD MONDAY, JUNE 25, 2007 Ii The City of Springfield Council met in a work session in the Jesse Maine Meeting Room, 225 Fifth Street, Springfield, Oregon, on Monday, June 25,2007 at 5:33 p.m., with Mayor Leiken presiding. ATTENDANCE Present were Mayor Leiken and Councilors Lundberg, Wylie, Ballew, Ralston, Woodrow and Pishioneri. Also present were City Manager Gino Grimaldi, Assistant City Manager Jeff Towery, City Attorney Joe Leahy, City Recorder Amy Sowa and members of the staff. 1. Proposed Amendments to Article 26 - Hillside Development Overlay District Extending the Allowed Use of Densitv Transfer from South-Facing Slopes Onlvto All-Facing Slopes (Cluster Development). Planning Supervisor Mark Metzger presented the staff report on this item. Approximately 48% of Springfield's remaining inventory of residential land is affected by steep slopes. The Springfield Development Code allows for a transfer of the calculated number of homes that might be built on steep slopes to south-facing hillsides with slopes between fifteen and twenty- five percent through a "density transfer." Density transfer is proposed for use in the Heritage Park development (Gray-Jaqua property in South Thurston Hills) on a north-facing hillside to allow art exchange of higher density development on lower slopes and the preservation of the upper slopes for park land. The pre- development agreement signed by the City with the developer of the Gray-Jaqua property includes a provision allowing consideration of a density transfer on the north facing slope of the property, provided that such density transfer is consistent with the City's development code and land use regulations. Other developments are being considered in the Thurston Hills that would benefit from an expanded application of density transfer to north, east and west facing slopes. Density transfer has been allowed since the Development Code was first adopted in 1986. Attachment 2 provides background on the origins of Article 26. Public Works has indicated that there is no known design or safety rationale for limiting density transfer to south-facing slopes. Staff is proposing to extend the density transfer provision to north, west and east facing slopes of fifteen to twenty-five percent. All engineering and construction standards that have applied historically to development on south facing slopes would apply to the broader application of density transfer under the proposed revisions. The proposed changes to Article 26 include: 1) various changes needed to implement an extension of density transfer to all-facing hillsides with a slope of fifteen to twenty-five percent; 2) allowing "average slope" to be used when calculating the number of units eligible for density transfer; and 3) the addition of a requirement in the Development Code that the developer pay for "peer review" of the sophisticated geotechnical and engineering analysis by a consultant of the City's choice for hillside development in order to ensure safe development and stable slopes. The Planning Commission met three times between February and April 2007, to evaluate the safety and prudence of allowing the proposed expansion of density transfers. These meetings City of Springfield Council Work Session Minutes June 25, 2007 Page 2 spanned the time when the MountainGate slide was under scrutiny. Density transfer issues are not related to the circumstances of that slide. The Commission then voted unanimously to approve the changes to Article 26 found in Attachment 3 that will come before the Council at a public hearing on July 2nd. Councilor Ballew as~ed if the reason density transfers were only allowed for south facing properties had to do with the fact that it could dry out faster. Mr. Metzger said that may have been the original thought, but it would not be substantial. Councilor Pishioneri asked for clarification of the percentages. City Engineer Ken Vogeney said a one hundred percent slope was a forty-five degree slope. Councilor Pishioneri asked if the slopes were figured pre-development or pre-preparation. Mr. Metzger said it was an average slope formula and was calculated pre-development. There were already rules that governed grading and steepness of grade. Councilor Pishioneri asked if it mattered what the grade was, if the property owner or developer cut into the hillside to create a manmade slope. Mr. Metzger said the rules did not allow a slope to be taken down completely to a flat. The purpose of the hillside development was to preserve slopes and wooded areas and insure the right type of engineering went into those pr:ojects. Development Services Director Bill Grile said there were also rules regarding tree felling to prevent someone from going in to bulldoze a lot and changing the grade. Councilor Pishioneri asked how this would affect single lots. Mr. Metzger said a pad could be cut for one lot, but there would still be slopes adjacent to the lot. He gave an example of building a home on a twenty-five percent or greater slope. Councilor Woodrow asked what determined the south face of the slope. Mr. Metzger said it would be a ridgeline calculation. He referred to the map and explained how the properties were identified as south sloping. He discussed properties where the density transfer could occur in the Thurston Hills south-facing properties. This change would also allow density transfers on east or west facing properties. Councilor Woodrow asked how the developer would propose safe access to those types of lots, Mr. Metzger said the proposal would not affect current street design standards. Councilor Woodrow asked how much this change would affect our residential land inventory. Mr. Metzger said it would not affect much, but would rather allow the best use of the properties. He explained further. City of Springfield Council Work Session Minutes June 25, 2007 Page 3 Councilor Ralston said the percent of slope was confusing. He received clarification from Mr. Metzger. He suggested simplifying it so citizens could understand. He asked how much density was allowed on north facing property. Mr. Metzger said land with less than fifteen percent slope, could develop ten units per acre. Land with fifteen to twenty-five percent slope, would have less density because larger lots would be required. The maximum density allowed in the density transfer (cluster development) would be eight units per acre. Councilor Ralston asked if there was a slope that didn't allow construction. Mr. Metzger said anything above thirty-five percent required special conditions and larger lot SIze. Councilor Ralston said he didn't'want to deny someone building on a slope if they could afford it and wanted to. He wanted to keep that option open. Mr. Metzger said this didn't change any privilege the developers already had, but was an advantage to developers in certain situations with extreme slopes. He said he would include a table that converted percentage of slope into degrees in next week's agenda packet. Councilor Lundberg said this wouldn't change how people could currently develop. Mr. Metzger said that was correct. The design standards and engineering would remain the same. It was made clearer that the City could require peer review of those studies at developer expense. Councilor Lundberg asked if Council had to approve the company used for peer review. Mr. Metzger said the City would choose the consultant for the peer review. Councilor Lundberg asked if this change would increase our number of units. Mr. Metzger said they would not be increasing the number of total units, just transferring them. , Mr. Grile described how they calculated the level of slope to remain consistent. Councilor Pishioneri gave an example of a lot with flat areas and sloped. At what point did the footprint of a proposed house play into the calculation. Mr. Metzger said the standards were applied to the subdivision first, then individual lots. He explained. Single lot projects would be handled case by case. Councilor Ballew asked ifthe higher sloped areas were made up more of bedrock with thin layers of soil than other areas. City of Springfield Council Work Session Minutes June 25, 2007 Page 4 Mr. Metzger said he was not sure of all of those areas. He explained an area to South 79th that did have a lot of bedrock and the difficulty and expense of trying to put infrastructure into that type of terrain. He also discussed an area near Willamette Heights. Councilor Ballew asked if we were concerned about sliding as we build upon less buildable land. Mr. Metzger said that was a concern and that was why the City had strict building standards. Mayor Leiken thanked staff for their work on this because he felt it added more tools to the City's toolbox. Sometimes the developers were not the same as contractors. Often the developers put into place stringent CCR's so that people going in to purchase lots in sloped areas knew what they were getting into. The slides at Mountaingate showed us some things, such as what type of engineers needed to be involved. This change showed where Springfield was going in the future and getting us prepared for some outstanding projects. Councilor Lundberg asked how much hillside development was left in Springfield. Mr. Metzger said this tool would be used on a site by site basis. He explained. 2. Financial Planning for Capital Projects. Assistant Public Works Director Len Goodwin and Finance Director Bob Duey presented the staff report on this item. The City faces increasing challenges in keeping up with demand for new capital infrastructure. Current revenue sources do not generate sufficient funding. While the City has used debt financing and loans to supplement existing reserves and current revenues, those vehicles have been used as the need arises, without any clear policy. The City has also ' developed practices relating to annexation requirements to fund capital projects, again without any clear policy guidance. This flexibility made sense when the City was not yet growing rapidly and facing large scale infrastructure demands. In Fiscal Year 1991 the City's Capital budget was $13.8 million. Now, the Fiscal Year 2008 Capital Budget adopted last week is $123.3 million. In the face of such growth, which shows no sign of stopping, there will be an increasing need to rely on something other than pay as you go. The time has now come to develop some policy guidelines to guide future decision making. Staff will review the current vehicles used by the City to fund capital spending and give examples of some current problem areas that have arisen. Staff will also present some policy options for the Council's consideration and direction. Mr. Goodwin referred to three graphs included in the agenda packet as Attachment C. He explained how the funds had been brought in for projects to date. He noted there were a number of demands for infrastructure as the City continued to grow and develop. . There was no specific plan to come up with the right kind of money at the right time to make future projects happen. Mr. Goodwin noted an error in the chart in Attachment D, page 2 of 3. He distributed a corrected chart. Policies needed to be made regarding this issue. He discussed SDC' s and credits issued to developers in certain cases. Trunk sewers didn't fit into that equation and should be funded by the whole community that would be served. Staff would like general direction from Council on when to rely on user fees to fund capi~al construction and when to rely on growth funds, such as SDC's. It would also be helpful if there was an overall policy on what our revenue strategy City of Springfield Council Work Session Minutes June 25, 2007 Page 5 should be. Staff would like to have some direction to look for funds for future construction needs. He discussed the Justice Center and projects that may be coming forward in the future that would need a strategy. This would be a process that would take some time. Staff would be coming back after the first of the calendar year with a new methodology for SDC's and SDC rates. It would make sense to develop those in the context of an overall approach for developing those resources for our long term capital needs. Mr. Duey added that normally buildings weren't included in our capital improvement planning as was infrastructure. Buildings didn't have the same coordinated effort as infrastructure. Public Works had done a nice job of enhancing their maintenance facility by using dedicated resources to fund that project. The development of the Gateway area brought in specific funds to build the Fire and Life Safety (F&LS) department in that area to address the need of that growth. A bond measure was passed in 2005 for the Justice Center Project. There had been no action plan to maintain, move or rebuild current buildings. He discussed the replacement of Fire Station 1 and the potential to need to move Fire Station 4. Councilor Ralston referred to attachment C, page 2 of 3, in the agenda packet and asked for clarification on the revenues. Mr. Goodwin explained; Councilor Ralston said on page 3 of 3 of that attachment, the sewer capital spending was hugely supported by user fees, while transportation was mostly funded by SDC's. He felt that was the way it should be, because development should pay the majority of their own way. There were other things that the City as a whole was responsible for. Councilor Ballew said this was a good idea. It was difficult because there were so many elements. The Capital Budget memo was a good thought provoker. Who benefits came into play when making these decisions. There was a fairness that needed to be done. The City was running out of cash, so this was important to look at. She would disagree that there were certain things that growth shouldn't have to pay for. Those that created expense should have to pay for it. Mr. Goodwin said they had the benefit of the regional plan implemented by MWMC. Councilor Wylie said the article included in the agenda packet as Attachment E seemed to support the "pay as you go" principles. She asked if there was a cost break when dealing with millions of dollars, not only how to pay for it, but how to pay it off. There needed to be a cost break on what would be acceptable to debt finance rather than pay as you go. The City has a harder time using assets for back-up than private businesses. Mr. Goodwin agreed and said the balance was impor):imt. Councilor Ballew said we were becoming a bigger city and more complex. The City hadn't used a lot of sophisticated financing tools in the past. It was time to look at some of those options. Mayor Leiken said the City had benefited by going out and forming committees, He felt it was important to continue the idea of watching what development paid for and look at long term strategies. The city needed to tap into citizens for ideas and input. He discussed HB3337 and the affect it has had on our community and the input he has received. He recommended staff tap into the different ideas and think outside the box. Go out and talk to those with a stake in this. The Street Fund issue would also be coming up again. He suggested tapping into commercial City of Springfield Council Work Session Minutes June 25, 2007 Page 6 industrial developers. The Council had the confidence of the citizens of the community. He would like to see a committee formed that included a Councilor, Planning Commissioner, and a Budget Committee person. We have had good success with that approach. Council could rely on staff to get it started and bring in those people. Councilor Wylie asked if any Federal loan programs were available. Mr. Goodwin said most Federal programs were no longer available. Occasionally transportation funds were available, but those were also shrinking and based on politics. The City needed to develop their own reserves and look for opportunities for grants and funding. Mayor Leiken said that was why we needed to rely on the entire community. Councilor Ballew asked staff to bring forward an inventory of capital projects for the future that included public buildings, sewers, fixed assets, etc., and financing tools and options for each item. She would like to see a brief explanation of each of the financing tools. Mr. Goodwin suggested trying mixed approaches. Staff was in the process of developing a number of master plans. Those would be ready for discussion towards the end of the year. In the meantime, they may talk about some of the alternatives and vehicles that may be available and more general background from the City's financial advisor and Finance Director. Staff could bring the project list to Council and then try to match those funding tools to each. Councilor Wylie suggested contacting other finance directors in other jurisdictions for ideas. Councilor Lundberg said the issues to consider were user debt, how much developers would pay, user fees vs. SDC's, and keeping with inflation. She suggested having 2 on 2's for clarification as they got more information on a project list. She suggested meeting one on one with bigger developers in the community to get their feedback regarding SDC's and fees. Maybe after getting a project list, the committee could be formed. She suggested also including people from the financial community to be on the committee. Councilor Ballew suggested also fmding examples of public financing. Mr. Goodwin said a work plan would be brought to Council shortly after the summer recess. Councilor Wylie asked about $50,000 study for condition of assets. She asked about the status of that study. Maintenance Manager Ed Black said we currently had a system for infrastructure management called the Hanson System. They had modules for asset management and staff was looking at the possibility of using the Hanson System for other assets. Staff would be coming back to Council in September regarding asset management. 3. Intergovernmental Agreement with Lane Transit District. Assistant Public Works Director Len Goodwin presented the staff report on this item. As L TD enters the detail design process for the Phase II EmX route, it is desirable to determine the long- City of Springfield Council Work Session Minutes June 25, 2007 Page 7 range relationship between L TD and the City with respect to operations and maintenance, so that the design can reflect those understandings. Phase II of EmX, approved by the Council in concept in late 2006 is now beginning design. Since some aspects of that design may hinge on how the system is to be operated and maintained. Staff seeks general guidance and policy direction from Council before entering into negotiations with LTD. Mr. Goodwin noted that there were representatives from L TD in the audience. He asked that Council provide staff direction on this agreement. He didn't see any real issues with this. One issue that could be contention could be the possibility of charging a fee for useofright-of-way. Doing so would be a novel approach, and staff was not recommending it. I' Councilor Ballew said the City would have additional costs and should be reimbursed. Perhaps rather than charging for right-of-way, there could be another reimbursement for expenses. Councilor Ralston referred to Attachment A, page 2 of 4, in the agenda packet regarding Funding of Maintenance of Em X Facilities. He asked ifLTD was eligible to use the City's fuel tax funds. Mr. Goodwin said in theory that was correct, but neither LTD nor City staff were recommending use of the fuel tax. It was recommended that L TD pay for the full cost of maintenance. Councilor Woodrow said he appreciated representatives from LTD being here. There were a lot of questions and he suggested Council meeting with staff in 2 on 2 meetings. Mr, Grimaldi said this could also be brought back tO,Council in an Executive Session so the entire Council would be there together. Councilor Woodrow said 2 on 2's would allow more time for each councilor. Councilor Ralston said he was fine with the answers in the packet. Mr. Goodwin said staff would be prepared to answer Council's questions in any form they chose. Councilor Wylie asked about the timeline on this agreement. Mr. Goodwin said it would be helpful to get this finished as quickly as possible. L TD was preparing to submit 30 percent plans on their design sometime in the fall. In part, L TD would want to know, as part of their design, if the City was looking at anything unusual in terms of how the system was operated and maintained. They would want to incorporate that into their design. From both the City andLTD's perspective it would be better to know as soon as possible the different responsibilities of each agency before looking at the final plan. This didn't need to be resolved tonight, but it would be beneficial to have the discussions during Council's summer break. Councilor Ballew asked how soon information would be available on the amount of funds for maintenance costs and operations. City of Springfield Council Work Session Minutes June 25, 2007 Page 8 Mr. Goodwin said the actual costs would be later than October. That was not significant if L TD paid for or reimbursed the City for the costs. If there were areas the City would need to pick up the costs, that would need to be determined earlier, but that was not the preferred approach by staff. Councilor Pishioneri said he understood each response in the agenda packet, but there were no options given regarding impacts of each response. He gave examples. He would like to hear how both agencies would benefit. Councilor Lundberg said she would be in favor of putting this off for awhile, She just attended a stakeholder meeting for the Gateway/Beltline intersection. The maps showing the intersection and the bus route had never been overlaid. She was concerned that the maps didn't line up. Once the maps were lined up, discussions needed to be held regarding ingress and egress issues. The Stakeholders were meeting again in August. Some of her questions would come out of some of those further discussions. Council should take a look at where everything was to be located. Mr. Grimaldi asked if Council wanted to see the design issues brought forward with the IGA. Mr. Goodwin said staff had considered having multiple IGA's, each relating to separate issues. He asked if that was appropriate. Councilor Lundberg said there would be questions regarding the maintenance once the design was determined. There were a variety of stops? people and other issues that needed to be dealt with. Council should be able to look at what came out of those meetings once they returned from break. Councilor Ralston felt Council was getting bogged down looking at the design issues rather than the operating costs. This IGA was about policy implications on who would pay for each item. He said he wanted to be involved in the design issues as well. Councilor Pishioneri said he approved of most of the items in the IGA, but had some questions on a few of them. Mr. Grimaldi asked if it would help if there was more detail. Councilor Pishioneri said he would understand it better if options were shown for each choice. Mr. Grimaldi saId it sounded like he wanted information on what costs the City was incurring and what costs we were recovering. Councilor Ballew asked if Council wanted an Executive Session or 2 on 2's. Discussion was held regarding the best format for further discussion on this item. Mayor Leiken asked if an Executive Session could be scheduled before Council went on break. The City Recorder gave some options for an upcoming date. City of Springfield Council Work Session Minutes June 25, 2007 Page 9 Mr. Goodwin offered to have staff sit down with any councilors that had 'questions so those could be addressed during the Executive Session. Mr. Leahy said the vehicle for the Executive Session would be the IGA. Broad policy issues with L TD would not be appropriate for discussion during the Executive Session unless they reflected in the agreement design of the system. Mayor Leiken said that wouldn't be the case, but rather focused conversation about the IGA. Councilor Ballew asked if staff would have a draft IGA available for the Executive Session. Mr. Goodwin said they could. Mr. Grimaldi said they would provide language that covered the topics at a minimum. 4, Enhanced Automatic Aid (Three Battalion System). Fire Chief Dennis Murphy presented the staff report on this item. For more than 20 years Springfield and Eugene fire departments have cooperated in response to emergencies along the boundaries of both cities by sending the closest fire apparatus, regardless of jurisdiction. Fire chiefs and city managers of both cities agree that enhancing the areas served by automatic aid through integrating response capacities will result in significant improvement of service levels to citizens of Springfield and Eugene. The enhancements will not result in increases to budgets of either jurisdiction. Proposed implementation is July 2, 2007. Enhancements to the automatic aid program are based upon years of experience and data that confirms that both cities infrequently experience major emergencies such as large fires or multi- casualty motor vehicle crashes at the same time. As a result, either jurisdiction can increase resources available for immediate dispatch by temporarily "borrowing" resources from the other. Vehicles and emergency crews are moved as needed to make the fastest response while maintaining readiness across both cities to respond to increasing demand. The enhanced program is considered a "working agreement." No payments are made by either party and it does not require a formal intergovernmental agreement. Changes may be made at any time as needed. Since there is a notable improvement in service to the citizens of both communities without a corresponding increase in budget, it fits well with Council goals in both cities and is generally viewed as "smart government." The purpose of the Enhanced Automatic Aid (Three Battalion System) is to provide the Springfield and Eugene communities with the following benefits: . Expand the "demand surge capacity" of both jurisdictions without subsidy · Improve service to citizens in both communities by improving speed of response and depth of coverage · Improve safety of emergency crews by providing more personnel available sooner for high risklhigh hazard incidents · Enhance the efficiency of operations through standardized procedures and joint training In the event that major emergencies occur in both communities at the same time, Springfield and Eugene will request additional help from off-duty personnel and outside agencies. City of Springfield Council Wark Session Minutes June 25, 2007 Page 10 Chief Murphy described how this would enhance service for Springfield and Eugene. He discussed the importance of having this in place by the time the Olympic Trials were held in Eugene in June 2008. He noted that if Council directed staffto go forward with this plan, it would go live on July 2,2007. Chief Murphy pointed out that this was something that Eugene and Springfield did well together. He said both City Managers, Fire Chiefs, unions and all of the employees agreed this was a win for everyone. Mayor Leiken said it was great to see the two departments working so well together. Chief Murphy applauded leadership in both Eugene and Springfield. Councilor Pishioneri said this was a good thing and he had nothing against it. It was a good use of resources and would lend itself to more integrated training. He just cautioned that down the road, things could change and Eugene could redeploy or move their resources. He didn't want to see that create an added burden on Springfield's system. It was a fantastic idea. Chief Murphy said there were no IGA's, and if problems came along, adjustments could be made or Springfield could pull out. Councilor Ralston said he enjoyed listening to Chief Murphy present. He noted that it wouldn't cost more, was likely to reduce duplication of services, provided better services, and maintained our own identity. Councilor Wylie agreed it was wonderful. It multiplied the response times, helped citizens and was good for morale. Disaster preparedness was important and in working together, everyone was so much more prepared. Council commended staff on this and approved of them moving forward. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at7:18 pm. Minutes Recorder - Amy Sowa Attest: Pun~l~ City Recorder