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HomeMy WebLinkAbout10/24/2011 Work SessionCity of Springfield Work Session Meeting MINUTES OF THE WORK SESSION/TOUR OF THE SPRINGFIELD CITY COUNCIL HELD MONDAY, OCTOBER 24, 2011 The City of Springfield Council took an all day tour of the Hillsboro, Oregon area on Monday, October 24; 2011 starting at 8:00 a.m. ATTENDANCE Present were Mayor Lundberg and Councilors Pishioneri, VanGordon, Wylie, Moore, and Woodrow. Present from the Planning Commission were Planning Commission Chair Johnny Kirschenmann, and Commissioners Salladay and Bean. Also present were City Manager Gino Grimaldi, Assistant City Manager Jeff Towery, Community Relations Manager Niel Laudati, Community Development Manager John Tamulonis, Assistant Public Works Director Len Goodwin, Transportation Manager Tom Boyatt, Planning Supervisor Linda Pauly, Planner Gary Karp, Fire Marshal Al Gerard, Planning Secretary Brenda Jones and City Recorder Amy Sowa. Councilor Ralston was absent (excused). 1. Tour of the Streets of Tanasbourne, Orenco Station and Hillsboro Civic Center. The Mayor and Council, Planning Commission members and City staff boarded a Willamalane bus and left City Hall at approximately 8:15 a.m. The bus arrived in the parking lot of Tanasboume Stanford's at approximately 10:40 a.m. and was greeted by Project Manager Debbie Raber and Planning Supervisor Colin Cooper from the City of Hillsboro. Ms. Raber and Mr. Cooper provided materials about the different developments Springfield staff and elected officials would be seeing on their tour of Hillsboro. Ms. Raber and Mr. Cooper joined Springfield staff and elected officials on the bus for a brief driving tour of the Tanasbourne industrial area. Standard Insurance purchased the property and created "Tanasboume" in the early 1980's as a real estate investment. Standard provided funding for all of the infrastructure, making the area development ready. This development was mixed-use including industrial, residential (multi-family) and commercial. Everyone left the bus and took a brief walking tour on the Streets of Tanasbourne. This area included commercial and retail and an area set up like a Main Street with narrow one-way streets. There were larger stores around the perimeter and smaller local shops lining the one-way streets. Minimal parking was on the streets, with the majority of the parking in parking garages outside the "Main Street" area. The group then took the bus to AmberGlen where they disembarked for another walking tour. AmberGlen included 700+ units of affordable housing, as well as other housing types. It included a large expanse of undeveloped land that had all of the infrastructure in place and was ready for development. This development was funded by Birtcher Development and Investments and State Farm Insurance. Neither the Tanasbourne development nor the AmberGlen development had included public funding. One of the Councilors asked if Hillsboro had separate districts for some of their services City of Springfield Council Work Session Minutes October 24, 2011 Page 2 Ms. Raber said Hillsboro was a full service City, which included a fire department, police department, library and parks department. The group broke for lunch from 12:30-1:30pm at Bugatti's Restaurant. Mr. Cooper left the group and returned to Hillsboro Civic Center. The group got back on the bus and went to Rosebay Park in Orenco Station. All but two councilors disembarked from the bus for a longer walking tour of this area. This park was surrounded by. multi- family housing, and included a large expanse and an area with playground equipment for families. Ms. Raber provided background information on this development and how it came to fruition. Ms. Raber noted the challenges of having multiple owners rather than a single owner when working on this type of development. The group walked to Central Park, which was a long and narrow rectangular park, and then through the surrounding neighborhood. There were a number of single family detached homes which had driveway and garage access from the back side along an alley. Ms. Raber explained the shared easement between the homes. Throughout parts of this area, the streets were very narrow and were called `skinny streets'. As the group proceeded on their tour, they approached Connell Avenue, a five-lane street with high level traffic counts. It was pointed out. that rather than expand the number of lanes as traffic increased, they were able to build additional parallel streets to take some of the traffic flow. Ms. Raber noted that Orenco Station had maximum setbacks, rather than minimum setbacks; .and maximum parking, rather than minimum parking. That was a different concept for many developers. The group boarded the Light Rail to downtown Central Station. There they were greeted by Hillsboro Council President Aron Carleton and Hillsboro Economic Development Department Director John Southgate, who welcomed them and provided some information regarding downtown Hillsboro. As they walked towards the Civic Center, Ms. Carleton and Mr. Southgate pointed out some of the improvements made to the downtown area, including the renovation and expansion of a historic theater. Facilities and Fleet Project Manager Karl Dinger from the City of Hillsboro provided an informational tour of the Hillsboro Civic Center. The group went through the Council Chambers and up to the administrative floor, viewing a conference room and the Mayor's Office. They then went to the fourth floor to tour the Planning Department. At about 4:45 p.m., the group boarded the bus and travelled to Cornelius Pass Roadhouse for dinner. Dinner was from approximately 5:10 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. Following dinner, the group boarded the bus for the trip back to Springfield. ADJOURNMENT The bus arrived at Springfield City Hall at approximately 8:15 p.m. where the group was dismissed. Minutes Recorder - Amy Sowa City of Springfield Council Work Session Minutes October 24, 2011 Page 3 Attest: Amy Sow City Reco er Christine L. Lundberg Mayor