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Minutes - 02/12/2004Spokane Valley Planning Commission Approved Minutes Council Chambers -City 1_ all 1.1707 E. Sprague Ave. February 12, 2004 1. II. CAL.1:, 'I'O ORDER Bill Gothmann, Planning Commission Chair, called the meeting to order at 6:30 p.m. PLEDGE, OF ALLEGIANCE The Commission, audience, and staff recited the fledge of Allegiance. ROLL CALL Fred Beaulac - Present Bob Blum - Present David Crosby - Present Gail Kogle - Present Dill Gothmann - Present lan Robertson - Present John G. Carroll - Present 1V. APPROVAL. OF AGENDA Commissioner Carroll moved that the February 12, 2004 ahenda be approved as presented. Commissioner Robertson seconded the motion. i1fotion passed unaninrou.sly. V. APPROVAL: OF M- MUTES It etas moved by Commissioner Robertson and seconded by Commissioner Beaulac that the minutes of the.Ianuary 22, 2004 Planning Commission meeting he approved as presented. Motion passed unanimously. VI. PUBLIC COMMENT There was no public comment. V11. COMMISSION REPORTS Corn]"issiOner Robertson is a member of the Central Valley Weed and Seed Project Steering Committee. The Greenacres area has been targeted for a potential 5240,000 annual grant, extending over five years. Weed and Seed Projects strive to weed out crime and seed positive community programs in order to provide a safe haven for area children. Central Valley SCOPE will be the official non-profit agency to handle the grant funds. Commissioner Kogle attended the Light Rail Citizens Advisory Committee. She received some handouts at that meeting that she wants to share with Commissioners, and will get them to -Vls. Alley for duplication and distribution. Commissioner Beaulac noted a recent newspaper comparison between the City of Spokane Valley and the City of Lakewood on the Washington Coast. One ofthe w techii.iques the Cjty of Lakewood used to develop their Comp Plan was taking picturea of w1iat they likEd and disliked about their city. He has a copy of the y Lakewood Comp Plan on CD. Copies of the Lakewood Plan will be made available to all interested Commissioners. Commissioner othmann attended the Mayor's recent community meeting in the Greenacres area- The (liscussion centered around the Applewayl prague cuplet, he complimented the Mayor far aria rigiiig these types (A meetings- He also noted that the City of Spokane'VaIlcy's sign leas finally been installed on the signboard olhtside City Hall- 1{111. ADMINISTRATIVE REPORTS Director Suku1) repotted that the pity CounciI approved the reu) ni ni end ed change--s to the PIanjiing oliniriiWon l .uIes of Order. Two minor changes to pages 11 and 12 were made to the proposed FIoodpIain Ordinance. City Council advanced it to its second reading, Director uk:up asked i.6r one or more Commissioners to work with our Planning, staff., along with Planning staff and Comm issioners fi-orn the City of Spokane and Spokane Counter. to develop some plants for the Moran:Prai6e area. This task is estimated to take 3-4 %vecks of their time. ommi lion involvement was soLLght in setting up Citizen Participation rincetings thi-ougliotit the cor)-mi ur i ty kor astii stance with the Comp Plan process- Director Sukup encouraged Commission members who belong to social groups, churches, neighborhood associations or other contmuitity-based service 0 zgal-6ZatirmS to help set up meetings for staff to give a presentation on the Comp flan process. Gomm istiioriei-. obertsOn volunteered to work w1th Director Sukup nn this project, Conimissianer Crosby voIuriteered to set up some meetings wI th groups of Realtors. The Lake,vood Comp Plan idea, of gathering pi dares fi-orn 66 ens of what they like and dislike about the City of Spokane Valley might be a good resource for prepay-ng the presentaticns and, ultimately, the Comp :P lan. The ommission was asked to suhmit survey topics relevant to the Comp Plan- There will be a third Joint Meeting with the City Council and the Planning Commission on February 23; 2004; at 6:00 p.m. in the Council Chambers. Commissioners were encouraged to answer the survey sent to them by the Deputy City ililanager in preparation 1-6r this rneehn,g. Mr. McConrliek has received confirn7ution of attendance from all orruni:ssioners except Mr, Robertson quid Mr. Carroll- There will be Visioning Task Force rn eetirigs on Febniary 18'11 and 19`x` to revie earlier Couplet discussions. The Countywide Planning Policies are under review by the Planning Directors within Spokane County. This review was requested by the Steering Committee of Elected Officials. The review process is expected to take about six weeks. A second Code Enforcement officer is scheduled to be hired within the next month. Over 100 applications for the position were received. A fiill-time Administrative Assistant will be hired for the Public Works Department, which will free Ms. Alley to become the full-time Community Development Administrative Assistant. Ia. COi1'IMiSSiON BUSINESS A. 0.1:11:) BUSINESS: Continuation of International Building Code Public Hearing Conclusion Commissioner Gothmann opened the continuation of Commission deliberation regarding the proposal to adopt the International Building Code. Building Official. Tom Scholtens, explained to the Commission that one minor revision regarding the base flood elevation "plus one foot" was made to the Code since it was presented on January 22nd. Commissioners were satisfied that their questions from the last meeting were answered. Commissioner Beaulac asked if the adjoining Western States had adopted the International Building Code, and Mr. Scholtens assured them that many had already done so or were in the process of doing so. Commissioner Ifogle moved that the 111anniug Coninihodon recommend adoption of the International Building Code as presented, effective July 1, 2004, to the Ci.t), Council. Commissioner Robertson seconded the motion. Motion passed unanuuously. The Plaluning Commission thanked Mr. Scholtens for his good work on this matter. B. NEW BUSINESS: Public Hearing - Ordinance to Amend Spokane Valley Ordinance #40 and Spokane Valley Ordinance #41. Building Official, Toni Scholtens, gave the Planning Commission a brief overview of this proposal to delete current language and adopt the language found in the 2003 International Building Code with regard to sprinkler systems and fire safety. The present Ordinances #40 and #41 mandate fire sprinklers in all buildings containing over 8000 square feet of floor area. They also mandate retrofitting sprinklers in any building that has an addition put on which increases floor area above or beyond 5000 1 square feet. This is an overzealous approach to fire suppression, and there are alternative drays to provide for fire safety in larger buildings. Amending the present code will provide contractors a gentler transformation to the new code taking effect on July 1, 2004. This amendment will apply to new construction as well as alterations to existing buildings. The Hearing was opened to Public Testimony at 7:10 p.m. There was no public testimony on this proposed amendment. Commissioner Carroll wanted to make certain that the new Building Code contains adequate (ire suppression regulations. Director Sukup and Building Official; Seholtens, assured him that it does. It »vas moved by Commissioner Crosby that the Planning Commission recommend approval of the amendments to Ordinances #40 and #4.1, as presented, to the City Council. Commission Blum seconded the â–ºnotlon. Motion passed unanimously. X. FOR TUE GOOD OF THE ORDER The next Planning Commission meeting will be held on Thursday, February 26, 2004 at 6:30 p.m. Commissioner Robertson will not be in attendance. Commissioner Crosby initiated a discussion regarding Planning Commissioners' discretion when speaking to the public regarding their personal thoughts and agendas. He and several other Commissioners fear that the voice of one Commissioner is often construed as the voice of the entire Commission, when in fact this is seldom the case. Cop}ring emails to a large distribution list exacerbates this type of situation. Several Commissioners disagreed with this perception and voiced their thoughts on the subject. A lively debate followed. The Commission agreed that neutrality in soliciting and sharing information from the public is key to its mission. XI. AD.JOUR.NTAIENT There being no farther business, the meeting was adjourned at 735 p.m. SUBMITTED: ` Debi Alley, Administrative As APPROVED: illiam H. Gotlun tul, Chairman 4