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2007, 12-11 Regular Meeting MinutesMayor Wilhite called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m., and welcomed everyone to the 129 meeting. Attendance: Diana Wilhite, Mayor Steve Taylor, Deputy Mayor Dick Denenny, Councilmember Mike DeVleming, Councilmember Bill Gothmann, Councilmember Rich Munson, Councilmember Gary Schimmels, Councilmember MINUTES City of Spokane Valley City Council Regular Meeting Tuesday, December 11, 2007 City Staff: Dave Mercier, City Manager Mike Connelly, City Attorney Mike Jackson, Deputy City Manager Ken Thompson, Finance Director Neil Kersten, Public Works Director Kathy McClung, Community Development Dir. Greg McCormick, Planning Manager Mike Basinger, Assistant Planner Morgan Koudelka, Sr. Administrative Analyst Chris Bainbridge, City Clerk INVOCATION: Pastor Cole of Wesleyan Church gave the invocation. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE: Mayor Wilhite led the pledge of allegiance. ROLL CALL: City Clerk Bainbridge called roll; all councilmembers were present. APPROVAL OF AGENDA: It was moved by Deputy Mayor Taylor, seconded and unanimously agreed to approve the agenda as submitted INTRODUCTION OF SPECIAL GUESTS AND PRESENTATIONS: N/A COMMITTEE, BOARD, LIAISON SUMMARY REPORTS: Councilmember Denenny said he attended the recent Health Board meeting, and an open house at Fairchild. Deputy Mayor Taylor mentioned he held the second meeting of the Lodging Tax advisory committee and will report more on that later. Councilmember Gothmann mentioned he also attended the Health Board Meeting. Councilmember Munson reported that he chaired the Spokane Transit Authority Operations and Administrative Committee last week, and that they are slated to buy twenty -five new buses in conjunction with another municipality; that he also chaired a meeting for the Association of Washington Cities dealing with climate control, which issue will be discussed during the State legislative session this year. Councilmember DeVleming said he also attended the Fairchild open house, and his last 911 Board meeting today, which discussed crime check. MAYOR'S REPORT: Mayor Wilhite reported that she went to the Fairchild open house; and a housing affordability conference. PUBLIC COMMENTS: Mayor Wilhite invited public comment; no comments were offered. 1. PUBLIC HEARING: Uniform Development Code Emergency Ordinance — Mike Connelly Mayor Wilhite opened the public hearing at 6:09 p.m. and invited City Attorney Connelly to the podium. Mr. Connelly explained that on November 7 Council passed interim ordinance 07 -025 in order to supplement the Uniform Development Code (UDC) which became effective October 28; that the ordinance addressed the use of recreational vehicles, accessory dwelling units, setbacks, and future acquisition areas. Mayor Wilhite invited public comment; no comments were offered and Mayor Wilhite closed the public hearing at 6:11 p.m. Council Regular Meeting: 12 -11 -07 Page 1 of 9 Approved by Council: 01 -08 -08 2. CONSENT AGENDA: Consists of items considered routine which are approved as a group. A Councilmember may remove an item from the Consent Agenda to be considered separately. a. Following Claim Vouchers: Voucher List Dated 11 -30 -2007 b. Payroll for Period Ending November 30, 2007: $274,137.33 c. Minutes of November 7, 2007 Special Council Meeting d. Minutes of November 20, 2007 Special Joint Meeting, Council and Planning Commission e. Minutes of November 27, 2007 Regular Council Meeting f. Resolution 07 -019 Amending Resolution 03 -027 Core Beliefs g. Resolution 07 -020 Amending Resolution 06 -022 Governance manual h. Approval of Re- licensing Grant Application It was moved by Deputy Mayor Taylor, seconded and unanimously agreed to approve the Consent Agenda. NEW BUSINESS: 3. First Reading Ordinance 07 -026 Adopting Comprehensive Plan Text Amendments — Greg McCormick / Mike Basinger After City Clerk Bainbridge read the ordinance title, it was moved by Deputy Mayor Taylor and seconded to advance ordinance 07 -026 to a second reading. Planning Manager McCormick explained that this is the first of two readings necessary to adopt the changes to the Comprehensive Plan Text as shown in red- line version and as discussed previously for Chapter 3 Transportation, and Chapter 4 Capital Facilities and Public Services. Concerning a previous question regarding changes proposed to Pines south of 16 it was explained that the downgrading from a minor arterial to a collector is proposed to make it match federal designations and have the area designations consistent; that it does not change anything regarding future funding, and at this point there is no plan in the Transportation Improvement Plan to improve the road. Mayor Wilhite invited public comment; no comments were offered. Vote by Acclamation: In Favor: Unanimous. Opposed: None. Abstentions: None. Motion carried. 4. First Reading Ordinance 07 -027 Adopting Zoning map Amendments — Greg McCormick / Mike Basinger After City Clerk Bainbridge read the ordinance title, it was moved by Deputy Mayor Taylor and seconded to advance Ordinance 07 -027 to a second reading. Associate Planner Basinger went over each proposed change. It was also mentioned that the e -mail from Mr. Worley regarding the Pines road mentioned in the previous agenda item, and the response from Community Development Director McClung concerning CPA -04 -07 would be given later to the Clerk to include as part of the record; and Mr. Basinger reminded Council that CPA -02 -07 was withdrawn. The following are the proposed changes and public comments: CPA 01 - 07: Parcel 45261.0707 at 1607 S Sullivan Road; change from low density residential to neighborhood commercial. Mayor Wilhite invited public comments. Patrick, McCarthy, 15530 E 20 stated that he attended the Planning Commission meeting and is opposed to this change to a commercial lot; and that this would be the first commercial lot south of 16 which is all residential. Doug Gore, NW Renovators, Liberty Lake: said he feels this does not belong as single family residential any more; and that the Planning Commission agreed this does not belong as that designation either; that traffic has made it hazardous as morning traffic competes with school buses; that it endangers the public health, and should be changed as recommended as the area is not big enough for anything other than a small commercial entity. Council Regular Meeting: 12 -11 -07 Page 2 of 9 Approved by Council: 01 -08 -08 Michael Lee, Post Office Box 885, Liberty Lake: said in working with the City for the last year and going through the process to evaluate that parcel, he feels the recommendation of neighborhood commercial fits and meets the criteria, that it would not be good as light industrial or regional commercial; and stated support of staff's work to change this to neighborhood commercial. CPA 03 -07: various parcels located on the northwest corner of Pines and 32n change from Neighborhood Commercial to High Density. Mayor Wilhite invited public comment; no comments were offered. CPA 04 -07: various parcels east side of Pines, North of Mansfield Road, change from high density residential to Office. Mayor Wilhite invited public comment; no comments were offered. The November 29 letter from Kathleen Ames was mentioned as was Community Development Director McClung's response to that letter; that staff spoke with Ms. Ames and came to agreement concerning the office designation, as the office zone permits fueling stations and convenience stores as an accessory use. CPA 05 -07: Parcel 55083.6401 at 1612 N Barker Road; change from Low Density Residential to Neighborhood Commercial. Mayor Wilhite invited public comment; no comments were offered. CPA 06 -07: Parcel 45154.1717 at 102 N McDonald Road; change from Low Density Residential to Corridor Mixed -Use. Mayor Wilhite invited public comment; no comments were offered. CPA 07 -07 Parcel 45184.0116 and 45184.0101 at 8910 E Broadway and 711 N Argonne Road; change from office to High Density Residential. In public comment, Chris Bornhoft said he owns the property on the corner of Broadway and Argonne and supports the change. There were no other public comments. CPA 08 -07 Parcel 45181.1224 at 9015 E. Cataldo Avenue; change from Office to High Density Residential. Mayor Wilhite invited public comment; no comments were offered. CPA 09 -07 Parcel 45153.1715 at 512 N Pines Road; change from Office to High Density Residential. Mr. Basinger mentioned this is HUD housing for disabled seniors. Mayor Wilhite invited public comment; no comments were offered. CPA 10 -07 Part of the Barker /I -90 interchange; about 96 acres in size. The request is to change from Corridor Mixed -Use to Regional Commercial, except for a small residential tract located in the southwest portion of the proposed amendment, which the Planning Commission recommended be designated as Low Density Residential. Mayor Wilhite invited public comment. Lisa Thompson, 506 N Greenacres Road: said she is opposed to the change and requests that the area be "left alone." That this was changed before and she did not know of that change until this proposed change, and mentioned that even some of the Planning Commission members felt it should be reverted to low density residential. Diane Stavish, N 511 Greenacres Road: said she lives on this side of Barker; that she was not happy that the change from mixed commercial to regional commercial was "snuck in" as she thought it was still residential; she said that people are upset; and that they are just a little family residential neighborhood and don't even have sidewalks or sewers; and asks that the area be left as it is. Bonnie Owens, N 421 Greenacres Road: said she has lived there for 36 years and is opposed to the change; and suggested changing land north of the freeway and /or east of Hooters as that is not being used and could change to commercial without "taking out a neighborhood." Council Regular Meeting: 12 -11 -07 Page 3 of 9 Approved by Council: 01 -08 -08 David Burgess, 18022 E Alki: spoke in opposition to this change; he asked what would happen to Broadway as far as being a major arterial, to which Mayor Wilhite said she would have to look at the master street plan; and Deputy Mayor Taylor stated that normally when development goes in, conditions are placed on that development project, but it is difficult to suppose what might happen now as no projects are pending for that area. Mr. Burgess said Alki could not handle being a major arterial. John Fredrick 818 Greenacres Road; asked who is pushing for all this change and why; that they have nice houses there and want to know who is trying to run them off. Hugh Thompson, 18305 E Broadway said he has lived there for 44 years, and if council raises his property taxes it might bankrupt him; that he is opposed to this and is not the only one who feels that way; and can't understand how the area shown on the map in purple could remain residential with the rest commercial. Wes Beck, 19105 E Alki: said he lives further down Alki; that he lives in a house and not a business; and that it is his understanding that if a dwelling is in a commercial area, you can't get a loan on it and it would be useless to re -sell as a house; and if the area is too small for commercial, then you have nothing, so you would have made someone's home worthless. He said that the purple square wasn't originally in there, but that he remains concerned about being zoned commercial. Greg Hicks, 18615 Alki: explained that he has lived there 31 years; and said he was offended by one of the Planning Commission members at the November 8 meeting when one of the Commissioners stated that owners can sell out for a profit and move wherever they want; but he stated that he now lives where he wants to be. Hugh Dyche, 707 N Greenacres Road: stated that the residential community is now isolated in a commercial area, and unless you give that residential area the freedom that it now has, Council will eventually "root them out," which is what this plan alteration is doing; so they will eventually be surrounded by commercial, and by traffic, and by trucks, and it won't be a nice community any more. CPA 11 -07: Parcel 35124.2504 and 2606 at 7320 E Nora Avenue; the area is currently a soccer facility, and the request is to change from Public /Quasi - Public to Light Industrial. Mayor Wilhite invited public comment; no comments were offered. CPA 12 -07: Parcel 45183.0405 at 7816 E Broadway Avenue; change from High Density Residential to Office. Mayor Wilhite invited public comment; no comments were offered. CPA 13 -07 east of Pines between Pinecroft and Trent; change from Public /Quasi - Public to Mixed Use. Mayor Wilhite invited public comment. Wes Beck, 19105 E Alki: there was brief discussion between Mr. Beck and staff and Council to answer the question of who puts through these requests when it stated the request is made by Spokane Valley: is it the people or staff. Mr. Basinger explained that that means that no one paid a fee to initiate this change; that either staff noted an error or a citizen brought the matter to staff's attention noticing an inconsistency. CPA 14 -07: Parcel 45161.0246 at 12006 E Mission Avenue; change from Public /Quasi - Public to Office. Mayor Wilhite invited public comment; no comments were offered. CPA 15 -07 Parcel 45223.9210 at 12912 E 12 Avenue; change from Public /Quasi - Public to High Density Residential. Mayor Wilhite invited public comment; no comments were offered. Council Regular Meeting: 12 -11 -07 Page 4 of 9 Approved by Council: 01 -08 -08 CPA 16 -07 Parcel 55182.0103 at 1409 N Long Road; change from Public /Quasi - Public to Low Density Residential. Mayor Wilhite invited public comment; no comments were offered. CPA 17 -07 Parcel 45214.2531 at 924 S Pines Road; change from low Density Residential to Corridor Mixed Use. Mayor Wilhite invited public comment; no comments were offered. Concerning CPA 10 -07, Mr. Basinger stated that staff assumed this property located off the interchange would be for regional type uses; that obviously Barker and I -90 are not completely commercial uses now, but these changes are part of a vision to see if we can convert this to a regional designation, noting that some uses are not conducive to that area. Councilmember Munson stated that if an area goes through a zone change, that doesn't mean the residents must move; and that concerning how the property is taxed, that method of taxation appears to remain a mystery, and that there is no guarantee people will see a change in property taxes if the zoning gets changed, and that no one is "throwing people off their property or making people move." Mr. Basinger noted that the property is currently zoned commercial. Council then discussed the individual recommendations: CPA 01 -07: Council concurred to leave this as recommended, noting that based on size and location it would not be a good location for a home or for children playing in the yard, and the better use would be to change to small commercial. CPA 03 -07 through CPA 09 -07, and 11 -07 through 17 -07: Council concurred with staff recommendations. CPA 10 -07: Council consensus (except from Councilmember DeVleming) to change as recommended; there was mention that people generally have commercial activity near interstate on and off ramps; and that staff is correct to call this regional commercial; that no one will have to move and staff and the Planning Commission did a good job of designating that residential portion. Vote by acclamation on the motion to advance the ordinance to a second reading: In Favor: Unanimous. Opposed: None. Abstentions: None. Motion carried. Deputy Mayor Taylor reminded members of the public that next week's second reading of the ordinance will also allow for public comment. Mayor Wilhite called for a recess at 7:30 p.m. and reconvened the meeting at 7:40 p.m. 5. Proposed Resolution 07 -021 Landworks Appeal Findings of Fact, Conclusions of law and Decision — Mike Connelly It was moved by Councilmember Munson and seconded to adopt Resolution 07 -021, arming the hearing examiner decision. Deputy Mayor Taylor recused himself and left the room. City Attorney Connelly explained that this Resolution is the culmination of the hearing held November 27, and these findings are those of the Hearing Examiner decision. Vote by Acclamation: In Favor: Mayor Wilhite, and Councilmembers Schimmels, Denenny, Gothmann, and Munson. Opposed: Councilmember DeVleming. Motion carried and Deputy Mayor Taylor was invited to return to the dais. 6. Motion Consideration: Tourism Promotion Area Funding Model — Mike Jackson It was moved by Mayor Wilhite and seconded to authorize the City Manager or designee to execute an Interlocal Agreement for the Tourism Area Funding Model, and to delete the sunset language. Deputy City Manager Jackson explained that this matter was discussed at the December 4 Council meeting, where Dan Zimmerer, Jody Sander and Harry Sladich spoke to Council concerning the Tourism Promotion Area Funding Model and of their request and rationale to have the "sunset" clause removed from the interlocal, to which council concurred. Mayor Wilhite invited public comment. Council Regular Meeting: 12 -11 -07 Page 5 of 9 Approved by Council: 01 -08 -08 Dan Zimmerer, 16609 N Fairview Road, Culvert: he thanked Council for their time and consideration on this matter and added that the Hotel /Motel Association gave their unanimous support to this. Jeanna Hofmeister, on behalf of Convention & Visitor's Bureau, PO Box 445 Bayview Idaho: said she appreciates that this is a visionary government who would take the time to examine a model to give it a specified time to prove itself; and said that this is a great opportunity to take away the "sunset" clause on something which has increased jobs Deputy Mayor Taylor added that he was informed that Mr. Sladich could not attend tonight's meeting, but that he wanted to express his appreciation to council. Vote by Acclamation: In Favor: Unanimous. Opposed: None. Abstentions: None. Motion carried. 7. Motion Consideration: Site Selector Agreement — Morgan Koudelka It was moved by Councilmember Munson and seconded to authorize the City Manager to execute Amendment No. 1 to the Agreement for the Spokane Regional Site Selector. Mr. Koudelka stated that in response to Council request for a Site Selector update, a progress report was presented to Council December 4, 2007, at which time staff was authorized to schedule this as a motion consideration for tonight's meeting; and that this would also commit approximately $21,000 for 2008, which has already been placed in that 2008 budget. Councilmember Munson expressed his desire that Council obtain feedback to see how many people moved here as a result of visiting the site. Rather than add that suggestion to the agreement, Council determined that Mayor Wilhite would write a letter to ask for those statistics. Councilmember Gothmann suggested further expansion of the request to include other affects of the Site Selector on Spokane Valley; that moving to the area is one but he would be interested to see what businesses might be affected and if further research could be performed to determine and analyze such affects. Mr. Koudelka also mentioned that a member of Council might consider joining the Site Selector Committee. Councilmember Denenny suggested the possibility of acquiring additional data from realtors to identify where the new people and businesses are coming from; and then to have further progress reports on this issue. Mayor Wilhite invited public comment; no comments were offered. Vote by Acclamation: In Favor: Unanimous. Opposed: None. Abstentions: None. Motion carried. 8. Motion Consideration: Referral of Emergency Ordinance to Planning Commission — Mike Connelly It was moved by Deputy Mayor Taylor and seconded to approve referral of the Emergency Interim Ordinance No. 07 -025 to the Planning Commission. City Attorney Connelly explained that this is the next step in processing this emergency ordinance, and that any public comments will be sent to the Planning Commission as part of their discussion. Mayor Wilhite invited public comment; no comments were offered. Vote by Acclamation: In Favor: Unanimous. Opposed: None. Abstentions: None. Motion carried. 9. Motion Consideration: Approval of Arts Council Project Placement — Mike Jackson It was moved by Councilmember Denenny and seconded to approve the future placement of the "Walking the Line" sculpture at Mirabeau Point Park, upon donation by the Spokane Valley Arts Council, and to provide maintenance and operation. Councilmember Denenny explained that he added the maintenance and operation since to the motion as we will be providing power and electricity. After a brief re- explanation of the project by Mr. Jackson, there was discussion about assisting with electricity rather than the broad "maintenance and operation" part of the motion. Mr. Mercier reminded everyone that any piece of art donated to the City on City Property, becomes the property of the City, and as such would fall under the normal care of the facility. Councilmember Denenny, with approval of the seconder, agreed to extract the last portion of his motion. Mayor Wilhite invited public comment; no comments were offered. Mr. Jackson estimated that if would cost $2,000 in electricity annually; and that rather than have Council involved in the precise location of the sculpture, that Mr. Jackson and the Arts Council would address that Council Regular Meeting: 12 -11 -07 Page 6 of 9 Approved by Council: 01 -08 -08 issue. Councilmember Denenny also thanked Dr. Harken for his involvement and enhancement of CenterPlace with the arts. Vote by Acclamation to approve the future placement of the "Walking the Line" sculpture at Mirabeau Point Park: In Favor: Unanimous. Opposed: None. Abstentions: None. Motion carried. 10. Motion Consideration: Funding Cleft Palate — Councilmembers Denenny and Gothmann It was moved by Councilmember Gothmann and seconded to allocate a total contribution of $6,848 to be made in two equal payments of $3,424 with the first payment to be made by January 1, 2008, and the second payment to be disbursed dependent upon program funding by the State Department of Health. Councilmember Gothmann explained that rather than have the February 1 date as noted in the backup documentation, that he was informed that the Health Department would need those funds by January 1. Mayor Wilhite expressed her unhappiness with the County not providing funding as is their obligation to do so; and Mr. Mercier said that the Board of County Commissioners contributed approximately two million dollars annually for the health program, and that there are no funds in our budget allocated for public health purposes. Councilmember Schimmels mentioned that other agencies and entities come to Council in hopes of obtaining financial assistance, and stated that perhaps we could have "outside agencies" request to council at additional times other than what are normally annually scheduled. Mayor Wilhite invited public comment; no comments were offered. Vote by Acclamation: In Favor: Deputy Mayor Taylor and Councilmembers Schimmels, Denenny, Gothmann, Munson and DeVleming. Opposed: Mayor Wilhite. Abstentions: None. Motion carried. 11. Mayoral Appointments: Planning Commission Members — Mayor Wilhite Mayor Wilhite explained that she received several applications for the two Planning Commission openings, and that she intends to appoint Craig Eggleston and Art Sharpe. It was moved by Councilmember DeVleming and seconded to approve the Mayor's appointments to the Planning Commission. Mayor Wilhite invited public comment; no comments were offered. Deputy Mayor Taylor stated the importance in expanding community involvement, and said this is a good transition point now that the Comprehensive Plan and Uniform Development Code have been completed. Mayor Wilhite added that she will be sending letters to Mr. Crosby and Blum stating the Council's appreciation for their work on the Comp Plan and UDC, and the countless hours they dedicated to the City. Vote by Acclamation: In Favor: Unanimous. Opposed: None. Abstentions: None. Motion carried. 12. Mayoral Appointments: Lodging Tax Advisory Committee — Mayor Wilhite Mayor Wilhite announced she intends to appoint as representing someone authorized to be funded by the tax: Peggy Doering for a one -year term, and Doug Kelley for a two -year term; and Cal Claussen for a one -year term as representing a business required to collect the tax. It was moved by Councilmember Munson, seconded and unanimously agreed to approve the stated appointments. Public comments were solicited prior to the vote, and no comments were offered. Mayor Wilhite stated she intends to appoint Deputy Mayor Taylor for a one -year term as council liaison. It was moved by Councilmember Munson, seconded and unanimously agreed to approve appointing Mr. Taylor as Council liaison to the Lodging Tax Advisory Committee. Public comments were solicited prior to the vote and no comments were offered. Deputy Mayor Taylor mentioned that at the meeting of the Advisory Tax Advisory Committee several weeks ago, the Chamber's outstanding request for funding was discussed, and it was decided to have a place holder of approximately $50,000, but that the program needs further development; and the Committee will address the issue again the beginning of April to see if the Chamber can acquire the needed sponsors. PUBLIC COMMENTS Mayor Wilhite invited public comment; no comments were offered. Council Regular Meeting: 12 -11 -07 Page 7 of 9 Approved by Council: 01 -08 -08 ADMINISTRATIVE REPORTS: 13. Admin Report: Assumption of Private Road Policy Discussion — Neil Kersten /Dave Mercier Public Works Director Kersten explained that we received a request from a homeowners association that the City take over ownership and maintenance of an existing private road development. Mr. Kersten mentioned that although this is the first request from a homeowner's association, staff receives numerous inquiries from individual homeowners regarding their concern for maintaining private streets; and asked if Council is interested in pursuing this as there is currently no process in our Code for accepting private streets; and said that those private streets currently don't meet our standards so they would have to be brought up to code. Discussion ensued regarding whether these private roads are on tax rolls, or how or if they are assessed. Mr. Kersten mentioned that rights -of -way are generally more narrow and are of lesser quality; and if Council were to maintain private streets, the City would incur the liability to bring the streets up to standards, or Council could recommend accepting those streets in a sub - standard state, but he also mentioned we would be under no obligation to bring many of those streets up to standards; the difficult part would be at what point do we accept private streets, and by what criteria or standards. Councilmember Munson mentioned public safety, narrow roads, and dead -end roads, and said that he would assume we would want input from the Fire District and Police. Councilmember Gothmann asked what other cities are doing in similar situations and Mr. Kersten said he does not have that experience, but that usually private streets are not allowed at this magnitude. Mr. Mercier mentioned that in his experience as City Manger in another Washington community, he could not recall any private street accepted by the City as a public way, and he recommended we approach this cautiously, and if we do convert the streets to public streets, we would assume all liability for all maintenance, including if there were any defect in the property that would rise to safety problems for bikes, pedestrians, and others. Deputy Mayor Taylor stated that he agrees with Mr. Mercier concerning the importance to maintain and plan for property. City Attorney Connelly said that if the roads are public we are responsible, and if private, we likely are not responsible; that if a homeowner association doesn't do their job, they might want us to step in because of safety, but liability goes with control and ownership. Councilmember Schimmels asked about any surcharge, and Mr. Connelly said he would have to research that, but assumes we could impose conditions, and perform testing prior to taking over any private road; that he is not sure it would be a surcharge, but more of a condition of assumption of responsibility. The question came up if the area is sewered, and Mr. Kersten said he was not sure. Mr. Mercier mentioned that we may want to consider the broader policy rather than this individual request; that clearly some private roads are in egregious condition, and most of the time the reason a change to public road is sought, is to be relieved of the financial burden, and he added that we already have an un -met financial burden in terms of our transportation system. Councilmember DeVleming mentioned that as we move forward on our street masterplan, it would be good to have a map showing where all the private roads are located. Mr. Mercier said this issue is brought forward tonight for information, and can be discussed in more detail again later. 14. Admin Report: Legislative Matters — Mayor Wilhite /Dave Mercier Mayor Wilhite brought Council attention to page 6 and 7 of the Agreement for Professional Services with Gordon Thomas Honeywell, showing what we asked the consultant to monitor and give Council feedback about; and Mr. Mercier added that the intent is to communicate our legislative desires for our consultant to track, and that we are not asking Council to voice support of any one activity of this point. Deputy Mayor Taylor added that the issue of REET and Real Estate Excise tax and using that to replace development impact fees, are large issues of contention within the development community, particularly with realtors and builders, and that there is a lack of consensus from private industry as well. Mayor Wilhite stated that item "1" is to monitor legislation that would require our city to change to a ward system, and said discussions should be held with Mr. Ormsby about that, and if such were re- introduced, it would be helpful if it were done to all cities and not just Spokane Valley. Deputy Mayor Taylor said he would like to amend item "d" to exclude Spokane Valley, and have it state to "monitor and support or Council Regular Meeting: 12 -11 -07 Page 8 of 9 Approved by Council: 01 -08 -08 oppose amendments to legislation on climate change affecting municipal comprehensive planning and perhaps exclude Spokane Valley." There was Council consensus to make this change. Councilmember Munson mentioned Mr. Young's e-mail concerning priorities chosen by the Environmental Community for the 2008 session, and that one is entitled "Evergreen Cities." Mr. Munson said that his committee concluded that this matter is not properly vetted and is too confusing and that it should be opposed at this point, and added that there is nothing in the legislation that would identify funding sources to pay for these activities; and said that he would want to put climate control issues on the watch list. Mr. Taylor also proposed that as soon as we see bills being dropped or legislation gaining on this, to come back and get resolution from Council to take a position, possibly in early January. Mr. Mercier asked if Council would like to consider that for the duration of the legislative session, that we insert "legislative matters" as an agenda item in order to keep Council apprised of the legislative events as they arise. Council concurred. Mr. Mercier also mentioned that he receives e-mails concerning various legislative issues, and if those issues warrant full council consideration they will be brought to the council as a whole; and if not, Mr. Mercier said he will inform Council of the happening; to which Council concurred. Mr. Mercier added that we were successful last session in the award for the Universal Park, and stated that that success was largely due to interaction with legislators; and he therefore suggested Council may want to attend the legislative conference a day early so as to give ample opportunity to meet with the lobbyist as well as attend the legislative sessions. Councilmembers agreed to arrive in Olympia a day early; and that they will check with Sue Passmore if Councilmembers need any assistance with making travel arrangements. Mayor Wilhite also noted that due to scheduling restraints, there will be no Council meeting January 29, 2008. It was moved by Deputy Mayor Taylor, seconded and unanimously agreed to extend the meeting to 9:15 In. INFORMATION ONLY: The Department of Transportation Turn -back Property was an information only item and was not discussed. EXECUTIVE SESSION: Land Acquisition; Pending Litigation. It was moved by Deputy Mayor Taylor, seconded and unanimously agreed to extend the meeting to 9:30 p.m. City Manager Mercier brought Council attention to the memorandum distributed to them concerning creating a new Human Resource Manager classification, and that staff consulted with the Finance Committee concerning this position, and that due to the sudden opening, we have advertised at this new level pending this transaction, which will come before council as an action item at their next meeting. It was then moved by Deputy Mayor Taylor and seconded to adjourn to executive session to discuss land acquisition and pending litigation for approximately 30 minutes; and that no decision is anticipated at the close of that executive session. Council adjourned into executive session at 9:04 p.rn. Mayor Wilhite declared Council out of executive session at 9:30 p.m. It was moved by Councilmember Denenny, seconded and unanimously agreed to adjourn. The meeting 4.J • ned at 9:31 • .m. I/ fr ' IC and M . n, Mayor Christine Bainbridge, City Clerk Council Regular Meeting: 12 -11 -07 Page 9 of 9 Approved by Council: 01 -08 -08 NAME PLEASE PRINT TOPIC OF CONCERN YOU WILL SPEAK ABOUT ADDRESS TELEPHONE z Z MMeCQ - I PA /66OfA F4 : / J :..., ,?3E3 -C ct �eanno.4 -Yle,l l rf TP - &Oi VJ • tiz vicer4dA_ 71-1z-- Lik_.--ckona-ps'o w CPA--i0 -O7 0 -7 -Oa cp v ►\j 3 reenc..c i NCI 6'retorIc5 IJ 1. G ei4 etc i-n .z-79 -q3) 4 928--( z-e Z �! v rrA - (o - o 7 � S V; so o 0 t,J e - /a I S ∎G \kaQ` V_ CPA -0\ _01 Y85 ' a1.oTU11 9 X iatik (2(,5.ch A -10 - 0 1 102 -2 L-, 14-c_. i D. f- cx f O T GENE 4P_ COMMEN1i SIGN —IN SHEET SPOKANE VALLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING DATE: December 11, 2007 CITIZEN COMMENTS YOUR SPEAKING TIME WILL BE LIMITED TO THREE MINUTES Sign in if you wish to make p ublic comments. y NAME 0 /, 67 PLEASE PRINT ADDRESS TELEPHONE X' % K ` % 1 /r a L 9 1.2--al /I _Gz.' 1- riiot q 4' v ---. _ -. -- b r - ,.�...r>- � ._ � i�is1.�'_ .r 1 1113 11 W - ......-- - ;-•.2:-7=7E" - - 4 Z 1 '° : # 1 . - - - Ut- �c 11'Z k,607 8iS Liae4 lit e t s m7 /Sop _Pd ,_ / /� e— ._ ' ' i G\NG.0 ___ k 70 tpiSk W -TM SPOKANE VALLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING December 11 2007 PUBLIC HEARING SIGN -IN SHEET SUBJECT: Uniform Development Code Emergency Ordinance J. YOU �'4'OULI) LIKE TO SI E 1< at the Public Hearing. pleased elc w . PRINT NAME AND ADDRESS FOR THE RECORD. There may be a time limit for your comments. Any documents for Council consideration should be provided to the City Clerk for distribution.