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2014, 05-06 study session MINUTES SPOKANE VALLEY CITY COUNCIL REGULAR MEETING STUDY SESSION FORMAT Spokane Valley City Hall Council Chambers Spokane Valley,Washington May 6,2014 6:00 p.m. Attendance: Couneilmembers Staff Dean Grafos,Mayor Mark Calhoun,Finance Director Arne Woodard,Deputy Mayor Cary Driskell, City Attorney Bill Bates, Councilmember Eric Guth, Public Works Director Chuck Hafner, Councilmember Mike Stone,Parks&Recreation Director Rod Higgins,Councilmember John Holtman, Community Development Dir. Ed Pace,Councilmember Lori Barlow, Senior Planner Ben Wick, Councilmember Scott Kuhta, Planning Manager Carolbelle Branch,Public Information Officer Rick VanLeuven,Police Chief Chris Bainbridge, City Clerk Mayor Grafos called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m. ROLL CALL: City Clerk Bainbridge called the roll; all Councilmembers were present. ACTION ITEM: 1. Public Hearing: Comprehensive Plan Proposed Amendments--Lori Barlow Mayor Grafos explained the procedure for holding the hearing, opened the public hearing at 6:04 p.m., and after Senior Planner Barlow went over the proposed amendments (and later briefly explained each proposal),Mayor Grafos invited public testimony as follows: 1. CPA 01-14: Mirabeau Park, change from Parks/Open Space to Mixed Use Center: Speaking in favor of the proposal: Jamie Tregor, Spokane Wa., the property manager and leasing agent for Pinecroft Business Park, land owners between that parcel in question and all the way west to Pines Road; she said they own the majority of the land and the buildings there; she encouraged approval of the amendment; said all the land to the west is zoned mixed use commercial, and approving this would allow development in that parcel; said the land is currently vacant and could be developed if the change were permitted. John Miller, Colvert, Wa., Manager of Pinecroft Business Park, said lie feels there are opportunities to create some space that would be good for specialized retail development, such as a restaurant,bike shop, or other things that would serve the trail, the park and the corporate entities; said in Pinecroft they probably have 300-400 people daily and that this would be very positive for the community. There were no further comments on this proposal, either in favor or against. 2. CPA 02-14 SCRAPS,Bradley Rd. change from Low Density Residential to Corridor Mixed Use. Speaking in favor of the proposal: Nancy Hill, Director of SCRAPS, said the new facility would open later this month; that the main parcel is zoned corridor mixed use, and the second property and the subject of this amendment is owned by SCRAPS and is zoned residential; she said green space is critical to animal shelters; she said the area in question would be used for walking dogs on leashes; said that from the beginning SCRAPS only intended to use the area in question as green space and as a dog walking area with dogs on leashes; said dogs will only be walked outside after being temperament-tested so as not to put anyone at risk, and that dogs perceived as a"flight risk"will be kept in the building. She said all dogs are vaccinated.Ms. Hill said that Council Study Session 05-06-2014 Page 1 of 6 Approved by Council:05-27-2014 SCRAPS has no intention to build on that parcel or to sell later because green space is very valuable to an animal shelter. She noted that SCRAPS' use of that parcel will be the lowest impact use; she said there has been illegal dumping on the property and that SCRAPS will clean up, fence, and improve the property to make it more "parks-like." Ms. Hill said the use of the property would also be limited to daylight hours, and only a few dogs will be exercised at any one time. Director Hill said SCRAPS' impact will be far less than the currently allowed residential development of three to four houses with five-foot setbacks and no required fencing; she said each residence is permitted up to four dogs, which she said is a far greater impact than a few dogs being walked on a leash. She noted that barking should not be a problem as dogs bark when they are bored or not happy, and added that SCRAPS will have to abide by the nuisance regulations. She said SCRAPS will be a good, quiet, and responsible neighbor and that being part of the community is important, and it is important that dogs get outside for exercise; and she asked for approval of the proposal which will be low impact yet have great benefits to the community. Council asked for confirmation that SCRAPS has no intention of building on this property, and Ms. Hill confirmed that is correct; she said they are moving into a 30,000-foot building which will serve the needs of the community for Iikely fifty years, and confirmed that the idea of the SCRAPS building being sold is off the table. Speaking in opposition to the proposal: Mark Schollenburger: said he lives in Spokane Valley and his property borders the proposed rezone; said he opposes the rezone and that it is a "gross conflict of interest;" that they are not trying to rezone a secondary lot but are trying to rezone a third and fourth lot back from Trent; and said excluding Trent and Argonne, that doesn't occur anywhere on Trent in the valley; said this rezone will result in increased light and noise pollution and traffic congestion; said lie can't walk in his own backyard at night without shielding his eyes because of the intensely bright lights on the new SCRAPS building; he said the County will be required to put in a 20-foot beauty zone and that there won't be a lot of property left after they do that. He said the problems will only get worse, and the business to the west, "Mutual Materials" would no longer be bound to the conditions of their rezone of approximately fifteen years ago and that they would gain about 4,400 feet of ground space; he said living next to them has been horrible; that their existing beauty zone is unsightly, and if the current rezone is approved, "Mutual Materials"will re-try to get the property at the corner of Montgomery and Elizabeth rezoned so they can use that; and said "Mutual Materials" can't use their own property now because it is residential. He also said that this re- zone would have an avalanche affect, and he asked if Council is aware of Avista's plan to acquire all eight houses on the west side of Elizabeth; that they want to buy the property, and change the zone to commercial and that they are working to acquire ten lots on the east of Elizabeth and they want the ten lots on the west side of Bradley all evacuated and changed to commercial. He said that probably won't happen for decades, but if it does go through, it will only leave nine lots on Bradley. He said that no traffic study was conducted and the current traffic on Bradley is terrible and that people turning left out of SCRAPS will have a difficult time getting onto Trent; said he is working to get no parking signs posted on the east side of Bradley since that part of the road is in "gross violation of current road standards." He asked council not to approve the proposal, and the submitted four pages of signatures of his neighbors opposing this proposal. 3. CPA 03-14: Barker and Sprague,Low Density Residential to High Density Residential Speaking in favor of the proposal: Todd Whipple, of Whipple Consulting Engineers, the Applicant: he referenced the large handout dated May 6, 2014, which was distributed to Council by the Clerk; and the went over some of those documents. Attachment one, Mr. Whipple explained, is a letter from property owner Wendell Olson, which letter addresses previous comments and concerns that this would be low income property. Mr. Whipple said this is not now and never has been intended as low-income property, and that a condition of approval could be that it not be low income property, and he said this was always intended to be market rate property. He explained that attachment 2 is intended to let Council know that they will hear a lot about Council Study Session 05-06-2014 Page 2 of 6 Approved by Council:05-27-2014 rural character, and said he would challenge the rural character and nature of this neighborhood, and said in looking at the map, one sees the area of Spokane County's light industrial zoning directly to the east of Hodges, and further east is Liberty Lake, which is commercial mixed use; and said to characterize this neighborhood or anything inside the urban growth boundary as rural is "strictly erroneous" regardless of the lot size; and said there is no rural inside the City limits unless Council has designated it as one acre, which he said is what Council did in the Comp Plan Code. He explained that attachment 3, Traffic Analysis includes a memorandum concerning a traffic study they conducted; lie said they used a count that was available to the Planning Commission but was never asked for, that clearly shows that the existing level of service is an acceptable level of service; lie said the current level of service of the intersection of Barker and Sprague is C, in the evening it is B; he said there has also been circulating a comprehensive traffic analysis that looks at a ten year use for all the additional subdivisions not yet developed, and said they included the traffic from that which demonstrates that in a ten-year time frame, that intersection will be at D in the morning and E in the evening, and by City standards, it doesn't require signalization so that current intersection meets all the standards even with no improvements. Mr. Whipple said that doesn't mean there aren't problems at the freeway,but unequivocally as a licensed engineer, said there is nothing wrong with that intersection. Mr. Whipple noted that the next attachment is a copy of the City's TIP [Transportation Improvement Plan]; he said the materials also include a land quantity analysis his company did and said they calculated how many apartments have been constructed in the last three years and used the City's building department to determine how many houses were constructed in the last three years, and said if you use the land quantity analysis of approximately 735 residents a year, that only meets the goal and does not build any surplus. He brought council's attention to the Planning Conunission's decisions as well as the staff report; and said that schools,traffic,noise, and rural character are not decision criteria outlined in the City's Comprehensive Plan. Mr. Whipple strongly encouraged Council to read the staff report to understand why City staff reviewed the application and recommended approval; he said City staff recommended approval because it met all of the goals associated with the Comp Plan and for a comp plan change. Mr. Whipple said the Planning Commission made it a "beauty contest"and said that is not what it is supposed to be. Scott Krajack, Coeur d'Alene,Idaho (spoke after#40 below): said he does not work for the applicant but is part of the development team that will be building the apartments if approved; said if approved, part of the project is improving the frontage, putting in sidewalks and participating in the intersection improvements, which would help that intersection; said he realizes there are problems with the intersection now and if nothing is done on the site, the City would have to pay for those improvements, whereas if they were able to develop the project, they'd do their frontage and participate in the intersection improvements; said they have two other projects they built, both of which are beautiful and well maintained with landscaping, and that they have very strict rules for admittance; he said they haven't experienced a lot of problem with crime; concerning schools, he said schools get money per student and by having bonds approved by voters; said if they built single family homes, he said he doesn't think people would buy a home there because there's too much traffic there now; the issue is to try to fix it. Kristin Agostinelli,property manager(spoke after#42 below), and manages the two properties previously developed; she showed council some pictures of the two complexes they built; said the apartments they manage have never had criminal problems described by Miles Daniel; and said she doesn't anticipate having those problems in this area either; they make sure the apartments are very well maintained; they have a very strict application process including a criminal, sexual offender background check as well as rental background check and an employment verification; they screen people as much as possible; said there are a lot of reason why people rent, seine because they can't do lawn maintenance, or possibly can't afford a down payment; said they have had some renters stay in their unit as long as thirteen years; said they have 85%renew their leases; said tenants pay property tax as that is included in part of their rent. Council Study Session 05-06-2014 Page 3 of 6 Approved by Council:05-27-2014 The following spoke in opposition to the proposal, based on increased traffic, crime, congestion, overcrowding of schools and the need for busing,lack of sidewalks,lack of services, adding a multi- story apartment complex instead of residential homes, transient apartment residents, doing what a company wants instead of doing what citizens want, vacant apartments in Spokane Valley, that the area is rural and should be kept rural, objection to low income housing, maintaining the integrity and characteristics of the neighborhood, that they bought their homes based on current zoning; and depreciation of home values and property; 1. Clarisa Yake, Spokane Valley, lives just down the street from the property; 2.Danny Smith, Spokane Valley,proposal is 15 feet from his bedroom window 3.Justin Deymonaz,spoke of the transient apartment residents 4. Shirley Nowka, lives on Barker,been there thirty years,trouble backing out of her driveway 5. Carrie Sicilia, lives around the corner from the property, spoke of poor visibility at the intersection 6.Heather Graham, Spokane Valley, spoke of right to have a stable, safe community 7. Scott Jutte, lives across the street from the planned development;mentioned housing fairness 8. Kathy Scott, Spokane Valley, distributed a Central Valley School District handout about overcrowding 9. Jamie Bolinski,and on behalf of Curt Neal and she read his letter in opposition 10.Dallas Williams,Harmony Rd, erroneous Comp Plan tables 3.3, 3.4; services not in walking distance 11. William Donais, lives on Sprague,counts hundreds of cars going by his house in evenings 12.Miranda Colombo, Spokane Valley,read her poem about home is where the heart is 13. Clyde Smith, Spokane Valley, did his own traffic study this morning, 945 in the first hour; said 1997 ruling from Hearing Examiner Michael Dempsey includes restrictions on the property 14. Zeta Smith,Harmony Rd., said staff contacted basketball coach instead of other school officials 15. Debra Farnsworth, Spokane Valley, renter's lack of financial investment; emergency vehicles 16. Peter Higgins, Spokane County, outdated traffic study figures; gravel roads not up to code 17.Miles Daniel,people in apartments don't have same respect as single family home owners 18. Jackie Williams, lives next to the property; said no one supports this except Mr.Whipple 19. Stephanie Colombo, said Mr. Whipple said traffic would be ok in ten years but argument not founded 20. Myrna McElwain, said most people here are against this; don't need it, don't like it, don't want it 21. Keith Atkins, on Barker; his realtor said his house value will drop another$35,000 if build apartments 22.Kathleen McGaugh, lives two blocks east of Barker and Sprague;wants a peaceful community 23. George Covax,comments about roundabouts and lack of safety;they all have tire tracks on them 24. Craig Savage, Spokane Valley, schools too full; he sends his kids to private school 25. William Deymonaz, said Mr.Whipple is paid to say what he says; also mentioned fast traffic 26. Lee Nelson, speaks for him and his wife, area is rural; has large animals;has water pressure problems 27.David Colombo, said there is no money for improvements now or in ten years Mayor Grafos called for a recess at 7:30 p.m., and reconvened the meeting at 7:45 p.m., at which time testimony continued from those opposed to the proposal. 28. Brian Ewasko, lives in the valley; said Twin Bridges neighborhood has a plan to add another church 29. Selena Filler, said she is opposed to this from the"bottom of her heart" 30.Ashley Pierson, 110 N Barker;mentioned dangerous traffic issues and young children 31. Karen Oshogay, lives four houses south of the intersection 32.Frank Roberts,also lives about four houses from the proposal 33.Beverly Enyeart, doesn't live in the neighborhood, said their kids are being bused to her area, she fears the same for her area eventually 34.Maty Derky,worries grandchildren won't have same ability to play outside if large apartment near by 35.Joyce Warner, doesn't want apartments;wants to keep her area peaceful and safe 36. William Currier, 110 N Barker, said his is the"island property;"said there isn't a mobile home park, just mobile homes on lands that people own; wants to keep his area peaceful with a nice view Council Study Session 05-06-2014 Page 4 of 6 Approved by Council:05-27-2014 37. John Pearson, lives with the family on the "island," said apartments would destroy sense of community 38. Claude Hoskins, lives in"Greenacres" community,not Spokane Valley; renters are transients 39. Judy Polley,works at Central Valley School District,knows of challenges of over-crowded schools 40.Ron Polley, agreed with his wife's comments; apartments will create problems in the area 41.Alias Sariani: said being asked to fund another school is not fair; renters don't pay property taxes. 42. Russ Boucher, said an apartment would stick out like a sore thumb. City Clerk Bainbridge mentioned she received two written responses in opposition: Frank Roberts and Danyel Currier, both who live on North Barker. 43.Eugene Henthorn, said he and his wife Melody oppose this as well. No others indicated a desire to speak on this proposal, and in closing on this proposal, Mayor Grafos invited Mr. Whipple to speak for another three minutes. Mr. Whipple said the traffic count information he gave earlier was made after Chapman Road was completed; he referenced page 4 of the handout concerning residential multi-family demand, a critical area that goes with the staff report, and he reiterated the points contained therein concerning the population increase of about 15,000 over the next twenty years; over the last three years there were 850 apartment building permits and 383 single family building permits; said that today we meet the numbers to satisfy the OFM standard but if we don't continue to provide high density residential the single family won't keep up and will have to turn the OFM estimates back to the County or to the City of Spokane; it also shows the overall apartment vacancy in Spokane is 4%. He referenced page 5 approval criteria which he said he clearly outlined in the staff report and he said this was not considered by the Planning Commission and said he feels that was an error. He said if Council evaluates this information as outlined in the Comprehensive Plan, Council will agree with staffs conclusion of not having enough multi-family apartment ground. He said that three years ago he came to Council for an apartment project on 4th Avenue, and two years ago they brought another project forward;with the 4'h Avenue project resulting in a development agreement, and the second a change in the development standards as it relates to development; and last year they did a small project; said the apartment project on 32'd and Highway 27 done by Wolf four years ago was a comp plan change, and they just went back last year to the County to get another one. He said this is the only way to get multi-family ground to meet the City's development standards requirements set out in the comp plan with this City's OFM numbers. 4. CPA 04-14 through 08-14,and 10-14: City Initiated Text Amendments Senior Planner Barlow briefly explained the City-initiated text amendments in the Comprehensive Plan Chapters of Land Use, Transportation, Capital Facilities, Private and Public Utilities, Economic Development, and Bike and Pedestrian; she said that most are changes intended to coordinate the comprehensive plan with projects that have been completed, budgets approved, and financial plans adopted, and removing the reference to "City Center" and in summary, to make them consistent with what Council has already reviewed and approved with the budget; and she mentioned that the Planning Commission unanimously recommended approval of the amendments; and that the recommended text changes are shown in the track-change format in the yellow notebook. Mayor Grafos invited public comments and no comments were offered. Council/staff discussion included population projections/assumptions and Ms. Barlow said the 15,000 population figure mentioned takes into consideration our existing land-use designations, as well as some under-used property. Ms. Barlow mentioned that some changes are only changes to update our maps based on projects and budgets already approved by Council. Narrow property lots, flag lots, and the division of large properties were also briefly discussed. Mayor Grafos also asked the procedure to address Council Study Session 05-06-2014 Page 5 of 6 Approved by Council:05-27-2014 a major zone change such as on the north side of Trent Avenue, and Ms. Barlow explained that could be part of the next comprehensive plan amendment cycle. Mayor Grafos closed the public hearing at 8:30 p.m. NON-ACTION ITEMS: 2. Advance Agenda—Mayor Grafos Deputy Mayor Woodard asked about including at a future council meeting, a reading of the history of Spokane Valley and area such as what was read at the recent medical building opening; and after Council discussion of the pros and cons, it was determined that reading such at a Council meeting would not be considered the business of the City or specific to Spokane Valley, and for that and other reasons, it was decided not to include that on a future Council agenda. Mayor Grafos asked that the issue of trucks in residential areas be brought back, as well as idea of examining regulations that would address cleaning up properties that have been damaged or destroyed due to weather or other means,to control those properties from becoming an "eyesore." Concerning the truck issue, City Attorney Driskell said this issue was addressed about one and a half years ago, and he proposed that he could either include an informational only item, or an administrative report; or both so that Council could review that as a starting point. Councilmember Hafner said that he is aware that Councilmember Pace met with some citizens about this issue, and suggested if the topic is to be revisited, he would like Councihnember Pace to share with all Councilmembers, any information he received from those citizens. Councilmember Pace said the information referred to was included in e-mails that went to all Councilmembers. Councilmember Hafner said that when council last discussed this issue, it was discussed at length, and that he would appreciate receiving any information that has been circulated since this issue was last discussed so Councilmembers can know what people are now discussing regarding trucks. Mr. Driskell said he would include the topic as an informational only item first,to be followed up by an administrative report later. Council concurred. Concerning Mayor Grafos' other issue, Mr. Driskell said staff will begin examining regulations dealing with damaged properties. INFORMATION ONLY ITEMS: 3. The Items of (a) Stormwater Effectiveness Studies Consultant Agreement, (b) Stormwater Capital Improvement Projects 2015-2020, (c) Greater Spokane, Inc 2014 First Quarter Report, and (d) Noxious Weed Control Board were for information only and were not reported or discussed, 4. Council Comments—Mayor Grafos There were no Council comments. 5, City Manager Comments—Mark Calhoun Finance Director Calhoun, sitting in for absent City Manager Jackson,had no comments. It was moved by Deputy Mayor Woodard, seconded and unanimously agreed to adjourn. The meeting adjourned at 8:45 p.m. • ! Dean Grafos,Mayor ATT e.SAIP f \ a ✓" .. i IL. . t rstine BainbridgeXity Clerk Council Study Session 05-06-2014 Page 6 of 6 Approved by Council:05-27-2014