2007, 07-17 Study Session MinutesMINUTES
CITY OF SPOKANE VALLEY
CITY COUNCIL STUDY SESSION
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
Mayor Wilhite called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m., and welcomed everyone to the meeting.
Present:
Councilmembers:
Diana Wilhite, Mayor
Steve Taylor, Deputy Mayor
Dick Denenny, Councilmember
Mike DeVleming, Councilmember
Bill Gothmann, Councilmember
Rich Munson, Councilmember
Gary Schimmels, Councilmember (arrived 6:45 p.m.)
Staff:
Dave Mercier, City Manager
Cary Driskell, Deputy City Attorney
Mike Jackson, Parks & Rec Director
Neil Kersten, Public Works Director
Steve Worley, Senior Engineer
Greg McCormick, Planning Manager
Carolbelle Branch, Public Information Officer
Rick VanLeuven, Police Chief
Greg Bingaman, IT Specialist
Chris Bainbridge, City Clerk
Employee Introductions: Parks and Recreation Director Jackson introduced Becky Gilbreth as the new
Administrative Assistant for CenterPlace, and Evan Pollack, Park Ambassador for the summer Mr.
Jackson then introduced Recreation Coordinator Jennifer Cusick who introduced her staff; followed by
Carol Carter, Customer Relations Facilities Coordinator who introduced her staff; followed by Senior
Center Specialist Karen Parsons who introduced volunteers for the Senior Center; and ending with
Maintenance Worker Brian Moat introducing his staff members. Council welcomed and greeted all new
staff.
1. Draft Street Master Plan — Steve Worley /J -U -B Representatives
Senior Engineer Worley explained that tonight's draft is the result of over one and one -half years effort in
putting together one of Council's top 2006 goals; i.e. to develop a comprehensive street masterplan for the
City. Mr. Worley then introduced J -U -B Engineers Chuck Larson who will give the Pavement
Management Program (PMP) presentation; and Spencer Montgomery who will explain the Transportation
Improvement (TIP) part of the plan; and said the presentation will end with Public Works Director
Kersten and Mr. Worley giving a few more details and opening the floor for discussion. Mr. Worley also
distributed updated material replacing slide 9, and maps 1 -5 and 1 -25.
Mr. Larson began the PowerPoint presentation by explaining that this is not the completion, but rather a
culmination of the program; he recapped the purpose of the program, i.e., to provide well - maintained,
high quality streets at the lowest reasonable cost; explained the components of the program; the pavement
condition; the reasons for preventative maintenance; and the software selection called CarteGraph. Mr.
Larson said that programs could be imported and exported with this software as needed. He added that
the street network inventory includes about 437 centerline miles; and explained the street condition by
classification, and said that many local roadways, especially in residential neighborhoods, are in very
good condition. Mr. Larson continued with the remainder of the first segment of the PowerPoint
presentation. [Councilmember Schimmels arrived at 6:45 p.m.] Regarding the Septic Tank Elimination
Program (STEP), Mr. Larson said that these roads are not included in the PMP, but they are in the long-
term budget. Mr. Larson also explained that some roads are showing premature wear and he's not sure
what that results from, but they have selected some roads to perform a geotechnical evaluation to
determine what's causing this premature wear. Councilmember DeVleming asked if staff will come back
and explain the repairs to those roads (as shown on slide 12), and Mr. Worley responded that staff can do
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that if that is Council's desire; and he said that the road's have not failed yet, but they are starting to see
some signs of premature deterioration and they want to understand why in order to prevent that from
happening in the future.
Mr. Mercier said that the math doesn't show a significant annual escalation of cost between year one and
year six, as asphalt and other products price increase, as he would have assumed year six of the annual
budget would have been significantly higher than year one. Mr. Larson explained that he could run
alternative scenarios, but in this one (shown in slide 18), they held the budget at a constant number as less
work would be done each year, so to some extent, they are front loading the option 1 recommended six -
year maintenance and rehabilitation budget. Some discussion ensued regarding having the actual budget
number in year one; other possible scenarios with inflation factored in; spending more on preservation
then on rehabilitation; or more balanced between the two; or more in earlier years for preservation. Mr.
Worley said that because we have many roads in good condition, it might be a good time to continue with
the preservation.
Mr. Larson explained Option 2 and said that the challenge for Council would be to define a budget to
work with. Mr. Mercier said that two weeks from tonight, Council will have the preliminary 2008
budget, and said that if we ask for a six -year plan that begins in fiscal year 09, that perhaps we should
think about when would be a beginning year on this multi -year program. Deputy Mayor Taylor
mentioned we still need to have this go through the public process; that public safety and roads are top
priorities for Council, and there needs to be a case made to the public as to the importance of maintaining
the quality of our roads. Other discussion included mention of the difference between option 1 and 2; to
look at funding versus spending; that Council might want to consider some compromise between option 1
and option 2; and that funding options need to be analyzed. As an aside, it was mentioned that with this
particular software, citizens would have the possible ability to insert a particular address on the website to
see what needs to be done on that street segment; and Mr. Larson said that the information is as good as
the GIS mapping; that it could possibly be done through the GIS system and have it linked to the PMP to
tie in all information.
Mayor Wilhite called for a recess at 7:52 p.m., and reconvened at 8:00 p.m.
Mr. Worley asked if Council wished to see the second PowerPoint on the TIP (Transportation
Improvement Plan), which was previously shown to Council last December; or just have staff answer
questions. Council stated a preference not to go through the second PowerPoint, but to have the PMP
again placed on an upcoming Council agenda to more thoroughly cover the CIP (capital improvement
project) portion. Public Works Director Kersten then explained the accompanying spreadsheets and said
that we have an estimated $2.5 million shortfall; that the current capital improvement program funding is
based on what we know today; and with what is currently in the TIP today, the balance through the year
2013 would leave us with an estimated half - million dollar shortfall. Mr. Kersten said that if we went with
option 2, the capital fund would be in serious trouble in 2011 or 2010. This matter will be brought back to
Council again later.
2. Uniform Development Code Deliberation (UDC) Title 19 — Greg McCormick
Planning Manager McCormick began review and discussion of Title 19, the zoning chapter of the UDC.
He explained that the Planning Commission reviewed the materials over the course of several evenings,
and put together their recommendation. He said that the major components of the title include the first
part which is the regulatory part, the second part which has the matrices listing all the uses, and the third
part which is the definitions section, and added that the definitions are universal throughout the entire
UDC. Discussion included that this title is more of a traditional type zoning code; the idea of starting
with this again once the sub -area plan is adopted, we could transition to a more form -based zone
throughout the City; and that much like the Comprehensive Plan, this will be reviewed for periodic
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updates perhaps twice a year. Mayor Wilhite suggested reviewing the title page by page, and said that
any scrivener's errors should be reported to City Clerk Bainbridge later.
Section 19.20.050: New and Unlisted Uses
Council and staff discussed the possibility of charging an administrative fee for reconsiderations or
having a formal appeal process; and mentioned that the current Council policy is to recover costs. Mr.
Mercier said that he knows of no informal process to appeal an administrative decision as it would be
difficult to sort out which to charge; and that he is not aware of any other municipality doing so. Deputy
Mayor Taylor said that perhaps some unique circumstances would warrant a fee.
Section 19.20.040: Newly Annexed Territory
Deputy Mayor Taylor asked about annexation regulations or policies, and Mr. McCormick said those are
now in the comprehensive plan, but we need to work through the UGA process with the County to get
those areas identified and have the County agree to those areas; and that hopefully there will be an
interlocal agreement detailing how we work with each other within the UGA, adding that state annexation
laws are straightforward. Deputy Mayor Taylor suggested holding the annexation discussion at a different
time.
Section 19.20.060(2)(c)(ii)
In response to a question concerning the NAICS codes, Mr. McCormick explained that that is the North
American Industrial Classification System which is used to identify categories.
Section 19.20.060(2)(d)(i)
Other discussion touched on nonconforming uses and determining factors or criteria for such; that a
determination that any nonconforming use would be an additional burden on the transportation system;
that most jurisdictions try to have the property transition to appropriate uses over time; how such
nonconforming use would affect the nearest intersection and level of service; other issues concerning
concurrency; what other services would be degraded and how to determine that, i.e. water and sewer; and
the suggestion to state that such expanded use would not degrade the transportation level of service
greater than the original use. No decision was made on any change to this section.
Section 19.30.010: Comprehensive Plan Text & Map Amendments
Mr. Mercier questioned why the amendment to the budget would be a trigger to update the Comp Plan;
and Mr. McCormick said this refers to the capital facilities chapter as we would want to match the
amendment cycle of the comp plan to pull in the newly adopted TIP. To make this specific to the
amendment to the capital facilities chapter, Mr. McCormick said he would re- examine this language.
Mayor Wilhite suggested changing the language to read "or concurrent with the annual adoption of the
City budget" (taking out the amendment). Mr. McCormick indicated that would work well, and Council
concurred with the change.
Section 19.30.030: Site Specific Zoning Map Amendments
Deputy Mayor Taylor suggested omitting the entire #2 addition, but there was no consensus on that
suggestion. Discussion included maintaining the neighborhood character and uniform lot sizes; the comp
plan policy concerning developing criteria for rezones; that the Planning Commission requested staff
work on some rezone criteria that deals with low density residential; the process to rezone within a
category and remain consistent with the UGA; that some residents object to having a UR -7 in the midst of
a 3.5; and that perhaps Council would skip item c and d but would go back and review the comp plan.
Deputy Mayor Taylor said he would like to discuss this chapter again, and would like some public
comment on these proposed changes. It was agreed this section will be discussed again later.
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It was moved by Councilmember Munson, seconded, and unanimously agreed to extend the meeting to
9:30 p.m.
Section 19.40.010: General Provisions
Mr. McCormick reported that the R -1 lot area per dwelling unit was changed to read 40,000 square feet
rather than 25,000; and that this was corrected on the master copy. Deputy Mayor Taylor requested an
updated electronic copy, and mentioned the need to get this up on the website as the current website
version is from February. Mr. McCormick stated he would work with Deanna Griffith to accomplish that.
Discussion continued on this section including the mention that there has been numerous debates on
dimensions, standards, and density; that acreage limits should be determined whether 10,000 or 7500
square feet for R2; the idea of six units per acre; a reminder that the 10,000 square feet is a minimum not
a maximum; whether there are ample lots within the City limits; and the question of how to handle
growth for the next thirty years. There was no consensus on this section concerning leaving it as is or
amending the section.
Table 19.40 -1 Table.
Deputy Mayor Taylor suggested removing the R2 designation; and there was Council consensus to do so;
thus the R -3 and R -4 would change to R -2 and R -3. Discussion stopped at the residential standard chart.
3. Advance Agenda Additions
Mayor Wilhite explained that concerning the information item on tonight's agenda, the developer
agreement for Keller Road, that the developer has asked if we could have a motion on the July 24
meeting, and Mayor Wilhite asked Council's preference on whether to adhere to the three -touch rule.
City Manager Mercier added that the question would be to consider a motion July 24 as opposed to
August 14; and that the developer has made this request for July 24, and staff recommends moving this
forward for action. It was determined to place the matter on the July 24 consent agenda. Mr. Mercier
also noted that there are two upcoming perspective appointments: one to the Local Redevelopment
Authority, and another as a council liaison to the City Center core team. It was mentioned that
Councilmember Munson expressed his desire to be appointed to the LRA; and Councilmember Denenny
to the Core Team. These appointments will be scheduled for the next council meeting.
It was moved by Councilmember Munson and seconded to extend the meeting to 9:40 p. m. Vote by
Acclamation: In favor: Mayor Wilhite, Deputy Mayor Taylor, and Councilmembers Schimmels, Denenny,
Munson, and Gothmann. Opposed: Councilmember DeVleming. Motion carried.
After further brief discussion concerning the UDC and title 19 in particular, it was Council consensus to
schedule a "public comment" opportunity for UDC Title 19.
4. Information Only: The Developer Agreement for Keller Road Short Plat SHP 04 -07, and the Position
Reclassifications were "information only" items and were not reported or discussed except as mentioned
above.
5. Council Check -in — Mayor Wilhite
Councilmember Gothmann mentioned the recent "Pring" land proposal; and if Council should ask staff to
make comments or have the request go through the regular process, as Councilmember Gothmann said he
feels we owe Mr. Pring a response. Deputy Mayor Taylor said all proposals are being reviewed by staff.
Mr. Gothmann said that Mayor Wilhite said that she wanted to talk to Council about Mr. Gothmann
writing an article; and Mayor Wilhite said she hasn't had a chance to read the article concerning this
topic, and that she will send Council an e -mail afterwards. Mr. Taylor said he sent back his comments
and thought the article looked great.
6. City Manager Comments — City Manager Mercier
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In response to questions about the wastewater plant update, Mr. Mercier mentioned that Mr. Rawls is in
the room, and he asked Mr. Rawls for his input. Mr. Rawls said that he has a final draft report summary
which includes all the suggested rate changes in each category; and that the County's public hearing is
scheduled for August 14. Mayor Wilhite also mentioned that she and Commissioner Richard have been
discussing scheduling another joint meeting for next Monday, and exchanging information about each
entity's capital needs; and that she will again meet with Mr. Richard this Thursday. Mr. Mercier stated
that there are several pending administrative policies which have been submitted to the collective
bargaining unit, and that no changes have been proposed by the labor unit; that the policies include a
broad array of topics and if interested, copies will be available. Councilmember Munson stated that he
would like a copy.
There being no further business, Mayor Wilhite adjourned the meeting at 9:39 p.m.
Christine Bainbridge, City Clerk
"..________
D-ut\,,K., U 3J
Diana Wilhite, Mayor
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Approved by Council: 08 -14 -07