2007, 08-21 Study Session MinutesPresent:
Councilmembers:
Diana Wilhite, Mayor
Steve Taylor, Deputy Mayor
Dick Denenny, Councilmember
Mike DeVleming, Councilmember
Bill Gothmann, Councilmember
Rich Munson, Councilmember
Absent:
Gary Schimmels, Councilmember
MINUTES
CITY OF SPOKANE VALLEY
CITY COUNCIL STUDY SESSION
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
Mayor Wilhite called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m., and welcomed everyone to the meeting.
Staff:
Dave Mercier, City Manager
Mike Connelly, City Attorney
Greg McCormick, Planning Manger
Scott Kuhta, Senior Planner
Mike Jackson, Parks & Rec Director
Ken Thompson, Finance Director
Nina Regor, Deputy City Manager
Carolbelle Branch, Public Information Officer
Rick VanLeuven, Police Chief
Greg Bingaman, IT Specialist
Chris Bainbridge, City Clerk
City Clerk Bainbridge called roll. All councilmembers were present except Councilmember Schimmels,
who called earlier to report he would be arriving late.
ACTION ITEMS:
1. Consideration for Consulting Services for Sprague /Appleway Revitalization Plan and City Center
Project — Scott Kuhta
It was moved by Deputy Mayor Taylor and seconded, to authorize the City Manager to negotiate and
execute three contracts for City Center and Sub -area plan for consulting assistance: one with Freedman,
Tung and Bottomley for an amount not to exceed $64, 000; one with Studio Cascade for an amount not to
exceed $12,000; and one with Glatting Jackson for an amount not to exceed $43,500. Senior Planner
Kuhta explained that Council received a memorandum concerning this matter at the June 19 meeting, and
heard an administrative report August 14, with updated information concerning additional consulting
support in the amount of $139,500 for the project; and that Council requested staff prepare this matter for
motion consideration. Mayor Wilhite invited public comment; no comments were offered. Vote by
acclamation: In favor: Unanimous. Opposed: None. Abstentions: None. Motion carried.
2. Approval Consideration, Authorizing City Manager to Approve Certain Expenses Relative to
Sprague /Appleway Revitalization Plan City Center — Nina Regor
It was moved by Deputy Mayor Taylor and seconded to authorize the City Manager to approve expenses
related to Sprague Appleway Revitalization Plan /City Center in compliance with Spokane Valley
Municipal Code 3.35.010. Deputy City Manager Regor explained that our general practice is that we
comply with the Code for purchasing and financial guidelines, but when dealing with high profile
projects, staff adds a step to make council aware in advance of decisions to ensure Council and staff are
in synch concerning these high - profile projects such as the City Center; that this project's pace is
accelerating and staff discovered the need for a faster turn- around for some decisions; and she explained
that this motion removes the step of getting Council approval in advance, and relies on City Manager
approval per his contracting authorization described in Spokane Valley Municipal Coe 3.35.010; and if
approved, staff would continue to timely update Council on these issues. Mayor Wilhite invited public
comment; no comments were offered. In brief Council discussion, it was mentioned that Councilmember
Denenny is a member of this project's Core team, but related expenses authorized under this action would
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Approved by Council: 08 -28 -07
not require a vote of the Core team. Vote by acclamation: In favor: Unanimous. Opposed: None.
Abstentions: None. Motion carried.
3. Approval Consideration, FTE Authorization for Senior Planner — Nina Regor
It was moved by Deputy Mayor Taylor and seconded to approve 1.0 FTE Senior Planner. Deputy City
Manager Regor explained that this issue was discussed at the last council meeting; that we currently only
have one senior planner and in addition to his other duties, he is the designated planner for the Sprague
Appleway Revitalization Plan and the City Center projects; that the position will be a permanent, full -
time position; but because several steps are pending as well, staff will wait to fill this position until the
newly hired Community Development Director arrives, which is scheduled about mid - September. In
response to a question concerning budget impact, Mr. Mercier said that he would work with the Finance
Director to find a place for this position in the 2008 budget. Councilmember Munson mentioned he feels
it is appropriate to leave the hiring timing of this person to staff, as other upcoming decision points will
determine the workload of this position. Mayor Wilhite invited public comment; no comments were
offered. Vote by acclamation: In favor: Unanimous. Opposed: None. Abstentions: None. Motion
carried.
At 6:15 p.m., Mayor Wilhite called for a quick break while Council moves from the dais to the tables on
the floor so that they may further deliberate on the Uniform Development Code. Mayor Wilhite
reconvened the meeting at 6:22 p.m.
REGULAR STUDY SESSION ITEMS:
4. Uniform Development Code — Greg McCormick
Mayor Wilhite announced that because of tonight's Executive Session, Council will endeavor to stop
UDC deliberation at 8:30; and that for tonight's UDC discussion, Councilmembers will refer to the red-
line version of Title 22. Mayor Wilhite then led discussion through Title 22, with the following results:
22.20.010: Concurrency determination
After lengthy discussion concerning facilities and services which must be, or should be evaluated for
concurrency, it was Council consensus to return the language to what staff recommended initially as
shown below:
1. The following facilities and services must be evaluated for Concurrency:
a. Transportation
b. Public Water
c. Public Sewer
2. The City may also consider concurrency issues for the following facilities and service:
a. Fire Protection
b. Police Protection
c. Parks and Recreation
d. Libraries
e. Solid Waste Disposal
f. Schools
22.20.020: Concurrency Review: no change
22.20.030: Pre - Application Determinations: no change
22.20.040: Application Procedures: no change
22.20.050: Relation to Other Requirements: no change
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22.20.060: Phased Development: no change
22.20.070: Conflicts between Provisions: no change
22.20.080: Transportation Concurrency — Additional Considerations
#5. After discussion concerning clarifying the first sentence to remain stated as is or change it to just
"collectors," Attorney Connelly mentioned that this issue is governed by the level of service and the
comprehensive plan, and that clarification is not necessary in this paragraph. The question also arose
about the "20 peak hour trips" and what that number was based upon. Mr. McCormick said that not every
trip generated by a development will go through every intersection, and that one instance speaks of total
projects, and the other examines the intersections. Mr. Mercier said this is a matter of administrative code
and staff will check to see what code specifies.
22.20.090: Water and Sewer Concurrency Additional Considerations
#3. Although it was mentioned that this deals with new development, Attorney Connelly said he and Mr.
Kuhta will further examine this paragraph to make certain it does not conflict with the language of
comprehensive plan.
22.50: Off - Street Parking & Loading Standards
Table 22.50 -1- Shared Use Allowances. Councilmember Gothmann asked for an explanation on
how to read this table. Mr. McCormick said these numbers focus on when the classification will use
their own parking lot; but that there is likely a better way to have that information presented as it is
confusing. Staff will work on a re- write.
Table 22.50 -2 — Required Parking Spaces for Specific Activities
Mr. Kuhta and Mr. McCormick agreed that "church" would be better shown as a separate item rather
than included under auditorium.
22.50.040: Bicycle Parking: Section numbering appears to be out of synch; staff will correct.
22.50.050: Landscaping in parking areas: no change
22.60 Outdoor Lighting Standards
22.60.030 General Requirements
#4: typographical error, `s' missing from word `control':
beam . . ."
. reflector that controls the light
22.60.030, #1 -5 General Requirements
There was discussion concerning omitting #1 and 2, and discussion if #5 is even attainable. Mr.
McCormick said he will ask Nik Bentley to make sure that section is consistent with other codes such as
the building or energy code. In addition, Mr. Gothmann said he was speaking to an engineer regarding #5
concerning light fixtures and the light source, and that he will supply staff with his contact information.
There was also a question whether Avista would be grandfathered in, and Staff indicated it would be.
22.70 Fencing, Screening & Landscaping
Double sided lots, or residential lots where it could be construed that there are two front lots, was
discussed, and Councilmember Munson said there is nothing in the regulations to address this issue, such
as the residential situation on 32 and 16 streets. The matter of fencing and screening was also
discussed, including the idea of six -foot or eight -foot fences, or of keeping living plant screens to a
specific maximum height of eight feet, and how to enforce that. The suggestion was made to add a
sentence about when the rear side of property fronts an arterial, of whose responsibility it is of keeping
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the fence and parking strip in good shape, but there was no consensus for that addition. Mr. Kuhta said
that current code allows only a six foot maximum for residential, and that anything taller currently
requires a conditional use permit and a building permit; but that perhaps this section needs to clarify
whether the general fencing provisions are for commercial, industrial, and /or residential. No changes
were made.
22.70.020, #2: A majority of Councilmembers (four in favor, two opposed), agreed with Deputy Mayor
Taylor's suggestion to remove the words "living plant." Attorney Connelly brought further attention to
#2 and #4 and asked if there should be a decision on how far from the fence to place such trees. Council
made no determination.
22.70.030 - Screening & Buffering
Mr. McCormick said that this landscaping section is new, and that although there are lots of details, it is
less prescriptive than existing code. Mayor Wilhite questioned #14 "Landscaping Plan Requirements"
that the plan be prepared by a registered landscape architect; and Mr. McCormick responded that this
would only be for new development.
A question also arose about #4 table: "Full screening and buffering are required for land use classification
as shown on Table 22.70 -2," and whether this only applies to non - residential and multi- family. Mr.
McCormick said staff can research to ensure this table is consistent with the comp plan.
Page 31, m: after discussion concerning the definition of "gravel" there was Council consensus to remove
m.
Page 31, j: Mr. McCormick and Mr. Kuhta will re -write this item as it was suggested to not use
"vegetation" but rather perhaps "anything under utility lines should not be larger than 20 feet."
Mayor Wilhite announced that discussion will stop here now in order to give enough time for a few other
items, including executive session.
5. Advance Agenda Additions — Mayor Wilhite
Mayor Wilhite stated that she tentatively set Wednesday, September 5 as an additional meeting to discuss
the Uniform Development Code should that meeting be needed.
6. Information Only: These items were not reported on or discussed: (a) Homeland Security Grant for
Police Precinct Building; (b) Balfour Park Potential Improvements; and (c) Art Work at CenterPlace.
7. Council Check -in — Mayor Wilhite
Mayor Wilhite asked Councilmembers to please send her or Deputy City Manager Regor, outside agency
allocation recommendations as that matter is set for a motion consideration at the September 11 meeting.
Councilmember Gothmann stated that he will recuse himself from participation on the allocations for the
social service agencies, but will participate in allocation recommendations for the economic development
entities.
8. City Manager Comments — Dave Mercier
City Manager Mercier showed an example of the long - waited Police Department uniform patch.
EXECUTIVE SESSION: Land Acquisition; Public Employee Performance Review
It was moved by Deputy Mayor Taylor, seconded and unanimously agreed to adjourn into executive
session to discuss land acquisition and personnel review issues, not to exceed 30 minutes; and upon
return, no decision is expected.
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Approved by Council: 08 -28 -07
It was moved by Deputy Mayor Taylor, seconded and unanimously agreed to excuse Councilmember
Schimmels from tonight 's meeting.
Council adjourned into Executive Session at 8:30 p.m. Mayor Wilhite declared Council out of Executive
Session at 8:52 p.m. It was then moved by Deputy Mayor Taylor, seconded and unanimously agreed to
adjourn. The meeting adjourned at 8:53 p.m.
- ristine Bainbridge, City Clerk
r
z
ATTEST a Diana Wilhite, Mayor
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Approved by Council: 08 -28 -07