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2018, 10-02 Study Session MINUTES SPOKANE VALLEY COUNCIL MEETING STUDY SESSION Spokane Valley City Hall Council Chambers • Spokane Valley, Washington October 2, 2018 Attendance: Cuuncilmembers Staff Rod Higgins,Mayor Mark Calhoun, City Manager Pain Haley,Deputy Mayor John Holtman, Deputy City Manager Brandi Peet; Councilmember Cary Driskell,City Attorney Linda Thompson, Councilmember Erik Lamb, Deputy City Attorney Ben Wick, Councihn.ember Bill Helbig,City Engineer Sam Wood,Councilmember Chelsie Taylor,Finance Director Arne Woodard, Councilmember Mike Stone,Parks&Recreation Director Lori.Barlow,Senior Planner Mark Werner, Police Chief Jenny N ickerson, Building Official Christine Bainbridge, City Clerk Mayor Higgins called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m. ROLL CALL: City Clerk Bainbridge called the roll;all Councilmembers were present. 1.East Valley School District Capital News—Kelly Shea,East Valley School District Superintendent East Valley School District Superintendent Kelly Shea explained that the purpose of tonight's agenda item is to inform Council of some of the capital needs in the East Valley School District,and to try to strengthen the relationship between the City and the School District particularly in the area of communication, adding that the City and School District have a shared constituency. Mr. Shea went through his PowerPoint explaining about the needed safety and security improvements, the highs school/middle school field relocation,and other needed building improvements, including a parking lot to make it easier and safer for parents to drop off and pick up their children. Councilmember Thompson asked if they will relocate the fields or if land will need to be purchased, and Mr. Shea said the.fields will be relocated from their current location. Councilmember Woodard asked about the estimated value for the mentioned improvements, and Mr, Shea said the estimate is $13 million, and he invited members of Council to come visit his school. Council extended thanks to Mr. Shea for his informative presentation. 2. Duplex Density Discussion—Lori Barlow,Jenny Nickerson,John I-Iohman Deputy City Manager IIohman introduced Building Official Jenny Nickerson and Senior Planner Lori Barlow;and said tonight's agenda item is in follow-up from a report given to Council May 15,2018,which provided an overview of the duplex development regulations in the residential zones; he said that tonight staff will discuss some trends associated with duplexes, and mentioned that with the housing boom over the last few years,we are seeing about a 40% increase in duplexes, with more likely coming; said we need to study this and determine what's happening with density duplexes;he said there have been inquiries from the public that it appears projects are coining in more dense that what is allowed. Mr. Hohman said staff examined five different plats, and two of those had one unit over the allowed density. Mr. Hohman said there is a discrepancy or an apparent loophole in the regulations whereby a lot can be created at 10,000 square feet, which would be the minimum lot size of a duplex, and if you then go through the permitting process, the lots are created through the platting process and then the permits are issued, and during the permitting process, one could get to the point where the density can be exceeded depending on the layout of the project; he said the reverse can also occur where based on the layout of the property you can't get to a maximum density. Mr. Hohman said that poses a problem because the code requires only six units to the acre, and there are two instances where that was exceeded. Mr. Hohman said there are three options for Council Study Session: 10-02-2018 Page 1 on Approved by Council: 10-23-2018 how to address this: one is to take this issue to the Planning Commission and have them deconstruct the regulations, get some public feedback from the homebuilders and neighbors on potential modifications to the code, which he said could include inserting language in the plat to restrict the number of duplexes; he said that there could be an increase in the density which is something Spokane County is researching, and it could also mean that we increase the lot size of a duplex lot; that if we were to increase that existing 10,000 square foot maximum to 12,000 square feet, that would solve the issue because you couldn't get any denser than six units to the acre; and said these are issues we could address with the Planning Commission based on Council's directive. Another option, Mr. Hohman said is we could monitor what Spokane County is doing then report back to Council. Mr. Hohman said another option would be to do nothing and keep watch on that's happening; and he asked if Council has a desired option. In reference to those projects which exceed the density limit,Councilmember Woodard asked if those were primarily where the property is on an arterial and a potential corner of another street,that if you are on an arterial where you are not building a new street and having to dedicate more space to a street,said he thinks you could get to that seven or eight per acre on the 10,000 square foot; which he said he doesn't want increased as he'd rather do no harm then damage that more since land is at a premium; but if an arterial or some other road, and you don't have to dedicate more road, said he can see with the 10,000 square feet, you get four lots,four duplexes, or eight units could create that density that maybe some aren't looking at; or on a corner, adding that he would prefer to see for example on a corner where a duplex gets the bonus because it could look like a home on one street and look like the same home on the other street even though they are a duplex on a 10,000 square foot lot; and that it might give seven or eight to the complex; he said he thinks the County might be moving in that direction;said he would like to see that kind of combination, but not make the lots bigger and monitor it,adding that he realizes-this is kind of a project-to-project basis. Mr. Hohman said Ms. Barlow will address the specifics on those two projects, but we have reviewed the County's proposed requirements and they contain an option for a corner lot as Councilmember Woodard described; and they also had an option for stacking the units on top of each other,which he said,makes him wonder how they would have separate garages. Senior Planner Barlow spoke about the maps included in tonight's Council packet, which show the plats she referenced in the table;said the two plats that exceeded the density were 20170010,and 20170018; one of those borders Robey Road and 12'1' Avenue, and the other borders University Road by one lot, but 11th Lane, which is a private road, provided the primary access to the larger development which was a six-lot short plat; she said she doesn't know that in these particular cases, the situation described by Councilmember Woodard lent itself to allowing for the increase, but said she thinks Councilmember Woodard makes a good point where if the improvements are already in place and it allows more land to be available for development, which she said is not something we have looked at specifically, but more so in the way we calculate how much density is allowed, that we simply look at the gross of the property that is proposed to be developed, and we calculate that by the density allowed to determine how many lots can be developed; so if the improvements exist,then less of that area will go through the process, be dedicated for improvements, so it does allow for greater opportunity for density to be increased. Mayor Higgins asked if the County is looking at more dense construction, and Mr. Hohman replied they are; that they are looking at anywhere from eight to ten units to the acre, so that is something that will put pressure on the City as well from the standpoint of added traffic and other associated impacts to the City; and that they are also proposing a reduction in the minimum lot size down to 4,000 square feet. Councilmember Wick asked if that proposal is only for UGA (urban growth area) or within their single family zoning, and Mr. Hohman said it would he in their single family zoning. Mr. Hohman added that in a lot of the areas within our City,doing residential development is difficult because the lot sizes aren't large and for those that are, some irregularly shaped, which makes it difficult to lay out a project without combining multiple properties,and said duplexes are a viable option. Building Official Ms.Nickerson said that one of the code items that was found to have created the situation, is that a duplex or a two-family construction is considered and constructed with code requirements very similar to a single family dwelling; so once you increase past the two-family point, there are some additional fire resistibility and some accessibility requirements that would add cost to the construction. Council Study Session: 10-02-2018 Page 2 o f 3 Approved by Council: 10-23-2018 Regarding density, Councilmember Thompson said we need to make sure families have enough room around their place and enough room for the kids to play; said she doesn't support increasing density as it would mean more cars parked on the streets;said she likes the openness of the valley and wants to maintain neighborhoods,and would like to wait and see what happens with the County,then make a decision.Deputy Mayor Haley agreed with waiting to see what the County does so as not to duplicate efforts, and then perhaps we could use their data; that people can choose where they want to live and some people want to live in a higher density area. Councilmember Wick said apparently we have a conflict in our Code, or different interpretations; that he appreciates waiting to see what the County will do, and feels we should come back and clean up the Code regulations so there aren't misunderstandings or confusion based on different interpretations; and again, said he doesn't mind waiting but he doesn't want to wait too long to clear up any misunderstanding or possible conflict,There was consensus from Council to wait and see what the County does and then come back for a re-assessment. 3.Budget Amendment, 2018—Chelsie Taylor Finance Director Taylor went over the proposed changes for the 2018 budget as provided in her October 2, 2018 Request for Council Action form,after which Councilmember Wick asked about the cost of the design and placement for the Heart of the Valley sculpture,and whether that would be changed now since Council agreed to move that temporarily into storage, Mr.Calhoun replied that we have entered into a contract with Architects West for some design costs,and that we can probably reduce those figures. There was consensus from Council to move this amendment forward as planned. 4. Governance Manual—Chris Bainbridge City Clerk Bainbridge went through the list of proposed changes as per the Governance Manual Committee, as shown on the October 2,2018 Request for Council Action form; making note of which changes Council agreed with, and which changes, as well as some new comments, Council would like to see again with further edits. Ms. Bainbridge said she would make those changes and have them ready hopefully in a few weeks for Council's further review, and at that time Council could further discuss manual changes, or ask that the manual come back to Council again for adoption via a resolution. S.Advance Agenda—Mayor Higgins There were no suggested changes to the Advance Agenda. 6. Council Comments—Mayor Higgins There were no further Council comments. 7. City Manager Comments—Mark Calhoun Mr. Calhoun remarked that at a previous Council meeting, Councilmember Wood mentioned that Mullan and Argonne at the 1-90 interchange needed some work to get rid of trash and weeds; and said that our Public Works Maintenance Superintendent Shane Arlt and a Geiger work crew cleaned up that area, even though it is technically the responsibility of the Washington State Department of Transportation, it is still a gateway to our City. Mr. Calhoun also mentioned our marketing agreement with [(REM and of six commercials they are working on, which will be shown through December 31 across the three local major networks, and he showed the video of the first commercial. It was moved by Deputy Mayor Daley, seconded and unanimously agreed to adjorn. The meeting adjourned at 8:01 p.m. f / /_ r ' oro, rviw., Arg Av.T' L.R.Hi t g" , f ‘---/A.,J., _ /5414411' Christine Bainbridge, City Clerk Council Study Session: 10-02-2018 Page 3 of 3 Approved by Council: 10-23-2018