2013, 03-05 Study Session MINUTES
SPOKANE VALLEY CITY COUNCIL
REGULAR MEETING
STUDY SESSION FORMAT
Spokane Valley City Hall Council Chambers
Spokane Valley, Washington
March 5,2013 6:00 p.m.
Attendance:
Counicilmeinbers Staff
Torn Towey,Mayor Mike Jackson, City Manager
Dean Grafos,Councilmember Cary Driskell,City Attorney
Chuck Hafner, Councilmember John Holtman, Community Development Dir.
Rod Higgins, Council member Mark Calhoun, Finance Director
Ben Wick, Councilmember Mike Stone, Parks & Recreation Director
Arne Woodard, Councilmember Eric Guth, Public Works Director
Steve Worley, Senior Engineer
Absent: Rick VanLeuven,Police Chief
Gary Schimmels, Deputy Mayor Lori Barlow, Senior Planner
Scott Kuhta,Planning Manager.
Steve Worley, Senior Engineer
inga Note, Traffic Engineer
Chris Bainbridge, City Clerk
Mayor Towey called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m.
Roll Call: City Clerk Bainbridge called the roll; all Councilinembers were present except Deputy Mayor
Schimmels. It was moved by Gowicfhnember Woodard, seconded and unanimously agreed to excuse
Deputy Mayor Schimmels from tonight's meeting.
ACTION ITEMS:
I. Small Works Projects Bids—Eric Guth
It was moved by Councilmember Wick and seconded to award the Stormwater Utility 2013 Small IVor•ks
Projects Phase 1 to the lowest responsive and responsible bidder, Cat's Eye Excavating, in the aruoiun'of
5216,208.47. After Public Works Director Guth gave brief background on this bid award, Mayor Towey
invited public comment. No comments were offered. Kate by Acclamation: In Favor: Unanimous.
Opposed.' Notre. Motion carried.
NON-ACTION ITEMS:
2. Public Access Plan Review, Shoreline Master Program (SMP) Lori Barlow,Tadas Kisielius
Senior Planner Barlow went through the PowerPoint presentation explaining the highlights of the Draft
Public Access Plan, which she said is as a result of staff and URS Corporation's efforts; she mentioned
the written comments included in the packet, and said that the letter from the Tribal Historic Preservation
Officer with the Spokane Tribe of Indians' comments are not in context of this Plan, and therefore will be
addressed later; and she reminded everyone that we are only talking about the area within the shoreline
jurisdiction; she also explained that it is not necessary to require additional access points as we have
adequate access presently; she said the gravel pits are outside of the SMP requirements until they are no
longer being mined, and the plan doesn't reference them although it recognizes it might be an opportunity
in the future. There was further discussion concerning access area Eden Road and the lack of negative
comments about that area; and mention that man}' user groups' continents are incorporated through the
goals and policies. Ms. Barlow said that staff advertised and reached out to user groups and none of the
comments received caused staff to reconsider what is in the document; details such as how to address
Council Study Session Minutes 03-05-2013 Page 1 of 3
Approved by Council; 03-12-2013
signage, or possible places to put in water fountains are not included as this Plan is a recommendation of
deficiencies based on occurring use; adding that they agreed with the need to make people aware of the
various access points. The Centennial Trail was also mentioned and Mr. Jackson said we are not a formal
party to the agreement, but have been maintaining the seven miles of trail that go through our City. Ms.
Barlow said the goal is to have this SMP adopted by the end of this year. Ms. Barlow said that Attorney
Tadas Kisielius also reviewed the Draft Public Access Plan to identify areas where the draft plan may
exceed, meet, or fall below the state guidelines; and subsequently recommended that language discussing
Shelley Lake public access be revised to reflect that there were no additional access opportunities at the
lake. Mr. Kisielius added that the lake is privately owned and surrounded by community property
managed by the Homeowners Association. He stated that the goal is to capture and catalogue our unique
circumstances; that we have tremendous public access, and this is a means to catalogue that and gain
recognition of that; and he then reviewed the regulatory process outlined in section 6. Ms. Barlow said a
resolution is scheduled for next week's agenda for Council to consider accepting this Public Access Plan.
3. Sign Code Discussion--John Hohman
Via his PowerPoint presentation, Community Development Director Hohman discussed the 2012 sign
code revision process, as well as issues with the current code, and ideas for further code revision. Some
of the suggestions Mr. Hohman mentioned included flags with or without script, portable signs such as
reader boards, and location and number of temporary banners. Mr.Hohman said staff is prepared to come
forward with code revisions similar to those of the County and Spokane City, and ultimately, Council
expressed the view that future proposed changes to be brought before Council will be left at Mr.
Hohlnan's discretion.
At 7:24 p.m.Mayor Towey called for a short recess; he reconvened the meeting at 7:35 p.m.
4. Townhouses in Neighborhood Commercial, CTA 01-13, Proposed Amendment to SVMC 19.120 —
Scott Kuhta
Planning Manager Kuhta explained that last September, Council adopted significant changes to Spokane
Valley Municipal Code (SVMC) 19.120, and one change included the removal of Townhouses as a
permitted use in the Neighborhood Commercial (NC) zone. Mr. Kuhta said that he has not seen a
townhouse built within the city limits in our ten years of incorporation; that after that was removed, staff
was approached about a vacant piece of property near 1e and University,where the developer would like
to put in townhouses. Mr. Kuhta said staff recommends including Townhouses as a permitted use once
again in the NC zone as it is a logical transition to residential communities; and said he feels he can find
support in the Comprehensive Plan to allow this as well. Couneilmetnber Grafos asked if townhouses are
a good transition, why don't we allow them in the garden office zone. Mr. Kuhta said the primary use of
garden office is for office uses, and said he would like to further research that issue, adding that we do not
have a demand for townhouses. Mr. Kuhta said he anticipates bringing this to Council for a first
ordinance reading toward the end of March. There were no objections.
5.CMAO/TA Grant Projects—Steve Worley
Senior Engineer Worley went over the list of proposed grant projects, and after some discussion on which
projects to include and in what priority, Council determined to leave the priority of the list to Mr.
Worley's discretion. Mr. Worley added that this issue is scheduled for a motion consideration at next
week's Council meeting.
6. Sprague Avenue On-Street Parking—Eric Guth, Inga Note
Through her PowerPoint presentation, Traffic Engineer Note explained some of the parking issues
association with parking on Sprague Avenue, including preferred parking conditions such as low traffic
volume and slower speeds, existing parking , crash rates for street types, clear-view triangle issues
associated with parking; suggestions for how to make it safe, such as removing travel lanes or lowering
Council Study Session Minutes 03-05-2013 Page 2 of 3
Approved by Council: 03-12-2013
speed limits, and ended by discussing some options such as side street parking, or conducting a corridor
parking study to evaluate other options. Councilmember Grafos said he would be interested in exploring
the idea of going into a partnership with some of the auto dealers. Councilmember Hafner brought up the
cost associated with making any of the discussed changes; and Mayor Towey mentioned that citizens
previously voted that they do not want the corridor to be a commuter, and that ballot result should be
honored. Mr. Jackson said we can take a preliminary look and get a sense of the amount of resources
needed to make any change, and come back in a few weeks. Council voiced no objections.
7. City Hal] Lease Amendment—Mark Calhoun
Finance Director Calhoun went over the background of the lease extensionlamendment all as noted in his
Request for Council Action,and said that this is also scheduled for a motion consideration at next week's
Council meeting. Council expressed their appreciation to Mr. Calhoun with the lease negotiations.
8.Advance Agenda
There were no suggested changes to the advance agenda.
9.Information Only
The Finance Department Monthly Report, Preservation Projects Update, and Response to Citizen
Comment Regarding Crime Statistics, were for information only and were not reported or discussed.
10. Council Check-in-Mayor Towey No Comments.
11.City Manager Comments--Mike Jackson
City Manager Jackson referenced the e-mail he and members of Council recently received from Lobbyist
Briahna Taylor concerning the legislative session; and he briefly mentioned that discussion continues at
the legislature concerning proposed changes to the Lodging Tax legislation.
It was moved by Councihnember Wick, seconded and unanimously agreed to adjourn. The meeting
adjourned at 8:50 p.m.
ATTE Tomas E. T: ey ayor
hristine :ainbridge,City Clerk T
Council Study Session Minutes 03-05-2013 Page 3 of 3
Approved by Council: 03-12-2013