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HomeMy WebLinkAboutApproved Minutes - 2009-02-09 Special``�o, Mr[oakfCo CITY COUNCIL SPECIAL MEETING MINUTES February 9, 2009 gIWN Mayor Jack Hoffman called the special City Council meeting to order at 5:08 p.m. on February 9, 2009, in the Santiam Room, West End Building. Present: Mayor Hoffman, Councilors Jordan, Johnson, Olson, Moncrieff, and Tierney, Hennagin Staff Present: Alex McIntyre, City Manager; David Powell, City Attorney; Jane McGarvin, Deputy City Recorder; Stephan Lashbrook, Assistant City Manager; David Donaldson, Human Resources Director; Guy Graham, Public Works Director; Jordan Wheeler, Management Analyst; Sidaro Sin, Senior Planner; Sarah Selden, Neighborhood Planner Planning Commissioners: Scot Seigel and Jon Gustafson 3. STUDY SESSION 3.1 Land Use 101 (including brief overview of Comprehensive Plan, Sensitive Lands, Tre Code, Annexation, and Stafford Basin/Urban Growth Boundary • Overview Mr. Lashbrook stated he was making this presentation at the request of the City Council. He presented a PowerPoint presentation. He reviewed the history of land use in Oregon including Lake Oswego's situation in relation to the rest of the state. In 1973 or 1974, the City embarked on its planning program, which was completed in 1978. The State issued a certificate of acknowledgement in 1984, as being in compliance with all state and federal laws, Metro rules, and statewide planning goals. Some of those documents still exist today. In 1988, a revision was undertaken. The system seems to take about 15 years, so this process is right on track to go through the process once again. • Annexation Annexation is poorly understood. Some feel that annexations only occur in order to bring more property into the City in order to produce more revenue. That is not the case. The driving force for annexation is failing septic tanks where there is a health hazard. Another misconception is that all of the unincorporated developed area is part of the city. The yellow line on the map is the City's Urban Service Boundary, which shows a lot of developed area outside of the City boundaries. Many cities in Oregon require voter approval before property can be annexed, but the City's Charter only has a requirement that annexation in the Stafford area have voter approval for annexation. Many planners from all over the country and world come to Oregon to study the Urban Growth Boundary concept, as it is a leader in this area. Similar concepts have been adopted in Washington, Florida and Vermont. The concept is that on one side of a line, it is urban, while on the other side it is rural. Some areas focused on soil types for making that decision. This was one issue the Big Look Committee has looked at, and the Legislature is not looking at simplifying the process. He noted that Metro serves the three counties — Multnomah, Clackamas, and Washington, however, not all the area of the three counties are part of Metro. The cities of Canby, Sandy, and Estacada are not in Metro, but they create their own urban growth boundaries under State rules. City Council Special Meeting Minutes Page 1 of 5 February 9, 2009 Mr. Sin noted he has been attending Stafford Hamlet meetings, and the group is about to adopt its vision. Mr. Lashbrook explained that in 1997, Metro proposed to expand the urban growth boundary into the Stafford area. The cities of West Linn, Tualatin, and especially Lake Oswego, objected as they all had concerns about transportation, services, compatibility, and neighborhood characteristics. Lake Oswego adopted its Urban Growth Management Plan as part of the Comprehensive Plan in 1998. He explained the urban/rural reserves process. The Urban Growth Boundary laws were adopted during the 1970s, and have evolved through time. In the late 1990s, legislation specified creating urban and rural reserves for the next 20 years. However, planners, developers, and property owners had different understanding of the legislation, and growth has continued to occur in those areas. The current process is to plan for urban and rural reserves for a 50 year period. The three counties, Metro, and cities in the region are currently working to develop plans for adoption in 2010, which probably will occur at the end of December in 2010. Councilor Jordan stated she was approached to attend the urban reserves meeting. She asked if staff was attending the meetings. Mr. Lashbrook explained that Mr. Sin and Mr. Egner alternate attending the meetings. The message being relayed is that if the Stafford area is urbanized, that the City of Lake Oswego needs to be at the table. There are many concerns, including the governance question. If the area was developed under the umbrella of a County service district, the governing body would the Clackamas County Board of Commissioners. The City does not feel this would be a good way of providing urban service. The City of West Linn has indicated it wants the area to remain rural. The City of Tualatin would work with Lake Oswego if it was part of their city, but the city that would have the biggest impact would be the City of Lake Oswego, as traffic from the area would either go to 1-205 or through Lake Oswego. Mr. Lashbrook distributed copies of a book entitled City Comforts: How to Build an Urban Village, revised edition by David Sucher, to the Council, which he stated is one of the best resources about planning. • Comprehensive Plan and Visioning Mr. Lashbrook explained the Comprehensive Plan is a policy document regarding the growth and development of the City. It is the Council's prerogative and responsibility to change, or maybe just adjust. He said that one conversation the Council needs to have is regarding visioning. While the Council has not embraced the idea, there needs to be a thorough discussion to find out what residents are satisfied with, and what they feel needs to be changed. He showed a diagram noting that the Comprehensive Plan is at the top of all the other plans for all departments, including the Water Master Plan, Utility Master Plan, Neighborhood Plans, Capital Improvement Program, Transportation Plan, etc. These plans implement the Comprehensive Plan. The Community Development Code, Tree Code, Sign Code, etc., all relate back to the Comprehensive Plan, and are all interconnected. Mr. Lashbrook distributed copies of two handouts: "Stephan's Six Steps to Planning," a model he has worked with for many years, and "Stephan's Recommendation for the Content of every City Plan." Mr. Lashbrook explained the difference between public space and private space, which is the area where buildings relate to the street, such as the exterior of the building. In the typical subdivision in the 1950s, the 20 -foot front setback originated from 1939 pre -HUD model zoning ordinance, which was sent to all municipalities across the country. In a majority of instances, most jurisdictions adopted the model ordinance because they didn't have anything else. The 20 -foot setback was the amount of room necessary to park a car between the garage and the sidewalk. When the First Addition Neighborhood Plan (FAN) and accompanying code changes were adopted, they went beyond the 20 -foot setback, and said they wanted to reduce the 20 -foot City Council Special Meeting Minutes Page 2 of 5 February 9, 2009 setback, to allow a porch in the front of the house that came out into the 20 -foot setback. FAN's idea was that a porch was where the families would gather, and while sitting on their porch, talk to people walking by, thus encouraging neighbors to communicate with each other. The irony in FAN is there are hedges 12 -feet tall across the front of the lots. • Tree Code Mr. Lashbrook distributed a simplified version of the Lake Oswego Tree Code, noting the Tree Removal Continuum on page 2, from which Council could select a policy decision for the future. The Continuum starts with very basic rules, and each paragraph is more restrictive than the one before. He thought the City was somewhere between paragraphs 6 and 7. He urged the Council to read the Tree Code section in the Comprehensive Plan, which focuses on maintaining the wooded nature of the community. Mr. Lashbrook noted similar continuums could be developed for other policy issues, such as the infill question, to identify where the City is now, to some point it might want to be in the future. • Solar Code Mr. Lashbrook explained this is very complicated, but is part of community vision, and parts are in conflict with the tree code. Councilor Hennagin stated when he receives questions about the tree and solar codes, he is unsure what to tell citizens, as the two are in conflict. Mr. Lashbrook explained the City's code states that trees cannot be cut to enhance views. That is the reason many residents in the Skylands area will never annex to the City because of the view/tree issue. He recalled Council got beat up about that when they talked about annexing the area. Planning staff has researched tree codes in other parts of the country, and some actually require that trees be cut in order to improve views, while others, like the City of Lake Oswego's code, says cutting trees to enhance views, is not allowed. • Staffs relationship with Boards & Commissions Mr. Lashbrook explained this was something that came out of conversations regarding Council Goals, and the sensitive lands issue. It was pointed out that staff does not work for the Board or Commission; they work for the City Manager, who works for the Council. In addition, staff has been told to make their best professional recommendation in staff reports going to the Development Review Commission (DRC), Planning Commission (PC), or any other Board or Commission. If the DRC or PC votes against the staff's recommendation and if it ultimately gets appealed to the City Council, the staff report should make sure their report includes what the original staff's recommendation was. Staff also has a responsibility to explain how the DRC or PC arrived at the decision it did. He explained that the DRC and PC may not be aware of the training staff receives about that message. In some municipalities, the staff is not allowed to make a recommendation; their job is to provide information and let the Board/Commission make its own decision. In Lake Oswego, staff makes a professional recommendation based on the facts. Councilor Jordan suggested this may be an excellent time to provide this kind of training, as there were new Councilors, and new appointments to the Planning Commission and Development Review Commission. Mr. Lashbrook agreed, and noted it was about the law, and less about Robert's Rules of Order. Councilor Tierney asked if the Planning Commission looked for direction from the Council, as he felt this was a fine line. Mr. Lashbrook explained the Planning Commission is an advisory body, whereas the DRC is more of a decision making body. The Planning Commission, as well as for most of the Boards & Commissions, are almost always advisory, or recommending action. However, it is helpful if the Council lets them know if they want the specific Board or Commission to focus on certain issues, and to come back with a recommendation. City Council Special Meeting Minutes Page 3 of 5 February 9, 2009 There has not been much of a relationship with the Boards and Commissions, as about the only contact is a dinner with the Board & Commission chairs, then a 20 minute study session once a year where multiple Boards & Commissions are meeting as well. It is important for the Planning Commission to have more time with the City Council as the various plans (water, transportation, etc.) are being reviewed. Mr. Lashbrook pointed out that all the members of the Boards & Commissions are volunteers, who put in a huge amount of time on the City's behalf. Mr. Powell noted that the staff provides professional opinion, and it is important for the record to show what the staff's recommendation was, and if the Board or Commission deviates from the staff's recommendation, to include how that decision came about. Mayor Hoffman noted that in 2009-2010, there will be a lot of discussion and work being done on a number of issues, such as revisions to the Comprehensive Plan, infill, sensitive lands, tree code, the Lake Grove Town center, urban renewal center, a decision about the West End Building, and the Stafford area. Regarding the Stafford issue, Metro needs to hear from not just staff, but our elected officials. Does Lake Oswego want to remain at a population of 36,000? The City of West Linn has sent the message to Metro that it wants to remain the same. The City of Hillsboro is sending a message they want to grow by 10,000 to 15,000. Metro needs to hear from the City of Lake Oswego within the next three or four weeks about what the population growth should be in the next 20 years. Mayor Hoffman explained that the City has a number of high priorities coming to the forefront right now, and the Council needs to make some decisions, and give feedback to Metro about whether future population growth should come to Lake Oswego, West Linn, Gresham, Portland, or Hillsboro. Councilor Tierney stated the Comprehensive Plan is not just a land use document. He asked if parts that are not land use will be taken to other Boards & Commissions for their input. Mr. Lashbrook explained one of the unfortunate parts of the Comprehensive Plan revision is that everyone wants something else to be done first before working on the Comprehensive Plan revision. All the subparts —Transportation, Parks & Recreation Master Plans, Utility Master Plans, etc. - all need to be worked on and are part of the Comprehensive Plan. However, the Comprehensive Plan revision process cannot wait for all the other work to be completed. He recalled the diagram about the relationship between the plans and the Comprehensive Plan. Councilor Tierney asked if the other Boards & Commissions will be asked to work on their specific part, such as Parks & Recreation Advisory Board looking at the parks plans, and the Transportation Advisory Board looking at transportation. Mr. Lashbrook noted that was correct. • Visioning Councilor Jordan asked where the City was on the Visioning process. She recalled the Hillsboro visioning process. She felt it was important is to state want you want to accomplish, how you are going to get there, and what are your expectations in the process. The City has its Quality of Life Indicators on one hand, and on the other hand is the Comprehensive Plan, but there doesn't seem to be a relationship between the two. Mayor Hoffman thanked Mr. Lashbrook and Mr. Sin for their presentation. He was very impressed with the book, as there were a number of relevant items for City projects, such as Lake Grove, Foothills, Infill, and Urban Renewal. He suggested scheduling a joint meeting with the Council, Planning Commission and Development Review Commission, to discuss the Comprehensive Plan and Periodic Review. City Council Special Meeting Minutes Page 4 of 5 February 9, 2009 • MISCELLANEOUS Mayor Hoffman noted he would like to schedule meetings with the following: Tigard City Council concerning the water agreement in April at Tigard; Mt. Park Homeowners Association; and requested that Professor Bud Kass from Portland State University be invited to make a presentation on trust. Mayor Hoffman noted he would like to schedule a Community Roundtable concerning the budget on March 7, using the Samoan circle format. Councilor Olson noted that LONAC meets in the morning, and there is an Eagle Scout ceremony in the afternoon. Mayor Hoffman said the meeting could be held at the WEB. The Council discussed the starting times for the February 19 and 25 meetings. Mayor Hoffman noted the meetings will begin at 6:30 p.m. Councilor Jordan noted there needs to be a meeting scheduled to get interested people from the Stafford area, and the Cities of Lake Oswego, West Linn and Tualatin at the same table at the same time. There is a Clackamas County Citizen Advisory Board meeting about this issue, and Lake Oswego has been invited, but they meet on the last Tuesday of the month, which conflicts with Council meetings. Mayor Hoffman stated he has talked with Doug McClain, Clackamas County Planning Commission, who is chairing the process. He will keep in touch with Mr. McClain and keep the Council informed about meeting schedule. He will also make sure notices about the meetings are distributed to the Council. Mayor Hoffman noted the February 10 meeting will be televised. Joe Hertzberg had commented to him that if the meetings last longer than 9 p.m., it appears harder for the Council to make decisions. Mr. Hertzberg had also shared with him some tips about running the meeting, the meeting agendas, and meeting dynamics. If Councilors have any concerns, he asked them to share with him or with Mr. Hertzberg. Mr. McIntyre noted the State of the City speeches will be presented by Mayor Hoffman, but he did not have the dates. Mayor Hoffman noted he planned to meet with each Board & Commission, and also present a thank you gift to all the members. He will notify the Council liaison when the meetings are being held. Councilor Johnson explained that when she attended the last Regional Water Consortium meeting, she voted to approve an increase in dues of $1,000. This increase will pay for advertising on radio and print ads regarding conservation efforts. Mr. McIntyre noted portraits are scheduled to be taken before the Council meeting on February 17, and will include both individual and group portraits. Ms. Christie will coordinate the times with Councilors. 4. ADJOURNMENT Mayor Hoffman adjourned the meeting at 6:50 p.m. PROVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL: Marc{A 2, 2010 _ Hoffman, Respectfully submi , vv� e Jane McGarvin er Deputy City Recorder City Council Special Meeting Minutes Page 5 of 5 February 9, 2009