CC Minutes - 02/09/00 Work Session

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the Congressional delegation to stress the importance of continuing the timber payments to the counties. Mr. Johnson said that Ms. Andersen would provide the council with the House and Senate resolution and some bulleted talking points. Mayor Torrey urged councilors to e-mail the Board of County Commissioners to encourage it to follow through on the $2.5 million contribution to cities. C. Work Session: Urban Forestry Regulations Public Works Director Christine Andersen, Planning Division Manager Jan Childs, and Urban Forester Mark Snyder joined the council for the item. Ms. Andersen called the council's attention to a memorandum in the meeting packet from Ms. Childs entitled Tree Preservation Regulations and the Land Use Code Ul~date. The memorandum summarized existing and proposed code revisions related to tree preservation, provided a status report on the review of the City's land use regulations in the Land Use Code Update (LUCU), and provided options for alternative processes for reviewing tree preservation regulations through LUCU. The packet also included a memorandum from Mr. Snyder outlining an interim strategy to implement Urban Forestry review of planned unit development and site review applications under the current code while the revisions to existing regulations were in process. The strategy included a contingency fund request to underwrite the cost of an additional employee through the end of the fiscal year. Ms. Childs said that during the review of the Land Use Code Update, staff would examine the long-term staffing implications of any proposed code revisions. Mr. Rayor asked if there would be offsetting revenue to underwrite the costs of the employee. Ms. Andersen said the City's current strategy did not include an additional permit fee increase, but staff would track the time and resource commitment of processing applications, and that analysis would be part of the basis for the fee analysis. Mr. Kelly said that he was comfortable with the proposed approach and emphasized that the proposal was an interim solution while the code review was occurring. He endorsed the idea of a limited review of land use applications as an interim measure. Responding to a question from Mr. Pap6, Ms. Andersen said that the position designated for review of land use applications would be housed in the Urban Forestry Program in Public Works. Mr. Pap6 said that he continued to question why citizens "had to go from one department to another to get permits for planning" and would oppose any fee increases until the City addressed the issue. He said that staff would need to give the council a good reason for the present structure or consolidate all permits in the Permit and Information Center. Ms. Andersen suggested that the subject could be examined as new tree regulations are developed through the Land Use Code Update, and that there would be an opportunity for joint functions to be handled by one employee. She said that the interim strategy proposed was the best for the short-term, and in the long- term there would be other options for permit issuance. Responding to a request for clarification from Mr. Pap6 about the interim strategy, Ms. Andersen said that a variety of staff with expertise in urban forestry would be available to provide input into application reviews, and a single employee at the Permit and Information Center would not lend itself to that level of support. She said that applications such as site review applications would be routed internally, and residents would not be required to submit applications at multiple locations. The site review application would be submitted at the Permit and Information Center. Mr. Pap6 said that to get the Public Works staff to change its priorities, a resident would have to go to Public Works rather than the Permit and Information Center. Ms. Andersen asked for clarification of Mr. Pap6's statement. Mr. Pap6 said that he had his own experience with trying to MINUTES--Eugene City Council February 9, 2000 Page 6 Work Session