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HomeMy WebLinkAbout05/12/1986 Meeting (2) M I NUT E S e Eugene City Council City Council Chamber May 12, 1986 7:30 p.m. COUNCILORS PRESENT: Richard Hansen, Debra Ehrman (7:30-8:00 p.m.), Emily Schue, Cynthia Wooten, Freeman Holmer, Ruth Bascom, Roger Rutan, Jeff Miller. The regular meeting of the City Council of Eugene, Oregon was called to order by His Honor Mayor Brian B. Obie. I. PUBLIC FORUM Mayor Obie said the Public Forum is an opportunity for the council to learn of the city's needs from its citizens and for people to express opinions and provide information about issues which are not scheduled for council consideration. He said the council will not respond immediately to the concerns. e Monte Marshall, 1865 East 28th, is president of the Fairmount Neighbors. He said he is concerned about the proposed development of the Laurelwood Golf Course which will change it from a multi-purpose metropolitan park to an l8-hole golf course. He said there is a perceived lack of over-all planning for Laurelwood and a need for more citizen involvement in the design process before Planned Unit Development (PUD) plans are submitted to a Hearings Official. . Mr. Marshall read a section from the Parks and Recreation Master Plan which indicates that master plans should be completed for all major city parks. He said the master plan also indicates that a master improvement plan should be completed for all major city parks. He said no master plans have been initiated for the Laurelwood Golf Course, and so the proposed improvement is not proper. He read from the Laurelwood Golf Course Expansion Study and said it concludes that the expansion of Laurelwood is not economically feasible. He said comprehensive planning issues should be addressed before the PUD process is initiated. Discussing citizen involvement, Mr. Marshall said only 15 copies of the Laurelwood Golf Course Expansion Study were published. He said the Joint Parks Committee held a public hearing on the study in December of 1984 and Randy Thwing, a member of the committee, stated that other public forums on the study should be held. - MINUTES--Eugene City Council May 12, 1986 Page 1 - e e Mr. Marshall said the Metropolitan Golf Study was completed in December of 1986 and indicated that Laurelwood ranked last among five golf courses. He said there has been no public review of the study. He said the Ernie Drapela, Parks and Recreation Department Executive Manager, stated in a memo that the expansion of Laurelwood should be independent of other golf course proposals. Mr. Marshall asked why the Laurelwood expansion should be independent. He asked the council to refer the expansion plan to the Joint Parks Committee for additional consideration. Mayor Obie directed City Manager Michea1 Gleason to place the process for studying the expansion of Laurelwood Golf Course on the next available Wednesday City Council agenda. II. Street Vacation Request for a Portion of East 15th Avenue, East of Fairmount Boulevard (William Trotter) (SV 86-1) (memo, map distributed) City Manager Micheal Gleason said the applicant wishes to withdraw the application. Mr. Gleason recommended the council approve the withdrawal and permit the applicant to submit another request for the street vacation without paying a filing fee. Ms. Ehrman suggested the applicant be permitted to submit the request without paying a filing fee for a period of one year. Mr. Hansen moved, seconded by Ms. Ehrman, to accept the applicant's request for withdrawal of the street vacation request concerning a portion of East 15th Avenue, east of Fairmount Boulevard and to allow the applicant to resubmit the request within one year without paying a new filing fee. Roll call vote; the motion carried unanimously, 8:0. PUBLIC HEARING: LAND USE APPLICATION FEE SCHEDULE REVISIONS (memo attached; background information distributed) City Manager Micheal Gleason introduced consideration of the Land Use Application Fee Schedule Revisions. Planning Director Susan Brody gave the staff report. She said the Planning Department is the first City department to propose increases in fees as a result of a Cost of Services Study which is being done by all City departments. She suggested the council accept public testimony and then discuss the issues at a work session before taking action. III. Answering a question from Mayor Obie later in the meeting, Ms. Brody suggested the public hearing be continued if the councilors wish to receive oral testimony as well as written testimony after this evening. Ms. Brody said letters dated May 12, 1986, from John Bennett of the Home Builders Association of Lane County, Richard Miller of the Eugene Area Chamber of Commerce Lane Use Subcommittee, and Helen Hollyer of the Eugene Board of Realtors were distributed to the councilors. Each of the letters asked the council to keep the record open for written testimony. Ms. Brody suggested the council close the public hearing but accept written testimony Until June 2, 1986. MINUTES--Eugene City Council May 12, 1986 Page 2 e e - Carla Marmaro of the Planning Department discussed the reV1Slons to the fee schedule. She said the City is currently recovering about 12 percent of the total cost of processing land use applications. If approved, the revisions will enable the City to recover 21 percent of total costs. The increase in revenue will be about 75 percent. She said if council adopts the draft resolution, the proposed fee schedule would be effective July 1, 1986. In addition, the draft ordinance amends the Eugene Code to authorize the City Manager to update the fee schedule in the future. Ms. Marmaro said the proposed revisions eliminate the differential between fees for residential and non-residential applications; initiate charges for appeals other than those filed by neighborhood organizations, and for street name changes, and modifications to PUDs and conditional use permits; simplify the sliding scales for some applications, and waive annexation fees. She said the proposed fee schedule reflects continued City subsidy of land use application fees. She said the proposed revisions were reviewed by the Planning Commission and the Joint Committee for Economic Diversification. In addition, many people and organizations were notified of a public information meeting about the revisions held on April 22 and of tonight1s public hearing. Referring to issues discussed in a memo dated May 12, 1986, entitled "Land Use Application Fee Schedule Update," Ms. Marmaro said the council may decide to waive all annexation/zone change fees, to charge a fee for all annexation/zone change requests, or to waive only those annexation/zone change requests in the area served by the River Road/Santa Clara sewer service system. She said additional information is available about residential site review and conditional use permit applications. Responding to concerns about the fee for conditional use permits for day care and group care facilities in residential zoning districts, she suggested the council reduce the fee for day care and group care facilities operated in homes. Responding to another concern about charging people with low incomes a fee for filing an appeal, she said it is difficult to prove low-income status. She said it would be possible to require an "affidavit of indigence" which would reduce the appeal fee. Responding to a question from Ms. Wooten, Ms. Brody said people with low or moderate incomes are not more likely than others to file appeals. Responding to questions from Mr. Hansen and Mr. Holmer, Ms. Marmaro said the revisions will increase the revenue from land use fees from $32,000 to $56,000. She said the revised fees are similar to those charged by Beaverton and Tigard, but it is difficult to compare fees because the revised fees reflect a percentage of both direct and indirect charges. She said most other jurisdictions recover a smaller percentage of total costs. Ms. Brody said most other jurisdictions attempt to recover only direct costs. Answering a question from Ms. Bascom and Ms. Ehrman, Ms. Brody said there are several national day care and group care facilities. The proposed exemption would apply only to care facilities operated in residences. She said facilities for as many as 20 people are operated in residences. Mayor Obie opened the pUblic hearing. MINUTES--Eugene City Council May 12, 1986 Page 3 e e e Steve Adey, 1375 Bailey Avenue, asked why the proposed revisions are not higher. He said the City's subsidy for land use applications will be over $200,000 annually which would pay for additional library services, police officers, and many other things. He said the council recommended a 30 to 60 percent recovery of costs in 1974. Mr. Adey said most people are not concerned with the cost of City permits, but they are very concerned about how long it takes to get permits and how difficult the procedures are. He said recovering a large percentage of the costs would permit the City to hire additional staff to help people who apply for permits. He said the City should eventually recover 100 percent of the cost of processing permits and said, in that case, other cities would probably raise their fees. He said land use application fees are user fees. He encouraged the council to approve the proposed increases and to direct the staff to increase the fees to recover 50 to 60 percent of the costs in two years and 100 percent later. There being no additional requests to testify, Mayor Obie continued the public hearing to June 9, 1986. Ms. Brody said the purpose of the Cost of Services Study is to recover as many costs as feasible. She said a City subsidy for land use application fees is reasonable because sometimes people other than property owners benefit from land use changes. She agreed with Mr. Adey's suggestion that the City recover more than 21 percent of the costs in the future. Answering a question from Mr. Hansen, Ms. Brody said, in her opinion, a moratorium on land use application fees probably would not stimulate construction. Mr. Gleason said a building permit is only about one percent of the total cost of a residence. Mr. Holmer urged staff to consider recovering 100 percent of the direct costs of processing land use applications. He said defining total costs is difficult. Ms. Schue said she favored the suggestion to reduce fees for conditional use permits for day care and group care facilities operated in homes. IV. AIRPORT CONSTRUCTION SCHEDULE (memo distributed) City Manager Micheal Gleason introduced consideration of the Mahlon Sweet Airport construction schedule. Aviation Director Bob Shelby gave the staff report. He said the City adopted an Airport Master Plan in 1972 and seven phases of the plan have been completed. He recommended the council approve the eighth phase which will improve the road system and the parking lot. He said funds from the Oregon Lottery and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) are available to pay for the project. He described the improvements and said 160 spaces will be added to the parking lot. Mr. Shelby also recommended approval of the replacement of the underground telephone system installed in 1963. He said the Revenue Sharing Funds reserved for the Airport Project have been recommended to fund the replacement. MINUTES--Eugene City Council May 12, 1986 Page 4 e Answering a question from Mayor Obie, Mr. Shelby itemized the telephone replacement costs. He said reconnection costs will be avoided if the replacement can be completed before telephone service is needed in the new FAA Control Tower. Responding to questions from Mr. Holmer and Mr. Miller, Mr. Shelby said the cost of the addition to the taxiway access to the general-aviation hanger area is $135,000. If County Road Funds are allocated for the airport expansion, they will be used for a new entrance road, a new cargo road, and relocation of the car rental lot. Answering questions from Mr. Hansen and Ms. Bascom, Mr. Shelby said the improvements are a prudent expenditure of funds even if the terminal is not expanded. If the proposed improvements are completed this summer, they will reduce the terminal expansion project by $1.6 million. Replying to a question from Mayor Obie, Mr. Shelby said the proposed improvements include landscaping all the way to Airport Road. Mr. Hanson moved, seconded by Ms. Wooten, to direct staff to proceed with the $1,665,300 Phase I land-side construction project for the parking lot, road systems, and taxiway as well as the telephone distribution network at Mahlon Sweet Airport. Roll call vote; the motion carried unanimously, 7:0. Mayor Obie said Ms. Ehrman had been excused from the meeting. e V. RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING IMPROVEMENTS ON ROYAL AVENUE FROM CANDLELIGHT DRIVE TO TERRY STREET (memo, findings distributed) A. Adoption of Hearings Official's Minutes and Findings City Manager Micheal Gleason introduced consideration of improvements to Royal Avenue from Candlelight Drive to Terry Street. City Engineer Bert Teitzel gave the staff report. He recommended the council initiate the improvements. Using visuals, he discussed the process for council initiated street improvements. He said the Hearings Officer approved the improvement of Royal Avenue on April 29, 1986. The meeting tonight was to consider the Hearings Official IS findings and to initiate the project. Mr. Teitzel said before the bids are awarded, another hearing will be held by the Hearings Official for consideration by the council. A remonstrance might be received at that time, in which case the council will also hold a hearing. If two-thirds of the councilors approve the project, the remonstrance will be overruled. Mr. Teitzel said the improvement of Royal Avenue is in the 1987 CIP. He said the project was initiated by complaints from residents and the neighborhood organizations. He said the existing road is in poor condition and becoming difficult to maintain. The project will cost the City $121,000, and it will cost the property owners $77,000. It includes 46 feet of paving with sidewalks on both sides. e MINUTES--Eugene City Council May 12, 1986 Page 5 . e e Answering questions from Ms. Wooten, Mr. Teitzel said one person who owns about 900 feet of road frontage (about 40 percent of the project) is opposed to the project. He said other owners of abutting property have not expressed interest in the project, but residents of Daneland Mobile Homes want the improvement. He said he would rank this project third among the four projects in the 1987 CIP. The first and second projects will not be constructed until 1987 because right-of-way must be acquired first. Responding to questions from Mr. Miller and Mr. Holmer, Mr. Teitzel said sidewalks are proposed on both sides of the street. He said they are needed because crosswalks are hazardous on arterial streets. Mr. Miller said people drive fast in the area and there is a danger to children who walk to and from Fairfield School. Mr. Teitzel said Lane County will not contribute to the cost of the improvement. He said the neighborhood organization was notified of the hearing, but it did not respond. Responding to a question from Ms. Schue, Mr. Teitzel said Royal Avenue is an arterial; therefore, the percentage of property owners in favor of the improvement is not a criteria. He said the improvement will increase the safety of the entire community. Mr. Hansen moved, seconded by Ms. Schue, to approve the Hearings Official IS minutes and findings of April 29, 1986, concerning paving of Royal Avenue from Candlelight to Terry Street. Answering a question from Ms. Wooten, Mr. Teitzel said probably the people who own large frontage on Royal Avenue will oppose the project. Roll call vote; the motion carried 6:1 with Councilors Hansen Schue, Wooten, Bascom, Rutan, and Miller voting aye and Mr. Holmer voting nay. B. Improvement Petition (assessable costs: paving--$76,880; City cost--$12l,516) Res. No. 3974--A resolution authorizing paving, sidewalks, storm sewers, and sanitary sewers on Royal Avenue from Candlelight Drive to Terry Street (2183). Mr. Hansen moved, seconded by Ms. Schue, to adopt the resolution. Roll call vote; the motion carried 6:1 with Councilors Hansen, Schue, Wooten, Bascom, Rutan, and Miller voting aye, and Mr. Holmer voting nay. VI. ROUTINE ITEMS FOR COUNCIL APPROVAL A. Improvement Petitions 1. Sanitary Sewers on the West Side of Highway 99 North (assessable costs: sanitary sewers--100 percent; City costs--none) (memo, map attached) MINUTES--Eugene City Council May 12, 1986 Page 6 e Res. No. 3975--A resolution authorizing sanitary sewer to serve the west side of Highway 99 North from West Enid Road to 2,000 feet northwest, Enid Road, from West Enid Road to Airport Road, Airport Road from Enid Road west to urban growth boundary (1,600 feet), and Airport Road from Enid Road east to Highway 99 North (2236). Mr. Hansen moved, seconded by Ms. Schue, to adopt the resolution. Roll call vote; the motion carried unanimously, 7:0. 2. Sanitary Sewers on Sterling Drive (assessable costs: sanitary sewers--100 percent; City costs--none) (memo, map attached) Res. No. 3976--A resolution authorizing sanitary sewers to serve Sterling Drive from Silver Lane to Silver Lane, Dalton Drive from Silver Lane to Sterling Drive, Escalante Street from Silver Lane to Sterling Drive, cul-de-sac at Silver Lea Court, and cul-de-sac north of Silver Lane between Escalante Street and Sterling Drive (2150). Mr. Hansen moved, seconded by Ms. Schue, to adopt the resolution. Roll call vote; the motion carried unanimously, 7:0. e B. City Council Meeting Minutes of: March 17, 1986 and March 19, 1986, and Dinner/Work Session and Meeting of April 14, 1986, (minutes distributed) Mr. Hansen moved, seconded by Ms. Schue, to approve the City Council meeting minutes of March 17, 1986, March 19, 1986, and April 14, 1986. Roll call vote; the motion carried unanimously, 7:0. Mayor Obie adjourned the meeting at 8:30 p.m. to May 14, 1986. Respectfully submitted, -.4~ ~ I~ - , Mich.al Gl.aso- - - --- City Manager (Recorded by Betty Lou Rarick) BLR:je/Mi ns4 e MINUTES--Eugene City Council May 12, 1986 Page 7