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HomeMy WebLinkAbout08/10/1992 Meeting e M I NUT E S Eugene City Council Studio One--Hult Center August 10, 1992 5:30 p.m. COUNCILORS PRESENT: Shawn Boles, Bobby Green, Ruth Bascom, Debra Ehrman, Randy MacDonald, Paul Nicholson, Kaye Robinette, Roger Rutan. The meeting of August 10, 1992, of the Eugene City Council was called to order by His Honor Mayor Jeff Miller. A. Ordinance: West EUQene Wetlands Soecial Area Study Amendments Neil Bjorklund, Planning and Development Department, presented the changes that the Board of County Commissioners made to the West Eugene Wetlands Special Area Study (WEWSAS). Staff recommends the approval of these addition- al amendments. He said that the largest change was the removal of several sites that were delineated using off-side delineation methods. The sites are outside the urban growth boundary (UGB) and not integral to the goals and purposes of the plan. e Responding to a question from Ms. Ehrman, Mr. Bjorklund said that the County changes that the council previously approved were in the secondary study area. These sites are in the primary study area. Responding to a question from Mr. Boles, Mr. Bjorklund said that the "A" sites along Crow Road were not integral to any major important development areas, and they also were not part of any mitigation areas, recreation corridors, or other essential elements in the plan. He noted that the same is true of Site B-lO. In conjunction with the 30-day notices, Mr. Boles favored conducting evalua- tion of the wetlands program on an ongoing basis. Mr. Bjorklund said that County Commissioners have requested a written policy in order to require the City to report back to them were there a change in the Federal wetland definition. Mr. Boles stated, for the record, that it is the City's intent to meet the thrust of that amendment by demonstrating that its current method for testing land against wetland definition suffices. He said it was an implemen- tation issue, not a policy issue. Responding to a question from Ms. Bascom, Mr. Bjorklund said the Bureau of land Management's (BlM) "willing seller" purchases have not been held up by this amendment process. e MINUTES--City Council August 10, 1992 Page 1 5:30 p.m. e Responding to a question from Ms. Ehrman, Mr. Bjorklund said that the deletion criteria included property owner testimony expressing that they felt the wetland delineation method used on their properties was incorrect and that they were done using off-site delineation methods. CB 4402--An ordinance amending the West Eugene Wetlands Special Area Study adopted by Ordinance 19853 on May 20, 1992. Mr. Boles moved, seconded by Mr. Green, that the bill, with unanimous consent of the council, be read the second time by council bill number only, and that enactment be considered at this time. Roll call vote. The motion passed unanimously, 8:0. Mr. Boles moved, seconded by Mr. Green, that the bill be approved and given final passage. Roll call vote. The motion passed unanimously, 8:0. The bill was declared passed and became Ordi- nance 19867. B. Work Session: Building Construction Advisory Committee Task Team ReDort Doug Eveleth, Building and Permit Services Division Manager, introduced Barney McCabe, task team chair, and Bill Johnson, Building Construction Advisory Committee (BCAC) chair. He noted that representatives from the industry involved with the task team were in the audience. e Mr. Eveleth recalled that in September 1990, the City Council adopted the Development Services Financing Study, which called for building permit/plan check services to become 100-percent fee-supported in five years. The Eugene Decisions process presented additional issues. In order to deal with the issues, the BCAC formed a task team to study the service area and make recom- mendations to the City Manager and City Council to balance service level requirements with an appropriate structure. Mr. Eveleth noted that the results of this effort are reported in a document entitled "Recommendation on Services and Funding for Building & Permit Services," distributed to the council in mid-July. The report includes recommendations to alter service levels, increase certain fees, privatize some services, and continue with efficiencies. Mr. McCabe said that the issues covered by the report having been ongoing and a process to deal with those issues has been ongoing for the last three years. He described the report as one more step in this important process. Mr. McCabe said the report is a comprehensive analysis of the division. He noted the diverse composition of the team. Mr. McCabe said the report proposal is a combination of services changes, changes in the level of some services, increased user fees, private versus project benefit, and doing business differently. Mr. McCabe said that the proposal asks for $548,000 in General Fund support. He noted that the figure represents the benefit that the public is receiving e MINUTES--City Council August 10, 1992 Page 2 5:30 p.m. e based on the code regulations enacted by the City. He said that 74 percent of the funding for State codes are covered by the user, while 76 percent for local codes is covered by the General Fund. Mr. McCabe said that the team is recommending a 34-percent increase in user fees, raising user funding to $543,000. He said that the group does not favor consolidation of services with lane County. Mr. Nicholson expressed disappointment that some potential efficiencies, such as, the mechanizing of the permit process, were not introduced. He was also disappointed at the lack of a strong legislative attack to change some of the archaic, costly systems and replace them with a tort system. Speaking as a non-development professional, John Vanlandingham said that he and other industry representatives agreed with Mr. Nicholson and felt strongly that being licensed was enough. Mr. Gleason said that tort assignment, which comes before tort limit, has been a major obstacle. Mr. Johnson reviewed some of the report recommendations as examples of doing things differently. The cost savings is estimated at $100,000. Mayor Miller noted that the task team's funding recommendations cut the department's dependency on the General Fund by half. Mr. Boles said it would be helpful to have the report recast against the City e Council's original cost-recapturing goal. Mr. Robinette said it will be important to get help from the group on how to measure outcomes as a result of implementing some of the recommendations. Mr. Green requested more information on rebates and incentives. Mayor Miller expressed concern with the community's job base and economy, saying the City should stay within market so as not to be at a competitive disadvantage. Mr. Boles said that the other side of the issue is that current taxpayers subsidize projects below market. Mr. MacDonald expressed appreciation for the task team's work and staff support. The meeting adjourned at 6:20 p.m. ,~~~ -'-- Mi{:te.LGl easo _____ City Manager ..' (Recorded by Yolanda Paule) e MINUTES--City Council August 10, 1992 Page 3 5:30 p.m.