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HomeMy WebLinkAbout01-27-1997MINUTES OF PLANNING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE JANUARY 27. 1997 The regular meeting of the Planning and Community Development Committee was held January 27, 1997 in the Council Work Area. Those members in attendance were as follows: MEMBERS PRESENT: Trish Borden, Rich Wagner and Jeanne Barber STAFF PRESENT: Paul Krauss, Lynn Rued, Bob Sokol, Betty Sanders, Bill Mandeville, and Patti Zook ALSO PRESENT: Mayor Booth; Stan Tabb, Hapsmith Company; Kris Susee, ADA Manager; and ADA representatives The meeting was called to order by Committee Chair Borden at 7:30 p.m. ANX0002-97 - River Rim Mr. Rued presented a large map which showed the location of the proposed annexation. The owner of 12.73 acre parcel is requesting to have the property annexed to Auburn in order to receive water service from the City. The property is located at the northwest comer of the intersection of 108th Avenue SE and SE 290th Avenue. Mr. Krauss explained that this annexation is problematic. The King County Boundary Review Board may have problems with the annexation because of the irregular boundary it would create between the two jurisdictions. Road access to this parcel from the existing City limits is limited and they are approximately two miles apart. Mr. Rued said that the Comprehensive Plan policy relating to annexations has a degree of interpretation involved. Chairman Borden asked what the City would gain from this annexation. Mr. Krauss replied that the golf course has significant drainage problems from the adjacent Cobble Creek subdivision. King County was made aware of the problem during the review process, but Auburn is left with the problem to correct. Annexation would resolve this and related issues. Chairman Borden asked what the City could do to control drainage. Mr. Krauss said that the developer may be required to tight line the runoff to the bottom of the slope. This would substantially reduce the amount of erosion. Chairman Borden expressed concern about the Police and Fire Departments being able to respond to emergencies in a timely manner. Mr. Krauss replied that both the Police and Fire Departments felt that this parcel could be serviced either directly by the City or by contract with another provider. Chairman Borden then asked about a time frame for other property to be proposed for annexation. Mr. Rued replied that there was no set time frame, but that as more houses are built on the site, the ease of completing an annexation would become stronger. Mr. Krauss said that the Lea Hill Task Force is recommending that no annexations in the area occur until their annexation study is completed in late spring or early summer. Mr. Rued said the Committee can recommend City Council either accept, reject or modify the proposed annexation. The Committee decided that the annexation should not proceed at this time. They felt it would be better to wait until the Lea Hill Task Force has completed its work. However, once that study is complete, they would like to see the City pursuing annexations of Lea Hill utilizing the already signed agreements and working with the area residents. PAGE 1 MINUTES OF PLANNING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE JANUARY 27. 1997 Councilmember Wagner made a motion, seconded by Councilmember Barber, to reject the request to prepare and circulate the petition for annexation. Chairman Borden concurred. Mr. Krauss then asked the Committee if they would support staff initiated annexations handled in a more coordinated manner to facilitate the transition. This process would begin at the completion of the Lea Hill project. The Committee agreed. Request by SuperMall to Discontinue Shuttle Bus Service to Mall Mr. Krauss informed the Committee that Stan Tabb has requested to drop the shuttle service between downtown and the mall due to Iow ridership. Mr. Tabb had requested that the City Council drop this requirement, and was informed that he would have to make his request through the PCDC. The City and Hapsmith lobbied Metro for bus service, and the hourly service has been in place for a while. By September, the bus service will be hourly between the downtown and the mall. Staff has considered the requested by Mr. Tabb to be a minor amendment to the rezone which has been discussed over the last four to five months. The Chamber and the Auburn Downtown Association (ADA) were informed of the request to discontinue shuttle service. A letter from Donald Gardner, ADA President, was distributed to the Committee. Chairman Borden said that Mike Reynolds, City Attorney, thought a hearing would be needed to make the change. Mr. Krauss explained that a mechanism was in the ordinance to consider whether the amendment was minor or major in nature. If the amendment was considered to be minor, no hearing before the Hearing Examiner would be needed. Mr. Gardner reviewed concerns stated in his letter. He said that staff's recommendation was made without discussions with the ADA. He agreed that the bus was a disappointment and it was not utilized as extensively as they had hoped. He said that no requirements were listed in the agreement to determine if the bus was worthwhile or not. Audrey Pitre said that she tried to discuss with the mall whether the shuttle was working, and suggested some changes; however she did not get any information from the mall. Mr. Krauss pointed out the mall still has numerous obligations to fulfill which are important as a mitigation measure. Problems with the shuttle included a lack of signage, and information about where it stopped, times of the trips, etc. Metro has agreed to provide regular service between downtown, the mall, and adjacent neighborhoods. Ms. Pitre said the shuttle impacts downtown area and has a f'mancial impact on downtown. Chairman Borden asked if a written agreement exists between Hapsmith and the ADA pertaining to the shuttle. Mr. Krauss said the agreement that pertains to the shuttle is the rezone ordinance. Chairman Borden asked if there was a signed agreement relating to dispersal of the money and the need to ensure collection of the money. Mr. Krauss said that Hapsmith and the ADA prepared such a letter which in fact does have legal standing. Thus, the City incorporated it into its agreement with Hapsmith. Councilmember Barber asked Mr. Tabb about the makeup of the riders on the shuttle. Mr. Tabb said the ridership figures include Christmas and Thanksgiving of 1995 and 1996. The mall did not push to eliminate the shuttle prior to Christmas because it is a busy time of year. Mr. Gardner agreed that the ridership of bus is less than all wanted or expected. PAGE 2 MINUTES OF PLANNING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE JANUARY 27. 1997 Mr. Tabb said the mall's information booths presented the bus schedule, brochures were available, and all was reasonably done to spread word of the shuttle. He pointed out again that the ridership level is unsatisfactory. The shuttle is very expensive to operate. Councilmember Wagner asked about the ADA's intercept survey that was done which stated the average amount spent by individual in downtown is $37 per visit. Alan Keimig said the survey did not evaluate if the people were visiting downtown by bus or car. Alan Keimig, Keimig and Associates, said that if the spirit of the shuttle had been carried through a decent bus would have been available at all times. Bus drivers would have used their script to promote the downtown and mall. The mall information booths could have had signs showing the free shuttle and signs to promote it more. Both of these would have increased the ridership. Kris Susee, ADA Manager, agreed that the shuttle and ridership levels were not what was anticipated or expected. She wondered what could be done differently to promote the shuttle. She wondered if the dollars could be restructured. She suggested joint promotion ads for the mall and downtown area. She suggested that the City spend the dollars that would have gone to the bus to be used to benefit the downtown and the SuperMall. Ms. Pitre said the spirit of the agreement was not to merely provide transportation, but a bridge between the two areas. Mary Stanton said that if the shuttle is not working, all should try to improve the shuttle. The mall should not be allowed to drop the shuttle merely because it is not working. She said it was important to look at how the two parties can work together. Mr. Tabb said he was hearing that it is the mall's problem for not promoting the shuttle. However, the ADA had space at information booths to hand out brochures, etc. He said shuttle buses of this type have not been successful in other cities; however he could not provide any statistics. Originally people thought the mall would put downtown out of business, however the mall has benefited downtown. The downtown area was forced clean up and wash windows. The concept of a bus was to help downtown and it has. He did not think it was incumbent on the mall to add infinitum support for the downtown. He does not want to pay tribute to the downtown to replace bus dollars. He said the bus is either a success or it is not, and the bus has been unsuccessful. He suggested siting down with Mr. Gardner and discuss the situation. In the past, he discussed the agreement with James Kramlich. He said that last year and the year before he sent a donation letter to the ADA, but never received an accounting of expenses. Chairman Borden wondered what would be discussed if Mr. Tabb met with Mr. Gardner. Mr. Tabb said he wanted to review the entire agreement with the downtown. Ms. Susee said that before the first year installment was due, ADA met with Mr. Tabb to discuss the installments. An accounting of expenditures was sent to him. The ADA has yet to receive their second year installment. Councilmember Barber said it seems to her that it was a good relationship and she hates to see it deteriorate because of the shuttle's low ridership and possible discontinuation of the service. She hoped some kind of a compromise could be reached. She would like to see some assurance as to when the second year installment would be received. Mr. Tabb said it was a workable situation, but feels the shuttle issue is a failure. He did not want to put any more money into the downtown. PAGE 3 MINUTES OF PLANN1NG AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE JANUARY 27. 1997 Councilmember Barber suggested it would be a gesture of goodwill on the mall's part to make arrangements for payment as agreed. Mr. Tabb said as a good faith effort he would donate the money to the Food Bank. Ms. Pitre said it is Hapsmith's responsibility to mitigate to the ADA, and the Food Bank donation does not mitigate downtown businesses. The ADA is not a charity. Tom Heim said the arrangement with the shuttle has helped benefit downtown. He monitored the bus from September to December, but an unidentified bus used part of this time was detrimental to ridership tallies. John Rottle said the mall cannot arbitrarily make the decision to continue the shuttle or not. The fundamental problem is the substandard job performed in disseminating information about the bus and substandard performance by the bus company. There is a precedent in rewarding substandard performance. He mentioned the review period of two years as mentioned as a condition in the rezone. Mr. Krauss said the SuperMall agreement provides for a two year review. It is clear the City does not have the money to do the shuttle. Metro can take over and operate the bus professionally. It has taken a cooperative effort to get Metro to the City, and he expects service to be dramatically better in September. The PCDC has been asked before to change conditions of the rezone, particularly conditions relating to landscaping, and the covered walkway. The Council asked for the Committee to review and for staff to make a recommendation based on current information. The Council will decide what to do, they are not obligated to shorten the period at all. Chairman Borden feels that the two parties should cooperate more. The bus issue is not justifying itself. She suggested this item be discussed again at the February 10th PCDC meeting and that Mr. Tabb and the ADA meet and discuss the issue. Councilmember Wagner said that he supports the delay. This is a business deal that needs to be mitigated in some way. He agreed that the two parties need to speak. Mr. Tabb said he would take the suggestion under advisement. He wanted to go back to the original Kramlich agreement. He agreed that some sort of resolution needs to be reached. Chairman Borden said this item would be discussed further at the February 10th PCDC meeting. Consolidated Plan Mr. Mandeville presented the Consolidated Plan schedule, and explained that after its approval HUD will release funds. He then reviewed the changes made in the document since it was reviewed by the Committee in December. Mr. Krauss wondered if the Consolidated Plan moves forward, but the City Council changes the Human Services Committee (HSC) recommendations, would this invalidate the Plan. Mr. Mandeville said no because the City's obligation is to show the recommendation of the HSC, the block grant is an ordinance approved by the City Council. If the ordinance is changed, the Consolidated Plan will still be satisfied. Mr. Mandeville outlined changes required by HUD in chapter 5. He reviewed chapter 6 which contains more significant changes particularly relating to the revolving loan fund program. Councilmember Wagner wanted to know why the spending levels in strategy 1-3 on page 6-2 of the Plan were so specific. Mr. Mandeville said that housing repair program is a key component of the City's affordable housing program. Councilmember Wagner then proposed a change in wording to this paragraph. PAGE 4 M1NUTES OF PLANNING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE JANUARY 27. 1997 Mr. Mandeville reviewed the changes to strategy 1 and strategy 2-2 on page 6-3. Councilmember Wagner then proposed changes to the wording for strategy 2-2. A discussion occurred relating to the City's proposed Planned Unit Development Ordinance which is being developed by staff, and how the ordinance would promote affordable housing. Councilmember Wagner expressed concern with strategy 2-5 on page 6-4 relating to surplus property. He thought the wording as presented was too open a policy, and then proposed changes to this paragraph. Mr. Mandeville then reviewed changes to page 6-7 relating to neighborhood family centers. He reviewed changes on page 6-8 and page 6-12. Councilmember Wagner made a motion, seconded by Councilmember Barber, to recommend approval of the Consolidated Plan. Chairman Borden concurred. 4. Liquor License Application The request of Longhorn Restaurant for a Class H and Class I liquor license for property located at 635 "C" Street SW. The Committee consented to the liquor license. 5. "A" Street Neighborhood Plan Mr. Sokol provided a brief summation of the plan. Chairman Borden said that due to time constraints, this agenda item will be discussed at the February 10th PCDC meeting. 6. Youth Participation Initiative This item was added to the agenda at the start of the meeting. Mr. Mandeville said the City was awarded a grant to implement the proposed Initiative, which is a collaborative effort among the City's departments and youth-serving agencies. The Initiative will create volunteer opportunities to support the Late Night and After School Programs and the Neighborhood Family Center at Mt. Baker Middle school. Councilmember Barber made a motion, seconded by Councilmember Wagner, to recommend accepting the grant. Chairman Borden concurred. With no further items to come before the Committee, the meeting was adjourned at 9:40 p.m. PCDC\M1N~i B-97 PAGE 5