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HomeMy WebLinkAbout03-26-2001MINUTES OF PLANNING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE MARCH 26, 2001 The regular meeting of the Planning and Community Development Committee was held March 26, 2001 in? the Council Work Area. Those members in attendance were as follows: MEMBERS PRESENT: Trish Borden, Sue Singer, and Pete Lewis STAFF PRESENT: Paul Krauss, Al Hicks, David Osaki, B Sanders, Shirley Aird, Bill Mandeville, Dick Deal, Brian Petty, and Patti Zook ALSO PRESENT: Mayor Booth; Bob Rankin The meeting was called to order by Committee Chair Borden at 6:30 p.m. ACTION: 1. Consolidated Annual Performance and Evaluation Report (CAPER) Planner I Aird distributed the CAPER to the Committee and reviewed highlights. The public hearing is April 16. She mentioned the goals and objectives. The printouts from HUD will be included later. Chairman Borden wanted to know what kind of work was done for $75,000 and Planner I Aird said the cost covered lead paint removal, plumbing and ductwork. Councilmember Singer asked about the contract with the City of Kent for housing repair. Planner I Aird provided information on the status of the interlocal agreement. A couple emergencies were handled and staff is very responsive. Councilmember Singer inquired about integrating anything from downtown plan here related to the use of CDBG funds. Planner I Aird said this is part of the update or annual amendments process. She referred to strategy 6.3 on page 7 related to slum and blight. Chairman Borden asked Planner I Aird if she is familiar with "Christmas in April" and Planner I Aird said yes. This is done in Kent and Renton, but she mentioned problems with the use of Federal money for this kind of a program. There may be some interest in the community for this program. A discussion followed about this program. Councilmember Singer made a motion, seconded by Councilmember Lewis, to recommend Council hold a public hearing on April 16. Chairman Borden concurred. 2. EDC Contract Economic Development Manager Hicks presented the staff report. Councilmember Singer pointed out that the EDC did not do what the City asked of them last year related to specific statistics on leads referred to the City. Economic Development Manager Hicks called the EDC regarding this information. They visited some local businesses and spoke about NAFTA. Councilmember Singer made a motion to table the EDC contract until the Committee sees if the required information. Councilmember Lewis seconded the motion and Chairman Borden concurred. 3. Nei,qhborhood Matchinq Grants Planner I Mandeville presented the staff report and explained a revision in the funding. BP spoke of combining projects 3 and 9. He spoke about Youth Council and youth groups in the future submitting applications for funding of projects. PAGE 1 MINUTES OF PLANNING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE MARCH 26, 2001 Councilmember Singer referred to the school playground equipment and wondered if this is appropriate for the City to fund, and how is it paid for. Mayor commented that in looking at school budgets, playground equipment is one of the first to be reduced or eliminated. The PTSA may ask for assistance if the equipment is widely used by the neighborhood and he gave an example. He has concerns about funding projects at schools. Chairman Borden wondered about programs matched by volunteer hours. Planner I Mandeville spoke of 50/50 matches and cash matches. Councilmember Singer mentioned Soroptimist funding for 'Girls of Promise'. Councilmember Lewis wants the PTA to take up a leadership role and some of these schools should have taken care of the particular needs. He also wants to see volunteer groups taking leadership roles. Parks & Recreation Director Deal cautioned that the playground equipment must meet certain safety standards and that equipment installed by the PTA may not meet these standards. He has concerns with liability relating to installation of the playground equipment. There is the question of how to guarantee that the work will be done correctly by authorized personnel. The cost for drainage improvements at Ilalko is just a drop in the bucket. Planner I Mandeville agreed that the full drainage project is much more expensive, but remarked that they want to see if the drains will make a dent in the problem. It wilt create evidence whether that project should be higher on the list for the school to do. Parks & Recreation Director Deal's point regarding the playground equipment is well taken and he will put in language regarding installation must meet consumer product safety guidelines or other particular language from Parks & Recreation Director Deal. Councilmember Lewis suggested wording 'direct supervision by school district to ensure proper installation'. Parks & Recreation Director Deal spoke of installation standards. He can suggested names for design and installation for safety. Councilmember Singer made a motion, seconded by Councilmember Lewis, to recommend approval, with revisions as discussed. Chairman Borden concurred. DISCUSSION: 1. Downtown Plan Planning Director Krauss commented that Public Works Committee has requested a special City Council meeting in mid-April. Staff does not want to extend the interim C2 zoning again. Planner Sanders said that this evening she will review the implementation strategies. Regarding the urban centers, the City meets the requirements for requesting the designation. Planning Director Krauss remarked that Auburn meets the requirements for this as well as anyone. Chairman Borden wanted to know the benefits of the urban center designation. Transportation funding gets tied to the designation, said Councilmember Singer. Planning Director Krauss remarked on the funding flows to cities that have urban center designation. He reminded the Committee about social service agencies proposed to be moved to Kent because Kent is designated an urban center. He spoke about Metro giving funds to Renton for a transit hub because it is designated an urban center. Auburn elected to not be an urban center because urban center implied changes to accept densities. Lots of communities have requested the urban center designation and been granted it even though they do not meet the criteria for an urban center. Councilmember Lewis commented that urban center had different connotation at the beginning of GMA and everyone was against the designation back then. The designation now is all about transportation and getting funds. PAGE 2 MINUTES OF PLANNING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE MARCH 26, 2001 Planner Sanders distributed a handout related to implementation strategies which are in four categories. She then talked about what each category means in terms of staff time and special project costs. Item 1 was reviewed previously. Chairman Borden asked for an update of C2 zoning for auto uses. Principal Planner Osaki spoke about the code amendments from Planning Commission to implement policies. The Planning Commission recommended that the existing auto oriented uses would be permitted uses if existing at the time of the code amendments adoption. No new auto uses are permitted. The code amendments contain provisions for site screening. Councilmember Lewis asked about auto use expansion. Planner Sanders said within limits of existing property only. Planner Sanders remarked that there is a good start on design guidelines in the plan. Items 2 and 5 address signage more appropriate for downtown as well as directional/information signage for parking, garage, transit, City Hall, hospital, etc. Chairman Borden asked how to handle current signs if they do not meet downtown standards. Planner Sanders spoke of time frame to comply. Planner Sanders referred to item 3 which explores ways to help people restore building facades. This is a negotiation between the property owner and the business owner. Some cities have programs with banks doing the funding of Iow interest loans. City needs to explore what package might work to encourage people to renovate facades. Councilmember Lewis referred to banking institutions, and remarked that they want to see the guidelines for facades, standards, etc., otherwise there is nothing to look at because banks always want more detail. The banks are looking for standards and a dollar figure. There is the question of who to lend to because oftentimes the property owner is absentee and if the banks lend to a business owner, what is collateral going to be? The City needs to take the lead in talking to the banks. For Item 3, develop the standards and look at methods of financing with owner approval and loans only to the property owner. For item 4, Planner Sanders mentioned a public relations campaign with brochures but should the image be just for downtown. Councilmember Lewis suggested looking at with coordination between Chamber and ADA. Planner Sanders said the ADA did a nice spread of written material, but it needs to be updated and coordination of ADA, Chamber and the City agencies would be helpful. Planner Sanders pointed out that item 6 which is awaiting input from the Public Works staff. Item 7 is closely tied to item 3. Planner Sanders referred to items 8, 9, and 10 and commented that an initial inventory of lighting and trees is complete. Main Street is brightly lit, but one block off Main Street is not and a program for street lighting needs to be developed. The Art Commission wants to focus on downtown over the next couple of years. Councilmember Lewis offered that Public ._ Works is already doing this and they have maps showing location and wattage for the lighting. Chairman Borden mentioned concerns received from ADA regarding tree planting in downtown and wondered if these were addressed. Parks & Recreation Director Deal said the ADA was concerned about the leaves and trees are being selected based on their defoliation schedule. The tree program would identify the types of trees for a particular use. Items 11 and 12 were discussed previously. Planner Sanders spoke about the public/private partnerships proposed for parking. Planning Director Krauss mentioned one partnership concept for the public safety building and another by Wells Fargo. Years ago the City significantly decreased downtown parking requirements and the C2 zoning decreases parking further if use is close to transit center. Downtown centers do not succeed with fields of parking. A parking structure is used multiple times daily and trips to downtown are typically multi-purpose. Councilmember Lewis thinks this is a good strategy. PAGE 3 MINUTES OF PLANNING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE MARCH 26, 2001 Item 14 was reviewed by Planner Sanders and she reminded Committee of a letter received during the ElS comment period from the state Office of Archaeology and staff has drafted a new historic preservation strategy. Chairman Borden believes the new strategy looks good. Planner Sanders referred to 15 through 22 which deal with streetscape improvements not traffic improvements. The plan goes into detail regarding each project and making streets more pedestrian friendly. She gave examples of improvements such as curb bulbs like on Main Street, medians where room permits, tree plantings, benches, etc.. For item 23, Planner Sanders mentioned where gateway treatment would work. Planning Director Krauss spoke of the need to differentiate where downtown is along Auburn Way. Councilmember Lewis suggested that people like "welcome to" signs or something that is repetitive with a them to build on. Councilmember Singer expressed concern about the gateways project not being coordinated. Parks & Recreation Director Deal spoke about trees lining the street Cemetery Road in the City limits. On the way to Game Farm Park, Councilmember Lewis commented that the trees along R Street are lovely. There could be flowering trees on north end or south end and still have a gateway theme at entrances to the City. A combination of things with coordinated signage. Planner Sanders reviewed items 24 through 33. INFORMATION: 1. Rankin Brochure Economic Development Manager Hicks provided information on the update of Auburn's brochure and introduced Bob Rankin. Councilmember Poe had asked staff to come back with an update and seek the Committee's input. He spoke about process to develop a theme or tag line for the brochure and three different themes are suggested. A questionnaire was sent out and the survey results are in. Mr. Rankin wanted to find out if there were any new ideas or perceptions from outside Auburn. The brochure is aimed at businesses coming to Auburn and new residents. There is the question of how to position the City and coming up with a positioning statement. The last theme was 'Auburn on the Move' which was a pitch to fill vacant land. The questionnaire pulled three different ideas. He reviewed the first theme, 'Auburn Good to Grow'. Chairman Borden had a question about the five L's - location, land, local government, labor force and livability. Mr. Rankin explained the five L's are merely a starting point and the Committee will have a chance to review. He reminded Committee that the contract is predicated on updating the existing information versus reinventing the wheel. The five L's were developed years ago and have survived the test of time. Mr. Rankin reviewed the next theme, 'Auburn Bats a Home Run Every Time' which speaks to the idea of Auburn for recreation and a healthy place to live. The survey respondents said that Auburn is smaller and has a slower pace of life. He reviewed the third idea, 'Auburn Works' because it is close to major markets and has amenities. Councilmember Lewis asked about the survey results and Mr. Rankin gave a copy of the survey compilation results to Councilmember Lewis for review. Councilmember Lewis asked for copies of the compilation to be given to all Councilmembers. Mr. Rankin recommended that the Committee pick a theme to continue the update of the materials. Councilmember Singer likes the 'Good to Grow' theme which connotates a good family atmosphere. The other one suggests a blue collar image and the other relating to baseball is too unclear. Chairman Borden and Councilmember Lewis also like the 'Good to Grow' theme. Chairman Borden suggested an PAGE 4 MINUTES OF PLANNING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE MARCH 26, 2001 emphasis be placed on the City's mission statement because she does not want to concentrate on the word "growing". Councilmember Singer asked Councilmember Lewis if the theme 'Good to Grow' works for business recruitment. Councilmember Lewis said that businesses ask about the City's parks, schools and life style. He believes that retail professional infill in downtown should be a focus and professional medical should also be a focus in downtown. With no further items to come before the Committee, the meeting was adjourned at 8:30 p.m. PCDC\MIN\03B-2001 PAG E, 5