HomeMy WebLinkAbout10-28-2002MINUTES OF PLANNING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE
OCTOBER 28, 2002
he regular meeting of the Planning and Community Development Committee was held October 28, 2002 in
Conference Room 1. Those members in attendance were as follows:
MEMBERS PRESENT: Trish Borden, Sue Singer, and Stacey Brothers
STAFF PRESENT: Paul Krauss, David Osaki, Aaron Nix, Shirley Aird, Christine Engler, Duane Huskey,
Tim Carlaw, Daryl Faber, and Patti Zook
ALSO PRESENT:
Mayor Lewis
The meeting was called to order by Committee Chair Borden at 5:00 p.m.
DISCUSSION:
Comprehensive Storm Drainage Plan
Storm Water Plan Concerns and Issues
Planning Director Krauss advised that Planning staff have expressed concern that the Storm Drainage Plan does not
take into account water quality or habitat issues. Successful cities have combined the issues on the front end.
Omitting water quality issues and aquatic habitat is not consistent with best management practices and is not
consistent with Comprehensive Plan policies. The Comprehensive Plan was amended to look at ESA. Unless this
Plan is done in a coordinated manner it could damage the natural environment further and could effect remediation.
Staff wanted to discuss issues in advance with Council Committees. He spoke about the proposal under SEPA, and
could approve the Plan as is, add conditions to result in a water quality monitoring program and study water courses
that are natural. The storm water utility was designed and intended to fix floods. The Plan speaks to water quality
and habitat, but primarily in reference to fixing floods and the emphasis has been on flood control. There has not
been any Council direction to do anything beyond flood control. His suggestions are a departure from the way City
has done business in the past. This suggested way is consistent with Kent, Federal Way, Redmond and Tukwila.
Planning Director Krauss said that City staff is doing a survey in the region regarding water quality monitoring and
these are not radical ideas and are incorporated by other cities. However, the ideas are radical for Auburn's storm
utility division. He brought up these concerns with Frank Currie eight years ago. The City now has a Storm
Drainage Plan, but it still does not do these functions and he thinks it is the responsible thing to do.
Chairman Borden wanted to confirm that Planning Director Krauss thinks the Plan is not complete because it is just
a storm drainage plan not a surface water management plan. Why approve the Plan? Should SEPA be reviewed
further and Plan worked on? Planning Director Krauss said the Plan is complete in its dealing with flood control
because major flood issues are eliminated. As a flood control plan, it is current, valid and a good plan. He would
like to see a process where other information is processed. As the Plan is amended, and projects developed, new
information should be taken into account. Utility division needs to address aquatic habitat and flood control.
Council needs to be cognizant of this as Council approves the Plan. He anticipates he will approve the SEPA. The
ordinance enabling storm water utility would need to be amended. This would be a policy decision by Council.
Councilmember Singer inquired if Planning Director Krauss anticipates any staff increase and is Environmental
Compliance Manager Nix working with Public Works Department? Planning Director Krauss believes this can be
done with existing staff. Environmental Compliance Manager Nix's position straddles both departments. Water
quality monitoring is intensive. It is premature now to say how to do. Environmental Compliance Manager Nix has
the capability to offer his services to the utility division.
Chairman Borden asked about a specific recommendation. Planning Director Krauss said that Council should
approve the Plan with recognition that SEPA has conditions regarding a monitoring program, and the inclusion of
information being developed on water courses. This all is working towards an integrated surface water quality
program, looking at the entire picture, protecting wetlands and habitat, stream courses, in addition to flood control.
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OCTOBER 28, 2002
Chairman Borden asked about steps needed to accomplish this. Planning Director Krauss said that the water quality
monitoring program tells where issues are such as outfall problems, targets specific projects such as natural water
course improvements, and does some inspection of maintenance of storm faculties. This could be done on a regular
basis. The City would tell a person that it needs to be maintained and how to maintain it.
Councilmember Brothers inquired if Council approves the Plan as part of normal course of Comprehensive Plan
amendments and Planning Director Krauss's suggested time frame is considered, what is reasonable number of
years to get the Storm Plan integrated? Planning Director Krauss said if Council had clear policy direction and
develops an emphasis and funding, things could happen in 2003. It will take time to build on the Plan. Staff is
gathering information, seeking grants, and identifying another tier of projects such as water quality and aquatic
habitat.
Councilmember Singer wondered about increasing storm water fees and utility fees and Planning Director Krauss
replied this is reasonable. He does not know how Auburn fee structure compares with other cities. There is a
massive amount of projects listed in the Plan. The fees collected do not cover the costs of the projects. Planning
Director Krauss said the City is committed to using state of the art technology and has a good track record. Better
information and technology appears each year. The approved projects meet the current state of the art.
Councilmember Singer wants the City do a better job of making the open ponds attractive because some of them
area quite unsightly. Does the Plan address this issue? Storm Drainage Engineer Carlaw said the Plan does not
address design issues of the open ponds. The Plan does not deal with development standards.
Storm Drainage Engineer Carlaw commented that that the City does not want to live with the 1990 Plan for
additional years and it has taken several years to develop this current Plan. He appreciates Planning Director
Krauss' comments. Staff has been working toward this goal a long time. The conditions are taking the City to
bigger horizons. Staff needs policy direction from the Council and more resources. City cannot do monitoring
plans with existing staff and equipment costs and Council needs to understand this. He suggested Council approve
this Plan now and work with Planning to develop conditions.
Chairman Borden believes there is already policy direction in the Comprehensive Plan policies. Storm Drainage
Engineer Carlaw referred to Chapter 13.48 of the City Code, the utility chapter, whose main purpose is flood
control.
Utility Engineer Huskey said the storm utility is designed to drain streets. The Plan is complete and coordinates
with the Comprehensive Plan as the mission currently exists. The Plan also proposes projects to enhance water
quality when fully implemented. The mission and Storm Drainage Plan and City Comprehensive Plan are all tied
together. The Plan completes the mission of the storm utility as established by Code and is in conformance with
Comprehensive Plan. He believes the Plan does everything the utility division is required to do by the
Comprehensive Plan. The Plan makes basins better, improves water quality as well as deals with storm drainage
problems.
Councilmember Singer confirmed that the Planning Department wants to take another step and head in a new
direction. Planning Director Krauss confirmed that Council bought into policies and Council also adopted flood
control utility. Other responsibilities have not been assigned.
Councilmember Singer commented that the whole concept of wetlands being cared for and water quality being
monitored are unfunded mandates and she has concerns about NPDES funding. City is being told to spend
'whatever it takes' to accomplish these directives and to create no degradation. She is concerned about unfunded
mandates coming down to City and wants the City to look at exactly what the utility division is charged to do.
Public Works Director Engler remarked that Public Works has developed a plan for capital improvements
associated with storm drainage utility that is in conformance with Comprehensive Plan policies. There has been
little direction of specific policies to be implemented by the storm utility.
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Auburn City Code describes the mission of the storm utility, what it can assess fees and charges for, is specific in
terms of what it can charge customer for and what it is to provide. The utility division is not just flood control, but
also water volume impacts and water quality impacts. They are trying to do no harm, not degrade the environment,
but are not charged with managing habitat environment or river resources.
Chairman Borden asked Public Works Director Engler about Auburn's approach to managing habitat and Public
Works Director Engler said it is not much different than other cities, but City is struggling with public outreach.
There is not a lot of material available on the web. The Plan shows things as envisioned. The Plan is in compliance
with several best management practice areas and NPDES already. The City will apply for its permit by March,
2003 and has six years to implement. Some things will be done at a greater cost to the customers. The NPDES
permit is administered by the Department of Ecology and includeS educational outreach, monitoring, and working
with residents and businesses. For regional facilities, staff is working back to the source of the problem on a case by
case basis. She wondered if the storm utility can be charged with more than that and is Council supportive of rate
increases.
Planning Director Krauss confirmed that there are unfunded mandates and staff is trying to protect the City. Best
surface water management programs are done by communities that understand what is happening at the State and
Federal levels. This is done because residents want creeks and wetlands, and the motive for doing it properly is
because it is the right thing for the community.
Chairman Borden is hearing two different things from two different departments and wants to see improvements in
water quality and habitat. Mayor spoke about timing and the need to pay more attention to water quality areas.
Many laws are coming from State and Federal authorities which will affect fish, water quality, and environment.
More discussions are necessary and this is a major policy shift. The current Plan is a good plan which staff worked
on it for a long time. When no utility is longer the storm utility, but a surface water management utility, there will
be department changes. The City needs to see what is being mandated, and what it is paying for. He cannot support
the policy change today. The City needs to know the price and cost. Further discussions are needed and
implementation will be some time in the future.
Mayor suggested that Council pass this Plan, then set up a committee between the Public Works and Planning
Departments to get background information on monitoring from different cities and see how best to manage water.
The City will need to look at different programs, come up with examples, take to committees and see which options
are preferred. The City must know the cost. The departments will work on a series of steps to take.
Chairman Borden wondered if the Plan is approved, what happens with SEPA. Planning Director Krauss remarked
that staff will work to gather information and incorporate. Regarding amendments to this Storm Drainage Plan,
staff is suggesting a water quality monitoring program and see expanded function, but this direction comes from
Council to change legislation.
Mayor recommends that Council pass the Storm Drainage Plan and work to develop new plan policies. Public
Works Director Engler commented the mission is viewed two different ways and how to resolve issues. She is
nervous about asking for policy direction today. Staff is working to get NPDES application in and starting to
implement permit requirements. The two departments share lot of philosophical goals. She expressed caution about
cost to the customer.
3. 1-405/SR 167 Interchange Wetland Mitigation
Environmental Compliance Manager Nix provided an update and he has been involved in Department of
Transportation meetings. The interchange is part of the R-51 component and State is gearing up in hopes of R-51
passing. Staff is expecting lots of wetland impacts along the corridor. Meetings have consisted of parties
proposing to get money to do mitigation project along Mill Creek. He briefly described the mitigation projects.
Planning Director Krauss briefly described improvements to the interchange. Environmental Compliance Manager
Nix said 10 projects are proposed. The ranking system was revised and two Auburn projects now rank high.
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Planning Director Krauss spoke about City's ordinance which says Auburn will not accept other agencies' wetlands
and he has asked Environmental Compliance Manager Nix to look into this. The proposal does not impact land.
Councilmember Singer wondered about SAMP improvements in Auburn to use ourselves. She does not want City
to take on others' mitigation. Planning Director Krauss spoke about SAMP to balance wetlands.
4. Human Services Funding
Planner Aird is available to answer questions from the Committee. Chairman Borden wants to discuss initial
Human Services Committee (HSC) funding and what their duties are. She wondered if Neighborhood Matching
Grants (NMG) should be reviewed by the HSC and if the Committee should have guidelines for awarding the
grants. This has been discussed previously and she feels that the PCDC and Council need to clarify the purpose of
the NMG.
Councilmember Brothers is concerned about the direction of where the City going in terms of funding for NMG.
Planner Aird commented that one application for NMG was not funded because it is not physically located in
Auburn. HSC looked at the application one way because it would serve Auburn clients, but is located outside the
City limits which posed a conflict for them. She spoke of making it clear to the HSC the way Council wants to
spend the money, such as for physical improvements.
Councilmember Brothers believes that the HSC should be part of the process and Council needs to give the HSC
more direction. NMG projects should be projects located in the City and serve people in the City. Historically, the
overlap of the School District and the City has been a bit obscure. In terms of NMG projects, these projects need to
serve City residents or groups. He would like to see 'bricks and mortar' type of projects.
Councilmember Singer agrees with Councilmember Brothers about brick and mortar type of projects. She disagree
with HSC looking at these projects and recommending for Council. She believes this confuses their mission and
this is how human services got infiltrated into NMG program. NMG is not a human services issue or related to
human services functions.
Chairman Borden agrees and thinks the NMG had goal of neighborhood attachment, but this has gotten a bit fuzzy
over time. The original intention was bricks and mortar projects. Not many NMG applications were received and
the HSC should not review the applications. There was confusion about a project located on Lea Hill because it was
located outside the City limits. Council is looking to serve Auburn's own residents first. She is not in favor of the
City being overly helpful to serving people outside the City limits. The City cannot serve a neighborhood if that
neighborhood is outside the City limits.
Community Development Administrator Osaki has spoken with Planner Mandeville about this and he wants to talk
with PCDC on November 12 about these issues. Staff is thinking of taking HSC out of the NMG process. HSC
wonders about their role and trying to relate NMG to human services issues. Removing HSC from the NMG
process would make the whole process quicker. Staff has spoken with HSC about removing them from reviewing
NMG applications and they are not concerned about not reviewing the applications.
Chairman Borden commented that more discussion will occur on November 12 with staff making recommendations
to the PCDC. Councilmember Singer wants to discuss setting down concrete parameters for the NMG.
Councilmember Brothers does not want to have the brick and mortar requirement written in 'stone' because a
neighborhood group may come in with a project this is beneficial to their community. This would be a way for that
group to build neighborhood attachment and then they could apply for NMG for physical improvements to their
neighborhood. Councilmember Singer believes that more effort needs to be made on NMG public information.
Chairman Borden referred to the letter that said in part, 'desire for CDBG for economic development. Planner Aird
said this was a discussion about using CDBG for economic development. For example, Federal Way purchased a
strip mall for Asian businesses. Auburn has a good track record and CDBG funds were used for the business
assistance center. Councilmember Brothers wondered if there is anything indicating the results from the business
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assistance center. Planner Aird said that the program is new and it will take time to develop. Chairman Borden has
toured the business assistance center.
Councilmember Singer was surprised to hear that some cities do not give CDBG money outside of the City's own
projects. She wants to figure out how to use CDBG money for community development. Planner Aird said that
CDBG cannot be used to upgrade City Hall, for instance. CDBG can be used for Americans with Disabilities Act
(ADA) improvements such as making sidewalks or curbs wheelchair accessible. CDBG could be used to pay
assessments of low income homeowners that have LID assessments.
Councilmember Singer has sensed a reluctance of the HSC in removing funds from one project to give to another.
She suggested taking out these amounts before HSC sees the amounts for recommendation so there is not
competition between projects. She spoke about Council prioritizing projects. Chairman Borden thinks this is a
good idea.
Planner Aird commented that if there is a specific project that City wants funded for a specific amount of money,
this could be an extra burden for HSC to review if they already know that Council is funding it. This might be
viewed by agencies as unfair if you say $200,000 is available, but really only $150,000 is available.
Chairman Borden inquired under what circumstance City programs should be allowed to compete with non profit
programs. She referred to the recent discussions of allocating $5,000 for translation services.
Councilmember Singer spoke of prioritizing services and determining which ones to protect and how to protect
them. Chairman Borden wondered if the City is saying human services that City provides are more important than
say, domestic violence services or King County Sexual Assault Resource Services that the City cannot provide. The
City has worked hard to continued to fund human services.
Chairman Borden spoke of the City going through bad times now, but the agencies are providing infrastructure and
it is important to recognize that the City does not want to destroy this infrastructure or have the infrastructure go
away.
Chairman Borden wondered if HSC has had these discussions and Councilmember Singer believes Council needs to
discuss issues with HSC. Chairman Borden wondered how much input does Council want to have regarding HSC
operations? Planner Aird commented that there are no written HSC procedures which vary from year to year related
to the process. No formal structure is in place, but HSC are tasked to do.
Councilmember Brothers believes some HSC policies are institutionalized and some HSC members have been on
board for many years. HSC should develop for themselves an operational plan and have PCDC review the plan. It
is important to have institutional operating procedures to deal with situations that arise such as allocating money,
distributing additional funds, deadlines, etc.
Councilmember Singer wants to use same direction HSC has been using such as survival first. Planner Aird said the
question is how much does the PCDC want to be involved. Discussions can continue after the Council retreat.
Chairman Borden said HSC's own procedures are okay and PCDC can review. The HSC priorities were good.
Councilmember Singer would like look at how this might be viewed in light of King County's human services
cutbacks. Child care is not being funded by the County any more and does Auburn want to pick this up.
Planner Aird spoke of issues of increasing need and lots of applications are coming in. Different agencies and
different funding all goes into domestic violence. This is an under served population compared to the need. She
spoke of interaction of police, justice system, agency and if there are any coordination or weaknesses. There are an
array of domestic violence programs and City is spending more. This is a growing problem, but she is unsure of the
exact number of cases. There are funds in Attorney's Office, court, DAWN, etc. and is there a way to look and see
what is the best way to serve the domestic violence population. Are there duplication of services? Is there a way to
increase the money and place the funds so that all related agencies can do a better job?
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Councilmember Singer said the domestic violence problem is increasing because in certain cultures it is more
accepted. Social service agencies and churches are involved and the culture is changing.
Planner Aird suggested that PCDC come to the December HSC and have a discussion. PCDC consented to
attending the December HSC meeting for the discussion.
5. Parks and Recreation Department Budget
Parks Director Faber distributed handouts of the budget. He described outside printing of Bravo posters. Mayor
authorized additional funds for the symphony. Finance Department factors in staff increases. He spoke about the
new Parks Planning & Development Manager position and the parks master plan.
Parks Director Faber pointed out that the Senior Center budget and request for program improvement because they
have a contract janitor, but now the position is not funded. They could contract with janitorial service, but janitor
does set up and take down of tables etc., for functions. He spoke about diversifying the marketing program in order
to increase public awareness of Parks programs.
In response to Councilmember Singer questions, Parks Director Faber said that Parks had part-time staff become
full-time, but no new positions. Parks Director Faber mentioned the museum's tight budget and the fact that staff is
doing an outstanding job. He spoke about the computerized irrigation system saving time and money.
Councilmember Singer inquired about any cuts in service when the new park is opened. Parks Director Faber said
that park is 15 acres in size with two ball fields and is not as labor intensive as a walking park. Chairman Borden
asked if there have been discussions about closing parks and Parks Director Faber said no. They can continue to
operate parks at the same level of service for the next year or two.
Parks Director Faber provided an update of Parks projects for 2003. Documents are in place for Auburn to become
a Tree City USA member. GIS Division is preparing maps. He spoke about sponsorship opportunities and the
coordination of this. He described the computer system to keep track of users of the senior center for King County
and State documentation.
ACTION:
1. Comprehensive PlanA02-0001 - 2002 Comprehensive Plan Amendments (call for public hearing)
Councilmember Singer made a motion, seconded by Councilmember Brothers, to call for public hearing on
November 4, 2002 and the public hearing on November 18, 2002. Chairman Borden concurred.
2. Approval of Minutes of October 24, 2002 Meeting
Councilmember Singer made a motion, seconded by Councilmember Brothers, to approve the minutes. Chairman
Borden concurred.
3. Surplus Parks Department Property
Parks Director Faber made motion, seconded by Councilmember Brothers, to recommend approval. Chairman
Borden concurred.
With no further items to come before the Committee, the meeting was adjourned at 7:30 p.m.
Submitted by Patricia Zook, Planning Secretary.
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Approved by the Planning and Community Development Committee on
PCDC\MIN\ 10B-2002
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