MINUTES FOR THE CITY COUNCIL SPECIAL MEETING
Monday, March 17, 2008 at 6:30 p.m.
Council Chambers, 1175 East Main Street
CALL TO ORDER Mayor Morrison called the meeting to order at 6:30 p.m. in the Council Chambers, 1175 East Main Street. | ||||||||||||||||||||
- | ||||||||||||||||||||
ROLL CALL Councilors Hardesty, Silbiger, Chapman, Jackson and Navickas were present. Councilor Hartzell arrived at 6:34 p.m. | ||||||||||||||||||||
- | ||||||||||||||||||||
NEW BUSINESS | ||||||||||||||||||||
1. | Should the Council conduct first reading of an Ordinance titled, "An Ordinance Amending Chapter 18 of the Ashland Municipal Code, providing for revisions to definitions and zoning district classifications, providing for revisions to conditional use standards and general regulations for the following zoning districts: woodland residential, rural residential, single family residential, suburban residential, low density multi-family residential, high density multi family residential, North Mountain neighborhood, retail commercial, employment, industrial, health care services and Southern Oregon University; providing for revisions to chapters for tree preservation and protection, physical and environmental constraints, general regulations, site design review, partitions, performance standards option, parking, signage, procedures and enforcement, providing also for corrections to and adoption of official maps, including zoning and overlay maps in digital format"? Community Development Director Bill Molnar and Senior Planner Maria Harris address the Council. Mr. Molnar briefly reviewed the ALUO changes approved by the Council at the February 4, 2008 Special Meeting and indicated the remaining key issues Council needs to decide on are:
Councilor Navickas recommended the Council allow for a limited de-novo hearing. He explained this would require the appellant to put forward their argument and would allow the public the opportunity to speak before the Council regarding that specific argument. City Attorney Richard Appicello clarified staff had discussed this option, and if Council agreed to this process, the following sentence would need to be deleted from 18.108.110, Section 105(C), "A party shall not be permitted oral argument if written arguments have not been timely submitted." He added the Council would also need to define "party" in the ordinance. City Administrator Martha Bennett recommended if the above sentence is deleted, the subsequent sentence be amended to read, "Written arguments shall be submitted by the appellant no less than ten days prior to the Council consideration of the appeal." Ms. Bennett indicated it would be difficult to hold the public to only speak to the appeal argument and asked for Council's input regarding this option. Council briefly discussed the best way to come to consensus on these issues and agreed to deliberate on the following decision points:
Does the Council want to allow oral testimony at the appeal? Who would be allowed to speak? Would parties be required to submit written argument prior to speaking? What would parties be allowed to speak to? How would the Council deal with new evidence? Ms. Bennett indicated staff needs clarification on whether the City Administrator or the Staff Advisor (Community Development Director) should have the authority to decide whether new facts should come to Council for a hearing. Support was voiced for the City Administrator to have this authority. Mr. Appicello commented on the provision for the Planning Commission decision to be final. He stated this was included mainly because of the 120-day rule and clarified the Planning Commission hearing would be de-novo and they could only address the new fact or procedural error. Mr. Appicello clarified the proposed language states the Council may elect to send the decision back to the Planning Commission; they are not required to. Ms. Bennett voiced her support for retaining this flexibility in the ordinance. Mayor Morrison suggested this language be revised to read, "If the City Council elects to remand a decision to the Planning Commission, either summarily or otherwise, the Planning Commission shall be the final decision of the City unless the Council calls the matter up pursuant to 18.108.070.B.5." Council voiced support for this modification. Evidentiary Hearings Mr. Molnar clarified staff would adhere to the existing noticing requirements for an evidentiary hearing. Suggestion was made for these hearings to also be noticed on the City's website. Mr. Appicello commented on the standards for participation and recommended a speaker request form be utilized to constitute participation. Support was voiced for the evidentiary hearing process included in the proposed ordinance. Questions submitted by Councilor Hartzell Councilor Jackson/Hardesty m/s to extend meeting to 9:30 p.m. Voice Vote: Councilors Jackson, Chapman, Silbiger, Hardesty and Navickas, YES. Councilor Hartzell, NO. Motion passed 5-1. Fire Code Changes: 18.76.060.B Porous Surfaces: 18.08.160 ARU: 18.24.040 Ms. Bennett noted the limited amount of meeting time remaining and questioned how many other issues still needed to be addressed. She clarified Council could still approve first reading tonight if they so choose. Councilor Hartzell/Navickas m/s to extend to meeting to 9:45 p.m. Voice Vote: all AYES. Motion passed. Mr. Appicello read the title of the ordinance aloud along with the following changes requested by Council: 1) Page 2, Section 4: Delete sentence "Up to five percent of the lot area having porous solid surfaces, such as paths, patios, decks, and similar surfaces is exempt from lot coverage requirements." 2) Page 53, Section 89: Modify sentence to read "The Staff Advisor, in coordination with the Fire Code Official, may extend the distance of the turnaround requirement up to a maximum of 250 feet in length as allowed by Oregon Fire Code access exemptions." Mr. Appicello noted this same change would also be made to page 55, Section 91. 3) Page 79, Section 105(5): Modify sentence to read "If the City Council elects to remand a decision to the Planning Commission, either summarily or otherwise, the Planning Commission shall be the final decision of the City unless the Council calls the matter up pursuant to 18.108.070.B.5." Councilor Chapman/Hardesty m/s to approve first reading that includes the proposed amendments to the Land Use Ordinance as recommended by the Planning Commission and Staff with the revisions as suggested by the Council, and request that the ordinance be brought back for second reading. Roll Call Vote: Councilors Hartzell, Jackson, Silbiger, Chapman, and Hardesty, YES. Councilor Navickas, NO. Motion Passed 5-1. | |||||||||||||||||||
- | ||||||||||||||||||||
ADJOURNMENT Meeting adjourned at 9:45 p.m. |
April Lucas, Assistant to City Recorder
John W. Morrison, Mayor