MINUTES FOR THE REGULAR MEETING
ASHLAND CITY COUNCIL
January 4, 2005 - 7:00 p.m.
Civic Center Council Chambers, 1175 E. Main Street

CALL TO ORDER
Mayor John Morrison called the meeting to order at 7:15 p.m. in the Civic Center Council Chambers.

ROLL CALL
Councilor Hardesty, Amarotico, Hartzell, Jackson and Silbiger were present. Councilor Hearn was absent.

Mayor Morrison announced that after consulting with the Council members, it was agreed that additional time was necessary in order to solicit applications for the Budget Committee. Suggestion was made that this issue be re-noticed.

Councilor Hartzell/Jackson m/s to move appointment of Budget Committee members to the first council meeting in February. Voice Vote: Councilor Hardesty, Hartzell, Jackson and Silbiger, YES. Councilor Amarotico, NO. Motion passed. 4-1.

MAYOR'S ANNUAL ADDRESS
Mayor Morrison presented "The State of the City" address. The complete address is attached to the minutes.

APPROVAL OF MINUTES
The minutes of the Regular Council Meeting of December 21, 2004 were approved as presented.

SPECIAL PRESENTATIONS & AWARDS (None)

CONSENT AGENDA

Councilor Jackson/Hartzell m/s to approve Consent Agenda. Voice Vote: all AYES.

PUBLIC HEARINGS
1.  Public Input for 2005/2006 Council Goals and Priorities.
It was noted that the City Council had scheduled the goal setting for January 14 and 15, 2005.

Public Hearing Open: 7:39 p.m.

Philip Lang/758 B Street/Spoke regarding public involvement. Mr. Lang submitted a letter along with attachments to the Council for their information.

Art Bullock/791 Glendower/The following is verbatim of Mr. Bullock's testimony:
"Ashland is blessed with many Citizens who are passionate about the city, yet disconnected, discouraged, and disenfranchised by the City's decision processes. The election mandate was a change in direction for the city, and the foundation for that change is Citizen Involvement. That's Job 1 for 2005. Second, we need to revise the LID process so that Laurel St LID and future LID neighborhoods don't have to suffer through the difficult process used in Nevada LID and so many prior LIDs. Third, we need to build in a stronger role for Citizens in the City Charter. At this point, Charter Review Committee is doing excellent, conscientious work, yet there is precious little direct Citizen input, even on issues that Citizens have strong opinions on. Fourth, we need to make the Citizen Participation Plan more concrete. Citizens in Ashland generally feel that the City is going to do whatever it wants to do, regardless of what Citizens want. 2005 is the year to turn that around."

Public Hearing Closed: 7:48 p.m.
-

Public Hearing Open: 7:51 p.m.
Public Hearing Closed: 7:51 p.m.

Ordinance was read out loud in full.

Councilor Jackson/Amarotico m/s to approve the first reading of the Ordinance and move to second reading. Roll Call Vote: Councilor Amarotico, Silbiger, Hardesty, Jackson and Hartzell, YES. Motion passed.
-

Public Hearing Open: 8:00 p.m.
Public Hearing Closed: 8:00 p.m.

Councilor Hartzell/Amarotico m/s to approve Resolution #2005-01. Roll Call Vote: Councilor Hardesty, Hartzell, Jackson, Amarotico, and Silbiger, YES. Motion passed.

Councilor Silbiger/Amarotico m/s to approve Resolution #2005-02. Roll Call Vote: Councilor Silbiger, Amarotico, Jackson, Hartzell, and Hardesty, YES. Motion passed.

PUBLIC FORUM  (None)

UNFINISHED BUSINESS (None)

NEW AND MISCELLANEOUS BUSINESS
1.   Election of Citizens Budget Committee members (4).
Item was moved to the February 1, 2005 Council Meeting.

2.   Council Election of Chair to City Council.

Councilor Hartzell/Hardesty m/s to elect Councilor Hearn as Council Chair for 2005. Voice Vote: all AYES. Motion passed.

3.   Mayor's appointments of council liaisons to various boards and commissions.
List of appointments were presented with no changes.

ORDINANCES, RESOLUTIONS AND CONTRACTS

Councilor Amarotico/Silbiger m/s to approve Resolution #2005-04. Roll Call Vote: Councilor Hardesty, Amarotico, Hartzell, Jackson and Silbiger, YES. Motion passed.

OTHER BUSINESS FROM COUNCIL MEMBERS
Councilor Hartzell asked to discuss the Demolition Ordinance in regards to the DeBoer Planning Action and Council agreed to this request.

Mr. McLaughlin clarified that the Demolition Ordinance was designed for all homes and includes conservation measures that prevent demolition materials from entering the waste stream. Also included in the Ordinance are higher standards for justifying the demolition of homes that are 45 years or older. Mr. McLaughlin explained that there is a clause in the Ordinance that requires that the demolished home be replaced by a structure that is at least 1,000 sq. ft. He stated that this was included to prevent the lot from remaining vacant (unless the purpose of the demolition was to create public open space).

Mr. McLaughlin explained that the DeBoer's initial application involved an addition to their historic home and they received a Conditional Use Permit to exceed the maximum house size. The pool and pool house were more than 6 feet away from the addition, and therefore weren't calculated into the square footage of the addition. He added that the primary complaint regarding the DeBoer's previous application was regarding lot coverage.

Councilor Hartzell questioned whether pools and similar structures would be calculated into the overall square footage for homes regulated by the Maximum House Size Ordinance. Mr. McLaughlin stated that this would fall under the land use process of determining square footage. He stated that under the Building Code, a pool is determined a structure only if it is within 6 feet of the house, and because no one has proposed to have a pool this close to their home, they have not had to address this issue.

Suggestion was made to discuss this issue further during a Study Session or at the upcoming Council Goal meetings.

Councilor Jackson stated the she and the City Attorney had attended the Jackson County Planning Commission public hearing regarding Measure 37, and noted that the hearing would be continued at their February meeting. Suggestion was made to hold a Study Session to further explore the City's options regarding Measure 37 claims. City Administrator Gino Grimaldi stated that there hasn't been much activity regarding Measure 37 claims and stated that it may be best to wait on the Study Session until a claim has been filed.

Mayor Morrison noted that the Council Goal Session would be held January 14th and 15th in the Community Development Building. He also noted that the evaluation of the City Attorney would be held at the Executive Session scheduled for January 18th, 2005.

ADJOURNMENT
Meeting was adjourned at 8:39 p.m.

Barbara Christensen, City Recorder
John W. Morrison, Mayor