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HomeMy WebLinkAbout06/08/2004 Adjourned Meeting 2 5 '5 ADJOURNED MEETING JUNE 8, 2004 - 5:30 P.M. COUNCIL CHAMBERS - CITY HALL 1. RoII Call Present: Council: Mayor Paul George, presiding, Council Members Ron Bonlender, Dave Edler, Neil McClure, Mary Place, Bernard Sims, and Susan Whitman Staff: Dick Zais, City Manager; Chris Waarvick, Public Works Director; Bill Cook, Community & Economic Development Director, Doug Maples, Planning & Code Administration Manager, and Acting City Clerk Watkins 2. Study Session on airport safety overlay: Regulatory Land Use Policy /Risk Analysis Mayor George acknowledged the various participants and interested parties in ✓ attendance: Union Gap Mayor, Aubrey Reeves; County Commissioner, Jim Lewis; County Administrator, Doug Cochran; Airport Board Members Greg Berndt, Fred Iraola, Doug Hahn, Dennis Byam, and Kit Park; and Jerry Kilpatrick, Assistant Airport Manager Bill Cook gave a brief history of the current airport overlay and explained why the subject is being reviewed at this time; 1) Annexations since the original overlay, 2) Regulatory language needing improvement, and 3) Future growth and balancing compatibility and competitiveness. He also displayed maps with Yakima's airport configuration placed on top of other cities' airport maps showing how their business districts would fall within our safety zone, including the White House in relation to Reagan International Airport. Doug Maples advised that the Planning staff presently has no clear guidance with regard to the Yakima Air Terminal's long term planning. The City must determine what level of risk they are willing to assume to protect utility and public investment, what level of regulation is reasonable, and what is the future runway length should expansion be decided upon. They are not making a recommendation at this session other than that Council accept the report and initiate a public process to consider potential amendments to the Airport Master Plan and Airport Safety Overlay legislation. MEAD & HUNT, INC. — Airport planning firm Ken Brody, Consultant, gave a Power Point presentation covering safety, noise, and compatibility concerns that need to be addressed in the ordinance. To deal with noise, it was suggested to avoid noise sensitive land uses in the noise exposure areas, add sound insulation to structures, and to have buyer awareness disclosure programs. There are limits to local control over noise, as there is no control over the noise at it's source; that is federally pre - empted. 256 ADJOURNED MEETING — JUNE 8, 2004 Recommendations for in- aircraft and on the ground safety were to limit the number of people in the high -risk areas, prohibit highly risk - sensitive uses such as schools and hospitals within safety zones, encourage risk reducing construction methods and provide some degree of open land to give small aircraft the opportunity for an emergency landing. For airspace protection (height limits), you must limit heights of objects around airports as defined by the FAA, but you can also follow standards of lighting, control visual hazards such as smoke and glare, electronic interference with airport navigation, and work to avoid attracting birds. He commented that, even with respect to the height issue, the federal government does not have direct control over land use; that is a state power. Although, they can control the type of instrument approaches that might be established at an airport and have control through grant assurances if federal money is being used, there is not much guidance from the FAA other than in terms of runway protection zones and height limits. Even the state only has guidelines, not regulations. There are no absolute regulatory requirements for safety. A lower standard for airports in smaller communities, such as Yakima, needs to be carefully looked at as to how to best protect it from encroachment from other uses, primarily from residential uses. In further discussion, Mr. Brody, gave detailed information on noise measurement and how to measure safety risks. He talked about risks that extend beyond the runway protection zone and the need to apply proper restrictions for multiple areas. It all needs to be balanced which is one of the shortcomings of the existing ordinance. The current zone extends three miles with the same criteria applied throughout. Mr. Brody had a diagram portraying risk versus cost with reference to the need to consider that issue when looking at proposed versus existing land uses. He emphasized that risk perception is an important part in the decision process and how essential it is to bring community values into the equation. He then showed a diagram of the Yakima Airport depicting key elements such as runway configuration, the potential runway extension, where protection zones would be, and possible land acquisition. The starting point for this process would be to take the state guidelines and apply them. In terms of the airport protection zones, the airport should have control of those. He commented that areas that are close to the airport, where small aircraft may be turning, could be used for golf courses, warehousing, and light industrial business. Although the overlay zoning ordinance is a good device, he suggested not simply calling it an airport safety ordinance but a compatibility ordinance. The ordinance should also look at noise and air space. We should consider under what circumstances we would allow variances and determine an enforcement mechanism. Non - conforming uses ought to be mentioned in the ordinance as well. WSDOT AVIATION John Sibold, Aviation Director, said their interest in airports and aviation is to preserve the system. There are 130 public use airports in the State of Washington. Only 13 are commercial, with the rest being general aviation. The State of Washington is going through an update of the Washington State Transportation Plan and the Legislature and the Transportation Commission say it is extremely important that airports are a part of the plan. The aviation system is an extensive land use program that contributes to a community. Because of that, when the Growth Management Act (GMA) came into play, the Legislature was clear about protecting airports as essential public facilities for communities. Growth management is an opportunity to look at communities and come . up with healthy regulations to protect airports. Although many states have no land use 2 5 '7 ADJOURNED MEETING — JUNE 8, 2004 protection, California has come up with a system that Mr. Sibold suggested Yakima could use as a tool to provide assistance in developing our plan. He said WSDOT will not tell Yakima what to do but would be glad to provide the best available information. Their interest is in the land around the airports and how to protect it from incompatible uses. YAKIMA AIRPORT BOARD Greg Berndt, Chairman, advised that the Board had been working on this information since September. He distributed a list of what needed to be considered in the Airport Safety Overlay: • Protect the public • Allow for airport growth • Allow for economic development of surrounding land • Provide clear planning and zoning guidance for development • Meet FAA requirements Mr. Berndt presented a plan developed by the Board. It is modeled after the plan currently being used in Ohio. They communicated with Ohio to determine what worked and what didn't and modified the plan accordingly. They sent the modified plan to the FAA for review and received approval. He distributed a map showing five proposed zoning codes and pointed out that the projected location for Wal Mart will work within this plan. It also accommodates a potential runway extension. In response to a request from City Manager Zais, Mr. Sibold of WSDOT commented on future development in the airline industry. People are driving to hub airports to take advantage of cheap tickets. As a result, Yakima's passenger count has declined. However, the industry is downsizing, trying to pack the most in the least size; therefore, the future will be regional jets replacing heavy equipment. They can be flown for lower cost per seat mile and are more flexible for operating out of smaller, lower cost, airports. What they are hearing in the trades, and are seeing on the east coast, is that large hub airports are running out of capacity. That capacity has to go somewhere and it is expected to go to the smaller airports. Doug Hahn, Vice Chair of the Airport Board and also a 747 pilot for Northwest Airlines, commented that Yakima Airport is a jewel that needs to be preserved. It is imperative for Yakima to grow. He agreed that the regional jet is the future and projects the Yakima Airport will become an alternate to SeaTac. We need to preserve the airspace around Yakima to be able to make that happen. Currently our runway is not quite long enough for major carriers to utilize as an alternate, but if it could become one, it could generate money for Yakima. Council Member Sims thanked the Airport Board for their suggestion, saying we need to look at it in detail but it looks quite flexible. 3. Audience Comments (6:45 p.m. - 7:00 p.m.) Frank Glaspey, 100 North 60 Avenue, had specific questions on airport runway 27 safety. Dale Glaspey handed out information they prepared regarding extending the runway safety area at the Yakima Airport suggesting a revision that would take 16 Avenue out of the 1,000 foot safety area. Mayor George thanked them and suggested 258 ADJOURNED MEETING — JUNE 8, 2004 that it be discussed at the next session due to the late time. Mr. Glaspey agreed and it was decided that Council will review the submitted information and it would be discussed at the next study session on the subject. Wilma Koski, 643 Terry Avenue, distributed copies of excerpts from the development agreement between the City and Congdon having highlighted the section on Airport Safety Overlay. She stated that she is concerned the Council is being governed by that agreement. Gary Cuillier, Hearing Examiner, agreed that the current ordinance needs refinement and better guidelines for what is a hazard and what are acceptable hazards. His experience is that the current ordinance is too broad and makes it difficult on an appeal. Jim Lewis, County Commissioner, suggested that the Urban Area Planning Commission be involved in the planning phase to alleviate future problems. Council Member Edler agreed and suggested that Union Gap also be included in discussions. 4. Adjournment Mayor George adjourned the meeting at 7:16 p.m. with a commitment to reconvene on the subject at a future time. READ AND CERTIFIED ACCURATE BY /�/ COUN IL MEM'Ify 10A E al / —dy COUN or EMBER DATE ATTEST: , C 1_,_ ) -_,,f)2 v ACTING CITY CLERK PAUL P. GEORGE, MAYOR Minutes prepared by Linda Watkins. An audio and videotape of this meeting is available in the City Clerk's Office •