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HomeMy WebLinkAbout10/07/2008 04A-1 Draft Minutes 09-02-2008 Business Meetingz/ $A -► • YAKIMA CITY COUNCIL BUSINESS MEETING SEPTEMBER 2, 2008 — 5:00 P.M. COUNCIL CHAMBERS — YAKIMA CITY HALL Roll Call Present: Council: Mayor Dave Edler, presiding, Assistant Mayor Micah Cawley, Council Members Kathy Coffey,. Rick Ensey, Norm Johnson, Bill Lover and Neil McClure Staff: City Manager Zais and Acting City Attorney Harvey 2. Executive Session: • Property acquisition Executive Session was held and adjourned at 5:45 p.m. 6:00 P.M. — PUBLIC SESSION 1. Roll Call Present: Council: Mayor Dave Edler, presiding, Assistant Mayor Micah Cawley, Council Members Kathy Coffey, Rick Ensey, Norm Johnson, Bill Lover and Neil McClure Staff: City Manager Zais, Acting City Attorney Harvey, and City Clerk Moore 2. Invocation /Pledge of Allegiance Assistant Mayor Micah Cawley gave an invocation and led the Pledge of Allegiance 3. Open Discussion for the Good of the Order Victor Nourani, Principal at Stanton Academy, thanked Council Member Johnson for coming to their opening day of school and invited the rest of Council to come visit the school. A. Proclamations United Way Day of Caring Mayor Edler read a proclamation declaring September 4th as the kick off date of this year's United Way campaign. Mary Place accepted the proclamation. John Rothenbueler, Campaign Chair, detailed the planned events. B. Special presentations / recognitions Yakima Police Department Explorers Police Officer Ira Cavin explained the Police Explorer program and introduced a number of the Explorers. He spoke about the recent national conference at which Yakima's Explorers placed fifth in the shooting competition. SEPTEMBER 2, 2008 C. Status report on prior meeting's citizen service requests • • Clearview problem at 4701 West Summitview Bill Cook, Community and Economic Development Director, advised that the clearview problem has been taken care of. The vehicles on the property are now in compliance. With regard to the complaint about using an illegal driveway, it would be necessary to catch someone in the act. They are looking into making it more difficult to jump that curb. • Weeds at La Esperanza Mr. Cook reported that when they went to inspect, the owner had already cleared the weeds. • Status of cleanup at Tiger Mart properties This is a long- standing issue of four vacant sites. Mr. Cook said that, although we would like to see the sites put to better use, it is beyond our control. . D. Appointments to Boards and Commissions - None 4. Consent agenda Mayor Edler referred to the items placed on the Consent Agenda, questioning whether there were any additions or deletions from either Council members or citizens present. There were /were not changes. The City Clerk read the Consent Agenda items, including resolutions and ordinances by title. CAWLEY MOVED AND McCLURE SECONDED TO ADOPT THE CONSENT AGENDA AS READ. The motion carried by unanimous roll call vote. (Subsequent paragraphs preceded by an asterisk ( *) indicate items on the Consent Agenda handled under one motion without further discussion.) *A. Consideration of approval of Council Minutes • . July 15 and August 5, 2008 Business meetings . ! July 22, 2008 Adjourned meeting The minutes of the July 15, July 22 and August 5, 2008 Adjourned and Business meetings were approved, having been duly certified accurate by two Council members and no one present wishing to have said minutes read publicly. *B. Consideration of approval of Council Committee Meeting Minutes • Transit/Transportation Committee — August 20 • Neighborhood Development Committee — August 27 5. Audience Participation Sandy Massong - Lloyd, 5501 W. Arlington, requested that the 500 foot' land use notification requirement in the Urban Area Zoning Ordinance be maintained and not reduced to 300 feet as suggested at the last Council meeting. Jean Stotts,709 S. 6th Street, requested the City take action on abandoned homes and burned houses in the vicinity of 10th Street south of Kiwanis Parkand areas on 6`h Street and Naches Avenue. She also said she would like sidewalks repaired. • 2 • SEPTEMBER 2, 2008 7:00 PM - PUBLIC HEARINGS 6. Public Hearing and Consideration of an Ordinance approving the Menzia annexation located at 9203 Coolidge Road Jeff Peters, Assistant Planner, described the property to be annexed as one tax parcel of 2.29 acres with an assessed valuation of $170,900. The Boundary Review Board approved the annexation on August 6, 2008. Staff recommends accepting Petition No-08-03 and passing the ordinance. Mayor Edler opened the public hearing and with no one coming forward to speak, closed the hearing. The City Clerk read the ordinance by title; McCLURE MOVED AND CAWLEY SECONDED TO PASS THE ORDINANCE. The motion carried by unanimous roll call vote. ORDINANCE NO. 2008 -44, AN ORDINANCE concerning annexation; annexing the Menzia Annexation area to the City of Yakima; maintaining the current zoning of the area; providing for notice to the WUTC of the City's intent to provide residential refuse collection and disposal service; assumption of the City's current indebtedness by properties in the Menzia Annexation area; and an effective date of October 5, 2008. 0 7. Public Hearing and Consideration of an Ordinance approving the Metz annexation located at 10 North 96th Avenue Jeff Peters, Assistant Planner, described the property to be annexed as two tax parcels with a current assessed value of $220,300. It consists of 1.74 acres. The Boundary Review Board approved the annexation on August 7, 2008. Staff recommends accepting Petition No. 08 -04 and passing the ordinance. Mayor Edler opened the public hearing and with no one coming forward to speak, closed the hearing. The City Clerk read the ordinance by title; McCLURE MOVED AND CAWLEY SECONDED TO PASS THE ORDINANCE. The motion carried by unanimous roll call vote.. ORDINANCE NO. 2008 -45, AN ORDINANCE concerning annexation; annexing the Metz Annexation area to the City of Yakima; maintaining the current zoning of the area; providing for notice to the WUTC of the City's intent to provide residential refuse collection and disposal service; assumption of the City's current indebtedness by properties in the Metz Annexation area; and an effective date of October 5, 2008. CITY MANAGER'S REPORTS 8. Consideration of 2007 Annual Report of the Yakima Police Department Chief Granato presented the 2007 Annual Report. He pointed out the continuance of the emphasis patrols and working with the citizens to help with the reduction in crime. In 2007, the Yakima crime lab was completed with revenue from the .3% 3 SEPTEMBER 2, 2008 sales tax. The Department has added a Deputy Chief who has been tasked with • looking at the different special operations of the department, e.g. narcotics, gangs, YPAL, etc., and advising how we can improve them. It was the consensus of Council to accept the report. 9. Presentation of legal opinion regarding the mail ramp and ownership issues relating to a proposed new hotel project City Manager Zais reviewed the recent history on the ramp removal issue. A report was initially presented to the Downtown Futures Committee in late June. One of the proposals on the hotel project was the ramp removal. We undertook legal research at that time and a report was given to the Yakima Downtown Futures Committee on July 23rd. The Committee accepted the report and forwarded' it to the City Council. The report gave specifics on the issues Mr. Morrier requested assistance from the City and commented on ownership of and responsibility for removal of the. ramp. The Futures Committee recommendation came forward to Council on August 5 t along with a funding proposal. At that meeting a number of questions were raised, but at the end of the discussion, the Council took the step of initially favoring the removal of the ramps at City expense and gave us direction on an appropriation ordinance. The appropriation ordinance would have come back two weeks later for approval, but in the aftermath of that meeting, additional research by the Yakima Herald- Republic resulted in no further action on the ordinance. Regrettably and embarrassingly, we found that we did not have all of the facts needed when the issue was originally presented to Council. We then did a thorough investigation and analysis of the ownership and responsibility for the ramp. i Ken Harper, counsel for the City, presented his legal opinion and an overview o f his findings. He said he has made sure that we now have the full recorded public record related to the ramp issue, and we have tried to make sure that we are imposing, to the best of our ability, a reasonable reconstruction of how these documents interrelate. They do not relate seamlessly; however, you can draw some fairly straightforward conclusions. The 1969 easement establishes that the public has the right to make use of the easement for a parking garage. Mr. Morrier's development company notified the City in July that there is a new hotel proposed for the mall area. There is no basis to suggest that the easement rights have terminated or are void because of the change in use of a parking garage to a parking garage that serves the hotel. The easement doesn't say much about what to do with the ramp removal request. If the easement hasn't terminated, there isn't a basis on the change of use clause for the City to suggest or compel Mr. Morrier's company to remove the ramp at his expense. But, the main question is how can the City and Mr. Morrier approach, not just the ramp issue, but the entire proposal to redevelop the mall as a hotel. He suggested the best way to look at the ramp and easement issue is in context of redevelopment of the old mall into a new hotel. If the ramp issue is understood in that context, the City can continue discussions with Mr. Morrier, and work toward a written memorialization of the City's and Mr. Morrier's positions. The best legal vehicle would be a development agreement. It would give an opportunity to establish positions, and most importantly, an opportunity for public comment. The ramp issue and the associated parts of development for a hotel will require a thorough SEPA review. One is underway, but the proposal has been changed since the initial documents. The best way to bring this back to a common denominator would be for the SEPA documents to get caught up to the ramp issues. The policy choices available are, for the most part, not limited by that easement. Policy options ILI SEPTEMBER 2, 2008 • are generally open for further discussion and a public hearing would be the easiest way to a resolution. Through discussion, it was suggested that the development agreement deal with all the ramps and not just the one in question at the moment. Joe Morrier, 402 E. Yakima Avenue, said he and his company want to see downtown grow. In that light, he said he has no problem taking on the responsibility of removing the ramps and working toward a development agreement to deal with all the concerns. He said his company will take the ramps down and will not obligate the City, even though it is a gray area, as they don't want anything to stop this project. City Manager Zais said, based on research and counsel's recommendation, .he recommends deferring any decision with respect to removal of the ramp and instead begin a process leading to a comprehensive development agreement with the JEM Corporation. Mr. Morrier's plans are almost ready to be submitted and that will trigger a SEPA review which includes the public participation process. CAWLEY MOVED AND McCLURE SECONDED TO ACCEPT KEN HARPER'S RECOMENDATION FOR A DEVELOPMENT AGREEMENT AND TO CONTINUE THE PUBLIC PROCESS TO MOVE THE PROJECT FORWARD. The motion carried by unanimous roll call vote. *10. Consideration of a Resolution authorizing execution of an intergovernmental cooperative purchasing agreement between the City of Yakima and West Valley Fire Department ® RESOLUTION NO. R- 2008 -133, A RESOLUTION authorizing the execution of an Intergovernmental Cooperative Purchasing Agreement with West Valley Fire Department u *11. Consideration of a Resolution authorizing execution of a personal services agreement with Staged Right Scenery to provide repair, consulting and supervision services related to the stage rigging system at the Capitol Theatre RESOLUTION NO. R- 2008 -134, A RESOLUTION authorizing the City Manager to execute a personal services agreement with Staged Right Scenery to provide repair, consulting and supervision services related to the stage rigging system at the Capitol Theatre. *12. Set Date of Public Hearing to Consider the Sale of Water /Irrigation Division Real Property at Oak Flats 1100 State Route 410 to the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, and to Consider Declaring the Property at Oak Flats, 1100 State Route 410 as surplus City -owned property. September 16, 2008 at 7:00 p.m. was set as the date public hearing to consider the sale of the Water /Irrigation Division real property at Oak Flats, 1100 State Route 410 to the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife and consider declaring the property at Oak Flats as surplus City -owned property. 5 SEPTEMBER 2, 2008 *13. Reconsideration of setting dates of Public. to consider transit fare adjustments 0 September 16 at 7:00 p.m. and September 23, 2008 at 4:00 p.m. were set as the dates of public hearings to consider transit fare adjustments. ORDINANCES 14. Consideration of an Ordinance relating to the regulation of land use and development, and amending Title 15 of the Yakima Municipal Code entitled the Yakima Urban Area Zoning Ordinance, specifically Chapters 15.01 through 15.31 of the Yakima Municipal Code Bill Cook, Community and Economic Development Director, advised that, following the August 19, 2008 public hearing, they submitted a memo summarizing questions regarding the proposed amendments to the Yakima Urban Area Zoning Ordinance. Of the 23 sections, we are in agreement with the County on sixteen, or are able to disagree because of organizational structures. There are five areas where we do disagree. One issue that came up was a policy question on the distance for notifying property owners of a proposed land use change; 500 feet versus 300 feet. We are recommending staying at 500 feet. Also, the County is suggesting the change on the airport overlay is premature. We recently met with airport staff and have since received a letter saying they are in agreement with the changes and support going forward. Questions that were addressed during discussion were about the length of the • definition of family; the language on home occupation; the determination method of the visibility triangle at intersections; private street requirements; and reasonable accommodation under ADA and the Fair Housing Act. Council Member Cawley withdrew his recommendation to change the notification distance from 500 to 300 feet. The City Clerk read the resolution by title; MCCLURE MOVED AND CAWLEY SECONDED TO APPROVE THE ORDINANCE. The motion carried by unanimous roll call vote. City Manager Zais praised staff and the Regional Planning Committee for all the efforts spent on this project for the last two years. ORDINANCE NO. 2008 -46, AN ORDINANCE relating to the regulation of land use and development in the City of Yakima, and amending Title 15 of the City of Yakima Municipal Code entitled the Yakima Urban Area Zoning Ordinance, specifically Chapters 15.01 through 15.31 of the Yakima Municipal Code. 15. Other Business the LID (POSTPONED) CAWLEY MOVED AND LOVER SECONDED TO START THE NOVEMBER 4, 2008 CITY COUNCIL MEETING AT 2:00 P.M. BECAUSE OF IT BEING ELECTION NIGHT. The motion carried by unanimous voice vote. • 1.1 SEPTEMBER 2, 2008 isCouncil Member McClure clarified that the second public hearing on the proposed transit increase, does not require attendance of the full Council. 0 Council Member Coffey referred to the recent Aquatics Study Session and apologized if she was abrupt. It had been her understanding that the session was an opportunity for other cities and organizations to ask questions of the consultant and that our Council would have their own time to discuss the project later. Mayor Edler advised that the Aquatics Executive Committee will be meeting to decide the next step. City Manager Zais requested the Council Committee on Appointments meet and begin reconstituting the Lodging and Tax Advisory Committee. Mayor Edler mentioned a coalition for character development that is starting up and the Citizens for a Safe Community are bringing it forward. Many of our youth are growing up without positive character influences. He suggested Council consider joining the coalition. It is no financial requirement, but they would recognize the word of the month and possibly put something on the City's web page. Mayor Edler referred to the EMS Levy and recent comments he had heard were made by Bruce Smith of the Business Times. Mayor Edler went on record saying he does not think anyone should bypass the Council and have a direct conversation with anyone that answers to Council. He does not believe that someone outside of Council should be directing staff. Following discussion, it was suggested that if there were questions on the EMS levy, they be put in writing and submitted to Chief Hines prior to the scheduled study session. 16. Adjournment CAWLEY MOVED AND McCLURE SECONDED TO ADJOURN. The meeting was adjourned at 7: 55 p.m. READ AND CERTIFIED ACCURATE BY ATTEST: CITY CLERK COUNCIL MEMBER DATE COUNCIL MEMBER DATE DAVID EDLER, MAYOR Minutes prepared by Deputy Clerk Watkins. A DVD of this meeting is available in the City Clerk's Office 7