City Council Announcements
April 22, 2008
A. Information Needed by Council Staff
1. Staff has received a mix of responses from Council Members on a letter to Rocky Mountain Power regarding the Emigration-McClelland transmission line project. There are currently three versions of this letter (see attached). Staff requests the Council to review these letter and to confirm with Staff which direction to take.
Which version of the Rocky Mountain Power letter would the Council prefer to approve? Council Members were in favor of letter #3.
2. Ms. Gust-Jenson said the Council had another zoning extension request which would be on the May 6, 2008 agenda. She said this related to the Romney property which was up on the hillside and it was very controversial when it came to the Council. She said the Council at first rejected the annexation request and then later realized it was a mistake because that meant that development could be processed in the County. She said the City ended up doing a settlement with the organization and so they were going now through the very last steps. She said they were waiting some processing through Public Utilities and the zoning expires on May 10th. She asked if anyone wanted a briefing ahead of May 6th, they would be happy to schedule that for the Council. She said they were on a tight timeframe. She said the developer contacted the Attorney’s Office recently to let them know that they would need that extension. Councilmember Love asked the Council to let staff know if they wanted a briefing before May 6th.
3 Ms. Gust-Jenson asked if the Council was planning on all the May meetings to start at 2:00 p.m. Council Members were in favor of starting at 2:00 p.m. Councilmember Love said Cindy Harris would have to look at the different committee meetings scheduled in May and see how we can adjust the times.
4. Ms. Gust-Jenson said they had gotten to the follow-up on the retreat where they would start giving the Council some summaries of what they thought the Council directed staff to do and then underneath that very specific language that would go into the policy. (Amendment No. 1: Working Outside One’s own Council District) All Council Members were comfortable with the policy.
SALT LAKE CITY COUNCIL MEMORANDUM
DATE: APRIL 8, 2008
SUBJECT: ROUND 1: AMENDMENTS TO THE COUNCIL POLICY MANUAL FOR REVIEW AND APPROVAL
STAFF REPORT BY: LEHUA WEAVER
Based on various Council discussions ranging back to last year, several amendments to sections of the Salt Lake City Council Policy Manual have been identified. In an effort to present the various amendment items as simply as possible, staff has listed a brief description or history and our understanding of the amendment needed. The specific language edits are also provided.
Amendment Item 1: “Working outside one’s own district”
Issue:
1. During a mid-year retreat with the full Council last October, the Council confirmed their intent that when a Council Member is approached regarding an issue in another’s district, the approached Council Member may either refer the constituent to the Council Member representing the issue-area, or assist the constituent and keep the other Council Member notified.
2. The Council also discussed extending the same notification courtesy to fellow Council Members when meeting requests are made on issues pending Council consideration.
Suggested Language Amendment:
A.15 WORKING ON ISSUES OUTSIDE OWN COUNCIL DISTRICT (4/08)A.15 WORKING ON ISSUES OUTSIDE OWN COUNCIL DISTRICT
a. Due to Council Members' roles as elected officials, constituents commonly contact Council Members to request their assistance in resolving issues and problems. a. Due to Council Members' roles as elected officials, constituents commonly contact Council Members to request their assistance in resolving issues and problems.
b. There are instances when constituents contact a Council Member for assistance on an issue outside the Council Member's council district. b. There are instances when constituents contact a Council Member for assistance on an issue outside the Council Member's council district.When a Council Member is asked to assist a constituent on an issue outside that Council Member's district, the Member has two options:c. When a Council Member is asked to assist a constituent on an issue outside that Council Member's district, the Member has two options:
1. refer the constituent to the Council Member who represents the constituent; or 1. refer the constituent to the Council Member who represents the constituent; or
2. choose to assist the constituent and give a courtesy notification to the Council Member whose district the issue relates to as soon as is reasonably possible.
c. There are also instances 2. choose to assist the constituent and give a courtesy notification to the Council Member whose district the issue relates to as soon as is reasonably possible. when a Council Member will be contacted by members of the community (including, but not limited to, residents, developers, business owners) regarding a project outside their district that will be coming before the Council for consideration.
1. In this situation, the Council Member has justification to meet individually or in small groups with the business person, and will extend a courtesy notification to the Council Member in whose district the project is located.