The City Council met in Work Session on Tuesday, January 15, 2013, at 6:54 p.m. in Room 326, Committee Room, City County Building, 451 South State Street.
In Attendance: Council Members Carlton Christensen, Kyle LaMalfa, Luke Garrott, Jill Remington Love, Charlie Luke and Søren Simonsen.
Absent: Councilmember Stan Penfold.
Staff in Attendance: Cindy Gust-Jenson, Executive Council Director; David Everitt, Mayor’s Chief of Staff; Edwin Rutan, City Attorney; Nick Tarbet, Council Policy Analyst/Constituent Liaison; Russell Weeks, Council Senior Policy Analyst; Jan Aramaki, Council Constituent Liaison/Policy Analyst; Michael Akerlow, Housing and Neighborhood Development Director; Steven Akerlow, Housing Development Program Specialist; Lehua Weaver, Council Policy Analyst/Constituent Liaison; Janice Jardine, Council Land Use Policy Analyst; Rick Graham, Public Services Director; Joel Paterson, Planning Manager; Ray Milliner, Principal Planner; Michael Maloy, Principal Planner; Eric Shaw, Community and Economic Development Director; Ana Valdemoros, Associate Planner; Wilford Sommerkorn, Planning Director; Jim Lewis, Public Utilities Finance Administrator; Thomas Ward, Public Utilities Deputy Director; Sonya Kintaro, Chief Deputy City Recorder; and Scott Crandall, Deputy City Recorder.
Guests in Attendance: Dan Lofgren, Liberty Village Property/Cowboy Partners; Lars Christensen, Petitioner (1614 West 700 North); Bethany Christensen, Petitioner (1614 West 700 North); Ellen Reddick, Petitioner (2200, LLC); and Rich Whittaker, Petitioner (2200, LLC).
Councilmember LaMalfa presided at and conducted the meeting.
The meeting was called to order at 6:53 p.m.
AGENDA ITEMS
#1. 6:54:00 PM RECEIVE A BRIEFING REGARDING A REQUEST BY LIBERTY VILLAGE PROPERTY, LLC/COWBOY PARTNERS FOR A $750,000 HOUSING TRUST FUND LOAN AT 2% SIMPLE INTEREST PER ANNUM. THE 30-YEAR LOAN WOULD BE USED TO CONSTRUCT THE LIBERTY VILLAGE APARTMENT BUILDING AT 2150 SOUTH MCCELLAND STREET. The five-story project would consist of 171 residential units – 35 of which would be affordable rental housing units for residents at or below 50% of the City’s area median income and 136 units would be market rate. View Attachments
Steven Akerlow, Janice Jardine and Dan Lofgren briefed the Council with handouts. Discussion included prioritization of mixed income projects, limited areas available to accommodate affordable housing, consistency with Sugar House Master Plan, 50% Area Median Income (AMI) component, subsidized units/Section 8 vouchers, transit tax credits, plaza design guidelines, streetscape plans, architectural expressions, parking lot entrance onto Elm Street being a main concern, McClelland and 10th East better pedestrian oriented streets, parking issues, public art elements, project supported by community, long-term goals, area well connected to transit, affordability/income targeted housing, fair market rent specifically applied to vouchers, street car project, stimulate development through form-based zoning and revisit Sugar House zoning relative to parking, inclusionary zoning and density bonuses.
Ms. Jardine said Planning was reviewing some formed based zoning in the area and she would make them aware of this discussion. She said the proposal was scheduled for formal action on January 22, 2013.
#2. 7:34:18 PM RECEIVE A BRIEFING REGARDING A PROPOSAL TO AMEND THE FUTURE LAND USE MAP OF THE SUGAR HOUSE COMMUNITY MASTER PLAN AND AMEND THE ZONING MAP RELATED TO PROPERTY LOCATED AT 2016 SOUTH 2100 EAST PURSUANT TO PETITION NOS. PLNPCM2012-00367 AND PLNPCM2012-00366. The proposal would amend the Future Land Use Map from Low Density Residential (5-10 dwelling units per acre) to Mixed Use – Low Intensity. The proposal would also amend the Zoning Map from R-1/7000 (Single Family Residential) to CB (Community Business). No specific commercial use has been identified by the Petitioner - 2022 LLC. View Attachments
Nick Tarbet, Joel Paterson, Michael Maloy, Eric Shaw, Ellen Reddick and Rich Whittaker briefed the Council with a PowerPoint Presentation and handouts. Mr. Tarbet said the Sugar House Community Council voted nine to eight opposing rezoning the property to CB but unanimously supported the CN zone.
Discussion included how buffers/protections differ in CB and CN zones, avoid spot zoning, create commercial nodes, potential to land-lock property, landscape requirements, property continued to function as a viable residential use, margin/threshold between residential and commercial uses, mitigate impact on surrounding neighbors, and require/create natural/esthetic barriers.
7:50:43 PM Ellen Reddick and Rich Whittaker were invited to address the Council. Mr. Whittaker said they did not have specific plans for the property but wanted consistent zoning so the area could be appropriately developed.
Councilmember Christensen expressed interest in further exploring the CN zone and wanted Council staff to analyze from a policy standpoint if the proposal created an insurmountable spot zone or set a bad precedent. He said he felt residential buffers would provide a better solution over having two separate zones. Councilmember Penfold requested additional information about the right-of-way including width/size and current use.
Councilmember Garrott asked if a condition could be made with the zoning change that would require a certain landscape plan. Mr. Maloy said that practice was generally discouraged by City attorneys. Ms. Gust-Jenson said staff would research the issue to determine if that was within the Council’s authority.
A majority of the Council was in favor of scheduling a public hearing.
#3. 8:05:16 PM RECEIVE A BRIEFING REGARDING A PROPOSAL THAT WOULD AMEND THE ZONING MAP FOR PROPERTY LOCATED AT 1614 WEST 700 NORTH PURSUANT TO PETITION NO. PLNPCM2012-00225. The proposal would amend the Salt Lake City Zoning Map from R-1/5000 (Single Family Residential) to CB (Community Business) to allow for a dental office use. Petitioners – Lars and Bethany Christensen. View Attachments
Nick Tarbet, Joel Paterson, Ana Valdemoros, Lars Larsen and Bethany Larsen briefed the Council with a PowerPoint Presentation and handouts. Discussion included how esthetics would be changed with rezone, ingress/egress issues, provisions for cross easements, impact of additional commercial project, potential plans regarding public right-of-way, traffic accommodations, transportation analysis needed, limited opportunity to develop deceleration/emergency lane, landscape requirements, concerns regarding the number of curb cuts, overflow parking, enhancing walkability, and area not user-friendly for pedestrians.
8:16:36 PM Lars Larsen and Bethany Larsen were invited to address the Council. Mr. Larsen said he felt a dentist office would benefit the area and they wanted to develop the property with appropriate esthetics so it would blend in as much as possible.
Councilmember Garrott said future planning efforts needed to address how to better accommodate people instead of automobiles. Councilmember LaMalfa said a public hearing would be scheduled.
#4. 8:21:10 PM HOLD A DISCUSSION WITH THE ADMINISTRATION REGARDING LANDSCAPING REGULATIONS IN CITY-OWNED PARKSTRIPS. On August 3, the Council initiated a Legislative Action that requested staff review the current regulations and address the possibility of providing more options for planting in parkstrips, particularly relating to vegetable gardening and water-wise plants. View Attachments
Ray Milliner, Nick Tarbet, Joel Paterson and Wilford Sommerkorn briefed the Council with handouts.
Discussion included safety/crime prevention, better define safety elements, clarify sight triangle formula, standardized setbacks, maintenance/esthetics issues, allow parking in drive approach/apron, property owners see parkstrip maintenance as a burden, clarify rules to enhance enforcement, rename parkstrip to curb gardens, unsustainable status quo, sidewalk impediments, enhance walkability, density/visibility recommendation for tall grasses/vegetation, and preserve neighborhood integrity and streetscape continuity.
Councilmember Garrott said he was interested from an urban design standpoint, in exploring other values that were not being driven by transportation safety. He said having parkstrips as arable land was good public policy which would help achieve sustainability and local food production goals. He said the City needed to provide flexibility and find ways to reward property owners by allowing/encouraging them to be creative with parkstrip enhancement/plantings as long as they met certain requirements such as curb setbacks and sight parameters.
Councilmember Love said she agreed it was important to encourage creativity/self-expression but it was also important to create a walkable community where pedestrians would not be impeded while utilizing sidewalks.
Councilmember Penfold said he liked the visibility concept and felt more discussion/education was needed on aspects of the proposal such as the 30% requirement and rip-your-strip. He said City regulations needed to be clear to avoid confusion and flexibility was needed to encourage property owners to develop/maintain parkstrips. He said he felt the City’s goal was to have interesting parkstrips that were well maintained, did not block visibility and allowed unimpeded pedestrian passage.
Councilmember Garrott said he wanted to meet with Transportation staff to discuss specific examples showing how curbstrip plantings impaired a driver’s vision when accessing City streets.
Mr. Sommerkorn asked if the Council wanted Planning to meet with stakeholders about concerns that had been raised and come back with additional information. Councilmember LaMalfa said yes.
Councilmember LaMalfa asked if Council Members wanted to put this on Open City Hall. Councilmember Christensen said he wanted to wait until all information (pros and cons) was available before soliciting public input.
#5. 7:14:51 PM RECEIVE A BRIEFING REGARDING BUDGET AMENDMENT NO. 2 FOR FISCAL YEAR 2012-13. BUDGET AMENDMENTS HAPPEN SEVERAL TIMES EACH YEAR TO REFLECT ADJUSTMENTS TO THE CITY’S BUDGETS. This proposed budget amendment would create a revenue and expense budget of $1.8 million for the Street Lighting Enterprise Fund, including the creation of three new full-time employee positions to run the new Street Lighting Enterprise Fund program. The Council adopted ordinances creating the fund on Dec. 11, 2012. The amendment also includes a Council request to consider funding in support of the Congress of New Urbanism (CNU) 2013 conference. View Attachments
Jim Lewis, Thomas Ward, Lehua Weaver and David Everitt briefed the Council with handouts.
A-1: Create Street Lighting Enterprise Fund ($1,800,500 Source: Street Lighting Enterprise Fund). Mr. Lewis discussed revenue/expense information with the Council including stolen wire, billing/consulting services, installation and maintenance issues, energy efficiencies, the ongoing system audit and new positions.
Councilmember Christensen said new employees needed effective communication skills due to constant public interaction. Mr. Ward said they would include that in the job requirements.
Mr. Everitt said capital expenditures, not specifically related to energy efficiency upgrades, could be performed with Council authorization. He said the Administration would come back to the Council with specific information about how to proceed with efficiency upgrades. Ms. Weaver said some appropriate efficient upgrades could be done along with capital expenditures as long as that understanding was included in the authorization.
Ms. Weaver asked about drafting a motion that expressed the intent that getting the lights back on would move forward without restriction. Councilmember Christensen asked to have the mid-level strategic plan included as part of the budget discussion. Mr. Ward said they would prepare information for the budget process.
7:30:29 PM I-1: Contribution to the 2013 CNU conference. Ms. Weaver said Councilmember Simonsen requested $15,000 in sponsorship funds be added to support the conference. Councilmember LaMalfa asked if the conference was in Salt Lake or Park City. Ms. Weaver said she would verify the location and update the Council.
Ms. Gust-Jenson said the Administration indicated that sometimes there were requests for registrations to be shared with the sponsoring city in exchange for a contribution. Councilmember LaMalfa asked if there were various sponsorship levels such as Silver, Gold, etc. and if they were tied to specific sponsorship programs. Ms. Weaver said she would get that information for the Council.
#6. 9:05:25 PM RECEIVE A BRIEFING REGARDING CHANGES TO THE APPEALS PROCESS FOR DENIED GRAMA REQUESTS. The proposal would eliminate the Records Appeals Board, resulting in all appeals going through the City’s Chief Administrative Officer designated for that purpose by the Mayor. The proposal would also repeal the City’s independent records ordinance. The City would instead rely directly on GRAMA itself. View Attachments
Edwin Rutan, Sonya Kintaro and Jan Aramaki briefed the Council with handouts. Mr. Rutan said the Appeals Board structure which had been in place for 15-20 years did not comply with GRAMA which required participation of elected officials. He said the current structure needed to be changed to meet State law which required appeals to go to the City’s Chief Administrative Officer.
Discussion included cost recovery issues/options, accessing information from databases, charges for database access outside GRAMA, would more online information lessen demand for requests, ability to assess actual costs, options/costs associated with appeals, variable fee structure based on volume, recovery limited to actual costs, determine relevant online information, costs subsidized by City, education component, obtain public input on GRAMA issues such as record types and accessibility, evaluate best use of City resources, recourse available through State Court, fee waiver options, potential conflicts of interest, defer appeals to an independent body, potential to lose controls, low number of appeals have been filed, potential to use another City board and transparency issues.
A majority of the Council was in favor of eliminating the Appeals Board and adding the statutory requirement for appeals to go to the City’s Chief Administrative Officer. Councilmember LaMalfa said a public hearing would be scheduled.
#7. (WRITTEN BRIEFING ONLY) RECEIVE A WRITTEN BRIEFING FROM MAYOR BECKER’S ADMINISTRATION REGARDING PUBLIC RESTROOM DESIGN OPTIONS AND THE RELATED BUILDING COSTS. The City Council requested more information on multiple types of restrooms design options, including concrete, pre-fabricated, and the current City engineered design. View Attachments
No discussion was held.
#8. (WRITTEN BRIEFING ONLY) RECEIVE A WRITTEN BRIEFING REGARDING A RESOLUTION THAT WOULD RATIFY THE MAYOR’S APPOINTMENT OF TEMPORARY JUSTICE COURT JUDGES FOR THE SALT LAKE CITY JUSTICE COURT. Temporary judges are required in the event that Salt Lake City Justice Court judges need to recuse themselves or otherwise be absent from their duties. View Attachments
No discussion was held.
#9. 9:32:08 PM REPORT OF THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, INCLUDING A REVIEW OF COUNCIL INFORMATION ITEMS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS. View Attachments
Michael Akerlow participated in the announcements. See file M 13-5 for announcements.
#10. REPORT OF THE CHAIR AND VICE CHAIR, INCLUDING AN UPDATE ON COUNCIL INTEREST ITEMS AND A REPORT OF MEETINGS WITH THE CHAIR AND VICE CHAIR OF VARIOUS CITY BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS.
No issues were discussed.
#11. (TENTATIVE) CONSIDER A MOTION TO ENTER INTO CLOSED SESSION, IN KEEPING WITH UTAH CODE § 52-4-204, FOR ANY ALLOWED PURPOSE.
Item not held.
The meeting adjourned at 9:45 p.m.
This document is not intended to serve as a full transcript as other items may have been discussed; please refer to the audio or video for entire content.
This document along with the digital recording constitute the official minutes of the City Council Work Session meeting held January 15, 2013.
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