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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2013-12-02 City Council Minutes Approved o Y of4, cOR„ City Council Minutes—December 2, 2013 At 7:00 p.m. Mayor Dean Maxwell called the regularly scheduled Anacortes City Council meeting of December 2, 2013 to order. Roll call found present: Eric Johnson, Ryan Walters, Erica Pickett, Brad Adams, Bill Turner, Cynthia Richardson and Brian Geer. City Attorney Brad Furlong advised that regarding Agenda Item 8e, 2013 Comprehensive Plan Map Amendments and Rezones, Anacortes procedures for consideration of comprehensive plan amendments such as this with a development regulation amendment included allow public testimony only as part of an advertised public hearing with appropriate notice so public input at this meeting, which had not been advertised as a public hearing, would be improper. Mr. Furlong advised that Council could take action to set a public hearing date on the matter at some future date. Mayor Maxwell confirmed that Council would not take public comment on Agenda Item 8e at this meeting. Executive Session— Fifteen (15) Minutes At approximately 7:03 p.m. Mayor Maxwell announced that per RCW 42.30.110(1)(i) City Council and legal counsel would convene in Executive Session regarding litigation for approximately fifteen minutes and would reconvene with possible further action. At approximately 7:12 p.m. Council reconvened in regular session. The assembly joined in reciting the Pledge of Allegiance. Minutes of Previous Meeting Mrs. Richardson corrected the minutes of November 18, 2013 to strike, "Mrs. Richardson agreed."from the first line of the second paragraph on page 3. Mr. Geer moved, seconded by Mr. Adams, that the minutes of November 18, 2013 and November 25, 2013 be approved as corrected by Mrs. Richardson. Vote: Ayes—Walters, Pickett, Adams, Turner, Richardson, Geer and Johnson. Motion carried. Citizen Hearings Patti Pattee, 1302 6th Street, invited the public to Reading Night with Santa on December 3 at 6 p.m. at the Anacortes Public Library and said every child in attendance would receive a free book purchased from Read Me a Story or Watermark Book Company by a generous anonymous donor. Ms. Pattee also invited the public to view the America's Cup on December 6 from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. at the Anacortes Yacht Club or from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Watermark Book Company. Ms. Pattee thanked Mayor Maxwell and outgoing councilmembers Turner, Richardson and Geer for their service. Mayor/Council Communication and Committee Reports Mayor Maxwell presented a Pride in Service Award to Councilmember Brad Adams for his ten years of service on the City Council. Planning Commission Recognition of Years of Service: Mayor Maxwell presented certificates of appreciation to outgoing Planning Commissioners Lin Folsom (11 years), Laurie Gere (20 years), Matt Miller(2 years)and John Archibald (2 years). As a result of the evening's Executive Session Mrs. Richardson moved, seconded by Mr. Walters, to amend the agenda to add Item 6b under Unfinished Business: Approval of a Comprehensive Settlement Agreement and Release. Vote: Ayes— Pickett, Adams, Turner, Richardson, Geer, Johnson and Walters. Motion carried. Mr. Walters reported that the Planning Committee met earlier in the evening to explore ways to improve a number of processes moving forward. Anacortes City Council Minutes December 2, 2013 1 Mr. Walters announced that he, Mr. Johnson and Mr. Adams would hold an all wards councilmember meeting at the library at 6:30 p.m. on December 5, 2013. He invited the public to attend. Unfinished Business Noise Variance: Wyman Mitigation Site Work-Request for Additional Time (Strider Construction) Assistant Planning Director Don Measamer recalled that at its November 4, 2013 meeting Council approved a request from Strider Construction to work outside the hours of 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. at the Wyman Mitigation Site. Mr. Measamer advised that the contractor would need additional nights to complete the work. He said staff recommended extending the noise variance to allow work between 7 p.m. and 7 a.m. for the period December 16, 2013 through December 22, 2013. Mayor Maxwell invited the public to comment on the request. No one present wished to speak. Mr. Johnson moved, seconded by Mr. Turner, to authorize Strider Construction to work between 7 p.m. and 7 a.m. from December 16, 2013 through December 22, 2013. Vote: Ayes—Adams, Turner, Richardson, Geer, Johnson, Walters and Pickett. Motion carried. Approval of Change Order No. 8, Final Change Order to the Contract with IMCO General Construction for the Construction of the Water Treatment Plant Improvement Project and Approval of a Settlement of a Claim Associated with Dewatering Public Works Director Fred Buckenmeyer recalled that Council had previously voted to table approval of Change Order No. 8 pending more information on a construction claim filed by the contractor. Mr. Buckenmeyer reported that a claim settlement had been successfully negotiated subject to Council approval. He advised that the settlement agreement before Council included both the Change Order No. 8 costs of$661,913.74 and the claim settlement costs of$162,300 including sales tax and would bring the total project cost to approximately$58,629,000 which was still far below the engineer's estimate for the project. He added that this had been a very successful project, completed nearly six months ahead of schedule, and that the new plant was exceeding performance expectations and was already producing more water and enjoying greater electrical reliability. Mr. Adams observed that the change order rate on the project was well below industry standards and thanked City Engineer Matt Reynolds and Mr. Buckenmeyer for carefully managing the changes. Mr. Walters moved, seconded by Mr. Geer, to authorize the mayor to execute the comprehensive settlement agreement and release as presented between the City of Anacortes and IMCO General Construction including Change Order No. 8, conditioned upon approval by IMCO. Vote: Ayes—Turner, Richardson, Geer, Johnson, Walters, Pickett and Adams. Motion carried. Consent Agenda Mr. Johnson moved, seconded by Mrs. Pickett, to approve the following Consent Agenda items. Vote: Ayes— Richardson, Geer, Johnson, Walters, Pickett, Adams and Turner. Motion carried. Approval of Vouchers/Cancellation of Checks Council voted unanimously that the following vouchers/checks audited and certified by the City's Auditing Officer(Finance Director) and subsequently reviewed and approved by the Council Finance Committee on November 21, 2013 and November 26, 2013 are approved for payment as of December 2, 2013. Claims: Check Numbers 70548 through 70699 in the total amount of$681,895.07 EFTs: Numbers 70546 through 70547 in the total amount of$2862.00 Payroll for November 20, 2013 in the total amount of$598,811.88 Check Numbers 39048 through 39074 in the total amount of$25,170.78 Direct Deposit Numbers from 51585 through 51777 in the total amount of$356,631.68 EFT Numbers from 1608 through 1612 in the total amount of$217,009.42 In the same motion Council: Anacortes City Council Minutes December 2, 2013 2 Approved a Street Fair Application for the Annual Christmas Tree Lighting on Friday, December 6, 2013 from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.; Approved a Street Fair Application for the 4th of July Extravaganza on Friday, July 4, 2014 from 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.; Approved a Street Fair Application for the Lion's Club Christmas Parade on Saturday, December 7, 2013 from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.; and Accepted as complete Contract 13-031-WTR-001 with Fisher Excavating, LLC to Excavate Ponds at City Water Treatment Plant. Authorization of Consultant Contract: 2016 Comprehensive Plan Periodic Update Mr. Larsen reported that on September 18, 2013 the City published a Request for Proposals for a consultant to update the Anacortes Comprehensive Plan. He said the City received three proposals in response to the request and interviewed all three consultants on November 6, 2013. Mr. Larsen said the selection committee recommended contracting with Makers to perform the 2016 Comprehensive Plan periodic update. He added that staff had adjusted the original scope of work to include more public involvement and to require a SEPA checklist rather than an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). Mr. Larsen thanked selection committee members Brad Adams, Cynthia Richardson, Cory Ertel, Lin Folsom, Fred Buckenmeyer, Don Measamer, Libby Grage, Gary Robinson and Jonn Lunsford for interviewing the consultants and reading and scoring the proposals. Mr. Larsen recommended authorizing the mayor to sign a contract with Makers. Mr. Turner and Mr. Walters endorsed the selection of Makers. Mrs. Pickett reported on a prior opinion survey that was distributed and collected by volunteers and suggested that a similar randomized survey be part of the public involvement effort, not just meetings, since not everyone can or does attend meetings. Mr. Larsen said Makers had indicated they would work with that request if sufficient volunteers were available. Mr. Adams moved, seconded by Mr. Geer, to authorize the mayor to contract with Makers to complete the 2016 Comprehensive Plan update. Mr. Richardson requested several corrections to the contract language. • Page 1, Item 2, change "manhours"to"hours" • Page 4, Item 10.A, Professional Liability insurance, the paragraph should move down to Item 10.B with other insurance items • Page 4, Item 10.A, Automobile Liability insurance, the paragraph should be completed. Mr. Furlong suggested the paragraph should end "contractual coverage." • Page 4, Item 10.A, Commercial General Liability insurance, the last word in the first line should be "form" rather than "from" • Page 5, Item 11, should specify a "City of Anacortes business license" • Page 5, Item 12, should appeal to the Planning Director, not the Public Works Director Vote: Ayes—Geer, Johnson, Walters, Pickett, Adams, Turner and Richardson. Motion carried. Draft Ordinance 2915: Titles 16, 17, 18, and New Proposed Title 19 &Ordinance 2916: Restaurant Sidewalk Use Permit Mr. Larsen recalled that Council held a public hearing on the proposed changes to Titles 16, 17, 18 and proposed new Title 19 at its meeting on November 18, 2013. He said staff had since received comments from Mayor Maxwell, Mrs. Richardson and Mr. Walters and were still working on incorporating those edits as well as completing a full read through of the entire revised document. Mr. Larsen asked that Council look at the draft Ordinance 2915 to repeal Titles 16-18 entirely and adopt new Titles 16-19 and also look at draft Ordinance 2916 which would move sidewalk use permits to Title 12. He requested that councilmembers send him any suggested edits to the draft ordinances so that staff could bring back a complete final version, either with or without strikethrough indicated, for review and adoption at the January 21, 2014 meeting. Mr. Johnson asked that councilmembers receive the final versions a week or so before that meeting. Councilmembers generally agreed with the timeline proposed by Mr. Larsen. Mr. Walters suggested that the final clean version be accompanied by a version showing or describing only the changes since the last time Council reviewed the documents on November 18. Mr. Walters asked if Anacortes City Council Minutes December 2, 2013 3 Mr. Furlong had investigated the question about remands in Title 19 that was raised at the November 18 meeting. Mr. Furlong indicated he would continue to work on that. 2013 Development Regulation Amendments Mr. Larsen recalled that at the November 25, 2013 study session Council had reviewed six development regulation changes proposed as part of the 2013 amendment cycle, Exhibits 5, 6, 7, 9, 10 and 11. He asked that Council deliberate on each of the six exhibits and take action on each if desired, after which staff would prepare an ordinance to bring back to Council for action at the December 16, 2013 regular meeting to codify any changes approved at this meeting. Exhibit 5, AMC 17.18.120: Mrs. Richardson moved, seconded by Mr. Johnson, to approve Exhibit 5. Vote: Ayes—Johnson, Walters, Pickett, Adams, Turner, Richardson and Geer. Motion carried. Exhibit 6, AMC 17.06.687, AMC 17.06.713 and AMC 17.46.010: Mrs. Richardson reviewed slightly revised wording she had proposed to Mr. Larsen after the November 25 study session, which was included in the Council packet for the evening and would be used in both Exhibits 6a and 6b: "... provided that it is located within five hundred feet of the facility it is intended to serve, and further provided that parking serving a facility in a non-residential zone shall not be located in a residential zone." Mr. Turner indicated he would vote no on this exhibit because he felt this important issue of parking needed to be looked at in a much broader sense. Mr. Johnson said comprehensive discussions take a long time and that he'd rather vote on the exhibit now and amend later if necessary. Council discussed the issue, Mrs. Richardson's proposed language, and staff's alternative proposed language at some length. Mr. Walters concluded that Mrs. Richardson's wording proposed above was best and moved, seconded by Mr. Johnson, to adopt Exhibit 6 with the modification proposed by Mrs. Richardson at the outset of the evening's discussion of this topic. Mr. Larsen confirmed with councilmembers that Exhibit 6c, AMC 17.46.010, General Requirements, would also change from 1000 to 500 feet. Vote: Ayes—Walters, Pickett, Adams, Richardson, Geer and Johnson. Nays—Turner. Motion carried. Exhibit 7, AMC 17.18.090: Mr. Walters asked for the information he had requested identifying the boundary line of the Guemes Channel LM zone. Councilmembers and Mr. Larsen discussed whether that information would change the decision, how the code and the Shoreline Master Program interact to regulate this area, and the appropriate basis for deciding to approve or deny a conditional use permit for building heights between 35 feet and 50 feet in this zone. Councilmembers agreed something needed to be put in place. After considerable deliberation Mr. Johnson moved, seconded by Mr. Geer, to approve Exhibit 7 as proposed. Vote: Ayes—Pickett, Adams, Turner, Richardson, Geer, Johnson and Walters. Motion carried. Exhibit 9, AMC 17.28.110 and AMC 17.34.110: Mrs. Pickett asked if staff had a preference between the two proposed language alternatives presented in its November 18, 2013 memo to Council. Mr. Larsen said staff preferred the second alternative: "No new curb cuts shall be permitted on any street to a lot that is serviced by an alley. Where topography, lack of existing improvements, or other conditions make alley access impracticable, the Public Works director or designee may allow for a new curb cut on the street. Existing curb cuts may be maintained." Councilmembers discussed the merits of that wording. Mr. Turner moved, seconded by Mrs. Richardson, to accept the street improvements with the second alternative language proposed by staff. Mrs. Pickett confirmed that this only applied to the R3 and R4 zones. Vote: Ayes—Adams, Turner, Richardson, Geer, Johnson, Walters and Pickett. Motion carried. Exhibit 10, AMC 17.16.040, 17.17.040, 17.18.040, 17.21.040, 17.22.040, 17.23.040 and 17.19.040: Mr. Adams thanked Mr. Larsen for the maps from the last study session showing the current largest building in each of the zones in question and noted that none of the current buildings are very big. Mr. Adams proposed an alternative threshold of large scale facilities: 300,000 SF in the LM1 zone and 200,000 SF in the other zones (Industrial, MS, LM, CM, CM1 and CM2). Mr. Adams noted 200,000 SF is the size of the Mt. Vernon Wal-Mart. Council discussed the relative risks and merits of large scale vs. smaller scale facilities and how best to support job creation and economic viability. Mrs. Richardson reminded that the Exhibit does not propose a size cap, only a threshold for requiring a Conditional Use Permit. Mr. Adams moved, seconded by Mrs. Richardson, to adopt Exhibit 10 modified with thresholds of 300,000 SF in the Anacortes City Council Minutes December 2, 2013 4 LM1 zone and 200,000 SF in the other zones (Industrial, MS, LM, CM, CM1 and CM2). Mr. Walters proposed to amend the motion to change "facility(building)"to simply"building". Mr. Adams and Mrs. Richardson accepted that friendly amendment. Vote: Ayes— Richardson, Geer, Johnson, Walters, Pickett and Adams. Nays—Turner. Motion carried. Exhibit 11, AMC 17.19.020: Mrs. Richardson moved, seconded by Mr. Johnson, to approve Exhibit 11. Vote: Ayes— Richardson, Geer, Johnson, Walters, Pickett, Adams and Turner. Motion carried. Final Plat Application: The Reserve at Channel Landing Final Plat(LPS-2010-0001) Mr. Measamer presented a request from Herrigstad Engineering & Surveying for final plat approval for an eight-lot subdivision, The Reserve at Channel Landing Phase II, at the end of Navigator Lane. Mr. Measamer recalled that Council approved the preliminary plat on March 7, 2011. He said the applicant requested removing the fire/emergency access to Oakes Avenue (Condition #2)due to steepness of slope and said that minor revision was approved by the subdivision administrator. Mr. Measamer advised that the applicant was also requesting that Condition #17 regarding the pedestrian access to Oakes Avenue be met through the use of the emergency/pedestrian access in the adjacent development, Channel Landing. Mr. Measamer demonstrated that alternative on the overhead. He said staff had reviewed the request and found that the applicant had satisfied all the applicable conditions set out in the preliminary plat approval and that the Public Works Department had inspected and approved all the required improvements. Mrs. Pickett confirmed with Mr. Measamer that the Channel Landing pedestrian access is a public access. Mr. Turner asked what the fire access would be. Mr. Measamer said the Channel Landing emergency access meets the size and grade requirements. Mrs. Pickett asked the reason for abandoning the pedestrian way. Mr. Measamer said it was too steep for emergency access whereas the proposed alternative through Channel Landing was less steep at 12% and could accommodate both pedestrian and emergency access. Mrs. Richardson said she shared Mrs. Pickett's disappointment that this pedestrian connection was negotiated away. Councilmembers discussed whether or not the proposed alternative took pedestrians too far out of the way and whether the access should be to Oakes Avenue or to the Guemes Channel Trail. Mr. Adams asked Mr. Measamer to take one more look at the situation, noting that Council had worked really hard to ensure pedestrian links wherever possible. Mr. Measamer said he could have the engineer draw a trail/pathway to show what the grades would be and bring that back to Council at the December 16, 2013 meeting. At approximately 8:53 p.m. Mayor Maxwell called a brief break until 9:00 p.m. At 9:00 p.m. the mayor called the meeting back to order. 2013 Comprehensive Plan Map Amendments and Rezones Mr. Larsen presented the four proposed Comprehensive Plan Map and Zoning Map amendments from the 2013 docket. He reported that the Planning Commission had held a public hearing and made recommendations on each of the four items, Exhibits 1 through 4. Mr. Larsen recommended that Council consider each exhibit individually, then act on each if desired. He noted that Council could hold additional public hearings on any or all of the exhibits. Exhibit 1: Proposed by GDR Lending LLC, this proposal would change the designation and zoning from CM to R3 on 7.8 acres north of Edwards Way and east of the Ship Harbor wetland. Mr. Larsen said the applicant would accept R2 zoning instead. He reported that the Planning Commission recommended denying this exhibit and processing it with the 2016 Comprehensive Plan Periodic Update. Council compared the merits of rezoning vs. conditional use and the public involvement and conditioning opportunities under those two scenarios. Council also discussed whether a rezone would be more appropriate for a larger area in that vicinity and what the appropriate density for the area should be. Mr. Turner moved, seconded by Mr. Geer, to accept the Planning Commission recommendation to deny the proposed amendment and process it with the 2016 Comprehensive Plan Periodic Update. Discussion continued. Vote: Ayes—Geer, Johnson, Pickett, Adams, Turner and Richardson. Nays—Walters. Motion carried. Anacortes City Council Minutes December 2, 2013 5 Exhibit 2: Proposed by Island Hospital, this request to create a medical and dental overlay district was withdrawn by the applicant via email to Mr. Larsen earlier in the day. Mr. Walters moved, seconded by Mrs. Richardson, to move this on to the 2016 Comprehensive Plan process. After some discussion, Mr. Walters amended his motion to move this issue forward to the 2016 Comprehensive Plan process, not necessarily the exact text of the proposal. Mrs. Richardson seconded that amended motion. Vote: Ayes— Johnson, Walters, Pickett, Adams, Richardson and Geer. Nays—Turner. Motion carried. Exhibit 3: Proposed by MJB Properties LLC, this proposal would change the designation and zoning from Industrial to a new CM2 district for 10.2 acres north of 28th Street, east of R Avenue and west of the Tommy Thompson Trail. Mrs. Richardson said this proposal belongs in the 2016 Comprehensive Plan update. She said converting this large area in the heart of town from longstanding industrial use to commercial use may be a good idea but it had not been analyzed and the applicant didn't provide any testimony to convince the Planning Commission of the merits of the proposal so Council didn't have that as part of the record. She said the proposal needs thorough analysis and discussion. Mr. Johnson recommend remanding the proposal to the Planning Commission to have the applicant make its case in public. Mr. Geer disagreed. Mr. Walters suggested Council hold its own public hearing including a presentation by the applicant. Mr. Geer and Mr. Adams agreed. Mr. Furlong said that would be permitted by the Council's rules. He stated that this is a legislative act but because it involves a single piece of property it can be argued to have quasi-judicial characteristics and he cautioned councilmembers to handle the issue with respect to appearance of fairness questions as a quasi-judicial matter with no ex parte contact, to advertise all meetings, and to make a decision based on the record. Mr. Walters moved, seconded by Mr. Johnson, to invite the applicant to make a presentation and hold a public hearing sometime in the first quarter of 2014. Councilmembers and Mr. Furlong discussed that after such a public hearing Council could then act to accept the Planning Commission recommendation or take some other action. Vote: Ayes—Walters, Pickett, Adams, Turner, Richardson, Geer and Johnson. Motion carried. Exhibit 4: Proposed by the City of Anacortes, this proposal would change the designation and zoning from LM1 to Public Use for 16 acres north of the intersection of SR20 and SR20 spur(Sharpes Corner) along Fidalgo Bay. Mr. Larsen reported that the Planning Commission recommended denying the amendment and processing it with the 2016 comprehensive Plan Periodic Update. Mrs. Richardson moved, seconded by Mr. Adams, to move Exhibit 4 forward to the 2016 Comprehensive Plan Update process. Vote: Ayes— Pickett, Adams, Turner, Richardson, Geer, Johnson and Walters. Motion carried. There being no further business, at approximately 9:50 p.m. the regularly scheduled Anacortes City Council meeting of December 2, 2103 was adjourned. Anacortes City Council Minutes December 2, 2013 6