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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2010-02-01 City Council Minutes Approved } 9oop.7t:,' City Council Minutes— February 1, 2010 At 7:30 p.m. Mayor Maxwell called the regularly scheduled meeting of February 1, 2010 to order. Roll call found present: Nick Petrish, Erica Pickett, Brad Adams, Bill Turner, Cynthia Richardson and Brian Geer. Kevin McKeown was absent. Roll call was followed by the Pledge of Allegiance. Mayor Maxwell welcomed Skagit County Commissioner Ron Wesen to the audience. Minutes of Previous Meeting Mr. Petrish moved, seconded by Mr. Adams, that the minutes of January 19, 2010 be approved as if read. Vote: Ayes— Petrish, Pickett, Adams, Turner, Richardson and Geer. Motion carried. Citizen Hearings No one present wished to speak on items not already on the agenda. Mayor/Council Communication Skagit Valley 2010 Tulip Festival: Nancy Jankelson, Assistant Director of the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival, presented the City with a signed and numbered print of the 2010 Tulip Festival poster by Whidbey Island artist Bart Rulon. Library Board Appointment: Mayor Maxwell requested Council confirmation of his appointment of James T. English to the Library Board of Trustees for a five-year term expiring on December 31, 2015. Mrs. Richardson moved, seconded by Mrs. Pickett, to confirm the appointment. Vote: Ayes— Pickett, Adams, Turner, Richardson, Geer and Petrish. Motion carried. Arts Commission Appointments: Mayor Maxwell announced that he has re-appointed Bev Larson and Kathy Clarke to the Anacortes Arts Commission for two-year terms and has appointed new members Diann Bradley, Chuck Rust and Karla Locke for two-year terms expiring December 31, 2012. Unfinished Business 2010 CDBG Closing Application: Planning Director Ryan Larsen announced that several applications are in process and the closing date for applications has been extended to March 1, 2010. Staff will close the application period March 1, 2010 and bring applications back before Council. Consent Agenda Mr. Petrish moved, seconded by Mr. Geer, to approve the following Consent Agenda items. Vote: Ayes— Adams, Turner, Richardson, Geer, Petrish and Pickett. Motion carried. Approval of Vouchers/Cancellation of Warrants Council voted unanimously that the following vouchers/warrants audited and certified by the City's Auditing Officer (Finance Director) and subsequently reviewed and approved by the Council Finance Committee on January 21, 2010 and January 28, 2010 are approved for payment as of this date February 1, 2010. Claims Warrants: January 2010: Warrant Numbers 54196 through 54367 in the total amount of $848,756.94 EFT Claims January 2010: EFT Number 54195 in the total amount of$154.00 In the same motion Council accepted as complete the Operations De-Watering Facility, Phase II (05-080- STM-002) project by Strengholt Construction Company, Inc. Contract Award: 2010 Waterline Replacement Project Public Works Director Fred Buckenmeyer summarized the 2010 waterline replacement project which will run along 19th Street from M Avenue to Commercial Avenue and continue the stretch completed in 2009. On January 20, 2010 bids were received from nine contractors with the low bid of$120,645.16 including Anacortes City Council Minutes February 1, 2010 1 sales tax from C. Johnson Construction, Inc. who has completed similar work for the City of Anacortes in an entirely satisfactory manner. The Engineer's Estimate was $153,752. Mr. Geer moved, seconded by Mr. Turner, to award the contract for the 2010 Waterline Replacement project to C. Johnson Construction, Inc. Vote: Ayes—Turner, Richardson, Geer, Petrish, Pickett and Adams. Motion carried. Ordinance: 2009 Year End Budget Reconciliation Finance Director Steve Hoglund presented Ordinance 2815 amending 2009 budget Ordinance 2791 to account for a Parks Department trail maintenance grant. Mrs. Richardson moved, seconded by Mrs. Pickett, to approve the budget amendment. Vote: Ayes— Richardson, Geer, Petrish, Pickett, Adams and Turner. Motion carried. Public Hearing: Shoreline Master Program Mr. Larsen announced the final public hearing on the 2009 Shoreline Master Program. Mr. Larsen summarized the shoreline review process to date which has been ongoing since 2006 and the projected schedule through approval by Department of Ecology and adoption via ordinance by City Council later this summer. Mrs. Richardson asked if the February 16, 2010 meeting is in fact a"public hearing" as shown on the schedule. Mr. Larsen explained that the February 16 meeting is part of the public hearing process but public testimony will not be taken. Mrs. Pickett objected to calling the meeting a"public hearing" in that case. Mr. Larsen agreed to clarify the terminology. Mr. Larsen referenced the twelve public comment letters received on the SMP which were summarized in the 1/26/10 Public Comment and Review Matrix in the Council packet along with staff, consultant and Planning Commission recommendations on each issue raised. Mr. Larsen highlighted a few minor changes to the shoreline designations map in the area surrounding Lovric's Marina and the red Sebastian cannery building; these are intended to keep the Shoreline Master Program designations consistent with the City zoning code. At approximately 7:51 p.m. Mayor Maxwell opened the public hearing. Sharene Elander, 1406 8th Street, expressed disappointment that her comments made at the January 13, 2010 Planning Commission hearing weren't included in the Council packet. Speaking on behalf of SON (Save Our Neighborhoods), Mrs. Elander asked for two changes to table 5.1, the Shoreline Use and Modification Matrix: 1) change Advertising and Signs from Permissible to Prohibited in the Aquatic environment and 2) change Water-enjoyment to a Prohibited use in the Aquatic environment with a footnote, "except for accessory uses necessary in support of water-dependent uses which would be conditional uses." Virginia (Bunny) Heiner, 804 K Avenue, expressed concern about changing the shoreline around Lovric's Marina from Urban Maritime to Urban. After reviewing the various different uses allowed in the Urban vs. Urban Maritime shoreline environments, Mrs. Heiner underscored the economic importance of the City's deep water port and marine industries and urged the Council not to rezone this area for non-water dependent Urban uses. Arlene French, 1411 8th Street, speaking on behalf of SON, elaborated on her earlier comment (item 123 on the Public Comment Matrix) as follows: "The 2009 Shoreline Master Program draft on page 46 removed transient housing from DR 5.6.4(j) where it was described as `shall be prohibited' to DR 5.6.4(h), 'may be allowed'. We request that it be returned to DR 5.6.4(i) in the SMP 2009, `shall be prohibited'." Mrs. French said the WAC discourages non-water-dependent commercial uses over the water and said her requested change does not conflict with the City zoning code because it only affects historic over water structures, not near shore or upland structures. Michele Pope, 4001 Peters Lane, spoke on behalf of Old Anacortes Rowing Society and Adventure Scout Troop#4081. The two groups share four open wooden boats, soon to be five, that need constant upkeep and protection from the weather. Mrs. Pope said the Port of Anacortes has allowed OARS to keep temporary shelters over slips on P dock in Cap Sante Marina for these boats and the clubs want to ensure that the SMP continues to allow this use. Anacortes City Council Minutes February 1, 2010 2 Tom Glade, 210 Mansfield Court, spoke on behalf of Evergreen Islands which recommends that the March Point UGA be included in the City's SMP so shoreline protection will be afforded to Fidalgo Bay and Padilla Bay before Skagit County's SMP is updated. Evergreen Islands also requests: adding a policy prioritizing acquisition of small non-conforming shoreline lots; continuous 15' wide planting strips along shorelines; enlarging the specified 6x15' planting beds and reconfiguring them as bioretention cells; requiring exemptions from planting bed requirements along shoreline trails to be granted via conditional use permit process; requiring Shoreline Residential setback exemptions to be granted via conditional use permit process, not administratively; and that references to shorelines of statewide significance "seaward of extreme low tide" be changed to "between the ordinary high water mark and the extreme low tide." No one else wishing to testify, at approximately 8:07 p.m. Mayor Maxwell closed the public hearing. Mr. Larsen suggested working through the Public Comment and Review Matrix page by page. He noted that all comments therein have been read into the Planning Commission record. Page 1: Regarding Item 5, Mrs. Pickett noted the Planning Commission recommendation to make Advertising and Signs a conditional use in Aquatic, Conservation and Shoreline Residential environments. Mrs. Pickett suggested instead permitting signs that identify a water dependent business but not other signs. Mrs. Richardson noted the City's sign ordinance specifies allowable size for signs facing the water. She differentiated advertising signs from navigational and directional signs and suggested the SMP do the same. Mr. Turner agreed. Mr. Geer asked if any business with a dock would count as "water dependent." Mr. Larsen clarified that a dock is not required for a business to be water dependent. Mr. Adams asked if sign installation requires an application. Mr. Larsen said yes, signs are applied for and inspected for compliance. Council had no other immediate comments on this page. Page 2: Mrs. Pickett asked for clarification between variances and shoreline conditional use permits. Mr. Larsen explained the difference and noted that Dept. of Ecology has to approve variances whereas City Planning Commission can issue shoreline conditional use permits. Mr. Adams asked about Item 17, vegetation and setback regulations. Mr. Larsen said Planning Commission recommended that staff and the consultant develop policy language if Council agrees this is desirable. Mr. Turner clarified that Council will be able to review the draft language at the next meeting. Mrs. Richardson asked City Attorney Brad Furlong if introducing new policy language at the next Council session will require another opportunity for public hearings. Mr. Furlong said it depends if the new language is material to development rights or antithetical to conservation values or is just a technical clarification but that the safest way to go is to allow limited public testimony on whatever language is new. Mayor Maxwell pointed out that public comment is accepted during the Dept. of Ecology review as well. Mr. Turner asked if the Council Planning Committee should look at any new language first. Mr. Larsen said he intends to have the committee do that. Page 3: Mr. Larsen said staff and the consultant are working on new language for Item 25 regarding vegetation management. Mrs. Pickett observed that many of the public comments seem to be making it difficult to impossible to meet the public demand for increased public access to the water. She said the Guemes Channel Trail is desired by the public and doesn't harm the ecosystem. She pointed out that the railroad ballast along the north shore of the island was there through the record salmon years in the first half of the century. She supported vegetation along the shorelines but said 100' setbacks aren't realistic or required. Mrs. Richardson added that the railroad bed has degraded that shoreline for more than a century and that a trail along the railroad bed has less current environmental impact than a trail would if built along a pristine shoreline so it makes sense to channel public access to such historically used areas. Page 4: Regarding Item 28, Mr. Adams questioned whether community service uses such as churches are appropriately grouped with commercial uses. Mr. Larsen said he'll review this issue with the consultant and bring it back on February 16. Mrs. Richardson noted that the listed community service uses are not water dependent so would not be allowed on the shoreline in any case. Regarding Item 31, Mrs. Richardson said the point of a waterfront trail is to be on the water. Mr. Larsen clarified that the language staff will propose simply clarifies the City's intent to protect and enhance ecological functions Anacortes City Council Minutes February 1, 2010 3 where trails are built which the City has done on the portions of shoreline trail already constructed. Mr. Petrish said he does not want to rule out walkways built over the water which many waterfront cities have. Page 5: Regarding Item 41, Mrs. Richardson asked that new piers be a conditional use in Shoreline Residential areas in Cap Sante because they are a traditional use in that neighborhood. Mrs. Pickett said it is arbitrary to allow new piers in Shoreline Residential only in Skyline. Mayor Maxwell pointed out that some existing facilities would be grandfathered but noted that Dept. of Ecology doesn't encourage expanding private docks and piers. Mr. Geer said potentially allowing them as a conditional use in Cap Sante would make sense but he did not want to open up Shoreline Residential areas to this use where it has not been traditional. Mr. Larsen said he would propose some language to add this as a conditional use in Cap Sante. Mr. Adams asked that Cap Sante be defined. Page 6: Mrs. Richardson asked for confirmation that the consultant is rationalizing the terminology for "setback" and "buffer"throughout the SMP. Mr. Larsen concurred. Page 7: Regarding Item 71, Mr. Larsen explained that policy statements are formulated with "should" rather than "shall". Mrs. Richardson observed that"shall ... when practicable" is effectively the same thing as "should" and agreed with Mr. Larsen that the policy should use "should." Page 8: Regarding the suggestions from Bob Fritzen of Dept. of Ecology, Mr. Larsen reported that he would be meeting with Mr. Fritzen on February 3 to review the entire draft SMP. Councilors raised no objections to these suggested changes. Page 9: Regarding Item 96, Mrs. Richardson asked where "critical habitat" is defined. Mayor Maxwell said the Fidalgo Bay Plan does define critical habitat. Mr. Larsen explained that the consultant agrees to preserve the intent of this suggestion but not use the phrase "critical habitat." Mrs. Richardson objected that"lots which border the ordinary high water mark" includes the entire shoreline. Mrs. Pickett observed that the intention is simply to have more plants along the water. Mr. Larsen said he will bring back proposed language. Page 10: Regarding Item 101, Mrs. Pickett asked for clarification of the commenter's intent. Mr. Larsen indicated he'll discuss it with Mr. Fritzen and observed that Council may not want to add this language even though Planning Commission recommended it. Regarding Item 104, Mrs. Pickett said requiring a Shoreline Conditional Use Permit for exceptions to the tree ordinance is excessive. Mr. Larsen said the language came from the 2008 draft SMP and he'll look into it. Regarding Item 107, Mayor Maxwell asked if prohibiting fish pens would prevent Puget Sound Anglers from raising Coho for release. Mr. Larsen said he will research the issue. Mr. Petrish asked not to prohibit salmon pens. Regarding Item 112, Mrs. Richardson asked if prohibiting over-water construction would also prohibit shelter for wooden boats that was requested by Mrs. Pope. Mr. Larsen said this item applies to residential development only. Mrs. Richardson asked which section of the SMP would affect the OARS boats. Mr. Larsen said he would investigate. Page 11: Regarding Item 116, Mrs. Richardson asked if designation of habitats and species of local importance on an annual basis fits in with the City's regular code update process or if it will be something new. Mr. Larsen explained that this language avoids amending the SMP every year because it incorporates lists by reference and that updating the lists annually can be done administratively. Mrs. Pickett said the OARS boat shelters are addressed under Marinas on page 114, where DR 8.7.1 prohibits floating houses. Mrs. Pickett and Mrs. Richardson agreed that language needs to specifically allow boathouses or define floating houses to be residential only. Mrs. Pickett noted Item 124 allows new overwater structures. Mr. Larsen said that Item 121 addresses boat houses and staff can clarify floating houses there. Mrs. Pickett recalled that a prior draft of the SMP specifically allowed non-profit youth programs to have small boat shelters in the marina but the language got dropped. Mayor Maxwell said staff can add it back in. Mr. Larsen said he would research it. Anacortes City Council Minutes February 1, 2010 4 Regarding page 145 of the December 2009 SMP draft, Mrs. Pickett asked why ell and tee shaped piers are not permitted, only linear piers. She said those shapes have allowed users to share piers, which is desirable, and she would like to allow them. Mr. Larsen agreed. Mrs. Richardson thanked Mr. Larsen for the helpful format of the Public Comment and Review Matrix. Page 17: Regarding Item 128, Mr. Adams requested a definition of a planting bed, how they are used to ensure shoreline vegetation establishment, and whether they are intended for Shoreline Residential areas. Mr. Larsen thought this particular comment referred to the 6'wide planting beds called for along shoreline trails but said he'd bring back more information on that topic. Mrs. Richardson seconded the request from Mr. Adams, noting that some testimony called the planting beds too big and some testimony called them too small. She said the topography and geography of each stretch of shoreline might call for different treatment. Mr. Adams asked for copies of the Planning Commission minutes. Mr. Larsen said they will be provided for the February 16, 2010 meeting. Mr. Adams asked which draft of the SMP the Matrix comments refer to. Mr. Larsen said the December 2009 version incorporates agreed upon changes into the July 2008 draft. There being no further business, at approximately 9:06 p.m. Mayor Maxwell adjourned the regularly scheduled meeting of February 1, 2010. Anacortes City Council Minutes February 1, 2010 5