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HomeMy WebLinkAbout03-11-1996 - MinutesMEDINA CITY COUNCIL REGULAR MEETING MINUTES March 11, 1996 Medina City Hall 7:00 PM 501 Evergreen Point Rd. CALL TO ORDER: The regular meeting of the Medina City Council was called to order at 7:00 PM by Mayor Taylor. The meeting was tape recorded. ROLL CALL: Present: Councilmembers Daniel Becker, Lynn Benz, Thomas Morgan, Susan Potts, Grahame Ross, and Mayor Dewey Taylor Absent: Councilmember Ray Cory EXECUTIVE SESSION Councilmember Potts moved that the Council move to executive session to discuss matters of personnel and potential litigation. Councilmember Becker seconded the motion. With unanimous approval, the Council adjourned to executive session at 7:05 PM, anticipating a return to open session at 8:00 PM. OPEN SESSION Mayor Taylor reconvened the open session of Council meeting at 8:03 PM. City Staff Present: City Manager Papke, Public Works Superintendent Weigle, City Clerk Edvalson, City Engineer Hill, City Attorney Wines MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETING: City Clerk Edvalson requested that the Council include in their motion a change of date on page three of the draft minutes. The correct date in reference to the mud slide was February 8, not March 8. Councilmember Morgan moved the approval of the minutes as corrected. Councilmember Potts seconded the motion. All approved. ANNOUNCEMENTS Councilmember Becker announced the Eastside Transportation Program Steering Committee meeting on Friday, March 15, 1996 from 7 - 9 AM at Bellevue City Hall to discuss the SR-520 corridor. AUDIENCE PARTICIPATION Bob Rudolph, 1455 Evergreen Point Road, discussed the unsuccessful implementation of the Flight Management System (FMS) and the continued impact of jet flights over Medina. He asked that Mayor Taylor endorse a letter to Tom Davidson, the new FAA air traffic manager at SeaTac asking that air traffic be radar vectored between Mercer Island and Medina over open water. He also asked that the Council consider an agreement for consulting services with Temple Johnson, a retired FAA air traffic manager for the Pacific Northwest. Councilmember Potts and Mayor Taylor invited Mr. Rudolph to accompany the Council on their tour of the FAA tower operations later in the month. Medina City Council Minutes March 11, 1996 Page 2 Steve Guyton, 7404 NE 18th Street, reviewed with the Council that he had sent copies of medical reports, affidavits and a summary of his family's medical conditions which have been ongoing for a number of years. He expressed his feeling that the City needs to address the issues associated with the construction adjacent to his property. He said he had submitted the information to Chief Race and made a request for a criminal complaint. Susie Marglin, 2617 Evergreen Point Road, expressed appreciation to Mayor Taylor for his article in the Medina Newsletter providing updated information about SR-520. She requested that the Mayor provide a follow-up letter to the citizens letting them know that the battle has temporarily ended with the toll booths. Ms. Marglin also expressed concern that individuals are required to pay $.15 per copy for documents at City Hall. She felt hampered in her efforts to address community issues without free copies. City Manager Papke responded that documents were available for review without charge, but that copies of those documents cost $.15 per page. Ellen Conklin, 8605 NE 5th Street, asked if there was further information available about the City's policy dealing with identification of registered sex offenders in Medina by name and photograph. City Attorney Wines responded that the City was trying to obtain a better photograph than the one currently in the City 's possession from the Department of Motor Vehicles. He agreed that a photograph should be released. Mayor Taylor said that with the City Attorney's approval, photocopies of the photo would be made available at City Hall. Mayor Taylor reviewed the establishment of a citizen committee chaired by William Hague that was to assist the community in identifying what practical measures could be taken to protect the community's children. He said he would call Mr. Hague to check on the committee's progress. Sigrid Guyton, 7404 NE 18th Street, complained of the ongoing disruption created by the construction adjacent to their property. She reviewed the family's medical condition. She felt that the City's response was inadequate. On behalf of the Council, Mayor Taylor expressed concern for the Guyton's situation, and indicated that the City was doing what was legally possible. George Wollenberg, 1634 Rambling Lane, stated that the slide occurring on February 8 was located to the back of his property. He expressed the opinion that the slide may have been triggered by the passage of heavy equipment along the road. DISCUSSION MUD SLIDE UPDATE AND OPTIONS City Engineer Hill displayed a large diagram of the slide area and proposed remediation. He described a process to further stabilize the hillside and prevent continued slipping at the top of the slope. The steps included some slope excavation and grading, installation of drain pipes, erosion control matting, landscaping, and construction of a block wall along the scarp face. The project cost was estimated at $ 73,000. At the conclusion of the Council's discussion, Councilmember Morgan moved that staff be authorized to proceed with the project to the bid stage, to include the engineering, feasibility study and bidding process, and to conduct conversations with the affected home owners in order to determine the maximum scope of the project. Councilmember Benz seconded the motion. Passed unanimously. US WEST CELLULAR John Hendrickson, 777 108th Ave. NE, Suite 1500, Bellevue, WA, an attorney with Foster, Pepper and Shefelman, addressed the Council on behalf of the US West NewVector Group, which does business as US West Cellular. He said that US West Medina City Council Minutes March 11, 1996 Page 3 objects to the moratorium because they have had an application under consideration by the City since August of 1995 for a variance and special use application. They listened to input from the Board of Adjustment and the public and had been looking at alternative sites. They had been prepared to proceed with the City on an alternate site when the moratorium was enacted by the City Council. US West requested the Council to reconsider the moratorium and take one of two options. Option one was to repeal the resolution and terminate the moratorium at this time. Option two was to amend the resolution to allow the US West application pending before the City to proceed through the process to a final determination based on its merits. He explained further that US West takes the position that the Federal 1996 Telecommunications Act, Section 704, limits the City's authority to deny all uses for wireless communications within the community. Mayor Taylor responded that it was not the City's intent to prohibit wireless communication sites in Medina, only to allow the Council to be brought up to date on the latest legislation, technologies and considerations in siting of communications facilities. The moratorium is of limited duration, and not an absolute denial of the use. City Attorney Wines reiterated the City's position, adding that the six month moratorium was not an unreasonable period of time to delay the processing of special use applications for wireless communications. Additional representatives of US West discussed some of the potential alternative sites for facilities that they will present to the City if the moratorium is lifted or modified. The Council discussed the issues surrounding the moratorium and concluded to uphold their previous resolution. APPLICATION FOR OPEN SPACE TAXATION City Attorney Wines explained that this is a state program administered by King County which allows private property to be designated as open space, agricultural, or forest land. This allows the property owners to set aside some of their development rights. If they meet the criteria for the program and receive approval then they receive a reduction in their property tax. Both the City and County must act upon the application. A three person committee may be selected by the Council to consider the application, or the Council may consider it as a whole. The applicant is Mr. Roush. Councilmembers Morgan, Potts and Mayor Taylor volunteered to act as a committee to review the application and make a recommendation to the Council. They agreed that the final decision would be made by the Council as a whole. SR-520 UPDATE Mayor Taylor said that efforts to establish a toll -funded project on SR-520 had been defeated for now. The Points Communities mayors agreed that a proactive approach was needed to solve the area's transportation problems because SR-520 would be an important focal point of any project. A letter was to be sent to the Department of Transportation stating that it was the Cities' intent to survey their communities, develop options and a plan that represents their views. The Council discussed recent events and possible strategies to influence transportation decisions. Councilmembers Benz and Becker suggested that the City host a meeting for the Points Communities to receive citizen input. Councilmember Ross suggested that the meeting be held on the community level first, then a committee could be selected to work with the other communities to explore areas of consensus. The Council agreed by common consent to hold a meeting at Medina Elementary School for the community to consider a list of options for the improvement of SR-520. ORDINANCES AND RESOLUTIONS Ordinance No. 600 - An ordinance adopting development permit regulations, establishing a time limit for notification regarding permit completeness and establishing a time limit for issuing final permit decisions. Medina City Council Minutes March 11, 1996 Page 4 Ordinance No. 608 - An ordinance allowing for optional consolidated permit processing, allowing consolidated environmental review with permit processing and providing for open record hearings. City Attorney Wines said that these ordinances were required by the state regulatory reform act to be in place by the end of the month of March. Councilmember Morgan questioned the advisability of having combined hearings acted upon by the Council for matters that the Council has not traditionally heard, such as, variances and shoreline permits. City Attorney Wines responded that as a practical matter the Council could ask the Planning Commission or Board of Adjustment for an advisory ruling on these types of issues before the Council hearing on the matter. Councilmember Morgan also questioned the process for appeals. He noted that under the proposed ordinance appeals from reviewing agencies would go directly to the courts. City Attorney Wines responded that the alternative of allowing a closed record appeal to the Council, although expensive, was permissible under the new law. The Council concluded that direct appeal to the courts was an expensive process, as well. They felt there was a good chance that appeals could be settled at the Council level. At the conclusion of discussion on the item, Councilmember Morgan moved that Ordinances 600 and 608 be approved with the modification to Ordinance 608, Section 6, to require a closed -record appeal to the City Council. Councilmember Benz seconded the motion. It was approved unanimously. FINANCIAL REPORT Councilmember Morgan moved the approval of February warrants numbered 9156 through 9237 in the amount of $93,242.66, and personnel warrants numbered 14588 through 14636 totaling $74,258.27. Councilmember Becker seconded the motion. The motion was carried unanimously. NEW BUSINESS COUNCIL TOURS The City Council confirmed dates and times for tours of the FAA Tower facilities and the Gates complex. The FAA Tower Tour was set for March 26. The Gates complex tour was set for March 30. LETTER TO FAA AIR TRAFFIC MANAGER By common consent, the Council authorized Mayor Taylor to sign a letter to the FAA Air Traffic Manager, Tom Davidson, as described by Bob Rudolph earlier during the public comments portion of the meeting. EXECUTIVE SESSION Councilmember Morgan moved that the Council move into executive session to discuss matters of potential litigation. Councilmember Becker seconded the motion. With unanimous approval the Council adjourned to executive session at 10:50 PM, anticipating a return to open session at 11:20 PM. ADJOURNMENT The Council reconvened in open session at 11:16 PM. Councilmemper Potts moved that the regular meeting be adjourned. Councilmember Ross seco ed the motion. The motion was passed unanimously. f ' V.Vwj Dewey L. Taylor, May r ` H rwood T. Edvalson, City Clerk