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Home My WebLink About11-27-2006 - MinutesMEDINA CITY COUNCIL STUDY SESSION MINUTES November 27, 2006 7:00 pm CALL TO ORDER Medina City Hall 501 Evergreen Point Road Miles Adam called the November 27, 2006, Medina City Council Study Session to order at 7:08 pm. ROLL CALL Councilmembers Present: Miles Adam, Lucius Biglow, Drew Blazey, Jim Lawrence, Katie Phelps, Robert Rudolph and Pete Vall-Spinosa City Staff Present: Roger Crum, Interim City Manager, Vicki Orrico, Assistant City Attorney, Ogden Murphy Wallace; Joseph Gellings, Director of Development Services; Joe Willis, Director of Public Works; Jeff Chen, Chief of Police; and Rachel Baker, City Clerk ANNOUNCEMENTS Chen reported a survey taken of area streets prior to the meeting revealed the north end of Evergreen Point Road had accumulated one and one half inches of snow and barricades were set out on Northeast 24th Street. PUBLIC HEARINGS Tree and Vegetation Code Amendments (7:10 pm) Gellings summarized item and expanded on five code drafting issues. He answered council inquiries pertaining to mitigation inches. Mayor opened floor to public comment at 7:19 pm. Mark Nelson urged the council to delay a decision on matter as he felt the issue required further discussion. Mr. Nelson asked the council to consider budgeting for and hiring an urban forester or landscape architect with a specialty in urban forestry to conduct a study and devise an urban forestry plan. Mr. Nelson endorsed using a city arborist as outlined in the draft ordinance. He suggested the council consider lot differences and stated that as written, the code is too onerous on private citizens and should instead impact the city as a whole. Wilma Edmonds said Medina could no longer be considered a quiet rural oasis in the greater Seattle metropolitan area. She stated the council should seek a better solution to represent what the community has now become, a suburban community. She expressed her belief that many citizens are discontent with ordinance and there is no community support. Mrs. Edmonds encouraged the use of focus groups as a solution to this issue in order to meet the standards expressed by citizens. Paul Saad conveyed he is a proponent for an ordinance but is concerned how it would be applied. He explained that a home cannot always be designed around a tree and lobbied for the footprint of a house to be exempt from mitigation. He implied only the portions of the property that should be controlled by the code are the portions visible to the public, such as the front yard and right of way. Mayor closed floor to public comment at 7:37 pm and council deliberations followed. Council directed Gellings to add to the code a public notice component followed by a discretionary staff decision for adjoining cases and to include a penalty not to exceed $10,000 per tree. Council agreed to include mitigation requirements for evergreen and deciduous trees indigenous to the Pacific Northwest, except for those identified on the city's weed tree list. Council agreed to add Leland Cypress to the weed tree list. Council directed Gellings to include mitigation requirements for 50-inch non -hazardous trees located within the building footprint and to include an appeal process through the hearing examiner if such trees are located outside the building footprint. Council directed Gellings to obtain current market costs for three and four inch evergreen trees. MOTION RUDOLPH AND SECOND PHELPS TO PASS ORDINANCE AS DISCUSSED SUBJECT TO REVIEW OF TREE REPLACEMENT MARKET VALUE COSTS, MOTION CARRIED 7-0 AT 9:05 PM. Council agreed to place amended ordinance draft on December 11 th consent agenda. Council recessed at 9:06 pm and reconvened at 9:11 pm. Non -Conforming Envelopes Zoning Code Regulation (9:11 pm) Gellings provided history of item and answered council inquiries. Mayor opened floor to public comment at 9:14 pm. Brian Bolin expressed he is a proponent for the proposed ordinance and would like council to approve it. Mayor closed floor at 9:16 pm and council deliberation followed. Council pointed out the last line of the second page should be a subsection of "d". Council amended regulations would apply to lots located in zone R16 only. City Council Minutes November 27, 2006 Page 2 MOTION VALL-SPINOSA AND SECOND TO ADOPT ORDINANCE WITH AMENDMENT THAT ORDINANCE WOULD BE APPLICABLE TO LOT SIZES 16,000 SQUARE FEET OR LESS, MOTION CARRIED 6-1 LAWRENCE OPPOSED AT 9:45 PM. Sign Code Amendments (9:45 pm) Mayor opened floor to public comment at 9:46 pm, no comments were presented and the floor closed at 9:46 pm. Council deliberation followed. MOTION RUDOLPH AND SECOND LAWRENCE TO LIMIT REAL ESTATE SIGNS TO NAME FOR SALE, PHONE NUMBER AND LISTING AGENT, MOTION CARRIED 7-0 AT 9:52 PM. MOTION LAWRENCE AND SECOND BLAZEY TO ACCEPT ORDINANCE AMENDING LIMITATIONS ON SIGNS FOR SCHOOLS, CHURCHES AND CLUBS, MOTION CARRIED 6-1 (PHELPS OPPOSED) AT 9:58 PM. 2007 Property Tax Levy 2007 Annual Budget (9:58 pm) Crum pointed out figure in memo should read $2,126,134 to achieve a one -percent reduction and explained that levies for new construction and the one -percent limit are bankable. Orrico confirmed bankable levies and expressed refunds based on reappraisals would also be bankable. She stated the Qwest refund would not be bankable. MOTION PHELPS AND SECOND BLAZEY TO EXTEND MEETING TO 11:00 PM, MOTION PASSED 7-0 AT 10:10 PM. MOTION BLAZEY AND SECOND VALL-SPINOSA TO ACCEPT RESOLUTION AND REDUCE LEVY AS DEPICTED BY ONE -PERCENT, MOTION CARRIED 7-0 AT 10:18 PM. 2007 Annual Budget (10:19 pm) Crum recommended council consider including the building official as a staff position beginning in April 2007. Council majority directed Crum to review figure discrepancies based on the position and to provide additional data for December 11`" meeting prior to a final decision. Crum recommended retaining clerical positions as currently budgeted MOTION BIGLOW AND SECOND VALL-SPINOSA TO DIRECT STAFF THAT IF A FUTURE OPENING SHOULD OCCUR TO REQUIRE THE CITY MANAGER TO REPORT TO CITY COUNCIL THE ALTERNATIVES TO FILLING THAT POSITION AND THAT THE POSITION WOULD NOT BE FILLED UNTIL REPORT IS FURNISHED TO THE COUNCIL, MOTION PASSED 7-0 AT 10:57 PM. City Council Minutes November 27, 2006 Page 3 Council discussed police department vehicles and the Chief answered council inquiries. ADJOURNMENT MOTION LAWRENCE AND SECOND BIGLOW TO ADJOURN THE NOVEMBER 27, 2006 CITY COUNCIL STUDY SESSION, MOTION PASSED 7-0 AT 11:20 PM. The November 27, 2006, Study Session of the Medina City Council adjourned at 11:20 pm. The next Regular Meeting of the Medina City Council will be held Monday, December 11, 2006. An Executive Session will begin at 6:00 pm to discuss labor negotiations, per RCW 42.30.110 (1) (g) and the public portion of the meeting will begin at 7:00 pm. vt��- Miles R. Adam, Mayor Attest: Ra el Baker, City Clerk City Council Minutes November 27, 2006 Page 4