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HomeMy WebLinkAbout02/22/06 CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES tMIlIllllllS'lIlV ::::,'"""", ~ ' 1M .' J Z006 DIGITAL RECORDING Wednesday, February 22,2006 The weekly meeting of the City Council of the City of Bremerton was called to order in the City Council Chambers, of the NORM DICKS GOVERNMENT CENTER 345 6th Street, Bremerton, Washington, Wednesday, February 22, 2006, at 5:30 PM, with Council President Cecil McConnell presiding. Council members present were Will Maupin, Carol Arends, Dianne Robinson, Wendy Priest, Adam Brockus, and Brad Gehring. Council Members Mike Shepherd and Nick Wofford were absent. Also present were City Attorney Roger Lubovich, City Clerk Paula Johnston, and Legislative Assistant Lori Smith. The Pledge of Allegiance was led by Council Member Brad Gehrinq followed by the invocation provided by Pastor Dennis Payne of Ebenezer African Methodist Episcopal Church. President McConnell announced that a Pre-Council session and a 15-Minute EXECUTIVE SESSION to discuss "Labor Negotiations" per RCW 42.30.140(4)(b) were held in Council Conference Room 603 from 5:00 to 5:30 PM; Item 6A was added under GENERAL BUSINESS; and if citizens would like to receive information on upcoming Council meetings, they may call the Council Office at (360) 473-5280; or go to the City's website at www.ci.bremerton.wa.us. PUBLIC RECOGNITION & ANNOUNCEMENTS Holly James and Helene Norman of PENINSULA SERVICES invited the Council and members of the public to their First Annual Art Auction on Tuesday, March 7, 2006, in the Chambers of the Norm Dicks Government Center beginning with a Silent Auction from 4:30 to 7:00 PM, followed by a Live Auction from 5:30 to 8:30 PM. Proceeds will benefit employment programs for persons with special needs, and guests may RSVP by calling (360) 373-1446. Adam Brockus announced that he and fellow Council Member Mike Shepherd would be hosting a combined District 3 & 5 Community Meeting on Tuesday, February 28, 2006 from 7:00 to 8:30 PM at the Manette Senior Center for a discussion on "The Future of Harrison Medical Center" with representatives from Harrison Medical Center. All City residents were invited to attend. CONSENT AGENDA A. Check Numbers 306122 through 306153; and EFT-8850 through EFT-8854 in the amount of $241,007.88; and Regular Payroll in the amount of $623,246.22 for the pay period ending February 15, 2006 (#AB06-036) B. Minutes of Meeting - February 15, 2006 (#AB05-037) There were no comments from the public. 5:36:29 M/S/C/U (Priest/Arends) Move to approve the Consent Agenda as presented. Paula Johnston, City Clerk announced that Item 6A would be heard prior to Item 5A while the audio and visual equipment was being set up for the presentation by KITSAP TRANSIT.. . 6A - REFERRAL TO PLANNING COMMISSION - HIGHLAND AVENUE NEIGHBORHOOD HEIGHTS (#AB06-038): Council Member Wendy Priest explained that when the zoning was adopted on November 30, 2005 for the height of buildings to be 60' in the Highland neighborhood, it was with the understanding that the City would move forward with design standards. However, at these meetings, it was only the issue of the height that citizens wanted to discuss. Due to this, and the letters, e-mails.andrequestsfromtheresidents.itis being recommended to remand the "Highland Avenue Neighborhood Height Restriction" issue back to the Planning Commission for further reconsideration. City Council Reg. Mtg. Minutes Wednesday, February 22, 2006 Page 2 of 4 Curtis LendinQ explained that he moved forward with his plan to build condominiums in this area after the Council previously approved the 60-foot height limit unanimously, and therefore did not want to see the Council move "backward" by remanding this issue back again to the Planning Commission. Donald Smithhisler did not think that this was not a good message to send to the business community but would abide by the Council's decision. Annie Barrus supported further discussion on the height standards to allow for a more open process. Rachael ZeiQler was in favor of this issue being remanded back to the Planning Commission so that the opinion of residents could be received. Rex Garland has participated in previous stakeholder and public meetings and that there has been thorough involvement by the Community Development staff, investors, and homeowners; and suggested that if further process were involved that guidelines could be established and that the matter be expedited. Mr. Brockus asked why this issue was added to the agenda tonight at the last minute, and could it wait until the next agenda to allow more notice. He also questioned if the deadline for the current moratorium could still be met. Mrs. Priest stated that the issue needed to be brought to Council and the Planning Commission since there are less than 60 days remaining on the existing moratorium. Mr. Lubovich stated it would be unlikely that the issue could be resolved prior to expiration of the moratorium. Chris HUQo, Director for the Department of Community Development, established that the current moratorium would need to be extended due to the current focus of the Planning Commission on the Critical Areas Ordinance, zoning code issues, and design standard guidelines. Mr. Maupin also expressed his concern that this issue did not go through the normal process to allow for more discussion; and asked Mr. HUQO to provide a review on how the issue of heights got to this point. Mr. Maupin also asked if this issue were sent back to the Planning Commission would we ever get design guidelines. Mr. HUQO emphasized that the staff are currently working on design guidelines based on 60-foot height limit, and if this issue were remanded to the Planning Commission, staff would need to re-evaluate the design standards which would then cause a delay. Ms. Priest stated that she expressed her concern at the November 30, 2005 Council meeting that the Council was going against the Planning Commission recommendation, so she specifically asked that if it was determined the 60-foot height would not work in the neighborhood, could it be changed, and she was told yes. She stated that now it sounds as if the zoning can not be changed. She also recalled being told that once sub-area plans are developed for any given center then building heights can be clarified at that point in time. Mr. HUQO suggested that zoning should be set by the whole community standards, not just those of a single neighborhood. He added that the Comprehensive Plan describes downtown as a regional center, and the character of a regional center must be appropriately zoned to be the focus of the whole community and concentrate the population. Mrs. Arends recalled clearly that when the Council voted to approve the moratorium, assurance was provided that this was enough for this issue to be acted on, and no mention of heavy schedules was brought up then. She was also troubled by the different standards which allowed Council members and staff to bring up and discuss issues when the public was not. City Council Reg. Mtg. Minutes Wednesday, February 22, 2006 Page 3 of 4 A discussion took place among the Council on whether to Table or Continue this item... Mr. HUQo clarified that his staff was prepared to submit design guidelines to Council under the current schedule and prior to the expiration of the moratorium if his assignment from the Council stayed the same. Mr. Maupin wanted to know what value would be gained by remanding this issue back to the Planning Commission because at this time he did not see a benefit. 6:00:42 M/S/C (Robinson/Brockus) Move to Table this issue. Voted in favor of Motion to Table: Brockus, Priest, Robinson, Maupin Voted opposed to Motion to Table: Arends, Gehring, McConnell Motion to Table carried: 4-Yes; 3-No 6:03:45 M/S/C (Priest/Arends) Move to Reconsider the Motion to Table this issue. Voted in favor of Motion to Reconsider: Priest, Robinson, Arends, Gehring, McConnell Voted opposed to Motion to Reconsider: Maupin, Brockus Motion to reconsider carried: 5-Yes; 2-No 6:07:20 M/S/C/U (Priest/Brockus) Move to Continue this issue to the next Council Meeting on March 1, 2006. Motion passed unanimously... 5A -INFORMATION ONLY: ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES SURROUNDING THE RICH PASSAGE WAKE RESEARCH PROJECT: AND PROPOSED REDUCTION OF THE TRANSIT DISTRICT: Richard Haves, Executive Director of KITSAP TRANSIT provided maps, and then a summary on the proposed transit boundary adjustment. Mr. Gehrinq expressed concerns that the change in service may affect shipyard workers and commuters. Mr. Haves responded that if there is a need for service in certain areas, then that would be taken into consideration. Mr. Brockus asked if service at Port Gamble would be provided by Jefferson Transit. Mr. Haves answered that the service is currently supported by ACCESS and vanpools. Mr. GehrinQ asked if Bainbridge Island utilizes Kitsap Transit. Mr. Haves responded that Bainbridge Island if very supportive of mass transit and buses are heavily used. There were no comments from the public. Phil Osborne, PACIFIC INTERNATIONAL ENGINEERING, PLLC of Edmonds, WA, presented a Power Point presentation to provide an overview of the research study done over the last 2 years and referred to excerpts of the report "Selection of Fast Ferry for Rich Passage: A Shoreline Perspective" from August 2004 showing the profile of the beach after monitoring the wake from high speed vessels. Mr. Maupin asked for clarification on beach replenishment. Mr. Osborne discussed the plan to use four areas to monitor erosion and study the success of beach nourishment to assess the effects of boat wakes and large storms. Mrs. Priest asked if it is taken into consideration that beaches change over time. Mr. Osborne stated that factors at the particular sites will be considered such as the size of rock, waves, and tidal conditions. He further explained that the combinations of the factors are complex and by looking at all of the factors it will be easier to determine what are natural effects and effects caused by ferry wakes. City Council Reg. Mtg. Minutes Wednesday, February 22, 2006 Page 4 of 4 Mr. Brockus asked about the status of the passenger ferry bills in the House. Mr. Haves responded that the bill passed out of the Senate and will next be reviewed by the House. Ms. Robinson questioned how this project was being funded. Mr. Osborne responded that the project is being fully funded by a grant from the FEDERAL TRANSIT ADMINISTRATION With no further business, President McConnell adjourned the meeting of the City Council at 6:45 PM. Council reconvened in the Council Conference Room 603 for a STUDY SESSION to hear presentations on upcoming agenda items. Prepared and submitted by: Iau;~ LORI SMITH Legislative Assistant CM/PJ/ls/cg