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HomeMy WebLinkAbout10/04/2006 DIGITAL RECORDING e e CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Wednesday, October 4, 2006 MO'W 1. 5 2QQ6 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, October 4, 2006, at 5:30 PM, with Council President Cecil McConnell presiding. Council members present were Nick Wofford, Will Maupin, Carol Arends, Dianne Robinson, Mike Shepherd, Wendy Priest, Adam Brockus, and Brad Gehring. Also present were City Attorney Roger Lubovich; Assistant City Attorney Mark Koontz; 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 (A.M.E.) Church. President McConnell announced that a Pre-Council Session to discuss General Council Business was held in Council Conference Room 603 from 5:00 to 5:30 PM; and that the ord~r of Public Hearings to be heard on the agenda was amended. MAYOR'S REPORT - The Mayor volunteered to eliminate his report due to the anticipated length of the meeting tonight... PUBLIC RECOGNITION & ANNOUNCEMENTS Mike Walton, Marketing Director with the YMCA, provided a monthly report on "Y" activities. Mike Mecham, City Engineer, welcomed the public to provide their input at an Open House and Design Charette from 9:00 AM to 8:00 PM on Friday, October 6 in the Meeting Chambers. Gordy Byrd was sad to report that his wife filed for divorce yesterday. Pastor Dennis Payne of Ebenezer African Methodist Episcopal Church, appealed to anyone interested in being a big brother or big sister to mentor a high school student who has been targeted as struggling with the WASL to please call (360) 286-9841. ,,'" CONSENT AGENDA A. Check Numbers 311656 through 311754; and EFT-9260 through EFT-9278 in the amount of $1,364,086.35; Retiree Payroll in the amount of $77,826.43 for the pay period ending September 30, 2006 (#AB06-201) B. Meeting Minutes - September 20, 2006 (#AB06-202) C. Meeting Minutes - September 27,2006 (#AB06-203) D. Appointment of Tanya N. Stansberry to the Bremerton Housing Authority Board of Commissioners (#AB06-204) E. Approval of Telecommunications Facilities 5-Year Lease Agreement with TOWER ASSET SUB, LLC (#AB06-205) F. Resolution No. 3010 amending Section 2 of Resolution No. 3004 to correct the sale price of property located between Trenton Avenue and Jacobsen Boulevard (#AB06-206) G. Resolution No. 3011, updating the Housing Rehabilitation Loan Program (#AB06-207) There were no comments from the public 05:43:35 M/S/C/U (Priest/Arends) Move to approve the CONSENT AGENDA as presented. GENERAL BUSINESS - There were no GENERAL BUSINESS items this week... City Council Reg. Mtg. Minutes Wednesday, October 4, 2006 Page 2 of 6 7A- PUBLIC HEARING ON ORDINANCE NO. 4968 RELATING TO EXEMPTION OF AD VALOREM PROPERTY TAX FOR NEW MULTI-FAMILY HOUSING IN DESIGNATED TARGET AREAS {THIS ITEM WAS ORIGINALL Y SCHEDULED APRIL 19. 2006 AND JUL Y 5. 2006: AND DISCUSSED AT A STUDY SESSION MA Y 9. 20061 (#AB06-083): Ro~er Lubovich, City Attorney stated that in 1995, the State Legislature passed 84.14 RCW that allows cities to create a tax incentive program to induce development of new, multi-family housing within designated targeted areas. The incentive in the proposed ordinance is a 1 O-year exemption of all new property tax on new or rehabilitated buildings that create 10 or more housing units. Andrea Spencer, Interim Director of Community Development, displayed Figure 3.78, which is a map of the designated Residential Target Area downtown that shows the area eligible for exemption. Ms. Johnston announced that e-mails and letters were received from Guv Stitt, President of AMI INTERNATIONAL; Elizabeth Wilson, President of KITSAP ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL (KEDC) Board of Directors; Chris Raftery, President of M.S. CAVOAD COMPANY; J.J. McCament with MCCAMENT & ROGERS; Del Knauss; and Jessica Kennedv, Windermere Real Estate. All letters were made a part of the official record. Vivian Henderson, Executive Director of Kitsap Alliance of Property Owners, read a statement into the record to express her reasons for not supporting this ordinance and urged the Council to vote "No"; or at a minimum to amend the proposal to hold the property owner more accountable during the annual compliance review, to require staff to conduct onsite verification every year, and to list penalties for any abuse of this exemption. Helen Miller asked if there is any option for enforcement of the requirement for owner occupancy in the proposed projects. Mr. Lubovich responded that within the definition portion of the ordinance, there is reference to the exemption to be allowed to owner occupied units only and any units that may become rentals would be not be eligible for the exemption. Art Castle, Home Builders Association, encouraged Council to approve the ordinance so that redevelopment may continue. VirQinia Starr believed that the proposed projects would fit better in other areas in the City rather than the Highland and Pleasant neighborhoods. Avvon Card emphasized the unfairness of this proposal since the burden of additional residents on the infrastructure would be paid for by current homeowners. Mike Eastman, County Assessor's Office, stated that the requirement for owner occupancy is unique to Bremerton relative to programs throughout the State, and it would be the responsibility of the Assessor's Office to remove the property from the exempt list once an owner no longer lives in the unit. Mr. Lubovich stated that the intent of the ordinance is to establish whether a unit was to qualify for the exemption, not to monitor each unit for occupancy. Jerrv Davidson asked which Council Members had the single-family homeowner's interest in mind, and perhaps offer them a helpful tax break. David Card was concerned that the cost of managing the infrastructure will be unfairly placed on the current property owners, and believed that the condominiums will sell without the exemption. Chris Rafterv, M.S. CAVOAD COMPANY, spoke in favor of this proposal which would enable private investment, allow for the potential for increased revenue in the future, and would mean more home ownership opportunities available in the downtown area. City Council Reg. Mtg. Minutes Wednesday, October 4,2006 Page 3 of 6 Jessica Kennedy, City resident, Bremerton Planning Commissioner, and Designated Broker with Windermere Real Estate/West Sound, Inc. expressed her reasons for support of this ordinance which included affordable housing options for younger families. Mark Huppert provided examples of programs where redevelopment took place when exemption programs were allowed. Norman McLauQhlin, Executive Director of the KITSAP COUNTY CONSOLIDATED HOUSING AUTHORITY (KCCHA), hoped Council would approve this proposal to allow another component of redevelopment and further investment in downtown to bring in more residents who will then sustain businesses downtown. 06:25:20 Main Motion was made as discussion by the Council continued... Mr. Shepherd expressed three main concerns; the lack of a plan for the downtown area; the potential for increased volume of traffic; and the enforceability of the owner occupied residency. 6:40:15 A-M/S/C/U (Brockus/Shepherd) Amendment to Main Motion to replace the word "may"with the word "shall" and remove the language "as determined by the Director" in Item (a) of Section 3.78.110 titled "ANNUAL COMPLIANCE REVIEW"; and to also replace the word "may"with the word "shall" in two places in Item (b) of the same Section. Amendment to the Motion passed unanimously. Ms. Priest read a statement to explain why she could not support this proposal at this time. Specifically, she could not support putting development interests before citizen interests, and emphasized that before such a concept could be considered, a sub-area plan must be completed so that the downtown will redevelop with an identity. 6:50:15 A-S/F (Priest/Shepherd) Amendment that the provisions of Section I and Section II of the Ordinance would be effective upon adoption of a Sub-Area Plan and recommendation by the Bremerton Planning Commission for the downtown core and the multi-family residential zone. Voted in favor of Amendment: Priest, Shepherd, Robinson Voted opposed to Amendment: Arends, Maupin, Wofford, Gehring, Brockus, McConnell Amendment failed: 3-Yes; 6-No 07:25:20 M/S/C (Maupin/Wofford) Move to pass Ordinance No. 4968 to provide exemptions from ad valorem property taxation for new multi-family housing in designated residential targeted areas of the City. Voted in favor of Motion: Maupin, Wofford, Gehring, Brockus, McConnell Voted opposed to Motion: Shepherd, Robinson, Arends, Priest Motion carried: 5-Yes; 4-No At the conclusion of the vote, a break was taken... 7B - PUBLIC HEARING TO ADOPT THE 2007 COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT (CDBG) FUNDING RECOMMENDATIONS (#AB06-208): Betsy Howe of the CDBG Program, explained that on May 17, 2006, the City Council approved the CDBG/HOME Policy Plan which outlined the funding allocation process and included CDBG rules and regulations. The Citizens Advisory Committees (CAC's) have completed their review process and the funding recommendations on the following pages have been made for your consideration and approval. If approved, these submissions will be sent to the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) in the 2007 Annual Action Plan. City Council Reg. Mtg. Minutes Wednesday, October 4,2006 Page 4 of 6 Mike Walton, Board President with the KITSAP COUNTY COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION (KCCDC), expressed his disappointment that the City did not continue its support of KCCDC and discussed loan programs for low income individuals that the agency tries to support. 07:54:35 M/S/C/U (Maupin/Arends) Move to approve 2007 funding recommendations and authorize the Mayor to execute contracts once all funding has been secured and HUD has approved the Annual Action Plan. 7C - PUBLIC HEARING TO CONSIDER THE REQUEST FOR ADDITIONAL HOME FUNDS BY HABITAT FOR HUMANITY FOR PROJECT "NEW HOPE" (#AB06-209): Betsy Howe of the CDBG Program, summarized that the City accepts applications for HOME funding throughout the year, with final funding decisions made by the Council. HABITAT FOR HUMANITY is requesting additional funding for New Hope, an 18-unit project on Arsenal Way. A staff memo with further information is attached. If approved, additional funding for this project will be added to the City's Action Plan to be submitted to HUD. Lori Oberlander, Executive Director with the HABITAT FOR HUMANITY, thanked the Council for all their past support, and provided a brief update of the project, explaining that construction is expected to start this year. Mr. McConnell expressed his concern that Habitat for Humanity was going to receive the majority of the funding. Ms. Howe explained that no additional applications have been submitted, so funding HABITAT FOR HUMANITY'S request was appropriate at this time. 07:59:50 M/S/C (Arends/Brockus) Move to approve HOME funding request and authorize the Mayor to execute the contract once the Action Plan has been approved by HUD. Voted in favor of Motion: Arends, Maupin, Wofford, Gehring, Brockus, Priest, Shepherd, Robinson Voted opposed to Motion: McConnell Motion carried: 8-Yes; 1-No 7D - PUBLIC HEARING AND RESOLUTION NO. 3012 DECLARING AN INTENT TO ANNEX TERRITORY IN THE TRACYTON AREA OF EAST BREMERTON (#AB06-21 0): Andrea Spencer, Interim Director of Community Development stated that the Resolution approves the Petition for Annexation of Territory by owners of not less than 75% of assessed property value in the proposed area. Lisa Mullenix asked what benefit the City would receive by annexing this area into the City. Ms. Spencer stated that the City would be providing services to this area and receiving taxes, and following a fiscal analysis, it was determined that the additional property taxes would be a revenue source to the City. John Tietien hoped the Council would exclude his neighborhood located between the watershed and Tracy ton parcel from this annexation proposal. Mr. Gehrina further explained that annexation would allow residents to have access to enhanced Police and Fire services. 08:10:35 M/S/C/U (Maupin/Arends) Move to pass Resolution No. 3012 accepting the proposal to commence annexation proceedings. City Council Reg. Mtg. Minutes Wednesday, October 4,2006 Page 5 of 6 7E - PUBLIC HEARING ON ORDINANCE NO. 4980 ESTABLISHING A NEW CHAPTER 20.12 "LAND DIVISIONS" FOR LAND SUBDIVISION PROCEDURES; AMENDING CHAPTER 20.02 "PROJECT PERMITS" TABLE 040; AND AMENDING RATE TABLE C OF CHAPTER 3 OF THE BREMERTON MUNICIPAL CODE (#AB06-211): Andrea Spencer, Interim Director of Community Development emphasized that the action before the Council is to conduct a public hearing and consideration of an ordinance for land subdivision procedures, amendments to BMC 20.02 Table 040 Permit Processing Procedures to reflect the new land subdivision regulations, and amendments to Rate Table C of BMC 3.01.040 to reduce subdivision fees. Art Castle with the HOMEBUILDERS ASSOCIATION suggested that the current owner (rather than , original owner) be able to file any alteration within five years; recommended that a notarized statement from the property owner be required at the application stage in order to facilitate the title report which is usually pulled during the preliminary approval part of the process; also suggested that lot information be processed at the building permit level, not in public works; further recommended that the director decide what may be considered substantial in terms of modifying road location to a plat; lastly, asked that vesting be effective after preliminary approval. 08:18:25 Main Motion was made as discussion by the Council continued... 08:18:25 M/S (Wofford/Maupin) Move to pass Ordinance No. 4980 to establish a new BMC 20.12 Land Division, to revise BMC 20.02, Table 040 Permit Processing Procedures, and amend Rate Table C of BMC 3.01.040. 8:21 :58 M/S/C/U (Brockus/Maupin) Move to Table the Main Motion until later this evening. 7F - PUBLIC HEARING AND ORDINANCE NO. 4981 ESTABLISHING A "DESIGN REVIEW COMMITTEE" AND AMENDING CHAPTER 20.02 "PROJECT PERMITS" OF THE BREMERTON MUNICIPAL CODE TO INCLUDE PROVISIONS FOR DESIGN REVIEW (#AB06-212): Andrea Spencer, Interim Director of Community Development explained that in June of this year, the City Council adopted the first set of Design Guidelines (for area of Highland & Pleasant Avenue). The City will soon have building permit applications for this area and the submittals will need to show consistency with the adopted guidelines. Formal design review will be a critical component of the building permit review process to ensure that proposed developments are meeting the intent of these adopted guidelines. The proposed ordinance establishes a City of Bremerton Design Review Board which will be an advisory board to the Director of Community Development. It is anticipated that the Board will have increased responsibilities as the sub area planning and the future adoption of area- specific design guidelines throughout the city continues. Helen Miller questioned if there would be any enforcement of guidelines. Mr. McConnell responded yes; and Ms. Spencer added that there will be a series of steps to be followed by applicants during the permit process even before an architect is brought in to design the project to ensure that the guidelines are followed. 08:27:24 Main Motion was made and discussion by the Council continued... Mr. Shepherd asked for clarification on how a sub-area plan and design guidelines fit together. Ms. Spencer stated that once a sub-area plan is adopted for an area, then design guidelines can be developed for that area. City Council Reg. Mtg. Minutes Wednesday, October 4, 2006 Page 6 of 6 Mr. Brockus asked if projects that are eligible for multi-family property tax exemptions would be subject to the rules. Mr. Koontz, Assistant City Attorney, responded no. 08:41 :32 M/S/C/U (Priest/Brockus) Move to pass Ordinance No. 4981 establishing a Design Review Board and amending BMC 20.02 Project Permits to include provisions for design review. 8:42:58 M/S/C (Brockus/Shepherd) Move to bring back the Main Motion Tabled earlier tonight. Voted in favor of Motion: Brockus, Priest, Shepherd, Robinson, Arends, Maupin, Wofford, McConnell Voted opposed to Motion: Gehring Motion carried: 8-Yes; 1-No Discussion on Item 7E, the "Public Hearing on proposed Ordinance No. 4980" then continued... Joann Vindinhar addressed each suggestion by Mr. Castle. The language regarding "original owner" is included to be consistent with the Revised Code of Washington; it is important for the City to receive a title report at preliminary plat submittal and would allow the applicant to realize any financial impact to the project; the lot address must be available at the time of the preliminary plat approval, before the building permit stage, and information at that time is available at public works; staff would need to justify any changes and recommended not including language "substantial"; and the timing of vesting is consistent with state standards. 08:49:10 M/S/C (Wofford/Maupin) Move to pass Ordinance No. 4980 to establish a new BMC 20.12 Land Division, to revise BMC 20.02, Table 040 Permit Processing Procedures, and amend Rate Table C of BMC 3.01.040. Voted in favor of Motion: Brockus, Priest, Shepherd, Arends, Maupin, Wofford, McConnell Voted opposed to Motion: Robinson, Gehring Motion carried: 7-Yes; 2-No President McConnell announced that due to the length of the Council Meeting tonight, "COUNCil MEMBER REPORTS" would be delayed until next week's Council Meeting. With no further business, President McConnell adjourned the Council Meeting at 8:50 PM. Prepared and Submitted by: mr~ 'L/~ ) LO I MITH Legislative Assistant Attest: N, ity Clerk ~~~ CECIL McCONNELL, City Council President CM:PJ:ls:cg