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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2003.02.18 Council Minutes MINUTES REGULAR MEETING PASCO CITY COUNCIL FEBRUARY 18, 2003 CALL TO ORDER: The meeting was called to order at 7:00 P.M. by Michael L. Garrison, Mayor. ROLL CALL: By City Clerk. Councilmembers present: Charles D. Kilbury, Joe Jackson, Eileen Crawford, Michael Garrison, Tom Larsen, and Carl Strode. Councilmember(s) absent: Rebecca Francik. Also present: Gary Crutchfield, City Manager; Leland B. Kerr, City Attorney; Stan Strebel, Administrative & Community Services Director; Bob Alberts, Public Works Director; Jim Chase, Finance Manager; Dave McDonald, City Planner; Denis Austin, Police Chief; Richard Smith, Community & Economic Dev. Director; Kurt Luhrs, Personnel Officer; and Elden Buerkle, Administrative Assistant. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE: The meeting was opened with the Pledge of Allegiance. CONSENT AGENDA: MOTION: Mr. Strode moved to approve the Consent Agenda. Mr. Jackson seconded the motion. Motion carried by unanimous roll call vote. Consent items are as follows: A) Approval of Minutes: To approve minutes of the Special Meeting dated February 3, 2003. B) Bills and Communications: To approve General Claims in the amount of $948,311.67 ($65,099.46 being in the form of Wire Transfer No. 3897, 3901 and 3902; and $883,212.21 consisting of Claim Warrants numbered 135194 through 135422). Bad Debt Write-offs: To approve bad debt write-offs for utility billing, ambulance, cemetery and Municipal Court non-criminal, criminal and parking accounts receivable in the total amount of $123,402.26, and, of that amount, authorize $120,024.34 be turned over for collection. C) Right-of-Way for New Street (MF #03-16-I): To accept the deeds from Dale Adams and Wayne and Ruth Wilson dedicating the right-of-way for the connection between Broadmoor boulevard and Crescent Drive. D) Resolution No. 2729 - Setting a public hearing to consider vacation of certain streets in Frey's Addition: To approve Resolution No. 2729, fixing 7:00 p.m., March 17, 2003 as the time and date for a public hearing to consider the proposed vacation. PROCLAMATIONS AND ACKNOWLEDGMENTS: None. VISITORS: None. -1- MINUTES REGULAR MEETING PASCO CITY COUNCIL FEBRUARY 18, 2003 REPORTS FROM COMMITTEES AND/OR OFFICERS: None. PUBLIC HEARINGS: Street and Utility Easement Vacation: Road and Utility Easements in the Northwest Quarter of Section 17, Township 9 North, Rangy East (Lovissa Farms) LMF #03-08-Vl: Mr. David McDonald, City Planner, addressed Council and noted for the record that notice of the public hearing was published and posted as required by law. Mr. McDonald explained that Aho Construction, the owner of the property, is in the process of developing a residential subdivision on the site. There are currently road and or utility easements in the northwest corner of the property that will conflict with future lots and they have petitioned to vacate the easements. MAYOR GARRISON DECLARED THE PUBLIC HEARING OPEN TO CONSIDER THE STREET AND UTILITY EASEMENT VACATION LOCATED IN THE NORTHWEST QUARTER OF SECTION 17, TOWNSHIP 9 NORTH, RANGE 29 EAST. Following three (3) calls from Mayor Garrison for comments from the floor, either for or against, and there being none, the public hearing was declared closed. ORDINANCE NO. 3604 AN ORDINANCE VACATING UTILITY AND ROAD EASEMENTS WITHIN THE NORTHWEST QUARTER OF SECTION 17, TOWNSHIP 9 NORTH, RANGE 29 EAST. MOTION: Mr. Strode moved to adopt Ordinance No. 3604, vacating the street and utility easements in the Northwest Quarter of Section 17, Township 9 North, Range 29 East, W.M. and, further, authorize publication by summary only. Mr. Jackson seconded the motion. Motion carried unanimously. Street Vacation: Portion of Court Street located between Harris Road and the City Limits MF #03-06-V : Mr. David McDonald, City Planner, addressed Council and noted for the record that notice of the public hearing was published and posted as required by law. Mr. McDonald explained that in January the Council approved a preliminary plat for a 32 lot subdivision at the end of Court Street as it connects with Harris Road. One of the conditions of the plat required the developer to petition for the vacation of Court Street realigning it to connect to Harris Road several hundred feet east of its current connection. MAYOR GARRISON DECLARED THE PUBLIC HEARING OPEN TO CONSIDER VACATION OF A PORTION OF COURT STREET LOCATED BETWEEN HARRIS ROAD AND THE CITY LIMITS. Following three (3) calls from Mayor Garrison for comments from the floor, either for or against, and there being none, the public hearing was declared closed. -2- MINUTES REGULAR MEETING PASCO CITY COUNCIL FEBRUARY 18, 2003 ORDINANCE NO. 3605 AN ORDINANCE VACATING A PORT OF WEST COURT STREET LOCATD IN THE NORTHEAST QUARTER OF SECTION 13, TOWNSHIP 9 NORTH, RANGE 29 EAST, W.M. MOTION: Mr. Strode moved to adopt Ordinance No. 3605, vacating a portion of West Court Street and, further, authorize publication by summary only. Mr. Jackson seconded the motion. Motion carried (No -- Larsen). ORDINANCES/RESOLUTIONS NOT RELATED TO PUBLIC HEARINGS: Moratorium on the Acceptance of Applications for Preliminary Plat Approval for Residential Development: Mr. Crutchfield explained that this matter concerning a proposed moratorium was presented to Council at the workshop of February 10, 2003, in response to the petition submitted by Pasco residents of the plateau area. Staff felt some of the concerns expressed in the petition to be applicable city-wide and, therefore, recommended a short-term six month moratorium to permit the conduct of analysis necessary to report to the Council the capacities and development standards applicable with respect to those concerns, primarily, the impact on schools and the potential stormwater problem with the new stormwater rules and potential utility restrictions. The ordinance recommended by staff would institute a six-month moratorium that would permit an analysis of the problem, would allow it to be reported to the Council and would allow any amendments to regulations to be put in place by the Council without any new residential subdivisions being processed or approved while the study is underway. The moratorium would not stop the issuance of building permits for new homes on lots that have already been approved for development. ORDINANCE NO. 3606 AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF PASCO, WASHINGTON, DECLARING A MORATORIUM ON THE ACCEPTANCE OF APPLICATIONS FOR PRELIMINARY PLAT APPROVAL FOR RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENT AND PROVIDING FOR A HEARING THEREON. MOTION: Mr. Kilbury moved to adopt Ordinance No. 3606, declaring a six-month moratorium on the acceptance of applications for Preliminary Plat approval for residential development and providing for a hearing thereon and, further, authorize publication by summary only. Ms. Crawford seconded the motion. MOTION: Mr. Kilbury moved to amend section 2, from the word "moratorium" by adding, "however, no ordinance for a moratorium shall be effective in the area of Pasco east of the Burlington Northern and Santa Fe main line". Mr. Larsen seconded the motion. Mr. Kerr explained that restricting the moratorium to the West Pasco area depends upon the scope of concerns the Council utilizes for the moratorium. The proposed moratorium is to allow for the study of infrastructure as well as building regulations for residential neighborhoods. The difficulty occurs, if Council stays with that scope, by identifying a specific geographic area two zones will be created. Essentially, there would be one area of town where these regulations -3- MINUTES REGULAR MEETING PASCO CITY COUNCIL FEBRUARY 18, 2003 would be applicable and another area of town where they would not. Council could be found to be operating in a capricious manner unless a viable means is found for differentiating between the two geographic areas. The differences must be specifically associated with those development standards. Mr. Kilbury didn't believe that the desires of the petitioners had anything to do with eastern portion of the City. Mr. Strode respectfully disagreed with Mr. Kilbury's opinion. He felt the amendment, in essence, would be saying that everything is perfect in the part of Pasco that's east of the railroad tracks, that it doesn't need any changes to make certain that the concerns expressed by some regarding traffic, infrastructure, utilities, and subdivision standards need to be addressed in the eastern part of the City. Any consideration of how subdivisions are reviewed, approved and supported by infrastructure must be performed equitably for every citizen. Mr. Strode strongly opposed the amendment to the original motion. Mr. Larsen asked if the moratorium would affect the central part of the City? Mr. McDonald explained that any legal lots of record would be unaffected. Motion as amended failed by the following roll call vote: Yes - Larsen, Kilbury; No - Crawford, Jackson, Strode, Garrison. MOTION: Ms. Crawford moved to table the motion on the floor until a time not later than mid-night to allow Council to hear from the public. Mr. Larsen seconded the motion. Motion carried unanimously. Mr. John Gilchrist, of 4811 Sonora Dr., felt Council should allow staff to study the situation to make sure the infrastructure will be in place for the developments already approved. Mr. Jack Wood stated that he has a piece of property in Pasco that he is planning to develop into low income housing, however, he felt that if the moratorium was approved the people he has interested in his property would go elsewhere. Mr. Steve Willman, of 4005 Horizon Dr., spoke against the proposed moratorium because he felt it would hurt innocent people and it would limit growth. Ms. Cynthia McFarland expressed concern with the present and proposed development of Pasco and felt it was happening too fast for the community to keep up with, i.e., schools are overcrowded. She felt Council should slow things down and let the infrastructure catch up. Mr. Steve Lijek, of 4510 Desert Dr., spoke in support of the moratorium because he felt the subdivision standards were not good for pedestrians and for traffic. Ms. Virginia Kent, of 4214 Desert PI., felt economic growth shouldn't be based on Hanford, that Council and Staff should build up the downtown area to diversify the local economy and asked Council to think before voting against the moratorium. -4- MINUTES REGULAR MEETING PASCO CITY COUNCIL FEBRUARY 18, 2003 Mr. Al Yenney, of 900 N. Avery St., spoke against the moratorium and felt free enterprise will take care of itself. Mr. Yenney felt there were already enough rules and regulations in the planning system to eliminate any problems with the developments. Mr. Pete McGrail, of 4502 Desert Dr., felt the current economy would change drastically in the near future and asked Council to slow things down to maintain property values and quality of life. Mr. Kirk Baer felt it was getting more difficult for farmers to get their product into town going down Road 68. Mr. Baer felt Road 68 was getting really crazy. He also felt the moratorium should last at least a year. Mr. Jack Ray, of 1200 Road 64, felt the moratorium shouldn't be a blanket moratorium. Mr. Ray stated he owned property between Road 64 and Road 68 on the river shore that he was planning to develop. Mr. Joe Mosebar, of 5112 Desert Plateau Dr., spoke in favor of the moratorium and felt there were plenty of opportunities for contractors and realtors available with the currently approved developments. Mr. Dennis Fortune, of 4906 Desert Plateau Dr., stated that he had not seen any facts to support the idea of a need for a moratorium and felt that if a moratorium were imposed it would be closer to a year (rather than 6 months) before anything can really be built. He stated he would be out of business as a builder or he would have to move to another city to be able to build if a moratorium were imposed. Mr. Fortune felt there were other ways to control growth and the problems it can cause without stopping development. Mr. Gene Post didn't feel a city-wide moratorium would be a solution to the growth issue and that it would be gross discrimination against those property owners who don't happen to own property in the Desert Plateau area and the 1-182 Corridor. Mr. Post explained that he has been working on developing the market for entry level homes in East Pasco near Road 40 and a blanket moratorium would discriminate against the development he's working on. Ms. Jamie Cordery, 3807 View Court, spoke in favor of the moratorium because of the current over crowding of the schools. Ms. Cordery felt the proposed developments would have no schools to send their children to until schools can be built, which takes 2 years. Ms. Charlotte Reep, 8205 Sunset Lane, felt Council had a great responsibility as to the way the community would look 100 years from now. Ms. Reep felt a moratorium would allow for the establishment of standards and rules for development. Mr. Dave Greenough, spoke as a representative of Century 21, and felt Pasco was going in the right direction. Mr. Greenough felt a study should be conducted to determine if a moratorium should be imposed rather than imposing a moratorium and finding out later it was wrong. Mr. Mike Berriochoa, of 4715 Mojave Dr., felt a six-month moratorium would allow Council and Staff to plan for the projected down-turn in the economy. Mr. Berriochoa also felt that plats approving over 4,000 new homes should be enough to sustain the growth of Pasco for the next 5 years and urged Council to approve the moratorium. -5- MINUTES REGULAR MEETING PASCO CITY COUNCIL FEBRUARY 18, 2003 Ms. Lori Johnson, 4824 Mojave Dr., stated that the majority of construction is being done by out of town contractors, who bring in their own crews to do the work, not by local contractors with local crews. Mr. Strode felt that the land the petitioners expressed concern about has been zoned the way it is for the past 20 years and was designated as residential/residential transition to encourage residential development in the plateau. Mr. Strode also pointed out that the Council and staff have been working very diligently to diversify Pasco's economic structure. Pasco has become more diversified faster than any of the other cities. Mr. Strode also felt that imposing a moratorium would be a knife to the heart of the community that it would not recover from and urged his colleagues not to punish the rest of the City for the misinterpretation and misunderstanding of a few new Pasco citizens in a very small area. Ms. Crawford asked what exactly would happen during a six-month moratorium? Mr. Crutchfield explained that staff would study the effect of housing development on the schools' capacity; study the capacity of the water/sewer system; study stormwater regulations (if the State can finalize their rules for stormwater); study traffic capacities (particularly in the plateau area); and study "open" space as outlined in the Comprehensive Park Plan. The Clerk read a letter from Ms. Francik into the record as follows: Honorable Councilmembers. I am proud to be a citizen of Pasco. I am proud that our city takes the Growth Management Act seriously. I am proud to be a partner of the Pasco city staff, individuals who are willing to look at the long term needs of our city and her populace. Pasco has deliberately, with great thought and support from her citizens set out on a course to: Create jobs; attract business; facilitate orderly cost effective growth, while maintaining a high quality of life for her citizens. Because of this dedication to long range planning and our reputation as a business friendly city, I am not surprised at the unprecedented growth we are currently experiencing. We have planned for it. We have welcomed it. Because our expansion has so suddenly accelerated I think it reasonable to take a short (no more than 6 months) growth moratorium inclusive of a public hearing and ask our citizens, our business people and our fellow agencies such as the school district: Is this growth unfolding as we planned it; are there things we should adjust to make Pasco better and stronger in the long term? In short, can we evaluate where we are, fix that which is not in our long-term best interests and proceed forward? I believe we can and I believe we should. For those reasons I support a 6 month moratorium inclusive of a public hearing. Respectfully yours, Rebecca Francik. Original motion failed by the following roll call vote: Yes - Kilbury, Crawford; No - Jackson, Larsen, Strode, Garrison. Mr. Crutchfield asked if staff could be authorized to undertake the analysis mentioned during the discussion to answer some of the questions that were raised by the petition to allow the concerns to be addressed through the use of consultants? Mayor Garrison received the concurrence of the Council to allow staff to proceed. -6- MINUTES REGULAR MEETING PASCO CITY COUNCIL FEBRUARY 18, 2003 RESOLUTION NO. 2730 A RESOLUTION IN SUPPORT OF THE PASCO DOWNTOWN DEVELOPMENT ASSOCIATION APPLICATION FOR MAIN STREETTM PROGRAM RECERTIFICATION. MOTION: Mr. Strode moved to approve Resolution No. 2730, supporting the Pasco Downtown Development Association application for recertification as a Main StreetTM Program. Mr. Jackson seconded the motion. Motion carried unanimously. RESOLUTION NO. 2731 A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY OF PASCO, WASHINGTON, PROVIDING FOR SEGREGATION OF ASSESSMENT FOR CERTAIN PARCELS IN LOCAL IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT NO. 139; AND AUTHORIZATION FOR THE MAYOR TO SIGN THE ASSESSMENT AGREEMENT. MOTION: Mr. Strode moved to approve Resolution No. 2731, authorizing staff to segregate Accounts No. 3, 4 and 5 for LID 139 and, further, authorize the Mayor to enter into and execute the segregation agreement in the form attached as Exhibit B. Mr. Jackson seconded the motion. Motion carried unanimously. UNFINISHED BUSINESS: None. NEW BUSINESS: Hugo/Sturgis Sewer Extensions, Project No., 02-1-12: MOTION: Mr. Strode moved award the low bid for the Hugo/Sturgis Sewer Extensions, Project No. 02-1-12, to Apollo, Inc., in the amount of $77,110.69 including sales tax and, further, authorize the Mayor to sign the contract documents. Mr. Jackson seconded the motion. Motion carried by unanimous roll call vote. MISCELLANEOUS - INCLUDING SUGGESTIONS FROM COUNCIL: None. ADJOURNMENT: No further business, the meeting was adjourned at XXX P.M. APPROVED: ATTEST: )7""'1"'AFOA- r v Michael L. MM'-Son, Mayor Catherine D. Seaman, Deputy City Clerk PASSED and APPROVED this 3rd day of March, 2003. -7-