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HomeMy WebLinkAbout4-2-07-1_166-173_March 8, 2007 Policy MeetingLINKED MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE CITY COMMISSION POLICY MEETING BOZEMAN, MONTANA March 8, 2007 ***************************** The Commission of the City of Bozeman met in the City Commission Meeting Room, 411 East Main, on Thursday, March 8, 2007, at 12:00 pm. Present were Mayor Jeff Krauss, Cr. Sean Becker, Cr. Jeff Rupp, City Manager Chris Kukulski, Planning Director Andy Epple, Assistant Planning Director Chris Saunders, Finance Director Anna Rosenberry, Director of Public Service Debbie Arkell, Assistant City Attorney Tim Cooper, and Deputy City Clerk Cynthia Jordan Delaney. 0:19:26 A. Call to Order - 12:00 pm-1:30 pm, City Commission Meeting Room, City Hall, 411 East Main Mayor Krauss called the meeting to order at 12:10 pm. 0:19:27 B. Pledge of Allegiance and Moment of Silence 0:20:06 C. Public Comment Mayor Krauss opened public comment. There was no public comment. 0:20:33 D. Authorize the absence of Crs. Kirchhoff and Cr. Jacobson 0:20:33 Motion and Vote to authorize the absences of Crs. Kirchhoff and Jacobson. It was moved by Cr. Becker, and seconded by Cr. Rupp, to authorize the absences of Crs. Kirchhoff and Jacobson. Those voting Aye being Crs. Becker, Rupp, and Mayor Krauss. Those voting No being none. The motion carried. 0:20:50 E. Round Table Discussion 0:21:10 Cr. Rupp Cr. Rupp wanted to talk about installing cameras downtown for pedestrian safety, especially as the street lights are replaced. 0:23:24 Mr. Kukulski Mr. Kukulski stated that the issue of cameras will be placed on a Commission agenda. 0:23:38 Cr. Becker 166 Cr. Becker wanted this request to be on the table: the illumination of downtown street signs so that you can see one block away, and it helps traffic move. He heard that the ability to obtain power and egress is a limiting factor. 0:24:15 Mayor Krauss Mayor Krauss stated that the Council on the Blind wants an audible noise for the crosswalk countdown timers (for "WALK" or "DON'T WALK"). He thought it could be added to what needs to be bought for countdown timers. 0:24:58 Cr. Becker Cr. Becker asked for March 19's FYI to include a discussion of assigning alternates to City advisory boards that vote or have quorums. 0:25:58 Mr. Kukulski Mr. Kukulski stated that there have been serious problems with inconsistency when there was no direct relationship with the Planning Board and the City Commission. 0:26:17 Andy Epple, Planning Director Mr. Epple verified that it is a state law that a City Commissioner serve on the Planning Board. He thinks it is a great idea to appoint an alternate Commissioner (in case the original appointed Commissioner can't be there). 0:26:50 Mayor Krauss Mayor Krauss supported the idea of an alternative Commissioner. 0:26:55 Cr. Becker Cr. Becker stated that the informal of the Deaconess Project was presented to the Planning Board in phases, and the traffic and subdivision impacts will be major. 0:31:13 Mayor Krauss Mayor Krauss stated that phasing the Highland improvements along with the development makes sense, but the trick is scheduling, tying it exactly to Dept. of Transportation right-of-way, and how it will be paid for. He wants to know what he is waiving to build before he waives it. 0:32:24 Cr. Rupp Cr. Rupp asked what the transportation plan is here, and what he is being asked to move, waive, or reconsider. 0:32:32 Mayor Krauss Mayor Krauss stated that he wants to look at protecting Bozeman Creek and get that done quickly: the transfer of development rights out of Bozeman Creek and up to where they want to build the houses instead. He thinks it is worthwhile that the hospital is stepping up to solve it. 0:35:03 F. Policy Discussion 0:35:07 1. Consider the draft for the proposed Urban Mixed Use Zoning District (Saunders) 2 167 0:35:27 Chris Saunders, Assistant Planning Director Mr. Saunders presented the staff report about the proposed Urban Mixed Use Zoning District and asked the Commissioners if this implementation draft is consistent with where the Commissioners think the city should be going in its development. 0:46:48 Cr. Rupp Cr. Rupp asked Mr. Saunders about the applicability of this district and verified that 10 acres would be needed. For example, if someone wanted to do something downtown or redevelop North 7th, 10 acres would be required for this zoning district designation. 0:47:03 Mr. Saunders Mr. Saunders stated that enough people would have to come forward and say they want to be rezoned, or the Commission would have to make that choice. In the Zone Map Amendment, these standards have to be looked at. Any time a rezoning is done, the Planning Dept. has to look at "spot zoning"--something being given for the specific benefit of one or few individuals. Not all Zone Map Amendments are "spot zoning." If it satisfies all 12 criteria and is for the general benefit of the community overall, then it is not "spot zoning." 0:49:10 Mayor Krauss Mayor Krauss asked about rezoning the library site as mixed use (it's 14 acres). 0:49:21 Mr. Saunders Mr. Saunders suggested talking with the adjacent neighbors. If you can't get that many people to agree, you will probably end up with a successful protest against the zone change. If enough people come forward to say, "We want this," it will generally be because an applicant has worked with the surrounding neighborhood. That will be an important issue for the Commission. He also discussed the special parking and building standards for this new zoning district, as well as transparency, windows, and the friendliness of the pedestrian environment. 0:54:19 Mayor Krauss Mayor Krauss stated that one of the problems he has is losing park land. If you could do 70% high density residential, it seems to leave a loophole open. 0:55:07 Mr. Saunders Mr. Saunders stated that "K" (in the draft) assumes that the applicant/developer would not be getting a waiver for park land, although the nature of the park land will change. 0:56:38 Mayor Krauss Mayor Krauss stated that the 70% concerns him, and he wants to discuss it. 0:56:48 Mr. Saunders Mr. Saunders stated that what isn't in the draft is where it goes; that is a zone map amendment question because it has to do with the concept of the district as a whole. This draft is a specific ordinance, and it talks about just adding these pages. There will be subsequent important decisions to make. 3 168 0:58:14 Cr. Rupp Cr. Rupp says that the larger, overlapping issue for him is where do people see this happening in our community? He said that seems to be reactive; he would rather be proactive and say that he sees it here or there. 0:58:39 Mr. Saunders Mr. Saunders said the Commissioners received a recommendation when staff initially brought it through the public process to the Commissioners. The Planning Dept.’s recommendation in an ideal world is that it would be in one of these nodes: areas of high density, walkable, commercial activities to encourage people to have pedestrian and bicycle access to essential services. A mixed use zoning district could take some of the traffic load (to drive across town) and bring it to the local community. It works to have high density residential in close proximity to high density commercial. 1:00:56 Mayor Krauss Mayor Krauss referenced Cr. Kirchhoff's idea of hamlet-ization of Bozeman, to have multiple downtowns. He stated that not everyone can buy a house or afford to live downtown, and so if we want walkable communities, put other desirable downtowns around town where people can live around them. This hamlet-ization is a natural outgrowth of the desire to have clustered, high density, walkable areas. 1:01:53 Cr. Rupp Cr. Rupp stated that as he defines "hamlet," it does not have 80 feet tall buildings, especially if it is organized like the hamlet and village structure of the East Coast. 1:03:48 Cr. Rupp Cr. Rupp stated that when he came into this discussion it was more along the lines of where he would see mixed use zoning as a benefit and where he would like to see it happen in Bozeman--to offer alternatives for more dense developments and higher buildings to achieve walkability. He saw it going into existing districts--to allow, replace, or have an overlay so you could to choose to develop one or two ways. He looked at ways to enhance downtown so it can be applicable to the downtown area. 1:06:51 Mr. Saunders Mr. Saunders stated that it's the difference between the permissive option and the mandatory option: if you put this district on the map, it will happen in a more specified manner. You start here. 1:07:21 Mayor Krauss Mayor Krauss stated that Jacob's Crossing (3-4 stories high) seems better than the Bozeman Hotel. For him, the minimum size of 10 acres is big; he was thinking 4-5 blocks long is enough. 1:09:02 Mr. Saunders Mr. Saunders stated that 4 blocks is approximately 10 acres. 1:09:14 Mayor Krauss 4 169 Mayor Krauss said that if you think of the hamlet-ization idea, there could be little neighborhoods that people could identify with. The neighborhoods would be much more oriented around little hamlets than they are now. 1:10:12 Public Comment - Mike Delaney Mr. Delaney wanted the Commissioners to know that this proposal was made based on guidelines from the Urban Land Institute. Dan Burden (a Senior Urban Planner from Florida) has agreed to work with Mr. Delaney on implementing a mixed use district and designing the best possible resort mixed use district west of town. Mr. Delaney asked Dan Burden to review the mixed use language proposed by the Planning staff, and Mr. Burden thought it was an excellent draft and could be adopted as set. This is an inclusionary zoning type. Mr. Delaney quoted from Dan Burden's email. Mr. Delaney was pleased that the Planning staff would make this a pure zoning designation without recommendations as to where it would go (that would be a second step). 1:21:26 Mayor Krauss Mayor Krauss stated that #18 should be in there about land planning and building development; it goes along with our adoption of the Kyoto Protocol and green standards. Under the "Table of Commercial Uses," Mayor Krauss would include all things put there, but he is not as optimistic about some uses. He doesn't want to encourage resorts with this zoning designation; he wants to encourage hamlet-ization. 1:23:17 Mr. Delaney Mr. Delaney stated that the whole purpose of urban mixed use is creating an urban village; a piece of it could be enhanced resort quality. If it is done correctly, it could meet the needs of the public and of travelers coming to the Bozeman area. 1:23:59 Mayor Krauss Mayor Krauss stated that Bend, OR has many resorts outside of city limits, an interesting land use pattern. He stated that he's not sure encouraging resorts is what he wants to do. An urban neighborhood resort would be interesting. He said no to single story buildings because he wants mixed use even within buildings. He doesn't want the strip mall effect around a development. 1:27:11 Cr. Becker Cr. Becker asked about amending the language to read "encouraging enhanced recreation amenities such as . . ." He stated that people come to Bozeman because it is different than Milwaukee. Bozeman encourages skiing, fishing, etc. 1:27:58 Mayor Krauss Mayor Krauss stated that he is trying to design this for the city. Since not everyone can live next to downtown, so if Bozeman is going to branch out and have these little hamlets, possibly one of them could have a resort within it. The idea is that people who live and work here will be within a downtown-like setting 1:28:25 Cr. Rupp 5 170 Cr. Rupp stated that the height and diversity of so many places seem to be too much risk-taking for him. He says that he wants to contain the experiment to one hamlet or certain areas of the town so that 5,000 people aren't looking at ways to get around it. 1:29:26 Public Comment - Eric Nelson Mr. Nelson offered his support for the urban mixed use zoning district; he believes it is a terrific opportunity. As a member of the development community, he sees this as adding to the toolbox for private entities to move forward and realize the vision that the city has put forth. He stated that it is a very positive step to allow the creation of new downtowns and not limit it to Bozeman's historic downtown. He sees an opportunity for smaller communities that will be viewed positively even in 100 years. He stated that heights should be transitions since he has knee jerk reactions to buffers. Besides heavy industrial uses, he doesn't see any uses that are incompatible with residential. 1:32:37 Public Comment - Jerry Williams Mr. Williams, of Baxter Meadows Development, stated that he thinks it is great that the city is moving forward with this scenario. He and the Planning staff have struggled with how to develop Baxter Meadows and the Vita Urbana Site Plan. In the next few weeks, he will have a charrette with planners from Vancouver to design the town center, and he invited Commissioners and staff to attend. He reported on a recent Urban Land Institute meeting: not just a resort for resort people, but encouraging a higher quality resort atmosphere with good restaurants and shops. He said it is about bringing the level of the community up several notches. He hopes that Baxter Meadows would be part of being placed into this new zoning district. 1:35:54 Mr. Williams Mr. Williams stated that he is trying to prevent sprawl, and if buildings are designed right, height isn't an issue. He thinks that 2 stories should be a minimum. 1:37:32 Public Comment - Cynthia Jordan Delaney Ms. Delaney stated that in Seattle people have great pride in their neighborhood hamlets. Within 3- 5 minutes of her housing in Ballard, there were grocery stores, restaurants, a movie theater, and shops. Seattleites identify themselves as being a part of a neighborhood first. For creating a community identity, it's important to have needs met locally. The amount of community fairs, parades, and neighborhood cohesion in Seattle is striking. 1:38:45 G. FYI/Discussion 1:38:52 Chris Kukulski, City Manager Mr. Kukulski stated that with the exception of Cr. Rupp, the other Commissioners have expressed an interest in not having a big broad policy budget discussion prior to Anna Rosenberry, Mr. Kukulski, and the departments putting the budget together. If the Commission wants to have that policy discussion, he wants it to happen. 1:39:37 Cr. Rupp Cr. Rupp said that it is important to gather the information and offer any high priorities to the City Manager. Otherwise, it is possible to be ripped apart when the numbers come back, since an item hadn't been addressed yet. 6 171 1:40:00 Mayor Krauss Mayor Krauss stated that he thinks there are 2 or 3 things that the Commission needs to hash through as they give the City Manager direction for the budget. 1:40:10 Cr. Becker Cr. Becker stated that he wants to respond accurately to the public about the budget and the budgeting process, as well as know the projected vs. actual revenue in the manager's budget. In addition to looking at alternatives for paying down the library debt, he also wants to address the public safety mill levy and how that affects the budget. He wants to start communicating to the public now. 1:40:44 Mr. Kukulski Mr. Kukulski stated that the presentations were given by the department heads with no filter. Then, staff will work on how to craft the budget, along with receiving direction on the policy side from the Commissioners. Making assumptions of what a mill levy could do would be dangerous. 1:41:40 Cr. Rupp Cr. Rupp stated that he doesn't want to go through each department with an in-depth review of every item. He has 1-2 top issues and priorities from each presentation that he will ask about and wants to see. 1:42:08 Mayor Krauss Mayor Krauss stated that if the City is going to talk about assuming that $2.5 million dollar library shortfall, he wants a discussion of what that means (belt-tightening?), and there needs to be an agreement with the Library Board to have additional managerial oversight from the Commission. 1:47:49 [13:35:12] H. Adjournment ______________________________________ Jeffrey K. Krauss, Mayor ATTEST: ______________________________________ Brit Fontenot, City Clerk PREPARED BY: ______________________________________ Cynthia Jordan Delaney, Deputy City Clerk Approved on ___________________________. 7 172