City Council Minutes - 07/29/2008 - Fifth Tuesday FIFTH TUESDAY MINUTES -JULY 29, 2008
City of Tigard Public Works Building, 8777 SW Burnham St,Tigard OR
7:00 p.m.
Present: Mayor Dirksen, Councilors Buehner and Sherwood
Facilitator: Basil Christopher
Staff: Carol Krager
Citizens:Dave Noles,James C.Parsons
Issue 1 - Code Compliance- Home Occupation Permits (Cabinet Business)
Mr. Noles asked if HOP's receive periodic review by the City for compliance. He is
concerned that a neighbor may not be in compliance with his original HOP. He asked:
- Did Mr. Stitt receive a Type I or Type II HOP?
- Were neighbors within 500'supposed to be notified of his HOP?
- Can there be a checklist for staff to use at the time of a home occupation permit
application that requires verification of a valid business license?
- Is there a HOP annual fee and some review to ascertain whether a business
diversified during the year since the original HOP was received?
Council advised him that he could submit a request for any records related to a HOP and
suggested that he ask Permit Center staff about the types of HOP's and their requirements.
Mr.Noles expressed concerns about industrial activities in neighborhood yards and said he
would like the City Code expanded to include not only what is disallowed,but also a list of
approved home occupations. Mayor Dirksen agreed that this should be examined and that
some commercial activities don't belong in neighborhoods.
Issue 2 - Code Compliance- Home Occupation Update (Welding Business)
Mr. Noles asked about the status of another home occupation permit holder behind his
house. He noted that this property owner had been taken to court by the City but was not
given a compliance deadline. He said this property owner has not achieved compliance.
Mayor Dirksen said Mr. Noles could petition the court for action on the judgment. Council
said the Code Compliance Officer will be contacted to see what follow up is being done on
this property
Issue 3 — Other Code Enforcement Issues
Mr. Noles showed a photograph of a newly constructed garage that received Caty inspection,
yet an out-of-compliance shed was apparently not cited. He requested that City Inspectors
be required to look around a yard for other violations when inspecting a property.
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- Mayor Dirksen said he agreed and would ask Community Development about this.
Mr. Noles repeated his idea of requiring Tigard property sellers to bring everything up to
code prior to sale of their property. Councilor Sherwood said this was discussed with staff
who determined that since government is not aware of home sales until the deed is recorded
with the County it would be too late then. She said this was not feasible and may not be
legal.
Issue 4 - Status of Structures in Setback Compliance
Mr. Noles requested an update on the setback compliance progress. He presented Council
with photos taken recently of what appeared to him to be violations of the setback
requirements. He expressed frustration that he and several of his neighbors received
citations and were required to come into compliance,yet many structures remain.
- Council said Community Development staff will be asked for an update and
someone will get in touch with Mr.Noles.
Councilor Sherwood said she noted many structures were removed so the word got out to
people on this.Mr.Noles asked if Council's direction was to include side and back yards in
this compliance effort.
- Mayor Dirksen said the Code is not limited to the front yard. He said he will talk
to City Manager Prosser and Community Development Manager Coffee but to him
the front yard should be the focus.
Mayor Dirksen reiterated his support for complaint-driven code enforcement. He
acknowledged the backlog with having one compliance officer but said he preferred not to
have the City in everyone's backyard looking for violations.
Issue 5 - Hazardous Black Locust Tree near RR Tracks (Commercial St. &Hall Blvd)
Mr. Parsons brought in a bough he cut from a thorny tree overhanging the sidewalk near the
railroad tracks at Commercial and Hall. He said it is a hazard to pedestrians and cyclists and
is also causing the sidewalk to heave. He noted that this is a non-native species and asked if
the City could put it on a list for eradication.
- Facilitator Christopher said he will follow up with ODOT about removing this tree
and copy the City on any correspondence.
- Staff needs to confirm with Council and Mr. Parsons about what the law is regarding
someone (besides a property owner) removing brush or tree limbs extending into the
public right-of-way or into the neighboring property.
- Staff needs to confirm whether this tree species is on a list of unwanted species.
Council asked if this is part of the Tree Code.
- Other locations where this tree extends into bike/pedestrian lanes are on Hall Blvd.,
Garden Park and Fanno Creek Trail (on Tiedeman). Can Park staff be on the
lookout and remove when this is found on City property?
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Issue 6- Other Bike Issues:
a. Identify streets near bike path intersections
Mr. Parsons requested that the City install signs on the bike paths identifying the streets they
cross. He said this would be helpful in case of the need to report a location to police,etc.
b. Bike Lane Width on Hall Blvd.
Mr. Parsons asked why the bike lane width varies so much on Hall Blvd. between
Commercial and the Fanno Creek Bridge. He said it is only 18" in some places and changes
were made due to WES Construction. Council agreed that this is an ODOT issue.
Mayor Dirksen mentioned Council's proposal to decouple bike lanes from busy streets when
there are better and safer parallel streets. Mr.Parsons asked that Tigard not, "take anything
away from cyclists" and said he wants the ability to ride his bike down Highway 99W. He
said cyclists have a certain expectation of behavior for car drivers on busy streets that would
not be present on neighborhood streets.
c. Business Parking Lot Striping in Pedestrian Access on Hall/99W
Mr. Parsons said he was assaulted by the Tigard Auto Center business owner on Hall Blvd.
and 99W as he was photographing his parking area. He said auto repair customer vehicles
are parked in such a way that wheelchairs and bicycles are forced onto Pacific Highway. He
said his photographs of the incident are posted on flickr.com/photos/ufobike and would be
listed under SW Pacific Highway or SW Hall. He asked that the City ensure that curb stops
at this business do not allow cars to extend into the bicycle/pedestrian access.
Councilor Buehner suggested he file a police report on the assault and attempted biting.
d. Dangerous Storm Drain at McDonalds Restaurant on Main St.
Mr. Parsons said there was a storm drain that is hazardous to bicyclists because the metal
slats are too wide.
Mayor Dirksen said he thought the City had already retrofitted storm drains to make them
safer for bicyclists and pedestrians. Councilor Sherwood said this was on private property
and the owner may not have to do anything about it until they developed or made changes.
- Staff needs to check on whose responsibility this drain is.
- Can we add language in the Code about bike-friendly storm drains?
The meeting ended at 8:44 p.m.
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