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City Council Minutes - 07/12/2011 Agenda Item No. 3 • J Meeting of ' City of Tigard Tigard Business Meeting — Minutes TIGARD CITY COUNCIL MEETING DATE AND July 12,2011,2011 - 6:30 p.m. Study Session;7:30 p.m. Business TIME: Meeting MEETING LOCATION: City of Tigard-Town Hall- 13125 SW Hall Blvd.,Tigard, OR 97223 Mayor Dirksen called the study session to order at 6:30 p.m. STUDY SESSION Name Present Absent Mayor Dirksen ✓ Council President Buehner ✓ Councilor Henderson ✓ Councilor Wilson ✓ Councilor Woodard ✓ Staff Present: Assistant City Manager Newton,Public Works Director Koellermeier,Assistant Public Works Director Rager,Information Technology Manager Sears,Assistant Finance and IT Director Smith-Wagar,Community Development Director Bunch,City Attorney Ramis and City Recorder Wheatley A. Briefing on the Replacement of Computerized Maintenance Management System (CMMS) Software Assistant Public Works Director Rager presented the staff report. Council is being introduced to this topic because staff will be requesting,in the near future,approval of a formal contract to replace the city's computerized maintenance management system (CMMS) software. Assistant Public Works Director Rager reviewed background information,which is contained in the staff report. The CMMS is used for asset management of city infrastructure valued at about$1.5 billion. The current system, Hansen,has been used since the 1990's and needs to be replaced as it is outdated and the vendor will eventually discontinue support. Assistant Public Works Director Rager reviewed the benefits of a modern CMMS system. Staff is working TIGARD CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES-July 12, 2011 City of Tigard 1 13125 SW Hall Blvd.,Tigard,OR 97223 1 503-639-4171 1 www.tigard-or.gov I Page 1 of 21 toward better long-term asset management to track the right data so better data-driven decisions are made. Assistant Public Works Director Rager reviewed the process staff undertook to select new CMMS software. The project manager was Preston Beck from the city's information technology division. Other team members included staff from the finance division, engineering division and public works operations. Seven formal proposals were received by the city,which were evaluated by the project team. Assistant Public Works Director Rager reviewed the criteria used for evaluation along with the types of questions asked of the software vendors submitting proposals. Staff narrowed the contenders to three. Staff talked to cities using the software of the three finalists. Assistant Public Works Director Rager described the highlights of staff findings. The top vendor,identified by a unanimous decision of the project team,was MaintStar. Staff is now negotiating a final contract. Assistant Public Works Director Rager said he does not have a final number because estimates are still being completed for data conversion. The city has 20 years of data to be converted into the new system. To obtain a more precise estimate,the city staff decided to enter into a short contract with MaintStar costing$10,000 where the city will provide its data and MaintStar will evaluate whether adjustments will be needed for the data format followed by a more firm number regarding cost for the data conversion. Staff will return to the City Council with a formal contract for about$500,000. In response to a question from Council President Buehner about support for implementation,Assistant Public Works Director Rager advised staff is comfortable the support level will be sufficient. MaintStar,in checking with other cities that use the software,is well respected by its customers. He described the staff visit with Pleasanton, California,which has used MaintStar for 15 years and reported a very good experience. Pleasanton is comparable to the City of Tigard. At this time Tigard staff is clearly setting forth the scope of services. This is a fully developed system. While the system is customizable, for the most part it is ready to go without a lot of extra technical work. Councilor Henderson asked about the product's sustainability. Assistant Public Works Director Rager said the scope was to replace the city's current system. Tracking assets and planning for the future is the definition of a sustainable organization. Staff was looking for the system that would give us the best opportunity to monitor identified assets along with reporting and planning features required to make future decisions for determining timing for replacement or retrofit. The MaintStar system has an add-on feature that staff is interested in;it is called the work planning feature. This add-on would enable staff to plan work a year in advance for system maintenance. Staff does this now, but not formally,which is what they want to be able to do in the future for better planning and budgeting. A technician is able to run certain types of reports in the existing Hansen system. This technician will be trained to run the MaintStar system. TIGARD CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES-July 12, 2011 City of Tigard 1 13125 SW Hall Blvd.,Tigard,OR 97223 1 503-639-4171 1 www.tigard-or.gov I Page 2 of 21 Councilor Woodard asked about a workload balance module to determine whether certain maintenance activities can scheduled for the most cost effective frequency;i.e., monthly is not needed bi-monthly is acceptable. Assistant Public Works Director Rager said the work planning feature is designed to do what Councilor Woodard described, which will enable the department to allocate available resources effectively. Councilor Wilson asked about equipment replacement and whether these types of computerized systems reflect real-world conditions. Assistant Public Works Director Rager said staff is still learning about how to best go about asset management. His vision is for the city,as a whole,to go through a process to understand what is needed. There are nearby cities that have done some of this. He agreed with Councilor Wilson that there is a balance between replacement and doing things to prolong the life of the asset. The human judgment element is still needed and the computers are a tool to indicate what to expect; however, expectations can be exceeded. Public Works Director Koellermeier explained that we now produce a 150 percent list of what is believed to be needed for maintenance during a year. Staff then does a visual check and reduces the list to a 110 percent. There is a method of checks and balances. Councilor Woodard noted his support for these types of systems,which can be complicated but allow staff to establish priorities. Through the years,costs on these types of systems have significantly come down and the technology has increased. Assistant Public Works Director Rager described the maintenance package on the MaintStar. Mayor Dirksen asked if this system could be delayed for a year;that is,would the Hansen system be functional for another year? Assistant Public Works Director Rager said currently the funding is set up to pay for the MaintStar system over two years. After discussion,the consensus of council was that a transition to the MaintStar system should be a cost-effective action. Council President Buehner and Councilor Woodard had comments regarding the importance of maintaining the personal touch;that is,the system should be monitored on a daily basis to make adjustments and evaluate the data. Mayor Dirksen said he heard consensus at the table to move ahead with the program. This item will return to a future council consent agenda. B. Discuss Property Tax Deferral/Abatement within River Terrace Annexation Area and Community Plan Funding Methods Mayor Dirksen asked if the City Council was familiar this topic and the options for the tax deferral. Assistant City Manager Newton said staff has talked to City Council members individually. Community Development Director Bunch asked for council direction on whether to consider tax deferral/abatement and identify a means for funding the community plan for TIGARD CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES -July 12, 2011 City of Tigard 1 13125 SW Hall Blvd.,Tigard,OR 97223 1 503-639-4171 1 www.tigard-or.gov I Page 3 of 21 River Terrace (i.e., assessment of the property owners). If staff receives general direction, they can refine information and return to the City Council for consideration. Mr. Bunch said staffs perspective is that it is reasonable to defer or abate taxes because the amount of taxes from the area is currently small. We need to look at ways to assess the benefits that will accrue to property owners when they get the appropriate zoning,public facilities and transportation planning for the area. Mayor Dirksen commented that the good will the city would gain among the people who now live in the River Terrace area is worth many times what it will cost the city in delayed tax collection in the short term. He supported offering the deferral and leaving zoning as is until development takes place. Council President Buehner noted that development will more than make up for any initial loss of taxes. Community Development Director Bunch pointed out that with an entitlement for zoning and a commitment for providing services, the increase in land value is dramatic. Councilor Wilson said that the initial amount of property taxes would be small;he said his only concern would be of potential precedent setting for future annexations. Mayor Dirksen said we would make it clear that the precedent in this circumstance is for an undeveloped area. If large areas have already been developed at urban levels, there would be an immediate demand for urban services. Council President Buehner said Area 63 is basically in the same situation. City Attorney Ramis said that,historically, the city has used this authority judicially. The city has considered it in the past several times, but the use has been limited to when it could be shown to be beneficial to the city., A phase-in of taxes was used when the Washington Square area was annexed. A tax phase-in was not implemented at the time of the Walnut Island annexation.Assistant City Manager Newton said that at the time of annexation, the streets in the Walnut Island were in a condition not on par with most of the streets in the City of Tigard. The Walnut Island streets were assigned a high priority in the capital improvement program resulting in an immediate benefit to the area. Council President Buehner said she agrees with the deferral in general but asked if the property owners should at least pay a small amount. Mayor Dirksen said they would continue to pay property taxes at their current level. Council President Buehner pointed out that the special service district assessments would be charged to these property owners if they remained in the county (law enforcement,roads,and street lighting). Assistant City Manager Newton said staff looked at the services the city would provide initially;i.e.,police. The services will be fairly minor;therefore, staff's thinking was that if abatement would get us the connection to an assessment for the planning costs,it would probably be worth it. Mayor Dirksen said the argument supporting the abatement would be that the zoning and land use are not changing until development takes place, so there would not be a significant need for city services to warrant an increase. Community Development Director Bunch said staff would bring back options for City Council consideration. Deferral would be at the time the property owners either receive urban services,building permits, or the zoning is applied—some kind of trigger. Deferral means that they would pay back taxes and an assessment for community planning. TIGARD CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES -July 12, 2011 City of Tigard 1 13125 SW Hall Blvd.,Tigard,OR 97223 1 503-639-4171 1 www.tigard-or.gov I Page 4 of 21 Abatement would occur at the time the property is brought into the City of Tigard until the property is rezoned and then city taxes would become payable. Mayor Dirksen said he would prefer abatement. Council President Buehner said PGE has developed its property and asked if they would qualify. Assistant Finance and IT Director Smith-Wagar said they are already paying at the fully developed rate at the county. Most of the property is in farm deferral. Councilor Wilson commented that if the property is in farm deferral,perhaps the city should consider the deferral option rather than abatement. Community Development Director Bunch said staff would bring both the abatement and deferral options to City Council so for an analysis of pros and cons. City Council will also be asked to determine how best to have the property owners pay for their fair share of the community planning. Assistant City Manager Newton pointed out that if the annexation is approved as scheduled,no taxes would be payable to the city until November 2012. > City Council went into Executive Session at this time: EXECUTIVE SESSION: The Tigard City Council went into Executive Session at 7:06 p.m. to discuss current and pending litigation with legal counsel under ORS 192.660(2)(h). Executive session concluded at 7:14 p.m. C. Discuss Council Meals and Select Option After discussion,the Council consensus appeared to be that the City Council members who ate a meal before a City Council meeting would have an amount deducted from their stipend to cover the average cost of the meal. Assistant City Manager Newton said she would return with what this would cost. D. Discuss Interim City Manager Agreement—Discussion on this item took place after the business meeting. (See below.) E. Administrative Items—Assistant City Manager Newton reviewed the following items with the City Council members: • Invitation for a ride-along from Tualatin Valley Fire&Rescue Battalion Chief Leonard Damian. • Rail-Volution 2011 Conference Registration is now open. City Council members received an email announcing the Washington DC conference,which will be held Sunday, October 16 -Wednesday, October 19,2011. TIGARD CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES -July 12, 2011 City of Tigard 1 13125 SW Hall Blvd.,Tigard,OR 97223 1 503-639-4171 1 www.tigard-or.gov I Page 5 of 21 • Council Calendar: o July 19 6:30 p.m. Workshop Meeting o July 26 6:30 p.m. Business Meeting o August 9 6:30 p.m. Business Meeting o August 16 -- Workshop Meeting Cancelled o August 23 6:30 p.m. Business Meeting Study Session concluded at 7:29 p.m. 1. BUSINESS MEETING-TIGARD CITY COUNCIL-JULY 12, 2011 A. Call to Order: Mayor Dirksen called the meeting to order at 7:34 p.m. B. Roll Call: Name Present Absent Mayor Dirksen ✓ Council President Buehner ✓ Councilor Henderson ✓ Councilor Wilson ✓ Councilor Woodard ✓ C. Pledge of Allegiance D. Council Communications&Liaison Reports: None E. Call to Council and Staff for Non-Agenda Items 2. CITIZEN COMMUNICATION A. Follow-up to Previous Citizen Communication. None B. Tigard Area Chamber of Commerce-Executive Director Debi Mollahan Ms. Mollahan updated the City Council on activities at the Chamber. Highlights of her report are on file with the packet information. C. Citizen Communication—Sign Up Sheet 19 Chris Garsteck, 11774 SW 125 'Court,Tigard,Oregon 97223,volunteer with Tigard dog parks, spoke to the City Council about dog parks. She thanked the City Council for its support with the dog parks. She read comments from dog park users expressing appreciation for the expanded hours at Potso Dog Park. TIGARD CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES -July 12, 2011 City of Tigard 1 13125 SW Hall Blvd.,Tigard,OR 97223 1 503-639-4171 1 www.tigard-or.gov I Page 6 of 21 She thanked the parks division for their work in the dog parks. She announced Dog Days of Tigard at Potso Park on July 16. Ms. Garstek referenced a list of questions for which she is expecting answers from Parks Facilities Manager Martin. Councilor Wilson acknowledged Ms. Garstek and the support of dog park users. He noted that some of the projects related to the dog parks were the result of the park bond approved by voters. 12 Mayor Dirksen reviewed the Consent Agenda: 3. CONSENT AGENDA: (Tigard City Council) A. Receive and File: 1. Council Calendar 2. Tentative Agenda Motion by Councilor Wilson,seconded by Council President Buehner to approve the Consent Agenda. The motion was approved by a unanimous vote of City Council present. Mayor Dirksen Yes Council President Buehner Yes Councilor Henderson Yes Councilor Wilson Yes Councilor Woodard Yes 4. QUASI-JUDICIAL PUBLIC HEARING- COMPREHENSIVE PLAN AMENDMENT, SENSITIVE LANDS REVIEWS AND ADJUSTMENT TO EXTEND WALL STREET TO FIELDS'PROPERTY Mayor Dirksen announced the hearing will be continued to September 13,2011. COMPREHENSIVE PLAN AMENDMENT (CPA) 2009-00004/SENSITIVE LANDS REVIEW (SLR) 2009-00004/SENSITIVE LANDS REVIEW (SLR) 2009- 00005/ADJUSTMENT (VAR) 2010-00002-WALL STREET EXTENSION (FIELDS) TIGARD CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES -July 12, 2011 City of Tigard 1 13125 SW Hall Blvd.,Tigard,OR 97223 1 503-639-4171 1 www.tigard-or.gov I Page 7 of 21 8 5. UPDATE ON TIGARD TRIANGLE DISTRICT PLAN Assistant Community Development Director Hartnett introduced this agenda item. Staff is working with the Planning Commission on the Council Goal to make substantial progress on the Tigard Triangle Master Plan. Ms. Hartnett introduced Marcy McInelly,architect and president of Urbsworks. Ms. McInelly is also a member of the consultant team working with Senior Transportation Planner Gray and other staff members on the High Capacity Transit Land Use Plan. Ms. Hartnett also introduced Matt Brown,a planner and real estate developer who is a member of a consultant team working with the Planning Commission on its upcoming Tigard Triangle visioning activity. Ms. Hartnett said this evening the City Council would receive an overview of the planning activities on Council Goal 1A,which is to implement the Comprehensive Plan by making progress on the Tigard Triangle Master Plan. The Community Development Department's workplan to address the goal focuses on a number of activities associated with other projects;i.e., the High Capacity Transit (HCT)Land Use Plan, the Transportation Planning Rule, and working on an infrastructure funding mechanism. Ms. Hartnett described an upcoming visioning activity with the Planning Commission for later this summer or in the fall. The outcome will help define and refine a work scope and schedule for the Master Plan. 18 The HCT project is well underway. In late May, design workshops were conducted and produced alternative land use approaches for seven potential station areas. This work served to kick off staff's work with the Planning Commission. On June 6, the Planning Commission held a mini-workshop,looking at the land use alternatives specifically pertaining to the Tigard Triangle station locations. The Planning Commission discussed how to prepare to move into the next stage of the visioning activity. H Ms. Hartnett advised that Councilor Woodard,in his role as the liaison to the Planning Commission attended the mini-workshop meeting and asked staff to provide an overview of the event for the City Council,which is the presentation this evening. I The goals for the Planning Commission workshop were threefold: 1. Provide a detailed presentation that covered the station location selection process. 2. Review the land use typology and how it was used to develop alternatives. 3. Discuss in detail,the three alternatives developed for the Tigard Triangle. TIGARD CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES -July 12, 2011 City of Tigard 1 13125 SW Hall Blvd.,Tigard,OR 97223 1 503-639-4171 1 www.tigard-or.gov I Page 8 of 21 The Planning Commission then engaged in a discussion with each other and the consultant team members to evaluate the three alternatives and determine preferences. The Planning Commission discussed the kinds of outcomes they expected from the visioning activity. NFor the small group discussion on alternatives, staff asked the Planning Comtission to focus on three questions: 1. What feels"about right" or is a"good fit" for the Tigard Triangle? 2. What feels like it might be a"bit too much" or is likely to"scare" the community? 3. Are there missed opportunities or pitfalls to be aware of? Ms. Hartnett said that after the presentation by Ms. McInelly,Mr. Brown will talk to the City Council of the desired outcomes for the Tigard Triangle visioning activity. HConsultant Marcy McInelly reviewed a PowerPoint presentation highlighting some of the information reviewed by the Planning Commission. This presentation,HCT Land use Plan Locations and Typologies,is on file with the meeting packet material. City Council discussion followed Ms. McInelly's presentation: • 0 The floor area ratio (FAR) of 1 seemed low to Councilor Wilson. He said he would like to see the density more focused and go closer to the stations. • ® Council President Buehner advised she was somewhat disappointed. Tigard made a commitment to take a tremendous amount of density between downtown and the Triangle. She agreed with Councilor Wilson that there is a need for higher FAR and focus on tall buildings. The city's population is aging and we need to provide tight circles around wherever the stations are located. It will be important to come up with station sites very soon so we can develop high-density land uses around them. She expressed doubt that the exercise accomplished anything. • GJ Mayor Dirksen said he,Council President Buehner and Councilor Wilson have been thinking about the Triangle area for a long time and are probably farther along with the vision than anyone else. What was shown to the City Council tonight was tailored more to the initial steps for people who have not thought much about this yet. He had more specificity in mind. • H Council President Buehner said the city made a commitment to Metro as the basis upon which we established our recommendations for the urban growth areas. This was a discussion held two years ago. While she can understand needing to take"baby steps," the city has had many meetings with the public. She said, "We need to move on more quickly,because the timing is very tight to get done what we need to get done." • G-:1 Mayor Dirksen said he was unsure whether effort would be made to capture the work recently done to translate to density and development. Assistant Community Development Director Hartnett said this presentation was a snapshot in time,which at TIGARD CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES —July 12, 2011 City of Tigard 1 13125 SW Hall Blvd.,Tigard,OR 97223 1 503-639-4171 1 www.tigard-or.gov I Page 9 of 21 this point is almost two months old. In the meantime, the HCT project is moving ahead. The consultant has just completed their preliminary analysis of the Tigard Triangle alternatives and the other locations. Assistant Community Development Director Hartnett said Senior Transportation Planner Gray would be presenting additional information to the City Council on the HCT project at an upcoming meeting. She said it is important the City Council and community continue to hold dialogue on these projects;it was helpful for the Planning Commission to look at the Triangle at a high level of detail. • Councilor Woodard commented about the Planning Commission activity and acknowledged there were City Council members who had been involved for much longer than he has. He said it was interesting to see by the end of the discussions how different teams responded to the exercises. He said it appears that there needs to be some type of mix to be able to develop more densely. Councilor Woodard reported that there was discussion on high capacity transit alignment;however, there was uncertainty about its location. There was consideration of potential mixed uses when contemplating community stations. From a rudimentary aspect, he said these activities were useful for engaging in discussion and identifying direction. Consultant Matt Brown said his firm's charge was to help the Planning Commission and staff through a visioning exercise on the Triangle later this summer/early fall. His firm was involved in the HCT workshops and the Planning Commission workshop. He reviewed highlights of the discussion held July 6: • Exercise facilitated an energetic discussion. • Recognition that there is great potential for the Triangle. • Identified common themes that were heading in the right direction: o Commercial and office located in the southern and eastern portion of the Triangle are uses that could and should continue. 0 72nd Avenue as a north/south connection could be an important organizing element. o The whole area should not be dedicated to office and commercial. The goal for the area is for it to be active for 18 hours a day, so other uses are required to create this type of atmosphere. o Connections are critical. Exercise participants tended to want to talk about where transit would be placed because of the importance for future success of the Triangle. o Participants looked at connections to the north,across Pacific Highway and to the west into the downtown (Highway 217). These were identified as critical to the Triangle's success. Connecting the Triangle area to the downtown to create synergy between these two areas was seen as important. o Participants discussed balance; that is,how do you create or build upon an open space network through this area. There are some natural resources in the area that are worth preserving and building upon as well as the notion of creating open space connections through the area. TIGARD CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES -July 12, 2011 City of Tigard 1 13125 SW Hall Blvd.,Tigard,OR 97223 1 503-639-4171 1 www.tigard-or.gov I Page 10 of 21 o One of the groups identified open space as a factor and began to suggest a comprehensive open space network. • Challenges identified by the participants: o Transportation access was at the top of the list. While on paper it appears that the area has great access,the reality is that it is highly constrained. o Constraints include the Transportation Planning Rule as it affects planning for increased density in the area. o Participants considered feasibility of pushing the density north of Pacific Highway into established neighborhoods and acknowledged this would represent a challenge. Therefore, consideration must be given to how increased densities would be received by existing neighborhoods and what kind of process would be needed. o Difficult market conditions exist now. Participants considered what that means for how this area is planned,i.e.,what are the short-and long-term opportunities. o There is a lot of information that is needed to proceed with a comprehensive, informed effort in this area. Some of the information is available, some is not. • Desired outcomes of the visioning exercise included: o At a high level, explore the possibilities for the area—economic development, regional transit/transportation, creating the next great neighborhood. o Develop a vision or the guiding principles for the area,which will be critical for focusing the effort. o Explore the connections from the Triangle to the downtown and adjacent neighborhoods. o Finding the right balance in the area;i.e.,balance of the uses;between the built and natural environment;local access;and regional mobility. Mr. Brown said it would be helpful, as part of tonight's council discussion tonight, for council members to share their ideas or outcomes that the Planning Commission should consider. Assistant Community Development Director Hartnett reiterated that staff and the consultants will begin putting together the visioning exercise. The HCT preliminary analysis is done,but this visioning process should wait until there is more work ready to be used as part of the information provided to the Planning Commission. Council discussion included: • Councilor Woodard said he was interested in the transition from the downtown to the Triangle. He said he did not know how this connectivity would occur;however,it is something of interest and would be important for increased density. • Councilor Wilson said it sounds as if the Planning Commission and the Council are "on the same page." He participated in the HCT workshop at the time the typologies were discussed. He explained he was taken aback with tonight's presentation because he thought that one of the typologies would be selected rather than mixing in all of them. There will be a limited number of stations,the area already has a certain character and a particular market demand. Councilor Wilson said we have to recognize that there will TIGARD CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES -July 12, 2011 City of Tigard 1 13125 SW Hall Blvd.,Tigard,OR 97223 1 503-639-4171 1 www.tigard-or.gov I Page 11 of 21 only be so much demand for neighborhoods like Hawthorne,Bridgeport Village, etc. He said he thought much of the Triangle would have to stay similar to what it is now simply because there is a demand for big-box stores that can be repurposed for a variety of businesses. His inclination is to let part of the Triangle remain as is. Some of the more interesting areas might become much denser and focused rather than allowing it to be developed on a first-come basis. His vision is to have compact density around the stations. • Councilor Wilson said he envisioned one of the connections would come to forefront because there are three million square-feet of office space across the freeway on Kruse Way and there are two million square-feet of office space already in the Triangle (for the most part between I-5 and 72nd Avenue). It is difficult to travel between these two areas, requiring travel on a congested 72nd Avenue to briefly connect to the freeway,and then crossing over lanes of traffic to connect to Kruse Way. It would be very useful if 68th, which turns into a park way to the east and dead-ends at I-5,could cross I-5 and connect with a flyover to the dead-end at Meadows Street. Councilor Wilson suggested there could be a couple of stations in the area with TriMet providing bus service to these office spaces along with bicycle and pedestrian traffic. It would make sense to open up the Triangle while at the same time providing access to the interchange from the other side. • Council President Buehner said her thoughts were similar to Councilor Wilson's. She referred to a comment about the area possibly developing into mini-Pearl district around the transit center,with tall buildings up to 15 stories so there would be a lot of residential density close to transit and somehow get a flyover. In terms of getting the connection to downtown,it might require a flyover from the Triangle because Pacific Highway cannot be widened effectively. In addition to employment and retail, the Planning Commission needs to consider how many residences are required for the area. • Mayor Dirksen said Council President Buehner makes a good point insofar as when doing a visioning exercise,it is important to understand the capacity that will be required and how it will be distributed—if not in the Triangle, then in existing Tigard neighborhoods. • Mayor Dirksen said in looking at the alternatives,he was pleased and struck by the amount of time that was spent considering connectivity and the street layout. He said Councilor Wilson's idea of providing a direct connection to the Lake Oswego side is something he had not considered,but it makes sense. He liked the commonality of linking to Tigard's downtown across 217,which he thinks will be a necessity. In looking at the Triangle, the Mayor said we are going to need to consider whether it would be primarily,if not completely, either commercial or mixed use,with little or no single- family residential neighborhood. Tigard has considerable single-family housing stock in the existing city and as we look forward to the future and the capacity demand,if we are going to maintain the existing neighborhoods, then we will need to find greater density elsewhere.The Triangle offers this opportunity. He noted it looks, from review of the proposed alternatives, that greater density was considered,but it appears as if the solution was to expand with infill development in a large, existing neighborhood. The human and political impact might not have been taken into account. It would be much easier to place density into a new area. TIGARD CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES -July 12, 2011 City of Tigard 1 13125 SW Hall Blvd.,Tigard,OR 97223 1 503-639-4171 1 www.tigard-or.gov I Page 12 of 21 • Councilor Woodard reported there was another option considered,which was accessing Lake Oswego from Pacific Highway. Assistant Community Development Director Hartnett said notes from the meeting will be reviewed to include this option for further review. • Council President Buehner commented that the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT), some years ago,closed a lot of the back roads off of Pacific Highway. These roads made it possible to avoid Pacific Highway when traveling through the area. She said we should make sure when going through this visioning process to keep the thought in mind that the city might want to reopen some of these closed roads. • Councilor Henderson inquired about topography when considering placing residential uses within an area and whether it made a difference if the area was hilly or flat. Mr. Brown said it depends on the use and the density. He said he is working on projects now where the topography is a huge advantage when considering multi-story projects with structured parking. The advantage is to use the topography to "tuck the parking"in a fairly efficient way. If you are smart about how you plan the area,you can make use of the topography to provide an economic advantage to the development. Assistant Community Development Director Hartnett said there is also the opportunity to take advantage of views. H 6. DISCUSS URBAN FOREST PROGRAM Associate Planner/Arborist Prager presented the staff report. He said the discussion tonight will be in two parts. Part 1 —Staff requests the City Council provide direction on developing strategies for the long- term,big-picture urban forestry program. Part 2—Staff requests the City Council provide direction on a list of tree-planting projects for this fiscal year. Part 1 — Strategies for the Program--Associate Planner/Arborist Prager gave some background information: • In December 2010, City Council directed staff and the Tree.Board to develop a proposal for a sustainable tree and urban forest enhancement program. Work on this is in the early stages. The Tree Board has generally identified that the Urban Forest Program consist of five main components: 1. Planting 2. Preservation 3. Maintenance 4. Education/Outreach 5. Planning/Enforcement TIGARD CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES-July 12, 2011 City of Tigard 1 13125 SW Hall Blvd.,Tigard,OR 97223 1 503-639-4171 1 www.tigard-or.gov I Page 13 of 21 • Tree planting efforts have focused on public properties. The emerging desire is to expand the tree planting projects onto private property for willing property owners—more private/public partnerships. • Regulatory efforts have been the main focus for preserving trees and tree groves. The emerging direction is for preservation to occur through financial incentives and more flexible development standards. • Tree maintenance has not received funding for any long-term tree or urban forest maintenance. There is an emerging desire to have some funding focused on some higher profile roads, along the city's collector and arterial roadways. • The city currently has a robust program for education/outreach. The direction is to continue the city's education/outreach efforts, but have the Tree Board directly involved in the outreach to the community about urban forestry. • For planning/enforcement,there has been limited information for making good planning decisions. The direction is to develop more organized, complete information on the urban forest so good planning and management decisions are made. Enforcement has been inconsistent in the past as it was administered through two departments and a variety of code provisions. With the code revision project,there will be an effort to consolidate the provisions and have the enforcement be the responsibility of one department. • Councilor Wilson said Associate Planner/Arborist Prager's assessment is in line with previous City Council direction. He said he did not believe the council members were asking for a change in the direction. Councilor Wilson said he is interested in specific projects. Part 2—Council direction on projects for this fiscal year. Associate Planner/Arborist Prager gave the following background: • In June, staff presented to City Council a list of tree planting projects for this year's capital improvement program. • Council decided to delay adopting the full list of projects until there was a more detailed discussion regarding how the projects fit into the bigger-picture/goals. • The current trend and the proposed projects continued the momentum of planting in the more visible parts of the urban forest;i.e., along streets,highways and public schools. Planting efforts in the past were focused on city property in natural areas that were less visible. • Staff recognizes that City Council and the Tree Board are interested in expanding planting efforts on private property and having more public/private partnerships. Staff recommends going that direction once the urban forestry code revisions project is complete. The proposed list of projects does not contain any public/private partnerships because no parameters for such a program have been developed. Council discussion followed: • Mayor Dirksen said he agrees with Councilor Wilson regarding Part 1 for the long-term,big- picture urban forestry program insofar as the staff has articulated City Council's position very well. With regard to the replacement projects,Mayor Dirksen said that in his opinion TIGARD CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES -July 12, 2011 City of Tigard 1 13125 SW Hall Blvd.,Tigard,OR 97223 1 503-639-4171 1 www.tigard-or.gov I Page 14 of 21 there is a glaring omission—addressing large commercial parking lots to replace tree canopy. He referred to the staff attachment (June 17,2011 memorandum) submitted in the council packet. The first three projects should go forward;however,he would not limit the partnership to just Tigard High School and suggested working on the Tigard school district properties in general for tree canopy replacement/enhancement. • Mayor Dirksen said a higher priority for tree planting in medians or on state highway facilities,would be to address commercial parking lots. Progress might be difficult,noting that the city would need to acquire property owners' buy-in and this will take time. Tree- planting in rights of way can be accomplished while we are waiting for other things to move forward. Focus is needed on the difficult project of replacing the tree canopy on private properties such as the commercial parking lots. He suggested considering code language to allow some variance so replacement of landscaping in areas that have failed would also be enhanced and could result in loss of parking spaces. Reconsideration of parking requirements and latitude in the code (city initiated)might be advisable. • Councilor Wilson commented that many places have more parking than what is needed; however,businesses are reluctant to give up parking spaces. This would require the city to work with people on this concept. • Council President Buehner agreed with the comments on parking lots. She said we also need to look at the types of trees planted in parking lots. Many parking lots have trees that have not grown substantially since being planted more than ten years ago—either because of the type of tree or improper soil preparation. • Councilor Wilson submitted that an even bigger picture could be considered. Rather than focus only on the urban"forest," to think more like an"urban naturalist";that is,part landscape architect/designer but also "wear the hat of a local resident." Councilor Wilson noted the value of appreciating green open space. He referred to the list of proposed projects including the Tigard High School parking lot,which pre-dates the current landscaping code provisions. There are only a few trees and this would be an easier project to approach since it is owned by a government agency. On the opposite end of the scale is the 217/Pacific Highway loop,and from his perspective, those big greenspaces can have a certain picturesque value as they now exist—to see the seasons expressed. He suggested rather than plant trees, consider planting a wheat field at this location—making it both useful and picturesque. • Councilor Wilson commented about his recent thoughts when driving south through the valley when he noted how beautiful the Willamette Valley is. This caused him to wonder about the tree canopy density for the Willamette Valley. He referred to "Amercianforest.org" and a study,"Regional Eco System Analysis for the Willamette Lower Columbia Region..." He quoted that the Willamette Valley currently has 24 percent canopy cover—the City of Tigard has 25 percent,which is more canopy than the farmland. He said he thinks it is important to see the sun and he disagrees with the concept for a 40 percent canopy cover. Councilor Wilson said he would like the city to concentrate on the areas of Tigard that are unattractive because they are devoid of trees. He acknowledged these areas are the "tough" ones since it is easier to plant trees year after year on land we already own. He referred to one commercial area that has a good number of trees and the property owner wants to remove some of the trees because people cannot see the business. Councilor Wilson questioned whether the quality of tenants at a business might be more important. It TIGARD CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES -July 12, 2011 City of Tigard 1 13125 SW Hall Blvd.,Tigard,OR 97223 1 503-639-4171 1 www.tigard-or.gov I Page 15 of 21 will be a lot of work to convince property owners to plant trees because of visibility arguments. He said he would like to see the city do that work. A long-term project might be to place trees behind a building so eventually they grow to be visible on the property. He suggested there might be other ways to work with owners that do not harm their business and,over the longer run,are helpful. • Councilor Wilson said that some things are best viewed with a perspective;i.e., a foreground. (Hence, the saying"...can't seethe forest for the trees.") If properties are walled off with trees,it is difficult to appreciate their beauty. He suggested using a designer's eye to make aesthetic decisions about the best places for plantings—with open space in front and tree groves in the background. He urged the city to do its work in a carefully crafted way. • Council President Buehner asked if Councilor Wilson would consider this an opportunity to consider community garden projects for some of the open space areas. Councilor Wilson said this might be a different issue because the fund can only be used for certain things. He said he would not oppose this idea and said he believes we are doing some of these types of projects. He pointed out the city now has a sum of money greater than we have ever had and he does not want for us to "blow it." Some of the plans for planting seemed to be randomly selected and he advocated for more care. For example,along Durham Road there is a band of right of way that could use some beautification. While there are trees along this road,they are located on the west end. If a design is created using these same types of trees all along Durham Road,there is an opportunity to present a strong visual impact if a consistent,unifying idea is implemented. • Councilor Wilson said that the city conducted a survey where most people said the amount of canopy is acceptable. There are certain places that are glaringly lacking because they are difficult to address. • Mayor Dirksen disagreed with Councilor Wilson regarding the adequacy of the canopy density. The percentage needs to be higher than what we have;however,he appreciated Councilor Wilson's comments that just blanketing an area with trees will not accomplish what we want. For example, covering the area at 217/Pacific Highway would not be as good as leaving it largely open with a few copses of trees as accents to offset the open space—and it would look more natural. • Councilor Wilson said there are many types of biomes and all are important. People appreciate the variety in nature—meadows,woodlands,plains,prairies and wetlands. It is important to bring all of these into the city. A variety of biomes have ecological benefits in an urban area. For example,wetlands sequester more carbon than any other biome type. He said that grasslands are higher,in terms of carbon sequestration, than temperate forests. Associate Planner/Arborist Prager responded to the City Council discussion and noted frustration with restrictions allowing only for tree plantings. He said some of the projects might look awkward when finished—they look like something is missing. Sometimes it is tempting to plant more trees to fill empty spaces and if staff had a complete palette of choices, they could fund plantings of grasses, flowers, shrubs and ground cover creating multiple layers and greater aesthetics. He said he would pass along the comments from the City Council and work with the landscape architect for project design, taking these other perspectives into account. TIGARD CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES -July 12, 2011 City of Tigard 1 13125 SW Hall Blvd.,Tigard,OR 97223 1 503-639-4171 1 www.tigard-or.gov I Page 16 of 21 Associate Planner/Arborist Prager referenced parking lots. One possibility might be for a program similar to the facade grant program. Flexibility in parking standards is part of the discussion draft currently being developed as is creating a list of appropriate parking lot trees and guidelines for planting conditions. 10 Council President Buehner asked Associate Planner/Arborist Prager for an update,in the near future, on the hazardous tree section of the code 8 Councilor Wilson asked Associate Planner/Arborist Prager whether he had had experience transplanting a really large tree, 18-24" caliper,noting the potential for an immediate impact. Mayor Dirksen and Council President Buehner referred to large tree transplanting projects they were aware of and the cost was tremendous --$50,000. Councilor Wilson said he asked only because he would like for all possibilities to be considered. IRCouncilor Henderson asked about situations requiring the city to work with Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT). Associate Planner/Arborist Prager noted while it has been frustrating to work with ODOT in the past, they are starting to move toward being open to planting in ODOT rights of way. The institutional history is to prescribe that trees next to highways are unsafe. Associate Planner/Arborist Prager said there has been recent research to show this might not necessarily be true for trees can induce slower traffic and help drivers gauge their speed. One of the challenges is that ODOT does not have a clear process for permit approval,in his experience. Multiple players review plans, creating a number of redesigns. Original proposals for Pacific Highway areas are now completely different because of the number of iterations caused by various ODOT requirements. 18 Councilor Henderson asked if the staff message is that it is not worth the city's time to try to work with ODOT. Associate Planner/Arborist Prager referred to the advantage of the recent work by the City Council to establish relationship principles for a clear framework of understanding to work with them on projects. Doing the work on the principles would be more important than moving ahead with specific projects at this time. The projects are on the list and should there be some breakthrough, we could move on them. Mayor Dirksen commented on the good amount of progress the city has made with ODOT over the last five years;however, more effort in this area is needed. 19 Associate Planner/Arborist Prager referred to the canopy comments made earlier this evening. He said staff might have highlighted the canopy aspect of the program a little too much;he pointed out that this is an easy concept for people to understand over some of the other aspects of plantings and urban forestry. He said most of the existing neighborhoods provide the amount of canopy adequate for what we are seeking in our community. The larger increases in canopy citywide would be in parking lots and commercial areas and this would greatly contribute to achieving the goal as outlined in the master plan. TIGARD CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES -July 12, 2011 City of Tigard 1 13125 SW Hall Blvd.,Tigard,OR 97223 503-639-4171 1 www.tigard-or.gov I Page 17 of 21 1 City Attorney Ramis commented on the regulatory side concerning parking lots and landscaping compliance. He said in our area there are essentially two paradigms for achievement: 1. Voluntary—communities encourage existing parking lot owners to do something (those that were built before modern landscape standards). Success has not been great. 2. Portland's approach—.requires upgrades of parking lots and landscaping when certain tenant improvements are proposed at a certain expenditure level. The objection of the property owners is that the entirety of the expense is on the property owner, so it might not be worth it for a property owner to change tenants if they lose parking spaces and are required to upgrade the parking lot. City Attorney Ramis said one could envision some middle ground alternatives such as the grant program mentioned or a hybrid that involves something similar to the Portland approach combined with a grant program. Mayor Dirksen said he could picture a situation where the city would approach the property owner saying the city would like to redo the parking lot landscape. Assistant Community Development Director Hartnett said in the recently approved budget, there is money available in the Community Development Department to hire a consultant to work on the non-conforming situations chapter and this is where the trigger for parking lot landscaping is located in the Portland code. She said she was hoping for an opportunity to review and discuss this with the City Council. Assistant Community Development Director Hartnett requested council direction on the projects in the proposed list for this fiscal year. Council response included: • Mayor Dirksen said,if we are going to shift gears and reevaluate priorities, then he would support a year's hiatus on the project list. • Councilor Wilson noted he would prefer to wait as suggested by Mayor Dirksen. Assistant Community Development Director Hartnett said the only problem she could see would be the loss of momentum with ODOT. She said there was one project in particular where the city is working to bring CWS and ODOT together to do tree plantings and create a storm water swale along Pacific Highway. This project is identified as the "Pacific Highway Median from Durham to Bull Mountain Road." Councilor Wilson said he would not want to jeopardize developing relationships and said he would be inclined to agree to move ahead on this project. Mayor Dirksen agreed. Councilor Wilson added that he preferred for the city to have an opportunity to develop its own vision and having our own vision is helpful when working with other agencies. ElCouncil President Buehner said she was hearing the consensus from the City Council discussion was that if the"Pacific Highway Median from Durham to Bull Mountain Road" project gels,then the City Council authorizes staff to move ahead. Council also agreed with the TIGARD CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES-July 12, 2011 City of Tigard 1 13125 SW Hall Blvd.,Tigard,OR 97223 1 503-639-4171 1 www.tigard-or.gov I Page 18 of 21 Tigard High School Project. Assistant Community Development Director Hartnett said staff could add the proviso that if the planting palette needed to be broadened, staff would bring to the City Council a resolution authorizing staff to do this using the tree replacement fund. Staff will bring back a list of those projects agreed upon by the City Council for final approval on a future Consent Agenda. HAssociate Planner/Arborist Prager asked for clarification on the annual free street-tree program. Consensus was that staff could proceed. Mayor Dirksen said the whole idea of street tree plantings along major city streets is a good idea. 19 Council President Buehner asked about instances where property owners have trees planted that are too close;i.e.,perhaps intended as Christmas trees at one time. Some might be dangerous. It might now be difficult for a homeowner to bear the cost of clearing these. She asked if the City Council might want to consider incentives for this type of situation. H 7. COUNCIL LIAISON REPORTS IRCouncilor Woodard said he attended the Park and Recreation Advisory Board meeting yesterday. He presented a recreation steering committee formation/visualization concept stemming from Comprehensive Plan Goal 8.3,Policies 1 and 2. Policy 1 states the city shall endeavor to establish a comprehensive recreation program. The city shall identify funding to provide a broad range of recreational opportunities. The PRAB has formed into two groups. Recreation programs and planning have been a continuous effort. The board was excited that the work on the budget is done and they have completed a prioritized list of potential park acquisitions. During the joint City Council/PRAB meeting,there will be time for discussions about what type of committee could be formed to start discussions regarding a comprehensive recreation program. Councilor Woodard said there was overwhelming consensus by the PRAB to proceed and then present their recommendations to the City Council. CSI Tigard's recreation program is extensive per Councilor Woodard. Tigard has a lot of events with the organization decentralized. A comprehensive program could bring together policy that would centralize the efforts identifying and better utilizing resources. IRMayor Dirksen noted the PRAB has reviewed this before with adjustments made over time. He said he will be interested to see the updated proposal. 8. NON AGENDA ITEMS TIGARD CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES-J 12, 2011 City of Tigard 1 13125 SW Hall Blvd.,Tigard,OR 97223 503-639-4171 1 www.tigard-or.gov I Page 19 of 21 Report from City Manager Prosser—City of Beaverton City Council meeting. City Manager Prosser reported he attended tonight's Beaverton City Council meeting where the first hearing required for the withdrawal of territory along the Barrows Road right of way was conducted. This would make it possible for the City of Tigard to consider annexation of property requested by property owners in the River Terrace area (former UGB expansion area 64). One of the Beaverton City Council members commented that this was a very good example of two cities working together to achieve a common good and working to resolve some long- standing problems. The Beaverton City Council voted unanimously to move this to a second hearing on August 9,2011. 9. EXECUTIVE SESSION: No executive session held at this point in the agenda. 10. ADJOURMENT (of the business meeting): Motion by Council President Buehner, seconded by Councilor Wilson,to adjourn the business meeting at 9:44 p.m. The motion was approved by a unanimous vote of City Council present. Mayor Dirksen Yes Council President Buehner Yes Councilor Henderson Yes Councilor Wilson Yes Councilor Woodard Yes ✓ Council met in a study session meeting at 9:49 p.m.,after the business meeting. • Study Session Topic: Discuss Interim City Manager Agreement City Attorney Ramis reviewed the draft agreement with the City Council and the discussions among Assistant City Manager Newton,Human Resources Director Zodrow,and himself regarding the agreement's provisions. A copy of the draft agreement was sent to the City Council for review in the council packet. Among the provisions,two were especially important to Ms. Newton: 1. Increase the severance package to six months. 2. The six-month severance package clause will survive the interim agreement and be applicable when Ms. Newton returns to her position as Assistant City Manager. After discussion,the City Council was in agreement with the draft agreement as proposed. TIGARD CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES-July 12, 2011 City of Tigard 1 13125 SW Hall Blvd.,Tigard,OR 97223 503-639-4171 1 www.tigard-or.gov I Page 20 of 21 The study session concluded at 10:00 p.m. Catherine Wheatley, City Recorder Attest: Mayor, City of Tigard Date: - --�vn �.�z 1 . ��d 1 j I/ADM/CATHY/CCM/2011/Final/July/110712 TIGARD CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES-July 12, 2011 City of Tigard 1 13125 SW Hall Blvd.,Tigard,OR 97223 503-639-4171 1 www.tigard-or.gov I Page 21 of 21