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City Council Minutes - 11/10/2009 Agenda Item No. 3 City of Tigard Meeting of � ------ Tigard Business Meeting — Minutes TIGARD CITY COUNCIL & LOCAL CONTRACT REVIEW BOARD (LCRB) MEETING DATE/TIME: November 10, 2009/6:30 p.m. Study Session and 7:30 p.m. Business Meeting MEETING LOCATION: City of Tigard—Town Hall, 13125 SW Hall Blvd., Tigard, OR 97223 Mayor Dirksen called the meeting to order at 6:30 p.m. City Council present: Name Present Absent Mayor Dirksen ✓ Council President Wilson ✓ Councilor Buehner ✓ Councilor Henderson ✓ Councilor Webb ✓ Staff present: Assistant City Manager Newton,Community Development Director Bunch,Assistant Community Development Director Harnett,City Attorney Ramis,Communication/Graphic Designer Lof,Community Events Coordinator Weston,Community Development Project Planner Roberts,and City Recorder Wheatley. STUDY SESSION • Discuss Election Results City Council reviewed the latest results of the parks and open space bond measure on the November 3, 2009 ballot. Results as of November 10, 2009 were 53% no and 47%yes; the measure failed. Assistant City Manager Newton also referred to the press release regarding the election outcome. The press release is on file in the City Recorder's office. City Council is scheduled to meet next week with the Park and Recreation Advisory Board. City Council reviewed topics suggested by PRAB Chair,Jason Rogers. A copy of the suggested topics is on file in the City Recorder's office. The Mayor and Council were in agreement with the topics suggested. Council President Wilson asked if it was possible to get feedback from the pollsters who conducted the survey to have an analysis of what happened since the results were not in keeping with what happened at the election. Councilor Buehner expressed the opinion that the issue was with the low voter turnout. Council President Wilson referred to emails received after the election and noted one of the issues was purchasing School District property that was already in public ownership. This argument needs to be examined more closely. If this matter is placed on the ballot again,we should look at what portion of the Fowler property is not buildable and ask for the District to deed to us only that portion. Council President Wilson mentioned options that should be explored. Public information needs to be out there and"we need to be more diligent..." TIGARD CITY COUNCIL/LCRB MINUTES — November 10, 2009_ City of Tigard 1 13125 SW Hall Blvd.,Tigard,OR 97223 1 503-639-4171 1 www.tigard-or.gov I Page1 of M Councilor Henderson commented that the vote was close. He suggested, "...maybe we just need to do a better job of—getting the word out." Discussion followed regarding more likely success if the measure had been placed "at a regular election." Ballots were received during the time that property tax statements were mailed out. • Discuss Topics for 2010 Fanno Creek Conference Assistant City Manager Newton introduced Community Events Coordinator Weston. Assistant Community Development Director Hartnett reviewed with the City Council: 1. Conference general format. 2. Logistic considerations. 3. Feedback on potential budget. 4. Feedback on potential topics. Assistant Community Development Director Hartnett said the plan is to follow the "classic Fanno Creek Conference" debate and discussion approach. In the morning she suggested there be two or three questions with a "pro' and "con" speaker. The participants will then have small-group discussions with a feedback opportunity at the end to get"some sort of read from the crowd." She suggested a speaker during the lunch hour– a keynote speaker–to speak on a topic of interest. Perhaps the topic could be complementary to the topics selected. In the afternoon, the plan is to fold in the "So you want to be a City Councilor" discussion as a way of talking with potential future city leaders. Dates under consideration are May 15 or May 22 (Saturdays). Councilor Buehner pointed out the election is May 18. May 22 was selected as the date for the conference. Venue: If a City venue, then the location would most likely be the Library Community Room. Other options could be explored. Assistant Community Development Director Hartnett reviewed cost information distributed to the City Council. She suggested that a small honorarium for keynote speakers be reserved within the budget for the conference. The hope is to return to the CCI meeting this month with feedback from the City Council on topics so speakers can be scheduled. Topics were discussed. Assistant Community Development Director Hartnett noted that one member of the CCI mentioned that there is an unconfirmed rumor that a City in Oregon passed an ordinance to allow residents to shoot coyotes. This rumor evoked a lot of conversation and could be used as a warm-up topic to get people a sense of how the process will flow. The remaining two topics could be more meaningful"bigger-picture issues for Tigard." Assistant City Manager Newton asked City Council for general direction on the budget noting that this will need to be brought back as a budget amendment item. Councilor Webb suggested $2,500 to give staff "something to work with..." There was general agreement on this amount. TI_GARD CITY COUNCIL/LCRB MINUTES —_November 10, 2009_ C,i�,of Tigard 1 13125 SAX I Tall Blvd.,Tigard,OR 97223 1 503-639-4171 1 www.rigard-or.gov I Page 2 of 14 Topics were discussed. Council President Wilson said the topics suggested might be too detailed. He would prefer to have a topic that would give him a sense of the broad themes that citizens might feel the City Council was not pushing hard enough on or if there was the feeling the City Council was emphasizing the wrong thing. He noted that a lot of people do not know the details of the legal framework and the limitations placed upon the City Council. Councilor Webb noted how interesting it is when the pro and con arguments are introduced followed by the small group discussions — there's a flow of ideas and people articulate how they really think. At the end, a straw poll is conducted. Assistant Community Development Director Hartnett explained staff was thinking it would be best to limit the issues to three topics. The first topic would be something quick and invigorating followed by providing a topic that could be debated. Assistant Community Development Director Hartnett said that staff had also been thinking about having another mechanism at the event for people to respond to that kind of question where it might be written so they could give feedback at a higher level. She pointed out that if you want to get people engaged in discussion, staff felt as if it should be set up as "point, counter-point" situation. Mayor Dirksen suggested a change to one of the topics, with the question being: "What would constitute a balance in the City's transportation system." Discussion followed on potential topics: A wildlife issue could be used as a starter topic. (Assistant Community Development Director Hartnett said the City would not advocate shooting coyotes —but this first topic would be a "warm up.") A topic was suggested about how Tigard should deal with anticipated growth. Assistant Community Development Director Hartnett said she would return to the City Council in January to finalize the details for the Fanno Creek Conference. Mayor Dirksen suggested that the Library Community Room might not be adequate, depending on the anticipated number of attendees. Assistant Community Development Director Hartnett advised time should be scheduled at an upcoming study session to discuss the topic of service as a City Council member or for leadership positions on the Budget Committee or the Planning Commission. • Review Administrative Items Assistant City Manager Newton noted the Boy Scouts would be present to lead the flag salute during the business meeting. City Council received written testimony from Brian Wegener for Agenda Item No 5. TIGARD CITY COUNCIL/LCRB MINUTES November 10 2009 City of Tigard 1 13125 SW Hall Blvd.,Tigard,OR 97223 1 503-639-4171 1 x ww.tigard-or.gov I Page 3 of M • EXECUTIVE SESSION: The Tigard City Council went into Executive Session at 6:56 p.m. under ORS 192.660(2) (e) and (h) to discuss real property transaction negotiations, and for consultation with counsel concerning legal rights and duties regarding current litigation or litigation likely to be filed. Executive Session concluded at 7:30 p.m. 1. BUSINESS MEETING 1.1 Mayor Dirksen called the meeting to order at 7:35 p.m. 1.2 Roll Call City Council present: Name Present Absent Mayor Dirksen ✓ Council President Wilson ✓ Councilor Buehner ✓ Councilor Henderson ✓ Councilor Webb ✓ 1.3 Pledge of Allegiance 1.4 Council Communications&Liaison Reports 7:37:08 PM Mayor Dirksen said would give report on the Railvolution Conference at the end of the agenda. 1.5 Call to Council and Staff for Non-Agenda Items 2. CITIZEN COMMUNICATION (Two Minutes or Less,Please) • Tracy Tran reported on behalf of Tigard High School Student Envoy Taylor Friesen. • Citizen Communication—None • Follow-up to Previous Citizen Communication: None 7:41:08 PM Mayor Dirksen reviewed the Consent Agenda: 3. CONSENT AGENDA: (Tigard City Council and Local Contract Review Board) 3.1 Approve City Council Minutes for October 13,2009 3.2 Receive and File: a. Council Calendar b. Tentative Agenda 3.3 Local Contract Review Board: a. Award Contract for Purchase of an Electronic Citations Management System b. Authorize Funding for Joint Defense Agreement Legal Services Related to the Lake Oswego-Tigard Water Partnership TIGARD CITY COUNCIL/LCRB MINUTES — November 10, 2009 Cityof Tigard 1 13125 SW Hall Blvd.,Tigard,OR 97223 1 503-639-4171 1 www.figard-or.gov I Page 4 of M 7:41:46 PM Motion by Councilor Webb, seconded by Council President Wilson,to approve the Consent Agenda. The motion was approved by a unanimous vote of Council present. Mayor Dirksen Yes Council President Wilson Yes Councilor Buehner Yes Councilor Henderson Yes Councilor Webb Yes 4. UPDATE ON YOUTH ADVISORY COUNCIL ACTIVITIES 7:42:03 PM Alexander Carsh and members of the TYAC presented a PowerPoint slide show highlighting the efforts and activities of the Youth Advisory Council. A copy of the presentation is on file in the City Recorder's office. 7:49:42 PM 5. APPROVE URBAN FORESTRY MASTER PLAN Mayor Dirksen opened the public hearing. The staff report,which is on file in the City Recorder's office,was presented by Associate Planner/Arborist Prager. Public Testimony: 7:56:34 PM Morgan Holen, 5300 Parkview Drive,Lake Oswego OR 97035 testified. She advised she works at PBS Engineering&Environmental as a Natural Resources Project Manager, Forest Biologist, Certified Arborist, and Certified Tree Risk Assessor. She said she has an extensive background in forest ecology,with degrees from the University of Washington and Yale School of Forestry&Environmental Studies. She currently serves as the Chair of the Lake Oswego Natural Resources Advisory Board and served as a member of the Tigard Urban Forestry Master Plan Citizen Advisory Committee. She commented that the intent of protecting tree groves is not to limit development. There is nothing contained in the plan aimed to stop development. She noted her primary clients are developers. She said there are creative ways to preserve healthy tree groves. This plan is not regulatory—it helps to identify problems and issues that need to be addressed. She sees the plan as a blueprint/guide to prioritize issues that can be resolved as the plan is implemented, monitored, and updated. Ms. Holen generally supported the plan as presented;however, she advocated for collecting additional baseline data. Learning more about the existing urban forest will guide management decisions and inform future plan updates and potential changes to existing regulations. We need to know the existing conditions before management decisions can be implemented to meet the stated objective. Analysis of such data will provide information about the social, environmental, and economic cost/benefits of the City's trees. Recognizing where the greatest net benefits are realized can help prioritize management decisions. She asked the City Council to consider incorporating additional baseline data into the plan. Ms. Holen presented the City Council with a copy of draft language she prepared: Goal 6.4—Regularly update the Urban Forestry Master Plan, set achievable goals, and continually monitor progress." TIGARD CITY COUNCIL_/LCRB MINUTES —November 10 2009_ City of Tigard 1 13125 SW Hall Blvd.,Tigard,OR 97223 1 503-639-4171 1 www.tigard-or.gov I Page 5 of 14 (sub-goal"e" proposed language follows) To hep inform future plan updates, collect baseline tree inventory data in addition to the canopy cover data, including a statistical sample of tree species, side, age,general condition, and location as well as data pertaining to the number, side, and location of available unoccupied planning spaces. Ms. Holen asked the City Council to approve the Urban Forestry Master Plan. 8:00:02 PM Councilor Henderson asked Ms. Holen if her suggested wording change would have a financial impact that should be shown on the implementation matrix. Ms. Holen said there would be some cost but she thought the data could be collected in a way that would be cost-efficient by using students or AmeriCorps staff. She noted that in the City of Lake Oswego an enormous amount of baseline data on street trees was collected in a one-year's time with one AmeriCorps staff person followed by a few more months to write the report, The State of the Urban Forest Report. 8:01:37 PM David Walsh, 10236 SW Stuart Court,Tigard, OR 97224,Vice President of the Planning Commission and the Planning Commission representative to the Tree Board. Mr. Walsh has served for the last four years on the Planning Commission and has also worked with the Tree Board for the last three years. He advised he was before the City Council tonight to represent the Planning Commission,which already voted for approval of the Urban Forestry Master Plan. Mr. Walsh advised staff prepared a document that was extremely well done. The process of preparation of the document included a great amount of public input on many different levels and in many different ways. The Plan is a balanced policy document;it is a plan. The Planning Commission reviewed the Plan and there were a few changes to clarify language. Staff prepared a matrix to satisfy the Commission's concern that the Plan met the goals of the Comprehensive Plan. Mr. Walsh reviewed the structure of the plan document: • There was some controversy in the first section. The question is do "we want to separate some of the tree code language from the Development Code and place it in the Municipal Code." Mr. Walsh said he thinks that this is a conversation that needs to happen. 8:04:47 PM He suggested that input from the City Council could occur in January during a scheduled meeting with the Planning Commission. The mitigation issue must be addressed. • Mr. Walsh spoke to revising the Tigard landscape code as proposed in the Master Plan. • Mr. Walsh referred to the third section,which is to develop a tree grove protection program. There are two subsections focused on preserving large growth of native species as well as developing a flexible incentive-based preservation program that meets the needs of affected property owners. This is a discussion point: Can something can done? Can we gain flexibility in the language? • Mr. Walsh referred to the hazard tree program. This will be a great educational opportunity for the community. 8:06:18 PM • Mr. Walsh cited the improved management of the City's urban forests. The Planning Commission will hold a workshop next month to talk about priorities to give to staff for Code development. TIGARD CITY_COUNCIL_ /LCRB MINUTES —November 10, 2009 City of Tigard 1 13125 SW Hall Blvd.,Tigard,OR 97223 �1 503-639-4171 1 www.tigard-or.gov I Page 6 of 14 Mr. Walsh said that from his perspective, the Urban Forestry Master Plan is a well-balanced document, is consistent with the community's values and meets the goals and policies of the Comprehensive Plan. As the representative of the Planning Commission,Mr. Walsh asked the City Council to move this plan forward and approve it. 8:07:05 PM John Frewing, 7110 SW Lola Lane,Tigard, Oregon urged the City Council to accept the Urban Forestry Master Plan. He reviewed two suggestions: 1. Correct what he thinks is an omission in the goal statement for canopy cover in Tigard. He said canopy cover is the area that is underneath trees. This Plan says that all lots should have a canopy cover standard and eventually the City should meet a 30 or 40 percent canopy cover goal. However,he said that in earlier drafts of this document (not mentioned in the current document) it was his understanding that those canopy cover goals do not include City right-of-way. The report notes that currently the canopy cover on City right-of-way is 9 percent and the eventual goal is to have canopy cover of 40 percent. He said the document should have a canopy cover goal for City right-of-way. He referred to the City of Lake Oswego where it is his understanding that the canopy cover in the right-of-way is about 34 percent. He referred to Goal 1.2(a), Page 4, of the Master Plan as the appropriate location for citing the goal for canopy cover in all areas of the City. 2. The Master Plan focuses on trees. Trees are woody-stemmed plants, 6-inches in diameter and larger. He said he thought there should be consideration given to other aspects of the forest;namely, the understory, smaller trees,grasses, etc. —vegetation that grows naturally in a forest and is necessary for a forest to do its function. He said he does not believe this was addressed in the Plan. 8:10:41 PM Ernie Platt, Homebuilders Association of Metro Portland said he thinks that, on balance, the Master Plan represents a goal—it is not Code. He said he thinks we should accept what we have and move forward. He summarized his remarks with two comments: 1. He has heard the words repeatedly to "preserve existing trees,"yet, the emphasis of the goals is to "grow the City canopy." Mr. Platt said, "You are not going grow anything by just persevering what's here. It is about planting more trees and encouraging all citizens and all property owners to participate in that process. 2. He said, as we go forward,we should find a way to truly get a balanced group of people that will work on the preparation of the Code language to avoid the rancor and divisiveness that has occurred in previous attempts at drafting the Code language. 8:12:24 PM Phil Hickey, 16140 SW 108`''Avenue,Tigard, OR, advised he is a registered consulting arborist and a board- certified master arborist. He said he was a technical member on the Citizen Advisory Committee. Mr. Hickely spoke in favor of the Urban Forestry Master Plan. He said it is a good document,well prepared, and took into account many public and private interests. He also said it is a Plan—it is not set in Code. Many of the proposed objectives are good and sound. He said he hopes the City Council will move forward and approves the Master Plan. TIGARD CITY C_OUN_ CIL/LCRB MINUTES — November 10, 2009 Cite of Tigard 1 13125 SW Hall Blvd.,Tigard OR 97223 1 503-639-4171 1 www.tigard-or.gov I Page 7 of M 8:13:51 PM Ken Gertz, 19200 SW 46th Avenue,Tualatin, OR, advised he is a home builder and said he is happy the City has progressed this far on the Master Plan noting the time and hard work that has gone into the document. Mr. Gertz said the appendices reference Goal 10,which is the Needed Housing section. On Page A-61 he referred to a response from the City Attorney about Constitutional taking issues. Mr. Gertz said there was also language in the Code taken from the survey that would lead"the Tree Board people to think that maybe it's ok to take property from people. The gist here is that when the land is finally up for application for development that perhaps needed lots for needed housing would subtracted from that or maybe diminished in some way." He said he would to add to the third goal the development of a tree grove protection program to create a mechanism to protect Tigard's remaining groves of native trees. He suggested the addition of the following words to this goal: "while allowing for the full development of privately-owned property under the current zoning." Mr. Gertz said that after conversations with members of the Tree Board he is concerned about the lack of consideration for the landowners' rights to develop their own property. In the long term, this will save a lot of time by spelling it out clearly. He said it may not be absolutely necessary to have this language because it is somewhat referenced in other places in the Master Plan,but it is not clearly referenced. Other that what he suggested above, Mr. Gertz said he supports the Master Plan. 8:16:21 PM Mark Butterfield, 8770 SW Mountain View Lane,Tigard, Oregon signed up to speak as one who is "neutral about the plan." Mr. Butterfield advised he has lived his entire life in Tigard. The 6-1/2 acre property he lives on was purchased by his parents in 1948. A woodlot (primarily Douglas fir) exists on about two acres of his property. He referred to the responsibilities of private owners of woodlots that he hopes will be considered. He advised that he is being sued because during a storm a tree fell onto a neighbor's property. The tree had not been considered a hazard tree. In May a cottonwood tree fell in one of his pastures and it could have very easily fallen onto a neighbor's house, causing damage to person or property. Mr. Butterfield said he has a legal obligation when it comes to managing the trees that stand on his woodlot. He said this is a burden that he hopes is appreciated referring to the expense of having an arborist evaluate the trees to determine if there is a hazard and the liability he bears to manage the trees properly. Mr. Butterfield asked that private property (non-developers) owners be allowed a certain measure of control in management. He said, "...the whole cascade of bureaucracy is something that I'm concerned about. I'm only hoping that there will be ability for the private homeowner or private property owner to manage their property..." Councilor Buehner advised Mr. Butterfield that she is a real estate lawyer. She said she had three trees fall on her Tigard home. She said, "I am intimately aware of the issue that you're talking about. And, I raised the issue that we need to address hazardous trees, for example,because most homeowners'insurance policies currently do not cover taking care of the problem before the tree falls over." She advised that some of the homeowners'insurance policies will provide coverage if there is a hazardous tree ordinance and somebody says it is a hazardous tree. Mr. Butterfield noted his appreciation and said that once he is notified about a concern by a neighbor (even if it is unlikely), he needs to take some form of action. People love to look at a forest, but when it comes down to maintaining it,it is difficult. He advised at this time the current lawsuit is being considered an "Act of God,"which offers some degree of protection for him; however, this protection is not absolute. TIGARD CITY COUNCIL/LCRB MINUTES — November 10, 2_009 _ City of Tigard 13125 SW Hall Blvd.,Tigard,OR 97223 1 503-639-4171 1 www.tigard-or.gov �I Page 8 of 14 ���� 8:21:45 PM Associate Planner/Arborist Prager said it appears there are three specific recommendations to changing the wording of the Master Plan: 1. Morgan Holen suggested adding language under 6Ae (contained in her handout). Community Development Director Bunch and Assistant Director Hartnett have looked at the language and they are comfortable that this recommendation can be worked into the Community Development work plan. They suggested adding a period after the word, "data." -- To hep inform future plan updates, collect baseline tree inventory data in addition to the canopy cover data. 2. John Frewing suggested specifying that there should be canopy coverage standards for public right-of-way. Mr. Prager said this would be a noble citywide goal;however,it would be difficult to enforce or to set standards since the right-of-way is so different as it abuts everyone's property. He said in the Master Plan, under Goal 2, there are recommendations about improving our street-tree planting standards and this implies that we would want to increase canopy in our rights-of-way. 3. Ken Gertz suggested adding more language under 3.2, saying that City should allow for the full development potential under current zoning. The language, as written,provides flexibility to cover this concern and Mr. Prager did not think the language suggested by Mr. Gertz would be necessary. Mayor Dirksen referred to the implementation goals on Page 5 and to the chapter on tree-grove protection (Page 15) and a sentence that is repeated in the implementation of a tree grove protection program. In the following paragraph, the document states: Prior to enacting any regulations protecting tree groves, the City must comply with federal, state, and regional regulations, which are referenced in Appendix G.—Particular attention shall be paid to state laws, including the requirements for economic, social, environmental, and energy analysis..." Mayor Dirksen said Appendix G references (Page A-57) Goal 10,which is to provide the housing needs of the citizens of the state, so that the goal requires the City to balance the needs of tree and forest preservation with the need for housing and efficient use of urban land. Mayor Dirksen then referred to Page A-59,which references Metro Title 1 of the Functional Plan regarding statewide Planning Goal 10 (focuses on increasing housing capacity to use land within the urban growth boundary efficiently). Mayor Dirksen said the laudable goal of tree growth protection in Goal 3 does not and cannot supersede Development Code or zoning laws. Mayor Dirksen said he thought this was implicit throughout the document. Council President Wilson followed up Mayor Dirksen's comments and said, "But,it's not explicit." He said people become nervous when you begin talking about something of value losing value. He said it would not hurt to be explicit. He said the City Council should try to quiet the rumblings of those who are saying they will be cutting their trees before the new Code is adopted. Mayor Dirksen said he would not be opposed to adding the phrase to the sentence,because he does not think it changes the intent or desired policy. If the City Council would like to see that explicit language added, he would be agreeable. (Language to be added: allow for the full development potential under the current Zoning. Mr. Prager said that in general he believed everyone was in agreement that it would not hurt to add that, but if someone, for example,were to choose to place a conservation easement on his or her property that the language would be flexible enough to allow that. Council President Wilson pointed out that we are going TIGARD CITY COUNCIL/LCRB MINUTES — November 10, 2009 City of Tigard 1 13125 SW Hall Blvd.,Tigard,OR 97223 1 503-639-4171 1 www.tigard-or.gov Page 9 of 14 to change our tree code. In some cases,it might mean that the development will be configured differently. We do not want to tie our hands with this language as to how we are going to rewrite the code;but, on balance for most properties the intent is to allow full development. Mayor Dirksen noted a concern that if the language restricts an environmental easement, this would imply the City would not comply with policy if it purchased property with trees on it for the purpose of turning it into a park if it was previously zone residential. City Attorney Ramis added that since this is not a regulatory document, the Council has flexibility to adopt the language suggested. Mayor Dirksen said if the City Council thinks this would be a safeguard to the concern, then he would be in favor of the language. City Attorney Ramis requested the City Council identify the location for this language. Mayor Dirksen pointed out places where the language could be appropriate and after Council members discussed, the appropriate places of the document for the added language would be: • Page 15, the first paragraph of the tree grove protection document specifically has the sentence Mr. Gertz referenced. • Page 5, under the Implementation Goals, 3.1b., (develop preservation and maintenance standards) — add the proposed additional language here. 8:32:36 PM Mayor Dirksen asked for staff comment on Mr. Butterfield's concerns with ability to manage the stand of trees as it relates to the goals of this document. Associate Planner/Arborist Prager said this document would not change the dilemma that Mr. Butterfield is facing other than as Councilor Buehner commented with regard to identification of hazard trees. This might provide some help with some sort of insurance protections. The details will be worked out in the future. 8:33:38 PM Council President Wilson noted when the Comprehensive Plan language was adopted, there was much talk about the sentence that said nothing in this Comprehensive Plan will affect private residents' ability to control their landscapes. One of Council President Wilson's concerns is that when "you talk about a goal of 40 percent tree canopy...a lot of people don't like to live under a bunch of trees..." Most people agree the canopy can be grown further, especially in certain zoning districts;however, Council President Wilson said he did not want to be in the business of regulating sunshine. 8:34:52 PM Councilor Buehner added that while she is in general support of the concept of right-of-way canopy coverage,it can also create a danger. For example,last winter a steep street near her home was covered by evergreen trees to the extent that there was no light hitting the slope during the entire snowstorm. The result was that the street was closed multiple days. She suggested we might need to be more aware that there are streets where it would be appropriate to "back the canopy off" so some light can penetrate. 8:35:50 PM Council President Wilson advised that in future years he would like to see the City move in a direction where we think about not only urban forest and canopy,but also the urban eco-system. This would include people and their activities. We need to think about the relationships between trees and other kinds of biomes,i.e., the urban TIGARD CITY COUNCIL/LCRB MINUTES — November 10, 2009 City of Tigard 1 13125 SW Hall Blvd.,Tigard,OR 97223 � 503-639-4171 1 www.tigard-or.gov I Page 10 of 14 savannah or meadow that has no canopy. While this is the way we have been thinking, Council President Wilson said we need to move to the direction to consider open space as well. 8:36:42 PM Mayor Dirksen commented that, as with any policy document (especially a new one),it would be the exception if the document did not require review and adjustment over time to make sure it is achieving the goal intended. 8:37:09 PM Councilor Buchner asked that as the City Council goes through the process, could we "tickle" a review of this plan as we get toward the end of the code-setting process so that we make sure we are still all on the same page. 8:37:39 PM Motion by Councilor Buchner, seconded by Councilor Webb, to adopt Resolution No. 09-69,with the amendments discussed this evening. RESOLUTION NO. 09-69—A RESOLUTION ACCEPTING THE CITY OF TIGARD'S URBAN FORESTRY MASTER PLAN Councilor Henderson referred to a comment in the Executive Summary regarding the call for an annual work plan. The motion was approved by a unanimous vote of City Council present. Mayor Dirksen Yes Council President Wilson Yes Councilor Buchner Yes Councilor Henderson Yes Councilor Webb Yes 8:39:26 PM 6. BARROWS/SCHOLLS FERRY TRAFFIC SIGNAL—DISCUSS COMMENTS TO SUBMIT TO WASHINGTON COUNTY 8:44:12 PM Council President Wilson advised his purpose in asking for a discussion on this topic,is to draft a letter that indicates some of our concerns—not necessarily advocating for any particular fix. The meeting hosted by the County on this topic will occur next week at the same time the City Council has its Council meeting. Mayor Dirksen said no City Council members would be able to attend. Mayor Dirksen suggested that we need to have someone representing the City and said Assistant City Manager Newton would be the appropriate person to represent the City to express the City's concerns and make some requests for traffic counts. The request would not be restricted to Scholls Ferry Road,but also on SW 135t . Assistant City Manager Newton added she understands there are streets that are being used as cut-through routes. Council President Wilson said we do not typically perform traffic counts on every street and we likely do not have"before" data. Councilor Buchner said this data would be available on 135`''. Council President Wilson agreed the data would be available for the arterials,but not on the neighborhood streets now being used by cut-through traffic. Mayor Dirksen pointed out there are standards for neighborhood streets regarding what volume of traffic would be anticipated on such a street and the traffic count could be compared to what the standard is supposed to be. Assistant City Manager Newton added that data could be collected for peak times and non-peak times, so it would be obvious that if the counts were higher during peak commuting times,it is cut-through traffic. There are ways to interpret the numbers. TIGARD CITY COUNCIL/LCRB MINUTES —November 10, 2009 City of Tigard 1 13125 SW Hall Blvd.,Tigard,OR 97223 1 503-639-4171 1 www.tigard-or.gov Page 11 of 14 Assistant City Manager Newton said a letter is a good idea and she would be happy to carry it forward. The staff will draft a letter and the City Council would review. Council President Wilson said he reviewed the minutes from the City Council discussion when meeting with the Beaverton City Council. The issue was touched on several times about making"it right-in,right-out only" and it was clear in the minutes that we were reluctant to support that idea. At the same time, the Council was trying to find a way to keep "it open at all." Council President Wilson noted that City Engineer Duenas advised the City Council that the change might be"sometime down the road." The City Council thought this would mean this would happen later --it would be a separate decision,there would be discussion and public input. This did not occur. Council President Wilson said he also looked at the agreement,which identifies the project. Interpretation is dependent on how one would define"the project." The language does state that the County was to allow the City an opportunity to comment on the 90 percent plans. Council President Wilson said he does not know what was included in the 90 percent plans and whether there was any City review of the closure. Assistant City Manager Newton said she did not believe there was any City review. Councilor Webb said,"it's closed and whether there is the political will to reopen it or not—we have all talked that we need to come up with some kind of solution for the problems. I think this is a good opportunity for the County,Beaverton,and Tigard to move the Davies Road project higher up on the priority list regionally. The County does not have extra money,we do not have extra money,but we could make it a priority to get it built sooner rather than later. If all three of us work together regionally to get an earmark for that connection— I think that is a solution to work toward ...it's going to take awhile to get all the studies and get the numbers, which will help a lot,but I think we need a far-more-reaching goal,which is to get Davies built faster..." Mayor Dirksen said he thought the City of Beaverton's goal was that expansion and extension of Davies Road would be done as development took place and probably would be accomplished by the developer of the adjacent property. No one knows when that might happen. We can certainly look at different alternatives. Mayor Dirksen said he thought a three-way discussion would certainly help us solidify what some possible actions could be. Councilor Webb pointed out that an earmark for a road project with a County and two cities coming together makes a lot sense. 8:50:07 PM Assistant City Manager Newton and members of City Council summarized that the Council direction: • We want to express some disappointment in the fact that the change was made by the County. • We want to comment about the process;the public and the City did not have an opportunity to comment on the project. • We would like discussion about the priority of the Davies Road connection. • We would like discussion about reviewing the traffic counts in the area to determine what changes have occurred in the traffic in the area and to identify possible solutions to address those impacts. • We would like consideration and anticipation of the future demand with the new development slated to occur (bowling alley,grocery store.) 8:51:29 PM In response to a question from Assistant City Manager Newton,Community Development Director Bunch advised at this time there are no other plans for additional road improvements that we might want to ask the County to move ahead in priority. Community Development Director Bunch said we are going through our Transportation System Plan now and we have concerns about the consequences of the signal at 135`''Avenue and Walnut. The principle here is that the signalization has negatively affected City streets. We might have improved left turns at 135`''and Scholls,but what has happened is that we have had impacts on the City street system that the County needs to address. Some of those impacts are obvious at this time,but we think there might also be some system-wide impacts to the local street system. Community Development Director Bunch TIGARD CITY COUNCIL/LCRB MINUTES —_November 10,_2009_ City of Tigard 1 13125 SW'Hall Blvd.,Tigard,OR 97223 1 503-639-4171 1 www tngard-or.gov I Page 12 of 14 commented there have been difficulties in getting the signal properly timed and working. He reiterated: That signal has adversely affected City streets,we want the signal fixed/working,and the process has not been a good one. 8:52:46 PM Councilor Buehner said she travels 135th Avenue to Walnut Street and she cannot access Walnut because the traffic is backed up to Gaarde Street. 8:52:58 PM Mayor Dirksen said the County should contribute to a solution to address the situation at 135" and Walnut Street. Assistant City Manager Newton noted another point to add to the communication to the County,is that this change might have pushed the timetable up for the signal at 135th and Walnut Street,because of the impacts to this neighborhood. Councilor Buehner said she would like it noted that the intersection should not be blocked so traffic coming down the hill has difficulty accessing Walnut Street. 8:54:03 PM Council President Wilson said he would like to know what criteria was used for the yellow left light and why they abruptly decided it was unsafe at Murray Boulevard. Councilor Webb noted no accident data was given for this location. Council President Wilson clarified for Community Development Director Bunch that he would like to know,in general,the criteria used for yellow traffic lights. These lights are effective at reducing wait times. Community Development Director Bunch said Community Development Department and Public Works Department engineering staff members would work together to prepare a statement. 7. COUNCIL LIAISON REPORTS 8:55:40 PM Mayor Dirksen reported on the Ra.ilvolution Conference he attended last week. He said he devoted much of his time attending sessions on transit-oriented development. He received confirmation from the professionals/experts that the things we have been doing for about the last four years have been correct;that is, looking for ways to improve land use in the 99W Corridor,the Triangle and our Downtown. He gathered information that supports the actions the City has taken to make transit work better. Mayor Dirksen said there is a concept gaining ground: As communities make changes to their land use planning and zoning regulations to support transit-oriented development,there is a subsequent increase in property values. This has been happening frequently enough across the country so it can be accurately quantified and used as a significant portion of the local match to qualify for Federal funding(no out-of-pocket dollars). Mayor Dirksen said he would make information available to the City Council members on the sessions attended with his notes. 8. NON-AGENDA ITEMS: None TIGARD CITY COUNCIL/LCRB MINUTES —_November 10,_20_0_9_ Cityof Tigard 1 13125 SW Hall Blvd.,Tigard,OR 97223 1 503-639-4171 1 www.rigard-or.gov I � Page 13 of 14 8:59:27 PM 9. ADJOURNMENT Motion by Council President Wilson, seconded by Councilor Webb, to adjourn the meeting. The motion was approved by a unanimous vote of Council present. Mayor Dirksen Yes Council President Wilson Yes Councilor Buehner Yes Councilor Henderson Yes Councilor Webb Yes ,u r Ca-tfierine Wheatley, City Recorder Attest: M ity of Tigard/ Date: Z / J I:\ADM\CATHY\CCM\2009\091110 fmal.doc TIGARD CITY COUNCIL/LCRB MINUTES — November 10, 2009 City of Tigard 1 13125 SW Hall Blvd.,Tigard,OR 97223 1 503-639-4171 1 www.tigard-or.gov Page 14 of 14