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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMay 14, 2019 CAC MinutesCity of Central Point Citizens Advisory Committee Minutes May 14, 2019 I. MEETING CALLED TO ORDER AT 6:00 P.M. II. ROLL CALL Present were: David Painter (chair) Carrie Reed, Cinda Harmes, Robin Stroh, Mike House. Also in attendance were: Tom Humphrey, Community Development Director, Stephanie Holtey, Principal Planner, Justin Gindlesperger, Community Planner and Karin Skelton, Planning Secretary. III. MINUTES Cinda Harmes made a motion to approve the minutes of the January 15, 2019 Citizen's Advisory Committee Minutes. Carrie Reed seconded. All members said "aye". Motion passed. IV. PUBLIC APPEARANCES No public appearances V. BUSINESS VI. DISCUSSION Community Development Director, Tom Humphrey welcomed the newest members of the Citizen's Advisory Committee, Carrie Reed and Mike House. He explained the general purpose of the CAC was to have citizen participation to give input to the Planning Commission and the City Council. He stated the issues could vary from land use and economic development to parks and recreation matters. A. Employment Buildable Lands Inventory Discussion Principal Planner, Stephanie Holtey gave brief overview of the Residential Buildable Lands inventory which had been presented to the CAC at their April 2019 meeting. She stated that tonight will be a review of the City's Employment Buildable Lands Inventory (EBLI). Ms. Holtey explained it is an inventory of the City's employment lands. Its purpose is to track availability and distribution of buildable land in the City's urban area. She stressed it is not a policy document. It was last updated in 2013 and this update is needed in order to update the Economic Element and amend the Urban Growth Boundary (UGB) for employment land. It provides information as to whether the City has sufficient land to provide for growth over the next 20 years. CAC Minutes May 14, 2019 Page 2 She explained the first step in this process was to inventory how much employment land the City has, including commercial, industrial and civic categories, and determine how much is vacant and how much is redevelopable. She defined "buildable lands" as employment designated lots or parcels within the City's urban area, including vacant and developed lots or parcels likely to be redeveloped. She said the City is allowed to deduct out lands that are constrained by natural hazards. Additionally the City is allowed to take out 25% of the land for right of way purposes. She added if land is not serviceable by public facilities it is also considered to be constrained and would be deducted. Ms. Holtey gave an overview of the current land use distribution. She showed the Committee the Comprehensive Plan map depicting the land use designations throughout the City. She explained the methodology for evaluating the buildable employment lands. First was the need to calculate the total amount of land, including constrained land and right of way allocation. The next step is to look at the total buildable lands and how the different types of employment allocations are distributed. It also evaluates parcel size distribution. This information is important to the Economic Element in assessing the economic opportunities for the City's growth over the next 20 years. The Committee discussed vacant commercial buildings. Ms. Holtey explained vacant square footage was not factored into the calculations. The Committee wondered how the Wal Mart property impacted the BLI. Mr. Humphrey explained it was approximately 20 acres and Wal-Mart had imposed conditions on their property to preclude competitive businesses there. Additionally, it was required to be sold as one parcel. Ms. Holtey said staff was requesting a favorable recommendation from the CAC to the Planning Commission, with or without changes. After a public hearing in June with the Planning Commission it would go to the City Council for another public hearing and first reading. The second reading would be in July. The Committee expressed concern regarding parking and asked if consideration had been given to parking structures or community parking areas. Ms. Holtey responded there have been two public parking sites developed for the downtown area. In looking forward, the housing implementation plan (HIP) noted that infill in the mixed use zoning districts is constrained by a number of things, one being high off street parking requirements. She said when looking at the HIP the City has been contemplating how to eliminate barriers to address challenges for infill and identify code amendments or projects to accomplish this. Mike House made a motion to forward a favorable recommendation of the Employment Buildable Lands Inventory to the Planning Commission. Carrie Reed seconded the motion. All members said "aye". Motion passed. CAC Minutes May 14, 2019 Page 3 B. Economic Element Discussion Community Development Director, Tom Humphrey reviewed the different elements of the Comprehensive Plan. He said they were periodically updated. In reviewing the Economic Element in light of the currently proposed UGB expansion it was found to need updating and more clarity. Mr. Humphrey introduced attorney Garret West who had prepared the updated Economic Element. Mr. West explained the Economic Element was used to forecast how much land the City would need over the next 20 years for economic growth. He said he looked at how the economy is doing now and how it is projected to do over the short and the long term. He explained his methodology for calculating the number of employees the city would grow by over the next 20 years and how that would be used to calculate the employment land that would be needed. Mr. West said the economy is doing well now, however economists think that by 2020 there will be some kind of an economic downturn. He said his evaluation was that Oregon's economy might do better overall than the national economy. He explained the many factors that could impact this, including unemployment and inflation, national economic crosscurrents, trade wars, income inequality and the rising cost of healthcare and education. He gave an overview of the economic trends in southern Oregon. He said The City's population is fast growing and relatively young. Additionally he reviewed the local population growth based on the Portland State University projections. Mr. West said he had calculated that over the next 20 years the City would have 1915 new employees. The Economic Buildable Lands Inventory shows what land is available. He was able to calculate a need for 21 acres of commercial and service lands; 18 acres of institutional land and 33 acres of other employment land. He said this indicates a need for approximately 73 aces of new employment land over the next 20 years. He said the goals, conclusions and policies were not changed from the last Economic Element. The Committee discussed the different types of businesses and how the projected number of acres was reached for each type. Mr. West explained it was an estimate of acreage needed to support future economic growth based on evaluation of the economy. Mr. West said he thought it was important the City consider their goal to maintain a small town feel and plan proactively to promote a strong diverse and sustainable local economy. The committee discussed what exactly a "small town feel" meant. CAC Minutes May 14, 2019 Page 4 Mr. Humphrey said the fact that all the different administrative entities interacted personally with the citizens and each other was a good characterization of a small town feel. With regard to significant employers in the City, it was important to collaborate with them to make it advantageous for them to remain in the City and to be able to accommodate their growth. He stressed the need for the City to have an adequate land supply for future economic growth. The Committee discussed some of the businesses currently in the City. They thought a proactive approach to attracting and keeping businesses that would enhance the local economy while maintaining a small town feel was the right idea. Ms. Holtey stated she had been involved in the Citizen Satisfaction Survey over the past few years and the small town feel was something that consistently came up. She said there are a lot of things that make up that type of environment. Strategic planning creates a downtown area that is walkable and pleasant for pedestrians. Local businesses are friendly and familiar. She added that as the UGB expands for residential purposes, the Regional Plan requires some mixed use and pedestrian friendly areas. That will result in smaller activity centers being developed which will serve area residents. The Committee asked for information about the activity centers. Mr. Humphrey responded when the URAs were identified during the Regional Planning Process, each URA was required to have a concept plan which identified zoning that achieved the City's density commitments. These plans also identify proposed activity centers. He added although these have been identified, it is impossible to project exactly what will actually be built. Mr. Humphrey stated he felt the City was doing well, but it was important to maintain an adequate supply of land for future economic development. The committee discussed possible areas that might be developed and what types of businesses might be good for the City. They were particularly in favor of more restaurants. Mr. Humphrey said continuing to develop the City's image and personality and having an adequate supply of land would help attract businesses. The committee agreed the term "small town feel" seemed very vague. Mr. Humphrey said the term was also defined in the Urbanization Element. He added the CAC had the option to ask staff to come back with more information or possibly put a notice in the City's newsletter inviting citizens to come to a CAC meeting to discuss their viewpoints. The Committee thought they might revisit the discussion at a later date. They discussed the target industries set out in the Economic Element and how they benefitted the City. They mentioned the Tolo area. Mr. Humphrey reviewed the history of the Tolo area. It had been master planned for a trucking company however they did not move there. There are no services to that area. CAC Minutes May 14, 2019 Page 5 Robin Stroh made a motion to forward a favorable recommendation of the Economic Element to the Planning Commission. Cinda Harmes seconded the motion. All members said "aye". Motion passed. Planning Update x Remnoumenting of the centerline of Pine Street subsequent to the downtown streetscape project. x The Made in Southern Oregon event will be happening this weekend. Also there will be a ribbon cutting at the Makers Space. x The Brodiart buildings on S. Front Street are continuing construction and nearing completion. x The Spine and Sports Rehab office on N. 3rd Street is continuing their improvements. x The property at 219 W. Pine Street has been cleared of trailers and an environmental assessment was done. The Creamery is purchasing that property and the adjoining one for expansion of their facility. They are also contemplating acquiring Rogue Valley Bin property. x There is interest in property on the east side of the freeway for a motel. x Wendy's on Biddle Road is thinking of relocating in Central Point, but there is no confirmation as yet. x On The corner of Sixth and Pine Street is going to be a two story building. The first floor will have an urgent care and a chiropractic office with corporate offices and rental space above. x The Creekside apartment complex on South Haskell has begun construction. x The fire house on Scenic is beginning their construction. x There is a lot line adjustment for the Makers Space to allow for additional parking. x Central Point Elementary will be installing a temporary classroom David Painter announced the next scheduled meeting is July 9, 2019. Once the UGB application is formally submitted to Jackson county there will be a meeting to discuss it with the CAC CAC Minutes May 14, 2019 Page 6 PLANNING UPDATE VII. MISCELLANEOUS VIII. ADJOURNMENT David Painter declared the meeting adjourned at 7:45 p.m. The foregoing minutes of the May 14, 2019 Citizens Advisory Committee were approved by the Citizens Advisory Committee at its meeting of September 2019. Chairman