What's Up? - 11 Apr 2016

What's Coming Up?

COUNCIL WORK MEETING

11:00 PM, Tuesday, April 12, City Conference Room, 351 West Center

1. A discussion regarding the approval of a lease agreement between Provo City and Utah Transit Authority regarding various Provo City streets for the purpose of constructing a Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) System. This is the hot topic. If you try to keep your finger on the pulse of Provo, I'm sure you've heard plenty of talk about this. Here are three communications that I suggest reading if you want to get up to speed on different takes:
   1. An email by Councilor Dave Knecht to his district (and posted to FB by Christian Faulconer)
   2. A newsletter by Councilor Dave Sewell (posted to FB by Darla Fairbanks Stephenson with some commentary)
   3. An explanation of the two agreements before the Council by City CAO Wayne Parker (If this link breaks then go to the online agenda and read the first file under this item).
   My overall position on the role of transit in our community was published almost a year ago. I am not a fan of routing the line around BYU, but I believe the Council took a very hard look at this issue two years ago and made their decision. I believe that it is in our best interest to work together to make this project as beneficial as possible for our community. I believe that entering into these two agreements will do just that.
2. A discussion on the Parks and Recreation Capital Improvement Plans and the plans for the RAP Tax. The agenda packet is pretty thin on this item. I know BYU's Grantwell team has been looking into our options. I also know that a mix-up has delayed the implementation of the new tax. I imagine that this discussion will touch on these as well as other topics.
3. A discussion regarding Eagle Summit Construction, LLC request for a zone change from One-Family Residential (R1.10) to Low Density Residential (LDR) for property located at approximately 2470 West 1160 North. Lakeview North Neighborhood.
   I generally agree with the direction of this proposed development. I feel that it adds a housing type that isn't currently available which will be attractive to some in our community. I'm not sure that clustering 24 twin homes is the best way to do this, but in my opinion it is better than building more homes that fit the current R1.10 zoning. My biggest concern is that the density allowed by the requested zone is more than three times greater than what the proposed project calls for. The developer has signaled a willingness to proffer a development agreement. I am curious to see if the proffered agreement will address my concern.
4. Council Rules Policy Amendment: Items Referred from the Planning Commission.
   This is a fairly straight forward clean up of our Council Rules and Handbook.
5. A discussion regarding the Council Executive Director's duties.
   This is a fairly straight forward clean up of City code related to the duties of our Executive Director. The most important change adds an explicit duty of facilitating an annual review of priorities and strategies from the General Plan.
6. A discussion and review of the Development Review Process.
   Again, this one doesn't have a lot of documentation. I'm curious to see where this one goes.
7. A follow-up discussion regarding the Community Development fees identified for review from the Consolidated Fee Schedule.
   I'm feeling better about adjusting our Community Development fees. They haven't been adjusted for some time, we are below the average for surrounding cities, and the adjusted rates still seem reasonable.
8. A discussion regarding Public Works infrastructure in Provo City.
   Much of our waste-water facilities are nearing their end-of-life. We have the option to replace the equipment and structures at the current waste water plant in phases over the next several years, or build a new plant. There are pros and cons to either approach. If you would like more details, I recommend going to the online agenda, selecting "A tour of the Public Works Water Reclamation Facility." and reading the first and last documents filed under this item. The last document get into the possible funding.
9.  Closed Meeting