Council Meetings - 2 June 2020

It feels like there is so much going on in the world right now.

Be safe. Be kind. Don't give up.

PROVO MUNICIPAL COUNCIL
Work Meeting Agenda

1:30 pm, Tuesday, June 2, 2020

Work Meetings are designed to be a less formal venue for discussion among Council Members. Generally, no public input is taken during the meeting.


Business

1. A presentation from the Provo School District. (20-092)
   The Superintendent of Provo School District will be giving an update about what is happening with the district. He will talk about the impacts the district is dealing with and how they plan to move forward in fall with classes. I am a fan of having a smaller school district that shares boundries with our city. The school board is elected by the same people who elect city leaders. We serve the same people and are funded by the same people. While we have different roles, it seems that this arrangement should make it easier to have good coordination between the District and the City.
   
   The District is facing some unusual and difficult challenges with the pandemic and the school building needs. Presentation only. Much of the time was spent on explaining the plan to do a phased rebuilt of Timpview High.
2. A discussion on the proposed FY 2021 budget. (20-008)
   The Council has adopted the FY 2021 tentative budget and continues to review items in the budget. One item of discussion is the Tier II retirement enhancement for public safety, and the City’s contribution to that. It's been a tough year to budget, but I feel we are getting close. There were some meetings last week to discuss some policy tweaks, but I don't know if we will be ready to present in this meeting or if it'll need to wait for two more weeks. A motion that Provo City Municipal Council directs that the City “pick-up” (that is, pay) the required member contribution, which will be designated as employee contributions, on behalf of employees serving as a Public Safety Officer or as a Firefighter that are members of the Public Safety and Firefighter Tier II Hybrid Retirement System was approved 7:0. This is in response to changes made by the State Legislature and was recommended by the City Administration. It was built into the proposed budget.
3. A discussion regarding beer licensing regulations and density restrictions. (20-077)
   Staff is working with Council on their preferences in regard to the different proposals put forth by the brewpub licensing subcommittee. The goal of this discussion is to give direction to the subcommittee so they can move forward. This has been a difficult and unusual issue. The way the committee work has been handled by the Council has also been unusual and I feel it has added to the difficulty. Hopefully we will get to a decision soon. A motion to strike restaurant regulations from any further discussion in the committee was approved 4:3, with Bill Fillmore, David Sewell, and David Harding opposed. This has been such an exhausting issue to work through. The Council Staff prepared a survey that all the councilors filled out before the meeting, with the hope that it would speed our discussion along and so we could understand which provisions of the proposals had majority Council support. This backfired a bit because the survey showed that a couple of provisions had 4:3 support, but in the meeting they ended up having 3:4 support (i.e. majority opposition). It was a painful process to get to that understanding because the survey showed the opposite.



Policy Items Referred from the Planning Commission

4. Chris Ensign requests a zone change from Residential Agricultural (RA) and A1.5 to R1.7 for property located at approximately 901 W 1560 S. Lakewood Neighborhood (PLRZ20200079)
   This item is the proposed rezoning of approximately 18.5 acres from the RA residential agricultural and the A1.5 agricultural zones to the R1.7 single family residential zone. The rezoning would facilitate the development of a residential subdivision that would contain approximately 54 single-family residential lots. The current land use designation for the project is residential, as shown on both the General Plan Map and the Southwest Area Land Use Map. The proposed concept plan would comply with the maximum density of 4 units per acre (net) called out in the Westside Development Policies. The Westside Development Policies, though not yet adopted, were considered and used in the development of the adopted Southwest Area Land Use Plan. Planning Commission recommended approval. "I feel that this proposal is about as good as we can expect. I think the committee that drafted the broad development policies for west Provo had hoped for even better, with a variety of housing types sprinkled in, but we, as the government, failed to create zones that would actually allow that kind of variety. I do think it is unfortunate that a more recent neighborhood meeting wasn't held. I don't know if that is enough to change my vote." Presentation only. This item was already scheduled for the Council Meeting on June 2, 2020. See my report of item 3 in the evening meeting.
5. An Ordinance Text Amendment request to add the Very Low Density Residential (VLDR) zone to the Provo City Code as Chapter 14.14F. Citywide application (PLOTA20200120)
   The Community and Neighborhood Services Department on behalf of the Provo Municipal Council has requested to amend the Provo City Code to add the Very Low Density Residential (14.14F) zone. There is no proposed development requesting to utilize this zone. The proposed zone would have a minimal impact on a neighborhood due to the density limitation and could be a buffer between One Family Residential (14.10) and Low Density Residential (14.14A) zones. The proposed zone would require the residential units to follow the Residential Design Guidelines which would result in a higher quality of product within the neighborhood. Planning Commission recommended approval. The idea behind this new zoning option was suggested in a Council Meeting by a member of the public. I think it is a great idea and will help diversify our housing stock while keeping projects compatible with the surrounding areas. This zone has the density of an R1.6 zone but the flexibility of the LDR zone.
   
   There are a couple of proposed provisions that I have questions about, but overall I'm excited to see this come to fruition. Presentation only. This item was already scheduled for the Council Meeting on June 2, 2020. See my report of item 2 in the evening meeting.



Closed Meeting

Closed meetings (aka executive meetings) are held without the public present and must meet one of the conditions listed in Utah State Code (§ 52-4-204 and 52-4-205 et. seq.). If a closed meeting is needed, it will be announced at that time. A closed meeting was held.



Adjournment

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PROVO MUNICIPAL COUNCIL
Regular Meeting Agenda

5:30 PM, Tuesday, June 2, 2020

Opening Ceremony

Items in this category do not involve legislative action.



Public Comment

Instructions for making public comments at this electronic meeting can be found on the officially published agenda: agendas.provo.org.

Fifteen minutes have been set aside for any person to express ideas, concerns, comments, or issues that are not on the agenda: Please state your name and city of residence into the microphone.

Please limit your comments to two minutes.

State Law prohibits the Council from acting on items that do not appear on the agenda.



Action Agenda

1. A resolution creating a Public Infrastructure District for the medical school and associated housing. (20-090)
   The developer of the medical school and associated housing would like to speak with the Council about creating a Public Infrastructure District (PID) to provide a financing mechanism for the removal of former landfill debris and the installation of utilities and infrastructure. The letter of intent and the draft policy document for the consideration for creating PIDs (included in the supplemental materials) was reviewed in a CRC meeting on May 6, 2020, that was attended by all of the development review departments. None of them expressed any concerns. There was a question about scope and size of these types of developments. The answer is that this type of funding mechanism really only makes sense for large developments – such as a medical school and associated multiple family housing. It was also noted that should Provo consider the creation of PIDs, that single-family detached residential development would not likely be considered for approval. The Council has heard a presentation on the creation of Public Infrastructure Districts to create discrete districts to apply to specific parcels of ground that, with the creation of the PID, self-impose an additional property tax levy, the proceeds of which are used to construct public infrastructure such as water, sewer, storm drain and roadway improvements. I think this is a great application for this new tool given to us by the State Legislature. At this point, I feel it is just a matter of ensuring it is implemented properly. Approved 7:0. The Staff and consultants were well prepared and had everything in order.
2. An ordinance amending Provo City Code to enact the Very Low Density Residential (VLDR) zone as Chapter 14.14F. Citywide Application (PLOTA20200120)
   This was item 5 on the work meeting agenda. See my preview for item 5 in the work meeting. Approved 7:0. I'm excited to see when this new zoning option will be first used.
3. An ordinance amending the zone map classification from Residential Agricultural (RA) and A1.5 to R1.7 for approximately 18.5 acres of property located at 901 W 1560 S. Lakewood Neighborhood (PLRZ20200079)
   This was item 4 on the work meeting agenda. See my preview for item 4 in the work meeting. A motion to continue this item and to put it on Open City Hall was approved 7:0. I believe this is the first major rezone request for land west of I-15 since the West Side Development Policies were adopted by the Council a few years ago. It aligns pretty well with the policies. The continuation will allow for more resident input and for getting some questions answered.
4. ***CONTINUED*** An ordinance amending Provo City Code relating to permitted uses and yard requirements of the M1 Light Manufacturing Zone. Citywide application. (PLOTA20200117)
   This item was not ready to be heard.
5. A public hearing and an ordinance adopting a budget for Provo City Corporation for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2020 and ending June 30, 2021, in the amount of $292,939,096. (20-008)
   This is the first of two public hearings on the budget. More budget information can be found on our website: https://www.provo.org/government/city-council/budget. This is the first hearing on the main budget. I've talked a lot about this budget over the past two months. The plan is to pass it on the 16th of June. There may be a small tweak or two before that happens. Public hearing only. A second public hearing has already been scheduled for June 16, 2020. Here is the proposed budget.




Redevelopment Agency of Provo

6. A public hearing and a resolution adopting a budget for the Redevelopment Agency of Provo City Corporation for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2020 and ending June 30, 2021, in the amount of $1,299,333. (20-009)
   This is the first of two public hearings on the budget. More budget information can be found on our website: https://www.provo.org/government/city-council/budget. This is the first hearing on the RDA budget. It will also likely be passed on the 16th. Public hearing only. A second public hearing has already been scheduled for June 16, 2020. This does not include any CARES Act or Pandemic-related programs that we have been considering recently. Any changes will be made by future action.




Stormwater Service District

7. A public hearing and a resolution adopting a budget for the Provo City Stormwater Service District in the amount of $6,704,839 for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2020 and ending June 30, 2021. (20-010)
   This is the first of two public hearings on the budget. More budget information can be found on our website: https://www.provo.org/government/city-council/budget. This is the first hearing on the storm water budget. It will also likely be passed on the 16th. Public hearing only. A second public hearing has already been scheduled for June 16, 2020. The storm water budget typically isn't too contraversial.




Adjournment