01 - Laserfiche WebLink

It was m/s by Thorne /Cook Kallio to waive full reading and adopt Ordinance No. 1998 approving the rezoning of three sites in Hacienda Business Park, as filed under Case PRZ -48. Councilmember McGovern said she still only supports the rezoning of two sites and could not support the motion. Councilmember Sullivan said that he primarily struggled with the "good cause" clause. He said this is ultimately the guiding document, and while the process which was just adopted will hopefully work well, the developer can still use "good cause" as an escape. He noted that one property owner sounded as though they were ready to do so tonight. He recognized the legal constraints but said he would prefer to see language that does not provide such an open door. Mayor Hosterman stated support for the ordinance, as written. Councilmember McGovern concurred with Councilmember Sullivan regarding "good cause." Vice -Mayor Cook Kallio asked if including language that requires the property owner to show that the task force has not operated in good faith would solve the problem. Mayor Hosterman asked how that argument would be supported or disproved. Mr. Roush said this could be a ground for good cause and the Council would then be responsible for determining if there was any substance to that. He said there could presumably be many reasons for a property owner to argue good cause and this is why it was left open ended. He said staff felt that it gave a stronger legal argument to say there was not an overwhelming impediment for a property owner to proceed with a project, provided that it could make a case in front of the Council. He noted that, while Vice -Mayor Cook Kallio may have stated for the record that the task force failing to operate in good faith would be good cause, other Council members may not feel the same. Councilmember McGovern asked Mr. Roush how he would appeal the Council's decision to deny a good cause action if he were representing the property owners. Mr. Roush explained that courts typically attempt to determine whether or not a Council's decision is arbitrary, capricious, or entirely lacking in evidentiary support. He said there is a great deal of discretion vested in Councils to determine what constitutes good cause under these circumstances and, provided none of those things were determined, a court would uphold the Council's decision. Councilmember McGovern asked if the same would be true with the language stating a 12- month goal for the task force. Mr. Roush said that the qualifications provided by staff and Council has built in a certain amount of flexibility with respect to that period. Councilmember McGovern requested examples of the task force moving forward with good faith. Mr. Roush said that good faith would be evidenced by the task force's progress on the objectives outlined in the staff report. He said if the task force were still discussing organizational issues ten months into the process, the Council may reach a different conclusion. City Council Minutes Page 16 of 21 November 3, 2009