01 MINUTES SPECIAL 06-26-08 - Laserfiche WebLink

Vice Mayor Thorne requested to include a public, collaborative process Councilmember Cook-Kallio agreed. The Vice Mayor Thorne also wanted to define ridgelines, identify what those are, and that the process evaluates whether or not we can define ridgelines other than a 25% slope. Councilmember Cook-Kallio said she would prefer not to include this but she would ask staff to create ballot language. She suggested keeping the ballot language simple and asked staff to start going about the process of identifying ridgelines and elevation levels. Vice Mayor Thorne said as long as the Council gets to that point, he was supportive of this. Councilmember Sullivan said initially it was stated the Council has in its work plan to create some sort of hillside ordinance, but Councilmember Cook-Kallio's proposal is for item 2 which is re-affirming the existing General Plan policies. Councilmember Cook-Kallio said she wants to add additional language to this to say that the Council will re-affirm the 1996 General Plan and include the commitment that the Council would bring forth an ordinance that would be subject to environmental review (CEQA), identifying elevation levels and major ridgelines and to include a provision to trump the other initiative.." She also would ask that we start before the November election so people could see what that process looks like and begin to have input. She said the bottom line is not us against them, but providing a hillside ordinance that does not leave the City open to litigation and actually protects the hillsides. Vice-Mayor Thorne accepted the amendment City Attorney Roush stated that if Option 2 goes to the ballot along with the commitment language and it got more votes than the other Initiative, and if the out come of the task force or collaborative public process came up with items that were different than the 1996 General Plan policies, then this would have to go back to the voters. Councilmember Cook-Kallio referred to Section 5.1 of the General Plan; "Develop a ridgeline preservation ordinance and scenic hillside design guidelines to improve safety and reduce the potential negative visual impacts of development in hilly areas." City Attorney Roush said this can be done, but that policy is more of a procedural matter than a substantive matter, and he wants to be sure staff brings back what the Council is looking for. She said the intent is to have everyone participate in the process and said those decisions can be made before the November election if everyone chooses to do so. Councilmember Sullivan said he was confused with the direction, said Karla Brown discussed the intent of the Initiative authors and to him, and the significance of this is that the agenda report identified many ways of how things could be interpreted. It seems that by the sponsors saying the intent of what was meant helps not only the voters understand but it also helps the City to understand those issues and provides a direction to develop that implementing ordinance later, which he thinks is necessary after the vote in November. He felt it gives Council guidance as to the Happy Valley Bypass Road, how it affects assisted living units, and plus it is in the public record. Special Meeting Minutes 13 June 26, 2008