City Council

Regular Session 02/11/14 HON. MARY KATHERINE GREENLAW, MAYOR CITY OF FREDERICKSBURG, VIRGINIA HON. BRADFORD C. ELLIS, VICE -MAYOR, WARD ONE CITY COUNCIL HON. KERRY P. DEVINE, AT-LARGE HON. MATTHEW J. KELLY, AT-LARGE HON. GEORGE C. SOLLEY, WARD TWO HON. FREDERIC N. HOWE, III, WARD THREE HON. BEATRICE R. PAOLUCCI, WARD FOUR Council Chambers, 715 Princess Anne Street Fredericksburg, Virginia 22401 February 11, 2014 The Council of the City of Fredericksburg, Virginia, held a regular session on Tuesday, February 11, 2014, beginning at 7:30 p.m. in the Council Chambers of City Hall. City Council Present. Mayor Mary Katherine Greenlaw presiding. Vice- Mayor Bradford C. Ellis. Councilors Kerry P. Devine, Frederic N. Howe, III, Matthew J. Kelly, Beatrice R. Paolucci and George C. Solley. Also Present. City Manager Beverly Cameron, City Attorney Kathleen Dooley, Planning Director Chuck Johnston, Budget Manager Amanda Lickey and Clerk of Council Tonya B. Lacey. Opening Prayer and Pledge of Allegiance. Council was led in prayer by Councilor Matthew J. Kelly, followed by the Pledge of Allegiance led by Mayor Greenlaw. Officer Recognized. Mayor Greenlaw recognized the presence of Officer John Fesq at this evening’s meeting. Clean and Green Commission Presentation (D13-62). Anne Little, Chairperson of the Clean and Green Commission presented a PowerPoint presentation to discuss the trees along the downtown streets as well as the tree wells. She noted that tree 18523 Regular Session 02/11/14 canopies promote increased commercial spending by 12 to 20 percent. She said the types of trees that needed to be placed downtown should have a narrow crown, small leaves, no fruit, well behaved roots and they should be drought tolerant. Ms. Little also presented a sketch of how they would like to see the street corners bumped out to provide a narrowing roadway at the street corners which allows for safer pedestrian crossings. (See D14-62 for more information). Citizen Comment. The following speakers came forward to participate in the citizen comment portion of this evening's meeting. Scarlett Pons (D14-63 thru D14-67), President of the Fredericksburg Main Street Initiative, gave an update and highlights on some recent accomplishments. She noted that for Christmas they were able to purchase 200 holiday flags and holiday lights on 8 blocks. They have an office located at 904 Princess Anne Street and the office of the new Director will be located there. The Board had completed the Main Street yearly assessment report. She explained that over the next few months they would focus on having a work session with the Statewide Virginia Main Street Program. The workshops would focus on the various aspects of the program. Ms. Pons said they would be holding quarterly meetings with major stakeholders. Before closing she introduced the new Director, Ann Glave. (See D14-63 for more information). Emily Taggart- Schricker (D14-68), 801 Marye Street, also a Historic Fredericksburg Foundation, Inc. member asked Council to postpone their vote on the building heights item for the downtown. They feel building heights of the proposed heights would seriously impact the Historic District. She said they had been circulating a petition and received lots of support from concerned citizens and visitors. (See D14-68 18524 Regular Session 02/11/14 for more information). Sean Maroney (D14-69), 3004 Normandy Avenue, Executive Director for the Historic Fredericksburg Foundation, spoke in regards to the proposed downtown zoning amendments related to the height of buildings in the downtown. Mr. Maroney asked Council to postpone their vote until a broader and more engaged discussion could be held on the topic. (See D14-69 for more information). Carol Vinatieri, 310 Colonial Avenue, 22406, Senior at University of Mary Washington, also spoke regarding the zoning amendments. She said although the community growth was ongoing it should not be at the risk of the Historic downtown. She also urged Council to postpone their vote. Barbara Anderson, 1811 Washington Avenue, also spoke in opposition of he building height changes. She said Fredericksburg was the most historic city and the character needed to be preserved. She said economic development needed to be advanced but on a smaller scale. She asked that the vote be postponed and let this item be part of the Comprehensive Plan process. Richard Friesner, 1231 Hanover Street, member of the Planning Commission thanked Council for their service and he stated hat Council had more time to review the height changes. He also said he would be happy to have the Planning Commission review the item further or to make it part of the Comprehensive Plan process. Council Agenda Presented. The following items were presented to Council. 7A. Economic Development & Tourism – Vice-Mayor Ellis Economic Development & Tourism (D13-70). – Vice-Mayor Ellis 18525 Regular Session 02/11/14 stated that the City’s Economic Development isn’t proactive, but reactive and he feels this approach would not sustain the City. He proposed separating the two departments so that there could be 100 percent focus on tourism and 100 percent focus on economic development. Vice-Mayor Ellis said there would need to be a strategic approach that partners with the Economic Development Authority (EDA) to develop economic incentive packages that contain tailored incentives for the targeted businesses. He said he would like to provide a more formal proposal to the City Manager and then present it to the EDA and follow those meetings with a work session. He also stated that he would like to take a trip to Greenville, SC to see how their incentive program works. Vice-Mayor Ellis moved to direct the City Manager to plan a work session to discuss the pros and cons of separating Economic Development and Tourism into two departments; discuss how to best partner with EDA on economic development activities and determine the optimal structure of the Economic Development and Tourism Department if the two were separated; motion was seconded by Councilor Howe. Councilor Kelly said he thought this would be a good discussion to have and he felt it was more about what the City was willing to invest in economic development. He also stated that he was more interested in the heritage tourism aspect. He would like to have discussions to increase the marketing budget this year, but he would like to have the discussion with all the stakeholders. Councilor Devine also stated that she was willing to have the discussion even if there were no changes; she said it may spark changes in some other strategies. She said she was looking forward to the discussion and feedback from the City Manager and the EDA. 18526 Regular Session 02/11/14 Councilor Paolucci agreed that this was worthy of discussion and she also looked forward to hearing the feedback from the City Manager and the EDA. Councilor Solley also agreed it was worth discussion, he said there had been discussions over the years and he was sure there would continue to be discussions on how best to increase revenue in the City. He said the last time they had discussion Council decided to emphasize marketing but during the budget meetings money was not put towards it. He cautioned that taking this path would require funding. Councilor Howe agreed with the proposal, he said the empty storefronts needed to be addressed now. The Main Street program was a significant step forward and this initiative is imperative. He said if we don’t keep up and stay ahead there would be a loss of revenue. Mayor Greenlaw stated that she was glad to see the City Council unanimously supporting economic development because in the past Council has not followed through with funding. She said although it’s a good idea to have the EDA weigh in on whether the department should be reorganized, she said the City is doing this in a position of strength. Mayor Greenlaw stated that she was in an engineering office recently with a national company and a significant developer who said Fredericksburg was doing things right and that the City was positioning itself to take advantage of opportunities. She even praised the City’s EDA website and stated that site selection companies do much of their research online before they contact a City. Mayor Greenlaw also noted that being recognized as the Small Business City of the Year by the Small Business Association was not a small achievement as well as being recognized by the State for taking advantage of the innovative financing that the State made available for the Hyatt Hotel as well as all 18527 Regular Session 02/11/14 the other advantages the state has made available. She said it’s good to be committed to economic development. Councilor Kelly sated his reasoning for not supporting increasing the marketing budget was that he wanted to have a conversation of the past outcomes and he wanted to see if things could be done better and he also wanted to meet with the stakeholders (Main Street, National Park Services, Hospitality Council, and Museum). He does not want this to be an in house decision only. Vice-Mayor Ellis stated that he had discussed the proposal with members of the EDA as well as business owners, investors, realtor and brokers and it was warmly received. He said he did not disagree with meeting with the Heritage Tourism. He said he planned to propose during budget a dedicated percentage to Economic Development. He said if you don’t invest in economic development it will die. The motion was passed by the following unanimously recorded votes. Ayes (7). Councilors Greenlaw, Ellis, Devine, Howe, Kelly, Paolucci and Solley. Nays (0). City Manager’s Consent Agenda Accepted for Transmittal as Recommended (D13-71 thru D13-83). Following review and as recommended, Councilor Paolucci moved approval of the City Manager's consent agenda items; motion was seconded by Councilor Kelly and passed by the following unanimously recorded votes. Ayes (7). Councilors Greenlaw, Ellis, Devine, Howe, Kelly, Paolucci and Solley. Nays (0). • Transmittal of FRED Transit Progress Report – January 2014 (D14- 71). 18528 Regular Session 02/11/14 • Ordinance 14-08, Second Read, Amending the Regulations in the R-16 Residential and R-30 Residential Zoning Districts to Permit Additional Land to be Added to these Districts if it was Annexed by the City on January 1, 1984 (D14-72). • Ordinance 14-06, Second Read, Rezoning Approximately 1,121 Acres from R-1 Residential to R-2 Residential, R-12 Residential, R-16 Residential, or R-30 Residential (D14-73). • Ordinance 14-07, Second Read, Amending the Zoning Regulations to Repeal the R-1 Residential Zoning District (D14-74). • Ordinance 14-09, Second Read, Amending the Zoning Regulations in the Commercial/Office Transitional Zoning District to Reduce the Area of the Ground Floor to be Used for Commercial Uses, to Exclude Commercial Uses on the Ground Floor from the Floor Area Ratio Calculations, and to Reduce Required Open Space (D14-75). • Ordinance 14-10, Second Read, Amending the Zoning Regulations in the Gateway Corridor Zoning District to Exempt Single-Family Detached Dwellings from the Building Elements Guidelines (D14-76). • Ordinance 14-11, Second Read, Amending the Rules for Determining the Size of a Proposed Lot, by Listing “Environmentally Sensitive Areas” in Lieu of Using Chesapeake Bay Resource Protection and Resource Management Areas, and Excluding Private Streets from the Lot Size or Area Calculation (D14-77). 18529 Regular Session 02/11/14 • Ordinance 14-12, Second Read, Amending the Unified Development Ordinance to Clarify the Method for Measuring Building Height, to Define “Housing for Older Persons,” and to Amend the Definition of “Recycling Center” (D14-78). • Resolution 14-10, Amending the Fiscal Year 2014 Budget by Appropriating $68,000 for the Pilot Refuse and Recycling Program (D14-79). • Resolution 14-11, Amending the Fiscal Year 2014 Budget by Appropriating $20,000 for the Rehabilitation and Addition of Historic Wayside Signs (D14-80). • Transmittal of Boards and Commission Minutes o Public Transit Advisory Board – October 2, 2013 (D14-81). o Public Transit Advisory Board – December 4, 2013 (D14-82). o Recreation Commission – December 12, 2013 (D14-83). Adoption of Minutes (D14-84 thru D14-90). Councilor Howe moved approval of the August 13, October 8, November 12, November 26, December 10, 2013 Work Sessions and January 24, 2014 Joint Work Session and the October 8, 2013 revised Regular Session and the January 14 and January 28, 2014 Public Hearing and Regular Session minutes; motion was seconded by Councilor Kelly and passed by the following unanimously recorded votes. Ayes (7). Councilors Greenlaw, Ellis, Devine, Howe, Kelly, Paolucci and Solley. Nays (0). Resolution 14-12, First Read Approved, Amending the Fiscal Year Budget by Appropriating $221,438 in Fund Balance for the School 18530 Regular Session 02/11/14 Capital Fund (D13-91 thru D14-92). Upon a motion and as recommended Councilor Kelly moved to approve Resolution 14-12 on first read, amending the fiscal year budget by appropriating $221,438 in fund balance for the School Capital Fund; motion was seconded by Councilor Devine; and passed by the following unanimously recorded votes. Ayes (7). Councilors Greenlaw, Ellis, Devine, Howe, Kelly, Paolucci and Solley. Nays (0). Resolution 14-13, First Read Approved, Amending the Fiscal Year 2014 Budget by Appropriating the Fund Balance of the School Operating Fund and the School Grants Fund for School Purposes (D13- 93). Upon a motion and as recommended Councilor Paolucci moved to approve Resolution 14-13 on first read, amending the fiscal year 2014 budget by appropriating the fund balance of the School Operating Fund and the School Grants Fund for school purposes; motion was seconded by Councilor Devine; and passed by the following unanimously recorded votes. Ayes (7). Councilors Greenlaw, Ellis, Devine, Howe, Kelly, Paolucci and Solley. Nays (0). Resolution 14-14, Approved, Returning Proposed Amendments to the R-4 and R-8 Residential Zoning Districts Regulations to the Planning Commission for Further Study (D13-94). Upon a motion and as recommended Councilor Paolucci moved to approve Resolution 14-14, returning proposed amendments to the R-4 and R-8 Residential Zoning Districts regulations to the Planning Commission for further study; motion was seconded by Councilor Solley; and passed by the following unanimously recorded votes. Ayes (7). Councilors Greenlaw, 18531 Regular Session 02/11/14 Ellis, Devine, Howe, Kelly, Paolucci and Solley. Nays (0). Amending the Commercial Downtown Zoning District Regulations (D13-95). After staff overview Councilor Paolucci stated that she thought there needed to be two different zoning districts Commercial-Downtown and Commercial Downtown Historic District. After reading the purpose for the Commercial- Downtown District she realized it was clearly written to target the historic district, but there was areas that were zoned CD but were not in the historic district. Councilor Devine stated there were considerable issues that need exploring. She said that the Council had heard from the public and at this point she was not ready to move forward on a vote. She said she would like to get more feedback and possibly send it back to the Planning Commission for further study. Vice-Mayor Ellis also supported Councilor Paolucci’s statement. He said he didn’t have a problem with Commercial-Downtown, but stated it made since to have the Planning Department start from scratch and define commercial-downtown historic as a new zoning district. Councilor Solley noted that this item came to Council early last year and Council pulled it for more discussion and he said he’s glad that has happened. He also added that the Historic District does not cover all of the commercial downtown. He said what may be acceptable on Lafayette at the old landfill may not be acceptable on Sophia or Caroline Street and this was an issue that needed to be dealt with. Another issue would be how to approach doing this, he said he would look at each item separately but each item has a bearing on the other. He does not think it should be postponed too long. Councilor Solley said he would like to maintain control by looking at these items on a 18532 Regular Session 02/11/14 case by case basis. He does not favor by-right on any of the items. Councilor Howe agreed with Councilors Solley and Devine that the items needed to be looked at separately and the commercial downtown should be broken up because the historic district had its own set of challenges. He asked if there were any applications pending. Planning Director Johnston said there was one application that was working seriously and they have meet with the Technical Review Committee a couple of times but it was located outside the historic district, but was in the commercial downtown zoning. He said if the project were to go through it would blend well with the development scheme. He said there was also another project within the historic district but the potential use had changed. Councilor Howe also stated that maximizing the density and floor plan area on the first floor in a floodplain area would not work because it would put businesses in jeopardy. He said this would be a deterrent for businesses. Mr. Johnston added that the negative nature of being in a floodplain area had increased and with the changes in the federal insurance program the cost of doing development was rising significantly. He said he hoped the proposal would offer some relief by allowing an additional floor in some sections and in other sections it would only allow a few feet higher in height. Mr. Johnston asked if there were any issues regarding the uses in the Commercial District. He asked for direction to determine if he needed to separate into two different zoning districts. Mayor Greenlaw stated that she thought Council was looking at leaving the commercial downtown for the historic district as it was and making a variation outside of the historic district, but she said they were talking about mass and scale and 18533 Regular Session 02/11/14 those seem to be the main concerns as well as preservation of existing streetscapes, nature and appearances of sections of the downtown. Councilor Kelly had a number of issues with this item. The first issue he raised was the way the ad was written. He said there was no mention in the ad that this was related to the historic district. He would like to see that ads are made clearer for the public when discussions are being held on historic district as well as send the ads that are related to the historic district to the Historic Fredericksburg Foundation, Inc. (HFFI). Secondly, he said he did not think separating into two different districts would work in the long run because development on the outside would block the view shed of what’s going on in the historic district. Councilor Kelly also reminded Council that they had unanimously agreed to have the Architectural Review Board (ARB) review the Historic District Ordinance because of issue in the way it was being applied. He said he was not willing to make any decisions until this was completed first. He also said another issue he had was with special exceptions and he said he did not want to make any decisions until that issue was resolved with the Planning Commission. He said there was no rationale on allowing special exceptions unless it’s for public projects for public use. Councilor Kelly also had an issue with increasing the density downtown but he warned of all the parking that would be lost because of proposed projects downtown and he wanted to know where the people would park. He said there needed to be more discussions on what Council wanted the downtown to look like in 20 years. He said he would like all regulations pertaining to the downtown to be as strict and community supportive as possible. Councilor Devine moved to table the issue without a deadline; motion was 18534 Regular Session 02/11/14 seconded by Councilor Kelly. Mr. Johnston strongly encouraged Council not to table because he said the 100 percent ground floor requirement was a detriment and it would make development worse downtown. He said this would create dead space along pedestrian ways. The current rule was a mistake and he suggested that Council adopt, on an interim basis, the changes regarding density and mixed-use so that the current regulations don’t encourage bad development. Councilor Howe said Council needed to continue to move through the issue so he made a substitute motion that a timeline not be set and for Council to continue to receive information from ARB and the Planning Commission. There was no second. Councilor Devine withdrew her original motion to table and restated the motion to postpone action without a time limit; motion was seconded by Councilor Kelly. Councilor Solley said he did not agree with postponing indefinitely because it may not come back. He said he did not think there was too much that couldn’t be resolved in a month. Councilor Solley offered a substitute motion to postpone until the first meeting in March; Vice-Mayor Ellis seconded the substitute motion. Mayor Greenlaw stated that she could not support postponing because she said she felt Council needed to deal with the section that deals with the mixed-uses, she said postponing would not be in the best interest of the City. She had concerns about the height limits as everyone else and she did not want to lose control there. Councilor Paolucci also agreed that she did not want to postpone this item indefinitely and she would prefer it be brought back in March and she did not want to 18535 Regular Session 02/11/14 wait until Comprehensive Plan review because it would stop development. She said she was not in support of the height limits for the Sophia Street portion either. Councilor Kelly stated he could not support the substitute motion because a month isn’t sufficient time to sort this out. He would like to open this up to the public for more discussions. Councilor Devine said that was her reason for not putting a time frame on it. She said she was not opposed to redevelopment, but she didn’t want to rush through to a vote. Vice-Mayor Ellis suggested bringing each item (height, mixed-use and density) back separately in the next thirty days. He was aware of the mixed-use issue, but he would like to discuss it a little longer he said the City could not afford to inhibit growth. Councilor Solley amended his substitute motion to state that each item be brought back separately to the first meeting in March; Councilor Paolucci seconded the motion. Councilor Solley said bringing the items back does not obligate the Council to vote on them. Councilor Kelly said he could not support his until Council hears back form the ARB and the Planning Commission and he said he would like the height limit completely taken off the table. Councilor Kelly asked if the item was brought back in March in the current format and Council decided it did not want the density as a by-right and wanted it as a special use would it be considered a significant change. Mr. Johnston explained that if there was no change it would strip out the change to make it by right and it will be special use which is how it is currently written. Councilor Kelly does not have an issue with discussing this in a month, but he asked if the height limit could be taken off the table because Council was in agreement 18536 Regular Session 02/11/14 that they did not want that. City Attorney Dooley explained that the staff would not bring back the height limit item and there was no need for an amended motion it would simply be direction from Council and she deterred any other amendments or substitute motions. She further explained that there was a motion on the table to bring the items back separately at the first meeting in March, in addition during the discussion of that motion Council reiterated their disinterest in the proposal for height restrictions and that was helpful feedback for staff. She further offered that because of the objections of Council that staff would not bring back the height issue at the first meeting in March. Councilor Solley’s substitute motion was passed by the following recorded votes. Ayes (5). Councilors Ellis, Devine, Howe, Paolucci and Solley. Nays (2). Greenlaw and Kelly. Mr. Johnston stated that the procedural outline proposal was presented to the ARB at their last meeting and they would discuss at their March 10 meeting. The Planning Commission was to discuss the special exceptions, but the meeting was postponed and they would discuss it at their next meeting. Resolution 14-15, Approved, Renewing a Lease with Cellco Partnership, D/B/A Verizon Wireless, for Space on the Courtland Water Tank for the Operation of Telecommunications (D13-96). Upon a motion and as recommended Councilor Paolucci moved to approve Resolution 14-15, renewing a lease with Cellco Partnership, D/B/A Verizon Wireless, for Space on the Courtland Water tank for the operations of telecommunications; motion was seconded by Councilor Devine; and passed by the following unanimously recorded votes. Ayes (7). 18537 Regular Session 02/11/14 Councilors Greenlaw, Ellis, Devine, Howe, Kelly, Paolucci and Solley. Nays (0). Resolution 14-16, Approved, Declaring Official Intent Regarding Reimbursement of Certain Expenditures from Proceeds of City Obligations (D13-97). After a brief staff overview Councilor Howe expressed his concerns with moving forward and not having an agreement with Spotsylvania County. He would like to see an agreement such as that of the City and the Jail or the City and the R-Board. He felt as though the City had no options the way its set up now and he did not like that the City was contracting and not an actual partner. City Manager Cameron stated that with the decommissioning of the plant proposes additional options for the City. He said in the future if the City decided to decommission its facility in the future he saw this move as a way of positioning the City for the future. Upon a motion and as recommended Councilor Kelly moved to approve Resolution 14-16, declaring official intent regarding reimbursement of certain expenditures from proceeds of city obligations; motion was seconded by Councilor Solley; and passed by the following unanimously recorded votes. Ayes (7). Councilors Greenlaw, Ellis, Devine, Howe, Kelly, Paolucci and Solley. Nays (0). City Manager’s Report and Council Calendar (D14-98 thru D14- 99). City Manager Cameron asked if there were any questions regarding the Manager’s report or the Council Calendar. Activities highlighted on the report were as follows: Fall Hill Avenue to Close February 12 for Bridge Replacement, Neighborhood Capital Improvements Program, Second Annual United Way Benefit Golf Tournament, Fredericksburg Featured at the I-95 Welcome Center, Rain Gardens at Alum Spring Park, 18538 Regular Session 02/11/14 Eagle Scout Projects, Human Resources Implementing Changes, Online Training Now Available to Police, Pictometry® to Capture Aerial Imagery of Fredericksburg and United Way Campaign. Adjournment. There being no further business to come before the Council at this time, Mayor Greenlaw declared the meeting officially adjourned at 10:59 p.m. Mary Katherine Greenlaw Mary Katherine Greenlaw, Mayor Tonya B. Lacey Tonya B. Lacey, Clerk of Council, CMC 18539 Regular Session 02/11/14 [This page intentionally left blank.] 18540