City Council

Minutes of the Millcreek City Council February 24, 2021 6:30 p.m. Special Meeting The City Council of Millcreek, Utah, met in a special public on February 24, 2021 at City Hall, located at 3330 S. 1300 E., Millcreek, UT 84106. The meeting was conducted electronically per Millcreek State of Local Emergency Directive No. 2 of 2020 and live streamed via the City's website with an option for online public coiui'nent. PRESENT: Council Members City Staff Jeff Silvestrini, Mayor (electronic) John Brems, City Attorney (electronic) Silvia Catten, District 1 (electronic) Elyse Sullivan, City Recorder Dwight Marchant, District 2 (electronic) Rita Lund, Cornrnunications Director Cheri Jackson, District 3 (electronic) Kurt Hansen, Legislative Policy Director Bev Uipi, District 4 (arrived at 7:llpm, electronic) Francis Lilly, Plaru'iing and Zoning Director (electronic) Robert May, Plaru'ier (electronic) Erin O'Kelley, Planner (electronic) Electronic Attendees: Amber Measom, Diane Angus, Joru'iy Murdock, Allen Sowards, Jeff Waters, Nancy Carlson-Gotts, Britt McPartland, Robert Brough, Wayne Johnson, Sahara Hayes, Nazoil Scott, Matt Gardner, Richard Williamson, David Baird, Rob Hunsaker, Jamie Walker, Heather Derum, Jolene Croasmun, Ted Cundick, Kyle Taft, and Lynda Bagley. SPECIAL MEETING - 6:30 p.m. TIME COMMENCED: 6:33 p.m. Mayor Silvestrini called the special meeting to order. 1. Training, Community Council Budgets and Priorities Mayor Silvestrini said he wanted to do some training, answer the community councils' questions, discuss policy, and get feedback. He said state law dictated a lot of the City's actions. He thanked the cornrnunity councils for their service and said the City Council valued their input. Francis Lilly said the theme for his presentation was how to avoid icebergs since the City dealt with property rights balanced with community interests. The community councils should receive the Planning Commission's meeting agendas in advance so that they can fonnally weigh in on code text changes, zone changes, conditional use permits, special exceptions- sidewalks and dwellings, and General Plan amendments per Millcreek Code 2.56.100. The practice for planning staff has been to provide them with a staff memorandum on a project a week in advance of the community council meeting and attend the meeting to discuss the recommendation. Staff's expectation is that the applicant leads any applicant-initiated process that requires a community Millcreek City Council Meeting Minutes 24 February 2021 Page 2 of 4 council recommendation. Staff is not required to attend the community council meetings but are required to arrange a meeting with an applicant if the council requests one. When the community councils do not have their monthly meeting, staff can arrange a neighborhood meeting and send the councils a written report. The applicants have a reasonable expectation to move through the application process quickly. Lilly pointed out that traditional subdivisions are not something the community councils give a formal recommendation on unless the subdivision requires a conditional use permit. The community councils also give recommendations on municipal services such as priorities regarding facilities and projects. Mayor Silvestrini said subdivisions did not go to the community councils because they were frequently a permitted use, if they met code they were entitled to approval. The City is not in a position to allow for public input on some things. He said the Planning Cornrnission was limited in what they could do, but they approve subdivisions. Rita Lund said all four community councils had submitted their capital improvement project priorities for the coming fiscal year. The City Council will be working on the budget and financing for those projects. Lilly said residents that are proxitate to certain land use applications receive notice that they can provide cornrnent and the community councils receive some public comment on those applications. He requested the cornrnunity councils inform him earlier of when they are holding meetings so staff can add the meeting information to those notices. Lilly said a strong recommendation from the community council would have a basis on existing adopted policy, reflect expert recommendations, mitigate reasonably anticipated detrimental effects of a conditional use application, follow the code, and not require anything that was not in code. He said if a project meets all code requirements, then conditions could not arbitrarily be made. He explained that a detrimental effect depends on the neighborhood and zone; commercial and neighborhood detrimental effects would be different. Lilly pointed out that traffic impacts were different on a major thoroughfare than on a neighborhood road. Roads in general can accommodate more traffic than anticipated. As a rule of thumb, a typical suburban household makes 10 trips per day (pre-pandemic). Lilly said an incompatible design was acknowledged as a detrimental effect. Detrimental effects arising firom incompatible designs could be use, scale, intensity, height, mass, setbacks, character, construction, solar access, landscaping, fencing, screening, architectural design, and exterior detailing/finishes and colors within the neighborhood in which the conditional use will be located. In many neighborhoods, it can be difficult to force a color change in a building. Trees, screening, compatible fencing, and incorporation of commonly found materials are fair game unless the Legislature says otherwise. Staff has had success in moving accesses, waste container locations, and windows/balconies based on the community councils' recornrnendations. Lilly said the community councils should not make recornrnendations based on the character of an applicant, who might live in the project, or for personal reasons. He reminded the cornrnunity council members that conditional uses are presumed legal. There should not be a recommendation of denial for a conditional use permit unless there is a significant reasonably anticipated detrimental effect that cannot be mitigated. Lilly had only seen one conditional use permit be successfully denied. He emphasized that community council members should avoid ex parte discussion with an applicant or make commitments to applicant outside of the public meeting. Lilly pointed out that the zoning or density allowed in a zone was based on code, so a developer building to the maximum density was allowed. He then welcomed informal recommendations by the community council members on any matter. Millcreek City Council Meeting Minutes 24 February 2021 Page 3 of 4 Mayor Silvestrini said the community council members could contact staff, the City Council, or use the "Report a Concern" function on the City' s website. He said the cornrnunity councils' meetings should be open to the public. He said the community councils were not subject to the Open and Public Meetings Act as the City Council was. He informed them that a quorum of City Council Members could not attend their meetings without noticing it as a public meeting. He pointed out that City Council districts overlapped community council districts. Mayor Silvestrini said the City was working on the city center, Millcreek Common, between 1300 E. and Highland Drive and 3300 S. and the stoplight in front of Harmons. He said all the properties had been acquired for the park and the groundbreaking for it would be on March 9, 2021. A temporary parking lot would be constructed to accornrnodate the southern portion of the park in phase 1. Mayor Silvestrini said the City's current city hall was on a lease that had about 2.5 years left. The City had an independent company send out a survey to residents about future city hall options. The residents wanted the City to own the next city hall and have space for the community, and supported city hall being in the city center and the City working with a private partner to leverage retail space and parking. The city hall would include space for the Unified Police Department. Robert Brough made the following online coinment: "Having UPD Millcreek at the commons also means that thepolice can be a PART of the community and publicly visible as a friendly face of law enforcement which is important in our current times." Francis Lilly showed renderings of Millcreek Common park, logos, and the programmed space for a potential future city hall. Mayor Silvestrini explained the prograrnrned space by floor which included ground level coinrnercial, a roof community room, and uses for the various city departments. Mayor Silvestrini said the rendering was a massing, not a design yet. Jamie Walker made the following online comment: "Has the city considered building a performing arts center in this area or in the city? There are a few companiesI know would be interested." Lilly said Millcreek completed an art access study that called for rehearsal space, like a black box. Staff would like to incorporate something to accommodate it. He also pointed out that there would be an amphitheater in phase two of Millcreek Common. Mayor Silvestrini said Mike Winder, Economic Development Director, had been having conversations with an established theater group about being housed in Millcreek. Kyle Taft made the following online coinrnent: "How will the new building befimded? Has a building fund already been established?" Mayor Silvestrini said the City had not yet decided. He said the City had been able to eliminate the inherited debt for police services, $10 million, so the City had head room for future borrowing. He said it could also be funded the same way as the park, a sales tax bond. Rita Lund pointed out that there was an art gallery planned to be part of the cornrnunity space on the grorind floor of the future city l'iall. Another idea would be to have the amphitheater be able to be closed off in the winter to become a black box theater. Millcreek City Council Meeting Minutes 24 February 2021 Page 4 of 4 Francis Lilly highlighted a goal/advantage to having city hall in Millcreek Cornrnon was to complete the space with a good civic use activation and incubate businesses. The park would allow for food truck rallies on a periodic basis and kiosk size businesses would complement the park. Amber Measom asked where the city hall would sit within the Millcreek Common. Lilly said roughly on the corner of Chambers Avenue and the Common, on the west side. He highlighted it on a map. Mayor Silvestrini said the developers' building on 1300 E. and along the Common would have some retail function on the ground floor with residential/office uses on top. There would also be a parking structure in that space. Council Member Marchant pointed out that the ice ribbon would be open by next winter. Mayor Silvestrini said the City was looking to hire an Events Director for the Common. The meeting ended at 7:43 p.m. APPROVED: pate')-2"-'i' Jeff Silvestrini, Mayor Attest: E!:< City Recorder