City Council

Minutes of the Mnlcreek City Council January 22, 2024 5:00 p.m. Work Meeting 7:00 p.m. Regular Meeting The City Council of Millcreek, Utah, met in a public work meeting and regular meeting on January 22, 2024, at City Hall, located at 1330 E. Chambers Avenue, Millcreek, UT 84106. The meeting was live streamed via the City's website with an option for online public cominent. PRESENT: Council Members City Staff Jeff Silvestrini, Mayor Mike Winder, City Manager Silvia Catten, District 1 Francis Lilly, Assistant City Manager Thom DeSirant, District 2 Alex Wendt, Deputy City Recorder Cheri Jackson, District 3 Kurt Hansen, Facilities Director Bev Uipi, District 4 John Brems, City Attorney (Virtual) Robert May, Planner Jim Hardy, Building Official Attendees: Blake Christensen, Jamie Walker, Ryan Warner, Conrad Reichert, Emma Verharren, Aubrey Reichert, Tim Bachrnan, Jennifer Christensen, Jed Brian, Rogelio Franco, Aliza Franco Freedmen, Cynthia Lund, Howard Lemcke, Laura Renshaw, Nelson Warr, David Baird WORK MEETING - 5:00 p.m. TIME COMMENCED - 5:02 p.m. Minutes by Deputy City Recorder, Alex Wendt Mayor Silvestrini called the work meeting to order. 1. Unified Fire Authority Quarterly Report; Chief Zach Robinson Chief Robinson could not make it to the meeting. 2. Wasatch Front Waste and Recycling District Quarterly Report; Pam Roberts, General Manager/CEO Ms. Roberts gave the report from Wasatch Front Waste and Recycling. The average fee per ton for curbside garbage is $33.73 per ton, the recycling fee is $65.43 per ton, and green waste is $17.58 per ton. Green waste collection is very popular in Millcreek. This is the fourth year of reserving a curbside dumpster for green waste. Council Member Catten said her neighborhood is Millcreek City Council Meeting Minutes 22 January 2024 Page 2 of 9 frustrated because dumpster reservations on the weekend sell out so fast. That is how popular the service is. Council Member Catten asked if the dates for reservation can be spaced out more to allow more people to get the dates they prefer for their reservations. Ms. Roberts said she will check on the feasibility of this. Mayor Silvestrini said that Ms. Roberts lias helped with resident issues on reserving green waste collection. Wasatch Front Waste and Recycling District does their best to divert waste from landfills. Residents of Millcreek diverted about 20% of waste from landfills in 2023. The district wide goal is 18%. Millcreek makes up 18% of the district, 15,787 homes in the 85,806-home district. 96% of Millcreek residents responded that they want to keep weekly recycling pick-up. Curbside recycling in Millcreek did decrease in 2023 when compared to 2022 by less than 100 tons. Ms. Roberts said she would do more research into this. Landfill vouchers have been moved to an online reservation system instead of paper vouchers. 7,616 reservations and containers were delivered during the 120 programs, this equates to 63 deliveries per day. 1,296 containers were delivered in 21 days to Millcreek. This is 8% of the number of homes serviced in the city and 17% of the total number of containers delivered district wide. Collection day for garbage and recycling has been changed to Tuesday for 736 homes. Jr. Vigil from Wasatch Front Waste and Recycling has been nominated for the National Waste and Recycling Association (NWRA) Driver of the Year Competition. Ms. Roberts recognized Council Member DeSirant for his hard work on the Wasatch Front Waste and Recyding Board. 3. Historic Preservation Commission Annual Update; Francis Lilly, Planning Director Mr. Lilly said the Historic Preservation Commission (HPC) had a great year. They did a lot of work moving towards adding the Mount Aire Acres neighborhood to the National Register of Historic Places. A neighborhood meeting was held on this issue. A consultant was hired to conduct a survey of the area. The same consultant will probably be hired to help complete the paperwork for nomination. Once tis nomination is complete it is up to the Council to adopt design standards for the neighborhood. This would help enforce compliance. The HPC also worked to create a scope of collections policy. Mr. Lilly expects to bring the final draft to a meeting in February. Once this policy is adopted, the HPC can create a web portal for the documents. The timeline for the National Register nomination is about a year. This takes a significant amount of time. This patient approach is better than doing it fast. They will also do a survey in the Rancho Villa neighborhood and the Veteran Heights neighborhood as potential candidates for adding to the national register. There are a couple sites that may be eligible but would require property owner buy-in. Coinmissioner Luflcin has written a few articles for the city newsletter. 4. Update on Short-Term Rental Policy Amendments; Francis Lilly, Planning Director Mr. Lilly gave the update on short-term rentals (STR). The City Code was updated in 2020, this limited the number of licenses by council district, required owner occupancy, created occupancy limits, and eliminated the most egregious examples. Additional updates may be warranted. Owner occupancy language is vague, multiple STRs can cluster in one neighborhood. Staff continue to receive complaints about parking and noise. Academic research indicates at least a correlation and potentially a causal relationship between STRs and decreasing affordability of housing options and supply of housing options. Mr. Lilly said that the Airbnb website is intentionally vague about where the actual locations of STRs are. Council Member Jackson asked where the STRs are located. Mr. Lilly said they are mostly east of Highland Drive. There is a significant greater interest in District 3 and 4. Millcreek City Council Meeting Minutes 22 January 2024 Page 3 of 9 Mr. Lilly said New York City has mandated that the owner occupant must be on premises during the rental. Proof of ownership requires two items from a long list, including tax documents, social security statements, pay stubs, etc. Washington County Utah states that the owner must live on the premises 183 days a year. STRs are prohibited for large dwellings. They are only allowed in dwellings 1500-3500 square feet or less. Washington County has an enhanced compliance declaration, lodging only, events are prohibited at the rental. North Las Vegas requires a 660-foot separation requirement, noise monitoring requirement with 30-day recording capability prohibited in single-family zones and must be used for overnight accommodation. Hurricane, Utah has a 300-foot separation between rentals. They have a maximum number of licenses issued and a waiting list; only one owner can own a STR. Hurricane is contemplating prohibiting them in single family zones. Mr. Lilly spoke with the Business License Official in Hurricane, and they are not satisfied with the 300-foot separation. If ownership changes the new owner has 45 days to reapply or the license is voided. Mr. Lilly gave a summary of emails that he has received. There have been 26 email responses, 21 were in favor of high standards, 5 responses supported leaving the rules as is or even reducing regulation. Concerns include traffic, neighborhood cohesion, safety, noise, owner occupancy, over-regulation, and affordable housing. Staff recomi'nendations include a 300-foot separation between units, provide proof of residency annually with a compliance affidavit where the owner would provide documentation showing residency through a utility bill, voter registration, bank statement, car registration, tax forms, insurance documents, post conspicuous notice on exterior of dwelling, maximum dwelling size of potentially 200 square feet, maximum number of guests reduced to 6 and a good neighbor guide. Currently state law prohibits cities from using only a STR notice as evidence. Mayor Silvestrini said that Millcreek will ask neighbors to document issues to help the city enforce the rules. Mr. Lilly said perhaps the city could create a publicly accessible map of where short-term rentals are in Millcreek. Council Member Uipi asked if residents can be informed in the newsletter if you have a short-term rental to contact the city. Maybe there is a way to educate residents. Mr. Lilly said that the city cannot enforce code solely on a listing from Airbnb. Mr. Lilly asked the Finance Director to obtain from the State Tax Commission a list of homes that are paying transient room tax to help enforcement. Mayor Silvestrini said there are bills at the legislature now that would beef up enforcement of the collection of transient room tax. There is also discussion about repealing the prohibition on using an Airbnb listing. Mayor Silvestrini said that perhaps limiting rentals by district is not the way to go forward. Also, if the city is too draconian then people will avoid compliance. Neighbors are reluctant to help with enforcement, but additional measures would cost taxpayer money. Council Member Jackson asked about rentals that are already too close to each other. Mr. Lilly said he would write language that allows that to continue for the duration of the license. There are hundreds of STRs in Millcreek, most of which fly under the radar, this is still informative because these are good neighbors. But some are very problematic, and this is an issue. Mr. Lilly said there is value in preventing neighborhoods that are filled with short term rentals. Council Member Jackson asked that there be real teeth in the rules because past issues have gone un- prosecuted by the county district attorneys. The Business License Administrator, Alex Wendt, spoke about compliance in Millcreek when homeowners are notified that they need to obtain a business license. Most people obtain a business license when they have been notified. Mr. Brems said there are a few options for enforcing compliance. There can be a civil penalty or criminal Millcreek City Council Meeting Minutes 22 January 2024 Page 4 of 9 penalty, but the criminal penalty has a higher burden of evidence. Mr. Lilly said there is value in drafting law according to the median Iaw set. Not too draconian and not too vague or easy. Mr. Lilly said that ten adults in one Airbnb is a lot of cars and a lot of adults. Mr. Lilly said he likes the idea of a good neighbor guide; this could serve as constructive notice. Mayor Silvestrini said the separation between units is more important than a cap on STRs. Council Member Jackson did not support increasing the cap. Council Member Uipi asked if the city increases the cap, then what happens when the city needs to increase the cap in the future. A car parked on the street is not always a car that is from a STR. Mayor Silvestrini said that complaints are forwarded to the police and code enforcement. The city must rely on what is verifiable. Mayor Silvestrini asked if there was any public coinment. David Baird said there are many rentals that fly under the radar and there are a few bad actors. The system works to a certain extent. Mr. Baird said that issues in the winter create problems with garbage trucks and snowplows. Mr. Baird said he would support some stronger regulations. Tara Heiden said that STRs have their place, but they do have an impact on the cornrnunity. The parking in her neighborhood is really impacted by a STR. One owner has a permitted Airbnb and has bought a second home that they wish to rent as a STR. The homes here were not made to have 15 people in them. The cul-de-sac already has problems with garbage removal and snow removal. Ms. Heiden did a count on the Airbnb website and found that there were 90 east of Wasatch Boulevard. There were about 500 in the whole city, by her count. She would like it if there was proximity limit on STRs. 5. R-I Building Height Discussion; Francis Lilly, Planning Director Robert May, Planner, gave this presentation. The first read was on November 13, 2023. There have been concerns about the proposed increase to dwelling height. Staff proposed a 2-foot increase and the plaru'iing commission asked for a different increase. The plaru'iing commission and staff invited 18,000 residents to meet with plaru'iing staff to discuss the updates. Staff visited each of the four community councils and the planning commission on two separate occasions. One complaint that residents have is that increased density will reduce property values. People are also concerned about blocked views and lack of sunlight. The majority of community council members were in support of combining Residential Compatibility Overlay Zone (RCOZ) standards with the R-Zones and the proposed changes. Mr. Lilly said that when staff met with the coinmunity councils, they had recommendations of a 32-foot lieight maximum, restated preferences for a 28-foot height maximum, 30-foot height and apply a 60 degree/12-foot building envelope for properties west of I-215. These are from Canyon Rim Citizens Association, Mount Olympus Coinrnunity Council, the East Mill Creek Community Council, and Millcreek Community Council respectively. 94% of new permits issued met the RCOZ option "A" standard without need of a deviation or special exception. Most residential additions or alterations were approved using the RCOZ option "A" standard with the LUHO permits being rare. Planning staff have done a very good job of helping residents meet the city standards. Millcreek has a max building elevation of 28.3 feet in R-1 Zones. Holladay has a 32-foot limit, 35 feet in Cottonwood Heights, 33.3 feet in Murray, and 28 feet in Salt Lake City. Millcreek has a more generous rear yard setback than other cities and this can help accommodate some height. About 50% of Millcreek is zoned single family, 18% is zones for higher density multifamily, 12% is zoned of medium density. Staff recommendations include applying a box envelope to the Millcreek City Council Meeting Minutes 22 January 2024 Page 5 of 9 R-2-6.5 zoned lots. Mayor Silvestrini said smaller lot sizes help affordability and this is already allowed in Millcreek. The city may have to visit this again after the state legislature. 6. Staff Reports There were none. 7. Discussion of Agenda Items, Correspondence, and/or Future Agenda Items There was none. Council Member Uipi moved to adjourn the work meeting at 6:39 p.m. Council Member DeSirant seconded. Mayor Silvestrini called for the vote. Council Member Uipi voted yes, Council Member DeSirant voted yes, Council Member Catten voted yes, Council Member Jackson voted yes, and Mayor Silvestrini voted yes. The motion passed unanimously. REGULAR MEETING - 7:00 p.m. TIME COMMENCED: 7:03 p.m. 1. Welcome, Introduction and Preliminary Matters 1.1 Pledge of Allegiance Mayor Silvestrini called the meeting to order and led the pledge of allegiance. 1.2 Unified Police Department Millcreek Precinct Officer of the Month for December 2023, and Officer of the Year 2023 Officer Ortiz was awarded Officer of the month for his work on a bank robbery which helped the FBI catch the suspect. Multiple investigators at UPD give Officer Ortiz high accolades for his good work. The Citizens Advisory Board presented Officer Ortiz with a certificate. Chief Petty-Brown presented Officer of the Year for 2023 to Detective Warner. He has served as a special victim detective for 18 months. Detective Warner has a great ability to connect with victims, he is invaluable to the Millcreek community. Mayor Silvestrini spoke about how a homicide occurred in Millcreek over the weekend, but Unified Police officers were able to solve this within 11 hours. They did fantastic work. 1.3 Public Comment A man, who did not give his name, opposed the proposed change to code that would allow 30-foot-high dwellings in the R-I Zone. His view has been altered and blocked. Jed Bryan, 3663 S 1100 E, opposes the change to the code that would allow 30-foot-high dwellings. Their neighbor's house towers over their yard. The lots are so small, and people come in and buy homes, flatten the home, and then build a much taller home. Please consider the existing houses. People building big homes need to either build elsewhere or dig deeper foundations. Jennifer Christensen said that the house that is over height in their neighborhood has been uncomfortable. The home built is so high that a privacy fence would not help. Homes can be built at 28 feet or below and fit the neighborhood. Millcreek City Council Meeting Minutes 22 January 2024 Page 6 of 9 Howard Lemcke, 3189 E Wasatch Oaks Circle, spoke about short-ten'n rental (STR) problems on Wasatch Oaks Circle. The home in their circle that is a STR is being advertised as allowing 16 renters. Now the STR owner wants to open a second STR next to the existing rental. Mr. Lemcke would like to limit STRs next to one another. He said he does believe that people should be allowed to do what they would like with their property. However, it should not affect the neighbors next to them. The zoning should prohibit this. Special needs children in the neighborhood are at risk from drivers who drive too fast in their circle. Having a second STR in the circle is very difficult. Conner Reichart and Aubrey Recichart, from Olympus High and Evergreen Junior High, represent the STEM Club at their scl'iools and invited the City Council to STEM Night on March 7 from 6-8 p.m. Mayor Silvestrini asked for an electronic copy of their notice to put in the city newsletter. Laura Renshaw, Manager of the Millcreek Library, gave an update on some of the events. They will have a puppet show and a party for kids of elementary school age. They will also have an event with Millcreek Promise about fixing your finances against inflation. They will hold an adult writing group soon. There is a teen hangout every Friday after school with Dungeons and Dragons, Magic the Gathering, and a teen art club. One great service they offer is printing from anywhere. They get about 15,000 visitors every month. Mr. Winder asked Ms. Renshaw to continue sending event information to the Coinmunication Director, Rita Lund, who can help add these items to the newsletter. Ms. Renshaw said that the library gives out the paper newsletter. Cynthia Lund, Wasatch Oaks Circle, said she has a special needs child and despite her best efforts he can escape the house. She is very concerned about the safety on their street. She is scared every day about the people who might visit the STR in their area. She may not have bought their home if they had known about all the traffic and visitors from the STR. Rogelio Franco, 3219 E Wasatch Oaks Circle, said he has owned a home on the circle for 23 years. Mr. Franco said he is sorry everyone is at the meeting because of his rental. He said he comes to city hall to be in compliance. He said he can solve the problems with the STR. Furthermore, he does not intend to make another STR in the circle. Mr. Franco said he tries to be a good neighbor by removing the snow and helping his neighbors. He said that in the past his house was a problem, and he has worked to solve those issues. Ms. Franco said that Ms. Lund's child's wellbeing is important to her. They will add information to their STR about keeping children safe. They advertise the home as no parties allowed and there are fines for this. Jamie Walker started a non-profit group called Olympus Fast Pitch. He has emailed the City Council to help get the word out for a new fast pitch softball league for young women. He also has concerns about building height increases. As part of the Millcreek Community Council, he supports raising building height to 32 feet, which is still lower than many other cities in the state. If he built his house today it would not meet RCOZ. Mr. Walker said that people are not building homes in Millcreek because of the height restrictions. They would rather move to Herriman, Bluffdale, or Saratoga Springs and Millcreek City Council Meeting Minutes 22 January 2024 Page 7 of 9 have a taller home. It is more economical to build up than sprawl out. Adding 2-4 more feet will not be an issue. He said he does not support being able to view someone else's yard. Jared Booth gave the example of four neighbors. Two moved out of the area because they could not remodel to get more height. Two others were able to dig below their homes and build basketball courts under their garages. He is concerned about the polarization effect in Millcreek where people who cannot afford to stay, leave. Ted Freeman, 3335 S 2070 E, provided an online comment. "It says that nobody should park on tlie street during the winter months and especially during snowstori'ns. But some houses and apartments do not provide off street parking, what do those people do?" 2. Reports 2.1 Mayor's Report There will be a meeting held at a disused assisted living facility on Wednesday the 24'h of February. The Haven facility is closing, it is privately owned but the city caru'iot require them to open. Staff has learned that the facility will be acquired by Friends of Switchpoint as an assisted living facility for people who would be homeless who have mental health challenges. Because the property is licensed for use as an assisted living facility, and Federal law requires that the city permit this use at the facility. Switchpoint operated two overflow shelters in Millcreek in past winters. Those facilities were run very well. The new facility that they will run is not a walk-up shelter, it is still an assisted living facility. Millcreek will make sure this operates well. This facility is necessary to help solve the problem of homelessness. Mental health issues and drug addiction issues are big issues for the homeless population. Millcreek will ensure this property is properly managed and run. Mayor Silvestrini congratulated the Corni'nunity Life Department. They have been doing such a great job holding community events at City Hall. Mayor Silvestrini said he continues to negotiate with the Sheriff's Department and UPD regarding the future of UPD. The cities and townships currently in UPD plan to stay with UPD. Millcreek's goal is to provide law enforcement services at about the same cost, but it may cost a bit more. They want to keep police cost increases to 7% or less. They are working on keeping the budget as low as they can and maintain services. Mayor Silvestrini said he has testified regarding a few bills at the legislature. 2.2 City Council Reports Council Member Catten said she is the Chair of the Mosquito Abatement District. She is also the Chair for the Jordan River Coinmission. The Jordan River Commission is having big discussions about homelessness because of the effects that homelessness has on the river frontage and water quality. Millcreek tries to address homelessness and affordable housing. The plaru'iing staff does a very good job of helping with these issues as well. Council Member Uipi thanked everyone who attended the Utah League of Cities and Towns Day at the capitol. Millcreek City Council Meeting Minutes 22 January 2024 Page 8 of 9 2.3 Treasurer Report Council Member Jackson gave the treasurer report. The PTIF balance is $47,697,319.27. the fiscal year 2024 property tax has been received in the amount of $1 I,400,529.49. Last year at the same time Millcreek received $11,333,718.34. Fiscal year 2024 sales tax has been received in the amount of $4,900,071.15. Last year at the same time Millcreek received $4,990,654.84. Millcreek is doing well, and the city is financially stable. 2.4 Staff Reports Mr. Winder said he did not have a report, but the Mayor and City Council do a great job on the various boards that they serve on. It is a huge labor of love and Millcreek appreciates their service. 2.5 Unified Police Department Report Chief Petty-Brown gave the report. Total calls and cases have gone down from 2021 to 2023. Citations and arrests have decreased over those years. Tlie crime suppression team had 193 arrests, 1600 traffic stops, 159 stolen vehicle investigations, 39 narcotics investigations, 35 firearms seized, and 87 search warrants. Crime suppression sized 1.27 pounds of meth, 592 pounds of marijuana, 95 pounds of cocaine, 31 grams of heroin, and 245 grams of fentanyl. Millcreek Community Oriented Policing had a busy 2023. They attended various events all over the city. They helped solve 70 cases of graffiti. Millcreek officers responded to 218 calls for transient activity in 2023. They responded to 1,211 traffic accidents, 70 hit and runs, issued over 3,600 citations including 17 moving violations. Property Crimes Detectives filed criminal charges on 125 property and fraud cases. Detectives recovered $40,000 in cryptocurrency. 3. Consent Agenda 3.1 Approval of January 4, 2024, Special Meeting Minutes Council Member Jackson moved to approve the January 4, 2024 Special Meeting Minutes. Council Member Uipi seconded. Mayor Silvestrini called for the vote. Council Member DeSirant voted yes, Council Member Jackson voted yes, Council Member Uipi voted yes, Council Member Catten voted yes, and Mayor Silvestrini voted yes. The motion passed unanimously 4. New Items for Subsequent Consideration None. 5. Calendar of Upcoming Meetings * East Mill Creek Community Council Mtg., 2/1/24, 7:00 p.m. * Mt. Olympus Community Council Mtg., 2/5/24, 6:00 p.m. * Millcreek Community Council Mtg., 2/6/24, 6:30 p.m. * Canyon Rim Citizens Association Mtg, 2/7/24, 6:30 p.m. * Historic Preservation Commission Mtg., 2/8/24, 6:00 p.m. * City Council Mtg. 2/12/24 7:00 p.m. City Council Meeting Recessed Millcreek City Council Meeting Minutes 22 January 2024 Page 9 of 9 The Community Reinvestment Agency adjourned at 8:44 p.m. and the City Council went back into session at 8:45 p.m. 7. Business Matters 7.1 Discussion and Consideration of Ordinance 24-04, Adopting the Amended Olympus Hills Community Reinvestment Project Area Budget, and Amended Project Area Plan Council Member Uipi moved to approve item 7.1, Ordinance 24-04, Adopting the Amended Olympus Hills Community Reinvestment Project Area Budget, and Amended Project Area Plan. Council Member DeSirant seconded the motion. The Deputy Recorder called for the vote. Council Member Uipi voted yes, Council Member DeSirant voted yes, Council Member Catten voted yes, Council Member Jackson voted yes, and Mayor Silvestrini voted yes. The motion passed unanimously. ADJOURNED: Council Member Jackson moved to adjourn the meeting at 8:47 p.m. Council Member Uipi seconded. Mayor Silvestrini called for the vote. Councn Member Jackson voted yes, Council Member Uipi voted yes, Council Member Catten voted yes, Council Member DeSirant voted yes, and Mayor Silvestrini voted yes. The motion passed unanimously. APPROVED: Jeff Silvestr'ini, Mayor Date 03-%-h "t Attest: !% n,CityRecorder