City Council Community Planning and Transportation Committee Meeting

CITY COUNCIL COMMUNITY PLANNING AND TRANSPORTATION COMMITTEE MINUTES June 27, 2019 The City Council Community Planning and Transportation Committee of the City of Norman, Cleveland County, State of Oklahoma, met at 4:00 p.m. in the Conference Room on the 27th day of June, 2019, and notice and agenda of the meeting were posted in the Municipal Building at 201 West Gray and the Norman Public Library at 225 North Webster 48 hours prior to the beginning of the meeting. PRESENT: Councilmembers Clark (arrived 4:20 p.m.), Scott, Wilson, and Co-Chairman Holman ABSENT: Councilmember Bierman and Chairman Hickman OTHERS PRESENT: Ms. Susan Coldwater, Cleveland Area Rapid Transit (CART) Ms. Jane Hudson, Interim Director of Planning and Community Development Ms. Beth Muckala, Assistant City Attorney Ms. Mary Rupp, Interim City Manager Ms. Syndi Runyon, Administrative Technician IV Item 1, being: CLEVELAND AREA RAPID TRANSIT (CART) RIDERSHIP REPORT INCLUDING SAFERIDE AND EXTENDED SERVICE FOR THE MONTH OF MAY 2019. Ms. Susan Coldwater, Cleveland Area Rapid Transit (CART), highlighted CART Ridership Reports for May 2019, and said fiscal year-to-date ridership (July to May) had a decrease of 5% over the same period last year. In May, CART transported 44,977 passengers that included 420 riders who traveled with bicycles and 979 riders who traveled with wheelchairs. CART access transported 2,603 riders in May, a decrease of 14.6% over the same month last year with an average daily ridership of 132 riders. Year-to-date primary zone ridership increased by 14.4% while secondary zone ridership decreased by 15.8%. Ms. Coldwater said CART Staff continues to work with City of Norman Staff and Embark for the transfer of public transportation operations to the City by July 2019. She said the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) bus pass application will be available online beginning July 1st. Co-Chairman Holman asked if the bus system transition process will impact citizens applying for CDBG bus passes and Ms. Coldwater said no, nothing will change. Co-Chairman Holman asked Ms. Coldwater’s opinion regarding the decrease in ridership and Ms. Coldwater said CART believes the decrease is due to the lack of 30 minute service. Community Planning and Transportation Committee Minutes June 27, 2019 Page 2 Item 1, continued: Items submitted for the record 1. Cleveland Area Rapid Transit Monthly Report for May, 2019 ***** Item 2, being: DISCUSSION REGARDING CARPORTS IN RESIDENTIAL ZONING DISTICTS. Ms. Jane Hudson, Interim Director of Planning and Community Development, said the Community and Transportation Committee (CPTC) discussed regulations for carports on May 19, 2014, and Staff moved forward with developing detailed ordinance language that focused on whether material compatibility should be included as it could be costly for applicants; however, after discussion on October 23, 2014, there was no consensus on whether or not to move forward. On June 18, 2018, CPTC renewed discussions regarding carports and again there was no consensus to move forward with regulations. Existing language states, “(a) No carport shall be constructed nearer than five feet to any side yard line and shall not be constructed nearer than seven feet to the front property line nor within any sight triangle of intersection streets. The construction of carports shall only be authorized or permitted on the premises on which there now exists a dwelling structure, (b) The installation or construction of a carport on property on which there has not been a commencement of construction of a new dwelling structure as of November 22, 1966, which carport would extend past or beyond the required front yard setback line, is specifically prohibited except in those cases where other legally constructed and permitted carports exist in the same block on either side of the street; in which case, a carport would be permitted to extend past the front yard setback line but only to the extensions of the same block.” Ms. Hudson said current language has been problematic for many years because it is very difficult to determine when some carports were built prior to 1966 and to determine if building permits were issued for those carports. One proposal in 2014 was to delete the language and insert new language that states, “Carports must be set back twenty-five (25) feet from front property line unless property has alley access in the Central Core Norman then it must be placed in back and accessed through the alley or property with a one car garage or no garage, carports can be located no closer than seven feet from the front property line and five feet from side property line.” She said there was concern from the Committee about how allowing new carports as regulated in this language could affect a neighborhood. The Committee felt the language was too broad and criteria for materials might be too restrictive for citizens on low or fixed incomes. There was also discussion regarding carports not being allowed in new neighborhoods that have covenant restrictions. Ms. Hudson said Staff contacted 20 cities regarding whether or not carports are allowed; if carports are allowed in the front yard setback; if a public hearing is required; and if there are architectural requirements. Based on this research along with information from previous CPTC meetings, Staff prepared carport criteria for the Committee’s review in 2018 (Exhibit A); however, the Committee did not move forward with recommendations to Staff or Council. Community Planning and Transportation Committee Minutes June 27, 2019 Page 3 Concerns expressed in June 2018, were about the architectural design and materials of carports so Staff has included criteria on design, materials, etc. One suggestion from the Committee was to have the Board of Adjustment review, approve, or deny applications for carports if the applicant could not meet setback requirements. She said carport regulations are currently in Chapter 5 of the Code so those regulations would need to be removed from Chapter 5 and added to Chapter 22 in order for the Board of Adjustment to be able to review the applications. Co-Chairman Holman said he likes the idea of carport applications being reviewed by the Board of Adjustment because Council does not need to review every carport application. Ms. Hudson agreed, but said if the City becomes inundated with applications for carports Council may want to reassess the application process. Councilmember Clark said the very first call she received after being elected for Ward 6 was about carports and the City’s regulations, which citizens feel are very unfair. She asked if the carport regulations would allow citizens to put in a carport if their application is approved by the Board of Adjustment and Ms. Hudson said yes. She asked about the next steps and Ms. Hudson said she would like the Legal Department to review the proposed regulations for their input then move forward to a study session or conference. Ms. Hudson said if applicants meet current setback criteria for a carport does Council still want the application to be reviewed by the Board of Adjustment and Councilmembers said yes, just to ensure all criteria is being met and neighbors are notified. Councilmember Clark said she would like the proposal to move forward to a study session or conference no later than August and Ms. Mary Rupp, Interim City Manager, said she would speak with the City Clerk regarding a timeline for getting the proposal on a study session or conference agenda by August. Items submitted for the record 1. Memorandum dated June 27, 2019, from Jane Hudson, Planning and Community Development, to Community Planning and Transportation Committee, with Exhibit A, Carport Criteria ***** Item 3, being: MISCELLANEOUS COMMENTS. Councilmember Clark said Council will be discussing the potential for a one-eighth percent sales tax dedicated to multi-modal transportation and CPTC will probably be heavily involved in that discussion. She said there is a need for an accessible and affordable transportation system, which is a core service of local government so she is excited to move forward on that. Co-Chairman Holman said this discussion stems from the expiration of the Cleveland County sales tax for their new detention facility that expires next year. ***** Community Planning and Transportation Committee Minutes June 27, 2019 Page 4 The meeting adjourned at 4:33 p.m. ATTEST: _________________________________ ___________________________________ City Clerk Mayor