City Council Study Session

C IT Y C O UNCIL ST U DY SESS ION MI NUTES December 17, 20 19 T he City Counc il o f the C ity of No rman, C leveland County, State of O kla ho ma, met in a study session at 5:30 p.m. in the Municipa l Building Co nference Room o n the 17th day of December, 201 9, and notice and agenda of the meeting were posted at the Munic ipa l Build ing at 20 I West Gra y 48 hours prio r to the beginning o f the meeting. PRESENT: Counc il members Bierman, Hall, Ho lman, Petrone, Scanlon, Scott, Wilson, Mayor C lark ABSENT: Councilmem ber Carter Item I, being: COMPREHENS IV E R EVI EW O F C IT Y O RDI NANCES, ENG INEERING D ES IGN C RITERI A AN D STAN DA RD S PECIF ICATIONS. Mr. Scott Sturtz, C ity Engineer, sa id the Engineering Desig n C riteri a and Standard Specifications are used every day for proj ects constructed in Norma n. He said over the past year, there have been multiple requests fro m Counc il to review a Stormwater Engineering Design C rite ria (EDC); parking minimum and maximum w ith landscape requireme nts (zoning requirement) ; G reen Infrastructure (G I); and Low Impact Develo pment ( LID). He said Counc il had concerns about how these issues have been administered and if they met codes a nd standards, whic h is bei ng reviewed by Meshek and Associates. Mr. Sturtz said the firm, Manageme nt Partners, rev iewed the C ity's permitting processes and made recommendatio ns. He said some o rdinances are not c urrently inc luded in the EDC, but need to be a nd that includes Water Quality Protectio n Zone (WQPZ); To tal Max imum Da ily Load (TMDL); T ree Ord ina nce; update of the A mericans vvith Disabilities Act (A DA) requirements; a Comprehensive Transpottatio n Plan; a nd Center C ity Form Based Code (CCF BC). O ngoing effo rts to address standards a nd requirements consist of the fo llowing: • Septem ber 24, 1996 o C ity Counc il adopted the Engineering Design C riteria and Standa rd Specifications and Constructio n Drawings • Public Wo rks and Utilities Departments completed these documents • The ED C provides g uidance to deve lo pers and desig n professiona ls regarding the design o f all pub Iic infras tructure inc lud ing roadways, storm sewer systems; dra inage; erosio n control; and water lines and sanitary sewer lines. • .July ll ,20 16 o Amendment No. 8b to the EDC and Standard Specificatio ns was acce pted by Counc il City Council Study Session Minutes December 17, 20 19 Page 2 Ms. Carrie Evenson, Stormwater Program Manager, presented the following information: • November 15, 2017 o Community Planning and Transpo1tation Committee (CPTC) began discussing green building codes and LID incentives. o Multiple meetings through 2018 discussed Home Energy Rating System (HERS) Index and LID incentives for water conservation. • June l8 ,2018 o CPTC discussed current parking regulations and ways to reduce over parking and impervious surface. o CPTC di scussed examining Tulsa parking regulations, developing maximum parking regulations, use of parking lots during off-peak seasons, and input from business owners and developers. • June26, 2018 o Council approved Amendment No. Two to Contract K-1617-120 with Meshek and Associates to review, assess, and comment on the ex isting stormwater-related sections of the EDC. • February 28, 2019 o CPTC continued discussion on parking regulations with a goa l to have minimum and maximum parking requirements combined with increased landscape requirements, impervious coverage requirements, and develop best management practices to inc lude landscape and stormwater. Subsequent Staff meetings identified common areas of interest between parking regu lation discussion and LID incentive discussion being led by the Planning Department and Development Coordinator, respectively. • May 23 , 20 19 o CPTC di scussed how parking requirements and LID incenti ves were interrelated to stonnwater quality and Council requested a comprehensive review of current ordinances, EDC, parking and landscape requirements and others be completed w ith the goal of identifying and remov ing barriers and providing incentives for LID while also reducing parking and impervious surfaces. • .luly l , 2019 o Parti al funding for EDC approved in FYE 2020 Capital Budget • EDC last updated in 2006. Ms. Evenson said on May 28 and July 12, 2019, Staff discussed potenti al Request fo r Qualifications (RFQ) fo r comprehensive rev iew of ordinances, EDC, and other standards. The RFQ consisted of requirements that include reviewing current City ordinances and EDC; identi fying barriers and incenti ves for GI/LID; rev iewing parking, landscapi ng, and irrigation requirements and/or incent ives; providing recommendations fo r change; conducting stakeholder and public input meetings; developing LID Design, Operations and Maintenance Manual; and developing training sessions to educate the development community on incorporating LID into projects. On October 24, 2019, Staff updated the CPTC on a possible plan moving forward and the Committee recommended taking the update to the entire Counci l in a study session. City Council Study Session Minutes December 17, 20 19 Page 3 Ms. Evenson highli ghted further standards and requirements as fo llows: • Goals o Update all standards and requirements • EDC updates needed to reflect changes in technology and industry practices • Will include recommended changes identified by Meshek and Associates for storm water section of the EDC. • Include parking and landscaping requ irements that have been under discussion by CPTC. o Identify and remove barriers to GI/LID • Requirement of City's stormwater permit. • Benefits o Potential cost savings with one project versus multiple projects with separate contractors all reviewing the same documents. o Unified approach that reduces potential for conflicts resulting from multiple efforts led by different departments and elimi nates duplicative stakeholder meetings o All current ordinances and requirements in one document for clearer comm unicat ion with the development community. • Potential source of funding o $275,000 currently budgeted for EDC update in FYE's 2020 and 202 1 Capital Fund. Ms. Evenson sa id RFQs were issued on November I, 20 19, and three consultants are being reviewed by a selection committee that consists of three Staff members and two citizens. She said pending Counci I's approval to move forwa rd with the selection of a consu ltant and negotiation of contracts, the selection committee will rank qualification statements and select firm s to interview. She said Staff will negotiate a contract to bring to Council for review and input prior to awarding of the contract. Councilmember Scanlon asked what changes were recommended by Meshek and Assoc iates for the stonn water section of the EDC and Ms. Evenson said there are approximately fo ur to five pages of recommended changes in Sect ions 5000 and 6000. She said some of the recommendations inc lude language conflicts and definitional items. Counc iImember Scanlon sa id he would like to meet with Staff to get a better idea of the recommended changes. Councilmember Scott asked if bu ilding codes are part of this study and Mr. Sturtz said no, buildi ng codes are separate. Counci lmember Scott asked when building codes will be revisited and Ms. Jane Hudson, Director of Planning and Community Deve lopment, said building codes are up­ to-date and are mandated by the International Bu ilding Code requirements. Councilmember Hall asked what the anticipated timeline fo r public participation on the EDC and Specification Standards was and Ms. Evenson said the consultant will meet with Staff initially to rev iew documents. She said when Staff is close to a final product, public input will be requested. City Council Study Session Minutes December 17, 20 19 Page 4 Items submitted for the record l . PowerPoint presentation entitled, "Comprehensive Review of City Ordinances, Engineering Design Criteria and Standard Specifications," Council Study Session dated December 17,20 19 ***** The meeting was adjourned at 5:55 p.m. ATTEST: Mayor Pro Tem