Joint Strong Towns Leadership Team Meeting with Planning Commission and City Council

CITY OF NORMAN, OK JOINT STRONG TOWNS LEADERSHIP TEAM MEETING WITH PLANNING COMMISSION AND CITY COUNCIL Municipal Building, Council Chambers, 201 West Gray, Norman, OK 73069 Monday, June 26, 2023 at 10:00 AM MINUTES It is the policy of the City of Norman that no person or groups of persons shall on the grounds of race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, age, place of birth, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, familial status, marital status, including marriage to a person of the same sex, disability, retaliation, or genetic information, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or otherwise subjected to discrimination in employment activities or in all programs, services, or activities administered by the City, its recipients, sub-recipients, and contractors. In the event of any comments, complaints, modifications, accommodations, alternative formats, and auxiliary aids and services regarding accessibility or inclusion, please contact the ADA Technician at 405-366-5424, Relay Service: 711. To better serve you, five (5) business days' advance notice is preferred. PRESENT Amy Cerato Rick McKinney Cameron Brewer Steve Ladner Heath Tate Todd Howery Kathryn Morris-Scott Travis Dennis Rebecca Perot-Tripp Zach Stevens ABSENT Andy Sherrer Kelly Sitzman Anna Hyslop Maria Kindle Brain Hilgenfeld Misty Grantham Corey Godine Russell Kaplan Curtis McCarty Ryan Streight Erin Rice Tanner Morton Evan Rink Taylor Davis Jayke Flaggert Thomas Christian Tyler McManaman Leadership Team Briefing 1. Community Action Lab Engagement a. Over 163,000 Social Media Engagements b. 318 Email subscribers with a 55% email open rate c. At least 71 students in the Norman Community Action Lab Course 2. Core Insights and Updates from the Action Team JOINT STRONG TOWNS LEADERSHIP TEAM MEETING WITH PLANNING COMMISSION AND CITY COUNCIL - Monday, June 26, 2023 Page |1  a. Norman Community Action Lab Course - We encourage the Leadership Team to sign up and engage in the material. b. Spotlight Norman: i. The Water Fund Budget may not be telling the whole story. 3. Event #2 in Norman a. Engagement at Event 2, which is scheduled for July 17-18th i. Messaging & Communications prior to Event 2 b. Event #2 Stakeholder Group Meetings at Norman City Hall - City Council Chambers i. 8:30 - 10:00 AM: Developers, Business, and/or Chamber Representatives Group (University Affiliation included here) ii. 10:30 - 12:00 PM: Social Service Providers Group 4. Meeting Schedule and Events a. Next Virtual Briefing Date is Aug 28, 2023 b. Event #2 is scheduled for July 17-18 2023 at Norman City Hall - City Council Chambers i. July 17th events 1. 2:00 - 3:30 PM: Leadership Team Briefing 2. 4:00 - 5:30 PM: Mayoral Leadership Team Meeting a. Invited attendees include City Council, Department Heads, Planning Commission, and Strong Towns Leadership Team Members 3. 6:30 - 8:00PM: Strong Norman - Public Presentation & Q&A ii. July 18th events 1. 8:30 - 10:00 AM: Developers, Business, and/or Chamber Representatives Meeting 2. 10:30 - 12:00 PM: Social Service Providers Meeting 3. 1:00 - 2:30 PM: Action Team Debrief (Study Session Room) Norman City Council and the Planning Commission will be invited to attend the meetings. These are not regular meetings of the City Council or Planning Commission; however, this notice is being posted in compliance with the Oklahoma Open Meetings Act in the event a quorum of Council is present. Discussion:  Strong Towns went over the stats of engagement in the community.  They stated that they have been working with the Action Team which is composed of city staff selected by the City Manager.  City Council invited Strong Towns to come help the community to think differently as well as to sharing observations and start conversations.  Strong Towns stated that the wealth that is being built in your city in your value per acre in each lot, that property tax is very important because you are leveraging that wealth to fund and bond out projects in your community. Strong Towns takes a look at businesses around Norman and how much we are generating on wealth.  Strong Towns talked about how we are almost out of water in Norman. We collect water from wells, Lake Thunderbird, or buy water from Oklahoma City. Your utility department shared the map of all the pipes around the city. Looking at water in the budget book we JOINT STRONG TOWNS LEADERSHIP TEAM MEETING WITH PLANNING COMMISSION AND CITY COUNCIL - Monday, June 26, 2023 Page |2  can see a revenue and expenses bar chart. There are $22,000,000 worth of repairs that need to take place currently in the water system.  Strong Towns stated that the Action Team have not communicated or worked together on these projects before.  Strong Towns is coming back to Norman July 17 &18th. There will be a couple meetings with the leadership team and the action team as well as a public presentation. There will also be some stakeholder sessions with specific groups for a question and answer time.  Anthony Francisco, Finance Director, asked about the subsidy analysis and how did you define that? Also he stated that Oklahoma cities don’t really have a choice but you rely on sales tax.  Strong Towns stated he found out this information off of the county assessors site. Also wanted to point out that the decision we are making to chase sales tax which distorts the development pattern.  Cameron Brewer, Chair, stated that we have a cap of 3% for residential and 5% for commercial. The major threshold that we have is that it takes a vote of state legislature to amend that and has been brought up multiple times with no change. He also asked what the best way to operate a city being hamstrung in that way.  Strong Towns stated that the problem is the type of development patterns that you are focused on because sales tax is your primary revenue. There are areas that are way more productive by looking at sales tax revenue. Let’s make sure the decisions we are making is to create a better Norman not an increase in sales tax revenue.  Strong Towns stated that Norman is not short of land but short of water. We need to focus on thickening up the already developed areas. It is easier to build a new subdivision then add to already existing areas. He pointed out that our Zoning Code is from 1959 and a lot of good has happened since then. Every new development has to be a Planned Unit Development (PUD).  Strong Towns mentioned things about Pattern Zoning and how it could benefit our city without people going through a long process of building applications. Challenges the leadership team to review the parking code that it is now a decision by staff and it might be better if it was by right.  Jane Hudson, Planning Director, clarified that building permits go out in 2 days. She also clarified that yes the zoning code is old but we are working on it and that we are not making all new development to be PUDs. There was no quorum present for this meeting. JOINT STRONG TOWNS LEADERSHIP TEAM MEETING WITH PLANNING COMMISSION AND CITY COUNCIL - Monday, June 26, 2023 Page |3