City Council

Minutes of Joint Session of Council of Ogden City, Utah, September 21, 2016 Page Minutes of the Joint Work Session of the Ogden City Council and Ogden City Planning Commission, held on Tuesday, September 21, 2016 at 5:38 p.m., in the Council Work Room on the third floor of the Municipal Building, 2549 Washington Boulevard, Ogden City, Weber County, Utah. Present: Chair Marcia L. White (participated via electronic means) Acting Chair Bart E. Blair Council members Neil K. Garner Richard A. Hyer Luis Lopez Ben Nadolski Doug Stephens Planning Ross Patterson Commissioners Robert Herman Janith Wright Dave Graf Bryan Schade Lillie Holman Cathy Blaisdell Council Executive Director Bill Cook Council Deputy Director Janene Eller-Smith Council Policy Analyst Glenn Symes Council Policy Analyst Amy Sue Mabey Communications Manager Brittany Griffin Also present: Community and Economic Development Director Tom Christopulos Assistant City Attorney Mark Stratford Planning Manager Greg Montgomery Chief Deputy Recorder Lee Ann Peterson The purpose of the work session was to conduct land use training and discuss Council business. Land Use Training Council Policy Analyst Symes explained that as part of the City’s commitment to continued training for planning and land use issues and as directed by the State, the City Council and the Planning Commission will receive training on a topic related to land use regulation in the City. The topic has been chosen by the City’s Legal Counsel, Planning Department and Council Staff. The topic was chosen based on what City staff felt was a current and relevant issue from which the Council and Commission could benefit. This year’s training will focus on two topics: Legislative versus Administrative decision-making, and public hearings versus public input meetings. He noted the presentation will include materials from the Land Use Academy of Utah (LUAU), and Staff and Council/Commission discussion. He concluded a wide variety of video materials related to this and other land use and civic education topics can be found at www.luau.utah.gov. He began the training by playing a 10-minute video from LUAU that provided a review of land use law basics. Planning Manager Montgomery explained that throughout the United States, cities have developed an orderly approach for how decisions are made. This includes the establishment of policy that is then converted into ordinances that are applied to direct and oversee development that takes place in the community. Such laws are established through a legislative process after which City Administration applies and enforces them. He stated that understanding the different roles in the City are important; it is necessary to understand the purpose of the office of the Mayor, City Council, and Planning Commission. Roles can often differ from community to community based upon each entities form of government, but a basic foundation of many communities is establishment of future goals and ideas that are expounded upon in a city’s general plan, master plan, and community plans. These documents provide overall policy and are directed by the City Council. However, State Law recognizes the need for a ‘sounding board’ in the form of an independent non-political body that can review issues and make recommendations to the City Council; this body is the Planning Commission. The Planning Commission has a very important role; they are a non-biased group with no political agenda and they are asked to give their ideas and input regarding whether something may be good for the community. He then discussed implementation of a city’s vision, noting that ordinances are used to implement the goals and vision of the General Plan. This is why it is so important to develop a vision before developing ordinances or the tools that are used to implement the vision. Assistant City Attorney Stratford stated that based upon the City’s form of government, the City Council is almost always acting in a legislative capacity, the Mayor is always acting in an administrative capacity, and the Planning Commission may take legislative and administrative actions. Mr. Montgomery then reviewed the process the City follows to establish and implement land use policy; the Planning Commission is heavily involved in this process and the Council is involved in acting upon the establishment of such policy. Once an ordinance or policy is adopted, City Administration carries out or implements the ordinance. Mr. Symes then provided a short video that offers the explanation of what a land use authority may be. Mr. Montgomery added that there are various committees in the City that also make recommendations regarding land use; each body may have their own individual duties to make recommendations until final action is set by the legislative body to set policy. He then reviewed a chart that illustrated the different land use topics or issues that each body may have purview over. He noted that certain land use applications can even be approved by staff according to the City’s land use ordinance. Council member Hyer stated it is important to note that Planning Commission decisions must be based upon ordinance and cannot be subjective whatsoever. Mr. Symes stated that is correct and he transitioned to discussing the type of land use issues that require public hearings or public input periods. He provided a demonstration video that defined the term ‘public hearing’. Following the video, Mr. Stratford discussed due process; when a government entity is considering taking an action that may impact a person’s property, that person is entitled to due process. This is typically notice of the potential action and an opportunity to be heard. A public hearing meets both of these requirements and the legal system has indicated that public hearings must be noticed reasonably to inform people of the action the government entity is considering. He added Ogden City has developed additional noticing requirements that exceed State Law requirements. He reviewed the types of land use issues for which the Planning Commission, City Council, or Mayor is required to hold a public hearing. He also briefly discussed the manner in which public hearings are noticed. He added that in some instances, the land use authority has the ability to take action during the same meeting in which a public hearing is held, but for some land use issues action cannot be taken during the same meeting. The group engaged in high level discussion regarding the manner in which public input is accepted and the definition of ‘reasonable’ related to the amount of time or the manner in which a person is allowed to provide input. Mr. Stratford noted consistency in determining the manner in which public input will be accepted is of utmost importance. He also cautioned against allowing people to speak twice to offer a rebuttal to comments made by another speaker. He emphasized that since the Planning Commission is charged with making decisions based solely upon ordinances that have been enacted, they typically do not have the ability to base their decision upon public input. He used conditional use permits as an example and stated that if someone is opposed to a certain use, but the City Council has adopted an ordinance listing that use as a permitted use upon the applicant meeting certain conditions or mitigating issues associated with the use, the Planning Commission cannot base their decision on public input provided in opposition to the use. At the conclusion of the discussion the Council thanked staff for the information provided and acknowledged the Planning Commission for the important role they plan in many of the City’s land use processes. The meeting adjourned at 6:42 p.m. ________________________________________ LEE ANN PETERSON, MMC CHIEF DEPUTY CITY RECORDER ________________________________________ BART E. BLAIR, ACTING CHAIR APPROVED: January 17, 2017