City Council

CITY OF UNIVERSITY PLACE MINUTES Regular Meeting of the City Council Monday, February 5, 2024 1. CALL REGULAR MEETING TO ORDER Mayor Figueroa called the Regular Meeting to order at 6:30 p.m. 2. ROLL CALL Roll call was taken by the City Clerk as follows: UCouncilmember Boykin Councilmember Worthington Present Present N Councilmember McCluskey Councilmember Flemming Present Present O Councilmember Grassi Mayor Pro Tem Wood Present Present FF Mayor Figueroa Present Staff Present: City Manager Sugg, City Attorney Kaser, Community and Economic Development Director IA Briske, Finance Director Blaisdell (virtual), Police Chief Burke, City Engineer Avcular, Senior Planner George, Public Works Operations Deputy Director Kelly-Sage, and City Clerk Genetia. 3. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE IC Councilmember Worthington led the Council in the Pledge of Allegiance. L 4. APPROVAL OF AGENDA D MOTION: By Mayor Pro Tem Wood, seconded by Councilmember Worthington, to approve the agenda. The motion carried. O 5. PRESENTATIONS C U Service Recognitions – The following City Commissioners were recognized for their invaluable service and dedication to important work and contributions in their respective City Commission work: Planning Commission – Chuck Foster, Anthony Paulson, and Frank Boykin M EN Park Advisory Commission – Julie Finnegan, Halley Knigge, Ian Ainoa and Stacey McClain. 6. PUBLIC COMMENTS – None. 7. CONSENT AGENDA T MOTION: By Mayor Pro Tem Wood, seconded by Councilmember Worthington, to approve the amended Consent Agenda as follows: A. Approve the minutes of the January 16, 2024 Council Meeting. B. Receive and File: Payroll for Period Ending 01/15/24; Claims Dated 01/12/24, 01/19/24, 01/24/24 and 01/31/24. C. Receive and File: City Council’s 2024 Committees and Representatives’ Assignments. D. Adopt a Resolution amending the City’s Cellular Phone Policy. (RESOLUTION NO. 1032) E. Adopt a Resolution approving the renewal of the Interagency Data Sharing Agreement between the City of University Place and the Washington Office of the State Auditor for the exchange of confidential information in the course of audits or investigations. (RESOLUTION NO. 1033)  City Council Minutes of February 5, 2024 Page 2 F. Receive and File: Certificate of Recognition for Northwest Medical Arts. The motion carried. COUNCIL CONSIDERATION 8. 2024-2026 LANDSCAPE MAINTENANCE SERVICES BIDS Staff Report – City Engineer Avcular reported that on January 9, 2024, the City received six bids for the 2024-2026 Landscape Maintenance Services. The contract provides for landscape maintenance services for City streets and parks. He indicated that three of the bidders were determined to be non-responsive due to incomplete bid packages. Of the bids received, the lowest responsive bidder is Premier Landcare with a bid of $211,603.39 per year. This exceeds the adopted 2024 budget of $154,870 (37% increase). He stated U that at this dollar amount, it would be more cost effective to perform the maintenance services with City staffing than through contracted work. He went on to provide an average annual comparison cost of contract N services (6 mos.) as opposed to in-house services (12 mos.). O Public Comment – None. FF Council Consideration – MOTION: By Mayor Pro Tem Wood, seconded by Councilmember Worthington, to adopt a Resolution rejecting all bids associated with the 2024-2026 Landscape Maintenance project. The motion passed 6 to 1. Councilmember Worthington voted no. (RESOLUTION NO. 1034) 9. COUNCIL COMMENTS/REPORTS ICIA Councilmember McCluskey reported on the University Place Historical Society’s museum design ideas and fundraising event. She also shared information presented at the Pierce County Regional Council meeting she attended. L Councilmember Flemming stated that he attended the SSHĀ³P meeting and conveyed topics of discussion. D He also informed the Council that the Rotary Club will hold its second City Clean-Up event on April 27, 2024. OC Councilmember Grassi reported that she attended the Tacoma-Pierce County Chamber’s Horizons Economic Forecast 2024 event, Rev. Dr. Gregory Christopher’s retirement gala, and ribbon-cutting event for Triumph Dental’s grand opening. U Mayor Pro Tem Wood shared his conversation with Dr. Elly Claus-McGahan from Pierce County Climate M Conversation about objectives and development process of climate related projects. He also remarked that AWC is seeking comments on HB-2160 relating to zoning. EN Mayor Figueroa congratulated Councilmember Flemming for being appointed to AWC’s Legislative Priorities Committee. He also commented on Triumph Dental’s special service. T Councilmember Boykin expressed his appreciation for the opportunity of serving in the Planning Commission and the privilege of working with both Mr. Foster and Mr. Paulson during his term. He thanked Councilmember Grassi for attending the retirement celebration for Rev. Dr. Gregory Christoper, who has made a significant impact in the community. He also commented on Tacoma-Pierce County Chamber’s Economic Forecast 2024 event and informed the Council that will be attending AWC’s City Action Days. STUDY SESSION 10. CITY MANAGER’S REPORT: 2025-2026 COUNCIL GOALS AND BUDGET CALENDAR City Manager Sugg indicated that 2024 will begin the process of adopting Council Goals that will kick off the budget season for the City. The budget process includes a series of steps, outlined in the budget  City Council Minutes of February 5, 2024 Page 3 calendar included in the Council packet, which will ultimately lead to the adoption of the 2025-2026 Biennial Budget. A question was answered with regard to the date for call to budget. Mayor Figueroa proposed potential time adjustments for Council Goals discussions. 11. ZONING CODE AMENDMENTS Community and Economic Development Director Briske, along with Senior Planner George, presented the remaining two proposed amendments to the City’s Zoning Code. They are as follows: Floor Area Ratio Standards - Applicability – This standard was first adopted in 2009 and intended to ensure home sizes on lots under the minimum lot size are scaled proportionally to the size of the lot. This standard U only applies to the new construction of single-family homes and does not apply to additions. Existing homes on property under the minimum lot size are not required to comply with the Floor Area Ratio (FAR) N standards. This creates a disproportional advantage to existing homes – existing homes can be expanded while new homes are limited in size by FAR standards. It is proposed that FAR language be changed so O that the standard is applicable to both additions to existing homes and to new construction of single-family homes. A new provision is also proposed to allow a maximum of 10% increase over the existing floor area FF for non-conforming homes that could not add any additional floor area. Form-Based Code: Height Measurement – The current code for building height can be measured based on elevation of the street abutting the project on arterial streets and from average finish grade for projects on IA non-arterial streets. Measuring from the arterial street has an unintended consequence of limiting the IC height. The proposed amendment is intended to give projects the option to measure from the street elevation or average finished grade. Another proposed change is to increase the height exception for mechanical penthouses over elevator shafts up to 14 feet above the permitted building height provided that they be set back from the exterior wall of the building at least a distance that is equal to their height or be L treated architecturally or located within enclosures with an architectural treatment so as to be consistent or compatible with the exterior design of the building façade. D These amendments are only applicable to mixed-use zones. No change to how building height is measured in residential or multi-family zones is proposed. OC After each proposed amendment, discussion followed with regard to application tracking, applicability of FAR to ADUs, how the 10% increase applies to non-conforming lots, how FAR applies to vertical build, potential hardship on variance process, fire department role related to height limitation, artificial grading, and height exceptions. U M Staff provided follow-up information on food truck definition and clarified that the temporary uses apply to non-residential private property and that food trucks on public property fall under separate permits – special EN events and right-of-way use, respectively. The Council consented to move the proposed zoning code text amendments forward for consideration. 12. ADJOURNMENT - The meeting adjourned at 8:45 p.m. No other action was taken. Submitted by, T Emy Genetia