City Council Study Meeting

MINUTES OF COUNCIL STUDY MEETING – AUGUST 18, 2020 -1- THE WEST VALLEY CITY COUNCIL MET IN ELECTRONIC STUDY SESSION ON TUESDAY, AUGUST 18, 2020 AT 4:30 P.M. THE MEETING WAS CALLED TO ORDER AND CONDUCTED BY MAYOR BIGELOW. THE MEETING WAS HELD ELECTRONICALLY VIA ZOOM. THE FOLLOWING MEMBERS WERE PRESENT ELECTRONICALLY: Ron Bigelow, Mayor Lars Nordfelt, Councilmember At-Large Don Christensen, Councilmember At-Large (arrived as noted) Tom Huynh, Councilmember District 1 (arrived as noted) Steve Buhler, Councilmember District 2 Jake Fitisemanu, Councilmember District 4 ABSENT: Karen Lang, Councilmember District 3 STAFF PRESENT ELECTRONICALLY: Wayne T Pyle, City Manager Nichole Camac, City Recorder Paul Isaac, Assistant City Manager/ HR Director Nicole Cottle, Assistant City Manager/General Counsel/ CED Director Eric Bunderson, City Attorney Colleen Jacobs, Police Chief John Evans, Fire Chief Jim Welch, Finance Director Layne Morris, CPD Director Russ Willardson, Public Works Director Nancy Day, Parks and Recreation Director Sam Johnson, Strategic Communications Director Dan Johnson, Public Works Steve Pastorik, CED Jeff Jackson, CED APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF STUDY MEETING HELD AUGUST 11, 2020 The Council considered the Minutes of the Study Meeting held August 11, 2020. There were no changes, corrections or deletions.  MINUTES OF COUNCIL STUDY MEETING – AUGUST 18, 2020 -2- Councilmember Fitisemanu moved to approve the Minutes of the Study Meeting held August 11, 2020. Councilmember Buhler seconded the motion. A voice vote was taken and all members voted in favor of the motion. Don Christensen arrived at 4:31 PM. REVIEW AGENDA FOR REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF AUGUST 18, 2020 Upon inquiry by Mayor Bigelow, members of the Council had no further questions or concerns regarding items listed on the Agenda for the Regular City Council Meeting scheduled later this night. Tom Huynh arrived at 4:34 PM. PUBLIC HEARINGS SCHEDULED FOR AUGUST 25, 2020 A. ACCEPT PUBLIC INPUT REGARDING UPDATES TO TITLE 18, TITLE 19, TITLE 20, AND TITLE 1 OF THE WEST VALLEY CITY MUNICIPAL CODE AND PROPOSED UPDATES TO ENGINEERING STANDARDS Mayor Bigelow informed a public hearing had been advertised for the Regular Council Meeting scheduled August 25, 2020, in order for the City Council to hear and consider public comments regarding updates to Title 18, Title 19, Title 20, and Title 1 of the West Valley City Municipal Code and proposed updates to engineering standards. Proposed Ordinances 20-32, 20-33, 20-34, 2-35, and Resolution 20-135 related to the proposal to be considered by the City Council subsequent to the public hearing, was discussed as follows: ACTION: ORDINANCE NO. 20-32, REPEAL AND REENACT TITLE 18 OF THE WEST VALLEY CITY MUNICIPAL CODE Russ Willardson, Public Works Director, discussed proposed Ordinance 20-32 that would repeal and reenact Title 18 of the West Valley City Municipal Code. Written documentation previously provided to the City Council included information as follows: In February 2020, the State Division of Water Quality issued a new 5-year UPDES Permit to the Jordan Valley Municipalities, including West Valley City. This permit allows the City to discharge storm water to waters of the State. New provisions of the permit compel the City to modify its Storm MINUTES OF COUNCIL STUDY MEETING – AUGUST 18, 2020 -3- Water Management Plan, Engineering Standards, and Title 18 Storm Water Management, of the City Code. This revision to Title 18 brings the Code into compliance with the permit and into agreement with the other documents. To better imitate pre-development runoff, the new permit requires new development projects to manage rainfall on-site to prevent off-site runoff from all rainfall events less than or equal to the 80th percentile rainfall event. The details of this requirement are included in the Engineering Standards. Sections of the code which previously prohibited on-site storm water retention and ponding have been revised accordingly. The verbiage in the code was reduced significantly by eliminating obsolete and outdated sections, consolidating similar sections and reorganizing into more logical chapters. The new Title 18 points contractors, developers and others to the Engineering Standards for specific requirements relating to storm drainage design, construction and use. All the prohibitions and penalties for illicit discharge to the storm drainage system remain intact. ACTION: ORDINANCE NO. 20-33, REPEAL AND REENACT TITLE 19 OF THE WEST VALLEY CITY MUNICIPAL CODE Russ Willardson, Public Works Director, discussed proposed Ordinance 20-33 that would repeal and reenact Title 19 of the West Valley City Municipal Code. Written documentation previously provided to the City Council included information as follows: This ordinance has not changed significantly since the City incorporated. A major rewrite was needed to eliminate obsolete and outdated requirements. The impetus to make this change now is the proposed adoption of updated Engineering Division Standards. New state storm water requirements necessitated changes to the Engineering Standards, which prompted an update to Title 19. Chapter 1 of Title 19 relating to railroads has been deleted. Railroad crossings are under the jurisdiction of the State of Utah through the Department of Transportation. MINUTES OF COUNCIL STUDY MEETING – AUGUST 18, 2020 -4- Street and sidewalk design and construction standards have been deleted from the ordinance and are now included in the Engineering Division Standards. Bond and insurance requirements for contractors working within West Valley City Rights-of-Way have been updated. Minimum bond and insurance amounts remain at $10,000 and $100,000, but the Engineering Division will now have authority to require a higher completion bond sufficient to guarantee proper restoration of the Right-of-Way, and insurance equal to the maximum aggregate liability in the Governmental Immunity Act for larger projects on major streets. ACTION: ORDINANCE NO. 20-34, AMEND 20-7-102, 20-7-107, AND 20-7- 110 OF THE WEST VALLEY CITY MUNICIPAL CODE TO AMEND REGULATIONS GOVERNING THE CITY'S STORM WATER UTILITY Dan Johnson, Public Works, discussed proposed Ordinance 20-34 that would amend 20-7-102, 20-7-107, and 20-7-110 of the West Valley City Municipal Code to amend regulations governing the City's storm water utility. Written documentation previously provided to the City Council included information as follows: In February 2020, the State Division of Water Quality issued a new 5-year UPDES Permit to the Jordan Valley Municipalities, including West Valley City. This permit allows the City to discharge storm water to waters of the State. New provisions of the permit compel the City to modify its Storm Water Management Plan, Engineering Standards, and Title 18 Storm Water Management, of the City Code. The changes in Title 20’s provisions concerning storm water rates are made in order to comply with the new permit. Other changes were also made to make Title 20 compatible with the updates elsewhere in the City Code and in the Engineering Standards. Councilmember Buhler asked if there is a State requirement that requires 80% of stormwater to be retained on site for new developments. Dan replied yes and noted that this came into effect in July. Councilmember Buhler asked when this new requirement must be complied with in West Valley City. Dan replied new projects must meet this standard upon approval of this ordinance. Russ added that this standard requires a compliance of 100% of rainfall for 80% of storms. ACTION: ORDINANCE NO. 20-35, AMEND SECTION 1-2-110 OF THE MINUTES OF COUNCIL STUDY MEETING – AUGUST 18, 2020 -5- WEST VALLEY CITY MUNICIPAL CODE TO AMEND CERTAIN PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT FEES Dan Johnson, Public Works, discussed proposed Ordinance 20-35 that would amend Section 1-2-110 of the West Valley City Municipal Code to amend certain Public Works Department fees. Written documentation previously provided to the City Council included information as follows: The Public Works Department is responsible for the administration of right- of-way permits for utility companies and property owners doing work in the public right of way. The current fee structure has not been updated in many years, and fees collected by the city do not cover the cost to administer the program. This change adjusts the fee collected for inspection and administration of right-of-way permits. A major change includes the addition of a “Peak Hour Lane Closure” fee assessed on major roads, to encourage construction work to be done during times that will have a lesser impact to the traveling public. The new fee includes an age-based asphalt damage fee, to discourage the excavation in newer pavements. ACTION: RESOLUTION NO. 20-135, ADOPT REVISIONS TO THE WEST VALLEY CITY ENGINEERING STANDARDS Dan Johnson, Public Works, discussed proposed Resolution 20-135 that would adopt revisions to the West Valley City Engineering Standards. Written documentation previously provided to the City Council included information as follows: The Engineering Division of the Public Works Department has developed the Engineering Standards to ensure quality and uniform construction of public improvements in West Valley City. The Engineering Standards were last modified and adopted by the City Council on January 9, 2018. Changes to these standards are periodically recommended to improve construction practices on public infrastructure. A summary of major changes being proposed is included in the information packet given to the Council. Some of these standards are being MINUTES OF COUNCIL STUDY MEETING – AUGUST 18, 2020 -6- recommended to improve the construction quality and durability of public infrastructure, while others are being recommended to conform to requirements being placed upon the city by the State of Utah under the new MS4 Permit. Mayor Bigelow asked if pavement requirements apply to all cuts. Dan replied yes. Mayor Bigelow asked if the City is the first to adopt the BYU study standards. Dan replied the City is among the first and noted that there have been a few others, including Mapleton. Mayor Bigelow stated he is excited for these new standards to be implemented and is glad the City is taking this step. ACTION: RESOLUTION 20-136: ADOPT THE 2020-2025 STORM WATER MANAGEMENT PLAN Dan Johnson, Public Works, presented proposed Resolution 20-136 that would adopt the 2020-2025 Storm Water Management Plan. Written documentation previously provided to the City Council included information as follows: West Valley City is permitted through the Utah Department of Environmental Quality to discharge municipal storm water runoff to waters of the state under the Utah Pollutant Discharge Elimination System. The permit term is normally five years (previous permit term was 2013-2018 but was extended to 2020). The new permit term is 2020-2025. The permit requires the city to handle storm water pollution prevention by addressing the following six minimum control measures in the Storm Water Management Plan: 1) Public Education and Outreach on Storm Water Impacts 2) Public Involvement/Participation 3) Illicit Discharge Detection and Elimination 4) Construction Site Storm Water Runoff Control 5) Long-Term Storm Water Management on New and Redevelopment Projects 6) Pollution Prevention and Good Housekeeping on Municipal Operations New requirements are normally placed upon the city with each permit renewal cycle, and the city is required to address the changing demands in a revision of the Storm Water Management Plan to address changing permit  MINUTES OF COUNCIL STUDY MEETING – AUGUST 18, 2020 -7- requirements. The Public Works Department collaborated with the various internal divisions along with the Parks Department to develop this new plan. This resolution is before the council to formally adopt the city’s Storm Water Management Plan. Implementation of the Storm Water Management Plan, particularly changes to drainage related development requirements. Mayor Bigelow asked if contractors and larger businesses get fewer warnings for violations since they are typically more educated. Dan replied yes. He noted that the City spends time with smaller businesses on education. Mayor Bigelow asked if monthly inspections already occur on new developments. Dan replied yes. The City Council will consider Ordinances 20-32, 20-33, 20-34, 20-35, and Resolutions 20-135, and 20-136 at the Regular Council Meeting scheduled August 25, 2020 at 6:30 P.M. RESOLUTION 20-137: APPROVE AN INTERLOCAL AGREEMENT WITH SALT LAKE COUNTY TO PARTICIPATE AS CO-PERMITTEES UNDER THE JORDAN VALLEY MUNICIPALITIES MS4 PERMIT Dan Johnson, Public Works, presented proposed Resolution 20-137 that would approve an Interlocal Agreement with Salt Lake County to participate as Co-Permittees under the Jordan Valley Municipalities MS4 Permit. Written documentation previously provided to the City Council included information as follows: West Valley City is required to obtain a permit from the State of Utah, Department of Environmental Quality, for authorization to discharge municipal storm water runoff to waters of the state under the Utah Pollutant Discharge Elimination System. Due to the interconnected nature of the drainage systems, the city is a co- permittee with other cities in Salt Lake County, collectively referred to in the permit as “Jordan Valley Municipalities” under UPDES Permit No. UTS000001. West Valley City first became a co-permittee with Salt Lake County in 2003, and has subsequently renewed that agreement. Under this agreement, the city and county agree to implement and enforce the requirements of the state permit within their respective jurisdictional boundaries. The cities also agree to share information among each other to assist in permit compliance. The City agrees to pay for costs relating to its own storm water systems. The City and the County jointly agree that they will reimburse each other for expenses incurred in providing services to each other. The City will pay the  MINUTES OF COUNCIL STUDY MEETING – AUGUST 18, 2020 -8- County for a public education and involvement campaign as set forth in the existing 2017-2022 UPDES Media Campaign agreement. The agreement terminates on February 25, 2025, corresponding with the expiration of the MS4 permit term, at which point it is anticipated to be renewed. Mayor Bigelow asked who puts the media campaign together. Dan replied the County does this with the support and input of other Cities. The City Council will consider Resolution 20-137 at the Regular Council Meeting scheduled August 25, 2020 at 6:30 P.M. COMMUNICATIONS A. UNDERUTILIZED PARCEL/COVID-19 LAND USE EFFECT Nicole Cottle, CED Director, stated the permits and development have increased since the beginning of the Covid-19 Quarantine. She indicated that staff has collected data on what developers are interested in during this time and how things may progress in the future based on information gathered. Nicole noted that this presentation is based off what staff has observed and is meant to be informational for the Council. Steve Pastorik, CED, presented a PowerPoint Presentation summarized as follows: - Housing (graph displaying median price of homes sold 2000-2020) o Since 2000, home prices within the City have increased by 130 (84119) to 145% (84120 and 84128). The most significant increase in home prices has occurred over the last 5 years. o Over the last five years, home prices in the City have increased by nearly 60%. With strong internal growth and in-migration fueled by robust economy, housing prices have soared as the demand for housing has exceeded the supply. - Housing (graph displaying median rent for all renter-occupied housing and average rent of apartments from 2000- 2020) o Both data sources show rental rates increasing by about 80% over the last 20 years. Over the last 5 years, the average annual increase in rental rates has been about 5%. - 2020 Utah Housing Forecast o James Wood, Kem C Gardner Policy Institute  Home prices will continue to increase, but at a slower pace. The shortage of listings will put upward pressure on prices. Statewide, the median sales price of a home MINUTES OF COUNCIL STUDY MEETING – AUGUST 18, 2020 -9- (single-family, condominiums, and townhomes) will increase by about 5% to $336,000 in 2020.”  “Rental rates are more likely to decline as job and income losses force some tenants to move out and double-up with friends and family. The long string of annual rate increases will be interrupted in 2020, with rents flat at best and possibly falling 3% to 4%.” - Retail (graph displaying estimated quarterly US retail e-commerce sales a percent of total quarterly retail sales: 1st quarter 2010- 1st quarter 2020) - Kiplinger Letter Forecasts o “One in five restaurants could permanently close because of the pandemic.” o “Office and retail vacancy rates will spike, reaching 20% and 13%, respectively. Companies will likely continue reducing their office footprint as a growing number of employees work from home.” o “Americans will likely be taking public transit less and driving more, making traffic congestion worse as economic activity resumes.” o 2020 GDP growth: -5.8% o E-commerce sales taking 18% share of retail sales in 2020. - Potential Implications for the City o With demand for office, restaurants and retail declining and housing prices still relatively high, I believe we will see continued interest from developers to develop or redevelop vacant, underutilized or blighted parcels along major commercial corridors like 3500 S and Redwood Rd. as apartments or townhomes or even industrial. o Generally speaking, restaurants with drive-up facilities have weathered the pandemic better than those without drive-up facilities. We will see more interest in drive-up facilities. o With unemployment up (Utah’s June unemployment rate was 5.1%) and housing prices still relatively high, I believe we will see more illegal conversions of homes to duplexes or other “creative” housing arrangements. o With some businesses and homeowners struggling, property maintenance will likely suffer. The need for enforcement will increase while at the same time enforcement could get more difficult (owners may lack resources, we may be dealing with absentee owners on vacant buildings, etc.)  MINUTES OF COUNCIL STUDY MEETING – AUGUST 18, 2020 -10- Mayor Bigelow asked if the amount of new homes affects the number of renters. Steve replied that there is a greater demand for purchasing homes than there is for supply. He noted that renters are seeking to purchase homes but are finding it difficult. Mayor Bigelow asked how much the GDP went down. Steve replied that he could gather this information. Councilmember Fitisemanu thanked staff and indicated that this information is very helpful. He asked if the Council should modify or change their approach or focus moving forward with this information in mind. Steve replied that he believes this may impact the way the City views zone change requests. He indicated it may help the Council make better informed decisions knowing the information provided in this presentation. Councilmember Buhler stated that it is apparent that home prices are skyrocketing, and multiple families must live together to afford homes. He questioned whether high rise residential is the future of the City as the need for office and retail space declines. He asked if there is a point where the need will meet the demand and if staff suspects everything will eventually balance out. Steve replied that there are differing opinions and explained how unemployment, economy, and the need for brick and mortar stores may impact this question in the future. Nicole indicated that general planning and long-range goals become more of an art than a science as time progresses. She noted that the City still feels the need to create a healthy balance for a livable and sustainable community. Councilmember Buhler stated that he suspects people are moving into the state with high paying jobs who purchase homes and rent them out. Steve replied that there doesn’t seem to be a high increase in single family homes being rented out. He noted that this is difficult to compare to other Cities as statistics typically calculate apartment rentals into the overall rental mix. Wayne indicated that another way to look at this issue is a from policy standpoint. He indicated that the City isn’t as concerned about commercial or retail but is concerned about continuing to provide affordable housing which can be difficult as the cost of homes continue to increase in the City. Wayne discussed economic impacts and how things have changed over the last several years. Steve indicated that as people begin to work from home, development may begin to increase in more rural and remote areas. Mayor Bigelow noted that change is gradual, and he wouldn’t expect to see a sudden flood of requests for more and more apartments or high-density housing. He indicated it is a difficult to know when to step in and manage change or when to allow it to happen naturally. B. COVID-19 UPDATE There were no questions or concerns regarding the Covid-19 update emailed to the Council previously. C. COUNCIL CALENDAR Mayor Bigelow referenced a Memorandum previously received from the City Manager that outlined upcoming meetings and events.  MINUTES OF COUNCIL STUDY MEETING – AUGUST 18, 2020 -11- Members of the City Council had no further questions regarding the Council Update. NEW BUSINESS A. POTENTIAL FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS Council Suggestions None B. COUNCIL REPORTS COUNCILMEMBER CHRISTENSEN-ULCT/ POLICE Councilmember Christensen stated that there are already 25 bills related to Police Departments that will be considered as part of the General Legislative Session, not the Special Legislative Session. He added that many discussions will be held about communities and affordability as well as bills related to mandatory developments, PUD’s, and residential design standards. Mayor Bigelow noted that staff works closely with ULCT and the Legislature on these issues. He stated that it may be important for the City to step in front of the Public Safety issue. Wayne Pyle indicated that this is a difficult issue for the City. He indicated that conversations are being held about the overall Police system and the City will likely be met with opposition, even when sharing the many changes that have been implemented over the last 10 years. Wayne explained issues the City has experienced in getting serious criminal offenders to be placed and kept in jail and other battles that have been difficult to overcome in recent times. Nicole Cottle agreed and indicated that the City has worked very hard to overcome difficulties in the Police Department over the last ten years and have been very successful. She indicated that there will be a difficult task to put that information out there, provide valuable information to other communities, but to also protect the City and its Police Department. Councilmember Buhler stated that the West Valley City Department was in a bad place 10 years ago and has made incredible progress, improved its practices, and has had great success. He indicated that he understands the need to quiet the voices but also assure everyone that the Department has no intention of slipping back into the bad times it has overcome. The Council and staff further discussed options and strategies moving forward. C. REVIEW AGENDA FOR SPECIAL REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY MEETING SCHEDULED AUGUST 25, 2020 RESOLUTION 20-11: AUTHORIZE THE AGENCY TO EXECUTE AN INCENTIVE AGREEMENT WITH WEST VALLEY INDUSTRIAL OWNER, LLC, A.K.A. SANSONE DEVELOPMENT Jeff Jackson, CED, presented proposed Resolution 20-11 that would authorize the MINUTES OF COUNCIL STUDY MEETING – AUGUST 18, 2020 -12- Agency to execute an Incentive Agreement with West Valley Industrial Owner, LLC, A.K.A. Sansone Development Written documentation previously provided to the Redevelopment Agency included information as follows: Sansone Development is a nationwide industrial real estate development company. Sansone is known for placing extra emphasis on the aesthetic appearance of its buildings as opposed to the past ways of building “industrial sheds.” Sansone is looking to develop two sizeable industrial buildings. Building 1 will be 206,800 SF in size while building 2 is 198,000 SF for a total of 404,800 SF. The capital investment of the core & shell alone totals $23,500,000. Additional tenant improvements for new tenants down the road will amount to another investment of $12-15M. Sansone Development acquired 24 acres of property located at 6941 S. 2100 S. to develop a flex industrial park to meet the high demand for fulfillment space. The property is located inside the Northwest Economic Development Area. In order to develop the site, Sansone Development will need to mitigate 12 feet of undocumented soil fill that has been dumped on the site over the years. The undocumented fill makes the site unstable and completely unfeasible for development. Sansone Development will need to spend $1.3M in order remediate the site and make it stable for development. The TIF incentive will help offset the heavy cost of remediating the site to make it developable. The amount of TIF generated by this project totals $2,900,000. This incentive is subject to meeting the performance terms of the agreement and totals $600,000, which is nearly 20% of total TIF generated by the project. The Redevelopment Agency worked with Sansome Development to select the site for development. Due to the development impediments created by the expenses associated with remediating the 12 feet of undocumented soil fill, the West Valley City RDA worked closely with Sansone Development to determine an incentive that would allow for the development to move forward. Councilmember Huynh asked how this soil was placed on the property. Jeff replied that he was unsure but noted that the previous owner either allowed or dumped soil on the property.  MINUTES OF COUNCIL STUDY MEETING – AUGUST 18, 2020 -13- RESOLUTION 20-12: APPROVE TWO AGREEMENTS WITH A-1 ENVIRONMENTAL, INC. TO CONDUCT REMEDIATION OF HAZARDOUS MATERIALS Wayne Pyle, City Manager, presented proposed Resolution 20-12 that would approve two agreements with A-1 Environmental, Inc. to conduct remediation of hazardous materials. Written documentation previously provided to the Redevelopment Agency included information as follows: Upon engaging a demolition contractor, asbestos and other hazardous materials were discovered at 1739 and 1755 West Lake Park Drive. State and federal law require that such materials be removed and disposed safely and separately from other demolition waste. These two agreements cover both properties and, upon completion of the work, the buildings can be fully demolished. State and federal regulations require asbestos mitigation to be done by contractors with a specialized certification and in accordance with DEQ requirements. A-1 holds that certification and will manage the federal and state compliance processes as part of the agreements. Councilmember Huynh asked if the City will purchase all units. Wayne replied that they will be purchased individually as evaluated. Upon inquiry, there were no further questions or concerns expressed by members of the Redevelopment Agency. The Redevelopment Agency will consider Resolutions 20-11 and 20-12 at the Special Redevelopment Agency Meeting scheduled August 25, 2020, at 6:30 P.M. MOTION TO ADJOURN Upon motion by Councilmember Buhler all voted in favor to adjourn. THERE BEING NO FURTHER BUSINESS OF THE WEST VALLEY COUNCIL THE STUDY MEETING ON TUESDAY AUGUST 18, 2020 WAS ADJOURNED AT 6:17 PM BY MAYOR BIGELOW.  MINUTES OF COUNCIL STUDY MEETING – AUGUST 18, 2020 -14- I hereby certify the foregoing to be a true, accurate and complete record of the proceedings of the Study Meeting of the West Valley City Council held Tuesday, August 18, 2020. _______________________________ Nichole Camac, CMC City Recorder