CITY OF SHORELINE

SHORELINE CITY COUNCIL

SUMMARY MINUTES OF REGULAR MEETING

Monday, January 11, 1999

7:30 p.m.

Shoreline Conference Center

Mt. Rainier Room

PRESENT: Mayor Jepsen, Deputy Mayor Montgomery, Councilmembers Gustafson, Hansen, King, Lee and Ransom

ABSENT: None

1. CALL TO ORDER

The meeting was called to order at 7:30 p.m. by Mayor Jepsen, who presided.

2. FLAG SALUTE/ROLL CALL

Mayor Jepsen led the flag salute. Upon roll by the City Clerk, all Councilmembers were present.

Mayor Jepsen noted that Council had had dinner with Jay Inslee, U.S. Representative for the 1^st District, and discussed legislative issues for the upcoming year. Congressman Inslee introduced his legislative aide, Michael Mann, and spoke briefly, offering to advocate for Shoreline with federal agencies.

3. REPORT OF CITY MANAGER

Robert Deis, City Manager, asked Council to hold an Executive Session after action on the consent calendar due to Mayor Jepsen’s need to leave the meeting at 8:30 p.m. He also said Eric Swansen, Management Analyst from the City Manager’s Office, would unveil the City’s new web site at the end of the meeting.

Mr. Deis also mentioned a memo from Tim Stewart, Director of Planning and Development Services, regarding the Ashworth Gardens and Hagemann plats. Referring to a misstatement made at the December 14, 1998 Regular Meeting regarding the Hagemann development, he said that if Council felt the misstatement was material to its decision on this project, further discussion of the memo could be placed on tonight’s agenda.

4. REPORTS OF BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS: None

5. PUBLIC COMMENTS

(a) Bill Griffin, 19620 24^th Avenue NW, spoke in support of the library in Richmond Beach Center Park, noting that public sentiment favored this option before the project was appealed and that it still does. He said the legal and environmental theories of opponents to the project have been rejected. He urged the City to move forward with the project.

(b) Richard Fiddler, 2519 NW 192^nd Place, also supported the library in the park. He said the draft Environmental Impact Statement was a good job and that the community is optimistic that the project is on track and that Richmond Beach will get the library services it needs.

6. APPROVAL OF THE AGENDA

Deputy Mayor Montgomery moved approval of the agenda, taking the Executive Session after the consent calendar. Councilmember Hansen seconded the motion, which carried 7-0 and the agenda was approved as amended.

7. CONSENT CALENDAR

Councilmember Hansen moved approval of the consent calendar. Councilmember Gustafson seconded the motion, which carried 7-0, and the following items were approved:

Workshop minutes of December 7, 1998
Dinner Meeting minutes of December 14, 1998
Regular Meeting minutes of December 14, 1998

Approval of payroll and claims as of December 31, 1998 in the amount of $ 2,512,108.03

Motion to authorize the City Manager to execute an amendment to the Professional Services Agreement with Adolfson & Associates for additional services associated with the Shoreview Park Little League Field Project

10. EXECUTIVE SESSION

At 7:45 p.m., Mayor Jepsen announced that the Council would recess into Executive Session for 45 minutes to discuss one item of potential litigation. At 8:30 p.m., Mayor Jepsen announced that the Executive Session would continue for 15 minutes and that he was leaving the meeting. At 8:50 p.m., the Executive Session concluded and the Regular Meeting reconvened, with Deputy Mayor Montgomery as chair.

8. OTHER ACTION ITEMS: ORDINANCES, RESOLUTIONS AND MOTIONS

(a) Ordinance No. 188 adopting revised fees for services for land use and building permit development applications, and amending Ordinance No. 147

Tim Stewart, Planning and Development Services Director, reviewed the staff report. He emphasized that the fees to be changed for building permits need to be changed to reflect the 1997 version of the Uniform Building Code (UBC). One other minor change is recommended: that a flat $60 fee be charged for pre-application meetings for rezone proposals. The pre-application meeting is intended to provide interested parties with staff guidance before a full rezone application, at a cost of $6,400, is filed.

Responding to Councilmember King, Mr. Stewart said the $60 fee would be charged for a zone reclassification and not for purely technical assistance. He said staff has found that many people are "shopping ideas" with staff. There is a point in time when a person needs to "get serious" about a specific proposal and at that point it is appropriate to set a formal decision-making process. This would help formally organize applicants and start files and limit repetitive requests for the same parcel.

Councilmember Ransom was concerned about the increases in fees since the City incorporated. He feared Shoreline’s fee structure is climbing closer and closer to King County’s. Mr. Deis said all jurisdictions are adopting these new UBC rates. He said the building fees were not changed last year. Mr. Stewart added that there will be no change to the hourly rate.

Councilmember Hansen pointed out that these changes are based on the most recent UBC, except for the new $60 fee. He wondered how and when this fee would be applied. He was completely against a fee for citizens coming in and asking questions.

Mr. Stewart explained that the "mom and pop" property owner with questions will be provided free service. When professional developers come in, the first hour of consultation will be provided free. He said the current rezone fee is a very large investment, so staff felt it would be more appropriate to have a formal first step in place to review the application. He said the City of Seattle charges $125 for a similar service.

Councilmember Hansen moved approval of Ordinance No. 188. Councilmember Ransom seconded the motion.

Councilmember Gustafson said he would feel more comfortable if there was more definition and guidelines. Mr. Stewart said staff has worked out such guidelines, but they were not available at the time the packet was produced.

Councilmember Lee said that as long as the fee does not apply to single family homeowners who simply want an update on their property, she had no problem with this additional fee.

Deputy Mayor Montgomery wished to ensure that the fee will be equitably implemented. Mr. Stewart said the intention is not to charge the $60 first but to meet with the individual and see if there is an intent to come forward with a formal application. He added that Council has expressed the goal of recovering 80 percent of the costs for the building department and staff will bring forward information on this in the future.

A vote was taken on the motion, which carried 5 - 1, with Councilmember Gustafson dissenting, and Ordinance No. 188 adopting revised fees for services for land use and building permit development applications was adopted.

(b) Motion to authorize the City Manager to execute a consultant agreement with Inca Engineers, Inc. for professional traffic engineering services, with work to be later assigned on each capital project

Doug Mattoon, Public Works Director, explained that this motion represents a new concept for the City, since the Public Works Department requires the services of a consulting firm with traffic engineering expertise to support its design needs for the design and construction of capital improvement projects. The contract establishes the contractual relationship and the hourly rates. As individual projects are implemented, staff will negotiate the specific scope of work for that project, which will be approved by the Public Works Director and executed by the City Council.

Councilmember Hansen moved to authorize the City Manager to execute a consultant agreement with Inca Engineers, Inc. for professional traffic engineering services, with work to be later assigned on each capital project.

Councilmember Ransom confirmed that this contract does not provide for hiring contract employees. Mr. Mattoon said this is a professional traffic engineering firm which will provide its own staff for these projects.

Mr. Deis added that the benefit for the City is to have an ongoing relationship with a consultant firm. This will provide consistency with staff and familiarity with City of Shoreline design criteria.

A vote was taken on the motion, which carried 6 - 0 and the City Manager was authorized to execute the consultant agreement with Inca Engineers, Inc.

Mr. Swansen provided background on the City’s web site and then demonstrated the information that can be found on it.

Mr. Deis reminded Council that there are future phases for the web site, but it is important to develop each phase well before moving on to the next.

Responding to Councilmember Lee, Mr. Swansen said he did not know how much it will cost to maintain the web site. He did not think the City would save money, but he noted that this is a service to the citizens.

9. CONTINUED PUBLIC COMMENT: None

11. ADJOURNMENT

Deputy Mayor Montgomery declared the meeting adjourned at 9:35 p.m.

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Sharon Mattioli, CMC
City Clerk