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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1991-07-09 Minutes (2)MINUTES OF A SPECIAL MEETING OF THE FAYETTEVILLE BOARD OF DIRECTORS AND THE FAYETTEVILLE PLANNING COMMISSION A special meeting of the Fayetteville Board of Directors and the Fayetteville Planning Commission was held on Tuesday, July 9, 1991 in the Board of Directors Room on the second floor of the City Administration Building, 113 West Mountain Street, Fayetteville, Arkansas. HEMMERS PRESENT: Mayor Fred Vorsanger, Directors Dan Coody, Bob Blackston, Shell Spivey, Julie Nash, Chairman Jerry Allred, Commissioners Jana Lynn Britton, Fred Hanna, Charles Nickle, and Jett Cato, Mark Robertson, and J. E. Springborn MEMBERS ABSENT: Director Ann Henry and Commissioners Joe Tarvin and Jack Cleghorn OTHERS PRESENT: Clark McClinton, Mitch Singleton, Jessie Bryant, Melanie Stockdell, Dale Holland, Mike Faupel, John Merrell, Becky Bryant, Sharon Langley, members of the press and others Mayor Fred Vorsanger called the meeting to order and explained the meeting had been called to receive a report from The Fayetteville Vision Steering Committee on The Fayetteville Vision. He explained this had been a very important project. He stated there had been an unusual number of citizens who had responded to the city's plea to get involved. He further stated he was pleased the Planning Commission was present since they would have to take the first steps in the implementation of the plan. He stated it was his intent that at the end of the presentation that both the Board of Directors and the Planning Commission accept the report and that they would ask the staff, beginning with the City Manager, to implement further steps by putting price tags on the suggestions along with projections on time of completion. Mr. John Merrell, Director of Planning, explained approximately three and a half years ago a consulting firm had been hired to develop a new master plan for the city and, while they did a good job, several things had been lacking - first and foremost, input from the public. He explained he had wanted the master plan back on track, and to find a way to get public input into the process with a minimal use of outside consultants. Mr. Merrell explained the game plan utilized the staff, the steering committee, and the members of the Board and Planning Commission. He further explained the plan was a three-phase and The Fayetteville Vision was the first phase of the entire project. The second phase, which will begin late -August or early - September, is called The Fayetteville Profile. This will be an effort to do new mapping of the city, collection of statistical data, etc. The second phase is to be completed in the fall. Mr. Merrell further explained the third phase of the project would be the development of The Fayetteville Plan, a new master plan to guide the future growth of the City of Fayetteville into the twenty-first century. He stated they would have a product for view around the end of the year. He anticipated it would go to the Planning Commission and Board of Directors in early 1992. Mr. Merrell further explained they would also have a need to develop other master plans for the city, all of which will be a part of the overall master plan. He gave as an example of the planning studies that must be done a transportation plan involving a new master street plan, master sidewalk plan, and master 2/6 • • • Special Meeting July 9, 1991 Page 2 bikeways plan. He also gave as examples a new annexation plan for the city; a community facilities plan; a parks, recreation and open space plan. Mr. Merrell stated the first step of The Fayetteville Vision was to approach the public. He explained staff had spoken to numerous civic clubs, presenting the project and had received good support and input. He further explained they had started an advertising campaign, developing a brochure, bumper stickers, posters, etc. He reminded the assembled group that the kickoff for the project had been on April 30 in City Hall with a goals summit meeting held on May 1 at Mt. Sequoyah. He stated approximately 120 people attended that meeting, many of whom stayed the entire day to share their views of the future. He explained staff had also mailed out an opinion survey called "Mayor for a Minute Survey". He further explained the final step was a series of neighborhood meetings at all eight elementary schools in Fayetteville. He stated the first two or three meetings had started slow but by the time they held the last meeting there were 130 or 140 people in attendance. He explained they had reached over 1,000 people, not counting the input from school children. He explained that upon completion of the neighborhood meetings, the steering committee had a grueling schedule of meetings whereby they had the task of distilling the massive input from the public into a series of goals to guide the growth of the city and be incorporated into the Fayetteville Plan. He explained the steering committee had numerous meetings, to work on the goals. He stated the committee had developed 10 goals with objectives to guide the achievement of the goals, some short range and some long range. Mr. Merrell also commended the children of the community. He pointed out the drawings done by third grade students at Fayetteville's elementary schools. He explained these children represented the class of 2000 - the target year for the Fayetteville Plan. He suggested that sometimes adults were very wise to listen to the children of the community. He stated that he had heard some criticism of the project, that only 1,000 people in the city participated. He further stated that 1,000 people participating in a project such as this was an impressive achievement. He stated he believed it was a credit to the steering committee because they were instrumental in assisting staff in getting a lot of people to the meetings. Mr. Merrell stated that, in implementing the Plan, they had considered numerous items. He explained they had decided to hold the next Fayetteville Vision meeting in 1993. He further explained that would give the city time to catch its breath, time to go about the business of trying to implement some of the projects, and to recognize the fact that good city planning should always be a continuous process. He recommended that the city staff have an internal quality circle to regularly review progress as far as implementation of the items was concerned. He further recommended that the steering committee stay in place for the foreseeable future in order to monitor the progress made by the city. He explained they had expressed an interest in doing this at their final meeting. He recommended that the city planning staff shoulder the burden of preparing periodic reports to the public, to the Board, and to the Planning Commission. He are also recommended the results of the Vision project be fed directly into the CIP and the budget process. Mr. Merrell thanked the steering committee for all of the time and energies they had spent on this project; the Board and Planning Commission for their support; Scott Linebaugh, City Manager, for his support for the project; the other department heads - Don Munsell, Kevin Crossen, Richard Watson and Mickey Jackson; the school board, and especially Winston Simpson; the elementary school principals for allowing the Vision staff to hold the meetings in the elementary schools; all of the third grade teachers, especially Suzanne Miles at Asbell • • Special Meeting July 9, 1991 Page 3 School; the heads of all the civic clubs in the City of Fayetteville for allowing staff to share this project with their members; and Becky Bryant for all she did on this project. He further stated her performance on this project was one of the finest individual efforts that a staff member had ever put in for him. He further stated none of them would have been in the room that evening had it not been for Ms. Bryant's efforts. Mr. Merrell stated he hoped that this project would be a good one to guide the growth of the city into the future. He once again thanked everyone present. Mayor Vorsanger commended both Mr. Merrell and Ms. Bryant for the outstanding job they had done on this project. He then introduced the steering committee. He explained the steering committee had chosen Clark McClinton as chairperson. He thanked the committee for the time and effort they had put into the project. Clark McClinton thanked John Merrell and Becky Bryant for the support they had provided for the steering committee. He also thanked the news media for attending the meetings. Mr. McClinton stated that in order to have a vision of where you wanted to go, you needed to remember where you came from. He explained he remembered Fayetteville when there were no paved roads in Washington County; when it was bounded on the north by North Street, on the west by Garland and the university, on the south by 6th Street and the east around Mt. Sequoyah; when the Evelyn Hills Shopping Center was a dairy farm; when Rolling Hills was pastureland. He stated there had been lots of planning going into the growth of Fayetteville and all of the changes that had come about in this community. Industry had been brought in to broaden the industrial base. He explained they planned for development as best they could and now they were in the process of trying to plan for the continued growth of Fayetteville. He stated one of the major goals from all of the meetings was to keep Fayetteville beautiful and liveable. Mr. McClinton then read the Vision statement: "We want Fayetteville to continue to be community that maintains its small city character; harmonizes with its wooded, rolling hills; appreciates its historical flavor; and builds on its unique qualities of cleanliness, safety, cultural, educational and recreational opportunities, strong neighborhoods, friendliness, and a university partnership. Fayetteville should actively involve the community to achieve consensus in city goals, should use innovative solutions to address city issues and should continue to promote regional cooperation." Dr. Mitch Singleton stated he was pleased to been a part of the steering committee for The Fayetteville Vision. He explained he felt this process of public input was an innovative expression. He stated it had been amazing how many common items had come up at each of the group gatherings. He explained that Fayetteville city government -citizen relationship had not been as good as most would want in recent years. He explained The Vision Statement strived to improve on this. Dr. Singleton stated several of the committee members had been absent various times due to work or vacation schedules and there were items on the goals list that had not been discussed at any meeting he had attended. He stated he knew the planning staff has been pressed for time to present the report, that it had been difficult with all of the meetings to get everyone together. He recommended the Board and Planning Commission refine the report to provide the blueprint for the future of the Fayetteville the citizens envisioned. Ms. Jessie Bryant stated there were still many things that could be done to make Fayetteville even more beautiful. She asked the city to do a few things that would only cost a little time - look at the blind corners and vacant lots. She • • • Special Meeting July 9, 1991 Page 4 asked how the Park Commission could get more money, how many parks did the city have and how many did they need, were the parks being utilized. She explained that most of the time when someone said "parks" everyone thought of Wilson Park but there were other parks in the area. She suggested updating the parks. She stated the historical districts of Fayetteville could also use a little time and commitment. She explained the historical districts were a part of Fayetteville to be proud of, a heritage the citizens could use. She also noted the entrances into the city could be made to look better. She suggested finding another way to have parking lots without using all of the greenspace. Director Julie Nash explained the priority goal for solid waste was defined as improving the handling of solid waste with a particular emphasis on reduction, re -use and recycling. She said she also would like to add the word "education". She pointed out the city was either looking into or working on some of the listed solid waste goals. She stated some questions had come up about a permanent citizens committee to advise the city on solid waste matters. She explained that did not mean someone to advise the city's professional staff on how to do things but something similar to a planning commission that would make recommendations to the board when solid waste issues came up. She stated that when the Board decided to accept the report she hoped it would accept it with the understanding that there were some areas where city government had no control such as education, the school board, the chamber of commerce, etc. She suggested forwarding that information to the appropriate group. Ms. Melanie Stockdell stated the primary transportation goal was to de -emphasis the automobile as a means of transportation, improve access to bicyclists and pedestrians, and explore public transit alternatives and improve traffic circulation. She explained that within that primary goal there were numerous recommendations. She stated some of the more innovative recommendations included the development of a bikeway and greenway plan to link the parks, employment centers and university with points of interest; to develop a master transportation plan which included streets, sidewalks, bikeways and public transit; establishment of a citizens' committee to study improvements in the transportation area; the removal of the ordinance requirement that property owners maintain their sidewalks and consider sidewalks a part of the infrastructure of the city; to evaluate the shifting of some city vehicles to more energy efficient vehicles such as scooters, bicycles, and carts; provide bike racks at public facilities; development of a bikeway and greenway plan by 1992, construct eight miles of bikeways in accordance with the plan by 1995, and by the year 2000 construct five miles of bikeways each year; assessing developers an up -front fee for sidewalk construction in lieu of construction and to build more than 10,500 feet of sidewalks each year distributed evenly by ward and to rebuild an additional 2 miles of sidewalks per year between the years 1992 and 2000. Commissioner Fred Hanna stated most of the goals concerning recreation covered activities for the youth of Fayetteville. He further explained that all but two of the recommendations would need to be implemented by the City Parks and Recreation staff and the Parks and Recreation Board. He stated a few of the recommendations included establishing a job corps to and more fully utilize the school facilities in the summer, especially the gyms and libraries. He encouraged the city to look closely at the recommendations and implement them in the time frame allotted. Mr. Dale Holland stated the primary goal for affordable housing was to improve affordable housing for the poor, the working poor and the elderly. He explained some of the recommendations by the steering committee were to develop habitability goals for all housing; re-examine the zoning codes; support the local branch of Habitat for Humanity; and target residential areas between Special Meeting July 9, 1991 Page 5 Razorback Road, Highway 62 bypass and Center, in addition to Jefferson neighborhood, as future community development target areas. Mr. Mike Faupel stated that the primary goal of the economic statement was to develop a balanced, diverse economic base with an emphasis on the cultural arts industry; education; retirement; and environmentally sensitive, high-tech industry. He further stated one of the goals pointed out that while the city should take advantage of new businesses relocating to the city, there were many more jobs gained through expansion of existing industry. He explained they were also interested in the regional spirit of businesses and industries that buy and sell regionally. Commissioner Jana Britton stated the primary goal for planning was to emphasize long range planning, the management of growth and development in order to promote a sense of neighborhood, and to maintain the overall liveability of the City of Fayetteville. She explained that, in order to discourage some of the type of development the city had now with regard to curb cuts and congestion and to encourage neighborhood development, the steering committee had recommended the development and adoption of planning principles to guide decision making. She stated some of the other recommendations seemed to overlap or restate certain goals but each one had its own part. Commissioner Britton further stated some of the recommendations were to establish a long term planning program in the Planning Office; encourage a participatory environment in all aspects of planning; update the land use plan and zoning map and match growth to infrastructure capability; provide city staff support for neighborhood planning; develop an annexation plan; modernize the zoning ordinance (encourage cluster development, add flexibility for affordable housing, and provide incentive zoning); update the sign ordinance; create a master transportation plan; enact stormwater management, tree protection, landscape, overlay district and historic preservation ordinances as called for under other sections of the goals and recommendations; and conduct a study of ways to ensure an adequate supply of clean water. Director Dan Coody stated the primary goal of the education section was to provide high quality education opportunities for citizens of all age groups. He explained the steering committee recognized they had no authority over the education community but hoped they could work together to implement some of the recommendations. He stated some of the recommendations were to increase library funding and support children's reading programs; institute "no pass/no play"; provide mechanisms for youth to participate in city government; encourage school- based health clinics; improve computer literacy of youth; develop an Education and School Facilities Master Plan; and seek location of state's new math and science school in Fayetteville. Director Coody stated he was hopeful the as guideposts. He further stated that, afford all of the recommendations, there make changes. He stated if they made benefits. community would use the recommendations while he knew it would be difficult to were times they could not afford to not good investments they would reap good Mr. McClinton stated the primary goal for emergency services was to maintain a high level of service in police, fire, and emergency operations and ensure that service is equitably distributed among the citizens. He further stated some of the recommendations were to expand the use of neighborhood watch groups and set policy of "no tolerance" for violators of handicap accessibility laws. He stated everyone was concerned regarding the financing of these recommendations. He urged the Directors and Commissioners to start with those items that had very little cost. He further explained that the City of Fayetteville had a bikeway • • • Special Meeting July 9, 1991 Page 6 plan since 1981 but it had never been implemented. He suggested they take a street, convert it to one-way traffic, paint lanes and make a bikeway. Mr. McClinton stated some of the recommendations could be completed by just changing the emphasis on the way things were done. He further stated there were some recommendations that would cost money. He gave the park system as an example. The city needed parks, the city had parks, there needed to be an inventory of the parks - where they were located, the intended use of the parks, the cost of improving the parks, and a study of where additional parks were needed in the future. He suggested once the plans were developed, they submit the plan to the people to make the determination. He further suggested that city government allow the residents to vote on more items, giving them input in the direction Fayetteville would grow. Fayetteville had been growing in a decent, liveable, affordable manner. He asked that be continued in the future. Mayor Vorsanger commended the steering committee. He gave the steering committee an opportunity to give direction as the Board and Committee reviewed the recommendations. Commissioner Hanna stated it had been an honor to serve on the steering committee, that it had been a rewarding experience. He pointed out that, if they were not careful, they would increase the taxes dramatically, discourage growth, increase the administrative staff, make it more expensive for elderly and low income people living in the city, and create more problems than they solve. He recommended that, when the final implementation of the plan occurred, they wanted to keep those things in mind and be careful of what they did. Mr. Faupel explained that each item in the plan came from input at a public setting. He stated each item had been deliberated upon by the full steering committee. He further stated he had been surprised that some items, such as the wastewater treatment in the city, had never come up. He recommended the Board allow the citizens to vote on those items they determined cost too much money. Ms. Stockdell stated the process had brought together divergent points of view and the participants had reached agreement. She expressed hope that, once the cost of each of the recommendations was determined, the Board would work in as much good faith as the citizens had. Ms. Jessie Bryant expressed hope the relationship between the citizens and the city would continue to grow. She asked that they work hand in hand on the recommendations with the citizens. Director Nash pointed out the bottom line to the entire process was to develop a long range plan and appropriate ordinances with these recommendations in mind so the plan would reflect the priorities of the citizens of Fayetteville. She suggested they use local talent. She asked they remember the basics the city government was to provide and use the tax money for that first and then look at the amenities. Mr. Herbert Fowler stated he had been a resident of Fayetteville since 1962. He stated there had been an increasing number of elderly, both in current residents and those moving into the area. He explained these citizens could be used by the city government in volunteer, advisory -type roles. Ms. Stockdell explained that the demographics were unavailable to the steering committee during most of their deliberations. She further stated the elderly had been considered, however, in setting the goals. Commissioner Britton agreed. She further stated they had not heard much about elderly concerns at the neighborhood meetings. • • • Special Meeting July 9, 1991 Page 7 Commissioner Hanna stated the Planning Commission was trying to work toward the goals of providing more affordable housing, elderly day care centers, etc. He stated he though Mr. Fowler's idea of using more elderly volunteers was a good idea. Dr. Singleton explained that he had recently been on vacation and noted other countries utilize advisory volunteer groups. He stated he believed the utilization of the private sector as volunteers would assist in completing some of the Vision goals without expense to the taxpayers. He suggested having a volunteer coordinator. Ms. Jill Mica requested that the participation continue on the Vision plan. In response to a question regarding city commitment to the Vision plan, Mayor Vorsanger explained the report would go to the Planning Commission and the Board for the approval and then the plan would be implemented. He stated that in other cities where this type of plan had been successful, the most successful were those ones that had been acted upon rapidly and parts of the plan implemented as soon as possible. Mr. Jim Wilson stated he hoped the Board would not "sell economic development short". He further stated he hoped they kept in mind that jobs are important to supplement the tax base. He further stated he did not know how much bikeways and greenways would cost but he did not know many people who had time to use those facilities in getting to and from work. He stated the automobile was still the primary way of getting around the city. He requested they keep the economy balanced. He stated he was opposed to the establishment of school based health clinics. An unnamed resident asked how much money the city spent on alternative forms of transportation as opposed to the automobile. Mayor Vorsanger stated they Mr. McClinton pointed out bicycles. had not completed any bikeways to date. very few of the citizens, population wise, rode Mr. Kirby Estes, a resident of Fayetteville, stated the Board needed to think of something more than dollars. He pointed out the city needed to grow culturally as well as economically. He stated there had been bike routes for a number of years and he believed bikeways should be considered. Ms. Rita Massey, a resident of Fayetteville, stated there seemed to be the feeling that economic development opposed the cultural amenities. She pointed out the amenities increased property values and that each enhanced the other. Ms. Anne Thomas, a member of the Fayetteville Historic District Commission, explained the city could not afford to lose many more historical buildings. She stated historical areas were one of the reasons this area drew tourists. She further stated the difference between an "okay" city and a great one was the amenities. She expressed hope that the vision project would continue. Ms. Stockdell explained the parks and open space plan and the transportation plan would, by necessity, have to be integrated in order to allow the implementation of the strategies. She further stated that under the beautification goal one of the recommendations was to enact ordinances to protect historic sites and districts. • • • • Special Meeting July 9, 1991 Page 8 Director Coody expressed his hope that the governing body would not discard the entire project if they did not like one or two of the recommendations. He agreed that economic development and amenities did go hand in hand. Chairman Jerry Allred stated the Vision project was a positive step for the City of Fayetteville. He expressed hope the process would continue and, at some future point, the goals became reality. He stated it was difficult to implement such a project, but he thought the Steering Committee had done an excellent job. Commissioner Nickle asked staff to look at each item, and if there was no significant cost, place those items on a priority status. He stated that, should they implement the plan in its present fashion, there would be six additional committees and a number of ordinances enacted. He explained that getting the city government too complex concerned him. He further stated and the need for such ordinances had been discussed during Planning Commission meetings, such as the landscape ordinance, the stormwater management ordinance, etc. He suggested they be cautious in determining whether an ordinance was really needed or whether the recommendations could be worked into existing ordinances or the city infrastructure. He stated he appreciated the steering committee's efforts. Commissioner Cato agreed there were some excellent suggestions and ideas. He, too, suggested staff look at the low cost items. He stated there were several ways to accomplish some of the items and gave as an example bikeways could be constructed or parking could be removed and lane off the existing roads. He pointed out there would be little cost associated with one method and a great deal associated with the other. He suggested city staff look at the recommendations that had alternative ways of accomplishing the same objective. Commissioner Robertson commended the steering committee on the amount of work that had gone into the recommendations. He explained that, while some of the items had costs associated with the implementation, he preferred to look at those costs as investment for the future of Fayetteville. He expressed his belief that growth would continue at a rapid rate in the area and the city needed to start addressing those concerns in order to grow reasonably. He stated he looked forward to some of the future discussions as a result of the recommendations. He further stated he would like to see the costs on the recommendations. Commissioner Springborn stated the amount of work and thought that had gone into the recommendations was very impressive. He explained that when he first became involved with the city he had said he wanted to see progress with perspective. He further explained the plan was the perspective and it needed to be observed in guiding Fayetteville's future. Chairman Allred recognized Don Mills, former chairperson of the Sign Appeals Board. He suggested the sign ordinance recommendations be referred to that Board for review and recommendation to the Planning Commission. He recommended that the entire document be referred to the city manager to be distributed among the department heads. He further recommended the department heads determine the cost of each item and report back to the Planning Commission. He explained the Planning Commission would then make recommendations to the Board of Directors. Mayor Vorsanger stated he thought that was an excellent suggestion. Director Spivey stated he agreed with many of the comments by all participants. He further stated he liked the comment that the amenities and economic development went hand in hand. He pointed out part of the problem was lack of funding for the infrastructure and the amenities was due to the inability to attract industry into Fayetteville. He stated he believed any amenities which the city could afford needed to be implemented immediately. He further stated if they all worked together with cooperation they could attract new industry. He • • • Special Meeting July 9, 1991 Page 9 stated Fayetteville was one of the best places to live in the United States and the community needed to accent that rather than project negativity. Director Green explained the city fathers of his hometown had a meeting to determine whether they would let a garment factory move into the town. They voted against it even though it meant 200 - 300 jobs, and the town started dying. He stated that was a prime example of what happened when city leaders tried to stop growth. He stated the Vision project was a positive move for Fayetteville. He explained it was the amenities that kept Fayetteville liveable. He expressed hope that the Board of Directors and Planning Commission could find the right balance of the various types of growth that would still keep the city economically viable and would allow enough tax base to be able to fund the amenities recommended in the plan. He explained that only with balance could they maintain the type of beauty and quality of life the citizens currently enjoyed. Director Green stated he had not heard anything about the impact of tourism on the city. He explained tourism was the largest industry in the world. He expressed his belief the city needed to consider the tourism impact and influence on the city. Director Blackstone stated he wanted to applaud the steering committee and citizens for their input into the Vision plan.. He further stated they needed to keep in mind the basic city services and basic city needs. He stated there were still people living on gravel streets without city water or sewer. He stated those people needed to be taken care of before taking care of amenities. Ms. Nancy Seiff, a resident of Fayetteville, expressed concern that the plan would be given to staff but never acted upon. She stated she had the impression that the Board of Directors and Planning Commission would vote on the document, accept it and list the items they would carry out. She further stated she wanted to hear commitments from the city leaders that they intended to follow through on the recommendations. Mayor Vorsanger assured Ms. Seiff the Boards would be moving on the recommendations but that it would be grossly unfair to approve a document they had not had an opportunity to study. He explained that many cities in the United States were on the brink of financial disaster. He further explained the Board of Directors and city staff had provided a balanced budget. He noted that, in order to keep the budget balanced, they would have to make more effective use of the limited resources available. He stated they needed to start taking care of and improving what they already had. He pointed out there were items in the Vision project that could be implemented before year end, some more in 1992 if the resources were used wisely. He thanked the steering committee for their efforts and time. Mayor Vorsanger supported Mr. Allredts recommendation that the Vision plan be forwarded to the city manager for disbursement among the departments for their recommendations to the Planning Commission. The meeting adjourned at 7:50 p.m.