Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout2007-01-11 MinutesCity Council Street Committee Minutes January 11, 2007 Page 1 of 19 Member Aldermen Mayor Dan Coody Ward 1 Position l — Brenda Thiel V10 Ward 2 Position 2 — Nancy Allen CityAttorney Kit Williams � 1 Ward 3 Position 2—Robert Ferrell Ward 4 Position 2 - Lioneld Jordan City Clerk Sondra Smith ARKANSAS City of Fayetteville Arkansas City Council Street Committee Meeting Minutes January 11, 2007 A meeting of the Fayetteville City Council Street Committee was held on January 11, 2007 at 4:30 p.m. in Room 326 of the City Administration Building located at 113 West Mountain Street, Fayetteville, Arkansas. MEMBERS PRESENT: Alderman Lioneld Jordan, Chair; Alderman Nancy Allen; Alderman Robert Ferrell; Alderman Brenda Thiel Other Aldermen Present: Alderman Kyle Cook; Alderman Shirley Lucas Staff Present: Ron Petrie, Tim Conklin, Gary Dumas, Paul Becker, Susan Thomas, Terry Gulley, Chris Brown, Mayor Dan Coolly, Kit Williams 1. Call to order The meeting was called to order by Chairman Lioneld Jordan. As the first order of business, Alderman Allen moved that Alderman Jordan be re-elected as Chairman of the Street Committee. Alderman Thiel seconded the motion and it carried unanimously. Alderman Jordan introduced the new members of the Street Committee: Alderman Brenda Thiel representing Ward 1 and Alderman Nancy Allen representing Ward 2. 2. Approval of the minutes of the December 11, 2006 Street Committee meeting. Alderman Ferrell moved that the minutes of the December ll, 2006 Street Committee meeting be approved as distributed. Alderman Thiel seconded the motion and it passed unanimously. 113 West Mountain 72701 (479) 521-7700 (479) 575-8257 (Fax) accessfayetteville.org City Council Street Committee Minutes January 11, 2007 Page 2 of 19 3. Transportation Bond Program Update A. Presentation of the preliminary schematic drawings for the Mount Comfort/Salem/Deane Solomon intersection and the Rupple Road/Mount Comfort intersection by Garver Engineers and presentation from City staff of the recommended option. Ron Petrie said staff has received the conceptual and schematic drawings from Garver Engineers and copies have been distributed to the Committee. Staff wanted to include the Street Committee in the first review of the material and the decision making process about any changes to be made in the drawings and plan. Garver representatives were present to briefly present their findings. Frank McIllwain, Garver Engineers talked first about the intersection of I540 and Porter Rd./Shiloh/Deane Solomon/Mt. Comfort. He displayed several drawings of different models of this intersection. He explained that the highlight of Model A is to change the curve of Mt. Comfort Rd., change the intersection point of Shiloh on both sides of Mt. Comfort and take Deane Solomon towards the east to tie in to Shiloh instead of Mt. Comfort. The line work seen on this exhibit is estimated to be $3 million for construction. Model B shows a different alignment on Mt. Comfort Rd. It would keep Porter/Mt. Comfort on almost the same alignment, with Shiloh tying in with Deane Solomon. Model B is estimated at $3.1 million. On the west end of the project Garver was asked to study the connection of Rupple to Mt. Comfort and tie together the dividing intersection of Rupple Rd. north and south of Mt. Comfort. Mr. McIllwain displayed an exhibit of this plan and said that the cost of line work was estimated at $2.8 million. Brock Hoskins of Garver Engineers pointed out that the Rupple Rd. realignment ties in to be straight across from the new Rupple Rd. Ron Petrie reminded the Committee that this part of Rupple Rd. was not a part of the Mt. Comfort project. He said this intersection obviously needs to be improved and we have a half million dollars sitting in an account for this stretch. Staff wanted to at least find out what the cost would be to include this in the project. Frank McIllwain continued his presentation. He said they had pared down the scope of improvements around Rupple Road. They considered a future construction of the new Rupple Rd. (displayed just previous to this one) and how they could tie the Mt. Comfort improvements in with the intersection of Rupple Rd. that leads to the school. The line work shown on this model is estimated at $660,000. He explained that if we try to extend the work from northern Rupple Rd. to southern Rupple Rd. and on to Hidden Creek, there would be an additional cost of around $1.9 million. He said Garver Engineers feels the areas shown in the exhibits he presented are the critical points in the project. They feel these pieces need to be studied individually and determination made regarding how they fit with the overall project. 113 West Mountain 72701 (479) 521-7700 (479) 575-8257 (Fax) accessfayetteville.org City Council Street Committee Minutes January 11, 2007 Page 3 of 19 Ron Petrie said staff has been working closely with several of the adjacent property owners on this project and have made some decisions regarding their recommendations on how this project should be done. They believe the cost will be less with their recommendation, although a final cost has not yet been determined. He showed a concept plan and compared it with Garver's Model B. He said he believes Shiloh is the predominant road for the future and he really wants to see the roads line up going north and south. Using the large display of the plan, he explained that Shiloh would be moved somewhat to the west to line up with the Denham property line (he said staff has met with the property owners several times regarding this). This eliminates a small remnant piece of property to the west. This would keep Mt. Comfort in its current location, although it will swing further to the north once it comes out of the curve. That will save removing several houses that are very close to the road and will bring the curve a little wider out. He explained that this plan keeps the on -and -off ramps where they are currently. Some minor widening can still be done to get the additional turn lane but we would not be rebuilding the entire section. He suggested that there was also the possibility of dead -ending Deane Solomon Rd. for the time being until that area develops. He said another thing to think about is that the section of Shiloh to the north of Porter Rd. is a State-controlled road and everything to the south is City -owned. He raised the question as to whether the City is willing to take over complete ownership of this portion of Shiloh. The State will not be happy with bringing their control further from the Interstate. Alderman Ferrell asked approximately how far we would be moving from the intersection down to where it bores off to Shiloh to hook up with Deane Solomon. Ron Petrie estimated it would be roughly 600 feet. In response to a question from Alderman Thiel, Ron Petrie said staff has been in contact with the owner of the large portion of property shown on his exhibit and he thinks they are in attendance at this meeting. Alderman Jordan opened the floor for public comment. Joanne Hayes said she objects to seeing Deane Solomon dead end. Jim Halsell asked if the school system is still considering developing the area off Mt. Comfort Rd. He was concerned about the additional traffic that might generate on that section this road. Ron Petrie said that one part of the bond project is the widening of Mt. Comfort all the way out to Rupple Rd. Tim Conklin said the school system has not yet selected a site for the new high school. Ron Petrie restated that as a part of the bond project all the widening will be done on Mt. Comfort. Staff has decided that because of the number of rights-of-way that will need to be 113 West Mountain 72701 (479) 521-7700 (479) 575-8257 (Fax) accessfayetteville.org City Council Street Committee Minutes January 11, 2007 Page 4 of 19 acquired, it is probably best to break this out into two separate projects, doing the intersection work first. While we are acquiring the necessary rights-of-way we will begin the process for widening Mt. Comfort. This will enable us to get the work started sooner. Dan Epperly said he likes Model B where Deane Solomon continues straight south and intersects directly with Shiloh. He likes the idea of moving Mt. Comfort north onto the Hayes property and salvaging the three houses on the south side of Mt. Comfort. He said his idea would be to let Deane Solomon dead end where Shiloh intersects with it. David Nelms said he had not seen the staff's variation of the plan but had seen the other two. He said the property his family owns is commercial on the front and residential on the back. Taking the road through the back side of the property affects the potential uses of the land much more dramatically in this plan than in the other two variations. He said they had talked to staff about taking Shiloh Drive up through the middle of the property. His family would be willing to work with the City to do whatever they could do to make sure that the highway department doesn't have an issue with continuing the current Shiloh. He said this variation is taking quite a bit more of the property and seems to work against the purpose of their investment in the property. Elva Speak said she is Buster Unger's daughter. He lives in one of the houses near the road. He is 85 years old and lives alone. Her concern is that the road could come right up to his front door and she is concerned about him having to relocate. Kit Schmelze expressed her concern about the confusion that could result from the design to bring Shiloh straight across. David Nelms said we have had to do major modifications in the past on exits coming off I540 that were not long enough to handle the traffic. He said that if there is significant traffic trying to exit off I540 coming onto Mt. Comfort Road and Porter Road that the street on this plan would not be long enough. He said this will be a much busier intersection in the future than it is currently. Ron Petrie said this study and the improvements were not meant to improve the whole interchange at this intersection. He said we would be adding capacity by having three lanes on the on -and -off ramps. No matter what, we have to deal with on -and -off ramps, the different portions of Shiloh, Deane Solomon, etc. and the roads have to connect somewhere. Ideally you would never have this many roads coming into an interchange but we don't have the ideal situation and we have to work with what we have. He said the State has some designs for improvements to I540 in their 25 year plan but it is not a dramatic plan. It involves mostly increasing stacking distances, installing signals, etc. In response to a question from Alderman Allen, Ron Petrie said that from a purely engineering perspective he would lean toward Model A. That model would clean up that corner much better 113 West Mountain 72701 (479) 521-7700 (479) 575-8257 (Fax) accessfayetteville.org City Council Street Committee Minutes January 11, 2007 Page 5 of 19 and would allow the traffic to move faster. However, the concerns with the houses close to the road and the concerns of the neighbors have to play into the recommendation he would make Alderman Thiel said it appears that with the staff s recommended plan we have concentrated all the roads into one small area. She anticipates that eventually an additional road would have to be built to reach the other portion of the land because people will want to develop it. Although the flow of traffic is improved, it won't get people to where they will want to go eventually. There being no further public comment, Alderman Jordan brought the discussion back to the Street Committee. Alderman Ferrell asked Mr. Petrie if there was one solution that he would choose as the safest solution. Ron Petrie said Model A would be the solution he would choose strictly on safety issues but he assured the group that all the plans are safe. Gary Dumas said that staff could come back to the Committee with a matrix that would show how many residences will be impacted by each of the plans. Ron Petrie also suggested that staff should meet with the Nelms family to address their concerns. Alderman Jordan asked that Mr. Petrie come back to the Committee with more information and at that time the Committee will get more input from the public. He said no decision would be made tonight. Ron Petrie suggested that a time be selected for the next Street Committee meeting so the people present will know when to come back for further discussion. Alderman Cook asked what the time line on this decision will be. Chris Brown said this was submitted in December and Garver has been waiting for the go ahead. They had anticipated going forward with the next step after this meeting but he does not anticipate a problem if another meeting can be scheduled within the next two weeks or month. The next Street Committee meeting was scheduled for Monday, Feb. 5, 2007 at 4:30 p.m. B. Presentation of the Wilson Park Area Traffic Calming Plan Ron Petrie said a meeting is to be scheduled with the neighborhood association and staff wants the Street Committee to see the plan that has been developed and offer comments. He said the plan is very similar to what was in the bond package when it was approved in September. Once it 113 West Mountain 72701 (479) 521-7700 (479) 575-8257 (Fax) accessfayetteville.org City Council Street Committee Minutes January 11, 2007 Page 6 of 19 has been presented to the neighborhood and comments have been received from them, it will be brought back to the Street Committee for a final decision. He said the plan is for traffic calming only and does not involve any relocation of roads. He said staff wants to be very proactive in adding the traffic calming in this neighborhood. He distributed information regarding traffic circles because there has been some confusion about them. He described the plan which involves using the existing curbs, adding a very small island in the existing intersections (with no widening) and providing some landscaping. He said there will also be speed tables on all the roads leading into Wilson Park. He said the part on Gregg Ave. is under contract with CEI Engineering. For the rest of the project, staff will be preparing specifications in-house then send it out to bid to avoid burdening in-house crews. In response to a question from Alderman Thiel, Ron Petrie said the landscaping can be whatever we choose for it to be. Alderman Cook said he believes that a lot of the traffic in this neighborhood cuts from North Street to the south on Vandeventer, Woolsey and Park. He said some cut through on the south side of the park at Vandeventer, Shady and Lincoln where these traffic circles are proposed, but it is not as prevalent as it is off North St. He said he remembered one plan where traffic circles were drawn on the north side of the park. He asked if there has to be a four-way intersection for a traffic circle. Ron Petrie said it is very hard to work with a T -intersection for a traffic circle. Alderman Allen said she hopes to bring the neighbors into the loop so they can have input. She said she doesn't believe the neighbors knew about this meeting until yesterday and hopes we can do better about letting the neighborhoods know about the meetings so they can come and have a part in the discussion. Alderman Jordan opened the floor for public comment. Mark Kinion said he is the coordinator of the Wilson Park Neighborhood Association. He said he thinks the plan is beautiful and appreciates the work that went into it. He mentioned that Dover Kohl did have the circles in different areas. He asked what the width of the island will be. Ron Petrie said staff is looking at a twelve foot wide island. Rolf Wilkin said he thinks the plan looks great. He said traffic circles are very practical. He does recommend that the traffic table be steeper on Wilson. Ron Petrie said there are some very specific guidelines that we have to follow in order to put traffic tables on streets. Jim Halsell asked which is most effective at slowing traffic, a traffic circle or a speed table. 113 West Mountain 72701 (479) 521-7700 (479) 575-8257 (Fax) accessfayetteville.org City Council Street Committee Minutes January 11, 2007 Page 7 of 19 Ron Petrie said he doesn't have enough data to answer that question. It is his professional opinion that a speed table is most effective. Jim Halsell said his concern is for the corner of Cleveland and Woolsey where people who are cutting south fly all the way down to Wilson Park. If a traffic circle could visually break up this straight shot, he thinks it would help. Overall, he thinks this plan is a really good start. Tim DeNoble said he appreciates the work that went into this plan. He said the one concern he has had on Ila is that the stop signs aren't consistent. He thinks the idea of the traffic circle is a good one and he would like to see the stop signs apply to the cross streets and not to Ila. He also expressed a concern about the three-way stop at Forest and Maple which is confusing to drivers and a dangerous intersection. Ron Petrie said he will look at that intersection. There being no further public comment, Alderman Jordan brought the discussion back to the Street Committee. Alderman Allen asked if there are currently any traffic circles in Fayetteville. Ron Petrie said there may be traffic circles in the City but nothing we have retrofitted of which he is aware. He said he would like to put some more permanent markers into the areas on which a diameter has been decided so that everyone in the neighborhood can go in and see what they think. Alderman Cook said that Alderman Marr brought this issue forward originally. The staffs plan is based on Alderman Marr's discussions with Mr. Petrie and with the neighborhood. Mr. Petrie has said all along that this plan would come to the neighborhood but he wanted for this Committee to see it first. The neighborhood will certainly have the opportunity to weigh in on the matter. Alderman Lucas said she likes this concept and has seen it in other cities. Mayor Coody said he thinks this is a very good exercise in getting everyone involved. He believes we will end with a very good product. C. General update of the Street Bond Program Chris Brown said that since the last Street Committee meeting our consultants have started survey work on four projects: the Gregg/North Street intersection, Cato Springs Road, Garland Avenue off I540 to Van Asche and College Avenue from Rock St. to Maple. He said staff expects to have several concepts in from designers to present to the Committee. He said he had 113 West Mountain 72701 (479) 521-7700 (479) 575-8257 (Fax) accessfayetteville.org City Council Street Committee Minutes January 11, 2007 Page 8 of 19 talked to the highway department about the two new AHTD projects (consolidated from three projects) and they should be issuing the minute order which will allow them to get started on the design within the next 30 days. They are talking about a public meeting on Crossover Rd. sometime in February or March. Ron Petrie assured the Committee that as soon as we get the information about this meeting we will make sure everyone knows. Chris Brown said very soon something will come before the Committee regarding property acquisition, which is a very important part of all this. He said staff wants to make sure we can start with this as soon as possible. Mayor Coody said he spoke with Dan Flowers (AHTD) today and Mr. Flowers said he and the highway department are very pleased with Fayetteville's participation with them through the money we are providing for the highway system. Alderman Jordan opened the floor for public comment. There was none. 4. Presentation and discussion of a street cost share with the Seven Hills Homeless Center to upgrade approximately 630 feet of a 20' wide driveway to a 24' wide public street. Ron Petrie said staff is currently working with Seven Hills and their contractor to get a number that is acceptable for staff to present to the Committee. He said they are not as far along in the process as was expected when the agenda was set and asked that the item be tabled until the next meeting. Alderman Allen moved that the item be tabled until the next Street Committee meeting. Alderman Ferrell seconded the motion and it passed unanimously. 5. Discussion of the possible widening of Rupple Road between Wellington Drive and Persimmon Street from two lanes to four lanes. Alderman Jordan gave a brief update on the background of this item. He said the early discussion of this dates back into the 1990's. In 2001 the Street Committee decided Rupple Road would be two lanes. He said if we don't need Rupple Rd. to be four -lanes now, we will certainly need it very soon because this area will develop very quickly. He believes the Street Committee needs to make the decision tonight if we are going to build that road and when we will build it. Alderman Ferrell asked what the cost would be to build the four lanes. Ron Petrie said $1.7 million was estimated to be the cost based on the concept distributed to the Committee. This was the last concept the Street Committee had in the packet before it was pulled out of the bond program. This does not include any widening on the north side of Wedington Dr., 113 West Mountain 72701 (479) 521-7700 (479) 575-8257 (Fax) accessfayetteville.org City Council Street Committee Minutes January 11, 2007 Page 9 of 19 which may be necessary if you do this. If you add the resignalization at the intersection and the widening on the north side of Wedington, you can add $.5 million. That would make the entire project cost about $2.3 million, not including any boulevards. Alderman Ferrell asked if there is a chance of getting help from anywhere else for that intersection. Ron Petrie said a half million dollars was set aside last year to do the engineering for Rupple between Wedington and Mt. Comfort. That was put in the budget before this project was pulled from the bond program. There is also the $8.8 million in the bond program that was set aside for cost shares, right-of-way acquisition, etc. In response to a question from Alderman Ferrell, Ron Petrie said if he had to make the decision himself, he would probably include the intersection work. He said the traffic, backups and congestion is always at the intersections. He feels it is more important that the intersection work be done than the widening. Alderman Ferrell said in this instance we have the opportunity to take care of a problem before it is exacerbated. He thinks we need to do this. Alderman Allen said she agrees with Alderman Ferrell. Though it is expensive, it will be more each year that goes by. If it needs to be done, it needs to be done now. Alderman Thiel asked if we have the money to do this and if this is the priority for use of the money. Alderman Jordan said we do have the funds it's just a matter of where to take it from. He doesn't think it will take anything away from the bond program except what might be taken from the money set aside for cost shares. Ron Petrie said the projects put into phase one of the bond program are the top priorities. Anything beyond that hasn't been prioritized at this time. Alderman Thiel said there are some existing situations throughout town, and in Ward 1, which are dangerous. She mentioned Huntsville Rd. where many people travel. She said although Rupple Rd. is becoming a main street because of the growth in the area, it is not one now. However, she understands that we are working toward improvements on Huntsville and some of the other areas in the city and she will support this. Alderman Lucas said she thinks this is a very important project. She believes this is an opportunity to do something so that we don't have the problem with which we are struggling on Huntsville Road. 113 West Mountain 72701 (479) 521-7700 (479) 575-8257 (Fax) accessfayetteville.org City Council Street Committee Minutes January 11, 2007 Page 10 of 19 We know this area is growing and we know this will be a thoroughfare that people can eventually use to get to the mall area, which is our economic engine. This is a chance to be proactive. In response to a question from Mayor Coolly, Kit Williams said we can use the bond program money as long as the project was mentioned as part of the overall capital plan that the bond program was supposed to finance and he believes cost shares were mentioned in that plan. Mayor Coolly asked how long it would be before we start construction on Rupple Road north of Wedington. Ron Petrie said we don't have money appropriated for that project at this time. Mayor Coolly asked if Rupple is carrying enough traffic right now to justify spending this money. Alderman Ferrell said he was out in that area today and it was carrying a significant amount of traffic. He drove around the entire area and saw what is getting ready to come. He thinks the traffic and the growth to come certainly justify the spending. Alderman Cook said that since the Committee began talking about the bond program, Rupple Road has been considered a critical road. He said it is a major connection from one side of town to another. Alderman Jordan opened the floor for public comment. A member of the audience commented that sometimes four lanes are not necessary and that two lanes are adequate if you have proper turn lanes at intersections. Another member of the audience said that the Council recently rezoned the east side of Rupple as mixed use and a shopping center is being brought in. There's also a fire department and thirty houses that run on the west side that have the cut outs for parking so there will potentially be 30 to 60 vehicles parked there. There is also the elementary school at the intersection of Persimmon and Rupple. He said he drives the road every day and it is a mess. Once the development is complete and the houses sold, there will be a further influx of traffic. If you wait to do this until later, you will be dealing with crisis management. Mayor Coody said there were some very good points being made. He said he agrees that we need to do this and it would be better to do it sooner than later. He said if the Committee decides to approve it, we can make it happen financially. 113 West Mountain 72701 (479) 521-7700 (479) 575-8257 (Fax) accessfayetteville.org City Council Street Committee Minutes January 11, 2007 Page 11 of 19 Kit Williams said he thinks this is a good idea. He wondered if Mr. Dumas had received any feedback yet from the $114,000 letter of credit that has been discussed as money going into this project. Gary Dumas said a meeting is scheduled this week. Kit Williams said since we are counting on that money to finance this road and the road would be a great benefit to all the developers out there, including the developers of Westside Village who hold the letter of credit, he would like for the Committee's decision to be contingent upon the agreement of these developers to extend the letter of credit so that it can be used to help finance this project. There is some issue about when the letter of credit expires. If it expires at the earliest date that some people would suggest then it would be expired before the road is finished and we could not use it. He does not believe this was the intent of the agreement. Tom Terminella said he believes the documents (resolutions, meeting minutes, agreements, etc.) he has read from back in 2000-2001 spell out that the City was obligated to build this road to a four lane section "when it becomes necessary". He believes the development in the area warrants it being done now. He requests that the project be moved forward quickly. There being no further public comment, Alderman Jordan brought the discussion back to the Street Committee. Alderman Jordan said he was a relatively new alderman back in 2001. We were working on getting the Boys & Girls Club out there and when the road was discussed, he thought it should be a four lane because of the future development he could see coming. However, the Street Committee decided the two lanes would be sufficient and we went with that plan. Since that point in time we've seen a fire station go in as well as the Boys & Girls Club and a school, and now a development is going in. He believes if we wait until this area is fully built out in three years, we will be facing crisis management. He said there is no doubt that this area is going to grow and we need to be proactive this time and not wait three years and see the price go up dramatically. Alderman Ferrell moved that this section of Rupple Road be built to four -lanes and also that the intersection be built, contingent upon receiving the money promised through the $114,000 letter of credit. Alderman Thiel seconded the motion and itpassed unanimously. Gary Dumas suggested that since the rest of Rupple Road is going to be a boulevard, he would like the Committee to consider this section also being a boulevard. Alderman Jordan said what he wants to do is to make sure we are going to fund this project and that we will do it now, then Mr. Petrie can bring back some designs to be reviewed by the Committee. 113 West Mountain 72701 (479) 521-7700 (479) 575-8257 (Fax) accessfayetteville.org City Council Street Committee Minutes January 11, 2007 Page 12 of 19 6. Discussion of possible revisions to the maximum Road Impact fees as calculated by Duncan & Associates and listed in the May. 2006 Road Impact Fee Study. Tim Conklin said a memo regarding impact fees had been distributed to the Committee by City Attorney Kit Williams. Kit Williams said when the impact fee study was done the consultants returned with the maximum amount that would be justified under the Impact Fee Statute. It has always been clear that the City Council does not have to enact the maximum amount allowed. However, he said he feels if the Council does not want to enact the same amount (proportionally) for each district, then there needs to be a reason for this. He explained that he feels the Courts would allow that the City has the right to make certain exceptions to an enacted fee as long as you are reducing the fees and not raising them. He said he and other staff have looked at some of the different housing and other categories and determined for various reasons that we could combine some of the housing sections. For example, instead of having a single family housing impact fee at $4,000 plus and a multi -family housing fee at $2,600 we could have a unified residential housing impact fee at the multi -family level. That would not be favoring apartments. The Council in the past has expressed its desire to continue to encourage single-family construction and this would be one way to meet that goal. Staff also looked at retail and commercial fees. He talked about the continual revenue stream generated by retail development, much of which goes into capital improvement dollars for streets. This could be used as reason to lower the commercial impact fee to the "office" level, which would reduce the rate about 33%. City staff also looked at industrial rates. Because more people work in industrial areas, it generates more travel and has a higher impact fee. On the other hand, it is in the City's best interest to have industrial jobs. To encourage more industrial usage and to simplify the administration of the impact fee ordinance, staff discussed combining the industrial and the warehouse rates at the lower warehouse figure. Most factories include some warehouse space so this would make the ordinance easier to administer. The same argument applies to the combination of commercial and office. Many buildings are now being built as mixed use so there may very well be commercial space intermixed with office space. The final thing discussed by staff is the category for churches. Staff feels this should be combined with the nursing home category at the lower rate. He also recommends that schools be included in this category. Even though schools generate a great deal of traffic, they are most often built by other public entities and we have a long history of working with the school districts to help them with their infrastructure needs. Alderman Ferrell said he appreciates the work the staff has done on this. He asked if the Council would have the ability to waive these fees to encourage a particular industry to come into Fayetteville. Kit Williams said they could not. He said he would be concerned about doing that within the ordinance. There are other things the City has done in the past to provide incentives and he believes we should continue with what we have done. 113 West Mountain 72701 (479) 521-7700 (479) 575-8257 (Fax) accessfayetteville.org City Council Street Committee Minutes January 11, 2007 Page 13 of 19 Gary Dumas asked if the Council could choose to pay the impact fee for the development as an incentive. Kit Williams said we have to be very careful in not giving away tax dollars. For example, when we buy services from the Boys & Girls Club or other organizations, we have to be purchasing services. Anything we would do would have to be structured very carefully so that we are not crossing the line of misusing tax dollars. He would not recommend using impact fees in this regard. Mayor Coolly asked if economic development or industrial development funds can be used to pay these fees. Kit Williams said he still believes the funds carry a lot of constitutional strings with them and if we use the industrial development funds, they should be used in the traditional ways we've used them in the past, such as building streets or furnishing other types of infrastructure. We shouldn't do anything that could be viewed as a transfer of our money to them. Mayor Coolly brought up some inequities in the study regarding residential rates, square footage, single-family versus multi -family dwellings, etc. He suggested that it would be good to be able to have a conversation about these areas of concern before the study is approved if that is possible. Kit Williams said he suggests amending section three of the enacting ordinance which might address some of Mayor Coody's concerns. If this is adopted a builder will be exempt if a building permit is issued prior to July 1, 2007. Alderman Cook said staff and the Committee have discussed several different ways to calculate impact fees and he doesn't believe we'll find a perfect system. There will be inequities in every system. He feels comfortable with what we have before us. It isn't perfect but he believes it is a good system. In response to a question from Alderman Jordan, Kit Williams said the City can build City infrastructure (infrastructure the City will own) to encourage developers to build affordable housing as long as we have the money to do it. Mayor Coolly asked, using the Sam's Club as an example, how the impact fee collected from a similar development under this ordinance would compare to the costs that are being incurred now by the Sam's Club developer doing the work today. Kit Williams said Sam's was a very unusual case as far as off-site improvements. They really stepped up for the City and did a tremendous amount. Most developers do not do nearly as much as Sam's has agreed to do. 113 West Mountain 72701 (479) 521-7700 (479) 575-8257 (Fax) accessfayetteville.org City Council Street Committee Minutes January 11, 2007 Page 14 of 19 Alderman Jordan opened the floor for public comment Tom Terminella asked Mr. Williams if there is a provision in the ordinance to exclude or grandfather in developments such as Sam's that have already incurred significant costs for infrastructure. Kit Williams said the Sam's Club has already had a building permit issued so there is no question they would be exempt. He also said that he would think that the houses in Mr. Terminella's subdivision (that paid for some of the costs to extend Persimmon toward the Frontage Road) would probably be exempt. It would be something staff would have to review. However, some of the costs that developers have will not go away. Developers will still have to build all of their internal streets and will probably have to build half of the street that fronts the development. The impact fees are for offsite development costs such as collector streets and thoroughfares. Tom Terminella said that is exactly his point. In his case, he feels he went beyond what the ordinance called for. Kit Williams said there can be a situation that for safety or other reasons, access would be required by the Planning Commission even if it is not adjoining where you are immediately developing. He believes that was the case in this particular instance. Tom Terminella said his concern is that the City is going to the well the third time for impact fees for roads. The City is asking the developer to develop and improve the property adjoining his site. Kit Williams said the homeowners will be the ones who will be paying these impact fees. They are paid when the certificate of occupancy is issued. The State Statute that used to require the developers to pay the impact fees has been changed and now the home buyer is required to pay the fee. Tim Conklin said our water and wastewater impact fee is paid at the time of connection. The Fire & Police fee is paid at the time the certificate of occupancy is issued. The road impact fees would be the same as fire and police impact fees — paid at the time the certificate of occupancy is issued. He said the impact fees are an attempt to create an arterial backbone road system to get from a house to work to shop to school, etc. We talked earlier tonight about how much it will cost to widen just one segment of an arterial. These are significant costs. Typically the City has asked developers to bring substandard streets up to local street standards (one half) to provide access to their development. Charlie Sloan said there are some issues that still concern him regarding whether credits will be issued and where they would come from. He also raised the issue of a possible real estate transfer tax. He said he feels like that would spread the cost across the board. It is more like a 113 West Mountain 72701 (479) 521-7700 (479) 575-8257 (Fax) accessfayetteville.org City Council Street Committee Minutes January 11, 2007 Page 15 of 19 consumption tax. He said he has hired Steve Davis to research the issue and asked that Mr. Davis explain further. He said they are trying for enabling legislation for a real estate transfer tax. Everyone still seems to have some questions about impact fees. Steve Davis said Mr. Sloan asked him to see if there is a more equitable manner by which infrastructure could be funded. We know that there is a cost associated with development impact fees and that there is a cost associated with inadequate infrastructure in the community. We know that few communities have enough money on hand to do all the infrastructure projects that are needed. He reviewed the choices cities have to get that money. He said Fayetteville is using both broad based taxes (sales tax) and special assessments on developments (impact fees). The need for increased infrastructure comes from people moving in and people who live here having children who take up space, use water & sewer and eventually drive on the road. Mr. Davis explained that with a real estate transfer tax, an engineer determines how much money is required to improve a road and you back into how fast you want to recover the money. Because this is a tax and you have a predictable turnover of properties every year, bond underwriters are more comfortable issuing bonds on this source of income. He said that on average, Fayetteville turns over 12% of its housing stock on an annual basis. Some houses sell on an annual basis and some houses never sell. If you have a real estate transfer tax, you will be collecting money for infrastructure improvements every twelve years on the same house. With a development impact fee you get the fee one time. There have been three large real estate transactions in Fayetteville in the last six months from which he doesn't believe we'll get an impact fee: the sales of the mall, the EJ Ball Building and the Radisson. If we had a real estate transfer tax, it would "click off' when each of these sold. Alderman Ferrell asked what the current state of assessment per thousand is on real estate transfer taxes. Steve Davis said it is $3.30 per thousand. He said a single family residence impact fee (at the higher level) would be about $5,943. Fayetteville issued 1,359 wastewater taps in 2004 and 05 and collected impact fees on those to generate around $8 million. The transfer tax to replace that money over a two year period is about $10 per thousand. Because it is bondable, you can take a longer period of time (say 12 years) and you can bring the rate down to $2.40 per thousand. He explained the hurdle involved in the real estate transfer tax is that it will have to be approved by the legislature. If it is approved, the law would probably be effective sometime in August and a City could make a decision about whether to take advantage of that opportunity. Alderman Thiel asked Mr. Davis if there are any other cities lobbying for this or if there is any kind of campaign going on to get it approved. Steve Davis said there is not. He said there is a network in place that has been meeting and discussing this but they haven't seen anything because he hasn't yet finished the report. He expects that we will be seeing activity statewide by the middle of next week. He has no idea whether a legislator will choose to take this up. 113 West Mountain 72701 (479) 521-7700 (479) 575-8257 (Fax) accessfayetteville.org City Council Street Committee Minutes January 11, 2007 Page 16 of 19 In response to a question from Mayor Coolly, Steve Davis said the group discussing this has been talking about an assessment of $4.81 per thousand. The money would be collected by the County Clerk and remitted directly to the city. In response to a question from Gary Dumas, Charlie Sloan said they would love to have the City's support on this but they will be going forward on it anyway. In response to a question from Alderman Thiel, Charlie Sloan said some of the board members of the real estate associations have been in on the meetings from the beginning. He said this move originated from communication with Duncan & Associates regarding the fairest way to raise money for infrastructure. Duncan & Associates cautioned that real estate boards would fight such a tax. He has spoken with them privately and they understand the method, however they have historically fought any sort of real estate tax. He said the homeowners association has been involved in the discussions and are waiting for a final document to review before they make a decision. He said his group has been networking to get people lined up. They would like for the mayor to be involved, and to get the Municipal League behind it. They would like to make sure the Fayetteville City Council is up to speed and understand this. Paul Sullens with Rausch Coleman said he appreciates the mayor's help with their development on the west side of town. He said that though his company understands that impact fees are important for the infrastructure of the City, they question whether it is equitable for those who are trying to develop attainable housing to pay the same $2300 to $3000 fee for a house that is selling for $150,000 as for a house that costs $300,000 or $400,000. They do not believe it is a level playing field if everybody pays the same amount. Glenn David Wilson said older people often have a sizable portion of their net worth in their house. If you impose a tax on these people, you are taking money out of their pockets. He would suggest an age exemption to make a real estate transfer tax fair. Rich Grubbs said with the cost of labor and materials right now it is hard to compete when you build a building and try to lease it out. If you build a building now, you're looking at leasing at $20 a sq. foot. Everything out there built five years ago is leasing for $14 or $15 a sq. foot. It's hard to compete and he totally disagrees with putting the total burden on the developers and builders. He brought up the fact that over 50% of the residents of Fayetteville are leasing or renting their homes. He says they're driving but not paying anything toward roads. He would like to see some sort of tax to spread the burden to these residents also. Paul Sullens said that he doesn't think it is to the point that his company could actually recommend to the City Council to approve an impact fee as this is written. Tom Terminella said the bond issue was overwhelmingly approved by the voters and he thinks that would be a more equitable way to fund infrastructure improvements. He has reservations 113 West Mountain 72701 (479) 521-7700 (479) 575-8257 (Fax) accessfayetteville.org City Council Street Committee Minutes January 11, 2007 Page 17 of 19 and feels the impact fee will discourage commerce, whether schools, industrial or office. He is opposed to the impact fee because it contradicts us being able to achieve affordable housing, it slants the playing fields and it will cause industry and commerce to go to other cities. Mayor Coody said that free market has been what has driven real estate values in Fayetteville. If we were to eliminate all our impact fees (currently at about $2500) right now, he doesn't think we would see real estate values fall the same amount. Although he understands that impact fees have an impact on affordable housing, he feels that impact is exaggerated. We need more affordable housing in town and there are mechanisms to help those projects happen. But very few groups are doing affordable housing. He appreciates the work that Rausch Coleman is doing in this area. He finds some things interesting about the real estate transfer tax and has learned some things tonight about it. He's not sure if the State will be interested in picking this up, but it might be worth talking about at least. Charlie Sloan said within another month or so we'll know whether or not we have a chance of getting this thing through. Alderman Thiel, responding to the concern about the number of people who rent rather than own in the City, said she owns rental property and she knows that most landlords pass on costs like this to their tenants. We have pretty high rental rates in Fayetteville so she would say that developers, etc. are getting compensated in the long run by increasing their rentals. Tim Conklin asked if the Street Committee likes the recommendation of staff to combine some of the categories in the impact fee study. Alderman Jordan said he likes it. Alderman Ferrell moved that the amendment to the impact fees be approved Alderman Thiel seconded the motion and it passed unanimously. Kit Williams encouraged the Committee to consider, in regard to the real estate transfer tax, that it is just another general tax. He says the City has a general tax that can be taken to the voters and it is called millage. This is also an equitable tax that hits everyone at the same time and we already have the constitutional right to do it. He said the issue is going to be whether we want an impact fee and have development pay for the infrastructure costs or if we want to have a general tax and have those costs paid for by the general population. Alderman Thiel said she feels the transfer real estate tax is for the sale of property. There is a profit margin there. You don't have to sell if you don't want to and you won't be charged this tax unless you want to sell or buy. She said any time we discuss increasing property tax citywide, that's a whole different conversation. She feels the City should do whatever it can to encourage legislators to consider the real estate transfer tax. With the current issue of reducing the tax on groceries, she believes there will be some concerns by the legislators. But if the Municipal 113 West Mountain 72701 (479) 521-7700 (479) 575-8257 (Fax) accessfayetteville.org City Council Street Committee Minutes January 11, 2007 Page 18 of 19 League likes the idea and if there is enough support from the business community, she thinks the City should get behind this whether we use it or not 8. Wedington Circle PZD/Mt. Comfort Rd. Closing (Added to the agenda by Alderman Jordan Ron Petrie said at the last Planning Commission meeting there was a discussion regarding Wedington Circle PZD. This has been before the Street Committee and the City Council and there was a lot of work regarding street improvements. At the Planning Commission meeting on Monday there was a lot of discussion and disagreement with those recommendations. The actual motion from the Planning Commission that amended the conditions stated that it was the City Council's recommendation and request that the Street Committee reconsider the original recommendation. That amendment was approved 5-4. The Planning Commission has now recommended that the Street Committee reconsider what was previously approved. Alderman Jordan said he understands that what the Planning Commission recommended was that it return to the Street Committee for possible change. Kit Williams said that not only would the Street Committee have to make recommendations to change anything, it will also have to go back through the Council for approval. In response to a question from Mayor Coody, Ron Petrie said he has the map showing what was originally approved but doesn't know what the concerns are. Glenn David Wilson asked for and received permission to address the Committee. He wished to talk about the Wedington Circle project and its impact on the local neighborhood. His particular concern was regarding the closing of the section of Mt. Comfort Rd. between North Street and Garland Ave. He owns two restaurants in that area and if the road is closed, those two restaurants would not have access to Mt. Comfort Rd. He said it was his concern expressed to the Planning Commission that resulted in the Planning Commission's request that the project be reevaluated. He said today he had the opportunity to talk to Jeremy Pate (Current Planner) and Ron Petrie who assured him that there will be an entrance from North Street onto Mt. Comfort at basically the same location it is now, but that it will be somewhat modified. That relieved the situation somewhat, though there will still be a barrier there at the entrance at Mt. Comfort off North Street and there will be a barrier across Mt. Comfort on the Garland Street side that will make it impassable. With this plan you cannot get from this section of Mt. Comfort Rd. onto Garland Avenue. He is very concerned about the impact this plan would have on the business of the restaurants in this area and on the ability of Oak Plaza Shopping Center to survive. He asks that the Street Committee reconsider this plan. He said he is unclear about how Mt. Comfort Rd. and the Wedington Circle projects as connected yet this is specified as a condition for that development. He expressed his concerns about the traffic patterns in the area if this change is made and whether Oak Plaza will be used as a way to circumvent what is intended by the change. 113 West Mountain 72701 (479) 521-7700 (479) 575-8257 (Fax) accessfayetteville.org City Council Street Committee Minutes January 11, 2007 Page 19 of 19 Alderman Jordan said he doesn't remember all the conversations about this project but believes that Alderman Marr was in favor of the closing. He also remembered that Alderman Cook was involved in the conversation. Alderman Cook said he couldn't remember the direct conversation. He said in his experience, he does not go down Mt. Comfort Rd. but goes up North St. to Garland and then heads north. He said he does frequent Mr. Wilson's restaurants but does not use Mt. Comfort to get in and out of them. He said that were Mt. Comfort comes out across from Harps there are too many entrances and exits and it creates a great deal of confusion for traffic. He thinks that was the major focus of the discussion and concern of the Street Committee on this item. Ron Petrie said he thinks the Street Committee would have preferred that the improvements happen on the west side of Garland with the additional traffic from this development. But we have the widening of Garland as a bond issue and State project that would take a couple of years and there was not a lot that could be done on the west side until those improvements were completed. This was decided upon as an interim solution. Alderman Allen suggested tabling this and looking at the issue at the next meeting after reviewing the Planning Commission minutes. Alderman Thiel also suggested looking at police reports of accidents in the area. She said she does use the street sometimes to cut through and feels it is dangerous. She said she grew up in that area and got used to cutting through but it really is a confusing area. She would like to see how many accidents actually happen there. Alderman Cook wondered if there would be accident reports for this area since much of it is a parking lot. Gary Dumas said he thinks a part of the discussion was that some places are so dangerous, you recognize them and drive with extra caution. He believes this is one of those locations. The Committee agreed that this item would be added to the next agenda and more information would be available for review at that time. There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned. 113 West Mountain 72701 (479) 521-7700 (479) 575-8257 (Fax) accessfayetteville.org