CITY COUNCIL SPECIAL MEETING
TUESDAY, MAY 24, 2016 COUNCIL CHAMBERS 211 WEST ASPEN AVENUE 4:00 P.M. MINUTES |
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1. | CALL TO ORDER
Mayor Nabours called the Special Meeting of May 24, 2016, to order at 4:00 p.m. NOTICE OF OPTION TO RECESS INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION
Pursuant to A.R.S. §38-431.02, notice is hereby given to the members of the City Council and to the general public that, at this regular meeting, the City Council may vote to go into executive session, which will not be open to the public, for legal advice and discussion with the City’s attorneys for legal advice on any item listed on the following agenda, pursuant to A.R.S. §38-431.03(A)(3).
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2. | ROLL CALL
Others present: City Manager Josh Copley and Senior Assistant City Attorney Kevin Fincel. |
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3. | PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE AND MISSION STATEMENT
The City Council and audience recited the Pledge of Allegiance. MISSION STATEMENT The mission of the City of Flagstaff is to protect and enhance the quality of life of its citizens. |
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4. | Consideration and Possible Action re Suspension of the Rules | |||||||
Mayor Nabours stated that he is glad to see that there are a number of people present to discuss the issue. He explained that the Council is looking to try and understand why housing is so expensive and possible solutions. | ||||||||
Moved By Mayor Jerry Nabours, seconded by Councilmember Karla Brewster to suspend the Rules of Procedure and extend the public speaking limit from three minutes to five minutes. | ||||||||
Vote: 7 - 0 | ||||||||
5. | Cost of Housing Comprehensive Discussion | |||||||
Planning Director Dan Folke pointed out a few maps on the wall that show vacant parcels one acre or larger and current availability of water and sewer services. Community Investment Director David McIntire provided PowerPoint presentation that covered the following: COST OF HOUSING IN FLAGSTAFF, ARIZONA ECONOMICS OF HOUSING COSTS NEXUS STUDY CURRENT MARKET STATISTICS SUPPLY AND DEMAND CHART ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DYNAMICS Real Estate Manager Charity Lee continued the presentation. MARKET VALUE MARKET PRICE FORCES AFFECTING VALUE (PEGS) DATA FROM NOTHERN ARIZONA MULTIPLE LISTINGS Mr. Folke continued the presentation. SINGLE FAMILY FEE COMPARISON MULTI-FAMILY FEE COMPARISON Councilmember Brewster asked how the average U.S. fee is calculated. Building Official, Mike Scheu explained that the City receives a data summary two times per year that shows the national average cost of housing throughout the United States. Mayor Nabours asked if the information is broken out by the size of the city to which Mr. Scheu replied no. Councilmember Oravits as if there is a median average available. Mr. Scheu stated that the data summary only provides the national average. Mr. Folke stated that there are concept and site plan fees that are used to cover the cost to review the site plan to make sure they are compliant with City standards. For multi-family of four units or more there is an additional cost. For multi-family and commercial projects there is a Development Engineering fee; once the site plan is approved there is further review to examine the public improvements to make sure they comply with the City development and design standards. Mayor Nabours asked if the utility fees are to get a permit and tie into the system. Utilities Director Brad Hill stated that the capacity fees for sewer and water are charged on a per home basis for single family homes and a per unit basis for multi-family. The intent of those fees is to pay for growth related projects and buying into the existing capacity of the system. Mr. Folke added that the City also collects fire and police impact fees to maintain the level of service based on the increased demands. Mr. Copley stated that staff is available for any questions the Council might have. He stated that building fees go into the general fund and are not tied back to a particular service. Out of the general fund the City will be providing two additional positions, a Building Inspector and a Fire Inspector. It is important to note that the utility fund is an enterprise fund and it is a cost of what it takes to provide that service. At this time the Council engaged in a dialogue with the following individuals:
The following comments and suggestions were made:
Councilmember Evans stated that she feels that there is more to the conversation. She does not feel that $250,000 is an accurate representation of affordable for Flagstaff. She would like to continue the conversation and would like to hear from Habitat for Humanity, the Flagstaff Housing Authority and someone to talk about the Affordable Housing Plan that was put together before the economic downturn. Additionally, there was no one here from NAU and they play a big part in the student housing discussion. There was reference to doctors, nurses, and public safety workers but there was little heard about the service workers, the janitors, the cooks and waitresses; if the upper service professionals cannot afford housing then the lower levels are having a severe problem. Homelessness was not discussed or the hotels being used for housing. The broader economy should be discussed and how it impacts housing. These other components are needed to get the full picture. Councilmember Putzova stated that she would like to get an update on the employer roundtable that has been formed to discuss workforce housing. Until the profit is taken out of housing there will not be affordable housing for the work force. The City needs to consider partnering with other employers to find solutions and it needs to find a way to finance workforce housing and develop ways to keep it permanently affordable. Additionally, there needs to be a conversation about rent as many people cannot sustain the rental rates in Flagstaff. Mr. Copley stated that the City has had the initial meeting with local employers and they all agreed that there are problems and preliminarily discussed ideas. They have brought ECONA to the table and they are working with the group to start developing workable solutions. Councilmember Brewster stated that she feels that the discussion today is a good start; it allowed people in the field that are affected by the issues talk about their challenges and possible solutions. The conversation needs to continue and she feels that the solution will be a collaborative effort throughout the community. Councilmember Oravits requested information on the state legislation regarding the mobile home pull out. He would also like some information from Utilities on the water meter requirement for multi-family units of four or less and a comparison to a single meter. He also asked for information on how much private land acreage is available that is undeveloped. Lastly, he requested clarification of the residency requirement in the portion of the code related to Accessory Dwelling Units. Councilmember Evans stated that the mobile home pull out legislation is related to a health and safety issue. In Phoenix there was a fire at a mobile home park and emergency vehicles were not able to get in between the units; this prompted a state law that requires so much space between units to allow for emergency vehicle access. That is the legislation that staff will want to look for in regards to Councilmember Oravits request. Council agreed that a future work session is needed to further discuss the issue. Council will provide the City Manager with issues that they would like to see further discussed. |
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6. | INFORMATIONAL ITEMS AND REPORTS FROM COUNCIL AND STAFF, FUTURE AGENDA ITEM REQUESTS None |
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7. | Adjournment |
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I, ELIZABETH A. BURKE, do hereby certify that I am the City Clerk of the City of Flagstaff, County of Coconino, State of Arizona, and that the above Minutes are a true and correct summary of the Meeting of the Council of the City of Flagstaff held on May 24, 2016. I further certify that the Meeting was duly called and held and that a quorum was present.
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