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Dunes
City Council
M
I N U T E S
July 12, 2007
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Regular
Meeting – City
Hall - COUNCILORS
PRESENT: Mayor
Sheldon Meyer, David Bellemore, Peter Howison, Richard Koehler, Susie
Navetta, Bob Petersdorf COUNCILORS
ABSENT: John Scott OTHERS
PRESENT:
Joanne
Hickey, Gary Darnielle, Teri Tinker (staff); George Burke (Planning
Commission Chair), and approximately 52 citizens. 1. CALL TO ORDER Mayor Sheldon Meyer called
the meeting of the Dunes City Council to order at City Recorder Joanne Hickey called the roll, noted the absence of Councilor
John Scott, and stated that a quorum was present. Councilors joined in the
Pledge of Allegiance. 2.CONSENT
AGENDA Mayor
Meyer noted that the Consent Agenda included acceptance of the Minutes of
the Councilor
Susie Navetta requested that action on the Minutes be removed from the
Consent Agenda. Councilor
Bob Petersdorf moved, seconded by Councilor David Bellemore, to authorize
payment of bills included in the Consent Agenda.
The motion was adopted unanimously, 5:0. 3. RECEIPTS
OF THE SESSION Mayor Meyer reviewed
information contained in a document entitled “Receipts of the Session: 4. ANNOUNCEMENTS
AND INFOMATIONAL ITEMS Mayor Meyer reviewed
announcements included in the Agenda – Committee Vacancy on Site Review
Committee, Art Exhibition provided by Birgitt Lyon, Annual Festival of the
Lakes on August 18, and the need for Fire Fighter and Community Emergency
Response Team volunteers. 5. UNSCHEDULED ITEMS Mayor Meyer invited
suggestions for amending the Minutes of the June 14, 2007, meeting. Councilor Navetta suggested
that including “George Burke, Planning Commission Chair” in the list
of staff who were present was misleading.
She also suggested that the Minutes return to a former practice of
including a report of the number of citizens attending a meeting. Staff member Teri Tinker
stated that a record was kept of the number citizens attending meetings
and would be added to minutes of future meetings. Planning Commission
Chairperson George Burke stated that he was listed as present at Council
meetings because he had been asked to sit at the staff table by the
Council. Mayor Meyer said he
believed it was appropriate for the presence of the Planning Commission
Chairperson to be identified in minutes. Councilor Peter Howison requested that Sentence 1 of Paragraph
7 on Page 6 of the Minutes be changed, as follows:
Councilor Howison said he had learned that an estimated purchase
price of the property involved was $200,000 per
person.
Councilor Howison explained
that he had made the statement based on conversation he had held with a Mayor Meyer determined that
there was no objection to the request, and the Minutes were amended. Councilor Richard Koehler
referred to a note on Page 10 of the Minutes indicating that “summary
minutes” were to be prepared from that point in the meeting as a cost
saving measure recommended by the City Attorney.
He requested that details of the discussions held be added by a
member of the City Staff whom he understood was “adept at taking
minutes.” City Recorder Joanne Hickey
explained that minutes of City Council meetings were being prepared by an
experienced person, that no matters of significance were being omitted,
and that summaries, not verbatim accounts, of discussions were most
appropriate.
Councilor Bellemore said he had previously advocated that copies of
electronic recordings of meetings available through the City Recorder were
an efficient tool for recording details of meeting discussions.
He also said he was comfortable with written “summary minutes”
that included a record of all decisions and important discussions.
Mayor Meyer said he also believed minutes should summarize
discussions and actions at Council meetings, especially with the
availability of video recordings.
In response to a question from Councilor Howison, Ms. Hickey
explained that previous preparation of meeting minutes by an on-site staff
member had been extremely time-consuming and that the current practice of
using an independent contractor who worked from a video recording appeared
to be more efficient.
Councilor Petersdorf requested that the spelling of his name be
corrected in Paragraph 11 on Page 15 of the Minutes. Mayor Meyer determined that
there was no objection to the request, and the Minutes were amended.
Mr. Burke requested that the Minutes be changed to add reference to
Council authorization of the Planning Commission to finalize arrangements
related to the “weir water rights situation.”
Mayor Meyer determined there was no objection to the request and
asked staff to research the matter and add to the record, as needed.
Councilor
Howison moved, seconded by Councilor Petersdorf, to accept the Minutes of
the Mayor Meyer determined that
there were no requests to consider other items not listed on the Agenda. 6. GUEST
SPEAKERS/CITIZEN INPUT ON UNSCHEDULED ITEMS Mayor Meyer noted that a
large number of citizens had requested opportunities to speak and said he
would seek to make time for all of their contributions to be made.
He asked for constraint and brevity, in light of the significant
number of other items on the Agenda. Darlene Beckman, 82159
Councilor Bellemore raised
a Point of Order, suggesting that the matter being presented would be
better considered in a different forum.
He requested that previously established time limits on citizen
input at Council meetings be enforced. Councilor Howison raised a
Point of Order, asking if Councilors would be permitted to reply to
allegations being made, which would completely consume the time of a
meeting set aside to act on business of the City. Councilor Petersdorf
replied that Unscheduled Business on the Agenda of the meeting was
designed to provide an opportunity for citizens to express their concerns
and that Councilors should be allowed time to rebut any allegations made
at the next regular City Council meeting.
He said the Mayor was empowered to enforce time limits on
presentations. Councilor Richard Koehler
suggested that a timing devise be used to limit presentations to three
minutes. Mayor Meyer replied
that he had been informed that the presentation by Ms. Beckman would last
approximately ten minutes and that since it was being presented on behalf
of a significant number of citizens, he determined that it would be in
order. Councilor Howison requested
that personal attacks on individual Councilors be ruled out of order. Councilor Petersdorf said
he believed that identifying violations of laws and regulations was not a
personal attack and should be permitted. Ms. Beckman continued
reading from her letter. A copy of the letter from
Ms. Beckman is attached to these Minutes as Appendix A.
Marvin Beckman,
82159 A copy of the letter is
attached to these Minutes as Appendix B. Bob Petersdorf, A copy of the letter is
attached to these Minutes as Appendix C. Mr. Petersdorf requested
that letters from Road Commission members Linda Lauck, Bill Connell, Dave
Persons, and George McKenzie responding to charges about operation of the
Commission made be entered into the written record of the meeting.
The letters are attached to these Minutes as Appendixes D, E, F,
and G. George Burke, A copy of the testimony of
Mr. Burke is attached to these Minutes as Appendix H. Richard J. Anderson,
83435 Highway 101, Mr. Anderson stated that it
had been reported that on at least two occasions Councilor Koehler, who
served as chairperson of the City Water Quality Committee, had been
approached by representatives of International Paper who expressed
interest in offering the City an opportunity to purchase the water rights
and dam. He said Councilor
Koehler had never publicly mentioned the contacts to the Council and that
a later visit by a company representative to a Council meeting had
produced disappointing results. Mr. Anderson said the
reputation of Dunes City and its ability to deal with important issues
such as Siltcoos Lake water were compromised by infighting and
self-serving attitudes exhibited by Councilors.
He illustrated his concern by describing unfair demands on staff
and questionable land use actions initiated by Councilor Howison. Mr. Anderson said
Councilors Koehler and Howison should resign from their positions on the
City Council. A copy of written testimony
submitted by Mr. Anderson is attached to these Minutes as Appendix I.
Norman Martin,
The letter of Mr. Martin is attached to these Minutes as Appendix
J.
Judy Martin,
A copy of the statement of Ms. Martin is attached to these Minutes
as Appendix K.
Bob Read,
Lee Riechel, 82541
Jensen Lane, read a letter dated July 11 in which he recounted votes by
City Councilors Bellemore, Howison, Koehler, and Navetta to remove and
then to reinstate members of the Planning Commission without evidence of
“misconduct or non-performance (of duties).”
He said the action was a “clear violation” of the Dunes City
Code. He said the action
merited recall of the Councilors. He
asked that Councilors Howison, Koehler, and Navetta resign.
He asked that his letter be included in the written record of the
meeting.
A copy of the letter of Mr. Riechel is attached to these Minutes as
Appendix L.
David R. Davis, 83000 Jensen Lane, read
a letter to the Mayor and citizens dated July 12 in which he requested the
resignation of Councilor Howison because he believed he had made untrue
and misleading statements “to advance his personal or political agenda .
. . to render private property unusable . . .”
He illustrated his contention.
He requested that his letter be included in the written record of
the meeting.
A copy of the letter of Mr. Davis is attached to these Minutes as
Appendix M.
Mayor Meyer stated that Councilor John Scott had requested
that he read a letter dated July 12 into the record of the meeting
regarding the denial of an application for a Little
Woahink Lake planned unit development.
He read the letter in which Councilor Scott stated that the
decision of the Council needed to be reversed and the findings of the
Planning Commission implemented.
James R. Peck, no address provided, read a statement dated
July 11 in which he described the dedication of Councilors Howison and
Navetta to their duties and said they were “honorable, able and
caring.” He said he firmly
supported their continued service.
Gunter Bahr,
Ralph Farnsworth, 8337 Highway 101, expressed concerns about
Christine May, 5445
Little Woahink Drive, described the admiration she and Carol Retzer had
for the dedication of Councilor Navetta to improving and protecting
Peter Howison, 7. REPORTS A.
City Attorney
City Attorney Gary Darnielle reported that, on the request of the
Road Commission, he had determined that there were
Councilor Petersdorf stated that the Road Commission had prepared
its own proposal for a road blockage permit and would adopt it at a
forthcoming meeting.
Councilor Koehler asked what the basis was for the confidence of
Councilor Petersdorf that the Road Commission would adopt the proposed
permit.
Mr. Darnielle asked to be able to review and comment on the
proposal prepared by the Road Commission.
Mr. Darnielle reported that he had been unable to complete the
requested analysis of the 21 documents submitted by citizen Norman Martin
objecting to adoption of Erosion Control
Ordinance No. 193, consideration of which had been tabled at the June
14 Council meeting.
Mr. Darnielle reported that Lane County Judicial Courts appeared to
have attained a more stable funding base and that there was an opportunity
to further investigate establishing a municipal court in
Mayor Meyer determined that there was agreement to request that Mr.
Darnielle prepare a written report about the available options regarding
the establishment of a Dunes City Municipal Court for consideration by
Councilors before their next regular meeting. B.
Planning Commission Planning
Secretary Teri Tinker noted that she had submitted a written report
comparing permit applications between 2002 and 2007, a document entitled
“Planning Secretary Workload – C.
Mayor
Mayor Meyer reported that D.
City Recorder
Ms. Hickey reported that assurance had been received that
volunteers using equipment in City activities were covered by accident and
liability insurance.
Ms. Hickey asked for volunteers to study the feasibility of
establishing a requirement for a municipal
business license. She
explained that such a regulating device was becoming common in the area
and would be useful in developing an understanding of businesses operating
in the City and could possibly serve as a new source of revenue.
Mayor Meyer requested that additional information be provided in
the packet of Agenda support material for the next Council meeting when it
would be further considered. E.
Road Commission
Councilor Petersdorf noted that Minutes of the June 18 meeting of
the Road Commission had been submitted.
He reviewed activities of Commission members related to the removal
of a tree felled during a recent storm event.
Councilor Howison said he questioned if it was appropriate for the
Road Commission to discuss a draft letter to be sent to Mayor Meyer
regarding the resignation from the Council of himself and Councilor
Navetta during its meeting, as reported in its Minutes.
Councilor Koehler said he believed it was also inappropriate for an
e-mail communication from Councilor Navetta to the Mayor to be discussed
at the Road Commission meeting, as reported in its Minutes.
He suggested that those who made the communication
"public", bore liability for disregarding matters of
confidentiality. F.
Conservation Committee
Councilor Bellemore said he had distributed copies of a report of
activities of the Conservation Committee.
He described investigations by Committee members of requests to
remove vegetation, his own dealings with a complaint about wood chips
being distributed in protected lake shore areas, and agreement of
Committee members to not question improvements made to a driveway
permitted because of a “grandfather clause” in riparian area
regulations. He requested that
principles and infraction issues reported be considered at a later Council
meeting. G.
Site Review Committee
Councilor Navetta referred to the July Report of the Site Review
Committee and said she would continue to “hammer away” at the issues
regarding the four identified properties until compliance was achieved. H.
Parks and Recreation/FranchiseS
No report. I.
Community
Center/Committee for Citizen Involvement Councilor Howison proposed
consideration of forming a Medical Disaster Preparation Committee.
He said he had discussed the need for such a group with other
medically trained Mayor Meyer stated that he approved
inviting applications for appointment of persons to serve on such a
committee to be considered at the next meeting of the Council. Councilor Petersdorf said he believed
the formation of such a Committee should be considered in conjunction with
the Fire District, which was already involved in preparedness planning.
He said he also believed its membership should consist of citizens
at large and no members of the City Council. Councilor Howison requested that time
for consideration of the Stormwater Pollution Reduction Ordinance be
maintained on the Agenda of the meeting.
Mayor Meyer replied that he would adjust the order of Agenda items
to ensure that it was considered. J.
Water Quality/Communication and Education
Councilor Koehler referred to Minutes of the June 7 meeting of the
Water Quality Control Committee and announced that they were posted on the
City Internet Website, which also contained links to sites relevant to
municipal government, area businesses, and other government entities.
He said the Committee was attempting to identify elements of
Ordinances that needed to be revised in light of newly adopted water
quality regulations. He said
publication of a City newsletter and posting of information on the City
website were intended for the education of citizens. K.
Planning Commission (Continued)
Mr. Burke reported on his efforts on behalf of the Planning
Commission to complete the transfer of the
weir property and water rights to the City.
He explained that slow progress was being made.
Mr. Burke described meetings held regarding a landslide on a
nearby 8. NEW
BUSINESS A.
Stormwater Pollution Reduction
Gerry Curran,
Councilor Howison described processes to be followed by the CCI,
Planning Commission, and City Council that would lead to adoption of the
Ordinance. He asked for
guidance on how the process should be managed.
Mr. Darnielle suggested that a committee be formed to consider
impacts of the proposed Ordinance on the Dunes City Comprehensive Plan and
existing Code. He said he
believed deadline responsibilities imposed by a grant received to develop
the proposal had been met by its consideration by the Council.
He recommended that public notices of meetings of the committee be
given that included the possibility that a quorum of the members of the
Planning Commission and/or City Council might be present.
Councilors discussed the proposed Ordinance under development.
Mayor Meyer determined that there was agreement that public notice
be given of a meeting of the CCI, as suggested by Mr. Darnielle, and that
it be tasked with development of a proposal for an implementation strategy
and management process, which would be considered for approval by the City
Council. 9. OLD BUSINESS A.
Little
Mayor Meyer stated that it was
Michael Farthing,
In response to a question from Councilor Howison, Mr. Darnielle
stated that the recalculation had been based on State land use regulations
which set the deadline for City action to be 120 days from the date the
City accepted an application as final, not the date of its initial
submission. He said he
believed the deadline based on that provision was 10.
PUBLIC HEARINGS A.
Little
Mayor Meyer noted that, based on the withdrawal of a request for
consideration of a revised plan, the Public Hearing on the Little Woahink
Lake Subdivision application would be rescheduled for an August or
September meeting of the Council. B.
Conditional Use Permit – Jack and Elizabeth Mobley
Mayor Meyer opened a Public Hearing on an application for a
Conditional Use Permit submitted by Jack and Elizabeth Mobley to make the
loft area above a new garage being built into guest quarters with a
bathroom (CUP 01-07). He
reviewed Oregon Revised Statutes
provisions for Public Hearings on Conditional Use applications.
Mayor Meyer asked if any Councilor had a conflict of interest or ex
parte
contacts regarding the application. Councilor
Koehler stated that he had attended the meeting of the Planning Commission
at which the application had been considered, but that he did not believe
it would prejudice his ability to fairly deliberate on it.
Councilor Petersdorf stated that he had conducted a site review of
the property in question, but that he had not engaged in discussion about
the application with any party involved.
Mayor Meyer determined that no one present wished to challenge the
impartiality of any Councilor regarding the application.
Ms. Tinker reviewed the Staff Report, Findings of Fact, and staff
recommendation that the Council approve the application.
She noted that the following Conditions for approval were
recommended to be included in the approval. (1)
There will be no kitchen facilities in the
proposed guesthouse. (2)
Approval based on a field visit is received
from the Lane County Sanitarian for connection of the proposed addition to
the existing septic system. (3)
An additional building permit is needed for the
bathroom added to the loft area of the new garage.
Councilor Petersdorf said the existing gate to be used for access
to the garage did not appear to have authorized access to the City street
and that a driveway permit would need to be secured through the Road
Commission. Mr. Burke observed
that existing culverts and other improvements were evidence that previous
street access had been permitted. Councilor
Petersdorf said he would research the issue in the files of the Road
Commission.
Mayor Meyer determined there was no one present wishing to submit
testimony supporting or opposing the application, closed the Public
Hearing, and invited Councilors to deliberate.
Councilor
Koehler moved, seconded by Councilor Howison, to approve the application
for a Conditional Use Permit submitted by Jack and Elizabeth Mobley (CUP
01-07), based on the Findings of Fact, proposed Final Order, and Staff
Report, including the three recommended Conditions of Approval.
The motion was adopted unanimously, 5:0.
Mayor Meyer declared a five minute recess in the meeting. 11. OLD BUSINESS (Continued)
A. Ordinance No. 193 –
Erosion Control
Mayor Meyer invited
Councilor Howison to review the status of proposed Ordinance N. 193, AN
ORDINANCE ADDING CHAPTER 141 “EROSION CONTROL” TO TITLE XIV OF THE
DUNES CITY CODEAND REPEALING SECDION 154.05 OF THE DUNES CITY CODE.
Councilor Howison referred to a draft of proposed Ordinance 193
that included changes recommended by the CCI Subcommittee, Planning
Commission, and other individuals including himself.
He explained that approximately one-half of the changes were
editorial in nature. He
reviewed proposed changes. Councilors,
staff, and Planning Commission Chairperson discussed and acted on proposed
changes to the draft Ordinance, as follows.
Councilor Howison moved, seconded by Councilor Koehler, to accept
the recommended changes to Paragraph 1 of Section 141.001 of the proposed
Ordinance. The motion was
adopted, 5:0.
Councilor Koehler moved, seconded by Councilor Petersdorf, to
remove Paragraph 2 of Section 141.01 of the proposed Ordinance.
The motion was adopted unanimously, 5:0.
Councilor Howison moved, seconded by Councilor Koehler, to accept
the recommended changes to Paragraph 3 of Section 141.001 of the proposed
Ordinance. The motion was
adopted, 4:1, with Councilor Petersdorf voting no.
Councilor Howison moved, seconded by Councilor Koehler, to delete
definitions in Section 141.003 identified with the parenthetical phrase
“Term not used in text of Ordinance.”
The motion was adopted unanimously, 5:0.
Councilor Howison moved, seconded by Councilor Koehler, (1) to
change the proposed wording of Sentence 1 of the definition for
“development” in Section 141.003, as follows:
“Any land use or manmade change
Councilor Howison moved, seconded by Councilor Bellemore, to delete
Sections 141.004(B)(7) and 141.008(e)(2).
The motion was adopted unanimously, 5:0. |