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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMIN 03.23.2006 CC-SThe City Council of the City of Georgetown, Texas, met in Regular Session on the above date with Mayor Doug Smith, Mayor Pro Tem presiding. Council Present: iCouncil absent: Doug Smith, Mayor Pro Tem, Farley Snell, Henry iiMayor Gary Nelon Carr, John Kirby, Patty Pearson, Gabe Sansing, !, Ben Oliver Staff Present: Paul E. Bradenburg, City Manager, Patricia E. Carls, City Attorney, Shirley J. Rinn, Deputy City Secretary, Tom Yantis, Assistant City Manager, Jim Briggs, Assistant City Manager, Micki Rundell, Director of Finance and Admistration, Mark Thomas, Director of Economic Development, Bobby Ray, Director of Planning and Development, Ed Polasek, Chief Long Range Planner, Melissa McCollum, Development Planner, Glenn Dishong, Water Services Manager, David Munk, Development Engineer, Anthony Lincoln, Fire Chief, Clay Shell, Assistant Fire Chief,_ Mike Mayben, Energy Services Manager Executive Session In compliance with the Open Meetings Act, Chapter 551, Government Code, Vernon's Texas Codes, Annotated, the items listed below will be discussed in closed session and are subject to action in the regular session that follows. Sec.551.071: Consultation with Attorney - Discusion and possible action regarding the Del Webb/Sun City Development Agreement and the proposed Eighth Amendment - Discussion and possible action regarding the audit of the franchise agreement with Cox Communications, Inc. and regarding the possible assignment to Cequel III (Cebridge Connections). •- • a •-ri r 1 ii (The City Council for the City of Georgetown reserves the right to adjourn into executive session at any time during the course of this meeting to discuss any of the matters listed below, as authorized by Texas Government Code Sections 551.071 (Consultation with Attorney), 551.072 (Deliberations about Real Property), 551.073 (Deliberations about Gifts and Donations), 551.074 (Personnel Matters), 551.076 (Deliberations about Security Devices) and 551.086 (Economic Development). The Workshop Session was called to order by Doug Smith, Mayor Pro Tem at 2:OOpm. B Presentation by staff on issues and items related to the 8th Amendment to the Del Webb Development Agreement Brandenburg addressed the Council and told them that staff has prepared a detailed overview of the City Council Meeting Minutes/March 23, 2006 Page 1 of 5 Pages proposed 8th Amendment to the Del Webb Development Agreement, including water/wasterwater, traffic impact analysis, connectivity, zero lot lines, concept plan, fire station, as well as economic and financial items. Briggs addressed the Council regarding water and wastewater issues as they relate to to the proposed 8th amendment. He gave them an overview of the history of the phases involved since the inception of the Development. He also discussed the history and issues related to electric service to the development. He told them that the limitations on the systems were determined based on the development being age -restricted. He also told the Council that there are different demands on the utilties based on whether a development is age -restricted or non -age restricted. He also discussed the impacts of the Cowan Springs Project in relation to Del Webb's development. There was clarification that the main utility network currently planned in the CIP covers the initial age -restricted development of 10,500 units. Briggs also told the Council that if a single family un -age restricted development goes into the Northern Lands, that additional improvements would be necessary in order to meet the demand. There was additional clarification that prior to the 7th Amendment the impact fees were collected unit by unit. He said that the problem with that was that the build out schedule had not met expectations so costs were stranded because the assets were already in the ground. With the 8th Amendment, that is addressed because if the development does not build out, the City does not have to construct the assets. It was also clarified that the impact fees being collected should cover the City's cost to make additional improvements. Brandenburg also told the Council that with the 8th Amendment Water/Wastewater Agreement would be terminated, except for the irrigation provisions. He clarified that there was no reserving of water above a specific cap. Yantis gave the Council an overview of the history of the the Development Agreement with Del Webb as it was just prior to the 7th Amendment. He said that when it was executed, the UDC was not in place yet and the Development Agreement was regulated by the City's Subdivision Regulations that were in place at that time along with some variances. He told the Council that Exhibit G to the Development Agreement addresses the Regulations and variances that were approved. He said that whenever a new neighborhood was annexed, zoned and platted, that Exhibit G was used as the standard to approve the proposed lots. He told the Council that with the 7th Amendment the original acreage was shrunk from 5,600 acres to the acreage necessary to accommodate 5,000 units, and that the City's Subdivision regulations that were in place at that time were again used, with some additional variances which were added to Exhibit G, including driveway spacing, sidewalks, etc. He went on to tell the Council that a new Concept Plan has been submitted with the 8th Amendment, which will be subject to the Unified Development Code. He also gave an analysis of some of the comparisons of the Subdisivion Regulations, the UDC and the variances requested by Del Webb. He said that there were quite a few variations from the Subdivision Regulations to the UDC, the most controversial of which is Street Connectivity. He told the Council that Del Webb has requested that the provisions of the UDC that relate to street connectivity be waived. He also went over the differences between a Traffic Impact Analysis,which addresses traffic congestion and Connectivity, the primary purpose of which is public safety. In that discussion, he went over several provisions of Chapter 12 of the UDC as they relate to connectivity. He told the Council that the variances that Del Webb is requesting include 3 access points, and no connections to existing or platted streets. He went on to explain the reasons why staff has concerns about the lack of connectivity to Shady Oak Estates and other adjacent neighborhoods. He told Council that it is the staff recommendation that Del Webb comply with UDC as it relates to connectivity. There was additional discussion regarding whether or not certain communities such as "Old Town" and "Sun City" should have different subdivision regulations because of the uniqueness of the neighborhoods, external vs. internal traffic and the impacts of connectivity, the number of connections are actually needed and the need to make sure that adjacent neighborhoods have adequate access for public safety personnel. There was a lengthy discussion regarding the 7th Amendment provisions regarding connectivity and how it impacts the negotiations of the 8th Amendment, as well as whether or not the 7th Amendment provisions regarding connnectivity can be applied to the new areas. There was additional discussion regarding some possible solutions to the connectivity issues that would comply with the UDC requirements. McCollum addressed the Council regarding Cluster/Zero Lot Line Units. She went over the current standards and told the Council that the Planning and Zoning Commission has approved 5,007 platted lots to date. She said that of those platted lots, 771 were cluster lots, 72 were garden lots and 4,165 were standard lots. She said that under the current agreement 20% "cluster" lots and 10% "garden" lots were City Council Meeting Minutes/March 23, 2006 Page 2 of 5 Pages allowed, and the number of lots that have been approved are under those percentages. She also said that the future maximum lots for "cluster"would be 524 out of 2,493 "garden" would be 300 out of 2,493 and 1,668 "standard" lots out of 2,493. She went on to explain that with cluster lots the developer would be allowed to have larger lots than are currently allowed and that the cluster lots essentially allow bigger homes on smaller lots There was also clarification that cluster lots allow more green space. She also told them that 7,500 lots is the total number of lots that can be platted regardless of size. She also told them that in the new agreement garden lots would be eliminated and replaced with zero lot lines. There was additional clarification that both of these lot types deviate from the UDC requirements. There was some discussion as to whether or not the lot sizes actually impacted the City overall since the actual number lots didn't change, only the size. Brandenburg introduced discussion regarding the placement of future fire stations. He told the Council that that City recently purchased the planning and mapping software that Council recently approved, and that it has helped out tremedously in the planning process for future fire stations. Chiefs Lincoln and Shell went over a proposal for the placement of a new fire station with the new development and explained how the new software was used. They also explained to the Council how they tried to serve the needs of both Sun City and the adjoining neighborhoods with regard to public safety with the placement of the proposed new fire station. There was further discussion regarding the impact of insurance rates on homes based on the placement of the Fire Station. The Chiefs went on to explain to the Council how important connectivity is for Public Safety and that without proper connectivity, there would possibly be a need to build more fire stations. They also discussed the medical assist calls in Sun City and how they impact our Fire Department and the Williamson County EMS. David Munk gave the Council an overview of the results of the Traffic Impact Analysis. He gave comparisons of age -restricted traffic impacts vs. non -age restricted traffic impacts. He went over the differences of the traffic impacts if there were 3 or 4 connections. There was further discussion regarding how TIAs show the number and types of improvements that are needed based on the projected traffic impacts of a new development. Rebecca Bray, the Wilbur Smith representative, addressed the Council regarding the impact of golf cart traffic at intersections. She told the Council that in her experience that historically golf carts have not had an impact and they have not been accounted for in the analysis. However, Briggs told the Council that golf cart traffic at the intersection of Whispering Wind & Williams Drive were taken into account in warranting a signal at this intersection. Bray also told the Council that the TIA was done on all of the external connections/intersections, but not the internal intersections. Bray also gave the an overview of how the TIA was put together. Brandenburg gave some additional comments of the costs of having one (1) fire station vs. two (2). Micki Rundell talked to the Council about the economic impacts of Sun City. She reviewed the findings of the TIPS Economic and Fiscal Analysis that was done in 2002. She said that in that study, it showed that in 2001 Sun City had an assessed taxable value of $46M, which was 23% of the City's overall assessed taxable value and encompassed 12% of population. She said that in 2005, Sun City had a $750M assessed taxable value, which was 29% of the City's overall assessed value and encompassed 16% of population. She also told them that the sales tax revenue attributable to Sun City was 12% of the City's overall sales tax collected, and that in 2005 it was 16%. Mark Thomas went on to provide data to Council regarding the amount of retail spending that is generated by Sun City. He said that based on a study that was done, there is about 40% leakage out of our ecomony. He said that based on the data he received, Sun City generated $119M in 2005 in aggregate retail purchases. He said that of that amount, about 40% is lost to purchases outside the City of Georgetown. He said that based on this data Sun City is a very powerful economic source in our area. He also told Council that it is projected that Sun City will generate $185M in retail spending in 2010 and that in his assessment, the retail growth that the City has seen is in part because of the growth of Sun City. He clarified that these statistics and projections were based on a current snapshop of Sun City as it is today. There was additional discussion that Sun City residents came to Georgetown bringing their pensions and social security that were earned elsewhere and added it to the local economy. Discussion how the service industry has grown because of the growth of Sun City. Brandenburg and Rundell gave Council an overview of the fiancial issues related to the project. Rundell gave the Council an overview of the financial impacts as they relate to the water and wastewater impact fees and credits due to Del Webb for stranded costs. She also told the Council that staff had City Council Meeting Minutes/March 23, 2006 Page 3 of 5 Pages negotiated an additional impact fee per home to cover the costs of the additional $750,000 needed to construct the irrigation line. She also told the Council that she does not feel that the City has any more exposure than it anticipated and that she was satisfied with the Agreement. She also told them that there would also be a parks and fire fee as well as the impact fees. There was additional discussion regarding fire station costs. Motion by Snell, second by Eason to direct staff to negotiate an Agreement that includes the concept plan to build 3 local street connections, the proposed fire station and the connecting roads. Motion to Amend by Sansing, * second by Carr to limit the local connections to one instead of two on the northwest side. (* as corrected by Smith at the Council Meeting on April 11, 2006.) Lengthy discussion regarding impacts of the additional connections. Vote on Amendment Amendment Failed 4-3. (Eason, Kirby, Oliver, Snell opposed) Additional discussion regarding connectivity. Oliver called the Question Vote on Calling the Question 6-1 (Sansing opposed) Vote on Original Motion. Approved 5-2 (Carr and Sansing opposed). Motion by Snell, second by Sansing to direct staff to build the proposed fire station with the concept of accessability through the "northern lands" per staff recommendations. Discussion regarding all of the items that will be presented to Council for its consideration at is March 28, 2006 meeting and whether it is necessary to have individual motions and votes as to what is coming forward at the Council Meeting. Gary Newman addressed the Council and clarified that there are some things in the 7th that will remain in place, and that with the 8th Amendment there is actually a reduction in the number of unites that were allowed in the 7th Amendment. He also talked about some additional buffer that will be in place with the 8th Amendment. He said that they could have hours of conversations regarding connectivity, but that being said, he said that he understood staffs position on connectivity, as well as the Fire's public safety need. He told the Council that Sun City is a unique community not only in Georgetown, but also in the State of Texas in that it has 6.8 miles of divided 4 lane roads with Sun City Boulevard and Del Webb Boulevard and because of that he does feel like the community is connected. He said that Anthony did a good job working with Del Webb in coming up with a plan for the fire station. He did mention that Del Webb does pay a fire fee and that currently no other developer does. He said that he would like to propose that in the future that all developers have to pay the fire fee. He also clarified that the Concept Plan is very close to the UDC standards with exception the the connectivity and that in the 8th Amendment Del Webb is asking for water capacity. He said in the previous agreement, Del Webb paid the options in order to keep the water in reserve until the Northern Lands were sold. He also addressed the traffic impact analysis and admitted that Sun City does have a lot of golf carts. However, he said that most residents have traded one vehicle for a golf cart. So, Golf carts do have an impact in the Sun City community. He also clarified that at some point in the future there will be three major connectors coming into Sun City (1) Del Webb Boulevard and Williams, (2) 195 is coming soon, and (3) at Parmer at some point in the future. He said that once these 3 major connectors are in place, the quality of traffic will improve. He said that the layout of the neighborhoods are a little bit different and that the community is unique. He said that there are 29 caves in development and have reserves for bugs and birds. He said that they also have the Golf Courses and that that they don't want those intersected by roads. Additionally, he said that the Developer has made promises to its residents on on the connectivity issue, which is 3 and only 3. He said they understand staffs recommendation and respect their position. However, he thinks they are fine with 3 and only 3. He went on to inform the Council that the Planning and Zoning Commission overruled staffs recommendations on connectivity with a 7-0 vote. He said that he feels like the staffs position on traffic impacts/connectivity are based on planning standards and not necessarily the quality of the traffic in the community. He said that Del Webb is proud to be in Georgetown, and agrees with the comments made about economic development. He said that currently have 250 on Del Webb's payroll and an additional 600 on their contractor's payrolls that contribute to the economy as well as the residents. He also said that there is a lot of disposable income in Sun City and that the net worth of the residents in Sun City Council Meeting Minutes/March 23, 2006 Page 4 of 5 Pages City is more than most in Central Texas. There was some additional discussion regarding the reasons why the age restriction couldn't be lowered to 50+ instead of 55+. There was further discussion regarding connectivity in the Sun City Development and whether or not an analysis of some of the neighborhoods in Sun City might actually fit the criteria for connectivity. There was additional discussion regarding the total package that the City Manager would support and recommend to the City Council. It was also clarified that local connectivity continues to be the main issue. Newman told Council that it would also see rezoning items for Neighborhoods 41, 44 and 45 at its next meeting as well as the 8th Amendment at its next meeting and explained the reasons why. There was discussion as to whether or not there has been an official ruling on connectivity. There were comments that if if the 3 local street connections and the Fire Station are addressed then it is possible that the intra -connectivity issues would not be an issue. It was also clarified that this was a workshop and that negotiations were not taking place until the Council Meeting. Vote on Original Motion Approved 7-0. Motion by Sansing, second by Carr to accept the recommendations of staff on the lot proposals. Approved 7-0 C Discussion and possible direction to staff regarding the 8th Amendment to the Dei Webb Development Agreement. See discussion and action above. Adjourned at 4:35pm. Approved • B' o Tem City Council Meeting Minutes/March 23, 2006 Page 5 of 5 Pages Attest: