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HomeMy Public PortalAbout2006_12_11 Council Work Session December 11, 2006 Council Chambers, 25 West Market Street, 7:30 p.m. Mayor Umstattd presiding. Councilmembers Present: Kathryn Sheldon Hammier, Ken Reid, Kevin Wright and Mayor Kristen Umstattd Councilmembers Absent: Susan Horne; Kelly Burk arrived at7:40 p.m. and Marty Martinez arrived at 8:04 p.m. Staff Present: Town Manager John Wells, Town Attorney Barbara Beach, Assistant to the Town Manager Nicole Ard, Assistant to the Town Manager Kathy Leidich, Chief of Police Joe Price, Director of Capital Projects Management Nagi Elsewaissi, Director of Planning, Zoning and Development Susan Swift, Director of Engineering and Public Works Tom Mason, Director of Parks and Recreation Kaj Dentler, Director of Utilities Randy Shoemaker, Captain Jeff VanGilder, Chief of Current Planning Lee Phillips, Zoning Planner Wade Burkholder, Senior Engineer Tom Brandon, Management Specialist Tami Watkins and Deputy Clerk of Council Debi Parry. AGENDA ITEMS Council Meeting of December 12, 2006 a. Rezoning Application TLZM-2005-0002 Amendment to the existing Oaklawn rezoning concept plan and proffers - public hearing This item was deferred per the applicant's request. Council Member Wright stated the applicant's original request to defer was an attempt to synchronize the timing of their special exception and proffer amendment. He stated the desire of the applicant and the Planning Commission is that Council hear the rezoning at the first meeting in January to allow the Planning Commission to consider the special exception by their second meeting. He stated this would allow Council to also hear the special exception at their last meeting in January. b. Amending the Zoning Ordinance by adding Subsection 9.4.4 (Emergency Shelters) and by adding Subsection 18.1.56.05 (Emergency Shelter) - public hearing Wade Burkholder stated on July 25 Council initiated amendments to establish warming centers. He stated the Planning Commission held their public hearing on this issue last Thursday and Council's public hearing is scheduled for tomorrow evening. Mayor Umstattd verified Elijah Gate's building would qualify as a church. Council Member Wright verified this would establish warming centers, not homeless shelters. Mayor Umstattd asked if the residents of Harrison Street were notified of the public hearing. Mr. Burkholder stated a general public hearing notice was placed in the Town Council Work Session of December 11. 2006 Page 2 newspaper. c. Revocation of the Gatehouse Franchise Agreement - public hearing Tami Watkins stated Gatehouse has requested to surrender their franchise and tomorrow night Council will be asked to pass a resolution granting that request. She stated Gatehouse served 385 customers over two years and this revocation would be effective January 1. Council Member Wright asked if the residents in this area will have access to cable by January 1. Ms. Watkins stated the primary provider in the Edwards Landing neighborhood is Verizon. She stated Comcast Cable will be available in this neighborhood next year. Council Member Wright stated this was an odd situation in that the developer had a deal with Gatehouse to be the sole cable. He asked if the Town has the tools available to stop this from occurring in the future. Barbara Beach stated a covenant was put in to require the residents to participate. She stated the Town does not have means to interfere with a private covenant. Council Member Wright stated the covenant was put in place by the developer to allow an operator without a cable franchise to offer cable services. He asked if we have the means to notice that before the infrastructure is in the ground. Council Member Martinez stated the only reason the Town discovered this issue was because they crossed public right-of-way when installing their cable. d. Awarding the design and engineering services contract for Battlefield Parkway from approximately 1,400 feet north of Fort Evans Road to Edwards Ferry Road to Kilmer Horn and Associates Nagi Elsewaissi stated staff recommends awarding this contract in the amount of $378,000. He stated the road should be under construction next year. Mayor Umstattd asked when the road is scheduled to open. Mr. Elsewaissi stated the developer indicated his portion of the roadway should be completed by the end of December 2007 and staff anticipates the Town's portion will be open by Spring 2008. Council Member Reid asked why both sections of the road can not be completed at the same time. Further, he asked why the road couldn't be constructed by an agreement with the developer similar to the Oaklawn agreement. Mr. Wells stated information will be provided later in the meeting. He stated staff will try to match up the timing as close as possible; however, we believe our method for moving forward is in the best interest of the Town. Town Council Work Session of December 11. 2006 Page 3 e. Authorizing support for the Town Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) application for a playground facility at Brandon Park and for sidewalk improvements on South Street between Church and Harrison Streets Tami Watkins stated staff is seeking Council endorsement of the applications for two Community Development Block Grant applications. Council Member Burk asked how large an area the playground will encompass. She stated the park is an open space where people currently picnic and play soccer. Kaj Dentler stated the park currently consists of three acres. He stated staff will work to plan out the location of the picnic area, playground and open space. He stated the playground will take up less than one acre. Council Member Burk stated given the park is located in a flood plain what would be the impact to the creek. Mr. Dentler stated there will be a boundary established around the playground to keep loose materials inside. He stated the playground will incorporate more foam matting than mulch. Council Member Hammier asked when we last received funding for a community development block program. Ms. Watkins stated we have received funding for the last two years for pedestrian signals at Fort Evans Road and Edwards Ferry Road. Council Member Reid asked if there were other locations in Town that are in need of playgrounds. Mr. Dentler stated staff is considering other locations for playgrounds including Ida Lee. He stated most playgrounds in the Town are community owned. Council Member Martinez asked what projects have been considered for future requests. Ms. Watkins stated staff has considered a sidewalk project on Sycolin Road in the vicinity of the warming shelter, bi-Iingual services and economic development initiatives. Mayor Umstattd stated the construction of a playground in this area has been discussed since the mid 1990s. f. Making an appointment to the IT Commission Council Member Hammier stated she will nominate Scott Kaine for appointment. For consideration and discussion: 1. Loudoun County Public School presentation regarding new high school site Town Council Work Session of December 11. 2006 Page 4 Sam Adamo, Loudoun County Public Schools, stated the Loudoun County School Board looked at several different locations for a high school site in Leesburg before the efforts centered on the O'Connor tract to the north of Town. He outlined the attendance zones and traffic flow projections for this site and stated there will be a pedestrian walk path between the school and Ida Lee. Further, he stated flyers will be sent to the neighbors and home owners associations in February to get feedback from the community. Dr. Adamo this should be the last boundary change for a secondary school in Leesburg. Council Member Burk asked about preservation of the open space. Dr. Adamo stated he will work with staff to see if the green space can include passive ball fields that would also meet the Town's needs. Council Member Burk asked about the transportation issues. Dr. Adamo stated the traffic study has not indicated any major transportation issues. Council Member Burk stated it is important to note that this will serve the students who would normally have to drive across Town. She asked that Dr. Adamo notify Council when he meets with the home owners associations. Further, she stated this school could be the premier school of the County as it could incorporate sports and recreation, fine arts, open space and suggested that the County look into aspects of green construction for the school building. Dr. Adamo stated we already try to incorporate best management practices and are looking at advanced technologies as it relates to green building. Council Member Hammier asked if an advanced technology center would be part of this program. Dr. Adamo stated it would not be part of this program. He stated staff has discussed the advanced technology center with the school board as a campus layout which could incorporate a green building. Council Member Hammier verified the school board has not heard back from the O'Connor family regarding the offer. She asked if the Town has analyzed the traffic study and asked what traffic improvements we will request. Mr. Mason stated there will be traffic signals and turn lanes added on Route 15 Business; however, the intersection of Business 15 and the 15 Bypass is to the north of Town and located out of the study area. He stated the study was expanded to include the intersection of Market and King Streets, which will receive the most impact. Council Member Hammier commented on the possibility of a formal relationship between Leesburg Parks and Recreation and the high school to share facilities. Further, she asked if the school parking will be seen from the road. Town Council Work Session of December 11. 2006 Page 5 Mr. Randy Vlaad, Loudoun County Public Schools, stated the site will be in conformance with the H-2 Corridor. Council Member Wright asked the various capacities and attendance levels at Loudoun County High School, Heritage High School, Simpson Middle School, Harper Park Middle School and Smart's Mill Middle School. He verified the property for this high school will be brought into the Town through a boundary line adjustment and proceed through the Town's process for development. Council Member Reid verified the attendance boundaries for this proposed high school. Further, he verified school staff are in talks with the equine center regarding vehicular access stating he has been talking about a northeast/northwest passage. Council Member Martinez asked if a connection of Battlefield Parkway to the other side of Ida Lee had been considered. Dr. Adamo stated they have looked at a pedestrian trail to Ida Lee to connect with Dry Hollow Road and the Exeter neighborhood. Mayor Umstattd stated you can not put a thru road through Ida Lee Park; further, Morven Park has been reluctant to allow a road through their property. Councilmember Wright stated both the equine center and Morven Park have conservation easements on their property. Mayor Umstattd stated she does not want to add any more demands on the school system as it is most important to get this school open on schedule. Dr. Adamo stated he will let the School Board Chairman know that he will be contacted by Council regarding the magnet program. Mayor Umstattd stated we already have a magnet school for math and science in the County and it seems that the students would be better served by a business and language skills curriculum rather than fine arts. Council Member Hammier asked for an update on the Leesburg Elementary School boundaries. Dr. Adamo stated the boundaries will be decided tomorrow night. 2. Crosstrail follow-up/joint planning prep for January AADP Meeting John Wells stated the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors discussed this issue at their meeting last week and the motion to deny the CPAM failed by a 4-5 vote. He stated the issue of utilities was left unresolved with the Board indicating the preference to allow the Town to provide utilities pending a resolution to the issue of out-of- Town water rates within 90 days. Further, the Board put the rezoning application on hold pending an opportunity for the Council to meet with the applicant before the end of January. Mayor Umstattd verified the Board did vote to approve a modified version of the CPAM with conditions. Town Council Work Session of December 11. 2006 Page 6 Council Member Burk stated it is important that we set a time to meet with Peterson Companies. She stated we also need to discuss the water and sewer rates amongst ourselves. Mayor Umstattd recognized Mike Banzhaf, attorney for the applicant, and asked if he was authorized to schedule this meeting. Mr. Banzhaf stated he was in attendance to listen to Council's discussion of the issue. Mr. Wells stated if it is Council's desire to meet with Peterson Companies, he would suggest that staff meet with the applicant and their attorney to frame the issues so that there is a structured agenda in place for the meeting with Council. Mayor Umstattd asked that the meeting be set before the first Council meeting in January. Council Member Burk concurred with the Mayor's comments. Mr. Banzhaf suggested incorporating the meeting with a Council work session. After further discussion regarding utility rates and annexation issues it was the consensus of Council to scheduled the meeting for January 3rd at 7:00 p.m. Mayor Umstattd stated neither annexation nor the provision of utilities to this development are important enough to repeal the water rate surcharge decision. She stated the transportation proffers offered by the applicant are not sufficient and the elimination of 1,000 homes from the plan was not a significant reduction. Council Member Hammier asked that staff provide a recommendation for an action plan for proceeding with annexation discussions. Council Member Wright stated he and Council Member Martinez have been attending the AADP Committee meetings and those discussions will help the Town as it progresses towards annexation. Council Member Burk asked what Peterson Companies is looking to come out of this meeting. Mr. Banzhaf stated it would also be helpful to have discussions with the utility staff as there is opportunity for joint utility provision to Crosstrails by the Loudoun County Sanitation Authority (LCSA) and the Town. Council Member Burk verified Peterson Companies will be sending their top officials to meet with Council. Council Member Reid stated we will be discussing the Crosstrail development at this meeting, not our utility rates or annexation. Mayor Umstattd stated the utility rates or annexation discussions could come up at the meeting as the Board has tried to combine the issues into one. 3. Public Art Commission Presentation Town Council Work Session of December 11. 2006 Page 7 Judy Craun, Public Art Commission Chairman, outlined the Commission's goals for the upcoming year including membership in the Americans for the Arts organization, development of a public art policy, setting the foundation for a public art master plan, and the continuing to seek funding through grants, public/private partnerships and the percent for the arts funding. Ms. Craun introduced Bruce Gemmill and Catherine Lewis with Leadership Loudoun. Bruce Gemmill stated Leadership Loudoun is moving forward with their plans to use the Council Chambers on January 18 to hold an interactive discussion among local leaders and members of the art community. Ms. Craun stated work on the public art master plan is anticipated to take approximately one to two years and the Commission is working to identify grant funding for a consultant. Council Member Hammier identified Sam Adamo with Loudoun County Public Schools and asked for an update on whether the proposed high school on the O'connor property will be a performance arts magnet school. Sam Adamo, Loudoun County Public Schools, stated the school is proposed to house 1,800 students with 200 students to be enrolled in the magnet program. Further, he stated the magnet program has not yet been determined and it would be beneficial for Council to discuss this magnet program with the Loudoun County School Board. Council Member Hammier stated this location would be ideal for a performing arts center given the proposed magnet program and the location to Ida Lee Recreation Center. Ms. Craun thanked Council Member Burk for her support. 4. Strategic Plan follow-up John Wells gave a brief overview of the retreat discussion he stated materials had been provided regarding suggestions for meetings and agendas. Further, a status report has been provided regarding all initiatives and projects discussed. Mayor Umstattd stated the continuing issue of being business friendly is prominent and indicates the need to have better communication between departments. She complimented John Wells, Susan Swift, Betsy Fields and Tom Mason for their efforts to streamline processes. Council Member Martinez suggested conducting the presentation section of the meetings once a month at 7:00 p.m. Mayor Umstattd stated she would be willing to conduct the presentations at 7:00 p.m.; however, she would want presentations to be given at least twice a month. Council Member Martinez stated the presentations mean a lot to the people who receive them and he would not want to take away from that. He stated having the presentations once a month would make it easier for people to attend. Further, Town Council Work Session of December 11. 2006 Paqe 8 he suggested limiting staff presentations at the work sessions and asking a couple of boards and commissions to attend a Council meeting once a month to give quarterly reports. Council Member Reid stated at the retreat there seemed to be majority support for imposing a five minute time limit on presentations from the public and 10 minute limits on staff presentations. He stated there was also majority support for holding the presentation section of the meeting at 7:00 p.m. and holding less formal work sessions. Further, he suggested modifying the Council Chambers to allow for a larger meeting table. Council Member Hammier commented on feedback she has received regarding the difficulty of doing business with the Town. She suggested keeping bigger picture items in mind including what we are doing to reach a better ratio of business versus residential funding. Further, she stated the Economic Development Commission is looking to invite Bob Skunda, Virginia Biotechnology Research Park, to their January meeting and also plan to invite the Loudoun County Economic Development Commission. Council Member Wright stated another item of discussion was adopting clean rules of order and as part of that discuss how Council would like to conduct business. Council Member Reid stated his support for discussing the broader issue of business friendly policies and as part of that discussion bring up the issue of availability fees. Mayor Umstattd stated the original theory behind availability fees was that they would be used to pay for plant expansion. She stated major reductions in availability fees will cause an increase in the rates for the residential users. 5. Amending and reordaining the Leesburg Town Code regarding Boards and Commissions Barbara Beach stated she has received feedback from a Council Member regarding the need to state the Board of Architectural Review (BAR) compensation "shall not exceed $3,000" per year. Additionally, she stated feedback had also been received from a staff member who noted the language regarding the attendance policy had been removed from the proposed ordinance. Council Member Burk stated the attendance requirement was added in 2002. She asked if the language was added to all the other Commissions, or just the BAR. Ms. Beach stated the language was only found in the regulations regarding the BAR. Debi Parry stated the language is currently included for all Commissions except the Planning Commission and Arts Commission. Council Member Burk stated it was her recollection that the majority of the Commissions have the attendance language included in their ordinances. Further, she stated the attendance language is reasonable. Mayor Umstattd stated the possibility that someone who misses three consecutive meetings is slacking off; however, it could also be that they have work Town Council Work Session of December 11. 2006 Paqe 9 obligations and are contributing to the Commission outside of the regularly scheduled meetings. Council Member Martinez stated this should fall on the discretion of the Commission Chairperson. Ms. Beach stated the attendance language is included in the ordinance for all Commissions with the exception of the Planning Commission and the Commission on Public Arts. Council Member Hammier stated this doesn't seem to be a problem as Council receives regular attendance reports and can handle the issue through the normal course of action. Council Member Wright stated the language is not included for the Planning Commission because they are governed by State Code. He stated the attendance language is also included in the Board and Commission Handbook and that is adequate to handle the situation. Council Member Reid stated there have been situations where Commissioners do not show up for meetings. He stated there are also issues regarding members of Commissions who do not stay for the entire meeting. Further, he stated he would support including the attendance language in the ordinance. It was the consensus of Council to not include the language in the ordinance. Council Member Reid stated he has witnessed several incidents where the members of the BAR have created more work for themselves by getting into minute detail. He stated the BAR is the perfect example of how this Town is not business friendly and he has concerns in paying them $3,000 per year when the budget picture for next year is not clear yet. Further, he stated he would support language to state "shall not exceed $3,000". Council Member Martinez stated he has attended the BAR meetings, meets regularly with his BAR appointee and disagrees with Council Member Reid's comments. Council Member Wright stated he served as Planning Commission representative to the BAR and while the meetings can be long and difficult the review of architecture does require great detail. He stated preserving the historic character of Leesburg is important and these citizens are doing good work. Further, they have had internal discussions regarding ways to make their meetings more efficient. Council Member Reid stated the problem is not with the historic preservation in the H-1, it is more with the H-2 guidelines which are open to interpretation. He stated given the unclear budget situation he could not support a 150 percent pay increase. Mayor Umstattd concurred with Council Members Martinez and Wright's comments stating the BAR members do good work. She commented on the negative perception in the business community and suggested reviewing the regulations at a future work session. Town Council Work Session of December 11. 2006 Page 10 After further discussion it was the consensus of Council to leave the compensation language as proposed. 6. Amending the Subdivision and Land Development Regulations Barbara Beach stated this is going to the Planning Commission, but staff felt it was important to review the scope with Council first. She stated this eliminates the need for preliminary site plan, further this ordinance brings us current with all State Code regulations. Council Member Burk stated Section 13-45 regarding referral to review agencies has nothing to do with assessing environmental, historic or preservation issues. Ms. Beach stated staff felt the last item on the list gives the ability to refer to any Town, County, State or Federal agency. Ms. Swift stated the referrals are not listed specifically because they are members of the Planning Department. Mayor Umstattd stated normally when a pro rata is done on utility lines the Town pays upfront and the developers pay as they hook into the lines; however, the proposed road pro rata sounds like the opposite and seems to resemble a PPTA. Ms. Beach stated this would be voluntary on the developer's part. She stated it would be a situation where the developer felt the roads were so important to their project that they would pay up front knowing that it could be 10 to 20 years before they are reimbursed. 7. Requesting Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) to expedite safety improvements Council Member Reid stated a terrible tragedy occurred Wednesday north of Town where two teens, 16 and 13 were killed when they drove off the road at the intersection of Route 15 Business and Route 15 Bypass. He stated this is a dangerous intersection and this configuration has not changed; however, 33,000 vehicles travel through the intersection every day. Further, he stated in October he wrote to VDOT asking that the intersection be reconfigured and while they have responded a resolution seems to be appropriate to expedite this issue. Council Member Reid suggested adding language to the resolution to state, "to determine short-term low cost improvements such as guardrails, better striping, wider shoulders, rumble strips and improved lighting at the split". Council Member Martinez stated two bicyclists were killed in this same area because of the narrow shoulders. He stated we can not stop this request with just this intersection. He stated there are a number of other roads in Town that also need attention from VDOT. Further, he stated the biggest problem is that the roads were not built for this traffic and need to be reclassified. Council Member Hammier stated the construction of the new high school seems to be the perfect opportunity to get funding from the County to fix this intersection. She stated with this high school more teenage drivers will be traveling through this intersection. Further, she suggested modifying our legislative packet so that we can discuss this issue with the Secretary of Transportation during our visit. Town Council Work Session of December 11. 2006 Page 11 Council Member Wright expressed support for Council Member Reid's suggestions to offers short-term options for improvements. Further, he suggested including Council Member Martinez's concerns in a separate "Therefore Resolved" statement. Council Member Reid suggested mentioning that our hearts go out to the Muse family. He supported Council Member Martinez's comments and suggested mentioning all of the substandard approaches into Leesburg. Mayor Umstattd suggested sending the resolution to the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors to ask their support. She asked that the resolution be sent to Congressman Wolf, our State Delegation and Governor Kaine. Further, she stated she and Council Member Martinez spoke with Senator Herring and Delegate Poisson who are working to find funding for our roads. For information only: The Town Council work session of January 8, 2007: a. Zoning Ordinance Amendment TLOA-2006-0005 to modify Article 18: The Definition of Temporary Commuter Parking Lot - public hearing There was no discussion of this item. b. Elderly and disabled tax exemption There was no discussion of this item. c. Elimination of preliminary site plan review There was no discussion of this item. New Business Council Member Reid asked Council to direct the Town Attorney to look into the necessary easements for the northwest passage as discussed earlier for the next Standing Residential Traffic Committee (SRTC) meeting. Ms. Beach stated she has spoken with SRTC Chairman Liz Whiting and as the attorney is concerned that she does not have direction from Council to open the roads and do the research. Mayor Umstattd stated it is important to inform Council of what is legal in this issue. She expressed concern that this is a sensitive project and that the expenditure of funds for a study may be viewed as a threat. Further, she stated she would not support action that would destroy Ida Lee Park or run roads through conservation easements. Council Member Martinez reported he will be late to the meeting tomorrow. Closed Session On a motion by Mayor Umstattd, seconded by Council Member Martinez, the following motion was proposed: Pursuant to Section 2.2-3711(A)(3), and 2.2-3711(A)(7) of the Code of Virginia, I move that the Leesburg Town Council convene in a closed meeting Town Council Work Session of December 11. 2006 Page 12 to discuss the acquisition of the O'Connor property, and to discuss a legal matter pertaining to potential litigation regarding road construction. The motion was approved by the following vote. Aye: Burk, Hammier, Martinez, Reid, Wright and Mayor Umstattd Nay: None Vote: 6-0-1 (Horne absent) The Council convened in closed session at 10: 13 p.m. The Council reconvened in open session at 10:59 p.m. On a motion by Mayor Umstattd, seconded by Council Member Martinez, the following motion was proposed: In accordance with Section 2.2-3712 of the Code of Virginia, I move that Council certify that to the best of each member's knowledge, only public business matters lawfully exempted from open meeting requirements under the Virginia Freedom of Information Act and such public business matters as were identified in the motion by which the closed meeting was convened were heard, discussed or considered in the meeting by Council. Adjournment The meeting adjourned at 11 :00 p.m. -M. ddL W. t1id.l;b 2006_tcwsmin1211