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Home My Public Portal AboutMIN-CC-2020-06-25 Page 1 of 3 June 25, 2020 MOAB CITY COUNCIL MINUTES SPECIAL MEETING JUNE 25, 2020 The Moab City Council held its Special City Council Meeting on the above date. Per Executive Order 2020-5 issued by Governor Gary R. Herbert on March 18, 2020, this meeting was conducted electronically. An anchor location was not provided. An audio recording of the meeting is archived at http://www.utah.gov/pmn/index.html. A video recording is archived at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SqLgCBhxEMY. Special Meeting—Call to Order and Attendance: Mayor Niehaus called the Special City Council Meeting to order at 12:02 PM. Participating remotely were Councilmembers Kalen Jones, Karen Guzman-Newton, Rani Derasary, and Mike Duncan. Councilmember Tawny Knuteson-Boyd was absent. City staff participating remotely were City Manager Joel Linares, Senior Projects Manager Kaitlin Myers, Communications and Engagement Manager Lisa Church, City Recorder Sommar Johnson, and Deputy Recorder Kerri Kirk. Ann Christensen of DHM Design, Courtney Kizer of Architectural Squared, Dan McCann of Architectural Squared, and Shik Han of Shik Han Consulting participated remotely. Discussion of Walnut Lane Priorities Senior Projects Manager Myers led the discussion regarding sustainability for the Walnut Lane project. Kizer shared a slide with sustainability options ranging from low cost, high return to high cost, low return. Councilmember Derasary said the sustainability certifications are not a high priority. Councilmember Guzman-Newton said the native and climate adapted landscape and energy star appliances should be included. She requested more information about the pre- manufactured/reduced material item. McCann provided more information on the pre- manufactured buildings. Councilmember Guzman-Newton said it is worth considering if it does not increase the cost too much. Kizer said it would be added to the list to explore. Councilmember Jones said he is disinclined to incur the overhead of sustainability certifications. He suggested including a conduit for electrical vehicle charging in the future. He said the high cost, high return items could be included if the amortized cost in the long term does not increase. He said the low VOC materials could be done in a few units to accommodate chemically sensitive residents. Councilmember Derasary expressed interest in the low VOC materials being used in every unit if the cost is not too high. She requested clarification on mechanical ventilation. McCann said it is a system to bring in fresh air from the outside while pushing out air from the inside. Councilmember Derasary expressed interest in exploring mechanical ventilation. She also requested information on options that would pertain to COVID-19 mitigation. Christensen said it is recommended to let fresh air circulate after carpet installation and painting. Kizer said it is not necessary to have both low VOC materials and mechanical ventilation. She said contractors can be requested to include these items as alternates. Mayor Niehaus agreed with Councilmembers regarding the certification as unnecessary. She agreed with Councilmember Guzman-Newton that xeriscape landscaping can be affordable. She agreed with Councilmember Jones about preparing for electrical vehicle charging. She said solar PV can help reduce the utility payments for residents and should be included in the budget. Page 2 of 3 June 25, 2020 McCann inquired if there was interest from Council regarding greywater. Mayor Niehaus suggested having a consolidated laundry facility in the apartment complex with one or two machines labeled for non-greywater use and the rest of the machines could be labeled and used for greywater. She said it is not effective/efficient to plumb the entire development for greywater. Councilmember Jones said the greywater plumbing will be difficult to retrofit; he suggested pre-plumbing for it or at least having limited implementation. Councilmember Duncan joined the meeting at 12:29 PM. He said plumbing for greywater for group facilities might work; however, he is not in favor of plumbing every unit at this time. Senior Projects Manager Myers requested discussion regarding the site plan and parking. Councilmember Derasary said Councilmember Knuteson-Boyd had mentioned the possibility of parking underneath the units. She expressed interest in having a variety of unit sizes. Councilmember Guzman-Newton said achieving the most housing is a priority. She said underground parking could create higher cost. Mayor Niehaus inquired about parking requirements for the R-4 zone and the PAD. Kizer shared a slide that reviewed both types of requirements. Mayor Niehaus asked Council if the focus is on apartments or a more mixed typology. Councilmember Derasary said affordability is a high priority. Councilmember Guzman-Newton inquired how many units fit onsite. Kizer said about 80 units works onsite, but the difficulty is the PAD parking requirements. She said the site can handle 80-90 units with mixed typology if there is the possibility of a variance on the parking. Councilmember Guzman-Newton suggested the Council have a meeting about changing the PAD parking requirements. Mayor Niehaus asked Council what ratio of unit bedrooms should be considered. Councilmember Guzman-Newton said affordability is a top priority. She said the most successful communities are mixed communities. Councilmember Jones said it is partially a below-market-rate housing development and that he prefers a mixed typology. He suggested the design be driven by the market for these units, which will include both data and judgment. He said it is unclear if the target income bracket in unit counts needs to be driven by accommodating the people that live onsite currently. He suggested those tenants could be accommodated by self-imposed rent control. Kizer proposed bringing information from HASU regarding wait lists and different unit sizes to the next meeting. Councilmember Duncan said 70% of the development should be for low income people. He said affordability is the main issue. He said he is willing to modify the PAD parking requirements, but he requested information about off-street parking. Mayor Niehaus expressed interest in studio apartments as part of the mixed typology. Councilmember Derasary said she is open to having five units without associated parking spaces. She expressed concern about the narrow width of Walnut Lane regarding the possible off-street parking. Kizer inquired about the maximum building height. Councilmember Derasary said she does not want to go above three stories. She said she liked the idea of building lower close to the existing residential areas. Councilmember Guzman-Newton said she is open to four stories, but the R-4 zone only allows 30 feet high; it is unclear how many stories are possible in the current zoning height requirements. Councilmember Jones expressed concerns regarding taller buildings but said he is open to having a conversation about it. Councilmember Duncan said 30 feet is the maximum as far as he is concerned. He advised paying careful attention to the setbacks and Page 3 of 3 June 25, 2020 solar access for the residents on the North side. Councilmember Guzman-Newton said the density slide shows the design team has been conscientious about the single-family neighborhoods that are adjacent to this development. Councilmember Jones said the center building could possibly accommodate taller buildings without impacting the neighbors. Mayor Niehaus suggested shorter, wider, higher windows to prevent residents from looking down onto other people’s property. She also suggested restricting patios on the sides of the single-family neighborhoods. Senior Projects Manager Myers thanked Council for their input. Mayor Niehaus thanked everyone for meeting today. Adjournment: Mayor Niehaus adjourned the meeting at 1:07 PM. APPROVED: __________________ ATTEST: ___________________ Emily S. Niehaus, Mayor Sommar Johnson, City Recorder