Saturday, November 7, 2020

Highland City Council Agenda Preview for Nov 10, 2020

2020-11-10 Trail Map

Key items on the agenda are:

  • A presentation on Ranked Choice Voting that will include reviewing the pros and cons. This should be interesting. Several cities used this process in the last municipal elections (agenda item 2).
  • Discussion regarding an inconsistency in our alcoholic beverage sales ordinances (agenda item 7).
  • Repeal of Chapter 12.30 Removal of Neighbor Option Trails of the Highland City Municipal Code (agenda item 8).

I don’t believe we will go into executive session (our last agenda item) until after 10 PM so if you plan on watching make some popcorn and settle in for a long, but free, evening of entertainment.

This meeting will be held at city hall but there will be limited space because of distancing requirements. We will also stream it on our YouTube channel (click here to watch).  Note, individuals, especially those in a high-risk category, are strongly encouraged to participate in the meeting virtually!

You can find an abbreviated meeting agenda together with my thoughts below. The complete agenda (469 pages) which includes the staff reports associated with each item can be accessed by clicking here.

Highland City Council Agenda
Tuesday, November 10, 2020 at 6:00 PM work session, 7:00 PM council meeting
Virtual Participation

Work Session 6-7 PM:

  1. IMPACT FEE ANALYSIS REVIEW / DISCUSSION
    Staff will review a recent analysis of our current impact fees and what changes we need to look at making.

City Council Meeting 7:00 PM
The time listed at the end of agenda items is my guess as to the start time of this item. Note I am typically optimistic in my time estimates.

  1. UNSCHEDULED PUBLIC APPEARANCES 7:05 pm
    Time has been set aside for the public to express their ideas, concerns, and comments. Comments are limited to 3 minutes.

  2. PRESENTATIONS 7:10 pm
    1. City Youth Council – City Youth Council Member
    2. Ranked Choice Voting – Stan Lockhart, Lowell Nelson, Wendy Hart
      Stan Lockhart will review ranked choice voting and talk about the pros and cons. Lowell Nelson will discuss why he supports it. Wendy Hart will discuss why she opposes using it.

  3. CONSENT ITEMS  8:00 pm
    Items on the consent agenda are of a routine nature or have been previously studied by the City Council. They are intended to be acted upon in one motion. Council members may pull items from consent if they would like them considered separately.

    1. Approval of Meeting Minutes Administrative
      City Council Meeting – October 6, 2020
      City Council Work Session – October 13, 2020
      City Council Meeting – October 20, 2020
      City Council Work Session – October 27, 2020.
    2. Ordinance 2020-31: City Council Regular Meeting Schedule for 2021 Legislative
      The City Council will consider approving the City Council Regular Meeting Schedule for 2021.
    3. Agreement: ULDS Shareholder Change Application Administrative
      The City Council will consider a request by Saratoga Springs and the Utah Lake Distributing Company are asking the City to approve a second agreement to address the responsibilities of the parties regarding this change application. Staff and our attorney have reviewed the agreement, find no fiscal impacts to the city and recommend approving it. 

  4. PUBLIC HEARING: FINAL PLAT AMENDMENT – SIENNA SUBDIVISION LOT 8 AMENDED (PA-20-03) Administrative. 8:10 pm
    The City Council will hold a public hearing and consider a request by Chad Broadhead of Cambridge Home Company Construction to amend the Sienna Subdivision by combining lots 7 and 8 into one lot (see lots surrounded by red dashes below). This should be an easy yes.2020-11-10 Vicinty Map Sienaa2020-11-10 Sienna Lots

  5. PUBLIC HEARING AND RESOLUTION 2020-33: INCREASE THE APPLICATION FEE FOR VARIANCES AND APPEALS Legislative. 8:20 pm
    The City Council will hold a public hearing and consider a request by Highland City Staff to increase the application fee for variances and appeals from $300 to $1,200 to reflect actual costs.
    When staff reviewed our actual costs for appeals since 2017 our average cost was $1,312, significantly more than our current $300 fee. Raising the fee to more closely cover our costs seems reasonable to me.

  6. ACTION: APPROVAL OF THE 2020-2025 LIBRARY STRATEGIC PLAN ACTION  Administrative. 8:35 pm
    The library is obligated to maintain a rolling 3 to 5 year strategic plan to retain its state certification. The board and staff updated the current plan to run from 2020 through 2025 and I am supportive of it. Here is a list of the significant updates.

    1. Create an Intermediate Fiction audiobook collection – Fall 2021.
    2. Holding an annual Senior Services Fair – Spring 2022.
    3. Establish a text-based reference service at the Library – Winter 2021.
    4. Have a staff member complete “Uplift Training” – Ongoing/Fall 2023.
    5. Feasibility Study for a Community Space – Winter/Spring 2021

  7. DISCUSSION: DIRECTION REGARDING CLASS II LIQUOR LICENSES Legislative 8:45 pm
    The City Council will discuss and provide clarification for Ordinance 2000-9, and Municipal Code Title 5 Business License and Regulation Chapter 5.12 Alcoholic Beverages.
    There is an inconsistency in our current code which would allow a restaurant to open with a class II business license (similar to Alpine Country Club) and sell alcoholic beverages except for beer. This is a bit complicated and staff will review how we got to where we are with the council. If you are interested in this topic please refer to the staff report more information. I applaud staff for finding an issue and bringing it up so that we can take a thoughtful approach to resolving it rather than waiting for an issue to arise where we need to take immediate action. Note, this is a discussion only item not an action item. No regulations will be changed at the meeting.

  8. ORDINANCE 2020-32: REPEALING CHAPTER 12.30 REMOVAL OF NEIGHBORHOOD OPTION TRAILS Legislative 9:30pm
    The City Council will consider a request by the City Council to repeal Chapter 12.30 Removal of Neighborhood Option Trails.
    City Council implemented this ordinance on February 3, 2013. It created a process and conditions for city property within an Open Space subdivision to be sold which included the removal of Neighborhood Option Trails (see Highland City trail map). The process included collecting signatures to have a request to dispose of trails be considered by council. Since then, nearly every time the process was used to try and remove trails considerable contention within neighborhoods was a result. In some cases this caused long-term damage to relationships. I don’t believe anyone saw this coming and from my point of view it was an unintended negative consequence. Removing this code will still allow trails to be removed by modifying the trail master plan, which requires a review by the planning commission and approval by city council. Like the current process the council will still make the decision and be subject to praise or condemnation as a result. However,  neighborhoods will be spared the tedious and contentious signature gathering process. Note, repealing this will have no impact on the referral of the city council’s decision to sell the trails in the Wimbleton subdivision.

  9. MAYOR/COUNCIL AND STAFF COMMUNICATION ITEMS 10:00 pm

    1. Future Meetings
      • November 17, Planning Commission Meeting, 7:00 pm, City Hall
      • December 1, City Council Meeting 7:00 pm, City Hall
      • December 8, Planning Commission Meeting, 7:00 pm City Hall
  10. CLOSED SESSION 10:15 pm
    The Highland City Council may temporarily recess the City Council meeting to convene in a closed session to discuss the purchase, exchange, or lease of real property, as provided by Utah Code Annotated §52-4-205.

ADJOURNMENT

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