Public Comment
Marisa Wright - Is a member of Preserve and Protect American Fork Canyon. Board of Adjustment in Utah County is meeting next month and could approve Snowbird project. This group has done a lot of research and water issue is a big issue. Mine tailings could be disrupted very easily if Snowbird puts in a lift. Recently a Jeep damaged one of the mine tailing plugs and hasn't been fixed. Contamination could be life-threatening to fish and wildlife in the Canyon. Feels the writing in our resolution may not be strong enough. Would like wording adding that we will give legal help to this effort.
TJ Lockbach - Noticed there isn't a community garden nearby and would like to know if the city is interested in establishing one.
Bill Knowlton - Has lived in Cedar Hills for a little over a year and loves the city. Thanks the elected officials for dealing with tactics of sovereign citizens that are trying to run roughshod over the city. Said to keep the faith and not get scared. Residents support officials in the city, as does the state and nation.
City Reports
David Bunker - This Saturday ULCT is hosting a municipal officials training, geared to new city officials. Jr Jazz has started. City BYU Basketball night is January 30th and tickets are available on city website.
Mike Geddes - Utah Valley Dispatch met last week to discuss new building under construction. It has been delayed because of weather, but all piers are now in place. On schedule to finish by the end of September. They are in serious need of employees so asking everyone to spread the word.
Mayor Gygi - Each Council member is required to have annual Open & Public Meetings training. You can view ULCT training online. LPPSD meeting was used to discuss personnel issues.
Rob Crawley - Thanks Council and staff for working to get resolution done tonight.
Ben Bailey - Gave condolences to family to officer killed in Salt Lake City.
Review/Action on Acceptance of 2015 Fiscal Year Audit
Annually we contract with independent auditors to review the basic financial statements. The independent auditors are expected to obtain reasonable assurance that the financial statements are free from material misstatement and are fairly presented in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles.
This is our first audit with Keddington & Christensen. They report they did not encounter any difficulties in performing the audit. There were no adjustments, no unrecorded misstatements for presentation, no disagreements with management that couldn't be resolved. The city only received one finding, and that was for having an unrestricted General Fund balance that exceeded the limit of 25% of current year revenues. We were over by $160,995. This was moved to the Capital Projects Fund.
The audit was unanimously accepted.
Discussion on Zoning Ordinance and General Plan
Based on the City Councils decision to enact a temporary land use regulation in the SC-1 Commercial Zone on November 17, 2015, staff is recommending that the City Council consider the hiring of a professional firm to assist in the revision of the City’s General Plan, Cedar Hills Municipal Code, and the Guidelines for the Design and Review of Planned Commercial Development Projects. Because the City only has six months to complete all of these revisions, and based on the fact that the revisions need to reflect current Utah State Code, as well as the industry’s established best practices, it is essential that the revision process begin immediately. Staff will continue to meet with Mayor Gygi and various members of the City Council to prepare the General Plan, Land Use Element, various elements of the City Code, and the Design Guidelines for review by both the Planning Commission and then for adoption by the City Council.
Last week, CM Zappala, Rees, Mayor Gygi, Chandler Goodwin, and David Driggs met to start discussing the commercial zone. The initial thoughts are that we need to determine if there should be subzones, and if so, what that should look like, and what uses should be permitted or conditional. Suggestion is that we have medium intensity uses for the eastern portion of the Smart property, then keep the rest of the zone neighborhood retail. There would be requirements in place to create a buffer between between the property and the residential homes so they are not negatively impacted. This would allow for commercial uses on the east and west side of the proposed 4700 South, which may be more attractive to businesses as it has direct street access.
One area I'd really like to focus on is the intent of the zone. Our current zoning ordinance says:
The SC-1 zone is established to provide an area in which the primary use of land is for commercial and service uses to serve the needs of the community and surrounding area and is located in the portion of the city most appropriately suited for the purpose. It is intended that development within the zone shall be characterized by a harmonious grouping of commercial stores and shops and essential ancillary uses(parking, signs, landscape features) architecturally designed and functioning as an integrated unit. Clean, well lighted parking lots, readily accessible from adjacent streets, and attractive, well maintained shops with significant peripheral and on site landscaping will be characteristic of development within this zone. It is the specific intent that architectural design and character of operation shall, to the maximum extent possible, be compatible with that of surrounding residential environment, and review, approval and attachment of conditions upon development within the zone will be predicated upon the accomplishment of this objective. (Ord. 10-11-95A, 10-11-1995)
It's important that, whatever we list as a permitted or conditional use, meets the intent of the zone as defined above. If we want to allow for other uses that don't meet this intent, then we need to change the intent of the zone. If we want to keep it more of a small town feel that is compatible with the surrounding residential environment, then we should list the uses to comply. We are going to send a 4 question survey to residents to get a feel for which direction they would like to go - more of what is outlined in our current zoning ordinance, or to make it more open to commercial uses.
Discussion on Half-way Houses
Recently an inquiry was made to the city regarding the development of a half-way house for
recovering alcoholics. An inquiry was made to city attorney, David Shaw to advise on the options
available to the City when it comes to these types of facilities. Current city code does not define a
half-way house or other rehabilitation-type facilities. The closest definition currently in the code is for assisted living facilities or as the single family definition of four unrelated individuals living in the same dwelling. An assisted living facility could house persons with disabilities; our current assisted living code would allow for up to 16 occupants to be housed in the same facility in a residential zone.
HUD has definitions on housing for individuals with disabilities. Alcoholism is considered a disability under the Fair Housing Act. It is unlawful to prohibit these types of facilities. Alpine recently dealt with this same situation. The city turned it down, and it was appealed. A settlement was entered into allowing for a 16-bed facility in the residential area. It appears that we can require that the facility meets similar conditions we place on assisted living facility in a residential area, but cannot deny it completely. This is being researched by staff, but no application has been made.
Review/Action on Resolution Regarding American Fork Canyon
Public Comment
Mark Allen - Founder of Protect and Preserve Canyon. Group now has 10,200 people. Was here the last time we passed a resolution. Has issued many GRAMA requests to find out how we've gotten to where we are and has discovered many concerning things. Four email accounts have been deleted. Some mayors have not responded to requests. Is waiting on a GRAMA request from Cedar Hills. Said he was happy that Mayor Gygi did not go on the Switzerland trip, but other elected officials from other cities have. Largest campaign donor to Mayor Ben McAdams was Snowbird. Would like us to add a requirement for an Environmental Impact Study in our Resolution. Snowbird needs to clean up their land, just like other groups such as Geneva Steel has done. Formal decisions shouldn't be made until more research and studies have been done.
Protect and Preserve has asked the Council to issue another resolution expressing the desire to protect the watershed in the Canyon and asking the Board of Adjustment for Utah County to deny Snowbird's request for a conditional use permit. The resolution reads as follows:
WHEREAS, Cedar Hills has environmental, economic, social, and historical interests in American Fork Canyon; and
WHEREAS, Cedar Hills desires to establish best practices and policies regarding the management and care of the Canyon; and
WHEREAS, Cedar Hills has an obligation and a vested interest to protect the watershed, and the sources and quantities of water; and
WHEREAS Cedar Hills is committed to protecting the health, safety, and
welfare of its residents, and
WHEREAS, there is a potential for a negative impact on the City water system; and
WHEREAS, there is a need to balance new development with existing recreational uses in the Canyon that value isolation and the natural mountain environment.
NOW THEREFORE BE IS RESOLVED:
The City of Cedar Hills believes that the proposed development by Snowbird does not meet the intent of the CE-1 zone listed in Utah County code sections 5-5-A-2 and 5-5-A-3 and does not meet the conditions listed in Utah County code sections 3-47-H-3 and 3-47-H-7;
The City of Cedar Hills urges the Utah County Board of Adjustment to consider the potential impact on area watershed and water supply and require the applicant to provide all applicable studies to address this issue, including the long term effect of any undesirable elements that could be transferred to the ground water; and
The City of Cedar Hills encourages the Utah County Board of Adjustment to maintain existing easements and public access to the land; and
The City of Cedar Hills encourages the Utah County Board of Adjustment to request Utah County staff and elected officials to obtain additional input from stakeholders that use the surrounding property and commission an independent developmental and environmental impact report that is free from bias of the developer; and
The City of Cedar Hills urges the Utah County Commission to establish a transparent, public, and collaborative process for coordinating the land uses in American Fork Canyon that brings together all interested stakeholders, similar to the Mountain Accord process that has been used successfully in Salt Lake County; and
The City of Cedar Hills urges the Utah County Commission to suspend further development in American Fork Canyon until such a collaborative process has been completed.
This was unanimously approved.
Discussion on Payment to Eric Johnson for Legal Fees
The Golf Course Committee requested legal advice while doing their research, though they did not have a budget provided to them. During those meetings, our current and former attorneys were in attendance to answer questions, and emails were directed to both of them as well. Our current attorney was paid for his time, but our former attorney's invoice was denied as there was not a current contract with them and three members of the Council expressed to the City Manager they did not want to pay for this invoice. It was requested this come to the Council for further discussion.
CM Geddes gave an example of the Parks & Trails Committee wanting funds for architectural designs for the roundabout. They had to come to the Council for approval. This is the same thing that should have happened with the Golf Committee. There was a breakdown in communication and not the fault of anyone in particular. I have requested that we have an agenda item for our meeting in two weeks on a policy regarding committee use of city funds, committees & council members authorizing work from others who are not staff members, and handling invoices for work that wasn't previously approved by the Council. The entire Council and staff agreed this is a good idea, we need to make sure we all understand how funds are being spent.
Tuesday, January 19, 2016
Tuesday, January 5, 2016
City Council Meeting - January 5, 2016
Council Meeting
Public Comment
Nobody signed up.
Consent Agenda
The minutes from the November 12th, November 16th, and November 17th City Council meetings were approved. Appointments for city recorder (Colleen Mulvey) and treasurer (David Bunker), and new members of the Planning Commission (Brian Miller and Jared Anderson), Parks & Trails Committee (Ben Ellsworth and Chris Fowler), and Board of Adjustment (Darin Lowder) were made and approved 4-1.
City Reports
David Bunker - Jr Jazz has a big turnout once again. Natalie Scott has resigned so we will be looking for a new person to replace her. A new theater class begins next Thursday, which has 75 signups so far. TSSD has approved their final budget. They will also be looking at modifying the rate structure over the next few months.
Rob Crawley - Thanked Trent for his work on the Council over the past four years.
Mayor Gygi - Spoke with the mayors from Highland and Alpine about their thoughts on a community pool shared by all three cities. We are currently partnered with them through our Arts Committee with regards to theater productions. Highland and Alpine do not have city-sponsored recreation programs and refer residents to ours. The mayors all recognize that they cannot build a pool on their own, but were open to the idea of the three cities working together on this. A section of the Utah Developmental Center land is planned for a community facility of some sort, so it's a possibility it could go there. This would also allow LP students to use a pool nearby instead of going to American Fork. The mayors all felt this should come from residents, not from elected officials, but they are willing to look at any studies our staff has done. He also attended a meeting of the Utah State Developmental Center regarding new roads going through their development as part of the master plan, and one would connect to Harvey Blvd. If approved by the State Legislature this year, they hope to start construction later this year. The County would need to build this road as it will be considered a regional road that connects two state roads.
He also met with Highland recently. They are interested in joining with us in building a maintenance shed where we currently have our golf trailers. Both cities would use it and pay for it. This is an ongoing discussion.
CM Zappala - He is working on pulling together information for the rewriting of our commercial zones and encourages resident feedback.
CM Geddes - Utah County Dispatch has broken ground on their new building, though it's on hold right now due to weather.
Review/Action of Mayor Pro Tempore
Consistent with UCA 10-3b-302 and City Code 1-5-3, MAYOR AS MEMBER OF CITY COUNCIL; the terms and scope of the duties of Mayor Pro Tempore are defined. In summary, the mayor pro tempore shall have all of the powers and duties of the mayor during his absence, disability or refusal to act. The election of a mayor pro tempore shall be entered in the minutes of the meeting. This year, it will be Councilmember Rob Crawley. This was approved.
Review/Action on Assignments for Staff and Resident Committees
City Councilmembers, staff and residents act as resources, liaisons, and on some boards and committees may be voting members. The Mayor, with advice and consent of the City Council, makes assignments to various boards, committees and entities. The Council assignments are as follows:
Rob Crawley - North Pointe Solid Waste, General Plan Committee
Daniel Zappala - Lone Peak Public Safety, Planning Commission
Mike Geddes - Utah Valley Dispatch, Finance Committee
Jenney Rees - Media Relations, Family Festival Committee, Parks & Trails Committee
Ben Bailey - Finance Committee, Cultural Arts & Events Committee
Staff, Council, and resident assignments were all approved.
Discussion on Driving Range Fence
Public Comment
Jason Harr - Thanked the Council for considering their concerns. They are building a house near the driving range and are finding a large number of golf balls coming over the fence and into their yard, as well as Mesquite Park. He does not feel that cameras or staff onsite will solve the problem. Feels raising the nets is the most effective option. His neighbor said that since the nets nearer to his house were raised, he has seen a reduction in the number of golf balls in his yard. Feels if the operations of the driving range were shifted east further, that would also help. Says it's not just an issue for him, but those going to the park, walking the trail, and driving down the street in that area. Golf course next to BYU has raised their nets.
This issue has been discussed during previous City Council meetings. Options that have been considered are, 1) Installing cameras, 2) additional employees to monitor driving range, and 3) additional netting. The cost for two solar cameras would be $6400. Greg doesn't feel hiring someone would make sense due to cost. Staff asked West Coast Netting to give us a bid for the home owner to install netting on their property since they have purchased a lot knowing the driving range was already there and living on any golf course may create problems for potential property damage. It would cost the resident $8,100 to install three poles 15’ high x 60’ wide (including netting). If the City does the netting on the driving range, our cost would drop to $5,200 instead of the $8,100 because they will already be on site. To increase the poles and netting for the entire driving range would cost $61,000 through West Coast Netting. Another company is willing to do a trade where they get a two year corporate pass as part of payment and we pay about $33,350. This would add 20 feet to the existing netting.
My concern is the potential liability we face if a golf ball goes over the fence and hits someone at Mesquite Park or someones backyard, especially as we know how many golf balls are ending up over the fence. It could be quite costly to defend against a lawsuit of this nature. My recommendation is we find a way to reduce the cost of the proposed maintenance shed by $33,000 so we can use budgeted funds for that to raise the netting for the entire range. It makes sense to me to do what we can to reduce the liability and protect our residents.
Discussion on Code Related to Zoning and Development
We placed a moratorium on any new applications for development in our commercial zone while the Planning Commission and City Council review and possibly make changes to our Design Guidelines, General Plan, and Zoning laws. By law, we only have six months to complete this process, so must be done by May 17th. CM Zappala recommended the first step is determining if we want to have multiple zones in that area, and what should be allowed in those zones. I'm feeling a sense of urgency to get this completed and have started reviewing the code for other cities to get a feel for what they have done. We don't need to reinvent the wheel but can take from others what makes sense for our city. I'd like us to all be on board and ready to approve in April. Mayor Gygi suggested that he and two members of the Council meet each week to move this along, as well as having it as a regular agenda item for our Council meetings. He will rotate Councilmembers for this assignment. The first meeting will be with CM Bailey and Zappala. Mayor will also invite a member of the Planning Commission to attend.
Public Comment
Nobody signed up.
Consent Agenda
The minutes from the November 12th, November 16th, and November 17th City Council meetings were approved. Appointments for city recorder (Colleen Mulvey) and treasurer (David Bunker), and new members of the Planning Commission (Brian Miller and Jared Anderson), Parks & Trails Committee (Ben Ellsworth and Chris Fowler), and Board of Adjustment (Darin Lowder) were made and approved 4-1.
City Reports
David Bunker - Jr Jazz has a big turnout once again. Natalie Scott has resigned so we will be looking for a new person to replace her. A new theater class begins next Thursday, which has 75 signups so far. TSSD has approved their final budget. They will also be looking at modifying the rate structure over the next few months.
Rob Crawley - Thanked Trent for his work on the Council over the past four years.
Mayor Gygi - Spoke with the mayors from Highland and Alpine about their thoughts on a community pool shared by all three cities. We are currently partnered with them through our Arts Committee with regards to theater productions. Highland and Alpine do not have city-sponsored recreation programs and refer residents to ours. The mayors all recognize that they cannot build a pool on their own, but were open to the idea of the three cities working together on this. A section of the Utah Developmental Center land is planned for a community facility of some sort, so it's a possibility it could go there. This would also allow LP students to use a pool nearby instead of going to American Fork. The mayors all felt this should come from residents, not from elected officials, but they are willing to look at any studies our staff has done. He also attended a meeting of the Utah State Developmental Center regarding new roads going through their development as part of the master plan, and one would connect to Harvey Blvd. If approved by the State Legislature this year, they hope to start construction later this year. The County would need to build this road as it will be considered a regional road that connects two state roads.
He also met with Highland recently. They are interested in joining with us in building a maintenance shed where we currently have our golf trailers. Both cities would use it and pay for it. This is an ongoing discussion.
CM Zappala - He is working on pulling together information for the rewriting of our commercial zones and encourages resident feedback.
CM Geddes - Utah County Dispatch has broken ground on their new building, though it's on hold right now due to weather.
Review/Action of Mayor Pro Tempore
Consistent with UCA 10-3b-302 and City Code 1-5-3, MAYOR AS MEMBER OF CITY COUNCIL; the terms and scope of the duties of Mayor Pro Tempore are defined. In summary, the mayor pro tempore shall have all of the powers and duties of the mayor during his absence, disability or refusal to act. The election of a mayor pro tempore shall be entered in the minutes of the meeting. This year, it will be Councilmember Rob Crawley. This was approved.
Review/Action on Assignments for Staff and Resident Committees
City Councilmembers, staff and residents act as resources, liaisons, and on some boards and committees may be voting members. The Mayor, with advice and consent of the City Council, makes assignments to various boards, committees and entities. The Council assignments are as follows:
Rob Crawley - North Pointe Solid Waste, General Plan Committee
Daniel Zappala - Lone Peak Public Safety, Planning Commission
Mike Geddes - Utah Valley Dispatch, Finance Committee
Jenney Rees - Media Relations, Family Festival Committee, Parks & Trails Committee
Ben Bailey - Finance Committee, Cultural Arts & Events Committee
Staff, Council, and resident assignments were all approved.
Discussion on Driving Range Fence
Public Comment
Jason Harr - Thanked the Council for considering their concerns. They are building a house near the driving range and are finding a large number of golf balls coming over the fence and into their yard, as well as Mesquite Park. He does not feel that cameras or staff onsite will solve the problem. Feels raising the nets is the most effective option. His neighbor said that since the nets nearer to his house were raised, he has seen a reduction in the number of golf balls in his yard. Feels if the operations of the driving range were shifted east further, that would also help. Says it's not just an issue for him, but those going to the park, walking the trail, and driving down the street in that area. Golf course next to BYU has raised their nets.
This issue has been discussed during previous City Council meetings. Options that have been considered are, 1) Installing cameras, 2) additional employees to monitor driving range, and 3) additional netting. The cost for two solar cameras would be $6400. Greg doesn't feel hiring someone would make sense due to cost. Staff asked West Coast Netting to give us a bid for the home owner to install netting on their property since they have purchased a lot knowing the driving range was already there and living on any golf course may create problems for potential property damage. It would cost the resident $8,100 to install three poles 15’ high x 60’ wide (including netting). If the City does the netting on the driving range, our cost would drop to $5,200 instead of the $8,100 because they will already be on site. To increase the poles and netting for the entire driving range would cost $61,000 through West Coast Netting. Another company is willing to do a trade where they get a two year corporate pass as part of payment and we pay about $33,350. This would add 20 feet to the existing netting.
My concern is the potential liability we face if a golf ball goes over the fence and hits someone at Mesquite Park or someones backyard, especially as we know how many golf balls are ending up over the fence. It could be quite costly to defend against a lawsuit of this nature. My recommendation is we find a way to reduce the cost of the proposed maintenance shed by $33,000 so we can use budgeted funds for that to raise the netting for the entire range. It makes sense to me to do what we can to reduce the liability and protect our residents.
Discussion on Code Related to Zoning and Development
We placed a moratorium on any new applications for development in our commercial zone while the Planning Commission and City Council review and possibly make changes to our Design Guidelines, General Plan, and Zoning laws. By law, we only have six months to complete this process, so must be done by May 17th. CM Zappala recommended the first step is determining if we want to have multiple zones in that area, and what should be allowed in those zones. I'm feeling a sense of urgency to get this completed and have started reviewing the code for other cities to get a feel for what they have done. We don't need to reinvent the wheel but can take from others what makes sense for our city. I'd like us to all be on board and ready to approve in April. Mayor Gygi suggested that he and two members of the Council meet each week to move this along, as well as having it as a regular agenda item for our Council meetings. He will rotate Councilmembers for this assignment. The first meeting will be with CM Bailey and Zappala. Mayor will also invite a member of the Planning Commission to attend.
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