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| City Council Agenda Follow-Up August 5, 2019 | |
| 5:30 p.m. Financial Workshop | INFO ONLY |
| APPROVAL OF AGENDA Councilmember Taylor moved, and Councilmember Jensen seconded, to approve the agenda with the following amendment: Move Item G (Old Main Discussion) to Item D1. MOTION CARRIED 7-0. | APPROVED |
| PUBLIC COMMENT | INFO ONLY |
| CONSENT AGENDA Councilmember Taylor moved, and Councilmember Bersch seconded, to approve the consent agenda. MOTION CARRIED 7-0. | APPROVED |
| PROCLAMATION: Community Health Week Mayor Mutchler read the proclamation acknowledging community health centers and declaring August 4 – 10 to be Community Health Week. | INFO ONLY |
| INTRODUCTION: Parks Intern Micah Robertson | INFO ONLY |
| DISCUSSION: Old Main The City Council is being asked to reach a conclusion on the potential re-use of the Old Main facility on the existing Ferndale High School campus. Old Main, together with the majority of other buildings on the high school campus, is expected to be torn down following the construction of a new high school approximately 800 feet north of the building. The School District is in the process of developing a conceptual site plan for the new campus, and it is likely that athletic fields and/or parking will be built in the space between Old Main and the new school facilities. The District is also working with transportation consultants to determine potential modifications to onsite parking, bus storage and loading, pedestrian access, and overall traffic patterns both on the campus and in the surrounding area. The City’s architectural consultants have concluded that the Old Main structure is of sufficient size to accommodate City functions (City Hall, Court, Council, storage, and miscellaneous other uses) well into the foreseeable future. The consultants have determined that the building can be renovated to achieve compliance with seismic and other requirements. Including a 30% contingency assumption, the total estimated cost of improvements is approximately $13.3 million. This cost is generally consistent with other development scenarios for a smaller facility evaluated by a different architectural consultant in 2017. The primary alternative scenario that has been discussed is the construction of a new co-located facility (or an expansion of existing) at the current City Hall location. As has also been discussed, City facilities do not require proximity to a jurisdiction’s Main Street or the core of the City to function, although the symbolism of such a facility in the core may be important. One of the main considerations for alternatives to Old Main, whether at the current site or at Pioneer Park, would be the cost increases associated with building in the floodplain. With that factored in, the costs between all of these options are comparable. Councilmember Jensen moved, and Councilmember Hansen seconded, to pursue the purchase/repurposing of Old Main. MOTION FAILED 0-7. | MOTION TO REPURPOSE OLD MAIN FAILED |
| PUBLIC HEARING: Accessory Dwelling Units Ordinance In June 2017, the City Council adopted an ordinance to allow Accessory Dwelling Units. (ADUs) The ordinance required a review of the new code section by February 2020, or after 10 permits were received, whichever occurred first. The city has received its tenth application and is therefore bringing the new ordinance to Council. Prior to 2017, the City did not allow ADUs within the City limits. The ADU ordinance was ultimately approved because of increased demand within the City. ADUs are anticipated by the City’s Comprehensive Plan and are a requirement of the Growth Management Act for larger jurisdictions. Larger cities are required to adopt an ADU ordinance when their population reaches 20,000. In order to take a proactive approach, the City adopted the ADU ordinance to allow for any necessary changes to be made prior to a state requirement to adopt. The ordinance was also created to address potential unpermitted ADUs that may have been both uncompliant and unsafe. The proposed ordinance includes a modification to the reporting requirements for owner occupancy, and allows up to 40 more ADU’s, bringing the total number allowed up to 50 before the next scheduled review. Councilmember Xczar moved, and Councilmember Hansen seconded, to approve the agenda bill. MOTION CARRIED 7-0. | APPROVED |
| RESOLUTION: Greenhouse Gas Policy In order to be considered for various grants, loans, or funding, Washington State requires that jurisdictions demonstrate the manner in which they have enacted policies or procedures to reduce or mitigate greenhouse gas emissions, and/or to identify other practices that may benefit the environment. In the last decade Ferndale has taken significant steps on these issues, but has never listed these approaches in one document. If adopted, the Greenhouse Gas Policy resolution would do just that. The document reflects the City’s existing standards and identifies potential new policies that could be considered in the future. By adopting the resolution, the City will remain competitive for funding, and will reduce time and effort in developing funding applications. Councilmember Taylor moved, and Councilmember Bishop seconded, to approve the agenda bill. MOTION CARRIED 7-0. | APPROVED |
| MAYOR REPORTS/COMMENTS Information only. COUNCIL REPORTS/COMMENTS Information only. DEPARTMENT REPORTS Information only. | INFO ONLY |
| ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 7:05 p.m. |
