2008-01-22

Marylhurst Neighborhood Association Meeting Minutes January 22nd, 2008 Opening: The regular meeting of the Marylhurst Neighborhood Association was called to order at 7:07 pm on Tuesday, January 22nd, 2008 at the West Linn Adult Community Center by President Jeff Treece. Present: 15 association members were present. City Councilor Jody Carson and Mayor Norm King were also present. Approval of Minutes: A motion was made by Ralph Olson and seconded by Arlo Martendale to approve the minutes of the November 27th, 2007 meeting. The motion carried unanimously on a voice vote. Committee Reports: Neighborhood Representative to Land Use Pre-Applications Conference Report Annexation at 19650 Suncrest Mrs. Oakes reported that phase 1 of the annexation process was completed, with the City Council recommending annexation with R10 zoning. She further noted that the phase 2 hearing was scheduled before the City Council on February 11th, 2008. Treasurer’s Report: Treasurer Jim Koll stated there was no change to the association finances. The current balance is $1518.21 Mr. Koll provided some ideas for areas to budget the remainder of the 2007-2008 budget and asked for additional input. Some of the ideas forwarded include: • Purchasing a species tree for Marylhurst Park (so that it could be planted sooner rather than later), • Shrub clearing along Marylhurst Dr to facilitate pedestrian access, • A neighborhood sign on Suncrest Dr. MNA Minutes, 01-22-2008 DRAFT Page 2 of 5 • Landscaping at the existing Marylhurst neighborhood sign on Marylhurst Dr. Lacking significant input for additional ideas or preference for the recommendations put forward by Mr. Koll, President Treece appointed Teri Cummings to work with Mr. Koll on developing a more substantive list of possible expenditures. Report on HSNA Meeting of January 15th, 2007 It was determined at the November 27th Meeting that Teri Cummings would attend the Hidden Springs Neighborhood Association meeting in January to report on the Marylhurst Neighborhood inquiry into neighborhood association boundary changes in the Ridgebrook Estates neighborhood to the Northeast of the corner of Carriage Way and Suncrest Dr. Mrs. Cummings was able to locate Marylhurst Neighborhood Association minutes from 1995 indicating that residents of Ridgebrook Dr. and Parkview Ct. had voted in Marylhurst Neighborhood Association meetings in the past. There was no available documentation as to when the homes on these streets were placed in the Hidden Springs Neighborhood. Mrs. Cummings communicated to the Hidden Springs membership that the Marylhurst Neighborhood Association had inquired of the residents of this neighborhood whether they wanted to re-join the Marylhurst Neighborhood. This invitation was initiated since several Ridgebrook Estates residents had arrived at MNA events or meetings. Based on a lack of interest and participation from residents of the Ridgebrook Estates neighborhood, no action was taken by the Marylhurst Neighborhood in this regard. Mayor King noted that if the boundary change was made inadvertently or without the approval of the City Council, the original boundaries should be restored. Old Business Marylhurst Neighborhood Plan Mr. Koll was not able to prepare the information required for this discussion, so the topic was continued to the February 26th, 2008 meeting. Appeal of Marylhurst Park Design Review Approval Brian Eastman provided an update on the status of Marylhurst Park. At the November meeting, it was noted that the Peterson family had appealed the Design Review approval of the Planning Commission, with a hearing scheduled for January 14th, 2008. This hearing was subsequently removed from the City Council agenda. Mr. Eastman inquired of the city and learned that the appeal was based on the proposed design limiting access to some property still held by the Peterson family to the West of the proposed park. The city and the Peterson family opted to see if they could work out a solution without the need for an MNA Minutes, 01-22-2008 DRAFT Page 3 of 5 appeal, and were in the process of doing so. Should such negotiations fail, there is still the possibility of an appeal in the future. New Business Hoff Development Status Dave Richards provided a brief update on the development application by Charles Hoff on 40+ acres of county land to the West of Marylhurst Circle. The county denied the application which had been presented under Measure 37 guidelines. It seems unlikely that any development will take place in the near future. Proposed Clackamas County Tree Ordinance Karie Oakes provided information on a proposed Clackamas County Tree Ordinance. The effort to improve tree protection in un-incorporated county lands within the Urban Growth Boundary was instigated by a group called Urban Green. The desire to implement such protection stems out of many landowners clearing their land prior to applying for annexation into cities that have tree ordinances. Urban Green is seeking task force members to help guide this proposal through the Clackamas County Commission review process. They expect a 3-4 month effort. Teri Cummings made a motion seconded by Karie Oakes requesting that the Marylhurst Neighborhood Association draft a letter in support of the efforts of Urban Green. During discussion of this motion, it was determined that the time frame allowed for further review of the topic, possibly including a presentation by Urban Green at a future MNA meeting. The motion was withdrawn and it was decided to invite Urban Green to make a presentation at the February meeting. Planning Commission Hearing, CDC Chapter 28 & 29 Revisions Brian Eastman made a presentation to the membership on this topic. On January 23rd, the Planning Commission will hold a hearing discussing revisions to CDC chapters 28 & 29 relating to the Willamette River Greenway and Tualatin River. During the process of enhancing riparian protections in revisions of CDC Chapter 32 in 2006, it was noted that the protections afforded in the Willamette and Tualatin river zones was not strengthened. These areas are quite different in terms of protection need, technical definitions, the inclusion of a floodplain, etc, and therefore require different rules and a thorough analysis and public discussion that was deemed to be inappropriate to address at the time of the CDC 32 revisions. In an effort to make at least some progress, the City has proposed these changes that will essentially afford the basic and most applicable protections enacted in CDC 32 to the Willamette and Tualatin river protection areas. A more MNA Minutes, 01-22-2008 DRAFT Page 4 of 5 significant review can then take place in the future. Mr. Eastman added that the proposed language changes, while stop-gap in nature, looked reasonable. He suggested that the Marylhurst Neighborhood Association did not need to take a position on this issue at this time. Planning Commission Hearing, CDC Chapter 99 Revisions Brian Eastman provided background on this topic. On January 23rd, the Planning Commission will hold a hearing on modifying the structure of the Planning Commission. The underlying problem these code changes are intended to address is that the Planning Commission is supposed to be the decision making authority for land use issues as well as the initial hearings body on legislative and longrange city planning issues such as neighborhood plans, CDC revisions, the Comprehensive Plan and the like. Due to the volume of land use issues, the Planning Commission is not able to process legislative and long-range planning issues in a timely fashion. Several proposals to re-configure and potentially split the Planning Commission into two bodies have been forwarded, with 5 options currently before the Planning Commission. Mr. Eastman summarized the options and notes that the Planning Commission has voiced a preference for option 5: 1) A three member Land Use Review Board chaired by a land use hearings officer, with a seven member Planning Commission to focus on legislative matters – with two of the Planning Commissioners randomly assigned as citizen members of the Land Use Review Board 2) A five member Land Use Review Board chaired by a land use hearings officer (for quasi-judicial cases) and a five-member Planning Commission (for legislative matters), with potential membership overlap of up to two members, but no rotation of members. 3) A five member Land Use Review Board composed entirely of citizens (for quasi-judicial cases) and a five-member Planning Commission (for legislative matters), with potential membership overlap of up to two members, but no rotation of members. 4) Division of responsibilities between the Planning Director and a sevenmember Planning Commission for major quasi-judicial cases, with the Planning Director making all decisions unless a qualified individual (neighbor, neighborhood association, or individual Planning Commissioner) requested transfer of jurisdiction to the Planning Commission. 5) Maintenance of the existing Planning Commission as decision-maker for all major quasi-judicial cases, with commitment to implement a variety of measures to ensure prompt and thorough attention to both quasi-judicial and legislative matters. MNA Minutes, 01-22-2008 DRAFT Page 5 of 5 A motion was presented by Teri Cummings and seconded by Frank Wesson that the MNA should send a representative to testify at the hearing. This representative should express the membership’s preference for option 5, with an additional recommendation that emphasis be placed on improving the quality of work done by the Planning Department in preparing applications for review, notably in the areas of completeness and code compliance. The motion passed unanimously on a voice vote. President Jeff Treece asked Brian Eastman to present testimony on behalf of the association. Agenda Items for Next Meeting: • Marylhurst Neighborhood Plan. • CDC Chapter 28 & 29 revisions • CDC Chapter 99 revisions • Urban Green Presentation Adjournment: A motion to adjourn was made by Frank Wesson and seconded by John Huntsman. This motion was approved on a voice vote and the meeting was adjourned at 8:30pm by President Jeff Treece. The next regular association meeting will be at 7:00pm on Tuesday, February 26th, 2008 at the West Linn Adult Community Center. Minutes submitted by: Brian Eastman, Secretary