2008-08-26

Marylhurst Neighborhood Association Meeting Minutes August 26th, 2008 OPENING: The regular meeting of the Marylhurst Neighborhood Association was called to order at 7:05 pm on Tuesday, July 26th 2008 at the West Linn Adult Community Center by President Jeff Treece Present: 13 association members were present. Approval of Minutes: A motion was made by Ralph Olson and seconded by Mike Anderson to approve the minutes of the July 22nd, 2008 meeting minutes. This motion was approved on a voice vote. GUEST SPEAKERS Development Application Proposal, 19650 Suncrest Ave. Kirsten Vanloo of Emerio Design presented the preliminary land use application for a new 6 lot PUD located at 19650 Suncrest Ave. This subdivision will be in the Hidden Springs Neighborhood Association, but seeing as it shares Suncrest Ave with the Marylhurst NA, the developer thought a presentation would be appropriate. Mrs. Vanloo explained the general plan for the development, which will comprise 6 new homes on part of 3.75 acres. Since the parcel contains Fern creek and surrounding riparian land, the development will take place on about ½ of the total land owned by the developer. The remainder will remain as open space per the CDC chapter 32 regarding water resource protections. Two houses will access Suncrest Ave directly. The other 4 homes will be accessed via a private road that will also access Suncrest Ave. The site will contain a stormwater detention pond that will filter runoff prior to releasing it to Fern Creek. Some issues relating to sewer facilities, access points and lot boundaries are still being worked out. The developer expects to have the final application submitted to the city in 3-4 weeks, at which point the city Planning Department will have 30 days to review the application and determine if it is complete. Once deemed complete, the city will have 120 days during which to review the plan in more detail, hold public hearings and approve or deny the application. Mrs. Vanloo then fielded several questions from the members relating to access, lot size and approximate home size. Several questions related to the fact that the NA was told at a presentation prior to the annexation vote that the open space land buffering Fern Creek would be dedicated to the city, but this had not been done. Mrs. Vanloo explained that it was the intention of the developer to dedicate the land, but that for tax reasons, it would make sense to do it later, to offset the capital gains of selling the completed houses. COMMITTEE REPORTS: Treasurer’s Report: Treasurer Jim Koll provided a report showing a current balance of $2402.41 Neighborhood Representative to Land Use Pre-Applications Conference Report: Karie Oakes reported there were no new land use applications in the neighborhood. Mrs. Oakes subsequently provided information on the pre-application status of a planned single home development at 18000 Hillside Ct in the Robinwood Neighborhood. Two lots have been combined to allow for home development on what is a fairly constrained site due to steep slope and the presence of Robinwood Creek. The developer will be applying for a hardship condition under CDC 32 regarding water resource areas. OLD BUSINESS: Neighborhood Picnic President Jeff Treece announced that the neighborhood picnic would be occurring on Sunday, September 7th from 4:30 – 7:30pm. He asked for volunteers for the event. The NA board was appointed to plan and execute the event. Neighborhood Cleanup Day President Jeff Treece reported that the neighborhood cleanup day on August 16th had been successful. Two bins were filled. About 40 families participated. Ice Cream Social Secretary Brian Eastman reported that the ice cream social on August 17th had also been a success. About 45 people attended and had a good time. The group consisted of about 50% return guests from the July ice cream social and 50% neighbors who had not attended the first event. NEW BUSINESS: Committee for Citizen Involvement President Jeff Treece introduced this topic, indicating that the City Council has been working to create a new “Committee for Citizen Involvement” to meet a state guideline relating to land use Goal 1 and public involvement in the land use process. As proposed, the Planning Commission would serve in this new capacity – essentially formalizing the de-facto role of the Planning Commission currently. There was a hearing before the City Council on August 11th, the public testimony underscored a feeling of confusion and concern regarding what the purpose, formation and use of this new city commission would be. There was a perception that the CCI would not just focus on land use, but would become an additional layer between the citizens and city government relating to all city issues. During the hearing the city council discussed adding some citizen volunteers not on the planning commission. Ultimately the meeting ran long and the issue was continued. Discussion followed with most relating to the concept of including citizens in the CCI. Seeing as the planning commission is appointed, it was generally felt the additional members should be volunteers elected by the various neighborhood associations. A motion was made by Teri Cummings to have the Marylhurst Neighborhood Association recommend that the CCI include a member elected by any Neighborhood Association that wishes to participate. This motion was seconded by Brian Eastman. Subsequent to brief discussion, this motion passed unanimously on a voice vote. Legislative and Land Use Update Teri Cummings opened a discussion regarding administrative changes to the Land Use Pre-Application Meeting rules. The new rules limit citizen participation to not more than two, trained representatives from the neighborhood association in which the land use application will be filed. She expressed concern, echoed by several other members, that citizen access to this process and the ability to provide positive input before an application is filed (and therefore more likely to be adopted) is being limited by this action. Mrs. Cummings then made a motion seconded by Jim Koll that the Marylhurst Neighborhood Association ask the city to revise the administrative rules regarding land use pre-application meetings and open participation to any interested, trained pre-application representative. This motion passed unanimously on a voice vote. Neighborhood Announcements Mrs. Cummings stated that the League of West Linn Neighborhoods will be holding candidate forums in October, and is seeking the submission of questions from neighborhood associations. Adjourn A motion to adjourn was presented by Jim Koll and seconded by Brian Eastman. The motion passing, President Treece adjourned the meeting at 8:38 pm. The next regular association meeting will be at 7:00pm on Tuesday, September 23rd, 2008 at the West Linn Adult Community Center. Minutes submitted by: Brian Eastman, Secretary