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HomeMy WebLinkAbout6/10/2024 - City Council - Minutes - RegularCity Council Meeting MINUTES Monday, June 10, 2024, 6:30 PM Regular Session 6:30 P.M. Community Room, Salem Civic Center, 1001 Roanoke Boulevard, Salem, Virginia 24153 WORK SESSION WORK SESSION IS CANCELLED FOR JUNE 10, 2024 REGULAR SESSION 1. Call to Order A regular meeting of the Council of the City of Salem, Virginia, was called to order at 6:30 p.m., there being present the following members to wit: Renée Ferris Turk, Mayor; James W. Wallace, III, Vice-Mayor; Councilmembers: Byron Randolph Foley, William D. Jones, and H. Hunter Holliday; with Renée Ferris Turk, Mayor, presiding together with Chris Dorsey, City Manager; Rob Light, Assistant City Manager and Clerk of Council; Rosemarie B. Jordan, Director of Finance; Chuck Van Allman, Director of Community Development; Mike Stevens, Director of Communications; and Chris Dadak, on behalf of City Attorney, Jim Guynn. 2. Pledge of Allegiance 3. Bid Openings, Awards, Recognitions There were none this evening. 4. Consent Agenda A. Citizen Comments Comments from the public, limited to five minutes, on matters not already having a public hearing at the same meeting. John Breen, 142 Bogey Lane, expressed disappointment and concern at recent budget and property tax decisions. He expressed concern with the budget process. Mr. Breen expressed that he felt there was a lack of opportunity for citizen participation through public question and answer dialogues. He also expressed concern with Salem's Zoning Code and code enforcement. Council was requested to timely respond to the following three questions: 1) Why are citizens prohibited from asking Council public questions and receiving public answers; 2) Will Council provide a venue where citizens may ask and receive answers; and 3) What is Council's plan to address and measure success in evading blight and eyesores? Councilman Foley noted that Mr. Breen had spoken before Council about forty times, that he was not a registered voter in the City of Salem, and to his knowledge did not pay taxes in his personal name in Salem. Douglas Griggs, 2734 Gardner Drive, articulated concern for whether the budget included funds to handle a large amount of snow if that were to occur in the next few years. Mayor Turk noted that she had confidence that the City would be ready. Councilman Jones added that this was a line item in the budget and that there were also contingency funds. Lisa Miller, 405 Apperson Drive, shared with Council a recap of the April 9, 2024, Public Comprehensive Plan Meeting, which focused on housing, and a follow-up meeting on April 10, 2024. She expressed concern for the impact on the decision- making process of citizen comments and petitions. Donna Crotts, 307 N. Broad Street, respectfully asked that Council vote no to the Hope Tree rezoning if they had any reasonable doubt. She expressed that she felt this was not an appropriate location for this development. She also noted concerns with the traffic studies, about the boundaries and protection of the cemetery on the property in the future, and or the impact on the tax base and revenue for the City of Salem. Ms. Crotts shared the results of an informal survey of homes on surrounding streets by Mr. Holliday. She asked why there had only been one public hearing and asked that Council vote no to this rezoning if they had any doubts. Whitney Leeson, 212 N. Broad Street, shared information that she had researched on Planned Unit Developments. She shared both positive and negative aspects and examples of this type of development. Ms. Leeson noted that it had been difficult to determine any normative date; however, she shared comparisons of a number of PUDs in the United States and specifically compared density levels, expressing concern with the proposed density level for the Hope Tree project. B. Minutes Consider acceptance of the May 23, 2024, Special Meeting Work Session and the May 28, 2024, Regular Meeting minutes. The minutes were approved as written. 5. Old Business A. Budget Adoption Ordinance Consider ordinance on second reading adopting the budget for 2024-2025 fiscal year. William Jones motioned to adopt on second reading the 2024-2025 fiscal year budget adoption ordinance. Randy Foley seconded the motion. Ayes: Foley, Holliday, Jones, Turk, Wallace B. Budget Appropriation Ordinance Consider ordinance on second reading appropriating funds for the 2024-2025 fiscal year budget. Randy Foley motioned to adopt on second reading the Ordinance to appropriate funds for the fiscal year 2024-2025 budget. William Jones seconded the motion. Ayes: Foley, Holliday, Jones, Turk, Wallace 6. New Business A. Amendment to the Zoning Ordinance Consider adoption of ordinance on first reading for the request of Virginia Baptist Children's Home (dba HopeTree Family Services), property owner, for rezoning the properties located at 1000 block Red Ln and a portion of 860 Mount Vernon Lane (Tax Map #'s 41-1-1, 41-1-2, 41- 1-3, 41-1-4, 41-1-5, 41-1- 6, and a portion of 44-3-10) from RSF Residential Single Family to PUD Planned Unit District. The public hearing was held at the May 13, 2024, meeting. Mayor Turk asked if there was any further information from Hope Tree before moving forward. Jon Morris, President/CEO of HopeTree Family Services, noted that there was no further presentation this evening and thanked Council and City staff for their time during this process. He also thanked the citizens for their involvement and said that they were happy to answer any further questions. Mayor Turk asked if there was any knowledge of cemeteries on the property. Mr. Morris responded that, to the best of their knowledge, there was one cemetery in the horse pasture and that it was marked with a gravestone. To their knowledge, there were no other cemetery locations on their property. Councilman Jones commented that they had heard a lot about density and asked that someone speak to that topic. Mr. Morris responded that he would let Mr. Robertson speak to that. Todd Robertson, President of Stateson Homes, shared that there was a total of 62 acres on the property and this has been limited to about 32 because 30 acres is dedicated to open space. He explained that if you look at the total density, 340 total units, which includes the accessory dwelling units scattered over 62 acres, this would be not quite six units per acre. Mayor Turk asked to clarify if they are speaking of not necessarily individual homes, but buildings with front doors or units that will not go above a limit of 340. Mr. Robertson affirmed that this was correct. He gave as an example that one of the existing buildings would lay out nicely as four condos or four apartments and this would count as four units or four homes. Councilman Holliday asked if it was correct that 32 acres out of the total of 62 acres would be developed. Mr. Robertson responded that it was roughly that or about half of it. Councilman Holliday asked if he were saying that he was counting the 62 acres as space, but the actual 340 units themselves would be located on 32 acres. Mr. Robertson confirmed that this was correct and that this was typically how it was done as they worked hard to preserve large areas of open space. Some of the trade- off is that there would be a higher density so that they would be preserving the lake area, the trails, and some of the beautiful old trees that form the campus of HopeTree. Mayor Turk asked to confirm if she had heard correctly that they would be developing in phases and that 20% would be built residential first. Mr. Robertson responded that the land would definitely be built in phases and that some portions of the property were more difficult to develop than others. He indicated that he was unsure about the 20% figure. He added that you could even say 50% would be residential other than a couple of small items such as the grocery and coffee shop that had been discussed. He also noted that they would like to have that fairly early to attract people. Mayor Turk asked if all of the commercial development would be located in the core area in the center campus as opposed to being on the perimeter of the campus and that those areas would be residential. Mr. Robertson confirmed that this was correct. He explained that some of the feedback that had been received in Work Sessions in regards to the T1 up through T5 units, with T5 being the highest density that also allowed some commercial space had been really scaled back so that it was only around the existing center part of the campus. Mayor Turk asked to clarify if the last area that would probably be developed was the horse pastures that hit on the front area of Carrollton. Mr. Robertson responded that there were two portions or two blocks that he would consider part of the horse pasture and that both of them were fairly steep. The one down in the bottom as you first enter HopeTree would be the easiest to develop at some point in time but that the agreement with HopeTree was to develop everything else on the main campus side first and that would be years down the road if it were feasible. Mayor Turk asked Mr. Van Allman if anything else had changed or if there was anything else that they needed to be aware of. Mr. Van Allman responded that there was no new information to provide at this time. Mayor Turk asked City Manager Dorsey if there was any other information that Council needed to be aware of before this was put to a vote. Mr. Dorsey responded that there was no new information and noted that a synopsis of all changes that had been made since the submission by the applicant had been shared at the public hearing. He added that fourteen items had been discussed at the public hearing. Councilman Foley remarked that he felt he was the person on Council whose family was most directly impacted. He shared that he and his wife, his sister-in-law and brother-in-law and their three children, his daughter and son-in-law and two grandsons, and his in-laws all live in that vicinity. He noted that he still felt this was the highest and best use for this property to rezone it to a PUD. Mayor Turk paused to ask the audience to have respect and allow them to continue. Councilman Jones noted that this would impact his family as well but that he did not make decisions based on what was best for him. He added that as a Council they had to look at situations for the whole City of Salem and over time. Mr. Jones also explained that this would not happen overnight and would most likely take ten to fifteen years. He felt that with the steps that were being taken this was the best use for this property. Councilman Holliday noted that tonight a difficult decision was being made and that this had been going on for months. He emphasized that the services provided by HopeTree Family Services were very needed in the Salem area as well as the Roanoke Valley. He shared that he has lived all over the United States and in various foreign countries during his military service and that he had seen PUDs in many states close to major roadways, public transportation, and major employment centers. He had not seen a PUD with dense housing in the middle of a historic residential neighborhood less than a mile from City center. He spoke of unique qualities of Salem that foster pride in Salem and that he took representing the citizens of Salem very seriously. He noted that he had been very diligent in coming to a decision on whether to support this rezoning and that he had met with Jon Morris, with the developers, and had visited PUDs developed by Stateson and Snyder-Hunt. He did not feel that this situation was comparable to those. Mr. Holliday also shared that he had listened to the concerns of many residents in North Salem, and he noted the number of vacant office buildings on Main Street in Salem from East Lakeside to Beverly Heights. He also made note of a survey that he had done in the neighborhood that would be most affected and noted that 4% of the survey respondents were for the rezoning, 88% were against, and 8% were undecided. He noted that he felt it was his job to represent the people that would be most impacted by what would happen in the next few years and that his decision was to vote against this rezoning request. Mayor Turk noted that she had been weighing the pros and cons of the HopeTree request for the past nine months as well as all of the available information and that Council would make a decision that was in the best interest of the majority of the current and future citizens of the City of Salem, not for her personally. She added that she appreciated the work, passion, and input from all of the citizens on both sides of the issue. She noted all of the actions that she had taken during the past 10 months to educate herself and work on this request. This included many meetings with HopeTree, developers, Community Development, City staff, and with citizens. Mayor Turk shared that she had considered how she would feel if this were happening near her property and noted a situation that she had faced in her own neighborhood and that she had voted for a rezoning because it was in the best interest of the City. She noted current needs of the City including shrinking population, decreasing school population, need for increased revenue to meet rising expenses, housing needs, and the need for greenspace. Mayor Turk reiterated the concerns that have been raised by HopeTree area citizens over the past months and emphasized that Council has heard the citizens and that many revisions have been made to the original submission. She reviewed the facts and needs of HopeTree's situation and noted that she had done everything that she could to separate fact from opinion for everyone involved. She also shared opinions on the situation and City facts in relation to this proposal including traffic and how this would impact housing, stormwater, and schools. Mayor Turk noted that every Director on City staff whose department would be impacted by this development had been consulted. She addressed specifically many of the neighbor's concerns. Mayor Turk ended by summarizing some of the benefits that would be provided by this rezoning. She indicated that in looking at Salem as a whole, the PUD would address more concerns more efficiently than staying with residential single family. Mayor Turk asked if there were any further comments from Council. There were none, and Mayor Turk called for a vote. Randy Foley motioned to adopt on first reading the ordinance for the request of Virginia Baptist Children's Home (dba HopeTree Family Services), property owner, for rezoning the properties located at 1000 block Red Ln and a portion of 860 Mount Vernon Lane (Tax Map #'s 41-1-1, 41-1-2, 41-1-3, 41-1-4, 41-1-5, 41-1-6, and a portion of 44-3-10) from RSF Residential Single Family to PUD Planned Unit District. William Jones seconded the motion. Ayes: Foley, Jones, Turk Nays: Holliday, Wallace B. Approval of Electric Rates Consider adoption of Resolution 1473 amending the Electric Rate Tariffs. Audit - Finance Committee Vice-Mayor Wallace noted that the City conducted a rate study for electric rates utilizing the firm GDS Associates, Inc.. The electric rate tariffs have been updated based on the report received from GDS Associates. He requested that Ms. Jordan share a brief summary of the report from GDS. Ms. Jordan explained that with the cost that the City is incurring currently for mainly purchase power and the transmission cost, it was obvious that a slight increase or adjustment needed to be made to the rates. What GDS was asked to look at was to incorporate the current rates and roll the power cost adjustment into and see what adjustment was needed. The study found that a small increase is necessary. She shared that for a residential customer this would depend on usage. The higher the usage, the lower the percentage and the lower the usage, the higher the percentage increase. She shared that this would mean a 4 1/2 to 5% increase on residential. In looking at some of our small general service, this would also be a 4 1/2 to 5% increase. For medium general services, there would be anywhere from a 4 1/2 down to a 1 1/2% depending on usage. The proposed rates are ready to take effect with billing beginning on or after July 1st. She added that for large services this would really depend on usage. She noted that this was a small adjustment that was necessary at this time in order to get the rates needed to cover the cost of purchase power and transmission, which is a very large percentage of the City's budget. Councilman Foley shared that Cardinal News reported that the regulators for the Central Virginia Electric Cooperative had approved an increase of 4 1/2% in rates. He noted that this was not just Salem-specific and that this was another cooperative representing Central Virginia that was having to do the same thing. James Wallace motioned to approve Resolution 1473 updating the electric rate tariffs to be effective for all bills issued on or after July 1, 2024. William Jones seconded the motion. Ayes: Foley, Holliday, Jones, Turk, Wallace C. Book of Rates - 2024 Consider the adoption of Resolution 1471 regarding the Book of Rates for 2024. Audit-Finance Committee Vice-Mayor Wallace noted that the Book of Rates and Fees are adopted each fiscal year along with the budget. James Wallace motioned to adopt Resolution 1471 amending the Book of Rates and Fees for the 2024-2025 fiscal year. William Jones seconded the motion. Ayes: Foley, Holliday, Jones, Turk, Wallace D. Miscellaneous Fees - 2024 Consider the adoption of Resolution 1472 regarding the Miscellaneous Fees for 2024. Audit-Finance Committee Vice-Mayor Wallace explained that the Miscellaneous Fees are adopted each fiscal year along with the budget. James Wallace motioned to adopt Miscellaneous Fees Resolution 1472 for the 2024-2025 fiscal year. William Jones seconded the motion. Ayes: Foley, Holliday, Jones, Turk, Wallace E. Fiscal Agent Agreements Consider approval of the fiscal agent agreements with Court Community Corrections Program and Cardinal Criminal Justice Academy. Audit - Finance Committee James Wallace motioned to approve the 2024-2025 fiscal agent agreements for the Court-Community Corrections Program, Regional Alcohol Safety Action Program Board and Cardinal Criminal Justice Academy. The City of Salem has acted as fiscal agent for these entities for a number of years and has experienced no difficulty in acting in this capacity. Each of these agencies reimburses the City for out-of- pocket expenses, such as audit fees, materials and supplies, and all other contractual related items. They also reimburse a portion of salaries and fringe benefits for all departments involved in providing services to their agency. William Jones seconded the motion. Ayes: Foley, Holliday, Jones, Turk, Wallace F. Amendment to Administrative Calendar for 2024 Consider adoption of amended Administrative Calendar for 2024. Mr. Light explained that the Audit-Finance Committee, established by Council, meets prior to the first meeting of every month to review matters and fiscal implications and to ask for recommendations and feedback for Council. The City has an Administrative Calendar that is adopted by Council each year and the Audit- Finance Committee is included in that. The committee would like to change their meeting date from Thursday to the Wednesday prior to the first meeting of the month at 8:30 a.m. for their standard meeting dates. Other meetings are called or publicized as needed. Mr. Foley asked to clarify if this was for the remainder of this fiscal year and also for the next fiscal year. Mr. Light responded that this would be for the remainder of this calendar year and that Council would adopt a new Administrative Calendar for the new Calendar year. Mr. Dorsey also noted that this is the Wednesday before the first Council meeting of the month, not the second and fourth Wednesday or the first and third Wednesday. This is important to note especially for those months that have five weeks. Vice-Mayor Wallace added that the reason that this change was being was requested was to enable that committee to make decisions prior to the agenda being released for the upcoming meeting. This will be a better oversight practice. Mayor Turk added that this would enable them to research some items and receive answers to questions they might have. William Jones motioned to adopt the amended administrative calendar for 2024. H Hunter Holliday seconded the motion. Ayes: Foley, Holliday, Jones, Turk, Wallace G. Boards and Commissions Consider appointments to various boards and commissions. Vice-Mayor Wallace noted that Mr. Guidry has done a great job representing Salem on the Airport Commission. Council thanked him for his service. Randy Foley motioned to reappoint Dale T. Guidry for a four-year term ending July 1, 2028, to the Roanoke Regional Airport Commission. H Hunter Holliday seconded the motion. Ayes: Foley, Holliday, Jones, Turk, Wallace 7. Adjournment The meeting was adjourned at 7:32 p.m.