City Council Study Session Summary 2011 08 23

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City Council Study Session Summary August 23, 2011 Page 4of 5 Update/Discussion –McCaslin Pedestrian Crossing at Washington Avenue Troy Russ, Planning and Building Safety Director, presented the possible options for improving the crossing. Five alternatives have been looked at: Hawk Signal, Offset Left with Refuge, Underpass, Roundabout and full Traffic Signal. These th options were presented to the public on May 15. There was public support for the underpassand signalized intersection with secondary support for the off-set left. The Open Space Advisory Board recommended the offset left with refuge andthe roundabout. Staff recommendation is the offset left with refuge. Tonight’s discussion with City Council and thepublic included the pros and cons of each alternative and citizens expressed their concernsand the concern they have for everyone’s safety at this location. One citizen understood construction of one of these alternatives might not be completed until 2012 or 2013, but pleaded with City Council to install signage now to alert drivers to the crossing ahead. Mayor Sisk agreed with staff that safety is the City’s#1 concern. He expressed his concern that the offset with refuge mightcreate more confusion and didn’t believe this would be the safest option. Staff will look again at the underpass design and see if improvements can be made by aligning the entrance better on the Washington Avenueside.Tom Phare, Public Works Director, stood by his estimate of $1.1M for the construction of an underpass. th Mayor Sisk reminded the public this item will be on the September 6Council meeting for discussion. Update/Discussion –Demolition Permit Process Planning Director Russ gave an update on staff’s recommendation to make modifications to the Code related to demolition permits. This item was discussed th at the August 15Historic Preservation Commission meeting. Staff presented the modifications to the Code, Section 15.36.200, to establish a demolition process that would be similar to the land use application process Planning Division currently uses for land use entitlements. This new process would eliminate the need to use a building permit as the trigger for the review process. The HPC recommended the application should run with the applicant and not the land. Director Russ said modifying this process is closing a loophole that currently exists. City Manager Fleming said the rationale here is to have time-limited permits, which gives staff the ability to track and the option for the applicant to renew at 6 months. Councilor Dalton was opposed to changing the code.