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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2005-03-29 Planning SS MIN ASHLAND PLANNING COMMISSION STUDY SESSION MINUTES MARCH 29, 2005 I. CALL TO ORDER Chair Russ Chapman called the Ashland Planning Commission meeting to order at 7:05 p.m. on March 29, 2005 at the Civic Center Council Chambers, 1175 East Main Street, Ashland, Oregon. COMMISSIONERS PRESENT : Russ Chapman, Chair Mike Morris John Fields Marilyn Briggs Allen Douma Olena Black Michael Dawkins Dave Dotterrer ABSENT MEMBERS : Kerry KenCairn COUNCIL LIAISON : Jack Hardesty – present STAFF PRESENT : John McLaughlin, Planning Director Bill Molnar, Senior Planner Maria Harris, Senior Planner Sue Yates, Executive II. PLANNING COMMISSION RETREAT The retreat is scheduled for Friday, May 20, 2005, in the Siskiyou Room, 51 Winburn Way. Begin at 11:00 and work until 4:00 p.m. Lunch will be provided. III. TOPIC: ROLES AND DUTIES OF THE PLANNING COMMISSION – 2.12.060 – Powers and Duties of the Planning Commission McLaughlin said there has been some discussion going on among some of the Commissioners regarding the roles and duties of the Planning Commission. The Commission’s primary responsibility is making decisions on land use actions. They also have the role to advise, recommend and direct the Council on legislative actions on how we handle growth and change in the community. The Oregon Revised Statutes gives suggestions on the powers and duties, but there is nothing legally binding to the City. The remainder of the meeting was spent in discussion. There was considerable divergence of opinion on how to attack the topic of roles and duties. Dotterrer felt the Commission should brainstorm and come up with four or five items they should be doing as a Planning Commission. Briggs wanted to go through the existing ordinance, step-by-step rather than having free ranging discussion. If they don’t start at the top, they will never get to it. Because we have elected officials, Chapman felt the vision should come from the Mayor and Council. They bounce things down to the various commissions. He believes most people want strong leadership and leave it to those we elect to do the job they were elected to do. Douma felt the Council and Mayor need to rely on everyone to help them. He would like to see the Planning Commission protect the Council from adjudicating so many appeals so they can take more of a leadership role Chapman discussed. Dawkins believes one of the functions of the Planning Commission is to set policy. It is up to the Commission to work within the parameters of the criteria and change the criteria as they go along if they don’t fit. Chapman does not have a problem with that. Black sees using the Mayor’s judgment to appoint commissioners that follow the vision of the Comprehensive Plan. The Comp Plan is put together and renovated by citizen committees. Morris does not have a problem with the Powers and Duties as they are written. They are ambiguous enough that it gives the Commission a broad range of things to do. He is concerned about ordinance gridlock. He also said appeals can change the existing interpretation of the ordinance. Fields believes there is a struggle with complexity. He sees the group struggle with weighing and balancing things. Making the ordinances more clean is complicated. McLaughlin said in recent years there has been a shift in duties. The Council as taken on many land use related issues. Some Councilors have been elected specifically to show leadership in the land use arena. The Council has set 50 plus goals this year and over 50 percent are land use related. The Council is setting the direction and this may have discouraged the Planning Commission from setting their own goals. There has been a shift in Ashland where growth is more a focal point. Concern over that growth has become more a political issue that it used to be. It’s less about the words in the ordinance than what it is about what they want to do on an annual basis. Does the Commission want to take a greater role in initiating issues, a greater leadership on specific issues and how can Staff address the Commission’s desires? PUBLIC HEARING COLIN SWALES wondered if the Council is not getting the advice and solutions from the Planning Commission and feel they have to take on that role. There should be things the Planning Commission can handle that the Council shouldn’t need to handle. The Comp Plan should be the key document the Council looks at. Also, there is no input from the Planning Commission or Council on major decisions such as selling off schools. There should be visioning regarding the change in demographics, coupled with affordable housing and decent wage jobs. LARRY MEDINGER sees the economic issues referred to in the Powers and Duties as outdated. We have jobs in town but we don’t have housing. Those of child bearing age are moving out of town. There has been a shift in the Planning Commission over the last five years. He doesn’t see a sense of respect for the quasi-judicial role. The Commission, instead of throwing out opinions should be interpreting ordinances. The Commissioners need to be adopting a higher level of professionalism. FURTHER DISCUSSION Several ideas, problems and opinions were presented during the remainder of the meeting and are noted below. No agreement or decision was reached at this meeting. ? Powers and Duties are outdated ? Focus on the Comp Plan ? Revise the Comp Plan so there is more information on which to base planning decisions ? Form subcommittees and list items that can be facilitated through committees ? Discuss changes to the ordinances as problems arise in planning actions ? State the Planning Commission’s quasi judicial role ? How do we track problems with the ordinances? ? CPAC ? Use study sessions to accomplish goals ? Under Powers and Duties, the economic development portion is outdated ? Planning Commission workload is an ongoing issue ? Use the monthly “Chat” as a time to discuss specific topics ? Give feedback to the Commission on appeals to the Council ? If there are concrete goals, work on them one, two or three at a time ? Rename “study session” ? Why does the Planning Commission exist and what are they supposed to do? MAYOR JOHN MORRISON said he has learned a lot about what the Planning Commission is wrestling with. The City is looking at getting a consultant to review the Land Use Ordinance. NEXT STEP: The Commissioners decided to e-mail their suggestions to Staff and the Commission and continue this discussion at April’s study session. IV. ADJOURNMENT – The meeting was adjourned at 9:10 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Susan Yates ASHLAND PLANNING COMMISSION 2 STUDY SESSION MINUTES MARCH 29, 2005