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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - Minutes - City Council - Meeting Date: 3/27/2018 -City of Glendale 5850 West Glendale Avenue Glendale, AZ 85301 r&N, GIE\TVE Meeting Minutes Tuesday, March 27, 2018 12:30 P.M. Workshop Meeting Council Chambers City Council Mayor Jerry Weiers Vice Mayor Lauren Tolmachoff Councilmember Jamie Aldama Councilmember Joyce Clark Councilmember lan Hugh Councilmember Ray Malnar Councilmember Bart Turner CALL TO ORDER Mayor Weiers called the meeting to order at 12:31 p.m. Mayor Weiers welcomed members of the Mayor's Youth Advisory Commission that were in attendance. ROLL CALL Present: Mayor Jerry Weiers Vice Mayor Lauren Tolmachoff Councilmember Jamie Aldama Councilmember Joyce Clark Councilmember Ian Hugh Councilmember Ray Malnar Councilmember Bart Turner Also Present: Kevin Phelps, City Manager Tom Duensing, Assistant City Manager Jack Friedline, Assistant City Manager Jim Gruber, Chief Deputy City Attorney Julie K. Bower, City Clerk WORKSHOP SESSION 1. *COUNCIL ITEM OF SPECIAL INTEREST ASSESSMENT OF CIGARETTE LITTER AT THE FOOTHILLS PARK DOG PARK (Removed on 3/16/18) 2. ADOPTION OF 2018 FIRE CODE AND AMENDMENTS Presented By: Terry Garrison, Fire Chief Charles Jenkins, Fire Marshal Ms. Bower read the item by title. Mr. Jenkins said the item was part of the Uniform Building Codes that were presented at a Council workshop on February 27th. The last adoption of the Fire Code was in 2010. Mr. Jenkins said most jurisdictions in the Valley would be adopting the 2018 Fire Code which provided continuity for developers and customers. Staff solicited public and professional comments by: •Requesting community input on the City's webpage •Requesting input from the Arizona Home Builders Association, Arizona Multifamily Housing Association, Glendale Chamber of Commerce,Arizona Fire Sprinkler Association, Arizona Fire Alarm Association, Arizona Fire Marshals Association and Valley Fire Marshals Committee •Public Meeting on February 7, 2018 •Presentation at the Glendale Chamber of Commerce on March 14, 2018 Mr. Jenkins said all public comments had been taken into consideration and he had made a few tweaks such as how food trucks were handled at special events. He said special event food vendors would be handled through policy rather than through code amendment. City Council Meeting Minutes-March 27,2018 Page 2 of 9 Mr. Jenkins said all of the Codes had been review by a multi-departmental team that recommended adoption of the Codes and amendments. The new codes made sure that construction in Glendale was safe and utilized updated technology and that on-going maintenance and minimum life safety standards were maintained throughout the life of a building. The Insurance Services Office (ISO) recommended adoption of the most current fire code. Mr. Jenkins said staff was requesting input and direction from Council on moving forward with adoption of the Fire Code and amendments. He said public outreach would continue. Councilmember Clark asked if Council had been provided with the amendment package because she had not received it. Mr. Jenkins said it had been sent out to Council. Mayor Weiers asked that it be resent. Councilmember Clark ask that the Building Code amendments also be resent. She asked if any of the proposed Fire Code amendments were more stringent than existing codes. Mr. Jenkins said they were not more stringent but provided clarity. Councilmember Clark asked if new residential construction would require sprinklers. Mr. Jenkins said single-family homes were an exception to the sprinkler requirement. Councilmember Clark was not comfortable proceeding to a voting meeting until she was able to review what was being proposed. Mayor Weiers asked if a building was vacant and the certificate of occupancy had expired, would a new tenant have to conform to the new codes even if the tenant was not changing the use of the building. Stephen Dudley, Building Safety Official, said it was correct that if the property was vacant for more than a year, it lost its certificate of occupancy. If the new tenant was not doing any renovations and was using it for the same purpose, the International Existing Building Code provided flexibility so that the new tenant did not have to bring the building up to current code. A certificate of occupancy inspection would be performed to make sure the basic life safety systems were still functioning. He said the existing building codes also provided the same flexibility. Councilmember Clark asked if Council had the opportunity to amend the proposed amendments. Mr. Jenkins said that was correct. Councilmember Clark asked about the requirements for a mobile food permit. Mr. Jenkins said the requirement was brand new. He said a permit process specific to food trucks would not be put in place until the code was adopted. Councilmember Clark said it was important to inform the users what the requirements would be prior to the adoption so public input could be received. Mr. Jenkins said there had been lengthy discussions. The code required all food trucks to obtain a permit. The amendment would only apply to mobile food vendors at events. City Council Meeting Minutes-March 27,2018 Page 3 of 9 Councilmember Clark found it illogical to have the requirement apply only to mobile food vendors at events. One particular component of an industry was being singled out for inspection. It needed further work and explanation. Councilmember Clark asked for a clarification regarding rooftop screening and approved illuminated address identification. She also asked what was meant by non-required systems providing partial protection. Mr. Jenkins said the only required system for a new building was a fire sprinkler but a new building could decide toput in a fire alarm in only part of the building. If the partial system took advantage of other codes, it became a required system and could not be changed. Councilmember Clark said there needed to be a definition of what qualified as"partial." Chief Garrison said if Council had specific questions, Fire personnel could meet with Councilmembers individually or an addition workshop could be scheduled. Staff wanted Council input and direction. The goal was to make the community safe. Councilmember Clark wanted the public to be involved. Mayor Weiers asked what the process was to obtain a current certificate of occupancy if a year had passed since the building was occupied. Mr. Dudley said the business license application was routed through the Building Department, Fire Department and Planning Department for approval. The proposed use would be reviewed as well as how long it had been since the building was in use. If it had been vacant for more than a year, the applicant would be asked to apply for a certificate of occupancy inspection permit. The inspector verified that no alterations had been made that would endanger life safety. Councilmember Malnar asked what the additional manhour requirements would be and the cost. Mr. Jenkins said there was nothing in the Fire Code or amendments that suggested a need for additional staffing. Mayor Weiers asked if the reference to "food truck" meant any type of portable kitchen. Mr. Jenkins said in the new code, it indicated a vehicle that created grease-laden vapors. There was a separate provision for cooking tents. Mayor Weiers asked if staff had considered working with the county to include a safety inspection with its health inspection so that it was one stop for the vendor. Mr. Jenkins said the Valley fire marshals had spoken with the county but the county could not modify its inspection to include installed equipment. The group was trying to create a valley-wide inspection but it was not high on the priority list. He was trying to develop something specifically for Glendale. Mayor Weiers suggested that Glendale do the inspections for other cities for a fee. Mr. Jenkins said that was the idea for the valley-wide process. Vice Mayor Tolmachoff asked how the vendors knew the code needed to be amended regarding food trucks. Mr. Jenkins said staff had proposed the amendments and that was what the vendors saw. His City Council Meeting,Minutes-March 27,2018 Page 4 of 9 presentation included information on the new code and its requirements for food trucks. Vice Mayor Tolmachoff was not sure what was being amended because Council had only received a copy of the amendments and not the code. She asked for clarification on how the code could be"massaged"to make it more workable for businesses. Mr. Jenkins said for example, the food truck standard was very restrictive and applied to everything. Staff could interpret it to apply to food trucks at events only. Those types of requirements were almost unenforceable and unmanageable. Vice Mayor Tolmachoff asked if the policy was to accommodate businesses to make it easier for businesses to operate. Mr. Jenkins said the policy was to enforce the adopted fire code and to interpret all of the sections of the code to assist the community and developers to answer questions and provide clarity. He was also charged with rendering decisions when the code was ambiguous and to enforce it fairly and equally. Vice Mayor Tolmachoff said the City should be a facilitator not a regulator. Councilmember Turner asked for clarification regarding the proposed ordinance. Mr. Jenkins said the proposed ordinance adopted the 2018 Fire Code and the City's specific amendments. Councilmember Turner asked that the procedure for fees indicate that the fees were recommended by the Fire Chief and adopted by Council. Section 109 was being deleted in its entirety and he asked what Section 109 was about. Mr. Jenkins apologized that Council had not received the original documentation that provided an explanation of the changes being proposed. He said Section 109 had been stricken since the adoption of the original code by the City. He would provide additional information to Council. Vice Mayor Tolmachoff wanted to know when the original documentation with explanations was sent out and by whom. Mr. Jenkins said it was supposed to have..been uploaded with the workshop materials. Information on the new code and proposed amendments would be sent to Council. Councilmember Clark asked for clarification on the following amendments: •Section 903.3.9-fire sprinkler access •Section 903.4.4- multi-tenants building •Section 1101.4.1 -construction documents •Section 1103.5.3—group 1-2 •Section 5704.13.1.4—tanks •Section 16-52 General sprinkler system requirements Councilmember Clark said several years ago, the international code recommended sprinklers for new residential construction. The requirement was omitted. She asked if it was correct that there was no prohibition from the City amending or omitting anything that was unworkable. Mr. Jenkins said that was correct. Councilmember Clark said Mayor Weiers made a good suggestion about forming a consortium regarding food truck inspections but that would take a while. She supported removing the food City Council Meeting Minutes-March 27,2018 Page 5 of 9 truck section and bringing it forward at a later time as an amendment when the City had something in place to address it. 3. UPDATE FOR CITY COUNCIL ON THE 2018 POINT-IN-TIME HOMELESS STREET COUNT FOR GLENDALE Presented by: Stephanie Small, Director, Community Services Department Charyn Eirich-Palmisano, Administrator, Community Revitalization Division Ms. Bower read the item by title. Ms. Small said the numbers presented from the 2018 Point-in-Time Homeless Street Count(the count)were preliminary and would not be finalized until July. The count was conducted on January 23, 2018. Over 170 surveys were collected and 164 were counted, which was a 187% increase from 2017. Ms. Small said the count was a collaborative, multi-department effort that included Community Services, Police, Parks and Recreation, Planning and Development Services and community volunteers. Ms. Eirich-Palmisano said key points to take away from the 2018 count included: •76% of the homeless population were between 25 and 62 years old •68%were men •73%were Caucasian •7%were veterans •40%were first time homeless •48% had been experiencing homelessness less than 1 year •31% had been homeless between 1-5 years •Significant decrease, from 70%to 26%, who stated they had abused drugs •Significant decrease, from 60%to 17%, who stated they had abused alcohol •Slight decrease, from 43% to 31%, who had mental health issues. •62% stated that shelter/housing was their major obstacle in ending homelessness and 13% cited employment as an obstacle Ms. Eirich-Palmisano said the count over the last seven years had been: •2011 —42 •2013— 16 •2014—39 •2015—25 •2016—44 •2017-57 •2018— 164 Ms. Eirich-Palmisano said accomplishments of the Glendale Strategic Homeless Action plan included: identification of funds for a dedicated homeless coordinator; creation of a unified multi-agency team; improved communication; improved data collection; and increased outreach and engagement. Ms. Small said the next steps would be more data collection using both internal and external collection systems. The data collected was used for housing and service planning, demonstrating need, raising public awareness, accurately identifying the needs of populations such as the chronically homeless and measuring performance in reducing/ending homelessness. Ms. Small said the results of the count would serve as the basis for developing local community City Council Meeting Minutes-March 27,2018 Page 6 of 9 and countywide strategies to help people exit life on the streets. With the benchmark numbers, the success of the efforts to provide effective programs serving homeless individuals and families could be measured. Ms. Small said staff would be researching best practices such as West Valley initiatives, Arizona pilot programs and initiatives and nationwide best practices. Resources, other than federal funding, would also be identified. Mayor Weiers asked if there was any funding included in the newly-approved federal budget. Ms. Small said there were increases to the Community Development Block Grant program. She did not know how that would affect the City's funding. Councilmember Clark said it was important to get away from describing it as an increase in homelessness and instead refer to it as a more accurate count. The best practices and initiatives required funding. The following federal programs had received increased funding: Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing Vouchers (VASH); Homeless Assistance Grants; Housing for Persons with Disabilities; and Veterans Employment Training. She asked what staff would be doing to capture funding in the four programs. Ms. Small said staff had just"found out about the funding and there was not yet a plan in place. All four programs had very specific guidelines and eligibility criteria. Staff had begun the eligibility process for the VASH program. Councilmember Clark said all social programs had been increased and it would benefit the City to try to capture some of the funding. Vice Mayor Tolmachoff said right after the presentation on homelessness was given at the workshop in August, she had been informed by the Parks rangers that 14 people had been put into programs and reconnected with family. Those successes were not shared with Council at the presentation and it was pertinent data. She asked that successes be included in future presentations. Councilmember Turner asked if there was capacity to pick up homeless juveniles in the count. Ms. Small said staff not only tried to count the juveniles but also tried to get them connected with services. There were organizations that dealt specifically with juveniles and young adults. Councilmember Turner said based on the statistics, it appeared there might be a different segment of the population slipping into homelessness. Ms. Small said that could be accurate but it should also be noted that the count was subject to what the individual wanted to report. She said the amount of affordable housing continued to decrease so there were people who were new to homelessness. Mayor Weiers asked if the count was conducted on the same date throughout the nation. Ms. Small said it was done nationwide during a ten-day period. Mayor Weiers would like a copy of the survey questions. He asked if the weather was bad for last year's count. Ms. Small said that was correct. It was cold and rainy when the count was conducted last year. Vice Mayor Tolmachoff asked why the count took place in January. City Council Meeting Minutes-March 27,2018 Page 7 of 9 Ms. Eirich-Palmisano said the schedule was set by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. She did not know why it was the last ten days in January. Councilmember Turner asked if other Valley cities had seen an increase. Ms. Small said there had been increases but she did not have the specific data. Councilmember Clark asked if there was anything precluding the City from doing an additional count during some other time of the year. Ms. Small said there was nothing to prohibit an additional count. CITY MANAGER'S REPORT None CITY ATTORNEY'S REPORT None COUNCIL ITEMS OF SPECIAL INTEREST None MOTION AND CALL TO ENTER INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION A motion was made by Councilmember Bart Turner, seconded by Vice Mayor Lauren Tolmachoff to conduct an executive session. AYE: Mayor Jerry Weiers Vice Mayor Lauren Tolmachoff Councilmember Jamie Aldama Councilmember Joyce Clark Councilmember Ian Hugh Councilmember Ray Malnar Councilmember Bart Turner Passed EXECUTIVE SESSION Council entered into executive session at 2:17 p.m. for legal advice, discussion and consultation regarding the City's position in pending or contemplated litigation, including settlement discussions conducted in order to avoid or resolve litigation (A.R.S. § 38-431.03(A)(3)(4)). A motion was made by Vice Mayor Lauren Tolmachoff, seconded by Councilmember Bart Turner to adjourn the executive session. AYE: Mayor Jerry Weiers Vice Mayor Lauren Tolmachoff Councilmember Jamie Aldama Councilmember Joyce Clark City Council Meeting Minutes-March 27,2018 Page 8 of 9 Councilmember Ian Hugh Councilmember Ray Malnar Councilmember Bart Turner Passed The executive session was adjourned at 2:43 p.m. ADJOURNMENT Mayor Weiers adjourned the meeting at 2:43 p.m. I hereby certify that the foregoing minutes are a true and correct copy of the minutes of the meeting of the Glendale City Council of Glendale, Arizona, held on the 27th day of March, 2018. I further certify that the meeting was duly called and held and that a quorum was present. Dated this 9th day of April, 2018. K. Bower, MMC, City Clerk • City Council Meeting Minutes-March 27,2018 Page 9 of 9