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HomeMy WebLinkAboutAgenda Packet CC - 05/09/2016 - Work Session Agenda Packet 5-9-2016 Page 1 of 1 Joe Lockwood, Mayor CITY COUNCIL Karen Thurman Matt Kunz Bill Lusk Burt Hewitt Joe Longoria Rick Mohrig CITY COUNCIL CHAMBERS City Hall, Suite 107E Monday, May 9, 2016 Work Session Agenda 6:00 PM 1. Discussion of Amendments to the City Charter Regarding Homestead Tax Exemptions. (Ken Jarrard, Jarrard & Davis) 2. Discussion of Interim Progress Regarding Construction of Public Safety Facility on Highway 9. (Carter Lucas, Assistant City Manager) 3. Discussion of Greenspace Bond Criteria. (Kathleen Johnson, Conservation Project Manager) 4. Discussion of New City Hall Street Name. (Kathleen Field, Community Development Director) 1 STATE OF GEORGIA COUNTY OF FULTON RESOLUTION/ORDINANCE NO. ______ A RESOLUTION AND ORDINANCE AMENDING THE CHARTER FOR THE CITY OF MILTON, GEORGIA WHEREAS, Article IX, Section II, Paragraph II of the Constitution of the State of Georgia, entitled Home Rule for Municipalities, allows the General Assembly of the State of Georgia to provide by law for the self-government of municipalities, which the General Assembly has done with The Municipal Home Rule Act of 1965, O.C.G.A. § 36-35-1, et seq.; and WHEREAS, O.C.G.A. § 36-35-3 provides that the governing authority of each municipal corporation shall have legislative power to adopt clearly reasonable ordinances, resolutions and regulations relating to its property, affairs, and local government for which no provision has been made by general law and which are not inconsistent with the Constitution or any charter provision applicable thereto; and WHEREAS, O.C.G.A. § 36-35-3 provides that a municipal corporation may, as an incident of its home rule power, amend its charter, except where prohibited pursuant to O.C.G.A. § 36-35-6; and WHEREAS, the Council desires to amend the Charter of the City of Milton so as to update the Act to clarify certain provisions establishing income limitations applicable to the homestead tax exemptions for seniors age 65 and over and disabled persons with moderate to low incomes and to repeal conflicting laws; and WHEREAS, the modifications provided for in this Resolution and Ordinance may be lawfully completed by home rule; and WHEREAS, O.C.G.A. § 36-35-3 provides that, in order to amend its charter, a municipal corporation must duly adopt ordinances at two regular consecutive meetings of the municipal governing authority, not less than seven (7) nor more than sixty (60) days apart; WHEREAS, pursuant to O.C.G.A. § 36-35-3, a notice, containing a synopsis of the proposed amendment and stating that a copy of the proposed amendment is on file in the office of the clerk or the recording officer of the municipal governing authority and in the Office of the Clerk of the Superior Court of Fulton County for the purpose of examination and inspection by the public, shall be published in the official organ of the county of the legal situs of the municipal corporation or in a newspaper of general circulation in the municipal corporation once a week for three weeks within a period of 60 days immediately preceding its final adoption; and WHEREAS, those requirements applicable to amendments to the charter of a municipal corporation by a resolution or ordinance duly adopted by the municipality’s governing authority as set forth in O.C.G.A. § 36-35-3 have been met and satisfied, and, specifically, notice of the consideration of this Resolution and Ordinance has been advertised and this Resolution and Ordinance has been duly adopted by the governing authority at two regularly consecutive meetings in compliance with O.C.G.A. § 36-35-3; and 2 WHEREAS, in this Resolution and Ordinance, text that is underlined/bolded shall represent additions to the Charter; text that is stricken-through shall represent deletions from the Charter; and WHEREAS, a majority of the Council deems it to be in the best interests of the citizens of the City of Milton that the Act be further amended. NOW THEREFORE, the Council of the City of Milton hereby ordains and resolves that the Charter of the City of Milton shall be amended as follows: Section 6.35. Section 6.35 - Homestead exemption for citizens age 65 [years] or over meeting certain income requirements is amended by striking it in its entirety and replacing it with a new Section 6.35 to read as follows: (a) As used in this section, the term: (1) "Ad valorem taxes for municipal purposes" means all ad valorem taxes for municipal purposes levied by, for, or on behalf of the City of Milton including, but not limited to, any ad valorem taxes to pay interest on and to retire municipal bonded indebtedness. (2) "Homestead" means homestead as defined and qualified in O.C.G.A. § 48-5-40, as amended. (3) "Income" means adjusted gross income as such term is defined in the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as such code is defined in O.C.G.A. § 48-1-2, except that for purposes of this section, the term "income" shall include only that portion of income or benefits received as retirement, survivor, or disability benefits under the federal Social Security Act or under any other public or private retirement, disability, or pension system which exceeds the maximum amount which may be received by an individual and an individual's spouse under the federal Social Security Act. (4) "Senior citizen" means a person who is 65 years of age or over on or before January 1 of the year in which application for the exemption under subsection (b) of this section is made. (b) Each resident of the City of Milton who is a senior citizen is granted an exemption on that person's homestead from City of Milton ad valorem taxes for municipal purposes in the amount of $10,000.00 of the assessed value of that homestead. The exemption granted by this subsection shall only be granted if that person's income, together with the income of the spouse who also occupies and resides at such homestead does not exceed the maximum amount which may be received by an individual and an individual’s spouse under the federal Social Security Act for the immediately preceding year. The value of that property in excess of such exempted amount shall remain subject to taxation. (c) A person shall not receive the homestead exemption granted by subsection (b) of this section unless the person or person's agent files an application with the governing authority of the City of Milton, or the designee thereof, giving the person's age, income, and such additional information relative to receiving such 3 exemption as will enable the governing authority of the City of Milton, or the designee thereof, to make a determination regarding the initial and continuing eligibility of such owner for such exemption. The governing authority of the City of Milton, or the designee thereof, shall provide application forms for this purpose. (d) The exemption shall be claimed and returned as provided in O.C.G.A. § 48-5- 50.1, as amended. The exemption shall be automatically renewed from year to year so long as the owner occupies the residence as a homestead. After a person has filed the proper application, as provided in subsection (c) of this section, it shall not be necessary to make application thereafter for any year and the exemption shall continue to be allowed to such person. It shall be the duty of any person granted the homestead exemption under subsection (b) of this section to notify the governing authority of the City of Milton, or the designee thereof, in the event that person for any reason becomes ineligible for that exemption. (e) The exemption granted by subsection (b) of this section shall not apply to or affect state ad valorem taxes, county ad valorem taxes for county purposes, or county or independent school district ad valorem taxes for educational purposes. The homestead exemption granted by subsection (b) of this section shall be in addition to and not in lieu of any other homestead exemption applicable to municipal ad valorem taxes for municipal purposes. (f) The exemption granted by subsection (b) of this section shall apply to all taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2007. Section 6.36. Section 6.36 - Homestead exemption for citizens age 70 [years] or over and disabled persons meeting certain income requirements is amended by striking it in its entirety and replacing it with a new Section 6.36 to read as follows: (a) As used in this section, the term: (1) "Ad valorem taxes for municipal purposes" means all ad valorem taxes for municipal purposes levied by, for, or on behalf of the City of Milton including, but not limited to, any ad valorem taxes to pay interest on and to retire municipal bonded indebtedness. (2) "Homestead" means homestead as defined and qualified in O.C.G.A. § 48-5-40, as amended. (3) "Income" means adjusted gross income determined pursuant to the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, for federal income tax purposes, except that for the purposes of this section, the term "income" shall include only that portion of income or benefits received as retirement, survivor, or disability benefits under the federal Social Security Act or under any other public or private retirement, disability, or pension system which exceeds the maximum amount which may be received by an individual and an individual's spouse under the federal Social Security Act. (4) "Senior citizen" means a person who is 70 years of age or over on or before January 1 of the year in which application for the exemption under subsection (b) of this section is made. 4 (b) Each resident of the City of Milton who is a senior citizen or who is disabled is granted an exemption on that person's homestead from City of Milton ad valorem taxes for municipal purposes for the full value of that homestead. The exemption granted by this subsection shall only be granted if that person's income, together with the income of the spouse who also occupies and resides at such homestead does not exceed the maximum amount which may be received by an individual and an individual’s spouse under the federal Social Security Act for the immediately preceding year. (c) [Disability certificate; application.] (1) In order to qualify for the exemption provided for in subsection (b) of this section as being disabled, the person claiming such exemption shall be required to obtain a certificate from not more than three physicians licensed to practice medicine under Chapter 34 of Title 43 of the O.C.G.A., as amended, certifying that in the opinion of such physician or physicians such person is mentally or physically incapacitated to the extent that such person is unable to be gainfully employed and that such incapacity is likely to be permanent. Such certificate or certificates shall constitute part of and be submitted with the application provided for in paragraph (2) of this subsection. (2) A person shall not receive the homestead exemption granted by subsection (b) of this section unless the person or persons agent files an application with the governing authority of the City of Milton, or the designee thereof, giving the person's age, income, and such additional information relative to receiving such exemption as will enable the governing authority of the City of Milton, or the designee thereof, to make a determination regarding the initial and continuing eligibility of such owner for such exemption. The governing authority of the City of Milton, or the designee thereof, shall provide application forms for this purpose. (d) The exemption shall be claimed and returned as provided in O.C.G.A. § 48-5- 50.1, as amended. The exemption shall be automatically renewed from year-to-year so long as the owner occupies the residence as a homestead. After a person has filed the proper application, as provided in subsection (c) of this section, it shall not be necessary to make application thereafter for any year and the exemption shall continue to be allowed to such person. It shall be the duty of any person granted the homestead exemption under subsection (b) of this section to notify the governing authority of the City of Milton, or the designee thereof, in the event that person for any reason becomes ineligible for that exemption. (e) The exemption granted by subsection (b) of this section shall not apply to or affect state ad valorem taxes, county ad valorem taxes for county purposes, or county or independent school district ad valorem taxes for educational purposes. The homestead exemption granted by subsection (b) of this section shall be in addition to and not in lieu of any other homestead exemption applicable to municipal ad valorem taxes for municipal purposes. (f) The exemption granted by subsection (b) of this section shall apply to all taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2007. SEVERABILITY 5 If any portion of this Resolution and Ordinance or the application thereof shall be held invalid or unconstitutional, the other provisions of this Resolution and Ordinance shall not be affected, and thus, the provisions of this Resolution and Ordinance are declared severable. REPEALER Any other Ordinance, Resolution, or local law, or portion thereof, now in effect, that is in conflict with any of the provisions of this Resolution and Ordinance is hereby repealed. EFFECTIVE DATE This Resolution and Ordinance shall become effective when all required documents have been filed with the Secretary of State and in the Office of the Clerk of Superior Court of Fulton County as required by O.C.G.A. § 36-35-5. ADOPTION AT TWO CONSECUTIVE MEETINGS This Resolution and Ordinance was adopted at two (2) regular consecutive meetings of the Council of the City of Milton held on the 16th day of May, 2016 and the 6th day of June, 2016, as required by O.C.G.A. § 36-35-3. BE IT SO RESOLVED AND ORDAINED, the public’s health, safety, and welfare demanding it, this ___ day of ____________________, 2016, by the Council of the City of Milton, Georgia. Approved: _______________________ Joe Lockwood, Mayor Attest: ___________________________ Sudie Gordon, City Clerk (Seal) To: Mayor and City Council members From: Peyton Jamison, Chairman, Planning Commission Kathleen Johnson, Conservation Project Manager Date: May 9, 2016 City Council Work Session Agenda Item: Greenspace Bond Criteria INTRODUCTION: In February of this year the City Council decided to explore the possibility of whether to pursue a bond to provide the funds for preserving greenspace in the city. As part of that process, the Council asked the Planning Commission to come up with a list of Criteria to identify which types of land areas within the city should be acquired in order to preserve greenspace for its citizens’ use. The Council noted that the Criteria would be used to help guide future land acquisition decisions relating to the bond proceeds land but that the Criteria should not identify any specific parcels of land or addresses. PLANNING COMMISSION’S PROCESS: The Council asked that the Planning Commission to heavily involve the public in the Criteria determination by eliciting public comment and input regarding the citizens’ greenspace needs and desires. To that end, the Commission and city staff have solicited public input in a variety of ways including: 1. A series of four Planning Commission meetings and work sessions on March 10th, March 23rd, April 14th and April 27th. 2. A greenspace survey sent out on Feb 9th to 4,000 residents via email from which we received a total of 324 responses back. 3. A greenspace link on the city website that allowed residents to directly contact staff with their input. This link was available from the date the survey ended in March and is still open for public comment at this time. 4. Signs, posters and flyers were put up throughout the community to inform and solicit public input. 5. Staff attended several community events such as the CPAC meeting, Bulky Trash Day, Earth Day Fest, Easter Egg Hunt and other community meetings to gather public input on greenspace. PLANNING COMMISSION RESULTS: The public input data from these sources, including the online survey, has been compiled and set out in the attached document entitled “Public Input Regarding Greenspace.” This data, along with Planning Commission input, discussion and direction resulted in a grouping of recommended Criteria Categories which describe the types of areas to be preserved or acquired. In addition, the Commission set out a list of Factors to be considered in every land acquisition decision across all applicable Criteria Categories. Lastly, the Commission provided a few recommended Tools for Land Acquisition pursuant to greenspace bond proceeds. The following Factors, Criteria and Tools were voted on and passed unanimously by the Planning Commission at their April 27, 2016 meeting. FACTORS TO BE CONSIDERED IN LAND ACQUISITIONS:  Land shall be acquired from willing landowners and no bond funds shall be used to acquire land through the exercise of eminent domain by the city.  The preservation of trees should be strongly considered in each land acquisition decision based on any or all criteria. Clear cutting of trees shall be prohibited unless required to meet the needs of the approved project.  Acquisition of land that is contiguous or adjacent to existing, protected green space parcels is encouraged.  Land acquired shall be mainly buildable land, unless a non-buildable portion of a tract is a small part of the whole tract or if land is for trails.  Land parcels that meet two or more of the three Criteria Categories may receive priority in land acquisition decisions. CRITERIA CATEGORIES: After hearing public input from a variety of sources and discussing this input at several meetings, the Planning Commission decided on a list Criteria to identify types of land areas within the city that should be acquired in order to preserve greenspace. These Criteria were then grouped into the following categories of related characteristics. 1. Greenspace/Open Space Preserve general areas of green or open space including pastures, horse farms, wooded areas, larger tracts of undeveloped land, and open space between new or existing subdivisions. This category also specifically includes:  Protecting natural resources from development especially wooded and tree areas with special concentration on preserving as many trees as possible.  Protecting wildlife habitat and corridors from development by preserving areas in their natural state that are home to wildlife, including identifying and preserving wildlife corridors.  Protecting water and watersheds from development by protecting areas with water, rivers, ponds, lakes, creeks, streams, stream buffer areas and watersheds. 2. Rural Views/Rural Character  Protecting or conserving the rural views along roadways.  Protecting or conserving the rural feel, look, setting and character of Milton.  Protecting Historic resources.  Protecting agricultural uses of land including farms, horse farms, etc. 3. Trails and Parks  Establishing new trails and connecting existing trails based on the Milton Trail Plan.  Trails for walking, biking and horse riding, either through separate or combined use trails depending on location, need and the Trail Plan.  Trails that connect parks, schools and commercial centers, including connections to greenways.  Parks – includes passive, and/or mostly unimproved or “natural state” parkland with the possibility of creating trails and minimal improvements to provide public access. These types of parks could include pocket parks or larger tract parks. The Planning Commission did consider trying to prioritize or weight each criteria or category but concluded that doing so would be too difficult or abstract at this point in time given that such a prioritization was not clearly evident from the totality of the public input it received. This conclusion does not in any way mean to preclude the City Council or even a later formed land acquisition committee from determining weights and priorities for the Criteria. TOOLS FOR LAND ACQUISITION: The following Tools for land acquisition may be used separately or in conjunction with each other and focus mainly on the use of greenspace bond funds. The list of Tools contain suggestions gleaned from the Commissioners, staff and public input but is admittedly not exhaustive but instead a starting point in the discussion of different ways to acquire land. The Commission did not discuss alternative sources of funding for land acquisition other than the bond proceeds.  Fee simple purchase  Conservation easements  Transfer of Developments Rights  Purchase of Development Rights  Purchase of land by the City and leaseback options to operators of farms, including horse farms.  Donation of land or conservation easements from land owners To: Honorable Mayor and City Council Members From: Kathleen Johnson, Conservation Project Manager Date: May 9, 2016 City Council Work Session Agenda Item: Greenspace Bond Criteria ____________________________________________________________________________ PUBLIC INPUT REGARDING GREENSPACE The Milton City Council tasked the Planning Commission with coming up with a list of Criteria to identify which types of land areas within the city could be acquired in order to preserve greenspace for its citizens’ use. The Planning Commission was directed to heavily involve the public in this Criteria gathering task by eliciting public comment and input regarding the citizens’ greenspace needs and desires. Seeking to gain a significant amount of public involvement, the Commission and city staff solicited public input in a variety of ways including: a series of Planning Commission meetings and work sessions with public comment time; a greenspace survey sent to 4,000 residents via email; an online greenspace link on the city website; and comment cards and surveys filled out by the public at various community events and meetings. The public input data from these sources has been compiled and set out in this document. Public comments were categorized and then tallied into percentages for each category. In person comments from the public at the Planning Commission meetings were not tallied into the percentages below but were considered and discussed by the Commissioners during their Criteria review and vote. Please note that due to the difference in terminology used by each citizen in a response, placement of comments in the criteria categories may not be exact. In addition, some comments which did not fit into an easily identifiable category but were related to greenspace acquisition or use in general, are noted in the “Factors” section below. Also note that the online survey gave three examples of possible greenspace types that the public could refer to in order to give some context to their answers but also allowed for other or different types of greenspace criteria to be submitted. Many respondents used one or more of those same examples in their responses to the survey. Thus, those specific categories may have a higher percentage of frequency than if the question was open ended with no greenspace examples given. The actual online survey question read: To help identify the land our citizens would like to preserve (through bond proceeds or otherwise), the Milton Planning Commission would like to hear what characteristics you feel are important for greenspace. In your opinion, what criteria should land be judged by? Examples include: Page 2 of 3 • Protects important natural resources • Provides greenway and/or trail connection between parks and schools • Protects significant historic resources • Or any others that you feel are important Criteria Groupings from Public Input: 1. Protects important natural resources – includes natural resources in general and protection of trees, wooded areas and desire not to clear cut trees in land development. 2. Provides trails and/or greenway connections – includes the desire for trails in general, trails that connect parks and schools, and trials that connect to the established greenway. Trails include: walking, biking and horse trails. 3. Protects historic resources – includes defined historic sites (if any) and historical (long standing) horse farms, farms and barns/buildings. 4. Greenspace/Open space – includes many aspects of preserving open space in general such as pastures, horse farms, large tracts of land, space left open between subdivisions and other development, passive use areas. 5. Rural areas – includes things such as rural feel, rural views, rural look, rural setting. 6. Wildlife habitat – includes providing areas protected for wildlife to live in its natural habitat. 7. Parks – includes mostly passive, unimproved parkland or passive pocket type parks 8. Water/watersheds – protection of areas with water, ponds, stream buffers and watershed areas. Public Input Results: Percentages of responses noting the importance of the specified criteria: Provides trails and/or greenway connection 26 % Greenspace/Open space 20 % Protects important natural resources 14 % Rural views, feel, areas 12 % Parks 10 % Protects historic resources 9 % Wildlife habitat 7% Water/watersheds 2 % Total 100 % Page 3 of 3 The Planning Commission discussed and combined the groupings above into its ‘Criteria Categories’ which are set out in the corresponding May 9, 2016 memo to Council regarding Greenspace Bond Criteria. FACTORS in Land Acquistions:  The preservation of trees should be strongly considered in each land acquisition decision based on any or all criteria. Clear cutting of trees should be avoided.  Land acquired should be mainly buildable land, unless a non-buildable portion of a tract is a small part of the whole tract or if land is for trails.  Land shall be acquired from willing landowners and no bond funds shall be used to acquire land through the exercise of eminent domain by the city.  Acquisition of land that is contiguous or adjacent to existing, protected green space parcels is encouraged.  Land parcels that meet two or more of the three criteria categories may receive priority in acquisition decisions.