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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes CC - 06/11/2012 - Mins 06 11 12 WS (Migrated from Optiview)fefjffpi r ^^fojifj Work Session of the MiltonCity Council Monday,June 11,2012 at6:00 pm Page 1 of23 This summary is provided as a convenience and service to the public,media,and staff It is not the intent to transcribe proceedings verbatim.Any reproduction of this summary must include this notice. Public comments are noted and heard by Council,but not quoted.This document includes limited presentation by Council and invited speakers in summary form.This is an official record ofthe Milton City Council Meeting proceedings.Official Meetings are audio and video recorded. TheWork Session of the Mayor and Council of the City of Milton was held on June 11,2012 at 6:00 PM, Mayor Lockwood presiding. Council Members Present:Councilmember Karen Thurman,Councilmember Matt Kunz, Councilmember Bill Lusk,Councilmember Burt Hewitt,Councilmember Joe Longoria and Councilmember Lance Large. Mayor Lockwood: •Work Sessions arean informal setting to update Council on business items. • No votes will be taken during these sessions. •There arefour(4)items onour Agenda tonight. •Public comment is allowed thatis germane toan Agenda Item. • If you wish to speak you are required to fill out a comment card and turn it into the City Clerk staff. •Public comment will be allowed for a total of 10 minutes per agenda item and no more than 2 minutes per person. •Public comment will be heard atthe beginning of each Item. •Once the item is called,no other comment cards will be accepted. City Clerk Gordon read Agenda Item #1. 1.UpdateRegardingthe City of Milton's Tax Assessments. (Presented by David Fitzgibbon,Fulton County Tax Assessor) David Fitzgibbon, Fulton County Tax Assessor: • It looksas if youhavepickedupabout$70 millionin totalvalueforthisarea. • This is of course subject to appeal. • We will probably hear from some residents whose tax assessment has increased. •Fulton County hadabout26,800 parcels thatsawan increase in value from 2011 to 2012. •The majority of those were in more affluent areas such as Milton,Sandy Springs,Alpharetta,and John's Creek. •Overall we saw a net decrease in the total county-wide tax digest of about 3.5%. •You should receive approximately 85%of that value after adjustments are made through the appeals process. Mayor Joe Lockwood: •I have received comments from citizens wondering why their tax assessment has gone up when the area they live inis still in a depressed economy and they are not seeing significant increases inhome values.Couldyou please explain? Work Session of the Milton City Council Monday, June H, 2012 at 6:00 pm Page 2 of 23 David Fitzgibbon, Fulton County Tax Assessor: • Since Fulton County consists of approximately 70 miles from north to south and having over 330,000 taxable parcels, when you look at averages you are considering properties everywhere from the $10 million to $10,000 range. • In general, you will hear that home values have decreased; however, the overall figures are looking at sales and listings of properties that are currently on the market and were on the market at the same time a year before. • These figures do not really coincide with what we have to do by law which is appraise property for what we think it would sell for on January 1" of each year. • We collect all of our data during 2011 then analyze it and use it to give values to taxable parcels. • There were some pockets that we saw significant increases from sales of prior years. • The appeal period is 45 days from the date on the notice. • We now have the feature on our website to file an appeal on-line. Lance Large, Councilmember: • Approximately how much bank -owned property is there in Fulton County? David Fitzgibbon, Fulton County Tax Assessor: • Over 60% of the sales were some type of distressed sale. Matt Kunz, Councilmember: • Do you have an average tax assessed value per acre of property in Fulton County? David Fitzgibbon, Fulton County Tax Assessor: • Each property is so different throughout all of Fulton County that we really do not have that number. However, we can figure out that number based on a particular subdivision. City Clerk Gordon read Agenda Item #2. 2. Discussion of the Draft Green Sustainable Practices Resolution for the City of Milton. (Presented by Cindy Ecrde, Sustainability Coordinator & Michele McIntosh -Ross, City Planner) Cindy Eade, Sustainability Coordinator: • I am here with Michele McIntosh -Ross to talk about the Sustainable Practices Program that we have been working on that is in conjunction with the ARC'S Green Communities Certification. • We have spent a couple of years working on this and we have finally submitted the application on May 25"'. • It ended up being about 200 pages long with all the documentation we needed to support the different measures we were applying for. • Here is some of the work we have completed since the last time we came before you in February • We completed a telework and compressed work week policy that is in our Employee Manual. • We have installed a rain barrel at each of the fire stations. • We met with Winter Construction Company to understand the green building features that they are working on. Work Session of the Milton City Council Monday, June H, 2012 at 6:00 pm Page 3 of 23 • We have completed a draft of the Sustainable Practices Resolution that will support all of these measures. • We have submitted our application to the ARC for the bronze level. • In regard to Energy Efficiency, we had Sawnee Electric Membership Corporation and Cobb go to our three fire stations to give us an idea about what we could do to update our energy conservation measures. • We have submitted this report to Bob Edgar, Fire Chief. • I -Ie said some of the things could be completed very quickly; other suggestions would have to be put in the budget. • Some of the ideas were: • use accordion pleated cloth type filters in air conditioning units. • seal around Freon line sets as air conditioning -furnace units typically leak around the rubber grommets. • install occupancy sensors for lights in restrooms. • turn off the bay lights during the day. Lve turn off lights and computers when not in use. • We installed three rain barrels that will be painted so they won't be the white plastic. • They will retain water for use in landscape watering. • Our idea is to have a community group that will adopt each fire station. • The Young Men's Service League has already adopted the Thompson Road Fire Station. • This will serve a two -fold purpose. • It will connect the community to our fire stations and will allow some beautification work to be done at each fire station. • It would take approximately 300 gallons of water per day to wash the fire trucks. • We won't be able to do that with just rain barrels. • We would have to look at a rain harvesting system. • We have installed a recycling station that is in the Community Development area which will collect Hopeline cell phones for Verizon. • It will also collect inkjet printer cartridges and batteries. • It is open to the public. • This was a requirement for green communities. • Some of the aspirations we have for our Public Safety Facility are as follows: ■ Above grade bio -retention areas and below grade detention system for Storm water design. ■ Light colored roofing material with high solar reflectance index. ■ Preferred parking for fuel efficient vehicles and carpools. ■ High efficiency lighting controlled by occupancy sensors. ■ Low flow plumbing fixtures ■ Minimal landscape -use of native plants ■ Storage and collection of recyclables ■ 97% goal of recycling construction waste ■ Building materials purchased regionally ■ News updates through construction phase ■ Sustainability plaque MicheleMcIntosh-Ross, City Planner: Work Session of the Milton City Council Monday, June 11, 2012 at 6:00 pm Page 4 of 23 • We will need to adopt a resolution for some of our new policies. ■ The new policies are: ■ Green Building Policy ■ Lights Out Power Down Policy • Rainwater or Reuse Water Policy ■ Designate space for Community Gardens ■ Government No Idle Policy ■ Environmentally Preferable Purchasing Policy ■ At the City Council meeting on July 2"d, we will have the resolution for you to adopt. ■ We will continue to consider additional measures such as: ■ Bike Racks at All Community Parks and Facilities • No Net Loss of Trees Policy ■ We will finalize additional documentation to ARC by Oct. 31, 2012. ■ The awards will be presented in December 2012. ■ I would like to introduce the Community Development Department's summer intern, Will Check. ■ He is a student at Blessed Trinity High School and is a resident of Milton. ■ One of his projects is the National Wildlife Federal Community Habitat Certification for Milton. Will Check, Community Development Summer Intern: • I am working on the project for Milton to be certified as a Habitat Community. • We are working with the NWF to get the certification. • I have been working with Cindy and Michele. • 1 will be meeting with Chris Lagerbloom this Friday to get the required signatures for registration which is the first step in getting certified. Burt Hewitt, Councilmember: • On exhibit A when you talked about the green building policy, you stated that we are not necessarily going to go for LED certification. Could we change that to something other than LED policy? Can we just call it the Green Building Policy or Sustainable Building Policy? Cindy Eade, Sustainability Coordinator • The reason we had to use the LED terminology is because the ARC will only give us points if we are going toward a LED standard in our building policy. • We were hoping that they might give us partial credit due to the fact that we may not be commissioning our building as a LED certified project, but we are going to be doing a lot of the things that would qualify us to be a LED project. Councilmember Hewitt: • So, they only recognize the LED standards? Cindy Eade, Sustainability Coordinator • Correct. • We are not going to be focused on the end result. • We want to be focused on the sustainability features of the building. • If that happens to get us to a LED level and we come back to the council and say that the LED certification is going to cost us $30,000 of commission, would you be willing to go for that? • That would be your option. Work Session of the Milton City Council Monday, June 11, 2012 at 6:00 pm Page 5 of 23 • At this point, with the constraints of the budget, it doesn't look like we are going to have the luxury of doing that. Lance Large, Councilmember: • Regarding the new Public Safety Building, are we looking at what type of HVAC systems are going to be installed because that is where you can get a lot of points? Cindy Eade, Sustainability Coordinator: • Winter Construction thought we had a base level with LED with what we are striving for. • Carter Lucas has been working closely with Winter Construction regarding HVAC systems. Carter Lucas, Public Works Director: • We have looked at a couple of different systems. • It is the overall rate of return we are looking at between the chiller systems and the standard roof- top unit systems. • We will be evaluating that as we move through the design plan; however, we are really looking at it from a long term 15-20 year life cycle. City Clerk Gordon read Agenda Item #3. 3. Discussion of Part V Environmental Planning Criteria. (Presented by Carter Lucas, Public Works Director) Carter Lucas, Public Works Director: • This is an initial meeting for an ordinance on the adoption of the Environmental Planning Criteria also known as the Part V Standards. • Hopefully, we will be bringing this forward in August for adoption. • These criteria are some environmental criteria that were established by the Department of Natural Resources and are coming from two different locations. • Part of it is requirement of our Comprehensive Plan that we adopt these criteria, as well as, the requirements under the Metropolitan North Georgia Water Planning District. • The criteria is divided into five different categories: • Water Supply Watersheds • Protection of Groundwater Recharge Areas • Wetlands Protection • River Corridor Protection • Mountain Protection • The following information highlights each of these criteria: • A large water supply watershed is greater than 100 square miles. • A small water supply watershed is less than 100 square miles. • In our particular case, it is the City of Roswell's water intake on Big Creek that is the concern for us. • It is a small watershed at about 99 acres. • In the first exhibit, the big green area identifies the drainage basin associated with that water intake. Work Session of the Milton City Council Monday, June 11, 2012 at 6:00 pm Page 6 of 23 • On that exhibit, you will also see a black arc. is interest to us. • That is the seven mile radius that is referenced in the planning criteria that of • The second exhibit shows the area without the green shading which will give you a better idea of where that seven mile radius exists in relationship to the City of Milton. • Everything inside that radius on a perennial stream would require a buffer of 100 feet undisturbed and 150 fee of impervious setback. • This is essentially double what our current buffers are. • The fortunate part of that is there are no qualifying streams in Milton under that seven mile radius. • So, the criteria states that within that seven miles you have to have the larger buffers; outside the seven miles you have the smaller buffers which are 50 feet undisturbed and 75 foot impervious setback which is what we currently have adopted. • So, our buffer standards do not change with this particular criteria. • The other criteria is the restriction on the overall watershed of 25% impervious. • That overall watershed includes John's Creek, Roswell, Alpharetta, a small part of Milton, Forsyth County, and a little bit of Cherokee County. • The second area of criteria is Groundwater Recharge Areas. • In the third exhibit, the area in blue is the only area in Milton that would be considered a significant groundwater recharge area. • So, this particular criteria would be limited to just that area. • This criteria deals with sewer versus septic so those properties that may be on septic in that particular area would have to be 110% of the current size so the lots would be a little larger for septic areas. • I think most of that area is mostly sewer but there could be some lots that might fall under this criteria. • The third area of criteria is Wetland Protection. • This criteria requires us to adopt a Wetland map as part of our land -use plan. • We will then have to analyze the map to see if any areas of our land -use plan would have an adverse affect on wetland protected areas. • The last two criteria are River Corridor Protection and Mountain Protection. • We do not have any rivers or mountains in the City of Milton that meet the criteria for River Corridor Protection or Mountain Protection so these criteria do not apply to us. • We plan to bring the ordinance with the adoption of the first three criteria to you for approval in August. Bill Lusk, Councilmember: Will we have to revise our Comprehensive Land -Use Plan to conform to the wetlands criteria? Carter Lucas, Public Works Director: • We will be updating our land -use snap to indicate the areas that have been identified by the state as wetland areas. • So, as we receive land -uses through re -zoning, or any kind of land -use evaluation, we would have to look at those uses have any impact on the wetlands that are shown on the map. Councilmember Lusk: 0 So this would be a case-by-case basis? Work Session of the Milton City Council Monday, June 11, 2012 at 6:00 pm Page 7 of 23 Carter Lucas, Public Works Director: • That is correct. • Each site would also be responsible for permitting so even if a wetland is not shown on the map, if a site has specific wetlands on it, you would still be responsible for going through local and federal permitting processes. City Clerk Gordon read Agenda Item #4. 4. RZ12-08 - Discussion of Form Based Code and Transfer of Development Rights. (Presented by Kathleen Field, Community Development Director and Caleb Racicot, AICP ivith Tunnell-Spangler-Walsh & Associates & Rick Pruetz, FAICP) PUBLIC COMMENTS Richard Thomas, 12518 Broadwell Road, Milton, GA 30004 • I am just a concerned citizen. • I came to some of the previous meetings to understand more about the TDR program and the Comprehensive Plan. • In some of the earlier meetings, when the Comprehensive Plan was discussed, it raised a lot of questions of why a huge plan was established and the why zoning was totally changed for the Crabapple area. • Milton and the Crabapple area are some of the nicest areas to live in and our zoning seems to be working. • The question I have is that if zoning is working, why do we want to change the entire zoning process and invest huge amounts of dollars to change it? • As I have asked this question, I found out that it is not that zoning is not working, but the zoning process was not able to do one of the things that the city wanted to do and that is to control property. • So, if you want to control property, why don't you use tax dollars to buy it? • Why don't you ask the citizens to vote on whether or not they want to preserve land? • If I went around the table and asked each of you to explain exactly what a TDR is and how it works, would you be able to? • In doing some research on this subject, I came across the definition of zoning which states that zoning is designed to allow development in areas where city resources can support growth. • Maximum development is proved based on the resources that are available. • Down -zoning was another term I have not heard of. • Down -zoning is defined as only allowing a baseline or minimum development, not what is approved or can actually be supported from the city resources that are available from a piece of property. • Down -zoning is used in the TDR program to be able to create need for a TDR. • It seems that this is a strange concept. • Instead of using tax dollars, we are saying that this is a free and open way to allow the market to pay for preserving property. • One of the things that concerns me about TDR's is that it may affect the taking law. Work Session of the Milton City Council Monday, June 11, 2012 at 6:00 pm Page 8 of 23 • The 5t" Amendment of the U.S. Constitution states in part; nor shall private property be taken for public use without just compensation. • Traditionally, taking is defined as physical seizure of property by the state. • In 1922, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that government interference in the form of excessive regulation may be so burdensome to a landowner as to have the same affect of actually physical invasion thus establishing the regulatory taking and that land zoning falls into this broad, legal, murky category as regulatory taking. • So, all of a sudden we are going from this free enterprise of switch and swap and trading TDR's into something that might be considered the taking of property. • Are we attempting to create a market for something that doesn't exist by down -zoning? • What is the value of a TDR? • When we asked that question at the last meeting, there were several different answers. • No one could say, specifically, what the value of a TDR was. • No one could tell me who sets the value of a TDR. • If a TDR is the free exchange between a seller and a buyer, then why does a value have to be established? • Does a private property owner receive TDR for property in the watershed program? • The answer to this in the last meeting was no, they do not. • It was already controlled by the govermnent, so we don't need to control that. • So, if someone had water area within their land and they wanted to have TDR, they couldn't participate in the majority of the program because it is already controlled by the government. • Is the TDR program mandatory for buyers and sellers? • The answer to that question was no, it is a voluntary program. • However, in the Athens Grows Green Coalition, one of their quotes is that the most successful TDR programs are mandatory. • Most of the TDR programs that are out there that started in 1980 and have some kind of history have not been successful. • Most of them have been plagued with problems and have had very little success but it is a huge investment. If I can develop land to approved capacity, then why do I need to purchase a TDR? • The answer is because the government if forcing me to. • Why do I want to do that? • If no one chooses to participate in the program, how do you create demand for TDR's? • I think I have already answered that question with the down -zoning and forcing of that. • Will the city purchase TDR's if there is no demand? • In many of the cases that are sited, the city has created and purchased TDR's for doing that. Do you anticipate licensing and authorizing brokers for marketing and sales of TDB's which many of the other locations that have TDR's have had to do. • Who will administer the TDR program transactions for the city? • Is there a TDR purchase fee or recording fee? • Is there a sale of TDR tax that at the current sales rates today? • In most of the documents that I have read, it states that the TDR is the same or equal to just as if the land itself were being sold. • Are each one of those TDR's going to be taxed and the funds for that transfer going to be taxed for the buyer and seller? • Will the program require the creation of a city TDR bank like other cities that have TDR's? Work Session of the Milton City Council Monday, June 11, 2012 at 6:00 pm Page 9 of 23 • Are you going to anticipate the speculator's purchasing TDR's to control the development of the city? • Are you going to have to regulate that to prevent the speculators from holding and controlling and preventing development in areas until they can get the price they want for it? • The process could be far more damaging than the value you get from it. • Would you consider TDR's as a complex plan, both implementation and management? • What is the cost to the taxpayer to re -zone and create a TDR program? • I would like to know how much you have already spent on consulting fees, plans, huge documents. • Many of the documents and the zoning are derived from a central location. • What is the projected cost of the additional staff to educate, manage, and administer the TDR program? • Does the plan include a local transferrable rights ordinance? • In one of the bills in Georgia state law, law 859, requires that a local transferrable development right ordinance be created and managed. • Did you know that the sale of a TDR is considered permanent? • This is good and bad. • You get to control it but once it is permanent you can't change it so if conditions change in five or ten years from now dictate that it should be something different, the government is out of luck because you turned that property over and the government controls it. • There seems to be a desire to control land in the City of Milton. • How much land do you want to control? L • How much do you control today? • How many acres do you control? • What percent of the open land do you control today? • What percent is controlled by the city, the federal government? • How much do you want to control? • What is enough is enough to beautify for everyone is out there? • After talking to Doug McFurrie, who had forty acres, that now the City of Milton owns that is near Birmingham Crossroads. • He said that he was sent a letter that the city would like to buy his property and he said, "no." • Then, Fulton County said, "yes." • He had to hire an attorney to try to prevent it and over a period of time his attorney said that they are going to get it one way or another. • They condemned the property. • They forced the sale of forty acres. • He said he had never felt so violated in all my life. • Now that City of Milton property, which at the time was an immediate need that just had to take place, is still sitting thele the same as it was when he was forced to sell it. • It has never been used by the county or city. • Was that in the best interest of the citizens of Milton? • We are going down a slippery slope. • The ability for citizens to have a house and yard for their children and dogs to play is slowly going away as the city continues to try to control property. Work Session of the Milton City Council Monday, June It, 2012 at 6:00 pm Page 10 of 23 Rhonda Thomas, 12518 Broadwell Road, Milton, GA 30004 • Here are two United Nations documents that talk about TDR's and how they are to be used to take private property away. • 1 apologize that you have invested all the time that you have into TDR's. • I wish that we had known that you were researching TDR's prior to now. • We don't want to minimize the time you have given to TDR research and we know you have done what you feel is best for the City of Milton. • However, I have some information I would like to share. • This is a document from the United Nations dated January 2012 on the review of implementation of Agenda 21 which is their 1992 Charter on sustainable consumption. • I would like to read a few highlights from this document: • One of the defining moments of sustainable consumption has been the United Nations conference on environment and development in 1992. • Agenda 21 sought to provide comprehensive blueprint and action to be taken globally, nationally, and locally in organizations that the United Nations government and major groups. • It is a comprehensive blueprint for action to be taken globally. • Based on the United Nations plan, it is referred to as a human settlement. • We refer to it as livable communities. • Within those livable communities, it is all about social equality. • In fact, Midtown has gone through this entire plan and thought it was finalized and now there is disruption in the plan because the group is coming in and trying to put in a workforce camp which is basically housing for workforce. • In our communities, which you can find on ARC's website, there are boundaries drawn where our communities will exist. • That is why TSPLOST is so important because as a part of this United Nations document is public transportation and reducing emissions. • They cannot complete this transportation plan until they have completed these livable communities. • If you look on the ARC website, you will find this map. • We will be within a ten county area. • This livable community will include all of our doctors, schools, shopping, bike paths, trails, etc. • These livable communities will not require us to get in a car to go anywhere. • We like all of this but we want it to be a free choice. • This goes back to my husband's point of them wanting to control the land. • We are a wealthy country and part of the reason for this is because we have private property. • Without private property there is no wealth to be created. • As soon as private property is gone, we will be in deep trouble. • The ARC website consists of all the information I am referring to even the need for water boards. • All of this correlates. • There are actually TDR's planned for Lake Lanier and Lake Allatoona because water needs to be kept pristine. • There is a need for water. • So, that means, we as humans cannot affect that water. • The ARC website mentions buying property from people which is essentially eminent domain. • There is a purpose for everything that is happening. Work Session of the Milton City Council Monday, June 11, 2012 at 6:00 pm Page 1 l of 23 • Don't just look at our country; look at Norway, Sweden, or South Africa. • This is a global plan. • You will find the same verbiage in all those plans. • Regional, by the way, is not American, it is socialist. • If you will notice, regional is all over our country now. • We were not taught about regional when we were in school. • If you go to the ARC website and pull up Norway — Regional Planning and Land Use as well as Sweden and South Africa, you will see exactly what we are doing because there is a purpose. • The United Nations took what we think is a very important subject, which is green, and they have used it against us because we are good people, we are trusting, we want things to be taken care of because it is God's creation. • However, they are actually taking this green concept and twisting it and creating a crisis with an outcome that they want. • On the ARC website, go to ARC 2040, you will see what they expect to take place by the year 2040. • I learned all about this in 1992. • I was very involved with Concerned Women for America. • Twenty years later we are so infiltrated by this. • The International Baccalaureate Program in our schools is a UNICEF education program straight from the United Nations that is teaching international mindedness, no borders, and tolerance. • This is all related because we are easily deceived. • Don't take my freedoms away. • Don't tell me that I can't drive a car. • 88% of our farmland is gone because of the EPA, FDA, and numerous other organizations are pressing on our farms by taxing them so much. • Did you know that there is a dust tax? • What farmer can farm without dust? • This is all based on precautionary measures — feelings and emotions but no science. • Unfortunately, we have all fallen for it. Kathleen Field, Community Development Director: • We have come a long way since last October when you asked staff to research form -based codes and TDR's. • Thanks to everyone who has contributed to this effort. • Caleb Racicot and Rick Pruetz will highlight the main areas of this effort. • The Planning Commission draft consisted of three meetings. Caleb Racicot, AICP with Tunnell-Spangler-Walsh & Associates: • We have been working on this form -based code for about seven months. • Initially, we were asked to take a variety of codes and zoning designations within the area that were residual from Fulton County and creating something that would truly reflect the vision for the City of Milton. • We took the basic smart code, which is a form -based template, and did a calibration of it to reflect the City of Milton's specific needs. Work Session of the Milton City Council Monday, June 11, 2012 at 6:00 pm Page 12 of 23 • We took the general zoning designations and apply them to a regulating plan for the greater Crabapple area. • 1 wanted to tell you about some of the major changes that have occurred since the current code. • We have not changed anything associated with the structure of the ordinance. • It is divided into seven articles; from very general to very specific. • Article 1 consists of the legal parameters of the form -based code; its intent, how it is applied, the process, how density is calculated, and the TDR mechanism. • Some changes were made in a few items to Article 1. • We excluded any designated historical building from your base density permission which means that if you own a historic property and you have a building on it; you will not be penalized for preserving it. • Article 2 is about regulating plan which is essentially how do we take all of these different parts of the form -based code and apply them geographically in the Crabapple area. • It talks about the link between the map and the text, as well as, the map and the zoning ordinance. • It talks about standards for complying with the map and how re -zoning would have to occur. • It incorporates existing buffer requirements. • There were some major changes that directly affect this part of the code. • One of the most significant, was that prior to the current version of the form -based code, the Community Development Director had the ability to administratively move some of the transect zones for a variety of reason. • After legal review, that action was deemed not appropriate since it would ultimately be granting the re -zoning power to the Community Development Director. • So, that ability has been removed. • Now, any change for transect zone designation will have to go before the City Council through the re -zoning process. • In addition, another change that occurred is a series of amendments to the actual regulating plan. • So, we created a new transect zone designation for Crabapple Crossing and Crabapple Station. • This is called T4 Restrictive. • It essentially restricts all uses within those neighborhoods to what they have today. • In addition, we discovered that some of the properties that we had originally designated as T2; which is an agricultural designation, wvcre incorrect. • The visioning plan showed new development on portions of Broadwell Road, Mayfield Road, and areas adjacent to the lake. • So, we changed those from "1-2 to T4 and T4 Open. • Another change that occurred was in regard to the buffer requirements for the City of Milton. • Within the code area, there are no internal buffer requirements unless you are building adjacent to an existing neighborhood. • Article 3 sets forth standards for the design of streets, roadways, sidewalks, and trails. • Several changes were made in this area as well. • We established specific language regarding equestrian trails indicating that these trails are appropriate for the City of Milton. • We also established specific language regarding the current city requirement for payment in lieu of trails. C Work Session of the Milton City Council Monday, June 11, 2012 at 6:00 pm Page 13 of 23 • This language is important because although the regulating plan sets the location where trails will have to be placed within development, it creates a mechanism so that a developer does not have to build trails as long as a certain easement is dedicated to those trails in the future. • Article 4 deals with how individual building sit on a lot, how they look, the type of landscaping, etc. • We changed some of the language regarding the maximum size of buildings in Crabapple. • We changed the maximum building size from a maximum of 25,000 square feet floor area to a maximum of 18,000 square feet footprint. • We also applied this same design as T4 and T4 Open, but no non-residential uses allowed which would apply to Crabapple Crossing and Crabapple Station. • In addition, the original language of the code allowed Bed and Breakfast Facilities. • This language was taken out of the "by right" condition in the T2 and T3, primarily neighborhood areas, and made a use permit required consistent with the City Council approval process. • In addition, the Planning Commission wanted us to add language prohibiting invasive species from being planted in this area. • We contacted the Georgia Department of Transportation and asked for a list of the species that they prohibit. • We then copied that list into the current code. • The most significant changes have occurred in regard to Architectural Standards. • The previous draft consisted of architectural standards but they were in two categories which were a low bar of standards that applied to all buildings and a higher bar of standards that applied to commercial and mixed use. • Now these design standards, which consist of six architectural styles that are mandatory, apply to all buildings. • So, this concludes all of the fundamentally major content changes of the code. Joe Longoria, Councilmember: • So, the compelling reason to place a higher standard on residential structures was based on the Planning Commission? So, a person who bought a piece of property in this area twenty years ago and wanted to build their dream home one day, will have to adhere to a certain set of design standards? Caleb Racicot, AICP with Tunnell-Spangler-Walsh & Associates: • Yes, that is correct. Karen Thurman, Councilmember: • Are the standards the same for residential as they are for commercial? There are not separate standards? Caleb Racicot, AICP with Tunnell-Spangler-Walsh & Associates: • Correct. They are no longer separate standards. There is one standard for all buildings. Councilmember Thurman: • What is the reason for that? Caleb Racicot: Work Session of the Milton City Council Monday, June 11, 2012 at 6:00 pm Page 14 of 23 • I can't speak for the Planning Commission's reasons Kathleen Field, Community Development Director: • I was at the Planning Commission meeting so 1 think I can explain. • Because the single-family homes can only be a certain percentage of the structures being built in the village that to exclude them you would not get the look that they are trying to obtain to get a village. • We would end up having no control over the design. Councilmember Thurman: • I understand that we need certain standards for the residential; I just don't think they need to be the exact same as the commercial standards. Kathleen Field: • We never really thought about a two-tier set of standards so the standards that were already in here were accepted. Councilmember Thurman: • I understand a need for standards but I don't think that every house needs to look the same because that ends up hurting the value. Caleb Racicot: • The original draft had a few separate standards such as building materials that could be used on porches but it really didn't mandate that single family homes had to be a certain architectural style which the Planning Commission felt was important. Councilmember Thurman: • Was this a split vote from the Planning Commission? Kathleen Field: • Yes, it was 4 to 3. It was a very spirited discussion and some of the members that voted for it really wanted the issue to be addressed by the City Council. Bill Lusk, Councilmember: • These design standards have been developed by one architect which is mostly his vision. We have talked about possibly allowing other architects to give us comparables. How could we make that happen? Kathleen Field: • We could go back to the list of architectural standards that are listed in Article 7 and see how we could make them more compatible for a single family structure as opposed to a commercial structure. Another way we could make these standards friendlier is through interpretation. There is latitude in the fact that we could meet the intent of the standards but not have to meet them precisely. There is room for interpretation. We could put in language that would mandate that the Community Development Director in conjunction with the city architect review architectural plans that are submitted. Work Session of the Milton City Council Monday, June 11, 2012 at 6:00 pm Page 15 of 23 Matt Kunz, Councilmember: • If the residential provision was not included and a subdivision was coming into Crabapple to build, it would still have to go through a design review process. Correct? Kathleen Field: • No, the only requirement that I could mandate is that they have rear entry garages. Councilmember Kunz: • So, the only mandates that would be placed on them would be through the Homeowner's Association? Kathleen Field: • Correct. Lance Large, Councilmember: • Who is the city architect? Kathleen Field: • Robert Buscemi Councilmember Large: • I agree that we need standards and I also agree with Councilmember Lusk that we need more diversity in the architects that are developing these standards. I would also like us to look at the economic impact on the type of structures that would be required to be built. Lastly, would the interpretation you mentioned go through the Design Review Board as well? Kathleen Field: • Our normal process is that single-family homes are exempt. With the form -based code, it is written that they are exempt from going through the Design Review Board. However, all structures are reviewed by the Community Development Director. Joe Longoria, Councilmember: • How do we protect ourselves with interpretation when using subjectivity as opposed to objectivity? Ken Jarrard, City Attorney: • One way is that it is addressed in the formulation stage. In addition, I would assume that the Community Development Director's administrative decisions are subject to an appeal. Correct? Kathleen Field: • Yes, they are. Councilmember Longoria: • Could you please explain why we need TDB's attached to the form -based code? They don't seem to go together and I am trying to understand why we are putting them together. Kathleen Field: Work Session of the Milton City Council Monday, June 11, 2012 at 6:00 pm Page 16 of 23 • You do not need the TDR to make the form -based code a reality. We originally thought we would have a separate TDR ordinance that could be city-wide. Rick will explain to you why he felt it needed to go into this form -based code. In the future, if do another form -based code, we will put the TDR in as a chapter of it. The reason we want to join this form -based code with TDR's is because there are enough specifics that need to go with the area as opposed to going city-wide. Councilmember Longoria: • I am a big believer in the forn-i-based code. It seems to be the next logical step in terms of what the overlay was trying to deliver. The form -based code helps us understand what needs to go where. I won't be able to support the form -based code if TDR's are connected. I would be disappointed for us to lose the opportunity to put the form -based code into action. Burt Hewitt, Councilmember: I have an issue with the standards that are being placed on single-family residences. Kathleen Field: We can look at them again and see how we can meet the intent without having such strict standards. Mayor Lockwood: • Do the property owners have enough latitude with the standards that have been put forth that they can build something reasonable and likeable without being too limited? Kathleen Field: • I think so. Caleb Racicot: • The standards are flexible enough. We indicated the styles and stated that simple interpretations can be made from them. Architectural flexibility is allowed with the broad styles that are given. Councilmember Thurman: • I have some very specific questions. Under the specific function and use table on page 35. There are certain things that we give absolute rights to and I want to make sure that getting away from the use we are not allowing something that would not be what we want. One states accessory unit under A, I assume they are allowed to have an accessory unit but they would still have to meet certain setbacks and everything else? Kathleen Field: • Yes, that is correct. Caleb Racicot: • Yes, the primary home must be owned and inhabited by the owner. Councilmember Thurman: • I would assume that accessory structures would also have to comply with some of the same building standards? Work Session of the Milton City Council Monday, June 11, 2012 at 6:00 pm Page 17 of 23 Caleb Racicot: • Yes. Councilmember Thurman: • What exactly is a bus shelter? Is this a bus stop shelter? Kathleen Field: • Yes, it is where people wait for the bus. Councilmember Thurman: • So, it is not a shelter for a bus. It is a shelter for people who are riding the bus? Kathleen Field: • That is correct. Councilmember Thurman: • Under elementary school and other child care centers; are we just allowing them in all of it? There may be areas where these two things are not really appropriate. Kathleen Field: • That is a very good point because this is a great time for me to tell you that the Planning Commission in Alpharetta reviewed this and they had a few comments on this page and one of them was in terms of childcare that it is allowed by right and they proposed that it be allowed by use permit. Secondly, regarding the elementary school, I'm not sure we could put in a use permit because an elementary school is put in by the county. Councilmember Thurman: • I am referring to private elementary schools and those should not be allowed by right. They should be required to have a use permit. Kathleen Field: • We can easily change the wording on both of these to require a use permit. It certainly makes sense and we would certainly support that. • In addition, the Planning Commission also thought that cemetery should be changed to a use permit. Councilmember Thurman: • I agree with that. Kathleen Field: • Also, kennels are allowed by right in our current AG -1. They are allowed by right inhere as well but you can go either way on it. Councilmember Thurman: • You shouldn't allow a kennel to go in the middle of a subdivision so this should require a use permit as well. Work Session of the Milton City Council Monday, June 11, 2012 at 6:00 pm Page 18 of 23 Kathleen Field: • So, child care centers, all schools, cemeteries, and kennels will require a use permit. Matt Kunz, Councilmember: • What if the Historical Preservation Committee declares the Crabapple area a historic district? Kathleen Field: • That is a good question. We are assuming that will happen at some point because that is their goal. We have accommodated for that by adding verbiage that states when and if a historic district takes place, the design review function would switch from the DRB to the HPC and the HPC would then have review of single family homes. Bill Lusk, Councilmember: • Would we still use the city architect if the area is designated a historic district? Kathleen Field: • Yes, we would. Rick Pruetz, TDR Consultant: • The TDR components that are in the form -based code are designed to implement the preservation as well as the development aspects and goals of the Crabapple vision and you city- wide comprehensive plan. • The regulations that are proposed in this form based code are fairly simple; however, we have complicated it somewhat because there are two kinds of green space that are being proposed for preservation. • In addition, we are looking at preserving areas within the Crabapple area as well as city-wide. • TDR works within a community's code; it is market-based and voluntary. • The whole idea of it is to encourage the voluntary re -direction of development away from places where you want little or no development into areas that are appropriate for development. • The sending areas are the areas where you want little or no development. • The receiving areas are areas where you want more development. • TDR's are strictly voluntary in the fact that property owners can simply say they are not interested. • If a property owner decides to participate, a conservation easement is recorded and once that permanently puts in place the comprehensive plan in perpetuity. • In return, the city issues TDB's, Transfer of Development Rights, which are a commodity which the property owner is allowed to sell and it is the proceeds from that sale that generates the motivation. • The receiving property owner has a choice to build up to baseline density with no TDR requirement, they can exceed baseline but only by buying TDR's; however, by getting the additional development potential by buying the TDR's they get more profit and when the program works, they are motivated to do that. • There are more than 240 communities in the United Stated that use TDB's which have preserved over 450,000 acres so far. • How will TDR's work in Milton? • The property owners propose their sites as sending sites. Ll— Work Session of the Milton City Council Monday, June 11, 2012 at 6:00 pm Page 19 of 23 • Within the Crabapple planning area, the properties that qualify are zoned T2. • Outside of the Crabapple planning area, the properties are proposed by the property owner and are approved if they meet certain criteria which are broadly identified in the Comprehensive Plan. • The criteria includes being agriculturally and environmentally important, contributing to open space preservation, environmental quality and rural character. • The two types of green space we are interested in. • Open space sending sites is where the property owner states they are interested but we want to continue to own the property and are willing to record a conservation easement on the property. • That conservation easement reduces the density on that property to one dwelling unit per parcel or one unit per 25 acres, whichever is greater. • The main reason for this transfer is to reduce density. The minimum lot size for this type of transfer is five acres. • The other type of green space is park/greenway sending site in which the property owner wants to transfer the title of the property to the city for park or greenway purposes. • The difference between these two types is the formula that is used to determine TDR allocation which is as follows: Conservation Easements: 1 TDR/unconstrained acre +1 TDRA constrained acres +1 TDR/5 acres lot size greater than 5 acres Public acquisition - same formula plus • X 1.50 Civic Space • X 1.25 other Park / Greenway sending sites • Initially, within the Crabapple receiving area there are three zones: • T3 is the Suburban Zone. • T4 is the General Urban Zone. • T5 is the Urban Center Zone. • Additional TDR receiving areas in the future could possibly be the Southeast Milton area (Deerfield Road) or the Arnold Mill Road area. • Within each of the T3, T4, and T5 zones there is a baseline. • Developers can achieve this baseline without TDR's or they can exceed the baseline by allowing one TDR to equal two building units up to a maximum code density. • In addition, if developers have trouble finding TDR's on the open market, they may comply by paying a density transfer charge (DTC} which is a legislative amount of cash in lieu of TDR. • This payment would be used exclusively for the acquisition of easements and for site preservation and program administration. • Some of the advantages of DTC's are that it assures developers of the ability to exceed the baseline amount and it provides matching funds for grants. • Some of the disadvantages of DTC's are that it limits privately negotiated TDR prices and the DTC amount is set legislatively and revised as needed. Mayor Lockwood: Work Session of the Milton City Council Monday, June 11, 2012 at 6:00 pm Page 20 of 23 • Could you please clarify that this proposal is totally voluntary, we are not down zoning, we are not doing away with what people can legally do with their property but allowing them, if they choose to, to buy the TDR and develop more density on their property. Rick Pruetz: • Correct. There is no down zoning with this TDR program. Councilmember Longoria: • I do not understand why TDR's have to exist? We currently have a zoning system that provides for a certain amount of density in specific areas. Our Comprehensive Planning Committee worked very hard to put our zoning system document together. If we need more density, why can't we just charge the developer to put more density? Why do we have to create this complex system of TDR's? Rick Pruetz: • TDR's are a way of trying to implement the preservation as well as the development side of your plan and goals. Part of the Crabapple plan involves preserving the rural character of Milton. Mayor Lockwood: • Almost everyone who lives in Milton, whether you live in Crabapple, on a farm, an apartment, subdivision, or townhome agrees that part of the appeal of Milton is the rural aesthetics with horse farms, etc. TDR's is a voluntary way for two parties to keep that appeal without the city forcing them to do that. Right now, Milton does not have any land that cannot be developed as one acre home sites so if every horse farm owner or property owner wanted to sell out to developers, eventually, Milton would consist of one acre home sites and more density. With TDR's, property owners would be compensated for transferring their land rights over to not develop it and giving someone who wants to buy those TDR's more opportunity to develop on their property in another area. Councilmember Longoria: • The underlying basis is that density is a finite resource. TDR's are just a purchasing allocation of those units of density to where the developer decides they need to be placed. We won't lose the character of Milton unless we want to lose the character of Milton. Do we have enough wisdom and foresight to force ourselves into a situation where we are dictating our future actions? TDB's put handcuffs on us. They won't allow us to do certain things in the future. I don't want to pretend like I have that much wisdom and know that twenty-five years from now we won't need flexibility. To me, TDB's do not make any sense. Mayor Lockwood: • I don't think we can control and preserve Milton especially if everyone who had five plus acres decided to sell their land to developers. There is nothing we could do about it. TDR's would be a way to try to keep some of the land undeveloped and preserve the rural character of Milton. Councilmember Thurman: • In the past, I have seen TDB's used to try to limit development and I have seen them used to encourage conservation to preserve green space. I don't agree with TDR's to limit development. I very much agree with TDR's to try to preserve green space and open space. I think what Work Session of the Milton City Council Monday, June It, 2012 at 6:00 pm Page 21 of 23 happens a lot of times and what happened ten or fifteen years ago in Milton is that we saw a lot of people who had sell their property. They couldn't continue to pay even the taxes on large pieces of property. TDR's are a way of giving people the opportunity to stay on their property and sell off the rights to development in order to preserve it. If we don't give people this option, all of the land in Milton will eventually be sold off. There are not any fifty acre parcels in downtown Atlanta and that is because the property is worth too much. The same thing will happen in Milton eventually if we do not have some way of preserving it. As long as we are allowing people the baseline and giving an incentive up to a point, I think TDR's can work to really preserve some property in the Milton area and also give us some development in some areas that may be more appropriate than others. Councilmember Large: • I agree with Councilmember Thurman that we need to preserve some green space in Milton. I strongly believe that this program needs to remain a market driven process and the city does not need to get involved. I also have concerns about it being connected to the form -based code. Could we consider these two items as separate issues? Councilmember Lusk: • I have read about DTC's and on the surface it appears to be selling zoning. I would like to get a legal opinion on that. City Attorney Jarrard: • That is the same thought that I had. That may not need to be what the expectation is. There may be some law out there that I am not familiar with. When I see a direct grant of cash to a local government in exchange for density, which is typically something we award in our zoning, it is going to make me very uneasy. Rick Pruetz: I asked Jamie Bickerosky, who is an attorney with the Land Use Clinic at the University of Georgia, to specifically look at this issue. She was definite that it falls squarely within the Enabling Act because it is a voluntary program and the cash in lieu is a way of facilitating the program which is one of the ways that the Enabling legislation allows cities to do this. That is not to say that we won't get these types of questions. Councilmember Thurman: • Could someone who had, for example, three four -acre parcels that were adjacent to each other, combine those parcels to make one larger parcel that could qualify for things? Rick Pruetz: • Yes, as long as there is only one structure on it or no structures. Councilmember Hewitt: • It seems like this is a simple concept with a lot of details to put it into action. I think TDB's could benefit us in the long run. Councilmember Kunz: Work Session of the Milton City Council Monday, June 11, 2012 at 6:00 pm Page 22 of 23 • I think TDR's are a good way to be able to determine not only where development will go but when it will occur. Who would broker these deals? We are essentially creating a security that will be traded on the open market. Is there a regulatory industry that oversees TDR transactions? Rick Pruetz: This will be a city program so when a property owner proposes a property as a sending site and it is deemed qualified and the easement is recorded, it will be the city that is issuing the TDR's. It will be the responsibility of the property owner to find a buyer; however, the city will want to track the TDB's as they change hands and remove them once they are used. The biggest regulator in the TDR process is the city. Councilmember Longoria: • Is there a way we can separate the form -based code from TDB's and make them two separate issues to vote on? Rick Pruetz: • There is no technical reason to keep them together but there is a practical reason. How would the form -based code be written? Would it state that baseline is maximum density until such time that the TDR program begins? Maybe the TDR program never gets approved then you would have to go back and amend the Crabapple code. You wouldn't want to put in the form -based code as maximum density because once you do that then you have given up the ability to get that bonus density. Or, you have a form -based code that can't be used for awhile. Probably the best case scenario would be that until a TDR program is approved, you just have to tell developers that this is the maximum density allowed under the form based code. City Attorney Jarrard: • Joe, I think you are asking if you can draft a form -based code without TDR in the state of Georgia. The answer is, "yes." Mayor Lockwood: I see your point of view; however, we need to have the baseline which is better for what the density is now but you don't want to have the maximum for preservation purposes. I would like to see them put together for a vote. Councilmember Thurman: • I think a lot of people who are apprehensive about TDR's really don't understand them. If people would take the time to get with staff and get their questions answered and understand that it is a totally voluntary program. No one is being made to do anything and it is a way to preserve some of the open space in the city. Councilmember Hewitt: • Who makes up the Chattahoochee Hills Conservatory group? Ann Duncan, ARC • It is a private, non-profit group of people. They act as a bank for TDR's and an intermediary between the seller and the buyer of TDR's. Work Session of the Milton City Council Monday, June 11, 2012 at 6:00 pm Page 23 of 23 Councilmember Kunz: Just to reach out to the Thomas's, I am familiar with Agenda 21 and I am not a big fan of the United Nations whatsoever. Government control is not what we are trying to do here. We are trying to create a system that allows for the free market to take control over the economics of the use of scarce resources which is land as well as the construction on that land. This is not a government controlled program. People still have control over their land and we want them to continue to have that right. That doesn't mean that there will not be speculators. I want us to learn together as a community. I think the current zoning that we have now is limiting and I would like to free that a little more. Mayor Lockwood: I agree. I don't not want to get involved in something that is government controlled, either. I think TDR's are a "win win" for everyone. Councilmember Lusk: • This is just another part of personal property rights. It is similar to buying and selling mineral rights. It benefits both development and preservation. After no further discussion, the Work Session adjourned at 8:59 p.m. Date Approved: July 2, 2012. iZA-V--7 Sudie AM Gordon, City Clerk L r),V� Joe Lockwo , M yor