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HomeMy WebLinkAboutNovember 04, 2013 AgendaAGENDA CITY OF DENTON CITY COUNCIL November 4, 2013 Joint Meeting of the City of Denton City Council and the Planning and Zoning Commission on Monday, November 4, 2013 at 11:30 a.m. in the Council Work Session Room at City Hall, 215 E. McKinney Street, Denton, Texas, at which the following items will be considered: I. Call to order; announce quorum, introductions. 2. Receive a report, hold a discussion, and give staff direction on the Prioritization of Strategic Initiatives for the Planning and Development Department. 3. Under Section 551.042 of the Texas Open Meetings Act, respond to inquiries from the City Council or the public with specific factual information or recitation of policy, or accept a proposal to place the matter on the agenda for an upcoming meeting AND under Section 551.0415 of the Texas Open Meetings Act, provide reports about items of community interest regarding which no action will be taken, to include: expressions of thanks, congratulations, or condolence; information regarding holiday schedules; an honorary or salutary recognition of a public official, public employee, or other citizen; a reminder about an upcoming event organized or sponsored by the governing body; information regarding a social, ceremonial, or community event organized or sponsored by an entity other than the governing body that was attended or is scheduled to be attended by a member of the governing body or an official or employee of the municipality; or an announcement involving an imminent threat to the public health and safety of people in the municipality that has arisen after the posting of the agenda. Following the completion of the Joint Meeting, the City Council will convene in a Closed Meeting to consider specific items when these items are listed below under the Closed Meeting section of this agenda. The City Council reserves the right to adjourn into a Closed Meeting on any item on its Open Meeting agenda consistent with Chapter 551 of the Texas Government Code, as amended, or as otherwise allowed by law. 1. Closed Meeting: A. Consultation with Attorneys — Under Texas Government Code Section 551.071. 1. Consult with the City's attorneys regarding the present status of settlement negotiations regarding pending litigation styled: The City of Denton, Texas v. The University of North Texas, Cause No. 2008 - 20043 -158, now pending before the 158th Judicial District Court of Denton County, Texas, having been remanded to the trial court by the Fort Worth Court of Appeals for further proceedings; and discuss, deliberate and provide the City's attorneys with direction and any recommendations regarding such legal matter. A public discussion of this legal matter would conflict with the duty of the City's Attorneys to the Public Utilities Board under the Texas Disciplinary Rules of Professional Conduct of the State Bar of Texas. City of Denton City Council Agenda November 4, 2013 Page 2 CERTIFICATE I certify that the above notice of meeting was posted on the bulletin board at the City Hall of the City of Denton, Texas, on the day of 2013 at o'clock (a.m.) (p.m.) CITY SECRETARY NOTE: THE CITY OF DENTON COUNCIL WORK SESSION ROOM IS ACCESSIBLE IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT. THE CITY WILL PROVIDE SIGN LANGUAGE INTERPRETERS FOR THE HEARING IMPAIRED IF REQUESTED AT LEAST 48 HOURS IN ADVANCE OF THE SCHEDULED MEETING. PLEASE CALL THE CITY SECRETARY'S OFFICE AT 349 -8309 OR USE TELECOMMUNICATIONS DEVICES FOR THE DEAF (TDD) BY CALLING 1-800 - RELAY-TX SO THAT A SIGN LANGUAGE INTERPRETER CAN BE SCHEDULED THROUGH THE CITY SECRETARY'S OFFICE. AGENDA INFORMATION SHEET AGENDA DATE: November 4, 2013 DEPARTMENT: Planning and Development ACM: John Cabrales, Jr. SUBJECT Receive a report; hold a discussion, and give staff direction on the Prioritization of Strategic Initiatives for the Planning and Development Department. BACKGROUND The purpose of this joint City Council and Planning and Zoning Commission discussion is to seek input and direction on the prioritization of Council directed projects. Over the past few years, staff has initiated Council driven projects that are in various stages of completion. As other projects have been discussed, staff has shifted focus and reallocated resources to represent what staff has interpreted as Council wishes. Given the number of projects and the limited resources of staff, it is essential that all of the projects discussed with Council be presented to clarify Council directives. All of the projects listed in the top half of Exhibit 1 are Council directed and could thus be argued as deserving immediate attention. However, each project competes for the time, attention, and limited resources of staff and without prioritization, the effort necessary and allocation of resources required, may not be directed appropriately to complete the requested projects in the order evident to Council. Therefore, a goal of this discussion is to provide the Planning and zoning Commission and City Council with a comprehensive view of the activities of the Planning and Development Department and the importance of prioritizing the Council directed projects to provide a sense of staff resources available and timeframes necessary to complete these projects. DISCUSSION While reviewing the projects to determine if there is a logical sequence to achieve Council's goals and objectives, it became apparent that each project will impact the organization and community in some way. Some projects will influence City operational processes and procedures (i.e., Denton Plan update) and other projects will recommend amendments to the Denton Development Code (DDC) to facilitate targeted development (Infill and Redevelopment Amendments). With that mind, staff developed criteria for prioritization to aid in the ranking of projects that also takes into consideration, the projects that will have the greatest impact on the organization and the community. The criterion is not listed in order of importance or on a weighted scale, but rather a tool to evaluate the order of each Council directed project. Agenda Information Sheet November 4, 2013 Page 2 Project Prioritization 0-iteria 1. Projects that have made considerable progress towards completion; 2. Projects that have been committed to the Denton Community; 3 . Projects that are funded; and 4. Projects that have influence on other aspects of the organization (i.e., operational changes). Another consideration, in the prioritization of Council directed projects, is the number of projects staff can complete within a calendar year. Given the current level of activities within the Planning and Development Department, a goal in establishing how many projects can be completed within a calendar should be balanced with the Departments ability to maintain and in certain instances improve service delivery to our customer base. One of several important functions of the Planning Division is overseeing the processing and reviewing of development proposals. For the past five (5) years, the Development Review Committee (DRC) processed an average of 444 applications per annum. This number is projected to increase in the coming years, due to the anticipated growth in the constriction sector following recovery from the economic downturn. Since 2011, staff has collaborated with the development community and made process improvements to the DRC resulting in the improved efficiency of the processing and review of development proposals. This coming year, staff will follow Clarion's DDC review recommendations by implementing further revisions to the DDC process and a streamlined permit center for the submission, review, and permitting of certain proj ects. Moreover, staff recently implemented a restructuring of the Planning and Development Department to create two distinct sections; Neighborhood Services and Development Services, to maximize the natural working relationships within these sections. It is the objective of this reorganization to improve on the development and implementation of existing programs and services through better coordination, communication, and collaboration between the internal divisions of Planning and Development and other City Departments that have programs and services geared towards neighborhood. Through this restructuring, new targeted programs and services that are geared towards neighborhoods and the development community can be expanded and implemented. To facilitate the improvements necessary to effectively implement the Neighborhood Services and Development Services sections, staff time is also being dedicated to expand and enhance ways of developing, implementing, and evaluating, current programs and services and adopting improved ways of operating. These functions, coupled with the Council directed projects, helps shape the number of projects staff can accomplish. To that end, staff did not assign an annual number of projects to complete. Conversely, as staff completes tasks, more resources can be adequately allocated to fluidly initiate more Council directed projects, as time allows. Consequently, in the first year of the project prioritization list, staff may propose the completion of five (5) projects, but as the projects are completed and staff becomes more familiar with operational changes and process improvements, additional projects may be completed in subsequent years. Agenda Information Sheet November 4, 2013 Page 3 Therefore, staff has developed the following overarching goals in the number of projects that can be completed in a given year: Project Prioritization Goals 1. Proper allocation of resources 2. Maintain and improve service delivery to external and internal customers 3. Achieve the goals of the Council and City Manager To aid in the prioritization of projects, they have been divided into three tiers and ranked in the order of completion. To illustrate this staging, Tier One tasks are those projects that that have already been initiated and can be completed in the next year. Tier Two tasks are those projects that may be initiated in the 2014 calendar year and be completed in 2015. Tier Three are the tasks that will be initiated in 2015. For Council consideration, staff has developed a recommended prioritization of projects scheduled, based on the three tiers and timeframes noted (Exhibit 2), are what staff has interpreted as Council priorities. Also included are other projects that are noteworthy but have not been initiated. Finally, to coincide with the restructuring of the Planning and Development Department, we have included operational and organizational improvements to provide an overview of the forthcoming internal improvements, as well as certain processes and procedures. OPTIONS 1. Direct staff to proceed with the prioritization of projects as presented by staff 2. Direct staff to proceed with a different prioritization of projects EXHIBITS 1. List of all Council directed projects. 2. Staff recommended prioritization of Council directed projects Prepared and respectfully submitted by: Brian K. Locldey, AICP, CPM Director of Planning and Development Exhibit I Listing of Planning and Development Projects Council Directed Projects • Comprehensive Plan Update • DTIP /Form Based Code • Infill and Redevelopment standards • Mobility Plan Update for Infill and Redevelopment • Downtown Parking Standards (CBD /DTIP) • Pay Day Loan (zoning) • CBD/DTIP Boundary Adjustment • Sign Code Ordinance • Tree Trusts and Tree Code Amendments • Wayfinding Sign Program • 2010 Non - Annexation Agreements Other Projects Discussed with Council • Better Block Program • Minor Development Review Process • Planned Development Ordinance • Downtown Open Space Projects Staff will Present for Future Consideration • I -35 Widening • Institutional Use Zoning • International Building Code updates • Annexations US 380 Proposed Organizational and Operational Projects • Development Review Process Amendments • Historic Resources Survey • Site Plan Review Process • TrakIT Temp ID Clean Up • Website Improvements /User Friendliness — including GIS • Establish Team Model Internally • Record Keeping /Reference Library • Standard of Operations • Software Upgrades • DRC Website — linking projects using GIS • Develop Annual Departmental Evaluation Criteria • Improve our technology resources for P &Z and staff • Landscape Review Checklist/Brochure • Laserfiche • Parking Database • Historic Landmark Designations — linking information using GIS • NR -9 Mixed -Use — Medium Density Zoning District • Research Downtown Historic District • Update Historic Preservation Ordinance • Development of Neighborhood Programs Exhibit 2 Staff Recommended Prioritization of Council Directed Projects Tier 1 — Projects already initiated that can be completed within 1 -year 2014. 1. Comprehensive Plan Update 2. Establish Infill and Redevelopment Standards 3. Tree Trusts and Tree Code Amendments 4. DTIP /Form Based Code 5. Payday Loan (Zoning Ordinance) Tier 2 — Projects that have been initiated that can be completed in 2015 1. 2010 Annexations (Non Annexation Agreements) 2. Mobility Plan Update for Infill and Redevelopment 3. Sign Code Ordinance 4. Wayfinding Sign Program 5. CBD/DTIP Boundary Adjustment Tier 3 — Projects that may be completed in 2016 1. Downtown Parking Standards (CBD /DTIP) Parking Ratio and Parking Fee Other Projects Discussed with Council 1. Better Block Program 2. Downtown Open Space 3. Neighborhood Program Development 4. Planned Development Ordinance Operational and Organizational Items 1. Development Review Process Amendments 2. Permit Center Implementation 3. Minor Development Process 4. International Building Code Updates