January 29-30, 2014 Minutes
CITY OF DENTON CITY COUNCIL MINUTES
January 29 & 30, 2014
Annual Planning Session of the City of Denton City Council on Wednesday, January 29, 2014
from 1:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. and Thursday, January 30, 2014, from 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. at the
Lantana Resort, 2200 FM 1192, Pilot Point, Texas.
PRESENT: Mayor Burroughs, Mayor Pro Tem Kamp, Council Member Engelbrecht, Council
Member Gregory, Council Member Roden, Council Member King
ABSENT: Council Member Hawkins
Mayor Burroughs called meeting to order at 2:14 p.m. and announced the items that would be
considered at the meeting per the listing on the agenda.
City Manager Campbell stated that he appreciated everyone attending this important planning
session. An Informal Staff Report had been sent to Council indicating the basis of the meeting in
terms of strategic issues, good communication between Council and staff and any observations
from the Council that would be helpful to staff.
1.Receive a report, hold a discussion, and give staff direction concerning the status of
development process improvements and the comprehensive plan update.
Karen Walz, facilitator, presented the retreat objectives which included (1) develop process
improvements and the Comprehensive Plan update, (2) Strategic Plan updates and refinements,
(3) discussion among Council Members and key staff of major issues, both internal and external,
(4) discuss the Leadership Team’s internal action plan, (5) strengthen communication and
collaboration and (5) agree on a set of top priority outcomes related to these major issues.
Brian Lockley, Director of Planning and Development, stated that staff was requesting feedback
and direction on the status of the development process improvements and the Comprehensive
Plan update. He reviewed the Comprehensive Plan schedule which currently was in progress
with the preferred growth concept. He provided a recap of the Community Forum 1 and the
strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats/challenges (S.W.O.T.) for Denton in the present
and the future. A Community Vision Statement was an expression of the community’s collective
values and aspirations and a description of what the community wanted to become in the future.
It provided the major themes of the Draft Community Vision Statement. A recap of the
Community Forum 2 was reviewed in terms of growth scenarios, development priorities, and
community character consideration. The next step was the Preferred Growth Concept which
eventually would become the Future Land Use Map. Staff currently had a lot of information and
input and now needed to draft that information. Staff was looking for Council comments on the
Community Vision Statement and the Preferred Growth Concept.
Council Member Roden stated that the older areas of the City were targeted for infill
reinvestment. As a vision statement he felt a better way to phrase the item would be “older part
of town” or “older neighborhoods”.
Council Member King suggested using “established”.
City of Denton City Council Minutes
January 29-30, 2014
Page 2
Mayor Burroughs suggested using the term “well established”. He asked about the number of
people who attended the different meetings as he did not see a listing of the numbers. He
questioned how many different people total attended the meetings.
Ron Menguita, Development Review Committee Administrator, stated that Forum 1 had about
200 people; Forum 2 had around 100 people in four different locations. There were also
opportunities for people to comment on the City’s website, Facebook, Twitter and surveys. A
random phone survey was also done.
Mayor Burroughs stated that the assumption was that the feedback was from a sample of people
in the City as opposed to people with specific issues. With lower numbers, it was less likely to
have a broad based response. At times it was hard to get people to participate.
Mayor Pro Tem Kamp asked when the Mobility Plan update would be done.
Mayor Burroughs stated that a question would be what drove densities for future growth versus
feedback on where people would like to have growth. The Mobility Plan might not be able to be
considered now as it might be a constraint at this time. However, it needed to be addressed at
some point in time.
Mayor Pro Tem Kamp stated that a question would be when would be that step and who would
do it. A question also was if it was a parallel process with this process. She felt if might be time
to look at an outside firm to help with a relook at the Mobility Plan in terms of the preferred
growth.
Council Member Engelbrecht stated that most of the major streets in Denton were already set in
terms of mobility and there was no more room to do anything. Traffic mobility would not be a
limitation to this process.
Mayor Burroughs stated that Council had provided staff with a concept to look at as the process
moved into the next stages.
Council Member Roden stated that an update of the Denton Development Code (DDC) was
needed plus an economic development strategic plan. These were tools in connection with this
project. All of these needed to be put together.
Council Member Gregory suggested doing something in terms of land use to encourage
development in other locations in the City that were smaller than the ones shown on the land use
maps. Take the preferred growth concept down to a smaller neighborhood level.
Lockley stated that the existing plan talked about small centers supported by surrounding
neighborhoods. The preferred growth concept did not exclude the development of other areas in
the City. A starting place for the concept was needed.
Mayor Burroughs stated that it was hard to introduce walkable areas in established
neighborhoods as well as hard to reintroduce mixed use in an established area.
City of Denton City Council Minutes
January 29-30, 2014
Page 3
Lockley stated that the community vision statement would be revisited with feedback on the
preferred growth concept.
Council Member Gregory asked how this vision and concept compared with the 1999 plan.
Lockley stated that the 1999 plan made recommendations for neighborhood centers and
development centers. It talked about development of areas instead of having to go across town
to get services.
Lockley stated that the next area of his presentation dealt with an assessment of the Denton
Development Code (DDC) and development of infill and redevelopment regulations. Areas of
discussion would include (1) Denton Development Code assessment overview, (2) central
themes and recommendations, (3) recommendations being implemented and (4) project schedule
and next steps.
Overview: Project focus – Clarion and Associates would review (1) the efficiency of the
Development Review Process, (2) look at unnecessary barriers to infill and redevelopment and
(3) reorganization of the Code to enhance the user experience of the development code. He
reviewed the results which included information that was consistent with the feedback received
from the development community, staff was in the process of implementing many of the
recommendations and according to Clarion, many of the identified issues were encountered by
growing municipalities.
Three central themes emerged (1) create a more user friendly code, (2) streamline the
Development Review procedures, and (3) establish tailored standards for infill and
redevelopment projects. He presented information on how to create a more user friendly code.
Recommendations were to group related materials together and move all definitions into a single
subchapter. A second suggestion was to establish common review procedures with
recommendations to develop a summary table that listed all application types with decision
making entity and develop a section that outlines standard review procedures. A third
recommendation for a more user friendly code was to include more illustrations, summary tables
and other graphics. The recommendations were to expand the use of illustrations, summary
tables and graphics, and consolidate standards into tables and diagrams to facilitate quicker
understanding.
Council Member Gregory asked if there ever was a time when it would be appropriate to show
examples of what not to do.
Lockley stated yes. A fourth area dealing with a more friendly code involved addressing
concerns with obsolete provisions and inconsistencies. The recommendations were to
incorporate valid land use regulations from the old code to the current DDC and repeal
provisions of the old development code that were no longer in effect or conflict with the DDC.
Streamline the Development Review Process - Goals for this theme were to create a predictable
process with clear expectations, efficiently managed by city staff, and approved applications
result in the desired built environment with the long range vision for the City. These would
streamline the development review process goals.
City of Denton City Council Minutes
January 29-30, 2014
Page 4
Council Member Engelbrecht asked if there would be procedures for unexpected issues.
Lockley stated that staff was considering developing overarching goals and standards so as to not
address every situation that might come up. Look to the situation to determine where and how it
would meet a goal.
He continued with streamlining the development review process. The goals were to improve the
efficiency of the development review process through better coordination with recommendations
to standardize application checklists for consistence between departments and provide flexible
options for DRC meeting times. Another suggestion was to increase delegation of minor
decisions to staff with recommendations to consider delegating approval of certain applications
to staff and clarify which applications required a public hearing versus a public meeting and
define each. Refine the site plan review procedure with recommendations to establish a site plan
review process independent for a building permit and amend procedural sections to indicate
exactly which applications required a site plan was another recommendation.
Consider more effective use of pre-application conferences with recommendations to require
pre-application conferences for more applications and provide more discussion on fees,
exactions, review process and timelines was also recommended.
Establish tailored standards for infill and redevelopment projects – a goal for this theme was to
re-evaluate the current infill special purpose district and re-evaluate the infill district boundary
with recommendations to allow for greater flexibility of administrative adjustments, and redefine
infill and infill development to include a broader range of eligible properties. A second goal was
to reconsider code sections acting as barriers to infill and establish new standards.
Alternative Development Plans was another goal for the infill and redevelopment project theme.
The Alternative Development Plan was a negotiated process that was unpredictable.
Recommendations were to indicate which types of applications could be amended via the ADP
process, offer expedited review process for minor discretionary decisions using the ADP process
rather than following the Planning and Zoning procedures, and inventory approved ADPs as a
basis for potential amendments.
Parking requirements and standards goals for this theme indicated that standards should be
flexible in situations such as redevelopment, mixed use scenarios and shared parking
arrangements. Recommendations included considering parking credits for redevelopment near
transit stations, pedestrian oriented districts and for providing bike parking in excess of the
amount required. Grant the director the authority to approve flexible standards.
Several recommendations which were currently being implemented included (1) existing review
times, (2) enhanced use of ProjectDox, (3) improved customer service, (4) organizational
improvements, (5) tree preservation, and (6) trash enclosures.
Mayor Burroughs stated that under customer service, he would like to make a customer
satisfaction category.
Lockley reviewed the next steps in the project schedule.
City of Denton City Council Minutes
January 29-30, 2014
Page 5
Council Member Roden felt that there was an image problem which was being worked on. He
felt this could be a marketing issue and build up brand to help with that image.
Lockley stated that staff was working to develop a marketing group that would communicate that
out to the community. Staff was also working with the Director of Economic Development on
how to get that information out to the public.
City Manager Campbell stated that it might be possible to enlist people who were in support of
the City’s process to help get the word out.
2.Receive a report, hold a discussion, and give staff direction concerning the City of
Denton strategic plan.
Bryan Langley, Assistant City Manager, presented the 2013-14 Strategic Plan key focus areas.
He stated that the Strategic Plan was originally created in April 2011 and needed to be updated to
reflect accomplishments and new priorities. He reviewed the Key Focus Areas (KFA) in terms
of proposed revisions. KFA 3 was overly broad and lacked specificity. A separate KFA was
proposed for Economic Development to focus on industrial park, retail development, the
development review process, Downtown, Convention Center, and Denton Enterprise Airport.
The Comprehensive Plan information needed to be incorporated into the revised strategic plan.
A separate KFA for Sustainability was proposed and would incorporate elements from the
Council’s approved sustainability plan. A separate goal in KFA 4 was proposed for Library,
Parks, and Leisure Services. KFA 5 would be eliminated and incorporated into other goals as it
closely related to other KFAs in the Strategic Plan and the current performance measures were
difficult to measure.
The KFAs and goals with proposed changes were reviewed. KFA 1 would include a goal to
collaborate with regional, state and federal partners.
Council Member Engelbrecht questioned why local partners were not included in this goal.
Langley stated that was a good idea and it would be added.
Council Member Engelbrecht suggested using a different word for “partners”. Perhaps use
“organizations” or “agencies”.
Council Member Roden stated that the suggested targets were for 2014 and not necessarily
where they currently were.
Langley stated that these were presented in the Quarterly Financial Report to show where they
were in the last quarter, year-to-date and the current quarter.
Council Member Roden asked if there was some kind of metric to see if the Plan was successful.
Langley stated that was not easy to answer but the street reference had been one of the most
valuable portions of the Plan.
City of Denton City Council Minutes
January 29-30, 2014
Page 6
Council Member Roden felt that there were so many points that sometimes it was hard for him
focus on all of the information. There was no definite vision for the different areas and that
might be losing the ability to coordinate with different areas.
Council Member Engelbrecht agreed that there might be information overload. He felt that it
was good to track the steps in the information. In the past, there were no measures at all but now
there was quarterly information. He suggested shrinking the information down for public use so
it would not be so cumbersome.
Mayor Burroughs felt that the Strategic Plan was an internal process giving direction to and from
each department for success. Council was given the information to determine if there were any
missing areas. It was not necessarily intended to go out to the public for their approval.
City Manager Campbell stated that the goal was to provide steps to accomplish the key focus
areas and that there might be subtopics to get to that point.
Mayor Burroughs stated that it was the Council’s job to identify some general goals for staff to
consider.
Council discussed the number of key focus areas and subtopics and how to engage the public in
these issues. They questioned if the tool was useful for interdepartmental issues to achieve the
main goals of the City or could it be a hindrance to the process.
Langley continued that KFA 2 did not have any changes at this time.
Council Member Engelbrecht stated that he never wanted to see the term roadways without the
term bikeways and walkways added. It was not just about cars and this area became more
important as compact growth was developed.
Council Member Roden suggested including a funding mechanism and goal for OCI in the goal
standards.
Council discussed the measurements of the goals for the key focus areas in terms of how they
were reported and the information the measurements were trying to provide.
Mayor Burroughs suggested keeping the document as it was but to include a tie back to each of
the bullet points on-line and as the item was accomplished to make a statement as to what they
were.
Langley stated that staff could identify some key tasks to achieve the goals to show progress. He
continued that the current KFA 3 would be eliminated and a separate KFA would be developed
specifically for economic development. He reviewed the goals associated with the new KFA.
Mayor Burroughs suggested moving the order of the first two key tasks to the bottom of the list
and adding an item to achieve balanced growth between business and residential within the City.
City of Denton City Council Minutes
January 29-30, 2014
Page 7
Council Member Engelbrecht stated that with compact growth there was a need to consider if
future buildings would be condos and how to encourage that growth instead of apartments to
have owner buy-in for the community.
Council Member Roden felt this KFA would be a good location for such partnerships. He
suggested also including the implementation of the economic development plan.
Langley stated that outstanding leisure, cultural and educational opportunities would be added to
KFA 4. KFA 5 would be eliminated and added to other KFAs. A new KFA 5 would deal with
sustainability and environmental stewardship with associated goals.
Council Member Gregory suggested in the area of area of planning and land use to include a
topic regarding redoing of the gas well ordinance.
City Manager Campbell suggested considering a topic associated with the Barnet Shale issues.
Langley indicated that the next steps would incorporate Council feedback and develop specific
objectives for each goal identified. The performance measure would be adjusted to better reflect
the key outcomes desired. In the April/May timeframe staff would review specific revisions
with Council and discuss the relationship to the budget process. A draft of the revised strategic
plan would be submitted to Council in July as part of budget process.
Mayor Burroughs suggested adding to page 8 under Building Inspections “to consider and have
re-inspections finished within x days”. He felt there should be a definitive difference between
inspection and re-inspection and it should not be same 10 days for re-inspection.
3.Discuss and give direction concerning the long, mid, and short term accomplishments,
goals, objectives, plans, vision, mission, values, and strategic plan of the City of Denton
as it relates to city services and infrastructure, streets, parks, finances, budget, planning,
zoning and development, environmental issues, technology, public utilities, taxes,
engineering, economic development, codes enforcement, transportation, purchasing,
management, intergovernmental relations, boards, commissions and committees,
meetings, and, without limitation, any and all operations of the City of Denton city
government.
Walz lead the Council in a discussion on the role-play exercise that the Council worked on
during the prior day. Council viewed a video regarding how to develop a viable city.
Discussion 1 – How do we position the City to achieve our desired future growth, development
and investment? Council broke into small groups to discuss desired outcomes for the next year
and presented those ideas to the entire group. Council discussed and ranked the various key
outcomes from the groups.
Discussion 2 – How do we make communication within the City (among Council members and
between Council and staff) more effective and productive? Council broke into small groups to
discuss desired outcomes and presented those ideas to the entire group. Council discussed and
ranked the various key outcomes from the groups.
City of Denton City Council Minutes
January 29-30, 2014
Page 8
Discussion 3 – How do we communicate with people in Denton so they’re engaged in achieving
the community’s vision? Council broke into small groups to discuss desired outcomes and
presented those ideas to the entire group. Council discussed and ranked the various key
outcomes from the groups.
Discussion 4 – How do we manage this year’s leadership transition? Council broke into small
groups to discuss desired outcomes and presented those ideas to the entire group. Council
discussed and ranked the various key outcomes from the groups.
Wrap up comments-
Mayor Burroughs felt that it was important to have a staff member dedicated to the Mayor and
Council to assist with daily routine.
City Manager Campbell felt that another retreat after the May election was needed but it was
important to have this meeting before the election because staff needed the input from those
members who might be leaving.
Walz reviewed what specific outcomes were wanted for the next year. She listed the top two
ideas suggested by each of the groups for the above discussion categories. Those included:
Vision clearly articulated
Create a special process to encourage incentives and expedite compact growth
nd
Set strategic planning session for 2 Tuesday session
Provide clear direction in work session discussion
Council give specific consensus on direction
Leveraging technology
Assistant City Manager Martin stated that in terms of leveraging technology a specific mention
should include Engage Denton and also Public Communications with their videoing capabilities
for marketing.
City Manager Campbell felt this was a valuable experience for staff and appreciated everyone
attending.
With no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 3:00 p.m.
____________________________________
MARK A. BURROUGHS
MAYOR
CITY OF DENTON, TEXAS
____________________________________
JENNIFER WALTERS
CITY SECRETARY
CITY OF DENTON, TEXAS