Citizens Agenda for Meetings on August 27, 2019

Citizens Agenda

Council meeting agendas are often difficult for people to navigate. Filled with jargon and legal requirements on how an item must be listed, it can be a challenge to determine what Council members are actually discussing or deciding on.
What follows is a staff interpretation of the agendas.
The official published agendas and supporting materials can be found here:  http://agendas.provo.org

PROVO MUNICIPAL COUNCIL
Work Meeting Agenda
1:00 PM, Tuesday, August 27, 2019

Work Meetings are designed to be a less formal venue for discussion among Council Members. Generally, no public input is taken during the meeting.

Business

1. A presentation on policy updates from the Utah League of Cities and Towns. (19-089)
   
   • Cameron Diehl, Executive Director of ULCT, will update the Council on the work of the Utah League of Cities and Towns over the past few months.
2. A discussion regarding sewer capacity west of I-15 and a consideration of options. (19-085)
   
   • For many years, City officials in Provo have known that sewer system capacity was a limiting force in further residential and commercial development in Provo west of Interstate 15. The wastewater collection system in west Provo was planned for many years based on most of west Provo remaining in agricultural use as identified in the general plan. However, in the last 10-15 years, there has been greater demand for additional residential development in this area. Within the last few years, the City has adopted a new Southwest Area Plan in the General Plan document that gives much more specificity as to planned development and density in the area. Additionally, Provo High School has moved to the northwest area in the city, consuming some sewer capacity and likely stimulating more growth in the future in this area of the city. Provo School District has also announced plans to relocate Dixon Middle School to southwest Provo in the next few years, which will also require added sewer capacity in this part of Provo.
   • With a number of forces at work, many land owners and developers in the area have argued that additional sewer capacity on the west side has become more critical and time-sensitive, and would like to approach the Council to consider strategies to accelerate capacity expansion.
   • Council leadership has asked that Public Works staff come to the work meeting on August 27 to provide some history and context and to talk specifically about the current CIP plan and how it relates to this increasing demand. They have also offered to some of the larger developers and land owners in this part of Provo to present their plans and perspectives on September 10. Our hope is that if the Council would like to see any alternatives to the current CIP plan and strategy, the Council would ask staff after the September 10 meeting to develop some scenarios that could be considered.
   • The Administration sees this as an important policy question that impacts the City budget, development pace on the west side, housing availability, agricultural preservation, transportation, and other important policy issues. The Council's consideration of any potential policy changes should be made carefully with good data and careful consideration, and these discussions are intended to begin a dialogue with the stakeholders to see if a change in current policy is warranted or advisable.

Proposed changes for accessory apartments - updated

(8/19/2019 updated for clarification) Over the past year, the Council Housing Committee has been working on finding ways to increase the number of affordable units within Provo City. One of the ways in which this has been considered is by easing the requirements on, and increasing the number of, accessory units. This applies to areas currently zoned with "A-" and "S-" overlays (indicated in residential zoning with an "A" or an "S" following the zoning designation).

Recently, the Council put this consideration forward to the Planning Commission and received a positive recommendation.  However, before the Council moves forward with the legislation they would like to receive input from residents.

The proposed legislation will be discussed during the 27 August Work Meeting and formally considered during Council Meeting on 10 September 2019. Below are the highlights of this proposed legislation (with new provisions highlighted in yellow):

Noticing 101

The Provo City Council, Planning Commission, and other public bodies have to obey specific statutes about public meetings. That includes giving a certain amount of public notice so residents know about those meetings.