April 18, 2002
| Members Present
Patricia Childs Michael Friess Melissa Gallegos Peter Hemingway David Kelly Barbara Koffron Larry Litchfield Scott Mardian Herman Orcutt Danny Ortega Judy Pavsek Greg Russell Julie Stiak Darrell Wilson
Members Absent |
Staff and Interested Parties
Karen Beckley,, City of Phoenix, DSD Carole Borrego,City of Phoenix, DSD Jay DeWitt, City of Phoenix, CED Chris Hartye,, City of Phoenix, Mayor's Office Don Jones, City of Phoenix, Law Jim Mathien, City of Phoenix, Planning/LRT Denee' McKinley, City of Phoenix, DSD Joe McElvaney, City of Phoenix, DSD Joanne Owens, City of Phoenix, DSD John Parks, City of Phoenix, DSD Cindy Stotler, City of Phoenix, DSD Tom Wandrie, City of Phoenix, DSD John Watson, City of Phoenix, Fire Jon Wendt, City of Phoenix, DSD
Ex-Officio's Present
Ex-Officio's Absent
Public
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Pete Hemingway, DAB Chairperson, convened the meeting at 3:10 p.m.
MINUTES OF March 21, 2002:
MOTION was made by Patricia Childs, seconded by Michael Friess, to approve the meeting minutes of March 21, 2002. Motion carried unanimously. seconded
REQUEST FOR FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS:
Mr. Hemingway introduced Ms. Melissa Gallegos who will be replacing Bob Frank.
She will be representing Planning and Zoning.
Ms. Barbara Koffron would like to add the Fire Code Proposal for Article 9, which deals with Fire Department access and water supply. Ms. Koffron stated that her secretary would be sending a draft of this proposal to the Board for their review. All comments need to be submitted in writing to Steve Sheldon, Chairperson of the Fire Safety Advisory Board.
Mr. Michael Fries suggested that the Board hear issues in sustainability that the City would consider in all future projects that would be City funded. He attended a brief presentation on this issue and believes it would be beneficial for the Board to hear.
DISCUSSION OF SUBCOMMITTEE REPORTS:
Executive
DID NOT MEET
Fiscal and Performance Subcommittee
Mr. Orcutt stated that the Sign's Program that Ms. Judy Lenz, Rate Analyst, DSD, has come up
with is going to be very efficient and easy for DSD Staff to learn. This program is staff and
customer friendly.
The Fund Stabilization Policy that the Subcommittee has approved and forwarded on to Alton Washington and is considered to be a policy to date.
Process and Procedures subcommittee:
Mr. Darrell Wilson stated that this subcommittee met and asked to defer the comments until next months
meeting
Technical Subcommittee:
DID NOT MEET
Hillside Subcommittee:
Ms. Julie Stiak stated that the subcommittee will now meet on the last Tuesday of each month.
She will report on what they discussed at next months meeting.
On-Site Retention/Flood Plain Management:
Mr. Hemingway reported that this subcommittee did not meet this month. He stated that
Mr. Carnell Thurman, Engineering Supervisor, did a presentation to the Arizona Consulting
Engineers Association in regards to policies and procedures for floodplain and drainage.
Mr. Thurman stated that the presentation was very well received and considers it a success. He requested comments back from them within 45 days.
DISCUSSION/INFORMATION POSSIBLE ACTION ON THE PUBLIC TRANSIT ACCESSIBLE HOUSING:
Mr. Jim Mathien, Principal Planner, Phoenix Planning Department, began his presentation by
introducing Mr. Gary Corcoran, Chairperson, Mayor's Commission on Disability Issues; Ms. Judith
M. Tunell, Member of the Mayor's Commission on Disability Issues, Liz Carabine, Member of the
Mayor's Commission on Disability Issues along with co-chair of the Housing Committee, and
Mr. Jim Brahaney, Aid to Mayor Rimza.
Mr. Mathien stated that he works for the Light Rail Project. He has been working with the Citizens Transit Commission, which Mr. Corcoran and Ms. Tunell are members also. They have been working on Transit Oriented Development adjacent to the future train stations. He directed the board to look at the handout, which describes Light Rail Transit, along with a map as to where the stations are going to be located. There will be 18 stations in the Phoenix area. Mr. Mathien stated that there would be approximately 2000 feet around each station. Explaining this to the Citizens Transit Commission, Mr. Corcoran, pointed out that it would be important to also address accessible housing as part of transit oriented development.
Mr. Corcoran explained there is a larger dependence on public transit with the disabled community than there is in the general community. Ten percent of the riders are disabled, which doesn't include the senior citizens. Mr. Corcoran's concern is that certain percentages of the people are dependent on public transit and need to have access to it. The standards should be greater than the minimum. The Citizens Transit Commission has supported the idea that this issue needs to be addressed, along with the Mayor's Commission on Disability issues.
The Commission has support from the City Council Transportation and Technology Committee. Mr. Corcoran stated they would like to ask the Development Advisory Board to review the current city standard having to do with trans oriented development or along transit stations. He would like this issue to be addressed by one of the Development Advisory Board Subcommittees and would volunteer a representative from the Mayor's Commission on Disability Issues to be on the subcommittee.
Patricia Childs asked if there was a section in the general plan that address this particular issue. Mr. Mathien stated that in the land use element of the general plan there is a trans oriented development goal and in the goal there is a policy and a recommendation that we take a look at providing a higher standard of accessible housing adjacent to the transit station.
Mr. Hemingway asked what the definition is of "a higher standard of accessible housing." Mr. Mathien stated that all multi-housing units of four or more is under current city code and is part of accessible housing. Because it's expected that the disabled community will want to live near the transit stops, we need to look at the current standard and recognize that it probably needs to be a greater standard near the transit station.
Mr. Hemingway mentioned that based on what Mr. Corcoran stated, he would like to see ten percent of the housing be accessible around the trans oriented development areas. Mr. Cocoran agreed and stated that most of their time is working with people to gain an understanding of what their needs are.
Scott Mardian asked if this is an issue that City staff addresses, or should this issue be sent to a Development Advisory Board subcommittee. Mr. Rick Doell suggested that this go to a subcommittee. The City is working to adopt the NFPA 5000 Code and this issue would fit into this. He suggested that the Technical Subcommittee, along with City staff, work on this issue.
Mr. Darrell Wilson asked what elements are to be addressed by the subcommittee in reference to public housing. Mr. Corcoran stated that there are more requirements to public housing. The efforts are where the need is the greatest.
Judith Tunnell stated that this becomes a philosophical issue as well as a pragmatic issue because the reality is the region attracts people who are seniors and have disabilities. They would like to encourage people to take part in the society and use the public transit system as one of the best ways for them to get economic independence, live a full and happy life, and be equal to those without a disability. They would like to make Phoenix a totally accessible city for those with disabilities, even beyond the ADA standards. Ms. Tunnell went on to say that they are addressing accessibility and adaptability, not just affordability.
Larry Litchfield mentioned that currently there are many existing buildings in the corridor, which will remain and will or will not go through remodeling.
MOTION MOTION was made by Julie Stiak, seconded by Herman Orcutt that the DAB take on this project and assign to a Technical Subcommittee and have at least two or four members of the Mayor's Commission as part of the subcommittee.
DISCUSSION/INFORMATION POSSIBLE ACTION ON FEE RECOVERY AND ENTERPRISE FUND:
Cindy Stotler, Management Services Administrator for the Development Services Department, gave
power point presentation on the Development Services Department Budget Stabilization Policy.
The purpose of this policy is to provide a fund to sustain a revenue short fall over a two-year
cycle. It identifies specific measures to be implemented in the event of over recovery. This
policy also provides measures to implement in the event of under recovery, which is what is
happening this year.
Some budget stabilization measures that Development Services has already implemented include:
· Reduction in non-personnel expenditures, commodities, capital items, food, budgets, etc.
· Reduction in contracted plan review
· Delayed recruitment of staff vacancies - this only included areas that did not affect the workload
· Eliminated all non-billable overtime hours
Other cost cutting measures currently under consideration include:
· Completely eliminating contract plan review
· Adding a permit service center EDMS automation implementation for more online services
· Eliminating temporary staff
· Eliminating contract computer programming staff
The Development Services Department Rate Analyst, Judy Lenz, is working solely on cost recovery
for the department, along with working with the DAB Fiscal and Performance Subcommittee.
Ms. Lenz is currently working on the following:
· Analyzing workload trends and statistics, including an in-depth review of historic trends and perceived anomalies.
· Analyzing Development Services costs
· Analyzing Salaries and Benefits
· Overhead calculations
· Mandatory timekeeping for Plan Review by May 1, 2002 - this will help analyze DSD's costs
· Analyzing Plan Review trends
· Reviewing by project type
DISCUSSION/INFORMATION/POSSIBLE ACTION OF A NEW PROCESS FOR SINGLE FAMILY STANDARD
PLAN REVIEW AND FIELD INSPECTION UPGRADE:
Tom Wandrie, Structural Plans Engineer, Development Services Department, stated that a standard
plan is a house plan that is reviewed once and is built on different lots, rather than a custom
plan that is reviewed once and only built once. Currently the plans are getting very complex,
because the builder is advertising as semi-custom. There is a lot of options, room additions,
garage additions, etc. that affect the plan, and the review takes longer. Development Services
has been working with the Home Builders Association to come up with suggestions/ideas on this
new process.
To make this transition easier, three objectives were suggested:
· How to make these plans easily read.
By cross-referencing and showing where the options are on the plan would help achieve this.
· Equity between custom plan review and standard plan review.
Standard plan review takes longer than a custom plan review. Staff came up with an idea to take the largest
area, which is way it's done on a custom plan, and based on that area a dollar amount was assigned and a fee
adjustment was done. With all the options that the plans now have, DSD is now charging $120.00 for each option.
· When a standard plan is submitted with all the options, come up with all the different combinations that are possible.
In order to save time, DSD will be charging $30.00 per option. The builder can now tell us what options they want to use. They submit to DSD, will calculate the permit fee, and enter it in the computer. There is no limit on this. It will be $30.00 each time the builder wants to change the combination options.
GOAL
The Residential Standard Plan approval is a review process of new residential plans to reduce
plan review time and costs when a single, buildable plan is intended to be used for nearly
identical homes created from the same basic plan on multiple lots.
MOTION was made by Herman Orcutt, seconded by, Judy Pavsek to approve the New Process for Single Family Standard Plan Review and Field Inspection Upgrade that will take effect on April 29, 2002.
Deneé McKinley, Regional Teams Manager, Development Services Department, stated that because overtime has been eliminated, there is a backlog of work. The residential plan review and residential inspection areas are behind in work. Management has asked the structural engineers to assist the residential plan reviewers. To assist the residential inspectors, Management has asked the inspectors from the commercial areas who have had experience in residential areas, assist the residential inspectors.
Inspectors are currently talking with contractors informing them of the expectations regarding this issue. Some models already have this in effect. Shea Homes and Richmond American are using this new ordinance.
DISCUSSION/INFORMATION/POSSIBLE ACTION IN THE CHANGE IN THE SUBDIVISION ORDINANCE:
Carnell Thurman, Engineering Supervisor, Development Services Department, stated that he
reviewed the guidelines and requirements in Chapter 37 of the City of Phoenix Code to develop
residential and commercial industrial subdivisions found errors. Mr. Thurman brought this to
the attention of Tom Callow, Street Transportation Director, and to Don Jones, City Attorney
who agreed with him that the code needs to be amended.
Following are the changes that need to be amended.
Sec. 32-27. Street Design
(1) Longitudian grade.
Arterial streets: As determined by the Street Transportation Director.
Collector streets: Maximum of seven (percent).
Local Streets: Maximum of nine percent.
(2) (a) Concrete or asphalt streets with concrete gutters:
Cross slope desirable Desirable longitudinal grade: 0.4 percent
Minimum: 0.15 percent.
(b) Concrete or asphalt streets without concrete gutters:
Cross slope Longitudinal grade minimum: 0.35 percent
(3) Exceptions. Where rigid adherence to these standards causes unreasonable or unwarranted hardship in design or cost without commensurate public benefit, exceptions may be made by the Department upon review and approval of the Department's Deputy Director, Project Engineering Division Development Services Director or designee.
(c) Vertical curves.
(1) Arterial streets: As determined by Street Transportation Director.
(2) Collector and local streets: Minimum length, one hundred feet, except in cases approved by Department's Deputy Director,
Project Engineering Division the Development Services Director or designee.
MOTION was made by Julie Stiak, seconded by Larry Litchfield to approve the ammendments on Subsection 32, Chapter 27, of the Phoenix City Code as noted
DISCUSSION/INFORMATION/POSSIBLE ACTION ON FIRE HYDRANT LOCATIONS:
Mr. Thurman stated that the Fire Hydrant Location was first brought to the attention of the
DAB on August 2001. A committee was put together that included the Fire Department,
Development Services, and Water Services staff.
The committee developed with a DRAFT that revises the following two ordinances:
PHOENIX CITY CODE CHAPTER 37, SECTION 37-33 requires developers of "new subdivisions and single lot developments, and all other developments other than a single residence on a single lot" to furnish and install water main extensions, service connections and fire hydrants "within the boundary of the development as well as the streets bounding the entire development." Fire hydrant locations shall be as approved by the Development Services Department as part of water line plan approvals.
Fire hydrant maximum spacing is required to be:
approximately 500 feet apart in single family residential developments
approximately 300 feet apart in all other developments including multi-family residential
not more than 350 feet from the most remote hazard or building corner within the
development (500 feet from the most remote point of a building that is completely protected by
a fire sprinkler system installed per NFPA-13)
PHOENIX FIRE CODE ARTICLE 9, SECTION 903 requires developers of new buildings, or buildings undergoing a change in occupancy, to install fire hydrants along the public street and/or inside the development along approved fire apparatus access roads (fire lanes) as necessary to meet various distance requirements specified in the Fire Code. These Fire Code requirements apply to all types of development including individual single family residences. Fire hydrant locations shall be as approved by the Fire Department and the Development Services Department as a condition of the building permit.
Mr. Thurman made a power point presentation to the Board showing pictures and examples of fire hydrant locations.
MOTION was made by Julie Stiak seconded by Judy Pavsek, to accept the proposed amendments as indicated above. Motion carried unanimously.
CALL TO PUBLIC (NO BOARD DISCUSSION):
Ms. Barbara Koffron stated that on Wednesday, May 17, 2002, the City Council passed the
Sprinkler Ordinance unanimously. She expressed her thanks to the Board for their time and
effort in working with the Fire Safety Advisory Board to get this ordinance passed.
Mr. Rus Brock, Home Builders Association complemented the Development Services Department for their quick response to the Homebuilders concern on residential inspections.
Mr. Brock mentioned that they have started working on the Storm Water Policy and Standards Manual. Carnell Thurman brought this to them at their last Home Builders monthly meeting. A team of engineering staff, along with home builders will be working on this manual. Mr. Brock stated that this was a very technical manual and that 45 days is too quick for them to bring comments back to the Board. They will work as quickly as possible to bring information back to the Board.
ADJOURNMENT:
MOTION was made by Herman Orcutt, seconded by Judy Pavsek, to adjourn the April 18, 2002 DAB Meeting. Motion carried unanimously.
Session adjourned at 4:20 p.m.
Respectfully submitted:
Karen Beckley, Management Assistant II
For Rick Doell, P.E. Deputy Director, Building Official
Minutes Prepared by:
Carole Borrego, Secretary III
| c: |
Board Member Mayor Skip Rimsza City Council Members Mr. Fairbanks City Clerk Mr. Washington Mr. Lyons
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Mr. Wendt Mr. Goodhue Mr. Dolasinski Ms. McKinley Ms. Beckley Mr. Bunyard Mr. Doell Mr. Fleming Mr. Horne Mr. Kienow Mr. Mundy |
Mr Parks Ms. Reed Mr. Singbush Ms. Stotler Mr. Thurman Ms. Owens
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Last Modified on 06/21/2002 16:17:26