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MEMORANDUM Date: May 6, 2013 To: Janine Jordan, City Manager From: Randy Hunt, Community Development Director Subject: Report: Community Development Dept. – April 2013 Code Administration, Building Permits: Here are the permit summary statistics for March 2013: Month YTD 13 YTD 12 Month YTD 13 YTD 12 New Single Family 3 8 2 1,407,000.00 1,932,866.00 267,165.00 New Multiple Family 1 455,000.00 No. Units - YTD 13 No. Units - YTD 12 New Manufactured Homes Residential Remodel 12 28 30 150,656.00 271,911.00 363,167.00 New Commercial or Industrial 1 358,686.00 New Public Facilities Commercial, Industrial or Public Remodel 2 15 12 53,072.00 12,597,983.00 832,595.00 Demolition 1 3 22,000.00 29,290.00 Signs 1 6 5 100.00 136,926.00 31,970.00 Electrical 21 46 69 222,175.00 2,353,078.00 2,078,059.00 Plumbing 26 69 58 409,963.00 4,221,226.00 557,357.00 Mechanical 16 41 44 1,005,249.00 4,134,645.00 413,387.00 Misc. TOTALS 81 214 225 3,248,215.00 25,670,635.00 5,386,676.00 Permits Valuations1 This month, let’s consider a statistic that isn’t typically reported in the Report summaries: namely, the permits issued and fees collected by our department for new utility services. The vast majority of fees collected in the Community Development Dept. go into the General Fund. However, a small proportion of our Code Administration Division collections are posted to the Water and Wastewater Enterprise Funds. For each project that requires new utility service, the Division collects fees in four categories related to utilities. (These are in addition to regular building permit and City of Laramie Community Development Department P.O. Box C Laramie, WY 82073 Planning: (307) 721-5207 Code Administration: (307) 721-5271 Fax: (307) 721-5248 Engineering: (307) 721-5250 Fax: (307) 721-5216 TTD: (307) 721-5207 ---PAGE BREAK--- May 6, 2013 Page 2 plan review fees; the latter are posted to General Fund The four categories are: Water Meter sales [actually a purchase of hardware, and not a fee, strictly speaking]; Sales tax on the purchased water meters; Water Plan Investment Fees; and Sewer Plant Investment Fees. As you might expect, collections in and go to the Water Enterprise Fund and collections in go to Wastewater Enterprise Fund. Collections for sales tax are accounted to the State along with our other sales-tax collections. How the fees are determined and what purposes they serve in the City’s revenue stream are topics beyond our focus. However, it’s interesting to consider these activities on their own merits, for they often reflect larger development patterns and trends in Laramie. Here are our March 2013 utility permit and collection figures: Permits Fees Month YTD 13 YTD 12 Month YTD 13 YTD 12 Plant Investment Fees 1 6 2 $11,664.00 $56,936.00 $25,272.00 Water Meters 1 6 2 $490.00 $3,170.75 $1,708.00 [Note that sales tax is not reported, as it’s accounted elsewhere in the budget, and that we report water and sewer PIFs together, as the sewer PIF is a fixed 93.05 percent of the water PIF.] What do the stats tell us? First, the YTD 2013 figures for both utility permits and utility fees are running well ahead of YTD 2012. That is a fairly good indicator that individual new project starts were going relatively well this year. Bear in mind that a single new building usually pulls a single new meter, whether a small house or a major commercial building. The fees are somewhat more proportional to project value, which is why the fees YTD comparison is not quite as far ahead this year. There are vastly more residential single-family buildings in Laramie than multi-family or commercial buildings. On one level, new housing starts are only a small piece of growth and development. However, trends in single-family housing can paint a different picture of development when viewed alone. In the current example, new housing starts undoubtedly reflect nicer late-winter weather than we had a year ago… but it is interesting to observe that single-family housing supply continues to grow, albeit slowly. Builders are not likely to continue building in an oversaturated market. At least some developers are confident in Laramie’s future. In future months, I’ll continue to note some of the more easily overlooked elements in our permit statistics. ---PAGE BREAK--- May 6, 2013 Page 3 Code Enforcement: Here are the Code Enforcement figures for April 2013: New Issues for April 2013 Type of Violation Total Number Not Resolved Total Number Not Resolved Total Number Not Resolved Offensive Growth 122 102 0 102 90 121 90 Junk 27 15 24 39 15 61 15 Junked Vehicles 7 5 3 8 4 9 4 Abandoned vehicles 1 0 1 1 0 7 0 Other 3 1 18 19 0 36 0 Snow removal 30 0 0 0 0 243 0 Nuisance Totals 190 123 46 169 119 477 119 Volunteer Hours 37 0 15.5 15.5 0 52.5 0 2013 2013 End of Year to *Coordinated and supervised Community Cleanup Day resulting in over 480 volunteers cleaning up garbage, 1070 vehicles using the landfill while basic fees were waivered, and feeding over 180 volunteers after the cleanup. Date End of April March 2013 The Code Enforcement statistics continue to closely track figures from previous years. The April snow-removal figures can fluctuate quite a bit from year to year, as April is the most variable month for snowfall, both snow days and inches of snow. As all have no doubt noticed, April had several snow events, but the accumulation for each snowfall went away by itself pretty quickly. Community Clean-Up Day: Here are the statistics for this year’s Clean-Up Day, held on April 27 (postponed from Apr. 20 due to threat of bad weather): ~480 volunteers picking up trash ~900 bags of trash 1070 vehicles through the landfill (396 on Apr. 20th & 674 on Apr. 27th) Fed ~180 People Totals in each category are somewhat better than April 2012 – and significantly better for landfill visits. The landfill traffic undoubtedly was influenced by the City’s decision to offer free access on the original April 20 date and the rescheduled April 27 date. ---PAGE BREAK--- May 6, 2013 Page 4 Planning: April 2013 highlights include: Planning Commission/Board of Adjustment met twice in April holding a hearing on the following matters: FP-12-04 Indian Ridge Final Plat - Postponed Tree Area Overlay District (TAO) – Informational Only CUP-13-03 312 7th Street (Family Child Care Center) – Approved CUP-13-04 618 Ord Street (Child Care) – Approved CPA-13-01: Land Use Plan Amendment requesting a change from Estate to Auto Urban Multifamily for approximately 6 acres at the northeast corner of Bobolink Street and Vista Drive (proposed for future annexation) – 3-1 recommendation to approve (3 absent), PC Resolution did not pass due to lack of majority vote. 4 new development applications were submitted to the Planning Division during the month of April, consisting of: o MS-13-01 Eastridge Subdivision o VAR-13-01 1729 Ord Street o FP-13-01 (Krijensa Subdivision) a final plat proposing 3 lots within the City’s extraterritorial jurisdiction. o CUP-13-05 Ft. Sanders building at La Bonte Park repurpose (Feeding Laramie Valley) Staff continues to work with the owners of the Laramie Country Club regarding de-annexation. The Ad-Hoc Committee established to oversee the update to the Parks, Trails and Recreation Master Plan met on April 10th and 24th. The committee continues to work on providing guidance to City Staff in the drafting of the Plan. Staff continues to work with AVI Engineering on preparation of the LaBonte Park. Orion Planning Group continues to work on the update to the Turner Tract Area Plan. Staff and the consultant met with major stakeholders throughout the day on both the 6th and 7th of March. Additionally a public open house was held for anyone interested in the development of the Turner Tract on March 6th at 6:00 pm at the Recreation Center. The meeting was well attended. Staff anticipates a short update by the consultants to the Planning Commission and City Council, on May 6th. Work on other long term projects continues: o A draft Ordinance on the Tree Area Overlay Zone is ready and will be before Planning Commission at their May 13th regular meeting. o Staff continues to receive feedback for future Development Code revisions and expects to bring “Round Three UDC Revisions” forward to the Planning Commission this spring. o Staff is continues the process to update the UDC Use Table. Staff is soliciting comment for the City webpage and social media platforms and from area organizations. o Trihydro continues work on the I-80 Aquifer protection Monitoring Well Design and Hazardous Spill Detention Pond Design. ---PAGE BREAK--- May 6, 2013 Page 5 Engineering: April activities: Development Review Eleven projects were reviewed by Engineering Staff this month, with comments returned to the originating division. o Library Restaurant, De-Annexation of the Laramie Country Club, UW Gateway Center, UW Performing Arts Facility, UW Literacy Research Center The Pointe – Building 1, UW Half Acre Gym, Dickenson Garage Conversion, UW General Storage Addition, and Krijensa Final Plat. Three projects remain in review. o The Point Sanitary Sewer Sizing, and Snowy Range Evangelical Free Church Addition. o Review on Lot 13, Block 2, Eastridge Subdivision continues, but final comments will not be issued until a signed plat is submitted. A note to that effect has been forwarded to Staff originating the review. Staff reviewed plan sets for the 2013 UW Campus Concrete and Asphalt Repairs, which pertain primarily to ADA improvements of sidewalk and roadways. Staff continues to have meetings and phone calls with consultants working on the proposed high school site in the Turner Tract parcel. Staff continues working with the Surveyor on the Boulder Plat, to facilitate the necessary “Letter of Map Revision”. Staff continues working on utility, drainage and street layout for the Cirrus Sky Project. Worked with utilities to try and optimize utility locations in the proposed roundabouts. Coordination with other City Departments Staff worked on the design of a ditch and inlets for Aragon Softball Complex. Staff has assisted Parks Department with the Gateway Drainage Project. Staff is working with the Parks, Recreational, Trails, and Natural Areas Master Plan. Staff has assisted Parks Department in the RFP for well system for Non-Potable Irrigation. Staff is participating in the City’s Wellness Committee, and is currently planning the June 2013 Wellness Fair. Construction Inspections Staff continues inspections of local development projects and City projects that are under construction. Staff is conducting inspections of storm water and erosion issues. Capital Improvement Projects. SPT Schedule 2, Phase 9 alley (Russell/Fetterman Alley from 5th to 7th) has been awarded to JD Hamaker, with an anticipated start of construction mid May. ---PAGE BREAK--- May 6, 2013 Page 6 West Laramie Drainage Mitigation (Cottonwood Estates) is on hold, pending changes resulting from conflicts with existing utilities. Staff and Contractor are working on possible changes to the location of the storm pipe. Traffic Commission No meeting required in March due to lack of agenda items. Urban Systems Advisory Committee (USAC) Staff attended the USAC meeting. Primary discussions were on revisions to the Major Street and Highway Map, and the Functional Classification Map. Continuing Education Public Works Inspection Staff attended training in Casper to obtain the necessary training hours to maintain licensing. Cirrus Sky Technology Park: Some April 2013 highlights for CSTP’s project management team: The former Coughlin property is now owned by the City of Laramie. Closing took place on Wed. May 1 at 10:00 am. The final cost to the City was $1,456,618.12. (By interesting happenstance, the Turner Tract closing with ACSD1 took place immediately following the Coughlin closing, with close to the same amount changing hands – ACSD1 paid approx. $1.35 million.) City staff are managing the property as a City asset for the time being. Engineering and Surveying provided a draft preliminary plat for staff review. Few revisions were necessary, as staff has remained in close contact with the Coffey survey team. Detailed engineering for CSTP Phase 1A is more than halfway done. City staff have mostly completed, or late-stage drafts of, drawings and calculations for grading, water and sanitary sewer profiles, and road cross-sections. Drainage design is proving to be a bit more complex than originally anticipated, but solutions are available. Parks and Recreation staff have contracted with a design firm to lay out a precise alignment for the ridgeline trail. The trail centerline has been staked and GPS data taken, so trail layout can be coordinated with other subdivision and site-design elements. The same design firm is preparing a few illustrative visual renderings of the trail corridor and the view from below the ridgeline. Tentative plans are to display these at a neighborhood meeting in mid-May. The traffic study for Cirrus Sky and vicinity (including existing eastern Reynolds Street and vicinity) is nearing completion. Traffic counts have been obtained on Reynolds, 22nd and 30th Sts., and analysis is underway. A neighborhood meeting to review traffic information and options is scheduled for Thursday, May 9, from 4:00 to 6:00 pm at Indian Paintbrush Elementary School. Easement and right-of-way agreements for infrastructure and access to Cirrus Sky are under review by City staff and the respective landowners. The preliminary plat is tentatively scheduled for review by Planning Commission at their Monday, May 13 meeting, and by City Council at a special meeting on Thursday, May 30, subject to Council approval.