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Urban Initiatives FY 10 Task List Ordinance and regulation revision When the rewrite of the zoning ordinance was first contemplated OPG’s workplan reflected a commitment of 1.0 FTE to the project for its duration. However, the unprecedented level of public outreach that has accompanied the rewrite process has demanded a substantial increase in staff time devoted to the project. During FY 09, Urban Initiatives staff has spent nearly a half-time equivalent in pubic meeting coverage alone. During FY 10 staff anticipates concluding the review of the zoning code, initiating and completing review of revised subdivision regulations and proposing adjustments to both documents during their break-in periods. Planning Board has also identified several provisions to be added to the zoning ordinance once the overhaul is complete. In addition, two issues that the Planning Board will consider as FY 09 draws to a close – the Downtown Master Plan and the Historic Preservation Overlay will require amending the new zoning ordinance as well. During FY 10 the City Council adopted a revised zoning code, Title 20, and UI staff has worked closely with the Permits section in implementing the code and in developing a package of adjustments to the new ordinance. The Planning Board has recommended adoption of the companion revisions in the Subdivision Regulations that are now before the Council. Council also adopted the Downtown Master Plan as an amendment to the growth policy and amended the new zoning code to incorporate historic preservation standards. Staff time: 2100 hours Orchard Homes/ Target Range plan Prior to FY 09 the Board of County Commissioners, in accordance with the Interlocal Agreement, agreed to a budget enhancement to cover a portion of the costs associated with development of policies and implementation tools to address growth issues in the unincorporated areas that lie within the City’s Wastewater Service boundaries. To date this effort has consisted primarily of neighborhood planning activity in the Target Range and Orchard ---PAGE BREAK--- Homes areas. Staff will complete work on these plans and submit them to the governing bodies in the first half of FY 10. Neighbors in the Target Range area have completed work on a neighborhood plan. Their draft was amended and forwarded to the governing bodies by the Planning Board. Planning efforts in Orchard Homes have stalled but staff intends to re-circulate draft work that was in progress after the target Range plan is adopted. Staff time: 1200 hours Council project contingency The City Council has consistently indicated its intention to maintain a contingency available for projects that emerge after budget adoption. Most contingent hours have been devoted to the major revisions of the zoning and subdivision regulations. Other contingent items currently include garage-setback revisions, small-lot standards and provisions for trails in subdivision regulations. Staff time: 500 hours Growth policy review When necessary Urban Initiatives staff will review subdivision proposals as well as other pending projects for compliance with the County Growth Policy. This is an ongoing activity with significant effort this year directed toward the Downtown Master Plan. Maintenance of data for the Urban Fringe Development Area (UFDA) is also now a major component of growth-policy review. Staff time: 300 hours Growth policy update State statute requires a review of the growth policy every five years. Missoula’s policy will be due for review in 2011. During FY 10 OPG staff will prepare a recommendation to the City Council regarding the necessity for or desirability of updating and amending the current growth policy. Scoping of the 5-year growth-policy update has been deferred for a year. During FY 10 staff developed amendments to the growth policy to incorporate identification of gravel resources and the wildland- urban interface (WUI). In collaboration with Rural Initiatives, UI staff engaged in a review of the growth policy designed to avoid legal challenges. The staff is also exploring mechanisms to incorporate ---PAGE BREAK--- extra-jurisdictional acknowledgement of policy amendments in order to maintain consistency between City and County documents. Staff time: 500 hours Mayor’s Housing Initiative The City Administration will explore a variety of implementation strategies for increasing the supply of affordable housing in Missoula. OPG has contracted with the Bureau of Business and Economic Research to conduct a housing study in order to determine where limited housing resources may be most effectively applied. Results of the survey will be available in June when the City cosponsors a conference designed to explore affordable housing options. Staff continues to work with several owners and developers who have expressed interest in including affordable units in proposed projects. Staff time: 1000 hours Agricultural lands policy Throughout the UFDA and zoning rewrite processes, citizens have raised the issue of the community’s dwindling agricultural resources. It is clearly the intent of many local elected officials to explore mechanisms for preserving agriculturally significant properties for continued food production in a fashion that is consistent and predictable. OPG staff will develop proposals that address preservation of agricultural lands for consideration by the governing bodies. Considerable time has been devoted to collecting and reviewing information describing other local government efforts to address agricultural issues. OPG has recommended that the City and County sponsor a community-wide discussion of agriculture policy in September. Staff is currently evaluating models developed in other communities as the basis for a presentation of policy options in support of local agriculture. Staff time: 1200 hours Customer service, education and outreach A significant amount of staff time is devoted to public requests for information, interpretation and analysis of the community’s growth and land use policies. In addition the Urban Initiatives section has ---PAGE BREAK--- undertaken more formal efforts with the Community Forum, Neighborhood Councils and other groups to provide public education on growth policy issues and implementation practices. Staff time: 600 hours Administration Management meetings, personnel duties, scheduling, etc. Staff time: 400 hours Non-productive time Vacations, sick and other leave time. Staff time: 500 hours ---PAGE BREAK--- Task list options FY 2011 GIS policy development – Policies and protocols for access to electronic information by staff and public. Agriculture policy – Development of policy options, including proposal for preservation of prime soils through subdivision. Regulatory changes – Current list includes small lots, riparian, agriculture, public trails, agreements re improvements and residential wind generation. Orchard Homes Neighborhood Plan – Exploration of political will to pursue planning efforts in wake of Target Range plan adoption. Historic Overlay application – Work with self-selected neighborhood to preserve historic characteristics through newly adopted ordinance. Affordable housing – Residential development proposals for City- owned and/or City-supported parcels. Form-based code – Implementation of land-use strategies in Downtown Master Plan. Growth Policy – Scoping of updates to growth policy and urban comprehensive plan. Neighborhoods – Compilation of neighborhood datasets. Council Contingency Customer service, education and outreach Administration Non-productive time