Multi-Family Development Task Force Minutes

April 2, 2007

Task Force Members Present:  King Coltrin, Jim Dow, Brent Haselhorst, Bob Hunt, Jack Hunter, Robert Jones, Matt Morrow, Kevin Roods, Gene Walker, Linda Walker, Ron Weis

Staff Present:  Ralph Rognstad, David Hutchison, Ann Razer, Bob Hosmer

Anyone attending and not listed should notify staff.

The meeting began with a discussion of a new schedule.  Because work on the matrix is taking longer than expected and because staff will have to go back to City Council for a second extension of the administrative delay, meetings will last from 6:00 to 9:00 starting with the next meeting.  If it begins to look like the task force will not complete its work by the end of June, we will start to meet every week.  Also, the week of the Memorial Day Holiday, the task force will meet on Wednesday (May 30) at the usual time and in the usual place.

Staff made a lengthy presentation on the design guidelines.  Staff members have taken the rather vague guidelines used in Charlotte, and used in Springfield for planned development, and suggested more exact wording.  Staff need more exact wording in order to be able to measure whether or not a developer’s proposal meets a specific design guideline.  The task force was supportive of this.  The presentation made by staff also applied the more clearly defined design guidelines to three of the sites previously ranted on the matrix. 

The task force conducted a long and lively discussion of the proposed wording for the guidelines.  The task force discussed the importance of using the Town House zoning category as a buffer between multi-family and single family developments whenever possible.  The task force voted unanimously to go with a graduated point system for scoring on the design guidelines.  The exact method of scoring will be worked out later.  The task force did not want to go with an all or nothing approach as is used in Charlotte, North Carolina.  Staff proposed 5 points if all the design guidelines are met, 2 points if ½ of the guidelines in each of the three categories are met, and 0 points if fewer than ½ of the guidelines in each of the three categories are met.  The task force members were generally agreeable to this proposal but the exact distribution of points will be voted on after the work on wording of the guidelines is completed.

The meeting was adjourned.

NEXT MEETING – Monday April 16, 6:00 to 9:00, 4th floor conference room, Busch Municipal Building.

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