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Home My WebLink About1996-08-21 Community and Economic Development Committee Minutes ' C4i��IML)NITY& ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CC7MMITTEE ' Wednesday, August 21, 1996 �,,7a 5:00 PM ! MTNUTES . COMMITTEE PRESENT: Councilor Chris Popper, Chair Councilor Marshall Fxankel (sitting in far Cauncilar Gerard$aldacci} � Councilor James Tyler (sitting in for Councilor Charles Sullivan) STAFF PRESENT: Rodney G. McKay, Directar of Comrnunity and Economic Development T.J. Martzial, C.D. Housing Resaurces Coordinator John Lord, Planning OfFcex Dan Wellingtan, Code Enforcement Officer OTHERS PR.ESENT: Residents of Center Street {see attached} The meeting was called to order by Committee Chair, Cauncilar Chris Popper, at 5:00 PM. AGENDA ITEM#1 - C.4. 9b-345,Amending Chaptez III, Art. 6, Schedule I af the Laws and Ordinances of the City of Bangor-Parking Prohibited at All Times - Center Street � Rod McKay updated the Committee on this issue stating that the propased amendment would prevent parking on the hospital side of Center Street from Congress Street to Broadway due to the ongoing construction at St. 3aseph's Haspital: This was discussed at the previous C&ED meeting; it will be on the upcoming City Council a�enda for consideration. This will be a temporary zneasure untii construction is campleted. M IResidents of the neighbarhood were in attendance to eYpress their feelings on this issue. i - One resident suggested discantinuing paxking an the west side of the street in order to d'zscauraae the parkers ta go from one side of the street to the other. Mark 4'Connell, of 345 Center Street, spoke to the Committee stating that there are approYimately 27 sznall children who Iive in this area and he is concerned for their safety. He fi,zrther stated that he has noticed that when there are fewer cars parked on the street,the greater the speed of the traffic (approaching and exceedin� 50-60 tniles per hour sometimes). He also submitted a petition with area resident's signatures who also appase the parking changes; they feel the changes will result in safety and convenience problems. Williarn Reed, of$7 Montgoznery Street, stated that the employees of the hospital and the construction workers who park on Center Street have to cross the street several times a day and, • as he sees it,put themselves and the motorists at a safety risk. He further stated that when he is exitin�Montgomezy Stareet onto Center Street he has to pull clase to the center of the street to see oncomina traffic north and south due to the parked cars. He did state, however,that if these cars ' 2/ • were prohibited from parking there,they will then move to a side street,which is usually Montgomery Street, and this only results in problems for those residents. John LaFever of 27 Grant Street stated that before the construction project started there was a meeting held whereby St. Joseph's told the area residents they would have the workers park in a designated area and they would be shuttled over to the work site. That never occurred. Last February, St. Joseph's told the residents that attempts at monitoring the workers parking on Center Street would be made and that if they continued to park their cars there,they would be ` towed away. This apparently did not occur according to Mr. LaFever. He further emphasized that the cause of the problem is that employees and construction workers are simply not parking where they should be. He feels resolving this situation is the responsibility of St: Joseph's Hospital and that they should take care of it. John Cummings of Montgomery Street spoke stating that the problem is a symptom of a larger problem. He feels that the City of Bangor should be enforcing the regulations of the permitted application(82494) received by St. Joseph's Hospital as well as the requirements of URD-1 zoning. He further stated that the residents will petition the City to find a solution or, if nothing is done,they will go to the State to petition that their local property taxes be reduced. He asked Staff to explain the purpose of the URD-1 zoning. John Lord replied to Mr. Cummings question statina that this zone is a single family • residential district(low density) which is applied primarily in the developed azeas of the community in order to provide residential development standards. A resident of 82 Montgomery Street stated that although she does not have the answer to � the parking problem on Center Street she has two children(2 & 3 years old) whose safety she is concerned about; she does not appreciate the fact that the area where her home 'is located has become nothing more than a giant parking lot; she keeps the doors locked and does not dare let the children be on the sidewalk because of the heavy traffic. When she has company, they are not able to find a spot in front of her home to park. She &her husband have 2 cars and at times have to park down the street from their home; this is not riQht and the City needs to correct the problem of a residential area becoming a parking lot. y Another gentleman who resides at 298 Center Street spoke to the Committee stating that his daughter was hit by a vehicle on Center Street. He had asked the City before to post a "No Parking from Here to the Corner" sign near his residence -which was installed. During the winter,however, it was knocked down by a snowplow; City crews came by,picked it up but did not reinstall it. He called public works regarding this;they responded that they would record his complaint but the sign has not been reinstalled as of this date. Mr. Cummings again spoke on the subject of perhaps having the residential nei�hborhoods zoned for their parking needs only. He asked if someone from the City is going � to enforce the regulations of the permitted application granted to St. Joseph's Hospital; he's also concerned with respect to the allotted 502 parking spaces which are to be available to the hospital when construction is completed as to whether or not they��ill actually be supplied. He also critized the City for not doing more for the residents when the blasting was being done in terms of seeinQ that the contractor comply with regulations. � 3/ John Lord explained to the residents in attendance the application process as well as the • Certificate of Occupancy requirements. Councilor Jim Tyler further explained the role of the Planning Board and Code Enforcement in this process. Councilor Tyler moved that the Committee recommend denial of C.O. 96-345 to the full Council until a solution has been found. Seconded. So voted. This item will be discussed at the City Council meeting on Monday, August 19, 1996 at 7:30 PM. Councilor Tyler further stated that anyone from the public wishing to attend to make comments solely on parking is welcome. The Committee asked Rod McKay to meet with hospital ofFcials prior to Monday's meeting to further discuss this matter. AGENDA ITEM#2 -Request for License for Placement of a Shipping Drop Box on Sidewalk Outside Office Building Located at 6 State Street-Airborne Express Rod McKay presented a request from Airborne Express for a shipping drop box at 6 State Street. There are currently two post office boxes in this area; standard fee for such use is $150 per year. The license that Staff proposes is the same as used for other companies who have been granted permission for their drop off boxes. Staff recommends approval of this request. • A motion was made and seconded to recommend approval of this request as presented. So voted. AGENDA ITEM#3 - Downtown Parking Amendment Due to the restriping of the Downtown Rotary System (as recommended by the Downtown Circulation Study) an amendment to the Parking Ordinance will change three spaces adjacent to intersections from one-hour parking to no parking. It will also redesignate a space for handicap use to replace the handicap space deleted from the one-hour schedule. The approximate trial time for these changes is estimated at a year. Staff recommends these changes. A motion was made and seconded to recommend these chanQes as presented to the full Council. So voted. y AGENDA ITEM#4 -Downtown Parking Update John Lord presented an amendment which would change the time limit for the 41 parking spaces on the upper deck at the Hammond Street parking deck from 2 hours to 30 minutes. As a secondary part of this item, a recent survey was conducted by Gary Jewell, Parking Supervisor, • in order to determine the utilization of the deck. His findings show that the stron�est utilization of the deck is not being acquired. Steve Kern and Daniel Ryan, business owners on Columbia Street, spoke to the Committee statinQ that an hour time frame would be more suitable for their businesses clientele. 4/ � Councilor Tyler moved to recommend to the full Council C.O. 96-240,to be amended by substitution to reflect that the parking limit be changed from 30 minutes to 1 hour parking on the Hammond Street upper deck. Seconded. So voted. Councilor Chris Popper asked Rod McKay to notify surrounding neighbors of this recommendation. AGENDA ITEM#5 - Code Enforcement Update Councilor Tyler asked Dan Wellington what is being done with the burned residential property on York Street? Dan replied that the insurance company has not yet settled on this claim; Dan will contact the owner and request that the tarp be replaced on the burned roof. Also, Councilor Tyler inquired as to which City Dept. is responsible for enforcing local taxi cab inspections. Gary Jewell replied that it is the responsibility of the Police Department. Councilor Tyler requested that the taYi cab companies be made to adhere to the local requirements of cleanliness and safety of vehicles. Councilor Frankel brought up the issue of the crosswalk barrel signs and the risk of one being hit by a car and the potential of the sign injurying someone. Gary Jewel replied that he would investigate this possibility. • AGENDA ITEM#6 - Planning Update John Lord indicated 1)that there will be a zone change on Broadway coming back to the Committee from the Planning Board. It is consistent both with the City's zoning policy and land development policy. 2) John emphasized to the Committee that St. Joseph's Hospital requirement to have 502 parking spaces (which meets the City's ordinance requirements)will not control the behavior of the people who work there or necessarily be sufficient parking to handle their demand. John stated that approximately three years ago he had inquired of personnel at St. Joseph's if they were considering hiring a consultant to do a study of the hospital's parking needs rather than to rely on an arbitrary standard in the City's ordinance. The hospital chose not to have a siudy done. AGENDA ITEM#7 - Cyrus Clark House- Supplemental Loan Funds T.J. Martzial, C.D. Housing Resources Coordinator,presented a request for additional loan funds for the Cyrus Clark House project in order to complete the work. A motion was made and seconded to approve this request as presented. So voted. AGENDA ITEM#8 -Update on Union Street Development Site Rod McKay stated that he and City Engineer Jim Ring have met with the party (the only • respondent to the RFP)who is interested in developing the Union Street Development Site. The prospective developer would like to meet with the Council on Monday,August 26th to make a presentation of his conceptual plans and request developer status. Staff recommends approval of this request. � 5/ • Other Business Councilor Tyler inquired as to the current status on the development of the waterworks facility. Rod McKay replied that Staff is working with the developer on his proposal and will keep Committee updated periodically. With no other business at hand,the meeting was adjourned at 6:15 PM. rP � � � August 21,1996 The fallowing residents of Center St., in the area of th� proposed parking regulations change, oppose the changes. We believe that those changes will result in saftey and convenience problems. Name Address Date � _��}��.�------3�s _�<.��_%__--___--_�-=a'-�-�__-- ��f` i�`..� ��1J�--�+ "l��- �� `f' ��'��I�� J �� -��__ _�--------------�_____________.� ��.� _��_��V �/'.__L!�.Y}�"`"�Y ..,___.__j��i"�T'��,....�-_.�_� �7/ 1L+ -� -�� -- � _ � �,��..:�_ ��___��L�_�.��____��-�1��l _ �`�'��'�` _��_._._----��_ Ce��r ____�, ��q� -- -- � __ __ __ __ ��:L��.��- f��.__��lo _ C��.��_-_-�=�� ..� ��______��t _��;��____-��--�C.-�� - : � � �� t � .. _ �� ' �� _______��_____ _�- ____��a �� _ �� _ �� .� � ��_��_ __R�._____�_-��!__ �`�-��_�__-��a� ��_ . ..,_ �...��.�.'�.��-.Q_—� ��.�1-`-��-��----�==--�� i� _��`� _ __��Q_.��.�________��'��_ '/�� -- - �.e�(`.,� ��.--� _-=��''�--��'------___ ��//��__ � ---- - A ,� � .�__... �. �� _ o ��.____ _��.�r��___ � � ��__ • � -� � • August 21, 1996 The follawing residents of Center St., in the area of the propased parking regulations change, oppose the changes. We L�elieve that those changes wi11 result in saftey and convenience problems. 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