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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2023-07-03 Business and Economic Development Committee Minutes BUSINESS & ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE Monday, July 3, 2023 @ 5:15 PM City Council Chambers MEETING MINUTES City Councilors Present: Fournier, Hawes, Leonard, Sprague, Tremble, Yacoubagha. City Staff Present: Collette, Krieg, Stanicki. Chair Sprague called the meeting to order at 6:34 P.M. 1. DOWNTOWN PARKING ADVISORY COMMITTEE, Action requested to receive Committee's recommendations for the fee schedule Development Director Anne Krieg presented to the Committee. Reported that DPAC met on June 5 and reviewed annual report. Formally accepted rate changes. Next step is to present recommendation to this Committee and ensure fee changes are accurately represented in City's budget. Noted that the last increase to parking fees was in 2017, and these recommended changes are those from 2019 which were delayed due to COVID19 pandemic. Councilor Tremble asked if rate increases should be evaluated alongside increases in parking capacity. Krieg responded that as these changes were recommended in 2019, they are not going to be consistent with more recent increases in parking capacity, but there are plans for comprehensive parking plan to be created i n FY23. Chair Sprague asked if parking rates will also be addressed in this comprehensive parking plan. Krieg responded affirmatively. Chair Sprague asked why these recommended increases are so law— Krieg repeated that these recommendations are based on 2019 figures and commented that Committee can choose to either accept these recommendations knowing that further increases will be needed in the new fiscal year, or elect to hold off on accepting recommendations and instead ask for new recommendations based on more recent figures, inflation, etc. Councilor Yacoubagha expressed support for still accepting these recommendations as it is clear that more discussion surrounding further rate increases is upcoming. Commented that these increases are not consistent with current inflation. Councilor Leonard asked what the annual income for parking was during the last year. Krieg responded that she did not have this figure presently available, but would pass it along to Committee members after meeting. Councilor Fournier moved to receive Downtown Parking Advisory Committee's recommendations for the fee schedule, seconded by Councilor Tremble. Vote unless doubted, no doubt. 2. LD2003 TIMELINE AND UPDATE ON APPROACH, Action requested to accept staff's recommendations Development Director Krieg reiterated that LD2003 is law passed at state level requiring change in City zoning to allow more units. Reported that the City will be holding a public workshop regarding this on July 20 at 5:00 PM, at the Bangor Public Library. Councilor Tremble asked if current draft of proposed changes is strictly kept to the minimum requirements of the law. Commented that this will likely mitigate larger, unintended consequences. Krieg responded affirmatively. Councilor Leonard asked if changes to City zoning will still be amendable in the future. Krieg responded affirmatively. Leonard strongly advised the Committee to consider instituting a Rental Advisory Committee oversee present and future changes. Chair Sprague expressed agreement that a more in-depth discussion surrounding housing is needed. Asked what the process is for implementing changes, once finalized. Krieg responded that after the public workshop, feedback will be presented to City Council and final draft of proposed changes will then be written and presented for approval. Deadline for implementation is the end of this calendar year. Chair Sprague asked if there were will be any changes to the ordinances for boarding homes. Krieg responded that there will not. Krieg asked the Committee to clarify that their recommendations is still to follow the minimum requirements of the state law. Chair Sprague responded affirmatively. Councilor Fournier asked if Planning Board is reviewing these changes, as well. Krieg responded that they are. 3. SHORT-TERM RENTALS, Action requested to accept staff's recommendation Planning Analyst Anja Collette presented to the Committee. Reported that staff's recommendations primarily concern differentiating requirements between hosted and non-hosted short-term rental (STR) properties. Both kinds of properties will require an annual inspection and an annual fee paid for licensing, per staff recommendations. For non-hosted properties, recommendation is to also require registration of an emergency contact in order to obtain license. STR will be defined as any rental that lasts less than 28 days. STRs would be allowed in all residential and most commercial zones if hosted, and only allowed in Downtown Development and Waterfront Development Districts if non-hosted. Commented that this allowance is being recommended due to shortage of hotels in these zones. Councilor Tremble asked what differentiates a hotel from a STR. Collette and Development Director Krieg both responded that hotels require state licensing. Councilor Fournier commented that he thought previous recommendations had included a requirement that properties in historic districts be hosted only. Krieg responded that this recommendation can be included in language if Committee directs staff to do so. Councilors Fournier and Tremble both responded that this change should be made. Collette commented that other major point of recommendations is institution of a cap on STRs per building, in order to preserve long-term housing. This cap would only apply to buildings under single ownership (i.e. would not apply to condos as each unit has separate ownership). Chair Sprague asked if City is adequately staffed to implement changes re: licensing and inspections. Collette responded that there would be a six-month grace period upon implementation, but City would also likely contract with third- party company to oversee enforcement. City Code Enforcement would only be asked to perform physical inspections. Chair Sprague asked if licensing fee could be calculated per occupied night instead of a base, annual fee. Krieg responded that fee only allowed to reflect staff time/costs spent on licensing. Collette asked the Committee for feedback on use of ADUs for STRs. Noted that in current ordinance, this use is explicitly prohibited. Councilor Leonard expressed tentative support of allowing use so individual owners can decide on their own. Councilor Fournier agreed. Councilor Yacoubagha commented that her only concern is ensuring that abutters of these properties are properly notified of use as STR. Councilor Leonard asked if there are any foreseen concerns with implementation of new ordinance. Krieg responded that public response thus far has indicated that those who presently own STRs want their interests protected. Public safety is the primary concern for non-hosted properties. Councilor Leonard asked how potential issues with implementation could be mitigated, and suggested checking in re: licensing and inspection process one year after implementation. Krieg agreed that this would be a good idea and noted that benefit of licensing requirement is that licenses can be revoked if any STRs found not to be complying. Chair Sprague expressed desire that penalties for non-compliance be significant. Krieg reported that there will be a public workshop re: STRS held in several weeks, and that feedback from this will be presented to Committee afterwards. Collette asked for clarification on Committee's guidance re: condo usage. Councilor Leonard responded that this may be minimal concern. Krieg clarified that any multi-unit rental building could be converted to condos without additional approval, so staff is assuming that this could happen at any time. Councilor Fournier recommended getting additional input on how similar regulations are working in Portland. Chair Sprague recommended treating condos the same as single-family, private residences. Commented that much of the regulation may actually be up to condo associations. 4. CDBG A. UPDATE ON EXCESS FUNDS' APPROPRIATIONS Community Development Officer Robyn Stanicki presented to the Committee. Reported that she has submitted plan to HUD to spend excess funds on housing initiatives and economic opportunities. B. PROPOSED AWARD, Action requested to accept staff's recommendations for award Stanicki reported that she has received an application from Bangor Area Homeless Shelter, in collaboration with FreshStart, for a building on Hammond Street to be used as supportive housing. Application asks for funds to repair building and bring it into accordance with City Code. Proposed funding is $129,000, which Stanicki found to be allowable use for program funds. Councilor Fournier moved to accept staff's recommendations for award, seconded by Councilor Yacoubagha. Vote unless doubted, no doubt. 5. CHECK-IN FROM STAFF A. RECENT MARKETING PROJECTS Development Director Krieg reported that ads have been placed in Site Selection Magazine, MaineBiz, and Maine Seniors. Ad will be submitted for fall issue of Visit Maine. Councilor Leonard asked if any online target ads had been investigated. Krieg responded that ad placed with Maine Seniors includes some online targeting, and that she is also working with Live + Work in Maine organization which may address this in the future. B. COMPREHENSIVE PLAN POSSIBLE ACCEPTANCE BY COUNCIL Krieg reported that staff is still on-track to present final draft at next Council meeting. C. COMMERCIAL KITCHEN Krieg reported that City has hired consultant, Caroline Parras, to handle creation of a management & programming plan. There is a public survey currently out and collecting feedback. RFBs are out for design development. Meeting adjourned at 7:40 P.M. Meeting minutes respectfully submitted, Sarah Pritchard Admin. Asst. C&ED