Planning Committee

Summary

Meeting Overview

The Urban County Council met on September 23, 2008, at 11:00 A.M., with CM Gorton presiding. The council considered seven agenda items during the session, taking six motions and votes and hearing three public comments.

The council approved two items: a measure on penalties and fines for zoning ordinance violations, and a measure restricting building permits when applicants have violated zoning ordinances. Three items were deferred for future consideration: Development Plan Adherence, the Electrical Inspector's Fee Schedule, and Time Limits on Building Permits. The Mobile Home Park Quality of Life item was tabled. One item was presented for informational purposes regarding referrals to committee.

Attendance

The following individuals were present at the meeting on September 23, 2008:

• Gorton
• Blues
• Ellinger
• James
• Beard
• Stevens
• Stinnett
• Crosbie
• McChord
• Henson

Henson arrived late to the meeting. No attendees were recorded as absent.

Votes and Decisions

The council passed six motions by voice vote during this meeting.

Engineering Audit Expeditation 1:27:11 Council Member Blues moved to request that internal auditors expedite an engineering audit, seconded by Council Member Beard. The motion passed.

Ordinance Drafting Request 1:30:28 Council Member Blues moved to request that the Law Department draft an ordinance similar to Georgetown's, with provisions to address loopholes and prevent developers from evading violations by changing corporate names. Council Member James seconded the motion, which passed.

Electrical Inspector Fee Schedule 2:29:29 Council Member McCord moved to ask the administration to meet with the Commonwealth Inspection Bureau and return with recommendations on the electrical inspector fee schedule within 30 days. Council Member James seconded the motion, which passed.

Mobile Home Park Relocation Ordinance Amendment 2:05:02 Dr. Stevens moved to approve the mobile home park relocation ordinance with an amendment substituting "may" for "shall" in Section 5-107 to avoid mandatory appropriation. Council Member Ellinger seconded the motion, which passed.

Mobile Home Park Ordinance Tabling 2:13:00 Council Member James moved to table discussion of the mobile home park relocation ordinance until the next meeting to allow the Law and Budget departments to rework Section 5-107 language. Council Member Ellinger seconded the motion, which passed.

Zoning Violations Policy Examination 3:04:40 Council Member James moved to request that the Law Department examine potential policy changes linking zoning violations to restrictions on building permits, business licenses, and other government applications. Council Member Blues seconded the motion, which passed.

All votes were conducted by voice vote with no recorded individual votes.

Public Comment

Three council members provided comments on various municipal matters during the meeting.

Mobile Home Park Relocation Ordinance Funding

Council Member James addressed the mobile home park relocation ordinance, emphasizing the importance of clearly defining the ordinance's purpose 2:01:40. James noted the need to avoid confusion with existing social services relocation funds and stressed the importance of ensuring transparency in budgeting and program monitoring.

Electrical Inspector Fee Increases

Council Member Beard raised concerns about proposed electrical inspector fee increases 2:27:19. Beard expressed concern about the lack of internal government expertise available to evaluate whether the proposed fee increases are fair and reasonable, and suggested the need for a formal review process to assess these increases.

Time Limits on Building Permits

Council Member Henson addressed ongoing issues with building permits, specifically highlighting community frustration with projects that remain stalled for years 3:24:06. Henson identified loopholes in the 180-day rule as a contributing factor to these delays and called for state-level changes to the building code to address the problem.

Contested Items

The September 23, 2008 meeting included three significant areas of disagreement among council members.

Funding language in mobile home park relocation ordinance

Council members split on whether Section 5-107 of the ordinance should use mandatory "shall" or permissive "may" language regarding funding. The debate centered on the implications of each approach. Concerns were raised about setting a precedent for mandatory appropriations and the potential for budgetary overreach. The disagreement reflected broader questions about the government's financial obligations under the ordinance.

Electrical inspector fee increases

Council members engaged in heated discussion over proposed fee increases for electrical inspectors. The primary concerns were whether the fee hikes were fair and whether the local government had adequate internal capacity to evaluate the proposed increases. Due to these questions, council requested an administrative review of the fee structure before proceeding.

Time limits on building permits

A procedural dispute arose regarding whether local government could override state building code provisions related to time limits on building permits. Staff clarified that state law preempts local authority on this matter, confirming that the local government could not establish its own timeline requirements that conflicted with state building code provisions.

Development Plan Adherence

Council members and staff discussed accountability mechanisms for development plans during this agenda item. 1:40

Key Participants

The discussion involved Chris King, Dewey Crowe, Marwan Rayan, and Barry Brock.

Issues Discussed

The group examined the roles and responsibilities of the Planning Commission, technical committee, and enforcement agencies in overseeing development plan compliance. A central focus was ensuring that approved development plans are followed through to completion without unauthorized modifications.

Concerns Raised

Several concerns emerged during the discussion:

• Developers were changing plans after initial approval, creating inconsistencies between approved and actual development
• Neighbors were not receiving adequate notice of plan modifications or development activities
• Current regulations were insufficient to prevent or address these changes
• Enforcement mechanisms needed to be strengthened

Actions Taken

The committee agreed to take the following steps:

• Explore a revised flowchart to clarify the development approval and oversight process
• Consider legislative changes to tighten regulations around plan modifications and neighbor notification

Outcome

This agenda item was deferred, indicating that the discussion was postponed for further consideration at a future meeting.

Mobile Home Park Quality of Life

1:36:13

The committee reviewed a draft ordinance designed to provide relocation assistance for low-income residents who would be displaced by redevelopment or rezoning projects.

Key Speakers and Participants

The discussion involved Council Member James, Dr. Stevens, Council Member Blues, and Council Member Beard.

Main Issues Debated

The central focus of the discussion was funding language within the proposed ordinance. Committee members raised concerns about how the relocation assistance program would be financed and structured.

Concerns Raised

A primary concern centered on mandatory appropriations language in the draft ordinance. Members questioned whether the funding mechanism would create automatic budget obligations or require separate budgeting processes for the relocation assistance program. This distinction was important to the committee's consideration of the ordinance's fiscal implications.

Outcome

The committee tabled the discussion for further review, indicating that the draft ordinance requires additional work before it can be brought back for a vote or final decision. The tabling allows time to address the funding language concerns and clarify the budgeting requirements.

Electrical Inspector's Fee Schedule

2:14:08

A private attorney presented a proposal to increase electrical inspection fees, citing inflation and rising costs as justification for the adjustment. The committee discussed the proposal during this agenda item.

Key Speakers: - Stephen Vickroy - Marshall Jones - Dewey Crowe

Discussion:

The committee acknowledged a lack of internal expertise to independently assess whether the proposed fee increase was fair and reasonable. This limitation prevented them from making an immediate determination on the proposal.

Outcome:

The committee deferred action on the electrical inspector's fee schedule. They agreed to request that the administration meet with the fee proposal provider and report back to the committee within 30 days. This approach would allow for further evaluation before a final decision is made.

Penalties/Fines for Zoning Ordinance Violations

2:31:15

Staff presented information regarding the current penalty structure for zoning ordinance violations. The discussion revealed that existing fines are established by state law and have remained unchanged for over 20 years, limiting their effectiveness as deterrents to violations.

Key Speakers: - Chris King - Dewey Crowe

Discussion: The staff confirmed that the outdated fine amounts have not kept pace with inflation or current enforcement needs. This lack of updates has resulted in penalties that are insufficient to discourage zoning violations.

Outcome: The committee approved a motion requesting that the state legislative delegation advocate for higher fine limits. This action aims to address the inadequacy of current penalties by seeking legislative changes at the state level to increase the maximum fines that can be imposed for zoning ordinance violations.

Restrictions on Building Permits When Applicant Has Violated Zoning Ordinance

2:50:14

The committee discussed whether the city could deny building permits to applicants who have violated zoning ordinances. Staff confirmed that no existing ordinance currently allows for such denials based on zoning violations.

Key speakers in this discussion included Dewey Crowe, Rochelle, and Council Member James. The committee explored the possibility of creating a policy mechanism that would link zoning violations to restrictions on other government services, including the issuance of building permits.

Following the discussion, the committee passed a motion directing the Law Department to explore potential policy changes that would establish this connection between zoning violations and permit restrictions. This would require further legal analysis and development of ordinance language to implement such a restriction.

The item was approved.

Time Limits on Building Permits

Staff presented information on time limits for building permits, noting that the Kentucky Building Code already establishes a 180-day limit for permit validity while allowing unlimited extensions. This existing state-level framework was identified as preempting any local regulatory changes the committee might consider.

Key speakers Dewey Crowe and Council Member Henson participated in the discussion of this matter.

Given the state-level preemption, the committee determined that pursuing local modifications would not be feasible. Instead, the group agreed to pursue amendments at the state level through the Department of Housing, Buildings, and Construction as the appropriate avenue for addressing time limits on building permits.

The agenda item was deferred.

3:11:41

Referred to Committee

This agenda item was referred to the Planning Committee in accordance with Council Rules & Procedures, Section 2.102(1). The referral encompasses matters related to parks, planning, zoning, housing, transportation, grants, legislation, and social services.

No discussion or debate was recorded for this informational item.