CCP 11-12-2013 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Approved (B) Mission and Goals of Task Force—Chair Howard Chair Howard stated all of the information was given in the packet. He stated to him the mission was to look at the policy issues with regard to urban farming activities and to make recommendations to the City Council. He noted they were not here to address or resolve any specific issue in the community,but rather to look at the entire picture. He stated they needed to explore the issues they believed were important and to listen to resident comments to let them know what the concerns and issues were. He noted if they came up with recommendations early in the proceedings,there might be an additional opportunity for residents to give their opinions again. He stated there was no predetermined outcome to this task force and that this was a chance to talk about the issues and to make recommendations if appropriate. Community Development Director Grant Fernelius stated they had a PP presentation and the purpose of tonight's meeting was an introduction to the rest of the meetings. He indicated they were going to talk about the background as to what is urban farming and then they will talk about the schedule. He indicated he would review housekeeping issues regarding open meeting law also. Chair Howard asked if there were any other questions regarding the process. A Task Force Member asked if someone came up to a Member and wanted to talk about this,what they should do. Community Development Director Grant Fernelius responded that it was okay to talk to a resident,but any communication they had could be considered public including email communications with both the residents and other Task Force Members. He stated if the members were to gather they had to be aware of the public meeting rules. He noted a quorum of this Task Force would be five member in attendance at any one time. Chair Howard stated an example of this would be if someone invited the Task Force over to their residence to look at something that would be something that would need to be noticed as a meeting if there were five or more members in attendance. He stated they did not want to give the impression that discussions were happening behind closed doors. Community Development Director Grant Fernelius stated they were trying to maintain the integrity of the process. He stated the Task Force Members should be aware of that issue. Chair Howard stated if the Task Force Member had a question to ask staff who would get an answer. A Task Force Member asked if someone wanted came up to him and wanted to talk about chickens was that okay. Staff responded that was fine as long as five or more members were not in attendance and he did not discuss how he/she would vote on a specific issue. She noted this meeting had been noticed as a public meeting. (C) Background on Topics 1. Staff Presentation Staff noted within the last few years it had become popular to raise chickens and other fowl within the City and the state. He stated urban farming and use of greenhouses as people wanted to extend the growing season was also becoming increasingly popular. He stated people were looking to become more sustainable and take control of their food. In addition to raising chickens people were choosing to raise ducks,turkeys, and bees. He indicated the issue of raising chickens was brought up to the City Council in 2008. At that point there was no policy changes made. More recently an issue arose 18 months ago and that was why they were here tonight. He stated the Council wanted to study the issue with public input. He stated the City was looking to seek a balanced approach with the task force with the input from the Planning Commission,the Public Safety Commission, and the Parks Commission. He indicated there were also the broader public stakeholders as well. He stated the purpose was to look at both the positive and negative effects of urban farming and how this issue should regulated in the City. Staff stated that they had looked at a 6-8 month time frame with the goal to make a recommendation to the City Council in the spring of 2014. He stated there would be at least one or possibly two public forums to hear comments. He indicated 2