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Joint meeting: Planning Commission/City Council May 29, 1991 Page4 1 The Council must state clearly, to the staff, what their priorities are. Then staff could adjust their schedule accordingly and feedback to the Council an assessment of what staff's capabilities are, and if help is needed, then it's council's decision on how to accomplish its goals. Staff time to review an application is a cost. Mary stated the application fees have been increased to cover the cost of having the professional planner or attorney review applications. Mary stated she does not feel qualified• to make the determination if an application is complete, so Mike Black will make that determinatin and start the clock on applications. If the application is started prematurely, due to developer pressure, that is a disservice to everyoneinvolved including the developer. We should not allow a developer to proceed before he's ready because then. the City becomes part of the problem. Councilman Williams stated staff must be diligent about resisting pressure. Mary stated the code states, under preapplication, the burden of making an applicant aware of what will be required is on the Planning Commission. Jerry stated this may not be a good code and the City may want to change it. Mayor Johnson asked if a neighborhood does not want a development in order to remain rural, can it be denied? No. Zoning is basically a legislative issue in natur, it is a policy decision made by the City Council and they determine the zoning and use. If people don't like the council's decision they're not going to vote for you. If the City does not like its standards, then change them. Don't make up excuses to deny a plat, because what you're saying is you don't have an appropriate regulation. Therefore, make a regulation. The evolution of developer regulations is an ongoing process. No one can anticipate everything. As you're considering applications, be aware of your standards, BE AWARE YOU,MUST GIVE FACTS, NOT CONCLUSIONS. Councilman Williams asked is it okay to suggest changes on a preliminary plat? Not if you can't enforce the suggested change with a specific code.' If the applicants plat satisfies our code then your looking for reasons to deny it that aren't there. What is you duty? Your duty is to judge development applications in compliance with your regulations. If an application meets your regulations, and you want to change it, then change your regulations. The City can adopt new codes and request the applicant to comply only before preliminary plat approval. Councilman Johnson stated he does not feel our code book is easy to read, it's lacking detail, confusing and difficult to interprate. This should be a priority: to bring the code book up to date. The meeting was adjourned at 9:35 p.m.