Council may raise review fees

Mission almost accomplished, Design Review Task Force Chairman Matt Lawson told the City Council at the Nov. 17 meeting.

Years of work paid off when the council approved the recommendations to complete the implementation of reforms in the design review process, including adding staff to provide the Design Review Board with project reports comparable to those routinely presented to the Planning Commission, and to review the application fees charged for projects that require a variance. City Manager Ken Frank will begin recruiting another planner immediately while working on ways the increased staff support for the board can be financed.

“After five years of public input, feedback, analysis, research and evaluation, it’s time to complete the process of DR reform and bring it into the second decade of the 21st century,” Lawson said.

Appointed in 2004, the task force issued its first report a year later to lay the ground work for the council’s Design Review Reform Program in 2006. In January 2006 and again in March 2007, the council requested an evaluation by the task force of the how the changes affected the review process.

“Nearly six years after council first addressed the need for design review reform, we’re pleased to report that design review is greatly improved,” Lawson said. “Contentiousness has diminished. Ordinances and policies are being enforced more consistently. Project approvals are up. The number of hearings per project and council appeals are down.”

Key recommendations, presented by task force member and Planning Commissioner Rob Zur Schmiede:

 Expand project-long, staff assistance to all new construction of more than 3,000 square feet, starting July 1, and remodels of more than 50% of the original square footage, and projects that include special circumstances;

 Expand the 10-day turn-around time for plan checks to allow staff to do the job right;

 Provide equal staff support to Planning Commission and Design Review Board; and

 Enhance quality assurance for staff reports through direct oversight by the director of Community Development (currently John Montgomery) for the next 12 months and feedback from the board and applicants.