Agenda

AGENDA

CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION
City of Garland
Work Session Room, City Hall
William E. Dollar Municipal Building
200 North Fifth Street
Garland, Texas
Monday, November 4, 2019
6:00 p.m.

DEFINITIONS:

Written Briefing: Items that generally do not require a presentation or discussion by the staff or Council. On these items the staff is seeking direction from the Council or providing information in a written format.

Verbal Briefing: These items do not require written background information or are an update on items previously discussed by the Council.

Regular Item: These items generally require discussion between the Council and staff, boards, commissions, or consultants. These items are often accompanied by a formal presentation followed by discussion.

[Public comment will not be accepted during Work Session
unless Council determines otherwise.]

NOTICE: The City Council may recess from the open session and convene in a closed executive session if the discussion of any of the listed agenda items concerns one or more of the following matters:

(1) Pending/contemplated litigation, settlement offer(s), and matters concerning privileged and unprivileged client information deemed confidential by Rule 1.05 of the Texas Disciplinary Rules of Professional Conduct. Sec. 551.071, Tex. Gov't Code.

(2) The purchase, exchange, lease or value of real property, if the deliberation in an open meeting would have a detrimental effect on the position of the City in negotiations with a third person. Sec. 551.072, Tex. Gov't Code.

(3) A contract for a prospective gift or donation to the City, if the deliberation in an open meeting would have a detrimental effect on the position of the City in negotiations with a third person. Sec. 551.073, Tex. Gov't Code.

(4) Personnel matters involving the appointment, employment, evaluation, reassignment, duties, discipline or dismissal of a public officer or employee or to hear a complaint against an officer or employee. Sec. 551.074, Tex. Gov't Code.

(5) The deployment, or specific occasions for implementation of security personnel or devices. Sec. 551.076, Tex. Gov't Code.

(6) Discussions or deliberations regarding commercial or financial information that the City has received from a business prospect that the City seeks to have locate, stay, or expand in or near the territory of the City and with which the City is conducting economic development negotiations; or to deliberate the offer of a financial or other incentive to a business prospect of the sort described in this provision. Sec. 551.087, Tex. Gov't Code.

(7) Discussions, deliberations, votes, or other final action on matters related to the City’s competitive activity, including information that would, if disclosed, give advantage to competitors or prospective competitors and is reasonably related to one or more of the following categories of information:

generation unit specific and portfolio fixed and variable costs, including forecasts of those costs, capital improvement plans for generation units, and generation unit operating characteristics and outage scheduling;
bidding and pricing information for purchased power, generation and fuel, and Electric Reliability Council of Texas bids, prices, offers, and related services and strategies;
effective fuel and purchased power agreements and fuel transportation arrangements and contracts;
risk management information, contracts, and strategies, including fuel hedging and storage;
plans, studies, proposals, and analyses for system improvements, additions, or sales, other than transmission and distribution system improvements inside the service area for which the public power utility is the sole certificated retail provider; and
customer billing, contract, and usage information, electric power pricing information, system load characteristics, and electric power marketing analyses and strategies. Sec. 551.086; Tex. Gov't Code; Sec. 552.133, Tex. Gov’t Code]


1.		Consider the Consent Agenda A member of the City Council may ask for discussion or further information on an item posted as a consent agenda item on the next Regular Meeting of the City Council. The Council Member may also ask that an item on the posted consent agenda be pulled from the consent agenda and considered for a vote separate from consent agenda items on the regular agenda. All discussions or deliberations on this portion of the work session agenda are limited to posted agenda items and may not include a new or unposted subject matter.

2.		Written Briefings:

	a.	Amendment to University Park Landfill Usage Agreement Council is requested to authorize the City Manager to execute an amendment to the Landfill Usage Agreement between the City of Garland and the City of University Park. Unless otherwise directed by Council, this item will be scheduled for formal consideration at the November 19, 2019 Regular Meeting.

	b.	Multiple Use Agreement with Texas Department of Transportation for MGR Bikeway (Duck Creek Trail Connections) Council is requested to consider whether to enter into a Multiple Use Agreement (MUA) with Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) for the construction and use of the MGR Bikeway (Duck Creek Trail Connections Segment II) at IH-30/Greenbelt Parkway. Unless otherwise directed by Council, this item will be scheduled for formal consideration at the November 19, 2019 Regular Meeting.

	c.	Interlocal Cooperation Agreement with the City of Mesquite for MGR Bikeway (Duck Creek Trail Connections) Council is requested to consider whether to enter into an Interlocal Agreement (ILA) with the City of Mesquite, Texas ("Mesquite") for the construction and use of the MGR Bikeway (Duck Creek Trail Connections Segments II) at IH-30/Greenbelt Parkway. Unless otherwise directed by Council, this item will be scheduled for formal consideration at the November 19, 2019 Regular Meeting.

	d.	Investment Portfolio Summary Staff presents the Portfolio Summary report to Council each quarter. The report is in compliance with the requirements of the Public Funds Investment Act. Management of the City's portfolios is conducted in accordance with the City Council Financial Policy, Statement of Investment Strategy and Investment Policy.

	e.	FY 2019-2020 Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) Selective Traffic Enforcement Program (STEP)-Impaired Driving Mobilization (IDM) Grant Council is requested to consider accepting a Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) - Selective Traffic Enforcement Program (STEP) - Impaired Driving Mobilization (IDM) Grant. This item is scheduled for formal consideration at the November 5, 2019 Regular Meeting.

	f.	Discuss the 2020 Scheduling of Council Dates Council is requested to review and discuss if needed changes to the City Council meeting dates for 2020 as presented in the attached schedule.

3.		Verbal Briefings:

	a.	Transportation, Infrastructure and Mobility Committee Report Council Member Rich Aubin, Chair of the Transportation, Infrastructure and Mobility Committee, will provide a committee report on the following items: City of Garland Transportation Priorities for Dallas Regional Mobility Coalition (DRMC) The DRMC has requested that each member organization submit a priority item to be included in their strategic plans. The Committee recommends that pursuing future improvements to IH-30 from IH-635 to Bass Pro Drive should be Garland's priority project.

	b.	Reappraisal of Storm Damaged Property Property value is established as of January 1st for each calendar year. This value is used to assess a tax levy for the full calendar year. Because of a recent natural disaster that occurred on October 20, 2019, the City Council has the option to reappraise property which has been damaged as a result of the disaster. If the Council so chooses, the reappraisal will be conducted in accordance with the Texas Property Tax Code section 23.02. This item is scheduled for formal consideration at the November 5, 2019 Regular Meeting.

	c.	Statement of Concern Regarding the Texas Legislature and Local Governments At the request of Council Member David Gibbons and Council Member Rich Aubin, Council is asked to consider adopting a resolution expressing its concerns regarding the House Speaker's comments and the apparent attitude of the Speaker and other legislators toward local government and their fellow members within the House. Unless otherwise directed by Council, this item will be scheduled for formal consideration at the November 19, 2019 Regular Meeting.

	d.	Framework for Citizen Input at Work Sessions At the October 21, 2019 Work Session, Council considered the impact of a new law, enacted as HB 2840 during the last legislative session, that allows for citizen input at any open meeting of a governmental body regarding an item on the agenda. The City Attorney was directed to bring back revisions and options for further Council discussion. Unless otherwise directed by Council, this item will be scheduled for formal consideration at the November 21, 2019 Regular Meeting.

	e.	Discuss Curfew on Downtown Square At the request of Council Member Deborah Morris and Mayor Pro Tem Robert John Smith, Council is requested to discuss setting a curfew for the Downtown Square.

	f.	Consider various amendments to the Garland Development Code Staff will present various amendments to consider throughout the Garland Development Code (GDC).

4.		Announce Future Agenda Items A member of the City Council, with a second by another member, or the Mayor alone, may ask that an item be placed on a future agenda of the City Council or a committee of the City Council. No substantive discussion of that item will take place at this time.

5.		Adjourn

GARLAND
POLICY REPORT


City Council Work Session Agenda		Work Session Item 2.a.
Meeting Date:	11/04/2019
Item Title:	Amendment to University Park Landfill Usage Agreement
Submitted By:	Matt Watson, Finance Director
Strategic Focus Areas:	Sound Governance and Finances

ISSUE
Council is requested to authorize the City Manager to execute an amendment to the Landfill Usage Agreement between the City of Garland and the City of University Park. It has become necessary to amend the provision of the agreement regarding the calculating of the cost of service incurred by the City of Garland and charged to the City of University Park.
OPTIONS
Authorize the City Manager to execute the amendment to the Landfill Usage Agreement. Do not authorize the City Manager to execute the amendment to the Landfill Usage Agreement.
RECOMMENDATION
Unless otherwise directed by Council, this item will be scheduled for formal consideration at the November 19, 2019 Regular Meeting.
BACKGROUND
On July 21, 1997, the City of Garland and the City of University Park entered into a Landfill Usage Agreement. In this agreement University Park agreed to transfer a tract of land located on Brand Road. As consideration for the transfer, the parties agreed to use the value of the land as credit against Landfill usage fees that would otherwise be charged to University Park for use of the Landfill. The landfill credit is $8,295 a month for 354 months. This agreement also required the City of Garland, at its sole expense, to have an independent consultant annually conduct a cost of service study to generate a rate per ton for the upcoming Fiscal Year which the credit would be applied. For FY 2019-20, the City of Garland used NewGen Strategies to conduct the Cost of Service model based on expenditures anticipated in the upcoming budget year, resulting in a cost per ton for 2020 of $17.78 (University Park has historically brought approximately 13,000 tons to the landfill annually). However, it is difficult to have an accurate and timely projection of expenditures completed by a third party before the Proposed Budget is submitted for Council approval. In addition, the City of Garland staff could easily generate this cost of service with internal staff. From discussions with University Park staff, both parties would like to amend this portion of the contract to allow for the City to conduct the cost of service internally, saving approximately $4,000 a year. In addition, staff would like to have the cost of service methodology changed to be based on the prior year cost plus a 3% inflationary factor rather than based on the Proposed Budget for the upcoming year. This will allow the City staff to complete this analysis much earlier in the year, allowing both City's to properly plan for the upcoming budget cycle.

Attachments
Resolution

GARLAND
POLICY REPORT


City Council Work Session Agenda		Work Session Item 2.c.
Meeting Date:	11/04/2019
Item Title:	Interlocal Cooperation Agreement with the City of Mesquite for MGR Bikeway (Duck Creek Trail Connections)
Submitted By:	Michael Polocek, Engineering Director
Strategic Focus Areas:	Enhanced Quality of Life through Amenities, Arts, and Events

ISSUE
Consider whether to enter into an Interlocal Cooperation Agreement (ILA) with the City of Mesquite, Texas (“Mesquite”) for the construction and use of the MGR Bikeway (Duck Creek Trail Connections Segments II) at IH-30/Greenbelt Parkway.
OPTIONS
Adopt a Resolution which authorizes the City Manager to execute the attached ILA with Mesquite for the construction and use of the MGR Bikeway (Duck Creek Trail Connections Segment II) project at IH-30/ Greenbelt Parkway. Take no action.
RECOMMENDATION
Option 1. Unless otherwise directed by Council, this item will be scheduled for formal consideration at the November 19, 2019 Regular Meeting.
BACKGROUND
MGR Bikeway (Duck Creek Trail Connections Segments II) at IH-30/Greenbelt Parkway includes improvements located within Mesquite jurisdiction. Through partnership of the Cities, a regional system of multipurpose trails was developed in Garland and Mesquite, connecting communities, neighborhoods and other destination points. The trails will meet public recreation and transportation needs as well as add to the quality of life for the citizens of both Cities. The City has negotiated an Interlocal Cooperation Agreement (ILA) with Mesquite for construction, maintenance and operation of a public Bike/Pedestrian Trail at both Cities’ jurisdiction line as shown on the attached Location Map. Mesquite has indicated its willingness to present the ILA to their Council for consideration. The agreement establishes the terms of design, construction, inspections, acceptance ownership, operation and maintenance of the trail.
CONSIDERATION
Council action is required to authorize the City Manager to sign the ILA with Mesquite. The ILA was reviewed by the City Attorney’s Office.

Attachments
MGR Bikeway Location Map
ILA City of Mesquite

GARLAND
POLICY REPORT


City Council Work Session Agenda		Work Session Item 3.b.
Meeting Date:	11/04/2019
Item Title:	Reappraisal of Storm Damaged Property
Submitted By:	Corey Worsham, Tax Administrator
Strategic Focus Areas:	Sound Governance and Finances

ISSUE

Property value is established as of January 1st for each calendar year. This value is used to assess a tax levy for the full calendar year. Because of a recent natural disaster that occurred on October 20, 2019, the City Council has the option to reappraise property which has been damaged as a result of the disaster. If the Council so chooses, the reappraisal will be conducted in accordance with the Texas
Property Tax Code section 23.02.

OPTIONS

The City Council may:

Consider a resolution at the November 5, 2019 City Council Meeting to authorize the reappraisal of the disaster area which would result in a prorated reappraisal for the affected property owners.
Take no action related to reappraisal of the property.

RECOMMENDATION

Authorize the reappraisal of the property damaged by the October 20, 2019 storm. This item is scheduled for formal consideration at the November 5, 2019 Regular Meeting.

BACKGROUND

Section 23.02 of the Texas Property Tax Code allows for the reappraisal of property that was damaged in a disaster area if the governing body of a taxing unit request the reappraisal. If the reappraisal is not authorized by all taxing units in which the property is located, an indication of the participating taxing units will be included in the appraisal district’s records. The requesting taxing units shall share in the cost of reappraisal; however, the Dallas Central Appraisal District has waived all additional cost relating to this effort. There will be a minor administrative effort within the tax office in order to recalculate the affected tax levies.

CONSIDERATION

Approximately 170 properties were affected and many sustained significant damage. These properties may receive a prorated reduction in value. The impacted properties could receive a prorated assessment beginning on the date of the disaster (October 20, 2019) through the remainder of the year 2019. An example of this calculation is indicated below:

Original Value	Tax Rate	=Original Levy	Prorated at 293 days taxable
$170,000	.007696	$1,308.32	$1,048.94

Reappraised Value	Tax Rate	= Reappraised Levy	Prorated at 72 days taxable
$20,000	.007696	$153.92	$30.24
		Total Tax Levy Post Reappraisal	$1,079.18

This example provides a $229.14 savings to the property owner

Attachments
DCAD reappraisal resolution
DCAD memo of reappraisal

GARLAND
PLANNING REPORT


City Council Work Session Agenda		Work Session Item 3.f.
Meeting Date:	11/04/2019
Item Title:	Consider various amendments to the Garland Development Code
Submitted By:	Will Guerin, Planning Director

REQUEST
Consider various amendments to the Garland Development Code
PLAN COMMISSION RECOMMENDATION
During their October 28, 2019 meeting, the Plan Commission, with a nine (9) to zero (0) vote, recommended approval of the GDC amendments.
STAFF RECOMMENDATION
Approval of the proposed amendments to the Garland Development Code
BACKGROUND
Since the adoption of the Garland Development Code in 2015, staff has compiled a list of needed amendments, primarily intended as clean-up related items and reducing inconsistencies. There are proposed amendments throughout the code. The below considerations do not list all the proposed amendments in the draft ordinance; however, some notable amendments are mentioned, some of which may warrant policy discussion.
CONSIDERATIONS
Staff proposes to eliminate the requirement of Preliminary Development Plan (PDP) applications. Preliminary Development Plans were created with the adoption of the GDC in 2015 and were intended to provide a comprehensive administrative review of a project when proper zoning is in place (Preliminary Development Plans are administrative and not reviewed by the Plan Commission or City Council). However, staff finds that PDP’s have in effect created an additional and unnecessary step in the development process and have not added the intended value, as review for GDC compliance is achievable through the standard existing site and building permitting review processes. Section 2.39(I)(1). In the draft ordinance, the internal storage requirement for Multi-Family development is highlighted for discussion and possible removal. Currently an enclosed storage facility must be constructed on-site for each dwelling unit in a MF structure, with convenient access to its corresponding unit. The minimum size of each storage facility must be twenty-five square feet, and must contain not less than one hundred and seventy-five cubic feet. A garage may not count as a storage facility unless the required storage space is added to the size of the garage. Developers are struggling to meet this requirement with new multi-family developments, as internal “storage” is typically provided through areas within the unit such as larger walk-in closets, rather than individual storage facilities. Staff is not aware of such a requirement in other cities, though further research may be conducted pending City Council direction. Section 2.52(A)(3)(f)&(g). Staff proposes amendments to better regulate vehicle storage at automobile repair (major and minor) facilities. Included in the draft amendments are: -Automobile Repair uses may not conduct any outdoor vehicle or equipment repairs or maintain or store overnight vehicles, parts, equipment, or accessories outdoors. -Vehicles currently being repaired may remain on-site for a maximum of ninety (90) calendar days at Major Automobile Repair facilities. For Minor Automobile Repair facilities, vehicles currently being repaired may remain on-site for a maximum of fourteen (14) calendar days. -For Major Automobile Repair facilities, all vehicles stored on-site must be kept either in a secured garage bay or in a secured, gated access parking lot enclosed by a blind fence or wall at least six feet high, and enclosing an area of at least 600 square feet per garage bay. For Minor Automobile Repair facilities, all vehicles stored on-site must be kept either in a secured garage bay or in a secured, gated access parking lot enclosed by a blind fence or wall at least six feet high, and enclosing an area of at least 400 square feet per garage bay. Section 2.52(A)(8). The City Attorney's Office has drafted comprehensive amendments regarding regulations and permitting requirements of Used Goods/Recycling Collection Facilities, reflected in the attachment. Section 2.52(A)(20)(f). A draft amendment is included that would create a minimum distance between proposed Reception Facilities and residential development (single-family or multi-family), senior living facilities, and other Reception Facilities. There are significant compatibility concerns when these uses are in close proximity to one other. A minimum distance of five hundred (500) feet is proposed. An allowance for fences in residential front yards is proposed, provided that the fence is no more than 3.5 feet in height and made of wood or ornamental metal, or a fence no more than 2.5 feet in height and made of brick or masonry, excluding cinder block. More detailed requirements may be found in Section 4.104. Section 4.20(K) and 4.27(B). Currently parking deviations for proposals that are not part of a public hearing zoning case may be considered administratively by staff through the Alternative Compliance process when a reduced parking amount is proposed, or by the Board of Adjustment when more than 15% above the parking requirement is proposed. The draft amendments propose to shift the 15%+ parking deviation from the Board of Adjustment to the administrative Alternative Compliance process. Mitigation is required in these cases where additional parking is provided, including possible additional landscaping, pervious parking, and/or increased stormwater controls. In either type of deviation, a parking generation study is required to be submitted by the applicant. It is proposed to keep the existing mitigation and parking study requirements in place. Clarification is proposed delineating Buildings versus Structures. In the proposed delineation, all buildings are considered structures but not all structures are buildings. In the Chapter 6 definition of “Building”, Buildings are proposed to be considered wholly enclosed structures by exterior walls and a roof. It should be noted that under the proposed ordinance language, masonry requirements may be applied towards Structures. It should also be noted that a proposed change clarifies that carports, even those attached to a main building, are not considered Buildings. In Chapter 7 which is specific to Downtown development standards, an amendment to Table 7-4 is drafted which would clarify that single-family development is allowed in the Uptown subdistrict. Currently there is a conflict in that the Single-Family Detached Dwelling use is listed as allowed in the Chapter 7 Land Use Matrix, but the Single-Family “building type” is not listed as allowed in Table 7-4. The amendment would make the allowances between the use and building type consistent. It should be noted that there are existing single-family detached neighborhoods in the Uptown subdistrict. The draft redlined amendments are attached for the City Council's review and recommendation.

Attachments
GDC 10-30-19 Working Copy
Staff Presentation