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<p class=MsoNormal>Greetings,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal>We started the day today with PAZ. We had a few issues to
discuss. None of them much fun. The first was a review of the proposed
historic preservation ordinance. Here is the link:<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><a
href="ftp://www.ci.missoula.mt.us/Packets/Council/2008/2008-06-23/Referrals/ReferralHPzoning.pdf">ftp://www.ci.missoula.mt.us/Packets/Council/2008/2008-06-23/Referrals/ReferralHPzoning.pdf</a><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal>This is the outcome of a long effort to try to come up with some
enabling legislation that provides some means to preserve historic properties
and districts at risk of redevelopment. There are some who have no
interest in seeing this sort of thing move forward. There are others who are
sympathetic to the cause of historic preservation. But I don’t think any
of us could support the ordinance as written. It basically sets up an entire
new reviewing entity that would have the authority to approve or deny any
remodel or construction project.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal>The council has no interest in creating a gigantic set of
hurdles for redevelopment, the associated infrastructure for managing this new
system, or delegating its authority to the historic preservation board. A
few of us jumped on this point and Roger Millar from OPG indicated that OPG
staff had raised some of the same concerns. He thought it was a relatively easy
matter to revise the language to bring the preservation board back into the
role of advising rather than governing. This is an issue that is close to the
hearts of many in our community. I’m confident we can get to a point
where we have an ordinance that creates the right balance between providing
protection where it is needed without creating an unneeded burden on everyone
else.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal>The next issue had to do with a complaint of conflict of
interest on the Historic Preservation Commission (HPC). I scheduled them
together since all the same people would need to be present. Dennis
Gordon had raised the complaint a little while back and Dick wanted us to
discuss it to clarify the issue of conflicts of interest on our boards. There
is a specific legal definition of conflict of interest. It pretty much means
that you would have a direct and significant financial gain associated with a
decision you are making. I think Dick’s point was that claims of
conflict get thrown around every so often but there really has not been any. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal>The specific complaint that brought up this discussion had
to do with some University owner project out at the fort that the HPC was
reviewing. Two of the people on the board were being contracted with by the
University to work on the project in question. Both individuals recused themselves
from the discussion. The complaint was that their presence on the board,
regardless of whether they were voting, tainted the board’s ability to be
unbiased. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal>It’s a somewhat reasonable concern. We discussed
adding something to our applications that asks for conflicts to be revealed but
didn’t make any changes. In our interview process we ask a question about
conflicts and decided to leave it at that. The problem with this line of
thinking is that if you carry it to its conclusion you could not have anyone on
our boards or elected bodies who had any professional involvement in the
community. Almost all professionals have some relationship with the university,
the hospitals, various developers, engineers, or other entities who at some
point are involved in projects that come before the City.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal>Our next item was supposed to be an easy one but wasn’t.
The Mayor had recommended that we confirm the reappointments of Michael Nave
and Carl Posowitz to the Board of Adjustment. Jon Wilkins requested that
we take them up separately. We started with Michael. Ed said he couldn’t
vote for him because of the way he handled Carter Court ignoring the advice of
the city attorney. We discussed it for a bit and voted. Ed was the only nay. Then
we took up Carl. Stacy moved the confirmation. Wilkins said he couldn’t
support him because he thought he had a conflict of interest and in general had
a philosophical outlook different from Jon’s. When asked, Jon did not
elaborate. We voted. This time Jon, John, Lynn, Dick, and Renee voted against
reconfirming Carl. Myself, Stacy, Ed, Pam, Jason, and Dave voted in favor. Ed
and I will both be absent on Monday so I’m not sure how this will go.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal>After lunch we had a brief A&F meeting to discuss the riverfront
triangle MRA district. We set a public hearing to establish the new district.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal>The only other committee we had was Budget. We reviewed a
MRA, finance, the clerk, and council. Nothing too exciting there.
We had a little discussion about the Mill site. It is about two years behind
schedule now. The delays caused by clean up issues and general slowness of DEQ
have cost about $1,000,000. Of course the market has been changing over these
two years as well. It will be interesting to see how this unfolds.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal>Next week in PAZ we will be having the discussion on ‘Stacking.’
This is the practice of dividing projects into groupings of five or fewer lots.
This is done for either efficiency of filing, or evasion of subdivision,
depending on who you talk to. The issue surfaced in regards to the
Lincoln School project most recently. The goal of the discussion is to
get a clear understanding of the rules and practice and decide if we want to
direct staff to make changes in the ordinance. I will not be present at
this meeting. Marilyn has offered to chair for me in my absence.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal>The following week we will be having a general discussion
about the future of the Orchard Homes area. There are a number of
controversial subdivisions on deck. We want to have a more general discussion about
what direction we are headed outside the context of a specific project. We are
hoping to hear from our planning staff, the development community, neighbors,
and the Community Food and Agriculture Coalition.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal>Thanks for your interest, <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>Bob
Jaffe</span><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>Missoula
City Council, Ward 3</span><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'><a
href="mailto:bjaffe@ci.missoula.mt.us"><span style='color:blue'>bjaffe@ci.missoula.mt.us</span></a></span><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>406-728-1052</span><o:p></o:p></p>
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