8.1. SR 09-15-2003 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Memo to the Mayor and City Council CountyJail September 15, 2003 Page 2 History In 2001, the City processed two ordinance amendments: Changing the definition of government buildings and facilities and government offices, and Making government buildings and facilities a Conditional Use in the Business Park District. Both were in response to the 2000 jail expansion and variance request to allow screening adjacent to the residential district at less than 80% opacity. The original definitions proposed by staff and adopted by Ordinance No. 01-05 separated county offices (governmental offices) from courthouse and jails (governmental bt~dings). The County Administrator's letter indicates that due to the design of the County facility, it is too difficult to distinguish where one function starts and the other ends. Betsy Wergin, County Commissioner, testified to the same at the City Council meeting of April 16, 2001. The motion to approve the ordinance amendment regarding the definitions included permission for the City Attorney to draft language to address this issue. The definitions as adopted in Chapter 30, Land Development Regulations define Governmental Offices: "...Usesintended are generally compatible with office and residential uses and include city offices, county offices, courthouses, jails operated on the same site and as part of a city or county courthouse..." The file is not clear nor does the City Attorney have any notes on how this definition changed from what was originally approved. We believe that this change was incorporated in the recodification of the City Code in response to the Council's direction on April 16, 2001. The code also defines a jail as: "a secure adult detention facility use to confine sentenced prisoners for a time not to exceed one full year per conviction, adult pre-trial and presentenced detainees indefinitely, and juveniles up to limits prescribed by the State." There is no definition of correctional facility in the code. Issues to Consider It is clear that the use of this particular jail facility is beyond what is typically found associated with City or County jail facilities. How to regulate this use when it is integrated with other county functions is a difficult quandary. Some of the issues include: The functions of the building are intermingled: courthouse, county offices, jail, sheriff's office, gun range and officer training facility. S:\PLANNING\Case Files\2003\9 15 03 CC memo re Jail.doc