HomeMy WebLinkAbout03 - Records Retention Schedule - CorrespondenceRecieved After Agenda Printed
Agenda Item No. 3
Brown, Leilani May 13, 2014
From: Harp, Aaron
Sent: Tuesday, May 13, 2014 1:32 PM
To: Brown, Leilani
Subject: FW: Planning Commission Meeting Tapes
From: Larry Tucker rmailto:Tucker@GTPCenters.coml
Sent: Tuesday, May 13, 2014 1:26 PM
To: Kiff, Dave
Cc: 'Rush Hill'; Selich, Edward; Brandt, Kim; Harp, Aaron
Subject: Planning Commission Meeting Tapes
Hi Dave,
The update on the Council's policy of records retention has been brought to my attention. If I have read the agenda
item correctly, it looks like the tapes of the Planning Commission meetings will be destroyed at some point. Sorry for
the late notice on this, but I do not think it would be a good idea to ever dispose of the tapes of the Planning
Commission meetings. The Commission deals with land use matters that almost always run with the land. Some of
those decisions are on projects that become completed and done, but others have a perpetual nature to them. In
particular, a great many of our decisions involve use permits which of course are in effect operational covenants and as
long as the operation, including successor operations in the same space, continue, so do the use permit provisions.
Many promises and representation are made at our hearings in connection with operational details of restaurants and
bars, to name the most frequent use permit applicants that we see. Given the possibility of future disputes about
limitations agreed to by applicants, it should always remain helpful to the City to have a complete record of what
happened when the use permit was granted and what the language of the use permit is intended to cover.
Unfortunately, that language is not always as clear as it should be, especially if the Commission changes conditions on
the spot, which often happens.
Additionally, the quality of our minutes can be quite variable. Our former Planning Commission stenographer did an
excellent job with the minutes, of course benefitted by years of service and a familiarity with the vernacular of a
Planning Commission. The current staff preparing our minutes does not yet have the same level of experience, and also
I understand the staff may have been instructed to make the minutes briefer. It would be best to not have to rely on
minutes if an issue occurs when a complete oral record can be retained. So my two cents is to request that the record
retention policy applicable to the Planning Commission tapes be perpetual. Thanks.
Best regards,
Larry Tucker