Planning Commission

RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS OF THE PLANNING COMMISSION CITY OF BELLINGHAM, WASHINGTON THURSDAY WORK SESSION 7:00 P.M. July 16, 2015 CITY COUNCIL CHAMBER5 Video-taped www.cob.org CALL TO ORDER: The meeting was called to order by Ali Taysi, Chairman of the Planning Commission. ROLL CALL: Tom Grinstad, Jeff Brown, Garrett O'Brien (VC), Ali Taysi (C), Phyllis McKee, Steve Crooks and Cerise Noah Present: Ali Taysi, Garrett O’Brien, Tom Grinstad, Jeff Brown, Phyllis McKee, Steve Crooks and Cerise Noah Absent: Staff Present: Greg Aucutt, Assistant Planning Director; Lisa Pool, Senior Planner; and Heather Aven, Recording Secretary. APPROVAL OF MINUTES There was general consensus to approve the April 30, May 7 and June 4, 2015 meeting minutes. 15 MINUTE PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD No public testimony given. The Commission took action on the Findings of Fact, Conclusions and Recommendations to reflect the work that was done during the meetings regarding the recommendation for population and employment growth forecasts, and the review of the UGA boundary. MOTION: Phyllis McKee / Tom Grinstad moved to recommend the Findings of Fact, Conclusions and Recommendations regarding the 2036 population and employment growth forecasts be forwarded to City Council for their review. VOTE: ALL AYES (Motion Passes 7-0) WORK SESSION A work session to discuss topics that will be the focus of modifications to the City's Comprehensive Plan. STAFF PRESENTATION Lisa Pool presented the scope of the comprehensive plan update and reviewed the existing policy foundation. She explained that staff would like to create a list of focus areas and then consider each chapter based on that topic. PUBLIC COMMENTS: Julie Guy stated that the Cordata Neighborhood would like to see a library in the northern portion of Bellingham. She has been in discussions with the Library Board and since there "may be consideration" for an additional branch, she would like to see it become a goal in the Comprehensive Plan so it remains a consideration. Final Copy - 1 Carol Dukes stated that she supports the idea of a Cordata Neighborhood library. She stated that this could be a safe learning environment and listed additional benefits a library has. COMMISSION QUESTIONS / DISCUSSION There was a lot of discussion surrounding what direction would be the best to pursue. The Commission decided to focus on the following over-arching principles when reviewing the chapters of the Comprehensive Plan:  Health (environmental, economic and social)  Sustainability of the goals / policies  Innovation (new, smart and creative) During their discussion, the Commission realized that many topics were interrelated and so rather than create a list of single topics to focus on - it was decided that they would discuss one broad topic: housing choices and affordability, and the implementation of existing urban village plans and then determine the next topic based on the conversation at that time. OLD / NEW BUSINESS NEXT MEETING: July 30, 2015 - No items scheduled at this time. ADJOURNED: 10:37 p.m. Minutes prepared by: _____________________________ Heather Aven, Recording Secretary Minutes edited by Planning Commission members and various Planning Staff. Final Copy - 2