Planning Commission

RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS OF THE PLANNING COMMISSION CITY OF BELLINGHAM, WASHINGTON THURSDAY WORK SESSION 7:00 P.M. August 20, 2015 CITY COUNCIL CHAMBER5 Video-taped www.cob.org CALL TO ORDER: The meeting was called to order by Garrett O'Brien, Vice-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: Garrett O’Brien, Jeff Brown, Steve Crooks and Cerise Noah Absent: Ali Taysi, Tom Grinstad, Phyllis McKee, Staff Present: Greg Aucutt, Assistant Planning Director; Lisa Pool, Senior Planner; Chris Koch, Planner II; David Stalheim, Block Grants Program Manager; and Heather Aven, Recording Secretary. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Approval of the June 11 and July 16, 2015 meeting minutes. Steve Crooks / Cerise Noah moved to approve both sets of minutes. VOTE: ALL AYES 15 MINUTE PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD No public testimony given. WORK SESSION A work session to discuss the topic of housing choices and affordability, as it relates to the Comprehensive Plan update. STAFF PRESENTATION Chris Koch presented a PowerPoint, which reviewed the State's requirements for affordable housing, as well as the City's role, data from the 2013 Consolidated Plan, the existing goals and policies and staff's recommendations. PUBLIC COMMENTS: Dean Fearing, Executive Director of KCLT encouraged the Commission to consider additional incentives that the City could provide to stimulate more housing in order to offer more homeownership across Bellingham. He also pointed out that the removal of barriers, such as the "¼-mile from a transit station" rule or the 60% rental concentration rule, could assist in providing more affordable housing options. Clayton Petree stated that it is hard to find affordable land to build on in Bellingham. He made some comments on confusing sections of the staff report. He stated that there is almost a 0% vacancy rate and pointed out one of the data pieces that is missing, is how many additional units is needed to get back to a healthy vacancy rate. He commented on the shrinking household size and encouraged the Commission to determine what that number might be and that would help to determine the number of units needed. He spoke to the number of homes set to be demolished and built to a higher density. Linda Twitchell, BIAWC suggested that general market ideas should be thought of that would make housing more affordable. She commented on the expense and timing of land-use permits delaying the development of needed housing, and encouraged doing anything possible to make this process faster and easier. She stated that there is still concern related to the cost of land. Final Copy - 1 Tim Hostettler, Sehome Neighborhood stated that three areas should be looked at for future housing: 1) Urban Growth Area (UGA), 2) Urban Villages and 3) Single-Family Residential neighborhoods. He pointed out that Urban Villages should be the first consideration, followed by neighborhoods and then the UGAs. He cautioned against proposing significant changes to the single-family zoning, specifically related to the ADUs. COMMISSION QUESTIONS / DISCUSSION David Stalheim cleared up some confusion around the ¼-mile rule and how it relates to the provision of funding for affordable housing. There was a discussion about what staff meant by a "healthy mix" of housing. It was also pointed out that more housing options need to be available for those families that don’t qualify as low-income, but still cannot afford to purchase a home. Jeff Brown suggested that identifying the different sectors of the population and then considering what barriers are affecting housing affordability and supply should be the first step in this process. There was a conversation about how some of the changes that could result through these discussions will impact staff resources. There were also points made about the importance of educating the public. There was a discussion about reviewing the existing incentives and how effective they have been over the years at the next work session. It was also mentioned that touching base with some of the agencies that utilize the incentives would be helpful. The Commission directed staff to implement the following themes in the appropriate places throughout the Comprehensive Plan: 1. A policy statement for staff to collaborate with profit and non-profit agencies to identify barriers and potential incentives in an effort to increase housing affordability and choices on an annual (or other reasonable time frame) basis. 2. A policy statement indicating the importance of collecting and using data to create actionable land use policies. 3. To the extent that student housing is considered, all higher education schools, not just WWU, should be included in the discussion. 4. A policy statement to review staff resources as permit / application processes change. It was decided that staff will bring back additional housing information and data for consideration prior to the review of the proposed changes to the comprehensive plan. NEXT MEETING: August 27, 2015 - Public Hearing on the Critical Areas Ordinance update. ADJOURNED: 8:30 p.m. Minutes prepared by: _____________________________ Heather Aven, Recording Secretary Minutes edited by Planning Commission members and various Planning Staff. Final Copy - 2