Planning Commission

RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS OF THE PLANNING COMMISSION CITY OF BELLINGHAM, WASHINGTON THURSDAY WORK SESSION 7:00 P.M. February 4, 2016 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 and Steve Crooks Present: Ali Taysi, Garrett O’Brien, Tom Grinstad, Phyllis McKee and Steve Crooks Absent: Jeff Brown Staff Present: Greg Aucutt, Assistant Planning Director; Lisa Pool; Senior Planner; Chris Koch; Planner II; Chris Behee; GIS Analyst and Heather Aven, Recording Secretary. APPROVAL OF MINUTES None to approve. 15 MINUTE PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD No testimony given. WORK SESSION Review the updates to the draft Housing Chapter of the Bellingham Comprehensive Plan. STAFF PRESENTATION Lisa Pool reviewed the state requirements for housing and spoke to the statistics specific to the City of Bellingham. She explained the key changes made to the Housing Chapter as they relate to the five focus areas. PUBLIC COMMENT Mary Kay Robinson spoke to the Growth Management Act requirements regarding affordable housing. She stated that it is increasingly difficult for hard working families to purchase a home in Bellingham and explained that even though the cost of housing is rising, the wages are not. She also pointed out that although Bellingham is growing, the housing stock continues to lag behind and referenced different population groups and what they would like to have in regard to housing types. She questioned the City's assumption of sufficient land supply to accommodate population growth and expressed support for including S. Yew Street and the Caitac property into the City's urban growth area. Anne Mackie spoke to fact that her neighborhood has many affordable single-family homes, but many of them are rentals or illegal units not adhering to the zoning regulations. She commented on Policy H-7, and encouraged the requirement that a property with an accessory dwelling unit (ADU) be owner- occupied remain in effect. She stated a legitimate inventory of the existing ADUs in the City should be obtained. She stated that, although an ADU can make a home more affordable for the property owner, she is not interested in seeing them used for an absentee landlord gaining additional income. Linda Twitchell, BIAWC stated that the proposed amendments related to increasing the variety and sizes of housing choices are good. She pointed out that "lack of buildable land that residents can afford" Fianl Copy - 1 should be included in the list of causes of high housing costs. She also commented on the land capacity analysis and questioned its accuracy, specifically related to the number of units the Dewey Valley annexation could actually realize. She pointed out that inclusionary zoning was included in both the Land Use and Housing chapters and stated that this would really only provide a small number of affordable housing for low-income persons, thereby raising the price of other homes making them unaffordable for middle-income persons. She reviewed language that the BIAWC proposed be included in the plan. Tim Hostettler, Sehome Neighborhood Association spoke to the issue of ADUs. He reiterated that an inventory of existing ADUs should occur prior to additional discussions taking place and standards / requirements should be created to ensure neighborhood residents and developers know what to expect. He expressed his support for the urban village concept, specifically the Bellingham Housing Authority's proposal for the former Aloha Motel site. Clayton Petree suggested that some policy language related to "UGA reserves" be included in the Housing chapter. He spoke to both the housing mix and housing supply issues and stated that both points should be addressed in the chapter. He also referenced issues with the vacancy rates included in the land capacity analysis. Cal Leenstra commented on the number of times "affordable housing" was mentioned and noted that not much infrastructure has been provided in recent years, even though it calls for it in the Comprehensive Plan. He stated that neither the infill nor the urban village strategy is working to decrease the housing affordability gap in his opinion. He read goals H-1, H-2, H-3 and H-4. He commented on the housing mix and pointed out that the City's numbers are backwards, there is more demand for single-family than there is for multi-family. He noted that one way to provide more housing is to increase the land supply. PLANNING COMMISSION QUESTIONS / COMMENTS: A discussion on inclusionary zoning was held. Staff explained that it is included in the existing plan and is a tool that could be considered in the future to address housing affordability. There was concern expressed that inclusionary zoning is listed as a policy, but addressing the lack of land capacity is not. There was a brief conversation on the unintended consequences that could result from this type of regulation and the Commission suggested expansion of Policy H-45 to include language related to the "production of affordable housing". Staff pointed out that other policies, such as H-16 address incentives. There was concern expressed about some of the language used that could lead to unintended consequences like "such as, ensure, encourage, and foster" and suggested that use of those words be reconsidered. It was pointed out that the gap between the cost of housing and affordability is widening due to the cost of land, the cost of construction materials, and the existing stagnant pay scale. The inclusion of a policy on manufactures housing is encouraging. There was a conversation related to the lack of attention both the Land Use and the Housing Chapters give to the connection between land capacity and affordable housing. It was pointed out that given the fact the regulatory documents will be guided by the information contained in the Comprehensive Plan, it is important to have this connection addressed. Staff reviewed the land capacity analysis process and stated that the same methodology is used by all the cities in Whatcom County, and over the last four Fianl Copy - 2 years has produced very good estimates. There was a suggestion to consider a 3rd party audit on the land capacity analysis.  There was general consensus to include language that indicates the relationship between land capacity and the provision of affordable housing. There was a discussion on the lack of language in the plan related to the consideration of the infill housing toolkit being allowed in single-family zones. It was pointed out that not all housing forms included in the infill toolkit are appropriate in single-family zones.  There was general consensus to request staff draft some policy language related to the allowance of appropriate infill housing forms in single-family zones. o Staff pointed out other policies that adequately address this issue. Policy H-15 was referenced and it was suggested that staff review this policy as written, keeping in mind that it allows for a reduction in parking, but people don't necessarily get rid of their cars. There was a discussion on Policy H-7 and there was general consensus to retain the requirement of "owner-occupancy" for ADUs located in single-family zones; however, perhaps the same restriction should not be placed on ADUs located in multi-family zones. A conversation occurred regarding the requirement of first floor commercial and the effect it has on affordability. Staff noted that Planned Commercial Zones allow for residential units if there is a commercial component and explained how the requirements work in urban villages and downtown areas.  There was general consensus to add policy language related to the review of the requirement of ground floor commercial where appropriate.  There was also a suggestion to include language indicating "changes should be relatively easy to make" to Policy H-41. There was a discussion on the idea of monitoring the types of housing people with higher paying jobs want to live in. It was suggested that if that housing type was provided, higher wage jobs will become available in Bellingham. There was general consensus that additional policies regarding affordable housing for all income levels need to be included.  There was general consensus to add policy language related to monitoring housing demand relative to housing type and income levels. It was suggested that the policy language related to providing better communication to under-served populations be added to Policy H-20.  There was general consensus to include language that references the Economic Development chapter in the Housing Chapter as it relates to living wages and increasing wages to help bridge the affordability gap. Policy H-51 was referenced and it was suggested that all of the language related to supporting older adults and people with disabilities be stricken. Staff suggested leaving it as written, as the policy is aimed at special needs populations. Fianl Copy - 3 GENERAL BUSINESS Steve Crooks, Tom Grinstad and Phyllis McKee were appointed to the Shoreline Committee. Director's Report: Greg Aucutt announced that on February 8, 2016, City Council will be considering the appointment of Lisa Anderson to the Planning Commission. NEXT MEETING - February 18th - A work session on both of the draft Land Use and Housing Chapters of the Bellingham Comprehensive Plan. ADJOURNED: 9:00 p.m. Minutes prepared by: _____________________________ Heather Aven, Recording Secretary Minutes edited by Planning Commission members and various Planning Staff. Fianl Copy - 4