Planning Commission

RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS OF THE PLANNING COMMISSION CITY OF BELLINGHAM, WASHINGTON Thursday 7:00 PM October 1, 2020 Online Zoom Webinar Video Recorded www.cob.org Call to Order / Roll Call Present: Mike Estes (Chair); Ali Taysi; Makenzie Graham, Phyllis McKee, Rose Lathrop and Scott Jones Absent: Steve Crooks Approval of Minutes Minutes from July 16, 2020 were considered for approval. Public Comment Period Opportunity for citizens to speak informally to the Planning Commissioners on any subject not listed on the agenda. Speakers are allowed a MAXIMUM of three (3) minutes to address the Commission. Speakers will not be required to disclose their address. No testimony provided. Presentation Briefing on up-coming public process for the Residential Multi (RM) project. Lisa Pool announced the virtual open house that will be held on Thursday, October 8, 2020. She shared the variety of ways that the community can be engaged in this project and the different ways comments can be shared with staff. Public Hearing – York Neighborhood Plan ZON2019-0004: Amendment to the Area 1 subarea description in the York Neighborhood Plan. The proposal is to add policy language to the description to help guide future decisions. Area 1 is zoned Light Industrial and is bound by I-5 on the east, Meador Avenue on the south and Whatcom Creak on the north. Greg Aucutt explained the application submitted by the York Neighborhood and shared the proposed amendment. He noted that staff believes the existing language does do a decent job of identify the goals but is lacking in the “how” to achieve the goals. He stated that staff is recommending that the existing language remain as written and a new paragraph be included to help address the “how”. He pointed out that the language in the new paragraph would be very similar to what is already included in the Open Space section of the York Neighborhood Plan. Anne Mackie and Tom Scott represented the York Neighborhood as applicants. Anne pointed out that things have changed in the community since the school district first parked their busses on this site in the 1950’s, and there is a need for change to protect the creek that runs through Area 1. She encouraged the staff to take some action in engaging with the property owners, along the creek, to find a better location for their businesses. She also would like to see the city actively work to bring protections to the creek. Tom Scott shared some examples of land swapping activity and encouraged the city to consider doing that with the Bellingham School District (BSD) to relocate the bus barn. Tom pointed out that the re- construction that just occurred on the BSD property did not result in improvements in protecting the water that runs behind their property. He noted that the area in general needs to be improved and the language submitted by the neighborhood could help to accomplish this. Public Comment Alex McLean spoke to the condition of the creek and the reason that the Critical Areas Ordinance is not applicable. He pointed out that there needs to be a creek wide plan for restoration and specifically how to address this section that runs through Area 1 of the York Neighborhood. Drue Robinson stated that she was speaking on behalf of Steven Solomon, Shirley Williams and the salmon. She shared some information from the State’s Shoreline Master Plan and expressed concern for lack of protection and restoration efforts for the creek in Area 1 of the York Neighborhood. She also stated that the city does have the authority to rezone the area and should be considering that action in an effort to save the creek and the salmon that live in it. Julie Carpenter spoke to the condition of the creek and expressed concern that not more was done by the Bellingham School District during their remodel to protect the waterway. She would like to see the creek placed within the Shoreline Master Program purview, so that those regulations would apply to it. Warren Sheay stated that the amendment was submitted in an effort to spur the city into action to protect Whatcom Creek by encouraging the Bellingham School District to relocate the bus barn. He noted that affordable housing could have been built on the land. He noted that he supports the amendment submitted by the York Neighborhood Association, which address the goal of affordable housing and responsible stewardship of Whatcom Creek. Public Comment Closed Steve Sundin confirmed that Whatcom Creek is governed by the Shoreline Master Program and that the creek is considered a critical area. He spoke to the rules that would be applied to any new development, which has not occurred west of the I-5 corridor since the SMP was updated in 2013 with more protective buffers. He explained that the work the Bellingham School District did on-site was all within the allowances of the State – which indicates that a project must comply with the rules in place at the time, but does not have to correct the sins of the past. There was a discussion about what the city is doing for Whatcom Creek as a whole and what future opportunities would need to arise to do more restoration in Area 1 specifically. There was also a discussion about what implications might be realized if a rezone were to occur in this area. There was a brief conversation about how the city prioritizes the properties it purchases. The applicant reminded the Commissioner’s that the proposed amendment is just policy and does not speak to rezoning or removing anyone’s property rights. He explained that the language is meant to encourage conformity and not require it. There was a brief discussion about the Bellingham School District site and the application process for their recent tenant improvements. MOTION: Ali Taysi / Phyllis McKee moved to accept the Findings of Fact, Conclusions and Recommendations contained in the October 1, 2020 staff report and recommend the City Council approve the addition of staff’s proposed paragraph to be included in the York Neighborhood Plan’s Area 1 description. Ali Taysi explained why he made the recommendation he did and shared that, in his opinion, it says the same thing the York Neighborhood submittal does and strives to achieve the same intent. Mike Estes agrees that staff’s language captures the intent of the statement submitted by the neighborhood association. Rose Lathrop encouraged more be done to help identify what resources might be available to achieve the change that is desired, in restoring that portion of Whatcom Creek. MOTION AMENDMENT: Ali Taysi / Makenzie Graham moved to recommend that City Council direct staff to consider tools to implement the policy language as adopted for Area 1. VOTE: ALL AYES (Motion passes 6-0) VOTE ON MAIN MOTION: ALL AYES (Motion passes 6-0) Public Hearing – Food Policies A public hearing to consider a draft ordinance amending the 2016 Bellingham Comprehensive Plan to add new policies related to food access. Lisa Pool shared a brief overview of the proposed food policy amendments. She explained that these amendments are intended to supplement the Bellingham Comprehensive Plan’s existing food policies and further support the Restrictive Covenants Ordinance. Public Comment No public testimony. Public Comment Closed There was concern expressed that the proposed amendments would not really assist in making the changes needed to assist the community in getting access to food. It was pointed out that people shop where they want / need to shop, which is not always their local grocery store. The comment was made that the issue that needs to be addressed is offering food that is affordable, not just offering access to food. There was a brief discussion about although it is not enough, it is a good start and what is needed to get the conversations going about how to get change in the future. MOTION: Scott Jones / Makenzie Graham moved to modify LU-83 to include “…healthy, affordable food access”. VOTE: ALL AYES (Motion passes 6-0) There was general consensus that including language in the Comprehensive Plan related to economic barriers related to food access should be considered. MOTION: Scott Jones / Ali Taysi moved to direct staff to create an additional whereas statement that takes into consideration economics and inequality. It was suggested that “economic barriers” be used instead of just economics. VOTE: ALL AYES (Motion passes 6-0) MOTION: Ali Taysi / Phyllis McKee moved to accept the Findings of Fact, Conclusions and Recommendations contained in the October 1, 2020 and recommend that the City Council approve the additional food policies as amended through discussion. VOTE: ALL AYES (Motion passes 6-0) Old/New Business Mike Estes stated that he would like to consider making changes to the Shoreline Committee and will open up that discussion at a future meeting. Upcoming Meetings: November 5, 2020 - RM Project work session November 19, 2020 – 2020-2021 annual Comprehensive Plan Docket Adjournment Minutes prepared by: Heather Aven Heather Aven, Recording Secretary Minutes edited by Planning Commission members and various Planning Staff.