City Planning Commission

PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING MINUTES WEDNESDAY, July 23, 2025 HELD VIA ZOOM & IN PERSON AT CITY HALL Planning Commission Members Present: Joe Mann, DG Garcia, Charlie Jencks, and Gene Heuschel. Adjunct Member(s) Present: Troy Mullenix joined via Zoom at 4:04 p.m. Staff Present: Lisa Key, Amy Mullerleile, Lance Mueller, and Kathy Cummings Call to Order: Meeting was called to order at 4:01 p.m. Roll Call: A quorum of members was present. Absences: Commissioners Tom Sahlberg, Jim Baumker, and Phil Folyer were unable to attend due to previously planned commitments. A motion to excuse the commissioners was made by Commissioner Jencks and seconded by Commissioner Garcia. The motion carried unanimously. Commissioner Mann asked that everyone stand for the Pledge of Allegiance. Review of Agenda: Commissioner Jencks motioned to approve the revised agenda, seconded by Commissioner Heuschel. The motion passed unanimously. Approval of Minutes: Commissioner Jencks motioned to approve the July 9th meeting minutes, seconded by Commissioner Garcia. The motion was approved unanimously. Workshops: Utilities, Public Facilities & Services Element: Director Lisa Key presented an overview of the revised chapter which combines “Utilities” and “Essential Public Facilities” into one chapter of the city’s comprehensive plan. Goals and policy updates for both utility and capital facilities were discussed as well as the capacity review for projected growth that was completed for utilities, schools, emergency services, and city facilities, as part of this periodic update. It’s important to note that this chapter does not include Parks Facilities, Transportation Facilities, or the 20-year Capital Facilities Plan but does include Essential Public Facilities. Lisa explained the state, county and local definitions of “essential public facilities” and the regional siting process (unchanged since 2001) that will be appended for reference. Review of the minor updates and clarifications to the existing policies continued. Commissioner Jencks raised the topic of reclaimed water usage and proposed that this be included within this chapter. “Explore and encourage opportunities for the use of reclaimed water” was proposed as a new policy to be added. Commissioner Heuschel motioned to accept the change, seconded by Commissioner Garcia. The motion passed without objection. Employment Projections: Director Lisa Key reviewed a memo with employment trends and projections to ensure adequate land supply for the projected jobs-to-housing ratios. The land analysis confirms that Liberty Lake has enough capacity to meet 20-year growth projections, with flexibility to support increased job density if needed. It was also discussed that there is no significant agricultural land constraints identified within the city. Planning Commission Meeting Minutes Page 1|2 July 23, 2025 Citizens Comments: None Secretary’s Report: Director Key shared that at last night’s Special City Council meeting the GHG Reduction Sub-Element was discussed, and the council would like a small change to the GHG Reduction graph shown in the document to include the data in a tabular form. The Council also would like to see a statement of cost for the five-year check-in, and that the city has the option to review the matrix more frequently based on the availability of resources. A progress update was given of the Comprehensive Plan planning process. The ongoing and upcoming Comprehensive Plan engagement schedule was shared. The August 13th meeting will include a review of the red-line draft of the sign code chapter revisions. On August 27th a working draft of the 6-Year Capital Facilities Plan will be presented for the Planning Commission to review. Staff will be asking the Planning Commission to nominate a person to be part of a steering committee for the 20-year Capital Facilities Plan. Commissioner’s Reports: None Adjournment: Commissioner Jencks motioned to adjourn the meeting, seconded by Commissioner Heuschel. The motion carried unanimously. The meeting was adjourned at 5:03 p.m. Planning Commission Meeting Minutes Page 2|2 July 23, 2025