City Council

City of Mount Vernon Joint City Council and Planning Commission Meeting Minutes October 30, 2024 Police Court Campus, 1805 Continental Place Councilmember Brocksmith called the meeting to order at 5:00 p.m. Present Mayor Donovan Councilmembers: Beaton, Brocksmith, Carias, Hudson, Molenaar, Tercero and Vander Stoep Commissioners: Burkhart, Carlson, Curry, Fikkert, Hardt, Johnson, Orr Staff Present: Special Projects Manager Sexton, City Attorney Kevin Rogerson, Development Services Director Stacie Pratschner, Senior Planner Stacy Clauson, Associate Planner Rebecca Perkins, Permit Technician Danielle Freiberger Citizens: 24 1. Approval of Agenda Councilmember Beaton moved to approve the agenda as written, 2nd by Councilmember Molenaar. Motion carried 6-0. 2. Public Participation Plan Review Ms. Pratschner said that the timeline for completion of the Periodic Update of the Comprehensive Plan is divided into 3 phases, and the City is in phase one right now. We have contracts with Otak, TSI, and the RFQ for a consultant to support climate change planning closes on November 7. The Public Participation Plan Final Draft review is complete, and DS will bring a Resolution to City Council to affirm the final document. The final portion of Phase I is the beginning of community outreach, visioning exercises with the City Council, and choosing a branding and overall look for the updated Comprehensive Plan. Public Works is working with the County to establish an ILA so the City can get access to updated maps with current building footprints within the UGA. The County Development Services Committee October 30, 2024 Page 2 of 3 Commissioners will likely vote on the proposed updates to the Countywide Planning Policies in January 2025. The goal is to have the Gap Analysis, Housing Needs Assessment and Land Capacity Analysis completed by the early first quarter of 2025. 3. Land Capacity Analysis and Housing Need Assessment Ms. Pratschner said that the Land Capacity Analysis analyzes current conditions, trends and gaps in Mount Vernon’s housing stock and will also ensure consistency with HB1220 Middle Housing. The City will need to be able to accommodate enough new housing stock to meet population growth projections. The Housing Needs Assessment will show us if we have sufficient land for the projected housing, as well as deficits and surpluses of housing units and types. The Gap analysis looks at whether current conditions are providing the right environment that yields adequate housing stocks of different needs and income levels. Part of the intent of the North Star Call to Action letter is to help address housing deficits by proposing regulatory updates that help create a better environment for development. The Call to Action recommends: 1. Mixed use development in commercial zones. 2. By-right development in residential zones. 3. Parking reductions. 4. Fee reductions for affordable housing. 4. North Star Leadership Letter Update Ms. Pratschner gave an overview of the letter as described in section above. 5. Manufactured Home Park Protections Mr. Rogerson gave a policy presentation on manufactured home park protections. Mobile home parks are heavily regulated by state and federal government and these regulations have overridden local regulations. There are also continual changes to these laws. Housing authority could potentially be used to help preserve mobile home parks. Local regulation of rent is pre-empted unless the jurisdiction has some involvement in the property and the eviction process does not include land use change. There are Tenant Opportunity to Purchase Ordinances (TOPO) which give tenants the right to negotiate and the State Mobile Home Communities Opportunity to Purchase Laws provide a process for this. Local governments can establish zones that allow only Mobile Home Parks and this has to be included in the Comprehensive Plan. 6. SWOT Analysis Exercise for Comprehensive Plan Vision Statement Development Services Committee October 30, 2024 Page 3 of 3 Ms. Pratschner said that the SWOT is an aspirational and strategic planning strategy across time. The four questions the SWOT posed are: 1. What do you love about Mount Vernon, and what do you think should persist 2 years in the future? 2. In 2 years, how do you imagine the city will change? 3. What are obstacles/issues that need to be addressed? 4. What do you hope the community looks and feels like in 20 years? What will be here? External forces (i.e. State legislation). There was considerable discussion by Council and Planning Commission. 7. November 20, 2024, Committee Topics Discussion Potential items for discussion are Comprehensive Plan design and layout, Housing Needs Analysis and Land Capacity Draft, and proposed building, planning and engineering fee schedule redlines. Council requested to have the fee discussion sooner due to budget consideration. 8. Miscellaneous None. ADJOURNMENT The Meeting adjourned at 8:10 pm. Submitted by: Danielle Freiberger, Permit Technician Approved: November 13,2024