City Council

City Hall City of Olympia 601 4th Avenue E Olympia, WA 98501 Information: 360.753.8447 Meeting Minutes City Council Tuesday, October 28, 2014 5:30 PM Room 207 Special Study Session 1. ROLL CALL Present: 6 - Mayor Stephen H. Buxbaum, Mayor Pro Tem Nathaniel Jones, Councilmember Jim Cooper, Councilmember Steve Langer, Councilmember Jeannine Roe and Councilmember Cheryl Selby Excused: 1 - Councilmember Julie Hankins OTHERS PRESENT Community Planning and Development Director Keith Stahley Deputy Director Leonard Bauer City Manager Steve Hall Assistant City Manager Jay Burney Interim City Attorney Darren Nienaber Parks, Arts and Recreation Director Paul Simmons Pacifica Law Group Partner Jay Reich ECONorthwest Senior Planner Lorelei Juntune Planning Commissioners Roger Horn and Judy Bardin 2. BUSINESS ITEMS 2.A 14-1045 Community Renewal Area (CRA) Process - Next Steps Mayor Buxbaum introduced the topic and reviewed the purpose of the study session. Mr. Stahley outlined how the distributed proposal document "Moving Forward With CRA" can support City Council to capitalize on current momentum for developing downtown. Ms. Juntune discussed how the process of bringing the issue to the public might unfold in order to support deeper engagement with the community. She explained the proposal and discussed approaching developers with requests for proposals and qualifications (RFP/Q). Mr. Reich shared his experience working with other municipalities and elaborated on how the process for Council decision making can be supported at critical junctures. He outlined how the CRA provides the City with new tools to pair with the Grow City of Olympia Page 1 City Council Meeting Minutes October 28, 2014 Olympia Fund to encourage private sector participation and shape development to increase commerce. Discussion: - Examples from other municipalities. - Citizen advisory committee participation in Burien. - Questions about the volume of proposals. - Role and responsibility of market feasibility studies. - Public sector involvement and code integration. - Premature development of ordinances and planning without certainty of a Downtown Plan. - A need for more time to discuss private/public intersection and possibilities. - Mitigation of risk with informed scoping process. - How processes can respond and feed into goals of both a CRA and a Master Plan. - Potential of missing opportunities which coincide with current downtown development. - Clarification of the purpose of the resolution. - Lack of clarity around Council role and responsibility. - Selection of site specific areas for redevelopment. - Need for greater use of imagination regarding ideas and participation with developers. - Mechanism for bringing economically viable private interest and resources. - Inadequate community engagement around a Downtown vision. - Regulatory framework of Downtown Plan is not site specific for development. - Taking action by the end of the year with an ordinance/resolution in order to proceed with a Downtown Master Plan. - High level values for blighted buildings. - Using the RFP process for important scoping around a Downtown Master Plan. - Pear Blossom Place is an example of past success. - Chapter 35.81 RCW requirements. - Council commitment to commerce downtown and public perception of lack of follow through. - Budget considerations. Mayor Buxbaum expressed appreciation to the presenters. The work session was continued to the Special Study Session on Monday, November 3. 3. ADJOURNMENT The meeting adjourned at 6:43 p.m. City of Olympia Page 2