Land Use & Environment Committee

City Hall City of Olympia 601 4th Avenue E Olympia, WA 98501 Information: 360-753-8447 Meeting Minutes Land Use & Environment Committee Thursday, June 27, 2013 5:30 PM Council Chambers 1. ROLL CALL Chair Langer noted Committee Member Roe is excused due to her attendance at an Association of Washington Cities meeting. Present: 2- Chair Steve Langer and Committee Member Julie Hankins Excused: 1 - Committee Member Jeannine Roe STAFF AND OTHERS PRESENT STAFF: Community Planning & Development: Director Keith Stahley, Planning Manager Todd Stamm, Downtown Liaison Brian Wilson Parks, Arts & Recreation: Director Linda Oestreich, Planning Supervisor Dave Okerlund OTHERS: Parks & Recreation Advisory Committee: Vice Chair Barbara Benson 2. CALL TO ORDER Chair Langer called the meeting to order at 5:35 p.m. 3. APPROVAL OF MINUTES 3.A 13-0478 Approval of May 23, 2013 Land Use & Environment Committee Meeting Minutes Committee Member Hankins moved, seconded by Chair Langer, to approve the minutes. The motion carried by the following vote: Aye: 2- Chair Langer and Committee Member Hankins Excused: 1 - Committee Member Roe 4. COMMITTEE BUSINESS 4.A 13-0519 Development Regulation Amendment Priorities Briefing Planning Manager Todd Stamm addressed the Committee. He noted the briefing is also an overview of the development regulations that are presently going through the Planning City of Olympia Page 1 Land Use & Environment Meeting Minutes June 27, 2013 Committee Commission and will be reflected in the Planning Commission’s future work program. Mr. Stamm indicated his presentation has three parts: 1. Code amendments that will be reaching Council over the next few months. 2. Code amendments that are just being placed on the Planning Commission’s agenda that will come to Council in later months. 3. To ensure LUEC is well informed of the development regulations that are being worked on when they reach Council. Mr. Stamm provided the following list of amendments that are already in process and will be coming before Council in the near future: · Solid waste facilities screening standards as proposed by Public Works Department. · Shoreline Master Program update ongoing at the Council level. · Large building design criteria in residential areas, aka 'ORLA' amendment. · High density residential compatibility standards - resulting from Bing Apartment proposal. · Marijuana retail uses - now under moratorium; this item may be expanded to encompass production regulations. · Review and refinement of rezone process - recommended by Planning Commission. In addition to the items that will be coming to Council in the near future, Mr. Stamm presented the following list of longer-term items that will be coming forward in the latter part of 2013. Many of these amendments will be necessary to ensure development regulations are consistent with the City’s Comprehensive Plan: 1. Change 'Henderson Park' zoning from Capitol Campus to General Commercial. 2. Change LOTT treatment plant zoning from Industrial to Urban Waterfront. 3. Change Heritage Park zoning from High-Rise Multi-family to Capitol Campus. 4. Change zoning of two blocks northeast of Lee Creighton Justice Center from Capitol Campus to Professional Office. 5. Revise Capitol Campus zoning to reference the State's plan. 6. Add a provision allowing for recognition of 'campus' plans, such as SPSCC, hospitals, etc. 7. Amend threshold from 10 to 5 acres for multi-family projects mandated to provide a mix of housing types. 8. Amend environmentally sensitive area provisions to provide more flexibility for clustering development. 9. Extend design review jurisdiction to all projects adjacent to public streets. 10. Remove most street views from scenic view protection. In addition to the items listed above, Mr. Stamm noted the conversation concerning form-based codes is set to get underway and will likely be going for some time before it is ready to be presented to Council. Committee Member Hankins asked whether moving to form-based codes would change the City of Olympia Page 2 Land Use & Environment Meeting Minutes June 27, 2013 Committee work the City is doing on all the other development code regulations Mr. Stamm has been discussing. Mr. Stamm replied that yes, moving to form-based codes would represent a fundamental shift in the development regulations and would likely affect all the codes in some way. The report was received. 4.B 13-0525 ORAL REPORT - Artesian Court Consideration of Park Designation Ms. Oestreich, Ms. Benson, and Mr. Okerlund addressed the Committee. Ms. Oestreich stated the purpose this evening is to gain LUEC’s approval to move toward designating the artesian well site as a park. The area under consideration is just the public plaza portion north of the existing well. The artesian well would be managed by Public Works, and the parking lot to the south would be managed by Community Planning & Development. Ms. Oestreich noted the overall management of the site would be facilitated by inter-departmental agreements. A large potential obstacle to development of the park portion of the site will be securing a bathroom facility. Without a bathroom available, environmental health codes would prohibit having food vendors on the site. Ms. Oestreich noted this is a challenging site to manage, but said the Parks Department has the expertise needed to do the job. Chair Langer noted it might make more sense to have the artesian well more incorporated into the park yet managed by Public Works. Ms. Oestreich noted the design has been changed so that the well would be more connected with the park. Committee Member Hankins asked whether the establishment of a park would restrict access to the well. Ms. Oestreich noted access to the well would be 24-hours a day. Chair Langer asked for information about how parks are managed after closing hours. Ms. Oestreich said it varies by the park. Some parks have gates. Some activity is informally monitored by neighbors who call police. It is a law enforcement response and not primarily a Parks Department responsibility. Committee Member Hankins asked how operating costs would be handled in the future. Ms. Oestreich indicated the costs would be shared across departments, depending on the area of the park or the type of activity. She noted there currently is no budget for the restroom. The cost of a portable restroom would be $225 a month. Ms. Oestreich said the concept has been taken to Design Review, and meetings with the Downtown Association and the Heritage Committee will take place in the future, as well as another meeting with Design Review. The concept is ready to move forward with construction documents. Chair Langer suggested information should be posted at the site to show the public what City of Olympia Page 3 Land Use & Environment Meeting Minutes June 27, 2013 Committee will be coming in the future. Ms. Oestreich said that once the drawings are completed by an architect there will be more information made available to the public. Mr. Stahley indicated the current improvements being proposed are not necessarily unalterable in the future if there is a need for changes to the design of the park. Chair Langer and Committee Member Hankins expressed thanks to Ms. Oestreich for her years of service. The Committee agreed by consensus to recommend that the site be given a Park designation. 4.C 13-0421 ORAL REPORT - Status Reports and Updates Mr. Wilson addressed the Committee. The Parking and Business Improvement Area (PBIA) has opened a Request for Proposals (RFP) and has received three proposals for parklets; from the Rachel Corrie Foundation, Olympia Coffee Roasters, and Old School Pizzeria. Transportation engineers and planners reviewed the designs and sent them to the Placemaking Committee. The Committee is currently recommending the Olympia Coffee Roasters project. Mr. Wilson showed the design to the Committee. The design would alleviate a seating problem for the business. In a couple weeks the proposal will be presented to the full Council. Mr. Wilson noted the Peppers Restaurant and Olympia Glass are not enthusiastic about the proposal, primarily because of parking concerns. Peppers Restaurant seems to be more in opposition than Olympia Glass at this time. Mr. Stahley discussed the City’s application to the Liquor Control Board for a ban on certain alcoholic beverages in the downtown area. Mayor Buxbaum and City Attorney Morrill presented the City’s application to the Liquor Control Board on June 19. The Board did not issue a decision at that meeting. The distributors have come out in force in opposition to the City’s application, so the Board’s decision is hard to predict at this point. In response to a question from Committee Member Hankins, Mr. Stahley noted no previous applications to the Board for a ban have been denied, but previous applications have not been as actively opposed by distributors. If the application is rejected, the City can start the process over again. Mr. Stahley presented information on the Legion Way trees. He presented the Committee a copy of a memorandum from Urban Forester Shelly Bentley detailing the timeline for choosing a contractor for the work to be completed on Legion Way. An estimated timeline of July 23 for a start date for the project was presented, including tree planting. Chair Langer noted many trees have been damaged or simply do not exist in the downtown area. He stated he would like to see the issue of tree management throughout the City be brought before the LUEC in the future. Issues like tree selection, location, provision of trees in parking lots, etc. are important issues that need to be addressed in a City of Olympia Page 4 Land Use & Environment Meeting Minutes June 27, 2013 Committee comprehensive way. In addition, discussion of how to establish a “tree foundation” that would tap into public contributions and support needs to take place. Discussion of an urban tree plan ensued. Audience members also presented some photographs of open space ideas for the Committee, including an example of an alley from Fort Collins, Colorado. Mr. Stahley noted at the next meeting of LUEC there will be some discussion of subarea planning, code enforcement, and the proposed alcohol impact area. The report was received. 5. ADJOURNMENT The meeting adjourned at 7:15 p.m. Next meeting is scheduled for July 25, 2013. City of Olympia Page 5