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, April 24, 2014 5:30 PM Council Chambers 1. CALL TO ORDER Chair Langer called the meeting to order at 5:33 p.m. 2. ROLL CALL Present: 3 - Chair Steve Langer, Committee Member Jeannine Roe and Committee Member Julie Hankins OTHERS PRESENT City Manager Steve Hall Deputy City Attorney Darren Nienaber Senior Program Specialist Bonnie Herrington Communications Specialist Joshua Linn Community Planning & Development Director Keith Stahley Principal Planner Steve Friddle Assistant Planner Michelle Bentley Associate Planner Stacey Ray Downtown Liaison Brian Wilson Maintenance Worker Tom Otto Assistant City Engineer Steve Sperr Utility Advisory Committee Chair Thad Curtz Parks & Recreation Advisory Committee Member Robert Dengel Planning Commissioner Judy Bardin 3. APPROVAL OF MINUTES - None 4. COMMITTEE BUSINESS 4.A 14-0375 Downtown Tree Pruning and Urban Forest Strategic Plan Ms. Ray provided an update on the Urban Forest Strategic Plan. The plan was developed with the help of a USDA and Natural Resources State Agency grant of $10,000. The community has demonstrated a commitment to the care and development of the urban forest. She outlined key objectives and discussed recommendations for short and long term objective implementation. Ms. Bentley discussed the downtown street tree pruning initiative and introduced Mr. City of Olympia Page 1 Land Use & Environment Meeting Minutes April 24, 2014 Committee Otto, the project director. A map was distributed outlining the trimming areas and Mr. Otto answered questions about the process showing slides of trees before and after trimming. Discussion: - Number of years since the last pruning project. - Development of annual pruning plan. - Different needs for different trees and the challenges for scheduling pruning . - Estimate of funding needs for future care. Mr. Hall discussed past budget restrictions and how Council has now determined trees to be important City assets with funding designations yet to be determined. Tree Committee Members Mr. Curtz and Mr. Dengle reported on ways to improve the Urban Forestry Program. Recommendations included the need to expand comprehensive discussions to include the departments of Utilities and Community Planning & Development because the scope of City trees goes beyond the Parks, Arts, and Recreation Department's realm. They discussed tree canopy, land use, forest management of larger green spaces, private and public components, and how to protect and enlarge the urban forest. They outlined 5 goals for better management: 1) Long term planning. 2) A heritage tree program. 3) Neighborhood teams. 4) Tree plantings. 5) City acquisition of green spaces. Discussion: - Development of neighborhood involvement. - Program to protect existing trees. - Trees as assets and liabilities. - Reestablishment of the Urban Forestry Advisory Committee. - Possibility of maintaining native trees and vegetation in new development, rather than tree track retention only. - Bamboo and other species planting for stormwater management. - Open tree map resource. - Past problems with lack of communication between departments. - Practical things to do to encourage big tree growth and health. - Institutionalize space for large trees. The report was received with agreement to advocate for resource allotment with the Finance Sub-committee, pursue an ad hoc committee on an as needed basis, and support cross departmental work. 4.B 14-0382 Comprehensive Plan / Action Plan Ms. Ray gave a presentation on the Action Plan -- "Taking Action on the City of Olympia Page 2 Land Use & Environment Meeting Minutes April 24, 2014 Committee Comprehensive Plan (CP) goals and policies.” She discussed five action areas: 1) Community. 2) Downtown. 3) Economy. 4) Environment. 5) Neighborhoods. She outlined summaries of the language and concepts in the CP that characterize each action area with goals and policies that serve as desired outcomes. She gave an overview of Olyspeaks emphasizing that these actions reflect public concerns. She outlined how performance will be measured and described a new way to generate a more interactive web presence for the City. Mr. Linn gave a presentation about creating more public participation based on feedback from Olyspeaks. He outlined how engagement of a wider audience can curb after-action complaints, stimulate more valuable feedback, mitigate problems present when relying on the public meeting process, stimulate wider demographic participation, and time the right questions at the right time. He gave " Speak up Austin" as an example where benefits have included the ability to direct the conversation through question choice, focusing feedback on those questions, asking questions when specific answers are needed, and stimulating a better quality of feedback. Discussion: - CP and Imagine Olympia education outreach process for the public . - New video for Imagine Olympia. - Extending the public participation action timeline through August , September and October 2014. - How to stimulate new community enthusiasm when CP terminology is difficult to understand. The report was received with agreement to direct staff to move forward with a public participation plan which includes an education component. 4.C 14-0381 Engineering Design and Development Standards Update Mr. Sperr reviewed the comprehensive update to the Engineering Design and Development Standards (EDDS) completed in 2013. These technical standards are used by the City and private developers to design and construct drinking water, reclaimed water, sewer, street, stormwater, and solid waste collection systems. He addressed changes made in the Municipal Code, Sewer Master Plan and City policy which have already been approved by City Council, and highlighted some recent changes including updates to bicycle facility requirements, requiring LED light standards instead of high pressure sodium (HPS) lights, and updates to solid waste receptacle placement. The report was received. City of Olympia Page 3 Land Use & Environment Meeting Minutes April 24, 2014 Committee 5. REPORTS Mr. Wilson reported on the progress of downtown projects. He discussed the tree trimming project, the new parklet in front of Oly Roasters on Cherry Street, the addition of a new Clean Team member and increased capability, the completion of the crime prevention through environmental design study, and improved communication between bars and taverns due to an updated contact sheet by the Parking and Business Improvement Association. Discussion: - Questions about parklet problems and maintenance in front of Jakes and Darby's. - Reporting public consumption of restricted beverages. - Data collection of cans during summer months. - Calling 911 to report any public drinking and including product information. - Presence of two full time walking patrol officers has helped to alleviate problems . - Proposal for officer overtime during summer months to help with greater street population or "travelers". 6. ADJOURNMENT The meeting adjourned at 7:49 p.m. City of Olympia Page 4