Land Use & Environment Committee

City Hall Meeting Minutes 601 4th Avenue E Olympia, WA 98501 Land Use & Environment Committee Information: 360.753.8244 Thursday, October 22, 2015 5:30 PM Council Chambers 1. ROLL CALL Present: 3 - Chair Steve Langer, Committee member Julie Hankins and Committee member Jeannine Roe OTHERS PRESENT Community Planning and Development Director Keith Stahley Deputy Director Leonard Bauer Building Official Todd Cunningham Principal Planner Todd Stamm Urban Forestry Associate Planner Michelle Bentley Business Manager Karen Kenneson Parks, Arts and Recreation Associate Director David Hanna Parks Operations and Planning Supervisor Gary Franks Public Works Water Resources Director Andy Haub Public Works Transportation Director Mark Russell City Engineer Fran Eide Public Works Director Rich Hoey 2. CALL TO ORDER Chair Langer called the meeting to order at 5:31 p.m. 3. APPROVAL OF MINUTES 3.A 15-0926 Approval of August 27, 2015 Land Use & Environment Committee Meeting Minutes The minutes were approved. 4. COMMITTEE BUSINESS 4.A 15-0996 Update on City of Olympia Urban Forestry Team Staff reported on the progress of the cross-Department Urban Forestry Team made up of Urban Forestry, Parks, Public Works Engineering and Transportation. Ms. Bentley talked about the Urban Forestry Team. The first steps of the team: 1. Inventory tree assets - will apply for a DNR Tree Inventory Grant. 2. Develop a City of Olympia Page 1 Land Use & Environment Meeting Minutes October 22, 2015 Committee management plan based on that data. Hazard trees: Catching up on the backlog. Ms. Bentley reported we have spent $62,000 on hazard trees to date, City-wide. There are more hazard trees identified that would require additional funding to abate in 2015. Many of these City trees are located in unopened right-of-way. About 10% of the hazard trees that have been identified are street trees. Mr. Hanna talked about trees that Parks maintains in City parks and on streets. Currently there are approximately 2,000 street trees. He referenced the 2001 Master Street Tree Plan and the discrepancy between the number of hours the plan recommended be spent on maintaining the trees compared to how much time is actually being spent on tree maintenance in 2015. Trees in pots in the Artesian Commons park were discussed because the pots have been damaged several times and the trees have had to be replaced. Parks is considering options for planting trees in the ground at that park. Residential tree requirements were also discussed. It was asked whether the Metropolitan Parks District, if it passes, would have any effect on the Parks tree maintenance program. Mr. Hanna responded that it could start to help. They would ideally want two more Maintenance Worker II employees with vehicles and equipment to be able to fully address the trees Parks is responsible for. Parks and CP&D have relied on Probation crews to water trees historically but that resource is reaching its limit. Parks is now tracking trees in their asset management system which over time can provide data as to what additional resources are needed. Chair Langer asked if we have a dead or damaged tree replacement program, for example when one is damaged by a vehicle accident, is that person held responsible? Ms. Bentley responded that yes, it is part of the restitution program at the City. Restitution payments go into a fund and the damaged trees are replaced as funds are available, in the fall. Councilmember Langer also suggested urban agriculture groups may be interested in fruit and nut-bearing trees, or trees that attract bees. Ms. Bentley said the next step after an inventory will be a phasing plan for trees on arterials and downtown. Chair Langer wants to be sure the City is following a plan that designates what species of trees should be planted in a streetscape in order to create consistency. The 2001 plan did not go into that amount of detail. Mr. Bauer pointed out the importance of allowing flexibility to some extent. The management plan will address these issues. The report was received. 4.B 15-0991 Annual Report on Community Planning & Development Code Enforcement Program Mr. Cunningham presented an overview of the City’s Code Enforcement Program. City of Olympia Page 2 Land Use & Environment Meeting Minutes October 22, 2015 Committee His presentation included information on: staffing, updated uniforms, informational brochure update and the development of additional subject brochures addressing commonly asked about subjects such as vegetation and fencing. He gave an overview of what Code Enforcement does and provided information about numbers of case actions, cases opened, notices of violation and civil infractions issued. Code Enforcement is focused on problem-solving, which is evident in the low number of civil infractions compared to the number of violations. He also spoke about specific types of cases including encampment, trash and debris, nuisance structures, sub-standard housing, signs, vegetation encroachment, noise and work without permits. He shared a picture slide show of examples of cases Code Enforcement has worked on recently and Code Enforcement’s role in emergency response. He discussed the future of Code Enforcement including continuing to develop working relationships with neighborhood groups, educating citizens related to expectations both for the citizen and for Code Enforcement, and providing informational brochures as part of a get the word out program. Committe members commented that more education for the public on what Code Enforcement can and can’t do would be helpful, as well as having information available on code cases online. Part of Community Planning and Development's new community services software will include a public portal where citizens can look up information on properties including pending code enforcement cases and building permits, to be implemented in spring, 2016. Committee member Roe is interested in staff giving this presentation to the full Council, perhaps once the new software is implemented and include a demonstration. The report was received. 4.C 15-0988 Comprehensive Plan Implementation Status Report Mr. Stamm gave an update on the status of implementing the development code amendments for the new Comprehensive Plan. Approximately half on the list have been done and half are still remaining. He gave a brief description of items remaining and their status. We are issuing an RFP for a consultant to assist with the Critical Areas Code update. The report was received. 4.D 15-1009 Status Reports and Updates Mr. Stahley mentioned there are two more meetings of the Land Use and Environment Committee scheduled for this year. There are many important agenda items to address at these meetings, including the Port’s Master Planning Process, Low Impact Development Code Revisions, and right-of-way acquisition process. He also gave a quick update on Brian Wilson, a prior City employee who recently left the City and moved to Alaska. The report was received. 5. ADJOURNMENT City of Olympia Page 3 Land Use & Environment Meeting Minutes October 22, 2015 Committee The meeting was adjourned at 7:07 p.m. City of Olympia Page 4