Planning Commission

City Hall City of Olympia 601 4th Avenue E Olympia, WA 98501 Contact: Amy Buckler Meeting Minutes 360.570.5847 Planning Commission Monday, October 21, 2013 6:30 PM Council Chambers 1. CALL TO ORDER Chair Parker called the meeting to order at 6:30 p.m. 1.A ROLL CALL Present: 9 - Chair Jerome Parker, Vice Chair Judy Bardin, Commissioner Kim Andresen, Commissioner Jessica Bateman, Commissioner Max Brown, Commissioner Darrell Hoppe, Commissioner Roger Horn, Commissioner Carole Richmond, and Commissioner Missy Watts STAFF PRESENT Deputy Director Leonard Bauer, Principal Planner Todd Stamm, Associate Planner Amy Buckler 2. APPROVAL OF AGENDA The agenda was approved. 3. PUBLIC COMMENT Bonnie Jacobs of 720 Governor Stevens Avenue SE, a member of the Governor Stevens Neighborhood Association, commented on the development in her area on Capitol Way where there is a new produce market, coffee shop and coming pizza place. She supports that type of development in her neighborhood but would like the Commission to remove the designation of that area as an urban corridor. She thinks her neighborhood should be part of the South Capital Neighborhood Association and asked the Commission to consider a designation for her neighborhood that is more compatible with its proximity to South Capital. She thanked the Commission for their hard work in the past and current efforts. 4. ANNOUNCEMENTS Ms. Buckler spoke about recent meetings to include the public in discussions about the Comprehensive Draft Plan Update. 5. INFORMATION REQUESTS - None City of Olympia Page 1 Planning Commission Meeting Minutes October 21, 2013 6. BUSINESS ITEMS 13-0847 PUBLIC HEARING: HDC Stepbacks and Setbacks Mr. Stamm gave an overview of the proposal outlining the history and background. He discussed the current High Density Corridor (HDC) regulations. A map of potentially affected areas was presented and explained. Examples of buildings that comply with setback requirements were represented. The public hearing was opened at 6:39 p.m. Chair Parker requested the public submit written questions by October 25 so the Commission can study them in preparation for the next meeting. Every homeowner and commercial property owner had been mailed a notice about the public hearing. Concern that the public did not have adequate time to respond. Chair Parker moved, seconded by Vice Chair Bardin, to continue the public hearing. The motion was approved. The written comment period was left open until the end of the next meeting and all emails must be into staff by November 4, 2013. Jim Morris of P.O. Box 11221, Olympia 98502 an affected property owner, spoke about the concern he has regarding the setbacks. Discussion: -Olympia does not have a 30-day notice for a public hearing. The statutory minimum is 10 days. -Homeowners will be notified that the time has been extended until November 4. -Difficulty in finding staff reports is a problem for the public and staff will inquire about having an easier means of getting staff reports. -Options for Commission. -Olympia's building size transition regulations possibly amended to limit building heights in HDC zones near single-family homes; require step backs at 3,5,7 floor; impose same or similar requirements in general commercial and professional office-multi-family zones; buffer existing single-family homes. -Options to Commissioners are many. -Commission could explore other options and may extend for 6 months to do more research. -Setbacks vary considerably. -Many 4th Avenue and State Street older homes have been converted to offices . -Regulations protect the use, not the building, therefore converted buildings are not protected. -Multi-family residential zones height limits. -Cottage and accessory dwelling units. Carolyn Roos of 2109 Bush Avenue NW supports protection of current homes. She is concerned about her neighborhood's privacy and the only access to 301 Bing Street is through a small residential street. City of Olympia Page 2 Planning Commission Meeting Minutes October 21, 2013 Rueben Bernal of 2612 Bush Avenue spoke about the problem in his neighborhood of drivers using Bush Avenue as a short-cut to the commercial area of the mall. This is problematic and causes serious congestion at certain times of the day. He is concerned about the privacy that is lost when apartments are built and interfere with the existing yards of the original homes. He believes property values will drop as a result of further development. He received a notice in the mail on Friday of last week and does not feel that was adequate time for him to respond. Stress on water, sewer and other systems will be too great if more development occurs in these residential areas. Safety concerns for kids are another concern as traffic increases . He supported the choice of other areas in the City that he feels would be better suited for development. Bob Jacobs of 720 Governor Stevens Avenue SE stated the public hearing is improper and possibly illegal because there is nothing on the website that announced it. He supports the extension of the hearing and will address the Commission again when he understands exactly what is being proposed. Questions and comments included: How to deal with the impacts with one type of use on another. He has 20 years of experience dealing with these sorts of problems and wants the Commission to personally view the building examples presented by Mr. Stamm. He talked about the Tumwater redevelopment and presented some slides that define zones. He encouraged the Commission to attend the next meeting for Tumwater on November 12. The public hearing was closed at 8:01 p.m. Commissioner Bateman moved, seconded by Vice Chair Bardin, to keep the written record open until 5:00 p.m. on Monday November 4th. The motion passed unanimously. 13-0799 Deliberation: Code Amendment to Change Rezone Hearing Body Commissioner Horn moved, seconded by Commissioner Hoppe, that the proposed language beginning on page 14 of 50 be approved. Discussion: -Expand the scope of review for urban villages and put request on future work plan. -Retain the current responsibility or authority for rezoning. -It is likely that similar rezones will come to the Commission without amendment. -Process or easing of workload should be considered. -Concern about changing the protocol when the current Hearing Examiner is competent and meetings are open to the public. -Hearing Examiner may be a better fit for these hearings. -Planning Commission is tasked with big picture decisions and Hearing Examiner can attend to smaller matters of policy. -Policy issues should come to the Commission and are more appropriate for their oversight. City of Olympia Page 3 Planning Commission Meeting Minutes October 21, 2013 -The Commission can reliably decide rezone questions. -9 member Commission could help decisions be more diverse and protective of policy. -Difference between site specific and regional process decisions . Commissioner Horn moved, seconded by Commissioner Hoppe, to approve the recommendation. The motion carried by the following vote: Aye: 9 - Chair Parker, Vice Chair Bardin, Commissioner Andresen, Commissioner Bateman, Commissioner Brown, Commissioner Hoppe, Commissioner Horn, Commissioner Richmond and Commissioner Watts 13-0885 Review of the ‘Urban Neighborhoods’ proposal Ms. Buckler outlined the Land Use meeting results which included questions Chair Parker, Vice Chair Bardin and Commissioner Horn posed at the meeting. Council returned the Comprehensive Plan to the Commission for revision and completion. Problems and issues with the May addendum were not clearly delineated and questions need to be addressed by staff. Requests by the Council for the Commission were reiterated. Commissioners raised the following point that keeping the height limits had been discussed at great length in the past. New Commissioners have not heard public comment from the past. New Commissioners should be exposed to this history in order to be informed. Concern about the inconsistencies between the recommendations and the language in the proposal. There was not sufficient information for the Commission to make informed recommendations. Review of plans should be done to clear up the inconsistencies. New Commissioners want to rely on the expertise of the other Commissioners for recommendations. Contradictions in the plan can be cleared up when Commissioners outline what they support. Discussion: -Commissioners raised the point that changes in the addendum regarding the Future Land Use map were inconsistent with the intent of the Commission. -The HDC as shown on the current map is consistent. -Changes that were made need to be discussed. -The Commission wants the neighborhoods to determine what occurs in their neighborhoods and this should be reflected in the plan. -Unintentional change for areas with high groundwater. -Last minute changes were not made to the map. -Commission is not in a position to support the intensive study involved in this proposal. -New work plan for April 2014 through May 2015 could include this proposal. -Decisions about neighborhood centers are parallel to this topic. -Commissioners will discuss Council request for inclusion. Current urban corridor of the 1994 plan is 1/2 mile for corridors, 1/4 mile on either side of the street. Staff was under the impression the Commission had determined certain areas were not to be designated urban corridors or that certain corridors could be narrowed. The Commission does not want the corridors to change but wants to City of Olympia Page 4 Planning Commission Meeting Minutes October 21, 2013 change the zoning for the corridors. The map is confusing because the nodes are now within the corridor and do not stand out. The Commission needs a map that is accurate so that discussion can continue. More information needs to be provided for new members. 1/4 mile is about 3 to 4 blocks. Defining the widths should be done in the Comprehensive Plan. Staff will integrate the clarification that has been made by the Commission tonight. Commission would like to see the map that had 18 nodes. Discussion will be ongoing about the nodes to determine if they are adequate. The work session was completed. 7. APPROVAL OF MINUTES 13-0882 Approval of August 24, 2013 Planning Commission Meeting Minutes The minutes were approved as amended. 13-0883 Approval of August 28, 2013 Planning Commission Finance Subcommittee Meeting Minutes The minutes were approved as amended. 13-0884 Approval of September 12, 2013 Planning Commission Finance Subcommittee Meeting Minutes The minutes were approved as amended. 8. REPORTS Finance Sub-committee: Chair Horn and Chair Parker reported on their testimony before the Council and the letter submitted. Capital Facilities Plan of the Olympia School District will be reviewed and brought to the next meeting. Design Review Board: An approved dental building has broken ground on Martin Way , and a new bakery and additional commercial space is being built next to the Sandwich Shop on 4th Avenue. Parks Committee: Members are meeting with a City employee about the future of forestry within the City. Community Renewal Advisory Committee: The recent meeting emphasized the need for coordination with the Downtown Plan and the need for community input regarding Capitol Lake. 9. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 9:55 p.m. City of Olympia Page 5