Planning Commission

City Hall Meeting Minutes 601 4th Avenue E Olympia, WA 98501 Planning Commission Contact: Todd Stamm 360.753.8597 Monday, November 3, 2014 6:30 PM Room 207 Meeting Location - Fire Station #1, 100 Eastside Street NE 1. CALL TO ORDER Chair Brown called the meeting to order at 6:33 p.m. 1.A ROLL CALL Present: 8 - Chair Max Brown, Vice Chair Kim Andresen, Commissioner Jessica Bateman, Commissioner Roger Horn, Commissioner Missy Watts, Commissioner Judy Bardin, Commissioner Jerome Parker, and Commissioner Carole Richmond Absent: 1 - Commissioner Darrell Hoppe 2. APPROVAL OF AGENDA The agenda was approved. 3. APPROVAL OF MINUTES 14-1064 Approval of September 19, 2014 Planning Commission Finance Subcommittee Meeting Minutes The minutes were approved. 14-1063 Approval of October 20, 2014 Planning Commission Meeting Minutes The minutes were approved as amended. 4. PUBLIC COMMENT - None 5. ANNOUNCEMENTS Ms. Buckler announced new rules by the Federal Communications Commission regarding wireless codes for cell towers. City Manager Steve Hall has put Planning Commission deliberation on hold until impact of the new rules is assessed. She discussed the Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) program and opportunities for downtown Olympia building owners to submit proposals for funding from the federal Community Block Grant program. City of Olympia Page 1 Planning Commission Meeting Minutes November 3, 2014 6. INFORMATION REQUESTS - None 7. BUSINESS ITEMS 14-1065 Report on Results of Neighborhood Center Interviews & Questionnaire Chair Brown commended City staff for their efforts organizing the communitywide questionnaire and interviews with property and business owners regarding neighborhood centers . Ms. Buckler gave an overview of some materials developed from compiling the results of the interviews and other public comment. She discussed how they will be used to create outreach tools for the public hearing on proposed actions for addressing multiple concerns including: parking, adequate space for garbage/composting/recycling, signage, traffic flow, visibility, and prohibitive construction costs for new buildings. She spoke about the recent article in The Olympian about the Wildwood Center and stressed how important neighborhood centers are to the citizens of Olympia. Chair Brown discussed work he and Ms. Buckler have been doing to understand what possible changes could be made to codes in order to facilitate development of neighborhood centers. Discussion: - Significance of average household size of 2.18 people. - Parameters of 1,000 households for viable grocery store and 2,000 households for multi-story development mixed use with residential. - Referencing all percentages for background. - Clarifying the difference between neighborhood centers, corridors and nodes. - How use of the word “viable” is confusing and misleading. - Comprehensive Plan term of neighborhood centers does not include the Downtown area. - The overlap between urban nodes and neighborhood centers. - Multiple zoning definitions describing the same constraints. - Questions about the formula used by developers to necessitate a 30,000 sq. ft. building. - Positive example of the Steamboat Peninsula development. - Documenting successful small neighborhood centers. - How future actions will recommend proposed measures for zoning changes. The report was received. 14-1058 Scoping for Downtown Briefings (Continued) Chair Brown facilitated a discussion by the Commission on the three key topic issues for future briefings. City of Olympia Page 2 Planning Commission Meeting Minutes November 3, 2014 Discussion on Economic Constraints and Opportunities: - Defining economic assets. - General and regional economic recovery progress. - Climate change impacts on food insecurity and possibility of climate refugees. - Local and national lender community requirements. - Factors affecting the high cost of development. - Factors which support projects by developers. - Need for Downtown demographic information. - Absorption rate of market rate housing. - Thresholds for developer compliance when property value increases by fifty percent or more. - Which industries would be desirable in the local and regional area. - New and different kinds of housing/owner occupied building projects. Discussion on Environmental Impact: - Facts about soil contamination mitigation in the area. - Funding options - grant money availability. - Concerns about liquefaction, fill, high groundwater, and toxic site prevalence. - Effect of subsidized insurance in flood water and shoreline areas. - Information on alternative designs dealing with sea level rise. - Storm water increase and impact on the LOTT Clean Water Alliance facility. - Increased storm water runoff and generation of greater pollution. Discussion on Transportation and Parking: - Changing one-way streets to two-way streets. - Street safety and speed issues in the Downtown area. - Development of protected bike lanes. - Parking economics. - Creating dedicated car-free areas. - Use of surface parking lots for infill and creation of continuous streetscapes. The report was received. 14-1066 Recommendation Letter on Final Proposed Changes to Comprehensive Plan Update Chair Brown facilitated a review of the proposed changes to the Comprehensive Plan Update. The Commission discussed and made changes in language for finalizing their recommendations to City Council. The recommendation was approved as amended. 8. REPORTS City of Olympia Page 3 Planning Commission Meeting Minutes November 3, 2014 Leadership Team: Chair Brown gave a report and organized Commission appointment of a nominating committee for 2015 officers. Commissioner Bateman agreed to call Commissioners Parker, Bardin and Hoppe. Vice Chair Andresen agreed to call Commissioners Horn, Watts and Chair Brown. Commissioner Watts agreed to call Vice Chair Andresen, Commissioners Richmond and Bateman. At the November 17, 2014 meeting the nominating committee will report back on who is interested in running for each seat. The election will be held at the December 1, 2014 meeting. Heritage Commission: Commissioner Bardin reported on a briefing by Community Planning and Development Director Keith Stahley on the Community Renewal Area (CRA) process. Other relevant meetings attended: Commissioner Bardin attended the meeting on oil trains and the City Council special study session. Commissioners Parker and Bardin attended the Happy Cities meeting in Seattle. 9. ADJOURNMENT The meeting adjourned at 9:14 p.m. City of Olympia Page 4