Planning Commission

City Hall Meeting Minutes 601 4th Avenue E Olympia, WA 98501 Planning Commission Contact: Todd Stamm 360.753.8597 Monday, February 2, 2015 6:30 PM Room 207 1. CALL TO ORDER Chair Brown Called the meeting to order at 6:33 p.m. 1.A ROLL CALL Present: 7 - Chair Max Brown, Vice Chair Kim Andresen, Commissioner Jessica Bateman, Commissioner Roger Horn, Commissioner Judy Bardin, Commissioner Jerome Parker, and Commissioner Carole Richmond Excused: 2 - Commissioner Missy Watts, and Commissioner Darrell Hoppe OTHERS PRESENT Community Planning & Development Principal Planner Todd Stamm Senior Planner Amy Buckler 2. APPROVAL OF AGENDA The agenda was approved. 3. APPROVAL OF MINUTES - None 4. PUBLIC COMMENT Bob Jacobs of 720 Governor Stevens Ave. SE discussed difficulty he has in accessing staff reports on the City website. He requested the system be improved to enable easier access by the public. Mary Wilkinson of 1903 Eskridge SE shared similar concerns regarding difficulty accessing staff reports. Alicia Elliott of 6326 Cedar Flats Road distributed a blueprint and diagram plans for additions to the West Central Park at the corner of Division Street and Harrison Avenue. The additions include a cafe with rooftop garden and rental spaces, and a commissary for four food trucks. She discussed prohibitive City parking requirements necessitating 30 spaces inconsistent with the Comprehensive Plan (CP) emphasis on accommodating bus, bike and pedestrian access. She requested a new analysis of requirement - importance of issue and inconsistency with CP vision. Discussion: City of Olympia Page 1 Planning Commission Meeting Minutes February 2, 2015 - Determination of specifics involved in changing requirements. - Adding issue to PC Work Plan. - Possibility of creating variances rather than code revision. 5. STAFF ANNOUNCEMENTS & INFO REQUESTS Ms. Buckler briefed the Commission on the status of the Downtown Action Plan and direction by Land Use & Environment Committee to proceed with a community wide kick off in April 2015. She distributed a handout entitled "Downtown Strategy: Creating Places and Spaces, Draft Framework/Strategy Development and Implementation." She discussed subarea planning tools and CP guidance for neighborhood planning to assist neighborhoods in identifying priorities and assets. She gave an update on the first pilot process by the Northeast (NE) Neighborhood and their intention to draft a letter by March outlining their proposed process. She discussed upcoming informational briefings covering: transportation and innovation, Downtown character and history with examples of other jurisdiction approaches and viability for Olympia, and Tacoma waterfront redevelopment and soil contamination remediation. Discussion: - CP and landmark view protection. - SEPA infill exemption review process benefits. - Timeline for hiring the Economic Development Director. - Addressing missing elements (Parks, Public Spaces, Sustainable Thurston, and Recreation areas). - Establishing Downtown Districts. - Establishing a baseline for environmental quality. - Developing social assistance programs to address transient population needs. - Integration of Urban Greenspace policies. - Further defining PC role. 6. BUSINESS ITEMS 6.A 15-0111 Collection of Rezone Proposals - Code Amendment Public Hearing Mr. Stamm explained the issue and referral process by City Council in December 2014 to the Planning Commission. He summarized the site specific zoning map amendment (rezone) protocol and discussed benefits and impacts. He distributed written commentary received from the public. Chair Brown opened the public hearing at 7:38 p.m. Bob Jacobs discussed how and why transparency and accountability was better in the past. He supports returning to the former procedures and addressed previous problems which resulted from an emphasis on developer facilitation and inadequate oversight. Mary Wilkinson read a prepared a statement in support of changing the Olympia Municipal Code for site specific application deadlines to no more than two times per City of Olympia Page 2 Planning Commission Meeting Minutes February 2, 2015 year. The public hearing was closed at 7:47 p.m. with unanimous support to leave the written record open. Discussion: - $3000 process for private applicant code amendment approval. - Neighborhood center rezone process applications. - Applicant submittal process for text amendments. - Differences between text amendments and rezones. - Staff recommendation for tying this to the CP. - Options besides a 120 day limitation and/or alignment with CP. The public hearing was held and closed with the written record left open until Friday, February 13, 2015 at 5:00 p.m. 6.B 15-0118 Planning Commission 2015 Work Program Recommendation Chair Brown discussed conversations he has had with several business owners about the development challenges faced when parking requirements are unrealistically restrictive. Discussion: - Adding additional time to work plan for parking requirement revision. - CFP goals and policies approval feedback from Council. - Distinct parking issues: low impact development requirements, bus routes in high density areas, and code clause prohibiting parking requirement reductions within 300 feet of single family neighborhoods. Chair Brown moved, seconded by Commissioner Parker, to add Work Plan time to discuss parking issues regarding single family neighborhood restrictions of 300 ft., and high density corridor parking requirements. The motion passed with a show of hands six to one. Chair Brown moved, seconded by Commissioner Parker, to approve the Work Plan as amended. The motion passed unanimously. 7. REPORTS Liaison Assignments: Commission Bardin attended the Heritage Commission meeting and gave a report. Commissioner Parker attended the Bike and Pedestrian Advisory Committee meeting and gave a report. Other relevant meetings: City of Olympia Page 3 Planning Commission Meeting Minutes February 2, 2015 Commissioner Richmond and Chair Brown attended the Land Use & Environment Committee meeting. Chair Brown gave a report. Vice Chair Andresen, Commissions Parker, Horn, Richmond and Hoppe attended the Joint Corridors meeting. 8. ADJOURNMENT The meeting adjourned at 8:45 p.m. City of Olympia Page 4