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HomeMy WebLinkAbout02-February 2015You Never Call, You Never Write… In January City Manager David Timmons received the Key Award from the Washington Coalition for Open Government (WCOG) in recognition of the City’s new online comment system that lets citizens provide com- ments to the City Council on specific agenda issues without having to attend a City Council meeting. This is just the latest example of the City’s efforts in this area. But afraid I’m not holding up my end. With three active addresses (city, personal, business) my inbox scrolls like a news bulletin marquee. If I don’t get right on it I sometimes lose track of individual messages and I apolo- gize if you've sent me an email and not heard back. I may not respond to emails that are statements though I often find the con- tent very helpful. I will always try to respond to email inquiries about specific subjects, though for the record I don’t consid er "How come you people are so stupid?" an actual inquiry. At the present time the best way to make sure you get a response from the City is still to file a written Citizen’s con- cern/request. The forms are available at City Hall and on the City’s home page online. Comp Plan Update – Working on our Welcome Mat Communities begin as the aggregated actions of individuals acting alone or in groups in pursuit of personal objectives. Community members agree to ordinances and regulations to provide necessary public services and to define that community’s balance of public and private interest. Public interest has grown with the effect of our increasing population on the environ- ment. The Washington State GMA requires state and local governments to manage local growth by identifying and protecting critical areas and natural resource lands, designating urban growth areas, preparing comprehensive plans and implementing them through capital investments and development regulations. It was adopted because the Washington State Legisla- ture found that uncoordinated and unplanned growth posed a threat to the environment, sustainable economic development and the quality of life in Washington. The 1996 Port Townsend Comprehensive Plan is particularly aspirational - “While it is easy to say that the public par- ticipation outreach, response from the citizens of Port Townsend and the quality of work done by planning staff was out- standing for a city of Port Townsend’s size, in fact the efforts were outstanding for a local government of any size. Rarely, i f ever, have we reviewed a record that demonstrated both dedication to citizen involvement and response by citizens to set aside individual selfish concerns to achieve a greater good for the benefit of all.”– From the Growth Management Hearings Board 1996. The City’s Plan has been recurrently amended over the past 18 years. In addition to regular discretionary amend- ments, the City has also conducted a statutorily mandated review and update to its Plan and implementing regulations (2004/2005) to ensure ongoing compliance with the GMA. Accordingly, much of the foundation of the existing Plan remains generally relevant and appropriate. The mandated 2016 update to our Comprehensive Plan is gaining momentum, but a recent development is that the County has been given an additional two years to complete its update. It’s their intention to finish early but the fact is that we are now on different schedules. So the City has made it a priority to establish the common elements necessary for both our updates – population growth projections and an update to the County Wide Planning Policies. First Things First – How Many People? The future anticipated by our comp plan revision must be based on past experience. The State Office of Financial Management (OFM) provides population growth predictions based on “a sophisticated demographic accounting system that starts with the most recent census counts by single year of age and gender, “survives” the age and gender specific cohorts for- ward in time, incorporates fertility, mortality and migration trends, and forecasts the total population forward combining all these inputs.” Got that? Me neither. Which is why we rely on OFM. Even with a sophisticated system it is an inexact science so the OFM provides a range of predictions - Low, Medium, and High. Estimated Growth (2016- 2036) Projected Population 2036 Percentage of Total County- wide Growth (2010-2036) 2016 - 2036 Projected Compound Annual Growth Rate Port Townsend UGA (Incorporated)2,711 12,165 36%1.12% Tri Area UGA(Unincorporated)1,581 5,360 21%1.56% Port Ludlow MPR (Unincorporated)670 3,357 8.90%0.98% Brinnon MPR 309 350 4.10%25.27% UGA/MPR Total 5,272 21,232 70%1.27% Unicorporated Rural & Resource Areas 2,259 17,117 30%0.62% County-wide Total 7,531 38,349 100%0.97% This table shows OFM’s medium prediction that the County’s population will grow to 38,349 by 2036 (the next 20 year update). For GMA planning purposes the population growth estimates must be divided between urban and rural areas and the City has endorsed allocation of the population increase between the urban and rural areas in the County in a 70%/30% ratio. Projections for urban growth (PT is all urban for these purposes) are further divided between the established Urban Growth areas and the two Master Plan Resorts (MPRs) in the County with Port Townsend receiving 36% of the projected county-wide urban growth with the balance taking place in the County. This allocation was approved by Council on 1/19. County Wide Planning Policies [CWPP] Though not mandatory the City and the County have agreed to update the County Wide Planning Policy in order to establish a common framework for coordinated land use planning. The CWPP is comprised of 10 Policy Statements to guide our revisions to our respective comprehensive plans. Over the years amendment of the CWPP has been delayed by tensions between the City and County. It was targeted for an update in 2005 and the Growth Management Steering Committee reviewed a preliminary proposal to amend the CWPP at its meeting April 19, 2005. Action was postponed indefinitely. In consultation with County staff, the City has endorsed a conservatively revised CWPP for this update along with the proposed population projects. Process Going Forward. The update will build on Chapter III of the 1996 Comp Plan—the Community Direction Statement (Vision Statement) for the City. In 2008, Port Townsend conducted a series of public Open Houses, which re-confirmed the Vision Statement. The revised CWPP and population projections will be taken up by the Joint Growth Management Steering Committee in order to develop a recommendation to the Board of County Commissioners. Final approval of the population projections, including the distribution, rests with the County. Both parties must agree to revision of the CWPP. Per the requirements of the update process the City adopted a public participation process in May of 2014. We will be convening stakeholder groups that will take up the specific “elements” of Land Use, Housing, Transportation, Capital Facili- ties/Housing, and Economic Development. These deliberations will lead to a Town Meeting sometime later this year. By the time you read this the City will have put up an overview of the comprehensive plan process on the City’s web- site. This will be the best and most current information about our specific update efforts. The revised CWPP, once approved, and the Community Direction Statement provide a good overview of the plan. Must, Should, Could At its core the Port Townsend Comprehensive Plan is built on four fundamental concepts: Maintaining Our Small Town Character Achieving a Better Balance Between Jobs & Housing Accommodating Port Townsend's Share of County-Wide Growth Providing Public Facilities & Services Within the City's Financial Resources The GMA calls out a number of specific items that must be reviewed (and amended if needed) as part of the periodic update. In addition, the State recommends review of additional items and still other issues will arise through the local process. Our challenge will be to successfully identify and address those key issues which are essential to the continued success and viability of our community. Unfortunately, there are many more issues than we can address with the resources at hand – and clearly, the City would like to address them all. However, we as a community need to choose wisely where to place our focus and effort. Past May Not Be Prologue Port Townsend's Comprehensive Plan was originally drafted during a period of rapid growth and thus was designed to accommodate a population of 13,876 by the year 2016. Growth has slowed significantly. The proposed new 2036 projection would be some 1,711 fewer people than were anticipated by the year 2016. Behind these statistics is an ongoing demographic shift due to the disappearance of jobs in the extractive industries of fishing and timber. Many young adults and working families moved away in search of economic opportunities and were re- placed by retirees—making us the oldest community in the State. But we are 9,000 individual biographies, not one written 9,000 times. I wasn’t old when I got here in 1978. I got old here and I know from experience that Port Townsend is a wonder- ful place to live and work and raise a family. This morning I typed, “where will climate refugees go?” into Google to see what would come up. Typical of the many links is this from the New York Times in September of last year: “The answer is the Pacific Northwest, and probably espe- cially west of the Cascades,” said Ben Strauss, vice president for climate impacts and director of the program on sea level rise at Climate Central, a research collaboration of scientists and journalists. “Actually, the strip of coastal land running from Ca n- ada down to the Bay Area is probably the best,” he added. “You see a lot less extreme heat; it’s the one place in the West where there’s no real expectation of major water stress, and while sea level will rise there as everywhere, the land rises steep ly out of the ocean, so it’s a relatively small factor.” I believe it is appropriate to complete our current update within the constraints of our existing resources and using the relatively conservative metrics I’ve described above. But as built on history they are necessarily backward looking. The com- munity conversation, if not this Comprehensive Plan revision, should include consideration of a future that may be very differ- ent from a linear projection of our past. February 2015 IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT PORT TOWNSEND DRINKING WATER Purpose of this notiϐication. The Washington State Department of Health (DOH) has determined that the City’s watershed control pro- gram does not meet current Department expectations for being a permitted unϐiltered drinking water sys- tem. While water quality has not changed, for regulatory purposes, the water system is considered to be out of treatment compliance. Chlorine disinfection continues to provide protection from microbial contami- nants, which generally is more than adequate for safe drinking water treatment. Inadequately treated water may contain disease‐causing organisms. These organisms include bacteria, viruses, and parasites that can cause symptoms such as, nausea, cramps, diarrhea, and associated headaches. What is being done? The City has chosen to build a new membrane ϐiltration water treatment facility to meet federal drinking wa- ter standards. Design of the water treatment facility is approximately 60% completed. Construction is ex- pected to begin this summer and the ϐiltration plant will be operating by October 2016. Until the treatment plant is operational customers will receive a notice similar to this every three months. What should I do? This situation does not require that you take action, however people with severely compromised immune systems, infants, and some elderly may want to seek advice about drinking water from their health care pro- viders. More information is available through the City’s web site http://www.cityofpt.us/waterquality.htm or from the Port Townsend Department of Water Quality (360-379-5001). This notice is being sent to you by the City of Port Townsend. State Water System ID#: 69000R. Date distributed: February 1, 2015. Jefferson County Special Election Scheduled for February 10, 2015 Including the following two items affecting City of Port Townsend residents: City of Port Townsend PROPOSITION NO. 1 CITY OF PORT TOWNSEND - MOUNTAIN VIEW COMMONS IMPROVEMENT BONDS Port Townsend School District No. 50 PROPOSITION NO. 1 PORT TOWNSEND SCHOOL DISTRICT NO. 50 - REPLACEMENT EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS AND OPERATIONS LEVY Ballots for this election were mailed to all qualiϐied voters on January 21, 2015. The online voter guide is available at www.myvote.wa.gov Local information is available on the following websites: City of Port Townsend: http://www.cityofpt.us/user/image/mountainviewfaq.pdf Port Townsend School District’s website: http://www.ptschools.org   For further information regarding the Special Election, contact the Jefferson County Auditor’s Elections Department at 360-385-9117 Is your New Year’s resolution to help the environment and save money? Jefferson Transit has vanpool vehicles available for commuters traveling to work., and for groups traveling to Seattle. Washington State ferries offers registered vanpools discounted fares plus preferential loading. If you are interested in starting a vanpool con- tact Leesa Monroe at Jefferson Transit 360-385 -4777 x111 or lmonroe@jeffersontransit.com Port Townsend Education Foundation’s Annual Soiree The 7th Annual Soiree and Auction will be from 6:30 p.m. to 11 p.m. on Saturday, February 28, 2015 at The Commons, Fort Worden State Park. With a focus on “The Art of Music” there will be opportunities to bid for items and experiences with a musical bent such as custom instruments and hard-to-get tickets to live performances in Seattle and Portland. Heavy hors d’oeurves, bev- erages, dancing to music by Rhythm Planet and The Better Half, and games such as Wine Wars and Dessert Dash. Tickets cost $50 per person and include Discover Pass entry. Proceeds sup- port innovative projects in Port Townsend public schools. For tickets, see www.pteducationfoundation.org. 2015 Home and Garden Expo Saturday, February 28th from 9 am to 5 pm Mountain View Commons 1925 Blaine Street—Port Townsend This is a FREE Public Event featuring information on Smart Homes/Low Impact Development/Composting/ Aging in Place/Solar Power Options/Mortgage Options and will include an Electric Vehicle Display. Your home is your biggest investment. This Expo will help you learn how to improve, protect and promote its value. Visit www.jeffcohomebuilders.com for more information! Are you interested in working on community parks projects? The Urban Forestry Restoration Project, administered by the Washington State Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Urban and Community Forestry Program, is an exciting opportunity to enhance the capacity of urban forests to manage stormwater and improve air and water quality by improving the health and functionality of trees and forested sites in urban settings. Even more exciting is our opportunity to participate in this program here in Port Townsend. A Puget SoundCorps team will work with City staff and volunteers in February 2015 to remove English Ivy and English Holly from Sather Park Woods; and Spurge Laurel, English Ivy, English Holly and Scot's Broom from the forested uplands of Kah Tai Lagoon Nature Park. These invasive non-native plants prevent forested areas from providing our community the full beneϐits and services of healthy forests by challenging native species for resources, and in some cases even killing trees. Once the invasives are gone, native vegetation will be planted where warranted. As a part of the process, volunteers will develop three-year monitoring and maintenance plans to follow the Puget SoundCorps efforts. To learn more about how you can help as a volunteer to keep Sather Woods, Kah Tai Lagoon Nature Park, and all our other urban forests healthy in the future, contact Alex Wisniewski, Port Townsend Parks and Facilities Manager (awisniewski@cityofpt.us). Volunteers Needed to Advocate for Children The Guardian ad Litem Program, a division of Jefferson County Juvenile and Family Court, is looking for volun- teers to join its next intensive (12-week) training, start- ing March 10th. Jefferson County GALs work to advocate for the best interest of children involved in the depend- ency and foster care system. Applications due February 20 to http:// JeffersonCountyGAL.org/ or call (360) 385-9190.