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HomeMy WebLinkAbout092415 CITY OF PORT TOWNSEND MINUTES OF THE PLANNING COMMISSION REGULAR SESSION OF SEPTEMBER 24, 2015 CALL TO ORDER The Port Townsend Planning Commission met in regular session on September 24, 2015, in the Council Chambers at 540 Water Street. Chair MickHager called the meeting to order at 6:30 p.m. ROLL CALL Commissioners present at roll call were Nan Evans, Douglas Frick, Rick Jahnke, Monica MickHager, and Dwight Nicholson, with Kirit Bhansali and Jack Range excused. Staff members present were Planning Director Lance Bailey and Deputy Clerk Amber Long. ACCEPTANCE OF AGENDA The Commission agreed to move Old Business to before New Business. Motion: Rick Jahnke moved to approve acceptance of the agenda as amended. Douglas Frick seconded. Vote: motion carried unanimously, 5-0 by voice vote. APPROVAL OF MINUTES - SEPTEMBER 10, 2015 Motion: Douglas Frick moved to approve the minutes of September 10, 2015. Rick Jahnke seconded. Vote: motion carried unanimously, 5-0 by voice vote. GENERAL PUBLIC COMMENT There was no general public comment. OLD BUSINESS Planning Commission Assessment of the Comprehensive Plan (per PTMC 20.04.050) The Commissioners discussed their final edits to the draft assessment, including: Page 5 - The beginning of the third paragraph from the bottom should be changed to: "In addition, the Commission recommends language in the . . ." Page 8 - Number 4 should start with "Many of the assumptions. . ." Page 11 - Number 8 should be updated to reflect current number of public comments Planning Commission Minutes September 24, 2015 Page 1 of 3 as of the date of the memorandum. Page 18 - There should be page break before #2. Page 20 - In response to a question, staff clarified that the "adopted goals" in #4 are in the Economic Development Element of the Comprehensive Plan. It was suggested to change this section to read ". . . are consistent with, and hopefully will advance, the adopted goals in the existing Comprehensive Plan. . ." Page 21 - The last paragraph should be changed to read: "Specific policy language should be added in the Comprehensive Plan to provide, expand, and maintain. . ." Page 31 - Some Commissioners felt that the sentence in the second bullet (near the top of the page) gives the impression that Port Townsend has a lot of multi-family housing, when actually much of it is available only to specific groups (seniors or low- income), not necessarily to families. The Commission considered including the definition of"multi-family housing." Staff will provide language to help clarify this section. Page 31 - Need to add a space between "1990" and "and" in the third bullet. Page 36 - There is a period missing at the bottom of the page. There was the following public comment: Debbie Jahnke spoke about the need to be careful when rewording the section about multi-family housing on page 31. The Commission decided to date the memorandum with the date of tonight's meeting. It was agreed that staff will make the final edits to the memorandum. Motion: Douglas Frick moved to approve the 2016 Comprehensive Plan Update - Planning Commission Assessment, as amended. Rick Jahnke seconded. Vote: motion carried unanimously, 5-0 by voice vote. NEW BUSINESS First Touch of Planning Director's Recommendation Planning Director Lance Bailey briefly discussed the draft recommended docket and work program. Staff will be making changes prior to the next Planning Commission meeting, when the documents will be discussed in more depth. Mr. Bailey acknowledged the ambitiousness of the recommended docket and explained that it will be pared down during the work program adoption process. He spoke about the issue of resiliency being incorporated throughout the entire Comprehensive Plan. The Commission pointed out that "Phase II" is referenced on page 14 of the draft matrix, but there is no "Phase I." In response to a question, staff explained that the Critical Areas Ordinance may be put on hold until 2017. Staff clarified that the "call for applications" mentioned in the memorandum is done every year, but the City did not receive any this year. In response to a question, staff emphasized the need for a good housing inventory, which may require hiring a consultant. Chair MickHager encouraged all Commissioners to attend upcoming City Council meetings when Council will be discussing the Comprehensive Plan. The Commission requested to be notified by staff about when these meetings would occur. OTHER BUSINESS - NONE Planning Commission Minutes September 24, 2015 Page 2 of 3 UPCOMING MEETINGS The Commission will meet next on October 8th. The public hearing is scheduled for October 22nd. COMMUNICATIONS There was no specific discussion of the public comment log included in the packet. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business, the meeting adjourned at 7:40 p.m. Motion: Dwight Nicholson moved to adjourn the meeting. Douglas Frick seconded. Vote. motion carried unanimously, 5-0 by voice vote. Attest: PAPlanning Commission Chair ' City Clerk's Office Planning Commission Minutes September 24, 2015 Page 3 of 3