HomeMy WebLinkAbout100815 CITY OF PORT TOWNSEND
MINUTES OF THE PLANNING COMMISSION REGULAR SESSION OF OCTOBER 8,
2015
CALL TO ORDER
The Port Townsend Planning Commission met in regular session on October 8, 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, Dwight Nicholson, and Jack Range with Kirit Bhansali excused.
Staff members present were Planning Director Lance Bailey, Planning Manager/Senior
Planner Judy Surber, and Deputy Clerk Amber Long.
ACCEPTANCE OF AGENDA
Motion: Rick Jahnke moved to approve acceptance of the agenda. Douglas Frick
seconded.
Vote: motion carried unanimously, 6-0 by voice vote.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES - SEPTEMBER 24, 2015
Motion: Douglas Frick moved to approve the minutes of September 24, 2015. Nan
Evans seconded.
Vote. motion carried unanimously, 6-0 by voice vote.
GENERAL PUBLIC COMMENT
There was no public comment.
NEW BUSINESS - NONE
OLD BUSINESS
Planning Director's Recommendations on Suggested Amendments
Planning Director Lance Bailey summarized the staff memorandum and reviewed the
recommended docket matrix. He informed the Commission that the Joint Growth
Management Steering Committee will be meeting on October 16th. Population
projections may go up or down over time and will need to be monitored. The two
biggest topics that came out of survey and Town Meeting were housing and resiliency,
which he said will be a focus for the additional amendments. Rather than create a
Planning Commission Meeting October 8, 2015 Page 1 of 3
new element regarding resiliency, staff recommended that it be used as a filter in
updating the existing elements. In response to a question, Mr. Bailey stated that
staff will look for a way to include policy language about the concept of resiliency being
incorporated throughout the Comprehensive Plan. Staff will be using input on
resiliency from community groups.
Other clarifications provided by staff included:
- Page 6, #20 - the term "ongoing" indicates items that will be done beyond 2016 and
are not state-mandated.
- Changing the name of the Non-Motorized Transportation Advisory Board does not
require a Comprehensive Plan change and will not be a part of this update.
- Phase II (starting on page 13) will be moved to a separate matrix.
- Once the docket is approved by City Council, staff will begin working on the
inventories, which will take up a large part of staffs time as numbers can go out of
date very quickly.
- The table provided at a prior meeting showing suggestions best implemented by
partnering organizations has been forwarded by staff to those organizations.
The Commission commented that on page 4, staff needs to add a reference to the
Planning Commission assessment in #9 and the date of the assessment should be
corrected in #10. The Commission will give other editorial comments directly to staff.
Commission ioners commended staff for work on the matrix and the Comprehensive
Plan update in general.
OTHER BUSINESS - NONE
UPCOMING MEETINGS
The public hearing is scheduled for October 22nd. If it does not conclude on that
date, the hearing will continue to a special meeting on October 29th. Staff has asked
Commissioners MickHager and Evans to attend the City Council public hearing on
November 16th, to answer questions about the Planning Commission's assessment if
needed.
The Commission's review of strike out and underline language will begin next year. In
response to a question, staff clarified that the City Attorney will be reviewing materials
before they go to the Planning Commission and again before adoption by City Council.
Staff will likely divide up the strike out and underline sections, so that the Planning
Commission does not have to review it all at once. The Commission generally agreed
that it would be best to have two meetings per element (or per pair of elements) to
review the strike out and underline language, with the intention of discussing the
proposed language in the first meeting and then voting in the second meeting.
It was suggested that, if there is a lull in the meetings schedule, a representative of the
North Olympic Peninsula Resource Conservation and Development Council could be
invited to give a presentation to the Planning Commission on the group's findings
regarding land use in its Climate Change Preparedness Plan.
COMMUNICATIONS
There was no discussion of the public comment log in the meeting packet.
Planning Commission Meeting October 8, 2015 Page 2 of 3
ADJOURNMENT
There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 7:54 p.m.
Motion: Douglas Frick moved to adjourn the meeting. Dwight Nicholson seconded.
Vote: motion carried unanimously, 6-0 by voice vote. /
Attest:
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City Clerk's Office
Planning Commission Meeting October 8, 2015 Page 3 of 3