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HomeMy WebLinkAbout032411CITY OF PORT TOWNSEND MINUTES OF THE PLANNING COMMISSION OF MARCH 24, 2011 CALL TO ORDER The Planning Commission met in regular session the 24th day of March 2011 in the City Council Chambers of City Hall, Chair Julian Ray presiding. The meeting was called to order at 6:30 p.m. ROLL CALL Commissioners present at roll call were Jerauld Fry, Steven Emery, Julian Ray, Sarah Bowman, and Gee Heckscher with Monica Mick -Hager excused. Staff members present were Senior Planner John McDonagh, Civil Engineer Mary Heather Ames, and Deputy Clerk Erin Lundgren. ACCEPTANCE OF AGENDA Motion: Jerauld Fry moved to approve the agenda. Gee Hecksher seconded. Vote: motion carried unanimously, 5 -0 by voice vote. APPROVAL OF MINUTES: February 10, 2011 Motion: Steven Emery moved to approve the minutes of February 10, 2011 as presented. Gee Hecksher seconded. Vote: motion carried unanimously, 5 -0 by voice vote. March 3, 2011 Staff noted a correction on page 2, at the end of paragraph 3, the year "1988" should read "1998." Motion: Steven Emery moved to approve the minutes of March 3, 2011 as corrected. Sarah Bowman seconded. Vote: motion carried unanimously, 5 -0 by voice vote. GENERAL PUBLIC COMMENT (LIMITED TO 3 MINUTES PER PERSON - FOR ITEMS NOT ON AGENDA) Rick Jahnke stated that he has submitted a proposed amendment to the Comprehensive Plan. The goal is to clarify existing federal restrictions on Kah Tai property. It is not intended to prohibit any kind of ideas for future use of the land, but rather to provide a framework under which those ideas can be evaluated. Toward that goal, he presented the following information: a brochure produced by the National Park Service about the Land and Water Conservation Fund; an excerpt of an article from a 2007 edition of Planning Commission Minutes March 24, 2011 Page 1 of 6 the Washington Law Review about enforcing Land and Water Conservation Fund contractual obligations; and a copy of the signature page of a contract approved in 1981 between the City of Port Townsend, the Port of Port Townsend and the Washington State Interagency Committee for Outdoor Recreation. The purpose of this information is to make people aware so they understand the obligations before coming up with ideas. He gave an example about plans for a non - motorized transportation multi - purpose path through the park along Decator right -of -way. This may or may not be a good idea, but the idea should be understood and evaluated in the context of what would be required under the federal overlay of obligations. NEW BUSINESS Public Hearing: Non - Motorized Transportation Plan Supplement - (Mary Heather Ames, P.E., Public Works; John McDonagh, Senior Planner. DSD) Chair Ray explained the public hearing procedures and then introduced Public Works Civil Engineer Mary Heather Ames and Development Services Department Senior Planner John McDonagh who were present to provide a summary of the Non - Motorized Transportation Plan Supplement. Mr. McDonagh explained that the purpose of this hearing is for the Planning Commission to take public testimony on the Non - Motorized Transportation Plan Supplement and upon concluding deliberations, decide whether or not to make a recommendation to the City Council to approve the supplement. Ms. Ames stated that the Non - Motorized Transportation Plan was adopted in 1998 and forms the non - motorized portion of the City's transportation network by detailing sidewalks, bike lanes and off -road facilities. The Non - Motorized Transportation Advisory Board, which meets monthly, was established to review projects outlined in the plan and advise the City Council on planning, funding and maintenance of facilites, as well as implementation of the plan. The Board also promotes walking and biking for recreation and transportation and sponsors a wide range of volunteer non - motorized transportation projects such as trail building. She presented three maps. The first map outlines the City's facility network showing all off -road facilities and sidewalks. The second map shows similar information, however, it includes bike lanes and highlights facilities which have been completed since the adoption of the plan. Some projects were grant funded or paid for by the City and others were funded by developers or done utilizing volunteers. The third map shows all the maps within the supplement. Specifically, it identifies facilities in the original 1998 plan, plus planned facilities added as part of this supplement. The supplement process, which began at least 3 years ago and received input from numerous sources, is being done to build upon the success of the original 1998 plan. As a supplement, it does not amend, revise or change the 1998 plan. It merely adds information in the following three ways: 1) identifies projects which have been completed; 2) adds trails and facilities to the plan; and 3) expands the tools available to the City's non - motorized community. Planning Commission Minutes March 24, 2011 Page 2 of 6 After explaining how the supplement coordinates with the 1998 plan, Ms. Ames reviewed the State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA) process that was initiated. She noted that a copy of the draft plan was placed on the City's website, a public open house was held and comments on the plan were received. From those comments, a matrix table with staff responses was prepared and is included in the information presented. Mr. McDonagh added that there has been a lot of well thought out comments for consideration. In the Findings of Fact, Conclusions of Law and Recommendation he explained that item 3 on page 2 does not reflect that the SEPA evironmental review was completed on March 22, 2011 and resulted in a Determination of Non - Significance which was forwarded to the State and individuals who provided comment. Chair Ray opened the hearing for public testimony. Peter Lauritzen of Port Townsend commented that he served on the subcommittee that came up with the original draft supplement and since that time there has been input from many people. He affirmed that this is a significant step for the City. Active transportation is a major investment in the future and he encourages the Planning Commission to adopt the supplement. Chris Jones of Port Townsend stated that he served on the Non - Motorized Transportation Advisory Board for 6 -7 years and also participated in the initiation of the plan. Board members and staff have put a lot of effort into the plan supplement which has turned out well. Overall, he is pleased with the supplement and recommends it be adopted by the Planning Commission. He pointed out that the plan is supported by a network of volunteers and neighborhoods that develop and maintain facilities and trails. He hopes the Planning Commission will continue to support these activities and new developments which improve and add to the non - motorized network system. It is a real asset to our community and is as essential as roads and other utilities. He urged the Planning Commission to support the plan supplement. Commissioner Bowman stated that the objective of this supplement process is unclear to her and she asked for an explanation of what the amendment seeks to do at this point, as opposed to the 2018 scheduled revision? Ms. Ames explained this supplement process is more of an interim project based update showing what has been accomplished, as well as adding smaller projects which were unforeseen when the plan was first adopted. The revision scheduled for 2018 will include a full revision and review of the entire plan and the City's approach to non - motorized transportation. Mr. McDonagh added that it has been a long time since the plan was adopted and this process is about honoring and recognizing what has been accomplished. The process also involved updating the maps which show how many facilities and trails have been completed. Owen Fairbank of Port Townsend stated that he has been a member of the Non - Motorized Transportation Advisory Board for the past 8 years. He Planning Commission Minutes March 24, 2011 Page 3 of 6 explained that many state grants require cities to have a current plan less than 6 years old in order to be eligible to apply for grant funding. Hearing no further testimony, Chair Ray closed the public testimony portion of the hearing. Commissioner Bowman made the following comments on the Non - Motorized Transportation Plan Supplement Comments Matrix: 1) Relating to staff's response to the comment on page 1 that states "Paint the fog line on Sims near Mill Road more regularly," she encouraged staff to explain in more detail how the City will communicate with the State to insure issues are addressed; 2) She asked for clarification of staff's response to the comment on page 1 stating "Signage indicating that bikes merge with cars at roundabout." (Ms. Ames explained that bikers can use the sidewalk or the lane. This specific comment related to a request for a sign to warn drivers that bikers may use the lane. Staff's response is that the City is unable to insure a sign will definitely go in that location, but it is a good idea to have an indicator that bikes and vehicles merge. Due to the number of signs in that location, she is not sure a sign is the best solution.); 3) On page 2 there is a reference back to "ADAAG on page 9 of the supplement," and while Commissioner Bowman understands that the purpose of this supplement is an update as opposed to a full revision, she would prefer stronger language that not only speaks to compliance, but, also to truly universal design; 4) She asked about staff's reponse to the comment on page 2 where it states "Painting crosswalks in line with sidewalks and curbcuts" and staff's response is "This is a maintenance issue, rather than a planning level issue." This same comment and response is also on page 4. (Ms. Ames explained it refers to curb cuts that are not in line with painted crosswalks. She confirmed that maintenance staff will be directed where to paint crosswalk lines.); 5) In terms of signage discussion on page 2, Commissioner Bowman feels it is appropriate to include signage and wayfinding at the pedestrian and bicycle level for the City as part of the 2018 revision; and 6) A comment was made about changing the name from "Non- Motorized Transportation Plan" to "Active Transportation Plan" to which staff's response is "At this point, we cannot change the name as part of this process ..." She asked if staff could further explain the response? (Mr. McDonagh stated that the name change is an excellent suggestion and staff supports any decision the Planning Commission may make in that regard. It is being discouraged at this point in time, because the process did not begin with a suggested name change and because there are many references to the Non - Motorized Transportation Plan in nearly every other planning document. While this may be a good idea, it may cause confusion. Ms. Ames added that changing the name near the end of the process may appear to some people that the City did not hold a duly public process with regard to the name change.) Commissioner Emery agreed with staff about signage at the roundabouts. It is busy in that area and he questions whether a driver would see a sign warning of merging bicycles among all the other signs. Commissioner Fry asked whether the 2018 revision process is a State level process or dictated locally, and if grant funding requires updates every six years, might the plan need to be revised earlier than 2018? Ms. Ames replied that 2018 is the 20 -year mark from when the plan was first adopted. At that time it will need to be updated and Planning Commission Minutes March 24, 2011 Page 4 of 6 fully revised. If grant funding is contingent upon updates every six years, then a decision can be made at the local level and the City Council may choose to revise the plan earlier. Discussion continued regarding the possibility of future changes to grant funding requirements, the possibility of agencies being able to apply for grant funding if they are in the process of revising their plan, and the timeline of the 2018 revision. Chair Ray proposed forwarding the Planning Commission's recommendation to the City Council suggesting that some of the signage issues brought up in the public comments be included in the scope of the Wayfinding project in order to include some introduction signage needs of the Non - Motorized Transportation Plan /Active Transportation Plan as a way of bringing awareness to visitors about our valuable resources. Most of the maintenance concerns are not addressed on a planning level, but rather on an execution level. Ms. Ames discussed the City's citizen concern process for dealing with public maintenance issues and safety concerns. Chair Ray asked about appending the name of Non - Motorized Transportation Plan to include "Active Transportation Plan "? That way the name is not changed, but language is interjected to allow for a vision or goal of moving toward a name change for the 2018 revision. Commissioner Hecksher asked about the genesis of the term "Active Transportation" and whether the name change is open for discussion? Chair Ray replied that the name change was suggested by members of the Non - Motorized Transportation Advisory Board /Active Transportation Advisory Board as a way to take out the negative connotation of the term "non- motorized" and replace it with an active, dynamic, positive name. The name change is open for discussion. It was noted that the term "Active Transportation" is being used nationally more and more and explains and defines what it "is" versus what it "isn't." Commissioner Bowman suggested staff contact other communities who have changed the name of their Advisory Boards /plans to see what challenges they faced in terms of public process. With no further discussion, Chair Ray closed the public hearing. In response to a question posed by Chair Ray asking how many miles of trails have been completed with volunteer labor, Ms. Ames replied that the total number includes trails completed by volunteers, developers and the City. Since the adoption of the plan in 1998, six miles of trails, six miles of bike lanes and 14 miles of sidewalks have been added to the City's non - motorized transportation system. Motion: Jerauld Fry moved to approve the Findings of Fact, Conclusions of Law and Recommendation with an amendment to Finding #3 to reflect that SEPA has been completed; and recommend to the City Council that the Non - Motorized Transportation Plan Supplement be approved with the following recommendation: Those items or areas in the staff's Response Matrix prepared from the public comments received should be included in the draft Non - Motorized Transportation Plan Supplement presented to the City Council. In addition, the Planning Commission encourages the Planning Commission Minutes March 24, 2011 Page 5 of 6 City Council to consider incorporating into the Wayfinding project, signage of major non - motorized corridors. The Planning Commission further encourages the City Council to consider appending the name of the Non - Motorized Transportation Plan to include the term Active Transportation Plan. Steven Emery seconded. Vote: motion carried unanimously, 5 -0 by voice vote. None. OLD BUSINESS UPCOMING MEETINGS April 14, 2011 - Comprehensive Plan Amendment Process - Creation of the Docket April 28, 2011 - Update on Howard Street Corridor Land Use Process No items were presented. COMMUNICATIONS ADJOURNMENT There being no further business, the meeting adjourned at 7:37 p.m. Attest: Planning Commission Chair City Clerks �Office/ Planning Commission Minutes March 24, 2011 Page 6 of 6