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Home My WebLink About051012 CITY OF PORT TOWNSEND MINUTES OF THE PLANNING COMMISSION BUSINESS MEETING OF MAY 10, 2012 CALL TO ORDER The City of Port Townsend Planning Commission met in regular session the tenth day of May at 6:30 in Council Chambers, 540 Water Street. Chair Steven Emery called the meeting to order at 6:30 p.m. ROLL CALL S G-�n,cftrne'mb-ers present at roll call were Monica Mick-Hager, Jerauld Fry, Gee Heckscher, Sarah Bowman, and Steven Emery. Staff members present were Planning Manager Judy Surber, and City Clerk Pam Kolacy. CHANGES TO AGENDA Chair Emery presented a change to the agenda. An update from staff regarding potential resolution of the Port lawsuit against the City will be added after the public comment period. Motion: Jerauld Fry moved to approve the agenda with one addition as noted by the Chair. Gee Heckscher seconded. Vote: motion carried unanimously, 5-0 by voice vote. APPROVAL OF MINUTES: MARCH 22, 2012 AND APRIL 12, 2012 Mr. Emery stated he has not reviewed the minutes from April 12, 2012 and asked to hold those for approval at the next meeting. Ms. Mick Hager noted a change to the March 22 minutes, to eliminate the last sentence under "vice chair." The record should show that Mr. Fry was nominated by Mr. Emery for the office of vice chair. This is reflected in the motion. The extra sentence to be struck indicates nomination by Ms. Mick Hager. Motion: Monica Mick-Hager moved to approve minutes of March 22, 2012, as corrected. Jerauld Fry seconded. Vote: motion carried unanimously, 5-0 by voice vote. GENERAL PUBLIC COMMENT There was no public comment. KAH TAI UPDATE Ms. Surber distributed the document "Background & Supporting Rationales" showing the key terms of a potential Port/ City settlement agreement. If agreement is reached at a Planning Commission Meeting May 10, 2012 Page 1 of 4 planned May 21 joint meeting of the City Council and Port Commissioners, the proposed agreement will transfer Port ownership of Kah Tai property currently leased by the City to the City. Ownership of City Dock, Union Wharf and the abandoned railroad right-of-way and tidelands in and adjacent to the Boat Haven will be transferred to the Port. Other key terms of the agreement include nonconforming use code amendments, Boat Haven stormwater fee exemption, Boat Haven street vacations, repeal of the City Dock/Union Wharf use regulations and charges code, and establishment of an "overlay" zone at the Boat Haven lumberyard site. Ms. Surber said that if the agreement is approved, there are some issues that will be coming forward to Planning Commission for consideration. These include a code revision regarding nonconforming uses. She presented preliminary draft code revision language. There are a few nonconforming uses currently in Boat Haven and this would allow some flexibility with relocating them, and allow slight expansions or changes from one non-conforming use to another. She added that there will be a SEPA review and a public hearing before the Planning Commission. The "overlay" zone at Boat Haven regarding the lumber yard site would also be coming to Planning Commission for review but because it requires a Comp Plan amendment, that would take place later. She also stated that staff has held off on convening the Parks Plan sub-committee knowing this agreement might be coming forward. Issue related to facilitating the settlement agreement will be staff's primary focus in the next six months. When Kah Tai is securely in the hands of the City and the issue of the property protections is clear, it should resolve many of the issues surrounding the functional plan. CONTINUATION OF PUBLIC HEARING DELIBERATIONS RE: 2011 COMPREHENSIVE PLAN FINDINGS, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS (NOTE: PUBLIC TESTIMONY HAS BEEN CLOSED) Staff Report Ms. Surber presented the staff report, noting that Commissioners have reviewed all the material previously. She noted that the City Council on Monday concurred with the Planning Commission recommendation to take the two Kah Tai amendments and the functional plan off the docket. The next docket will probably include those amendments in 2013 or 2014. Ms. Surber then reviewed the following items which remain on the 2011 docket: 1.1 Nomura Rezone; 1.2 Cherry Street Rezone; 1.3 Establish Alternative Parcel-Specific Zoning; 2.1 Add Emissions Policy; 2.2 Add Housing Action Plan and HAPN; 2.3 Expand policy strategies to include public-private partnerships/Public Development Authority; 2.4 Add two new Comprehensive Plan Parks, Recreation and Open Space Goals and related policies regarding administration and operations, budget and funding; 2.7 and Amend the Comprehensive Plan to clarify the relationship between Comprehensive Plans and functional plans. Ms. Surber stated that she recommended the following changes to the staff report: On page 44, under "ll. Reason for the Request," include a final sentence with a clear Planning Commission Meeting May 10, 2012 Page 2 of 4 conclusion that a change in a functional plan does not require a change in the Comprehensive Plan; on page 44, line 33 and 34, remove reference to "new goals and policies"; on page 20, starting on line 29, change three references to "Public, Park and Open Space to "P-1 and P/OS(B) for clarity: on page 16, line 38, add to sentence ending in "affect" the words "if the property were sold or leased." Commission Deliberations Mr. Emery asked if any Commissioners wished to remove individual items for discussion or if they were prepared to vote on the amendments en banc. Ms. Bowman stated she would like to discuss Item 2.4. Motion: Jerauld Fry moved to approve Findings and Conclusions with the clarifications, strikeouts and additions from staff, amended to remove Item 2.4 for discussion as requested by Commissioner Bowman. Gee Heckscher seconded. Vote: motion carried unanimously, 5-0 by voice vote. Commissioner Bowman proposed the following changes, which, after brief discussion, were accepted by Commissioners and staff: Page 42, Goal 1: insert "by" in line 10 between "community" and "creating" and in same line remove "in response." In line 11, remove "s" from "futures." Insert appropriate commas in Goal 2 (line 39 should be proactive, well-planned .....) Goal 1, Policy 2: in line 17, remove the words "geographically located". Goal 1, Policy 3, Line 20, remove the words "As a community priority". Goal 1, Policy 5, starting on line 28, remove entire second sentence which begins with "Any update". Goal 1, Policy 6, line 32, end sentence with word "training" and strike the rest of the language. In response to Ms. Bowman's question on Goal 2, Policy 2, Ms. Surber explained that the Capital Improvement Plan is a six-year plan updated annually (unlike the functional plans which are updated less frequently) and that the CIP is related to the budget and is a more definite and holistic look as where dollars are going in a given budget year. Motion: Gee Heckscher moved to approve Item Findings and Conclusions for Item 2.4 with changes as discussed. Jerauld Fry seconded. Vote: motion carried unanimously, 5-0 by voice vote. UNFINISHED BUSINESS NEXT MEETING: TO BE DETERMINED Planning Commission Meeting May 10, 2012 Page 3 of 4 Ms. Surber said that there would be no meeting on May 24, but that a meeting will probably take place in June. ADJOURN Motion: Sarah Bowman moved to adjourn the meeting at 7:14 p.m. Monica Mick-Hager seconded. Vote: motion carried unanimously, 5-0 by voice vote. Attest: < w'cwt J -, f L Pamela Kolacy, MMC City Clerk Planning Commission Meeting May 10, 2012 Page 4 of 4