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HomeMy WebLinkAbout06191996MINUTES OF THE PORT TOWNSEND CITY COUNCIL COMPREHENSIVE PLAN SPECIAL PUBLIC HEARING JUNE19,1996 The City Council of the City of Port Townsend met for a special public hearing to receive public testimony on the Comprehensive Plan this 19th day of June, 1996, at 7:00 p.m. in the City Council Chambers of City Hall, Mayor Julie McCulloch, presiding. Present were Jean Camfield, Kathryn Jenks, Ian Keith, Diane Perry-Thompson, Ted Shoulberg, Dan Harpole and Bill Davidson. Staff present were Director of Building & Community Development Dave Robison, City Planner Eric Toews, and Sheila Avis, Minute Taker. Mayor McCulloch gave a brief history of the Comprehensive Plan. She noted the Port Townsend 2020 coffee hours initiated the 2-year planning process. The P.T. 2020 coffee hours, under the direction of then Mayor John Chse, gathered about 80 citizen volunteers together into 5 workgroups. Each workgroup was composed of a City Councilmember, Planning Commissioners and citizens who surveyed the wishes and concerns for the future of the community. Out of these surveys the Community Direction Statement was crafted which became the framework for developing the chapters of the Comprehensive Plan. In each element goals and policies ,mere drafted along with strategies and implementation steps. In February, joint public workshops with the City Council and Planning Commission were held and televised to receive community input to the Draft Comprehensive Plan. The planning process was then continued March through May with the Planning Commission taking community input, deliberating, and forwarding their recommendations to the City Council on June 3r& The last two ~veeks the City Council has been reviewing the recommendations of the Planning Commission, the workgroups and citizen testimony and comments. Comments received in public hearing tonight and tomorrow night, and written comments received up until noon June 24, 1996, in City Hall will complete the public comment process on the Comprehensive Plan. During meetings June 24th and 25th and three more meetings scheduled in July, the City Council will deliberate in open session which will be closed to public comment. It is anticipated the Comprehensive Plan will be adopted by the City Council July 15 in their regular session. Following adoption, implementing ordinances will be written on the basis of the Comprehensive Plan as well as functional plans such as the Parks and Recreation Functional Plan and Water Master Plan, and the public will again have opportunity to make comments when these come before the Council for their consideration. Mayor McCulloch said Staffwould provide an overview of the Comprehensive Plan and following their presentation the meeting would be opened for public testimony. Director of Building & Community Development Dave Robison said he would discuss the process and product. He noted over 75 meetings had been held in planning for the population growth over the next 20 years. He said the process started under the Growth Management Act (GMA) for a projected population of approximately 14,000. He stated the GMA required the following elements: Land Use, Housing, Transportation, and Capital Facilities and Utilities. He said the City felt an Economic Development Element should be included to pull the other elements together, although it was not required by the Growth Management Act (GMA), He said the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) looked at existing conditions, provided a snapshot in time, and reviewed different alternatives. He said citizens selected a preferred altemative, and Staff took the EIS and drafted the Comprehensive Plan. City Planner Eric Toews then elaborated on the contents of the Comprehensive Plan. He noted there were five substantive chapters to the Comprehensive Plan. He listed the elements and highlighted the key policies and recommendations: Land Use Element ~- the heart and soul of the Plan. · Interconnected system of open spaces and trails (nonmotorized options). · Four new Mixed Use Centers -- located at San Juan & F; Hastings & Howard; both sides of Discovery Road; east of Kearney Street. · 180 additional acres identified for commercial and light manufacturing -- most -upzoned along Sims Way and along Discovery. · NW Section of town, Drainage Basins #4(a) and (b) - lower density residential development. Housing Element · Locate and zone at least 125 more acres for multi-family. · Allow single family attached (common wall) duplexes, triplexes, fourplexes in multi family areas. · Allow manufactured homes in all single family designations outside the National Register Historic District. Transportation Element -- more pedestrian friendly Sidewalks on both sides of streets. · Skinny streets. · Identify new options for arterials and collectors in the northwest portion of town. Commission recommended further analysis and study and additional public process. · Parking Code revisions Planning Capital Facilities & Utilities Element · Growth Tiers -- 3 basic tiers to prioritize resource spending: 1) maintain existing facilities; 2) provide infrastructure to new commercial, manufacturing and new multi-family areas not yet served; 3) all remaining -- primarily single family. · Providing infrastructure to areas unserved but identified as multi-family, commercial and industrial, then all others. · Concurrrency -- utilities and facilities arrive concthnently with new development (water, wastewater, stormwater; transportation within 6 years). 2 Economic Development Element · Finding jobs and housing balance. · Streamlining the permitting process. · Enforcing Marine Trades, diversified manufacturing and small business, tourism, retail trades, home based telecommuting. · Supporting vocational training and Higher Education -- working to establish a 4-year college, possibly on the 80 acre DNR parcel adjacent to the City Limits. The meeting was then opened for public testimony. PUBLIC TESTIMONY Bob Sokol -- Commissioner Port of Port Townsend Boat Haven designation changed during Planning Commission discussions. He said this was very good; however, the New Day Fisheries Spit which is part of the Port property that has been included, they would like to see seafood processing wholesaling included as a use in that district. Water Street and Front Street have been vacated; still show on the map - remove from the map. Page V-20, M-IIA (Boat Haven)... "The M-IIA designation has been applied exclusively to Port owned lands at the Boat Haven." There are several small parcels of privately owned land in the boat haven, plus the transfer span, that do not belong to the Port, so quite a bit of that showing on that map is not Port-owned property. , Page V-24 Port height limit 35 feet -- considering this is an industrial area and the only industrial area other than light industrial in the City, requested to be extended to 50 feet to be more to scale of what is likely to go on there, especially as they move forward with heavy haulout. Point Hudson, definition was changed which was very good; however, the industrial definition was delete& There are some industrial manufacturing uses going on in that area, so would like to see that left in as a recognition of what is going on now and will continue to go on. The boundary lines for the Point Hudson district mn along Jackson Street. By running a line along Jackson Street, the Landfall, The Pilot's House and Sail Loft are not included in the Port District. Requested the line be redrawn to include those (to the southwest of Jackson Street). ~ Quincy Street dock is a Port owned facility. Half of street in front of the dock is designated P/OS existing park or open space. Ifthe street is designated that way, the question was raised as to whether or not that street has been vacated, thereby the other half of the street now belongs to adjacent property owner across the street. If that's the case they could have a situation where access to the Quincy Street dock has been eliminated. Being a CIII district, a question was again raised does this preclude use as a ferry terminal? This is what it was built for, and there is always the potential for that type of use, and they need access. ~ Port owned property on the northerly side of Sims and Kah Tai area, also the Port-owned property along Fort Worden Beach. The Port owns the beach basically from the Marine Science Center down. to Port. This is designated as P/OS Existing Park and Open Space. On page V-21, the definition is, "This category includes existing City, County, and State owned parks, recreation areas, and City owned lands which provide valuable natural and open space functions." This is Port owned property, not City, County or State; it is important to recognize that the City, Count), and State are legislative, governmentally, where the Port is a special use, like School Districts, Hospital Districts, etc. They have a particular mission which is economic development, so designating it as open space and with other ownership could be misconstrued .... Currently it is a P-i zoned area and the c~em uses for the P-I zoning are quite varied.. .. He thinks you have to be careful in looking at the Pi and 'thinking of it as park only. A lot of uses could be done. Probably Fleet Marine is a good example on unusual use of P-I property. Land Use Goals and Policies, Policy 1 ~5. "Process all rezone applications together, no more often than once each year." He said that is an enormous workload... It is their feeling it should be done throughout the year. Page V-37, Port Related Uses, Policy 9.8. "New port-related manufacturing and commercial uses should be limited to water-oriented uses as defined by the Port Townsend Shoreline Master Program." That's not a bad goal, but there are properties in Port fight now that don't meet that, .... long-term leases for Coyote Found Candles and places like that. Making it specifically water oriented uses could be onerous in a situation like that. Also there is no area inside the City other than the Boat Haven'thal is designated Lighl Industrial, so that might make it difficult if someone wanted to come in there. Schen Callahan -- Rezone to C-II Wants to rezone their property to C-Ii (two story peach colored house --Qtfimper Credit Union is to the north and Safeway to the east). She said the majority of their whole block is already zoned C-II; the owner of the house a block to the south has no objection at this time. They were asked by 'the City to try a rezone through 'the Draft Comprehensive Plan (request #7, March 8, 1996). She said the main reason for the rezone is noise from electric motors at Safeway is so loud they can't sleep. Safeway also-uses a back pack leaf blower for cleaning the parking lot in the middle of the tfight; there is so much noise it rattles their windows. Also, located in the Safeway parking lot are two dumpster containers that are used 'for recycling. At all hours of the night, people throw glass bottles in these metal ..... " ' ' ' ' ' "" ' ' ~ ~ containers that sounct line someone is oreardng w~naows out ot me~r oasen ont. Sm%way has attempted to try to fixthe problem. She said her husband has met with the Police Chief three times in the past years, and they have also met with Safeway. They recommend that the City Planners takelhe noise into consideration for ailthe property owners behind Safeway. She said you don't notice it so much during the daytime, but it is pretty evident at night; anyone buying empty lots on the hill behind Safeway to build a house onwo-uld be making a big mistake. In their first response from the Planning Commission, the Commission noted they had some concerns about their parking, narrow driveway entrance, access for emergency vehicles and for deliveries. She pointed out that since the Planning Department looked at their property, they have widened their driveway to the City standard of 20 feet, have completed seven out of their 15 off street parking spots, and have provided for adequate stormwater drainage. She also pointed out that Landes Court, the entrance to their property, is a dedicated alley, Ordinance 2244 dated May 20, 1991; the City has already approved Landes Court for emergency vehicles. She said they believe their area would benefit from a rezone by providing affordable office space to their area, and asked 4 that the r';,r r' ..... ;~ .... ~ao,.~,~- through the C .... vreh .... ~.e Plan. .~..j .~,.,..... ,.,,.o.,.~. ,...... rezone Cindy Thayer -- A very tired Planning Commission Member, also a Private Citizen Apologized for not attending the workshops, but said there was a time when she had to get back to real life for a little while. She said she knew there had been some concern on Council's part as there had been on the Planning Commission's part at the end about public participation, and the fact that with their Planning Comanission meetings, toward end, they had very little public input. She said it was nice to see as many people tonight, but said the Council probably had hoped to have a full room. She said she looks at that as a good sign, that the process is working, that the Planning Commission made careful steps to take into con. sideration everybody's concerns, alt the public testimony. Many of those concerns were addressed, so many of those people were not present. She said she sees a tack ofpublic testimony maybe as a good sign, not necessarily a bad sign. Tbe~e hasn't been a tot of advertising, but she said knowing Port Townsend, you know that if there was real concern, the people would have been there. She indicated one of her main disappointments was to allow manufactured homes in all parts of Port Townsend, except the Historic District. She said this was a hard issue for the Planning Commission, and believes the vote was 3 in favor, 2 opposing, 1 abstention. They considered this for quite a bit of time, talked about alternatives, and said unfortunately none of them could come up with a good alternative other than every, vhere except the Historic District. They talked about starting in a certain area of town and allowing manufactured homes there, and setting limits, but just couldn't come up with a good alternative. She said that from her perspective it passed more from default rather than lack of a good alternative. She said she did not think allowing manufactured housing in att of Port Townsend is the answer to affordable housing, but believes higher densities is more appropriate, as they have addressed. She said she would hope they would give this further consideration. Steven Hayden- Holly Orchard (Neighborhood Downhill of Courthouse) 611 Scott Street. He said that in just about every planning document he had been able to see that Port Townsend has which led to the Comprehensive Plan- the Waterfront Plan, the Gateway Plan the Park Plan- the holly orchard has been recognized as a significant landscape element underlying the courthouse in Port Townsend. As part of their neighborhood, it's important to them, as open space, as an element that maintains a character that's unique in the town. The neighborhood has grown up around that holly orchard; the holly orchard is older than most of the people in this room, most of the people- 50 years, and it's been in the same ownership for many years longer than that. In listening to the Planning Commission's deliberations, and looking over the Comprehensive Plan draft, he said one of the things that struck him was the Planning Commission' s recommendation to the Council that you consider the potential open space overlay element to the Comp Plan. He said he tJtinks that recognizes the difficulty ofdeating with places tike the holly orchard which right now is zoned R-II and has a market value of single family residences, but obviously to the town it has potent/at value of open space for perpetuity, tf it were zoned open space, that may have the effect of reducing the market value so much that the property owner would be hurt. He noted Council has 5 a letter from the property owner expressing his approval of the upzone. The larger concern was because there is a For Sale sign on the property,, they would not be able to sell it, if it was zoned open space. But it's a perfect candidate for potential open space. It recognizes that as part of the future vision of Port Townsend without taking away all its potential market value. In these days with so many creative options with land trusts, to development options, the neighborhood is convinced that there are many options to preserve a large part if not all the holly orchard as a landscape .... without having it .... to the landowner, so you could actually consider that. The zoning that was in the original Draft Plan was for R-IV, 16 to 24 units per acre. He said the Planning Commission, in what appeared to him to be an attempt to balance the perceived interest between the property owner and the neighborhood, essentially cut the baby in half, and zoned it for 16 units per acre. Upzoning a potential open space piece of property works counter to the vision; it makes it more expensive and more difficult. It's as simple as that. So they asked that at the very, least, you leave it as..., and if you agree with the neighborhood that this has that potential in the future, designate it as potential future open space. How did they get to this point? Why in the world was the holly orchard and the block to the north of the holly orchard, which is the block he lives in, how did that come to be proposed to be multi-family? He said as near as he can make out, it came out of two things, 1) a vigorous pursuit on the part of the City and citizen groups for wa~vs to provide affordable housing in Port Townsend. The Draft Plan is replete with strategies for achieving affordable housing from attached dwelling units to triplexes and fourplexes to allowing manufactured homes across town, to the multi-family residential.., all aimed at the strategy of providing affordable housing. That's all well and good, but that holly orchard will never provide affordable housing, no matter what you call it, no matter what you do to it, it will never be affordable housing because of the inherent value of that land. If it's developed, it will develop as high cost; if it's multi-family, it will become condominiums; if it's single family, it's definitely not going to be manufactured homes. So designating that Piece of property, those three lots, as multi-family in the pursuit of affordable housing really doesn't make any sense. The criteria the citizen group applied in trying to identi~ objectively and numerically what lands were best suited for affordable housing, really is good but it missed a couple of key things -- it did not include any criteria for impact on historic districts, or historic buildings, or historic sites; it did not have any criteria that directly related to what it would do to views in the neighborhood where the property is located; it did not have any criteria related to traffic impacts in the neighborhood. He said he would submit in that particular site, he lives on Clay Street, he has enjoyed for 25 years watching Clay Street slide down the hill, constantly, no matter how much asphalt is put on top of it. It is going to be down the hill sooner or later, and it's going to be very, very expensive to upgrade those streets on the hillside. The last criteria that he thinks is the hard part, is the judgment that comes at the end. None of this planning can be done strictly by numbers and the Planners made it very clear in their discussion, that is when you have to make the quality, judgments, the value judgments about these designations. There are others here that will speak to those issues. He had one letter that had not been included with the original, and submitted it and a packet of original letters and addendum materials to Council. Joanne Butler -- Holly Orchard One of the neighbors of the holly orchard. not an appropriate area for multi- houses. Seconded what Steve Hayden said, that it really is Kathy Jepsen -- Holly Orchard Also concurred with Steve Hayden and Joanne Buhler. Lives right across from the holly orchard, and has for 18 years. She said it is the most pleasing and aesthetically wonderful place to be in Port Townsend. 'With the courthouse behind her, the holly orchard across from her, and Kah Tai Lagoon below her, she said she can't see this high rise, or almost high rise, across the way; it just wouldn't work. Phil Pilgrim -- Holly Orchard Comer of Scott and Franklin, next door to Kathy and also across from the holly orchard. Wanted to underline what Steve said about this piece of property. Upzoning to him would be a step in the wrong direction. He added that the neighborhood is really a quiet neighborhood, which is remarkable considering how close it is to Kearney Street. Two things made that neighborhood quiet, 1) the presence of the holly orchard; it acts as a buffer between the noise of Kearney and the uptown residential area; 2) both Franklin and Jefferson Streets deadend at Scott Street and don't continue on down the hill. He thinks both factors are extremely important and worth maintaining. For that reason, he sees the holly orchard as something that deserves recognition as critical open space because of that buffering property between the busy commercial area and the quiet uptown neighborhood. Of course, the property is privately owned, and with current zoning the property owner has certain rights. He said he would favor working with the property owner to try to come up with some ways that he can realize the income he deserves from the property and yet the City can maintain that as open space... Janene Hayden -- Holly Orchard Lives on the Scott Street slope. Commented on the Community Vision and their Neighborhood Vision. With regard to the Comprehensive Plan, the goals of the Community Vision, and central to those are maintaining the small town character, honoring our Victorian heritage and protecting it -- and the housing section more, respecting neighborhood character and integrity. She said she thinks all of those issues are in focus with their request to actually live up to the big picture goals they have articulated for our community, and feels the multi-family proposal is the direct opposite and undercuts all of the central points of their desire as a community to maintain a livable, people- oriented, safe community. She said for her personally, in addition to the benefits of the holly orchard .... for all of those who live there, she thinks the importance is especially enhanced by the fact that it is the foreground to Courthouse and cannot imagine (she can imagine -- that is the problem) driving into Port Townsend with 35 foot high, she guesses that is what is proposed, multi- family structure built across that hillside. From the assessment of what she could make all you could see is the tiny little view of the courthouse, and she thinks that is not what anybody wants, and is certainly counter to our future prosperity as a tourist oriented economy, in addition to the fact that 7 all the people who live here have the same benefits and all love the vista of the courthouse. She asked that the Council consider .... that this has tremendous value to everyone. She said she had a lot more she could say about the growth, and has looked at the material that was published, some of the things that were put in the paper, and all, and thinks the community as a whole has expressed strong support for public parks and open space, something like 93 percent. ·.. She said if we could be as creative as she thinks we can be, we could actually arrange to have this happen, and thinks their neighborhood would like Council's help..., and particularly by not changing this in this way, ever, but certainly not for a reasonable time that they can try to implement this .... She said the other thing that bothers her is the very serious issue of traffic. She does not think it was discussed at all in deliberations about this proposal. Streets that are there are jammed, are narrow, and according to the Comprehensive Plan transportation policies, would have to be overhauled including sidewalks on both sides. Saying there are streets there, doesn't mean those streets are suitable to multi-family, they are not. In addition to that, there is a lot of congestion on Kearney, and these five blocks, four of high density multi-family proposed there, are basically going to amplify that congestion on Kearney Street, and thinks it is ill advised. She said another one of their neighbors had a signed a letter, and we felt how much is enough. We hope that is a significant expression of our concern about this .... Toni Aspin -- Chamber of Commerce The Chamber supports revisions to Economic Development Element of the Draft Plan presented in the abbreviated document. They urged the Council to consider further enhancement of the Economic Development section to include an expansion of the tourism section to include a comprehensive cultural tourism plan. Perhaps an approach to accomplish the preparation of this plan, might be to add it to the list of recommendations for future Comprehensive Plan amendments so that the appropriate resources and Staff can be allocated to preparing this Plan. Further enhancement of the Economic Development Element might include specific incentives for business expansion and, additionally, strategies for collaboration of all various constituencies. Regarding the Transportation Element, in May letters were forwarded to the Commission by Erik Andersson, Executive Director of the Economic Development Council (EDC) of Jefferson County; Sheri Robison, Executive Director of Main Street Program; Tim Caldwell, Manager of Port Townsend Chamber of Commerce. The letters urged the Planning Commission to consider easing parking restrictions in downtown Port Town, send. The Chamber would like to reinforce their support of those letters, and urge the Council to consider easing parking restrictions for historic buildings as well as new development downtown. This action would be a clear statement of support of business development. Further, Chamber urged Council to provide additional incentives for businesses located in the historic buildings. Such incentives might include assistance from the Chamber and the EDC to secure capital grants for the purpose of historic preservation. She thanked everyone for the hard work and effort that went into the Plan. 8 Frank Vane -- For 21 years has lived at the comer of Willow and Blaine (down from the practice play field alongside Lincoln School). Regarding the Planning Commission's recommendation to group some six blocks along Cherry Street, between A Street and F Street, into R-II Classification, with possible installation of prefabricated residences. He said he understands from Mr. Eric Toews that the City's new R-II zone is actually the same as the old R-I, and that both allow residential building on 5,000 square feet. This would be... 200' x 200' city block. If you project that out, this could result in some 45 small houses on 50' x 100' lots along that section of Cherry Street. That's what Mr. and Mrs. Amell did a block further out at Cherry and G, and the results are far from attractive. He thinks the former Mayor Shirley, that lives across the street would agree. He said Mr. Toews said his neighborhood letter regarding Realtor Barbara Blowers' idea qualifying lot 13 for multiple family construction helped to keep that in single family category, for which he was thankful. He said; however, the use of modular homes, and perhaps two fourplexes, or four duplexes per block is still worrisome. Cherry Street is the main route to Fort Worden, and is used by residents and visitors alike. It is bordered on the west side by the City Golf Course, two large, well spaced new homes, the Whittaker Pond, and Caderos' horse pasture. He has lived on lot 21 on the east side for 20 years, and has brought it back from a gravel pit to a pleasant wildflower field where the deer and coyotes roam. His home is on Willow Street and D, and he owns 7/8ths of lot 20 which lies up the hill from lot 21. He bought lot 21 to protect privacy, views and an open field, and is not interested in any of his property going into 50' x 100' building sites. He said this neighborhood is not quite in the City Historic District, but there are a number of venerable homes scattered throughout it, and he believes that fostering affordable housing there is very shortsighted. It won't help the City's image of Victorian renaissance to encourage Seattle, Ballard and Queen Anne Hill style of building. Also, it won't be cheap to put in dense housing as is being considered. There is no sewer line along this stretch of Cherry. Neither Rose Street nor any street between A and E is developed; in fact C Street is vacated between Rose and Willow. The intersection of Cherry and F is becoming increasingly dangerous from auto traffic, bicycles and pedestrians, and numerous children walk along this area without benefit of sidewalks from the elementary school and the high school. Is the County interested in relinquishing its ownership of lot 27? (Not to mention the high price of land along Cherry Street.) Towne Point housing seems to be well located and City Councilmember Shoulberg's apartments also. Why not search out similar, low impact areas and not compromise what is really an attractive core corridor? He recommended that an R-I classification, 10,000 square foot minimum be retained for this area. Councilmember Jenks asked about the underlying existing zoning along Cherry Street, "Is it 5,000 foot lots rather than 10,000 foot lots?" Mr. Toews said the current zoning under the existing code is R-I, 8 units/acre, minimum site size of 5,000 square feet. Penelope Maldonado -- Holly Orchard Lives at 619 Scott Street. Was shocked at the idea of those blocks being high rises, of course what first jumped to her mind, and thinks it horrifying for the whole town, because, she has lived here for 15 years or so, and every time she drives into Port Townsend, it is the thing she looks for. The first impact that Port Townsend makes on her, after going past all the beautiful boats on the right is the hillside and the holly orchard. From a great distance it is visible and she thinks it is one of the things that keeps Port Townsend very much a tourist viable place. She said its beauty depends more than perhaps we know on that hillside being just the way it is, especially the holly orchard, but there are a number of other historic homes there, including the one she lives in, which is over 100 years old; and there are number of others right there also. She said she would like to see the historic uptown district extended for another block or so, in a way that would include those blocks. She said the letter of addendum she is about to hand Council from the holly orchard neighborhood is signed also by way of her neighbor Ms. Quisto who livesin Port Townsend just part of the year. She is an original resident in the area, was bom in the living room of the house next door, and she would like to see the neighborhood remain as single family dwellings and nothing obstmct views of those living in those houses. She would like everyone to think of what it feels like driving down that road, down Sims Way, into Port Townsend; what do we see coming down that hill? She said she thinks the architecture of the courthouse is one of the most wonderful buildings in this town and the holly orchard is the suitable surrounding for it and always will be. She said, maybe that's dreaming, but she would like to see it remain as quiet as it is. Adding a few houses may be inevitable, perhaps, but the quietness is remarkable, for children to play in. It's really a great place to raise children. She said the rest of what she would say has already been said by others. Glen Bauer - Holly Orchard Also lives on Scott Street on the holly hill. Said he is in agreement with Haydens. Took the opportunity to commend the planners for recommending the importance of open spaces in the City and the effort to locate them around town, in several areas around the City. He said he could see how the holly orchard could be overlooked in its proximity to Kearney Street and the activity there. The fact that Jefferson and .... at the present don't go through, would not make it apparent to the planners to designate it as open space, but if you were in the neighborhood and checked out the view and the area..,, he thinks it would be an asset to the City to make it open space. Forrest Rambo -- Port Townsend Resident and General Manager, Point Hudson Resort Signed up to speak about the Transportation Element and Recreational Parks, but since Toni Aspin did such a good job of addressing Transportation, instead he wished to address Recreational Vehicle (RV) parks and the recreational part of the Plan. Prior to that, he thanked the Planning Commission for their hard work. He said he attended a lot of their meetings, and quite a few of the meetings where the public was not allowed to speak, and enjoyed those almost as much as having a chance to sPeak. One reason -- this Planning Commission does a really commendable job of arguing all of the elements; he thinks there is a diverse array of opimons in the Planning Commission, that the document resulted from a lot of work and is going to serve the community very well. The following are things he would like to see approached in amendment, or further work the Planning Commission and City Council would address: 10 1) Lack of RV Facilities in Port Townsend. He said he brought this up to the Planning Commission and said he would not belabor the point, but the fact of the matter is, every time our s~iety has needed affordable housing, it has tumed to homes and rooms on wheels. He said we are still doing that today -- turning to recreational vehicles as temporary housing, housing for people who are employed maybe in construction, college professors for short term housing, also as an alternative for retirement years. He said he is not about to get into an argument with his mother about whether or not she is a desirable person to come to Port Townsend simply because she chooses to do so in a recreational vehicle. 2) Recreational Land Use Element, He said he knows the City has a Waterfront Plan and that they go into great detail about recreational aspects of the waterfront element, but he would like to see more of that interjected into the Comp Plan. He said we have a'very stout Land Use Element, and he would like to see more about the water use element. The Plan talks aboUt making the shoreline accessible and having recreational opportunities for people, but he does not feel it very clearly spells out that a large portion of those recreational opportunities have to do with boats and the water, whether those boats are kayaks, large sailboats, or visiting port ships -- those kinds of things. He said we are a Victorian seaport, and one of the things that we do when we consider this as a community and consider our land ~, is how that land use looks, at the part played by the water that surrounds our community. He said he thinks that is a very important and vital part of the Plan and would like to see that incorporated more thoroughly, in addition to the Waterfront PlanL Al Sealf-- Director of Planning and Permitting, Jefferson County He said we have been planning independently for years and have failed at meeting the fundamental aspects of the Growth Management Act... with our neighboring citizens. He said planning alone has created an air of mistrust and frustration we currently sense in people within our agencies. The last six years have resulted in a lose/lose situation; there cannot be a position of win/lose, because the CiW and County are so closely tied. We must plan together. He said to achieve win/win, we must first decide to work together; that means resolve our differences and recognize the need for agreement through specific and detailed work programs which will result in mutual goals, policies and vision. He said 1996 has brought the County into a very new position where we o~lves believe that we must have a plan, not only a compliant plan, bat a plan which upon adoption and implementation will provide citizens of Jefferson County a degree of certainty and purpose and will provide clear direction for the next 20 years. He said he came last week to talk about the Land Use Element, and wanted to discuss the open space that is outside the City boundary that Mr, Toews referred to, and, yes, they would like to discuss a university, themselves. .... the boundaries for the proposed Glen Cove future Urban Growth Area have been agreed 'upon by the County, and we need to work more specifically on the program to implement that region. [Excerpted from hi~ five-page letter read to Council:] "Our intention in providing these comments is not to presume to plan for yottr jurisdiction, but to contribute meaningfully towards the establishment of complementary goals and policies in both the City and County Comprehensive Plans. 11 '.... The second part will be forwarded directly to City staff and represents a more tbcused response to specific goals and policies contained within the draft plan. Glen Cove and Regional Commercial Needs: '.... We are in agreement with the City that development in this area can only be facilitated through the provision of urban services and the expansion of the City's Urban Growth Area. We are however concerned that the City of Port Townsend UGA, inclusive of the proposed expansion to include Glen Cove, will not provide adequate opportunities fbr regional commercial development. '.... It is our belief that, due to the far-reaching implications of not being able to address regional commercial uses, a comprehensive solution which explores both the role of an expanded Port Townsend UGA and the potential future commercial role of the Tri-Area must be cooperatively developed by both the City and the County. The resolution of issues associated with commercial development are critical, as many potential outcomes will have a far-reaching effect on the successful implementation of several Comprehensive Plan elements. Commercial Land Needs: '.... the City should have approximately 299 acres of commercially designated land by the year 2014, or 112 additional acres. (DCP, Land Use Element, V-II) .... Only 58 additional acres of commercial land located within the City's boundaries are proposed by the Plan. As identified above, this area is insufficient to accommodate regional commercial development. Residential Buildout Analysis: '.... While we agree that there is an ample amount of land to accommodate future development within the City, it is our belief that the buildout analysis presented in the Plan is rather simplistic and does not take into account the following significant considerations: 1) Current land configurations .... ; 2) Existing land ownership patterns ....; 3) The location of existing utility lines and the extension cost per residential unit, and; 4) The feasibility and cost of expanding the road net to provide access to the pre-platted lots. 'It is our observation that significant constraints exist which may preclude the economically feasible development of many of these pre-platted lots. This may adversely effect the ability of Port Townsend to accommodate aflbrdable housing, and may inappropriately direct urban growth to the outlying rural areas. Should these lots not develop, it is likely that additional density will need to be accommodated in areas which are economically more feasible to develop elsewhere within the city. Economic Development: '.... the establishment of non-resource based commercial and/or industrial facilities outside of an Urban Growth Area would be inconsistent with the requirements of the Growth Management Act. As such, Port Townsend as the sole UGA within the County, must provide adequate land to facilitate this type of land use. Housing: '.... Jefferson County is not proposing the establishment of additional Urban Growth Areas at this time. This seriously limits the County's opportunities to provide multi-family or higher density development as a means of accommodating its fair share of affordable housing, and may place greater demands than anticipated for this type of housing on the City. Should Port Townsend be unable to accommodate this increased demand, a direct result may be increased urban development pressures in rural areas. '.... We are also concemed that many of the areas within, the City zoned for new multi-family residences require extensive infrastructure improvements as a precursor to development. This will significantly reduce the aftbrdability of any proposed project ..... 12 Summary_: 'Many of the above-referenced general issues are central to the successful completion and implementation of both the City and County's Comprehensive Plans. Consistent with the requirements of the County-wide Planning Policies, Jefferson County wishes to cooperatively establish a schedule for meetings between the City and the County to review these issues. Should mediation or outside facilitation be necessary, the County will support t_his fully. We understand that time is of the essence to the City in this matter, and are willing to commit the resources necessary to address these issues on your schedule. 'In order to insure consistency between the two jurisdictions, it is important that these meetings occur prior to the adoption of either the City or County Comprehensive Plan. 'As you will agree, these meetings will be an important step toward completing our respective Comprehensive Plans. The strong interdependence between our two jurisdictions will require continuing close coordination as we move forward to plan adoption." In response to Councilmember Shoulberg's question if this letter is an official response of the County Commissioners, Mr. Scalf said, "The County as a whole." David Peterson -- He said he was excited to see the Plan coming near to adoption and suggested any changes can be fixed later. He said he attended a few Planning Commission meetings and was quite impressed by the thoroughness of their deliberations and how they considered every letter as seriously as the next one, and thinks they did a wonderful job in going through the comments and the Plan. He made comments on the following: · Summary_ and R~ommendafions - Open s_mce. He said he feels open space is a key part of the Plan and said long term that is going to be looked back on as something that is needed to preserve that interconnecting green space. He expressed concern that the Planning Commission changed the words from "proposed" to "potential, "mainly to protect that space, just like the fights-of-way have done in the northwest quadrant~ until the implementing regulations are done· ·. He said in the interim he would like to see it regarded as not sacrosanct, but, if possible to be preserved, rather than just "potentially." He pointed out the open space plan was mainly drawn around wetlands, steep slopes, ESAs, many areas that aren't buildable. From his standpoint, there are a whole lot of areas in town that look like they would be nice to have as open space from an aesthetic standpoint, but there will be financial barriers. · Transportation Element. He said he supports strongly that the Planning Commission came up with the resolution of the northwest quadrant and arterial/collector plan, preserving rights-of- way -- several alternatives until the Plan can designate some or none in that area. He said a difference he has is with Policy 10.4(10·3) reversing the order ofD & E for expenditures for the transportation network. He said as a Transportation Workgroup they spent a lot of time deliberating on priorities for where the limited dollars the City has for roads should be put. There was feedback from the committee that more emphasis needs to be placed on nonmotorized facilities. [Councilmember Keith reported Council had already put the order back where it was.] 13 Recommendation NO. 8. He liked the change made in the policy statement for the Capital Facilities with a little stronger wording that requires development to place utilities that are farther out of town, not be paid for by the City. ~. Gave his support to Glen Cove for consideration as a UGA -- he said, from his standpoint, not so much for commercial development but for light industrial capacity for the people who are out there now to receive those facilities for industries that they have, maybe 20 acres or so for development that they can't find in the City right now. He thinks that is a really key piece of Port Townsend's future. Councilmember Jenks asked Mr. Peterson if he supported light industrial over commercial. He replied he didn't really care about commercial, what he wants is light industrial. Sheila Westerman -- Transportation Workgroup Expressed thanks for these meetings and those previous and following. She said she fears there are so many individuals in our community who are not aware to what extent this City has gone to solicit public comment on this whole Comprehensive Plan process and said she wanted to give acknowledgment and express her gratitude. She stated she had participated in the Transportation Workgroup and would like to acknowledge and offer her appreciation to all the citizens who volunteered their time and energy toward creating this vision for our community, her workgroup and all the other workgroups. She said they benefitted from the participation of people from all segments of our community who represented various viewpoints and worked to craft a plan that reflect a balance of our interests and desires. It was a give-and-take process that brought them together in greater understanding of each others hopes and dreams for the future. The overriding principles the Transportation Workgroup has presented to you, the Council, are a walkable community that focuses on the safe movement of people, regard for the natural environment, reduced reliance on the automobile, with natural connections between neighborhoods, public facilities, and commercial services. All of these values are found in the Community Direction Statement that resulted from the Port Townsend 2020 process. She urged Council to recognize the hard work, the dedication of all the workgroups, the Planning Commission, and our Staff in creating the draft Comp Plan. She said it has been created with the benefit of the entire community in mind, not just one neighborhood or one group or a single area. She said, "Please adopt this Plan in substantially the form which it has been presented to you, and with the great deal of long term vision that has shepherded it along the way. Thank you all." Gretchen Blair -- Holly Orchard Lives on Scott Street. Wanted to express agreement with some other neighbors who have spoken. She said she is speaking from a selfish standpoint in an attempt to preserve the character of her neighborhood- a wonderful place to live, quiet, diverse community of people. She said she understands they could be looking at changing their neighborhood of single family dwellings into some multi-family dwellings. She said the neighborhood as it is currently, to her is a very special place to live. She said she has not been a long time resident of Port Townsend, but her feeling is 14 that as it is currently, it blends in much better with the abutting historic district. There are several houses there that have not always been in the~area, but tO her give some of that character of Port Townsend. The issue of the holly field in the area and considering that as open space, she agrees that also bears consideration. The connection between the hillside of Port Townsend with the historic district there, and Kah Tai Lagoon and the trail there, the place by the holly field, is a place for people to walk; she sees them on her way to work in the morning, walking up the hill, and at Kah Tai Lagoon. She said thinks that their neighborhood as it is now is a nice connection for those people, and also for those folks from out of town who have stayed in the bed and breakfasts around the area. She presented a letter to Mayor McCulloch. Lisa Enarson--Planning Commissioner Wanted to add her wish that Council adopt this Comprehensive Plan by July 15. She said it is so important to move forward with this Plan after so many years. It can be adjusted; it will be adjusted. She said the County makes very valid points that should be addressed in Council deliberations; however, to withhold adoption of the City Comprehensive Plan until all issues are resolved, is an impossible task. She said she would think the County would be happy to have this Plan adopted, because it says the City will work with the County on resolving issues. So, let's get it done and let's not phase it -- that's not a realistic option. She said she thinks it can be, and will be corrected; so much work has gone into this for many years. She said she thinks their task is simply to move forward. Bob Sokoi -- Resident and Comp Plan Junkie He said he is not sure how many hours he has spent on this Plan, and it is good to see it come toward a conclusion. He said he had hoped it would have been done in December of 1995, but within 6 months or so is not bad. He said he did spend a lot of time and had a lot of interest in the Economic Development portion of the Comp Plan and noted the statement in the Planning Commission draft, ".... shortage of land available for commercial and manufacturing development still exists within the City limits." He spoke about the Glen Cove area and said that what really needs to be done at this point, since it seems obvious that Glen Cove is not going to be part of the City UGA at the time this Plan is adopted, from a Capital Facilities standpoint, he thinks it is very important that the City now look at the water use policy out there as if it were basically part of the City Service Area. Some of the water use activities out there are real insane; if the City is going to inherit these later on, it is just going to be a big problem, assuming we will take that into our UGA, and it becomes part of the City water infrastructure and part of the water service area. He said he thinks we just can't start too soon looking at this as part of the City Service Area, because once it becomes part of the UGA, the City will have to supply the water and add the infrastructure. RECESS 15 There being no further business, at 8:58 p.m. Mayor McCulloch declared the ~neeting recessed until 7:00 p.m. on June 20, 1996, in the City Council Chambers of City Hall. Julie McCulloch, Mayor Attest: Acting City Clerk ~"' '"'-'"'"°hN"UED SESSION OF JU~'E 19, 1996 IvlII~UTES OF rrm cur~ ·n'~ut: contmti~ s~sslon thts 20m day of Jm~e, 1996, of me C~ty ot Port Townsend met in ....... ~ ~- ' '~ '- The City Council "' -' " - at 7:00 p.m. in the City Council Chambem of City Hall for a special public hearing on the Port ~ h Townsend Comprehensive Plan, Mayor Julie McCulloc presiding. ROLL ~AL~ T n Councihnembers present at Roll Call were Dan Harpole, Kathry Jenks, Ted Shoulberg, lan Keith, ,x, lc1 Diane Perry-· hompso , Bill Davidson and Jean Camfield. Staff Members present were Director '" -- ii '~° - r of Building & ~onunm ty Developinent Dave Robison, ~,,ity Planne · Eric Toews, and Sheila Avis, Minute taker. COMPREHENSIVE PLAN WORKSHOP Mayor McCullocl stated file purpose of this workshop is for receiving the remaining public testi~nony on the Potl Townsend Comprehensive Plan. Mayor McCulloch stated this process is building on prior plmming efforts over the past 2 years beginning with the Port Townsend 2020 coffee horn's m~d over the past 6 to 7 years with fl~ree other plans -- Cratew-ay Corridor, Urban Waterfront, and the Environmentahy Sensitive Area Ordinance. 16 The results were compiled into what became the basis for the Community Direction Statement and from that developing into the &ailed chapters, goals and policies, strategies and implementation steps of the Comprehensive Plan. She discussed the Comprehensive Plan's structure of workgroups, the role of the Planning Commission, City Council, and citizens. She said the final hearing comments, and written comments received at City Hall by Noon, June 24th, along with input from citizens received throughout the Planning Commission review and the Commission's final recommendations will be taken into consideration by the City Council during their next five deliberation sessions, which will be open to the public, but closed to public comment. She said the target date for adoption by the City Council of the Comprehensive Plan is at their regular session July 15. Following adoption, implementing ordinances and functional plans will be written on the basis of the Comprehensive Plan, and the public will again have opportu_nity to make comment as those ordinances and plans come before the Council. Mayor McCulloch said following CIV./Planner Eric Toews' background of the Comprehensive Plan, the meeting will be opened to public comment. Mr. Toews again highlighted key policies of the Comprehensive as he had at the previous session, and the meeting was opened to the public. PUBLIC TESTIMONY Trudy Adams -- Realtor in the area for about 7 years. Regarding affordable housing- she built a small 2 bedroom house a few years ago and said she would not be able to do that now. She spoke about the size of manufactured homes today and said the cost would be about three-quarters the cost of her home. She asked that the City move quickly to make mobile home locations available to those who will leave the area for lack of availability. Harold Gruver -- Native (Licensed Realtor) In 1950 he built his first home -- $2,600; remodeled one of the first Victorians; built two other homes in excess of $300,000'. He said he was not a proponent of manufactured homes until he looked through them, and he listed some attributes including cost control and quality control. He said factory built homes are the future, and Port Townsend needs that in their future. He urged people to look at the quality. As a licensed realtor, he said he deals with manufactured homes, stick built homes, and the whole realm. John Boles -- Planning Commissioner He thanked his colleagues for their positive deliberation. He stated due to family concerns he had been out of the area for several weeks, but noted the transmittal to the City Council was an impressive result of the Commission's work. He said that although there are some excellent elements in Comprehensive Plan, there are two significant contradictions. Regarding road aligmnents -- Howard Street Extension and proposed east/west corridor, he noted it as insensitive 17 planning and passing along costs that contradict other concerns. He said as he understood the east/west proposal, one day two people wandered out through the woods and said, "This is where it should be." He said it has had poor study and needs careful consideration. He said looking to move traffic out of the northwest quadrant of the City, it was considered that Morgan Hill must need these roads. He referred to the Planning Commission transmittal to the City Council, page 4, paragraph 5, regarding further review of road alignment options for the northwest quadrant of town. He said this has been done with an active intent of how to develop an unspoiled area. He spoke to Capital Facilities and Utilities and said street planning was inadequate and short sighted. He said regarding future costs for infrastructure, developers will not pay, and the costs will be passed on to citizens. Orabelle Connally -- She had three recommended changes: 1) Capital Facilities & Utilities Element, page vm-3, Essential Public Facilities (second paragraph ending with "Listed facilities include:... "In-patient facilities (including substance abuse facilities, mental health facilities and group homes). This language should be struck because it is inconsistent with Housing Policies 4.4 and 5.4, (pp VI-26, VI-27) where group homes are allowed outright, and further, the language improperly identifies certain disabilities rather than speaking to questions of impact such as parking and traffic problems. A better statement which would more correctly carry the city's intent would be: "Hospitals, nursing homes and other large treatment centers." 2) Housing Element, Housing Types, Policy 4.1.2 (page VI-25) -- allows manufactured homes in all residential zones except the Historic District. I strongly recommend allowing these manufactured homes in all single family districts. ~My husband and I own and live m a Victorian 1889 home m this historical area. This district includes many homes that were built m the 20th Century up to the present. Manufactured homes would be similar to these and m no way detract from the historic value of the Victorian homes. History did not end with the 19th Century. The different kinds of homes built in the various later periods are also of interest. This district is a living neighborhood. Adding the newest kind of home construction would be appropriate. 3) Transportation Element, Policy 10.3, items d. and e. (page VII-48.) This Policy prioritizes transportation improvements. The Planning Commission has recommended putting non-motorized improvements at a lower priority than projects that correct roadways with high maintenance costs. This should be reversed Non-motorized improvements, ie. paths or sidewalks needed for pedestrian safety should come before roadway improvement for automobiles. Consider the dangerous stretch of Washington Street from the Post Office to Kearney St. and many other busy streets where there is no safe place for pedestrians. Safety of pedestrians should be the first priority before maintenance of smooth roadways for automobiles. [The Council told Ms. Connally they concurred and had already reversed the priority.] Etta Roth -- Regarding the northwest neighborhood close to North Beach and Fort Worden -- retain in pastoral rural neighborhood; consider removing from high density. 18 Michael Anderson -- seismic hazard map Mr. Anderson asked if there had been any changes made to the Plan maps. Mr. Robison said the maps are only intended as a guide, and have been in place for 3 years. Mr. Anderson expressed objection to the seismic hazards map contained in the Draft Comprehensive Plan and said the map will tend to discourage people and create a need for additional engineering. He said that is not a good thing for the northwest part of town, that soils in general are good. He said there is no need to impose on the average citizen to do that additional work, that most embankments are stable and soils are very stable; he requested that this map be deleted from the record. He said he would like to come back and research Building & Community Development records. Mr. Robison encouraged Mr. Anderson to come to see him and referred to the Critical Sensitive Areas Ordinance. Mr. Robison noted that although according to the UBC seismic code risk map, all of Port Townsend is in zone three, all the City is required to build in special areas are the hospital, schools, police and fire stations. He noted when people come in for permits from areas in question, Staff has to look at the area before issuing a permit. Dana Roberts-- Worked with Land Use Advisory Group in the draft phase of the Plan. Mr. Roberts made the following philosophical comments: Help keep Port Townsend a different sort of place. That's what I wish to add support for as you consider the Draft Plan~ Emphasize and enhance those policies and elements which will help keep this city its own kind of interesting community. Port Townsend will never become a major metropolis, nor should it. Leave that for the Redmonds, Auburns, Everetts and Bremertons. Encourage differentness, and the results will be no secret. Discriminating people will find their way to settle among us, and those born here will find it competitive with their other options in life. A different place has its own economic value in being so, and should promote diversity amongst the citizenry. Besides working to establish a signi~cant post-high school educational institution here, ] urge aiming for MANY smaller-scale options and opportunities in working life, rather than a few large- size job providers. Insure that unconventional construction techniques, and housing types, sizes and configurations can be safely built here with few or no greater difficulties than the usual sort. On economic grounds, I cannot endorse so-called "manufactured" housing units: except for sellers, they only employ persons to build them far from defferson County. Having some 4 years working experience in planning transportation, I do urge, nay beseech you to re-start the examination of Howard Street and the east-west arterial Emphasize alternative and non-motorized transportation, including greenways, trails and "traffic calming" practices and improvements (and allow local improvement districts where resident interest is especially strong.) Thank you for the opportunity to add to the record. I look forward to the opportunity to examine at least some of the implementing Ordinances that will help bring the plan to reality. 19 Don McDaniel -- Puget Power Commended the Comprehensive Plan process, the open debate, looking at what was best for the community at large. Mrl McDaniel also commended the staff for their efforts. He said we now have a Comprehensive Plan for beginning of the vision, a framework for Economic Development, and now we can engage in the planning process to create the environment we love, and what we want it to look like in future. He said, do first what are the top priorities and activities, related it to the planning process in the County, and asked, "Are they linked?" He said it places a mandate on us to solve those issues to achieve the vision -- having something special here to preserve; preserve services and health of the community. He issued a challenge, community groups to reach consensus, to start with Economic Development issues among ourselves, come to the table with issues and to get resources. Waldo Matthew -- Realtor, Resident and Taxpayer Waiting for double standards for affordable housing, on low income. He addressed home ownership; lower income base in this vicinity than anywhere around here; lack of income potential; and affordable housing. Mr. Matthew said the present ordinance passed in 1978 regarding manufactured homes addressed and modified changes in construction techniques, and materials and referred to Uniform Building Code standards. He said there presently is need for allowing manufactured homes in Port Townsend and compared costs of houses and manufactured homes. He urged consideration of the "little guy," and invited people to Port Hadlock to see what manufactured homes are like. Martin Rowe -- Clallam and Jefferson Community Action Council Said he had never seen a process like this; it has been so open and simple; it is a tribute to everyone. He said it has been a real positive thing. He indicated his forte is affordable housing. He noted the wide range of housing types and densities -- manufactured housing to shared wall housing to larger single family housing, but there is no property available to meet the needs of his clients, those 50 percent below the median income. He spoke of the list of people searching for housing, and that most have to seek housing outside the City, and most of that housing is close to sub-standard. He noted housing subsidies and said an important thing to happen is to have higher density opportunity, that these people are having to pay way too much for their rent and there is need to free up housing for those paying slightly more. He asked for support of a wide range of types and densities -- For our kids to live here and stay here. Michelle Sandoval -- Realtor Said the process is very confusing, that she agreed with the different perspectives and was swayed a lot. She said from her viewpoint on manufactured homes, there was a lot she agreed with in terms of quality. She said, however, allowing manufactured homes is not the way to solve affordable housing. She said regarding inducement to attracting people to come in here, she agreed with a statement Ms. Jenks made last fall that why should we help people to come here when we 2O are not doing for our own. She said the manufactured home element within the City will affect property values, and ~%r the protection of the environment that is here now, she does not think that is the way to solve the problem. She applauded trying to look at non-vehicular in the Transportation Element. She also stressed open space as an important issue and said in the end it will save us. She noted the beauty of the area attracts people, and it may be our downfall. She said manufactured homes would be a stopgap situation; in 20 years it might be too late. Erik Andersson -- Economic Development Council He referenced a May letter from the Chamber of Commerce and urged consideration of the parking code in the Historic District. He thanked the Mayor for the opportunity to have input and work with the Comprehensive Plan Mayor McCulloch again said written comments will be received until noon Monday, June 24, at City Hall. She said the deliberations meetings will be public, but the City Council will not be taking any further public comment. ADJOURN~'MENT There being no further business, at 8:20 p.m., Mayor McCulloch adjourned the meeting. Julie McCulloch, Mayor Attest: Acting City Clerk