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HomeMy WebLinkAbout022516 CITY OF PORT TOWNSEND MINUTES OF THE PLANNING COMMISSION OF FEBRUARY 25, 2016 CALL TO ORDER The Port Townsend Planning Commission met in regular session on February 25, 2016, in the Council Chambers at 540 Water Street. Chair Frick called the meeting to order at 6:31 p.m. ROLL CALL Commissioners present at roll call were Kirit Bhansali, Nan Evans, Douglas Frick, Rick Jahnke, Monica MickHager, Dwight Nicholson, and Paul Rice. Staff members present were Planning Director Lance Bailey, Planning Manager/Senior Planner Judy Surber, City Attorney Steve Gross, Public Works Director Ken Clow, City Engineer David Peterson, Assistant City Engineer Samantha Trone, GIS Coordinator Tyler Johnson, and Deputy Clerk Amber Long. ACCEPTANCE OF AGENDA Motion: Monica MickHager moved to accept the agenda. Nan Evans seconded. Vote: motion carried unanimously, 7-0 by voice vote. APPROVAL OF MINUTES - FEBRUARY 11, 2016 Motion: Rick Jahnke moved to approve the minutes of February 11, 2016. Nan Evans seconded. Vote: motion carried unanimously, 7-0 by voice vote. GENERAL PUBLIC COMMENT Debbie Jahnke spoke on behalf of the Parks, Recreation, and Tree Advisory Board. The Board would like to know when it would be appropriate to request that omitted recommendations be reconsidered and that missing parks be added to Transportation and Land Use maps. Staff responded that requests can be made at the Planning Commission public hearing in May, and written comments are currently being accepted on any of the elements. However, any suggested changes must be linked to a specific docket item, as the docket cannot be changed at this point. Public Works staff expressed agreement with adding parks to the maps. OLD BUSINESS Planning Commission Meeting February 25, 2016 Page 1 of 4 GMA Periodic Update — Comprehensive Plan Transportation Element — Core Element City Engineer David Peterson explained that staff is still working on the line-in/line- out changes to the Transportation Element and asked for the Commission's help in weeding out redundant policies. He went page by page through the preliminary draft included in the meeting packet and noted that many of the revisions fall under "housekeeping." Staff responded to questions from the Commission about the draft. Commissioners expressed appreciation for the work done so far on this element. The Commission did not engage in a full discussion of the draft, but did come to a general consensus on the following edits: Policy 2.3 - Remove the last sentence and replace with "Include the appropriate agencies" or similar broad wording. Goal 3 - Staff should reword this section to describe the concepts generally intended by the term "complete streets" without actually using that phrase, as it could mean different things to different people and might be an outdated term in a few years. Nonmotorized Transportation section - Instead of"nonmotorized," use clearer terminology such as "walking and bicycling," as other jurisdictions do. Meeting went into recess at 8:01 and resumed at 8:08. GMA Periodic Update — Comprehensive Plan Land Use Element—Wrap Up Senior Planner/Planning Manager Judy Surber gave an overview of her staff memo, addressing changes discussed at the prior meeting. Planning Director Lance Bailey discussed the meeting handout, which shows two small changes to the Land Use Element based on discussion at the prior meeting. Extensive discussion ensued about the proposed revision of the "Overall Land Use Goal" on the second page of the staff memorandum, whether to be more broad or to specifically address climate refugees. Most, but not all, Commissioners desired to change the wording to: "To accommodate the City's expected population growth in a sustainable manner that maintains and improves the community's character, environment, employment base, and quality of life and responds to the impacts of anticipated climate change." It was ultimately decided to use this new wording in the draft prepared for the public hearing. Commissioner Rice moved to direct staff to prepare the draft Land Use Element for the Commission's further consideration at a noticed public hearing. The motion was withdrawn. Public Comment: Debbie Jahnke suggested a correction to Policy 3.6.1, as the Olympic Discovery Trail is no longer "proposed." She also conveyed that the Parks Board would like to request that "and maintain" be added after "provide" in Policies 4.1.2 and 4.1.3. Commissioner Evans moved to delete the word "proposed" from Policy 3.6.1 and to add the words "and maintain" to Policies 4.1.2 and 4.1.3. The motion failed for lack of a second. Planning Commission Meeting February 25, 2016 Page 2 of 4 Motion: Nan Evans moved to delete the word "proposed"from Policy 3.6.1. Monica MickHager seconded. Vote: motion carried unanimously, 7-0 by voice vote. The Commission would like to add "and maintain," as suggested, if it can be linked to a docket item. Staff will discuss whether it can be considered a housekeeping item and come back to the Commission. Motion: Paul Rice moved to direct staff to prepare the draft Land Use Element for the Commission's further consideration at a noticed public hearing. Rick Jahnke seconded. Vote: motion carried unanimously, 7-0 by voice vote. NEW BUSINESS GMA Periodic Update — Comprehensive Plan Housing Element— First Touch Ms. Surber discussed the draft housing inventory by consultant E.D. Hovee & Company. The Commission can decide whether to adopt the consultant study in part or in whole. The inventory could become an appendix to the Comprehensive Plan or the inventory information could be incorporated into the Housing Element similar to the format of the Transportation Element. Some Commissioners expressed concern about adopting the entire document. Before the next meeting, staff will separate out the consultant's recommendations and create a stand-alone inventory without rewriting the document. In response to a question from staff, the Commissioners discussed what they found surprising about the inventory. Discussions ensued about the link between jobs and housing, affordability for young people, and the way the consultant described the trend toward Port Townsend being a retirement community. Ms. Surber gave an overview of the revisions made so far to the Housing Element. The Commission generally agreed to use the term "smaller homes" instead of"tiny homes" in Policy 2.2. The Commission also agreed to have staff come back with language for Policy 4.1.1 that allows greater flexibility for future considerations or changes of the base density requirement. OTHER BUSINESS - NONE UPCOMING MEETINGS Ms. Surber mentioned the Short Course on Local Planning that would involve both County and City Commissioners and requested that the Commissioners respond to her email regarding scheduling. The flex meeting on March 10th will be used to discuss the Transportation Element, and there will be an agenda item regarding advisory board changes. COMMUNICATIONS - NONE Planning Commission Meeting February 25, 2016 Page 3 of 4 ADJOURNMENT There being no further business, the meeting adjourned 9:53 p.m. Attest: Planning Commission Chair City Clerk's Office Planning Commission Meeting February 25, 2016 Page 4 of 4