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HomeMy WebLinkAbout03-08-2022 Minutes (2) PLANNING COMMISSION March 8, 2022 MINUTES I. CALL TO ORDER Chair Judi Roland called the meeting to order at 7:05 p.m. via Virtual Zoom Meeting. Per Governor Inslee's Emergency Proclamation 20-05 and 20-28 et. seq. and City of Auburn Resolution No. 5581, City of Auburn has designated meeting locations as “virtual” for all Regular, Special and Study Session Meetings of the City Council and for the Committees, Boards and Commissions of the City. Prior to roll call, Chair Roland asked each Planning Commissioner to introduce themselves as this was the first meeting that three new Commissioners participated in. a.) ROLL CALL/ESTABLISHMENT OF QUORUM Commissioners present: Chair Judi Roland, Commissioner Mason, Commissioner Moutzouris, Commissioner Stephens; Commissioner Sprague; Commissioner Berry and Commissioner Amer. Staff present: Senior Assistant City Attorney Doug Ruth; Planning Services Manager Jeff Dixon; Long Range Senior Planner Josh Steiner; Administrative Assistant, Jennifer Oliver. Members of the public present: Laura Benjamin and Maggie Moore from the Puget Sound Regional Council (PSRC) b.) PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE II. APPROVAL OF MINUTES A. October 19, 2021 – Regular Meeting Minutes Commissioner Stephens moved and Commissioner Moutzouris seconded to approve the minutes from the October 19, 2021, meeting as written. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY (4-0) The new Commissioners did not vote as they were not part of the Planning Commission at that time of the meeting in October. III. OTHER BUSINESS A. PSRC Presentation on Vision 2050 and Local Planning PSRC Staff will provide an introduction to Comprehensive Planning topics in the context of Vision 2050, in advance of the Periodic Comprehensive Planning process beginning in 2022. Senior Planners Laura Benjamin and Maggie Moore from Puget Sound Regional Council (PSRC) presented to the Planning Commission on Vision 2050 and Local Planning. PSRC is the local regional planning organization that certifies countywide planning policies and local plans. PSRC will be working closely with the City of Auburn on the Comprehensive Plan Periodic Update to ensure consistency with the PSRC Vision 2050, the County-wide Planning Policies, any changes in state laws over the intervening time, and to respond to changing conditions within the local community. PSRC develops a long-range plan out for 30 years, which is the Vision 2050 Plan. Counties and Cities work on growth targets to accommodate the growth coming to the region over the next 30 years. Local jurisdictions are working on their Comprehensive Plan Updates to be in line with Vision 2050 and to take their planning horizon out to 2044. The City of Auburn is getting underway with its plan update. The Central Puget Sound Region is making huge investments into transportation. Nearly 30 new miles of light rail in the 4.5 years which includes Northgate, Roosevelt and U district in 2021; the Blue Line to the Redmond Tech Center with 10 new stations in 2023; another 9 stations in Federal Way, Shoreline, Redmond, Mountlake Terrace, Lynnwood and Kent/Des Moines in 2024. Plus, regional BRT systems, freeway expansions, fast ferries and 60 + more miles of light rail. The difference between the Vision 2040 and Vision 2050 is that it extends planning horizon to 2050, updates the growth strategy and aims for more growth near transit, advocates for sustainable funding sources, increases recognition of Native Tribes and military installations, new chapter on climate change and directs regional work on housing and equity. PSRC just concluded a public comment period on their 2022 Regional Transportation Plan. This plan is developed every 4 years. PSRC provided in the presentation a visualization tool of PSRC’s Transportation System Conditions such as future projects that are being planned for. This plan goes out to 2050 with objectives of making progress on existing challenges, address current and future needs of the transportation system, provide better data and analysis to support local planning, and plan for long-term system investments to accommodate future growth. PSRC distributes $270 million is transportation funding annually. That is currently underway for Regional Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and Federal Transit Administration (FTA) Project Selection. PSRC Regional Housing Strategy three key components are: What are the gaps between current and projected housing needs and housing supply; how can the region address current and projected gaps in housing and supply through coordinated action, and how do we measure success. The assessment performed by PSRC worked with local City Council Members, people who have been impacted by housing access and affordability and people who work in the housing sector, and it was determined that the region is two years behind in housing production. Between 2020 and 2050 the region needs 810,000 additional housing units to accommodate future growth. Additionally housing needs to be more affordable. Over one-third of new units should be affordable to moderate and lower-income households to meet future affordability needs. There are substantial disparities in housing access between white and persons-of- color households. The visual chart provided in the presentation presented home ownership by race and income. The chart shows that a white household is more likely to own a home then a black household. The Commission asked why did they not include other races in the chart such as Asians or Pacific Islanders as an example. PSRC explained that in the full report of the Regional House Needs Assessment they do look at different race and break it down by race and ethnicity where they can. Occasionally PSRC can’t break it down by each race because the sample size is so small that the margin of error becomes an issue. In those instances, PSRC groups races into people of color versus white to give a comparison. PSRC explained that the focus areas for actions and tools are supply, stability and subsidy. Supply: build more housing of different types. Allow for more multi-family housing choices near transit; allow for more middle density housing; allow for more housing choices within single -family zones; and reduce the costs to build housing. Stability: provide opportunities for residents to live in housing that meets their needs. Strengthen tenant assistance and protections to provide opportunities for residents to continue to live in their communities; increase access to home ownership; increase services and amenities to provide access to opportunity in low opportunity; and incentivize and/or require the create and preservation of long-term affordable housing. Subsidy: Create and sustain long-term funding sources to create and preserve housing for very low-income households and unhoused residents. Identify public, private and philanthropic funding to increase affordable housing and access to housing for lower-income families; advocate for substantial federal and state funding to address affordability for very low-income households; encourage major employers to finance affordable housing construction and preservation to provide opportunities for employees to live closer to where they work; and expand local funding options and how they are used across the region. PSRC concluded their presentation and opened up the floor to questions from the Planning Commission. The Commission asked if any of the information provided by PSRC would part of future Planning Commission meetings. Staff member Steiner responded that it would be and that many of the topics that PSRC presented does feed into the three long range planning projects that the Planning Services division will begin in early 2022. He mentioned that these are described in a separate memo transmitted to the Commission in the packet. The subjects were however not on the agenda. The projects and timelines that will eventually be presented by staff to the Planning Commission for consideration, public hearing and a recommendation to the city council are: Auburn Comprehensive Plan Periodic Update Each city and county in Washington state is required to conduct a periodic update of its comprehensive plan and development regulations per RCW 36.70A.130 (The Growth Management Act, or GMA). In general, the purpose is to ensure consistency with the Puget Sound Regional Council Vision 2050, the County-wide Planning Policies (for Auburn this means both Pierce and King County), any changes in state laws over the intervening time, and to respond to changing conditions within the local community. Under the GMA, all King County cities, including Auburn are on an 8-year update cycle, with the next comprehensive plan due to be adopted by June 2024. To assist in the update process, Planning Services issued a Request for Proposal (RFP) in December 2021 that requested consultant assistance in developing a framework for developing the comprehensive plan update process and for assistance in analysis for specific comprehensive plan elements. The consulting firm of SCJ Alliance was selected, and Planning Services is currently coordinating with the consultant on the schedule and scope of work. The periodic comprehensive plan update process is expected to begin in March 2022. Auburn Downtown Sub-Area Plan & Planned Action Environmental Impact Statement Planning Services was awarded a grant of up to $250,000 through the Washington State Department of Commerce to update the Auburn Downtown Plan & Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), last adopted in 2001. The last plan had reached the end of its forecasted 20- year planning period. The scope for this work includes a new, supplemental document that builds from the success of the prior plan while preparing for development over the next 20 years, in addition to a Planned Action EIS. Planning Services staff issued a Request for Proposal in December 2022 requesting consultant assistance in developing the Plan. Two consultants were interviewed, and the consulting firm of MAKERS was selected, with the project anticipated to begin in March 2022, to be completed by June 2023. This work will take the form of a revision of the Special Area Plan, or sub-area plan that applies to the more specific geographic area of downtown auburn and will coordinate with transit facilities. Housing Action Plan Implementation Project As members of the Planning Commission may recall, the city adopted a Housing Action Plan (HAP) in July 2021 that provided preliminary recommendations of goals and strategies to encourage construction of additional affordable and market rate housing in a greater variety of housing types and at prices that are accessible to a greater variety of incomes. To build upon this past work, Planning Services was awarded a $100,000 grant through the Washington State Department of Commerce to further analyze specific recommendations for potential adoption. ECONorthwest was selected as the consultant to assist staff with this effort, who also assisted in the previous development of the Housing Action Plan. $20,000 of the total grant award has been allocated to South King Housing and Homelessness Partners (SKHHP) to develop a database of regulated and unregulated affordable housing in coordination with four other South King County cities. This separate effort is also a Preliminary Recommendation found in the Housing Action Plan. The Housing Action Plan Implementation Project is anticipated to begin in March 2022, to be completed by July 2023. The Planning Commission asked how PSRC coordinates within their structure the state and federal funding sources, especially on the transportation element. PSRC Senior Planner Maggie Moore responded that PSRC has oversight of those federal transportation dollars. A Policy framework is developed for how the funding is distributed. Most of the funding is designated for transportation projects that support Regional growth centers and manufacturing/industrial centers. The PSRC Boards make decisions on what the framework looks like as well as the funding criteria. The Commission asked how PSRC connects with Sound Transit and whether they are participants on the PSRC board. Ms. Moore responded that Sound Transit is a member organization of PSRC, and they have elected officials on their boards that participate with the PSRC board. The Planning Commission asked what PSRC thought the biggest barriers were in reaching the housing goals. PSRC Senior Planner Laura Benjamin commented that we need to continue doing what we are already doing but scale it up to a degree that most cities haven’t seen. Many cities including Auburn are building more housing and building different types of housing. It’s just a matter of turning that dial up. Ms. Benjamin continued that development code audits are powerful in terms of better understanding if and how there are any kind of unintentional ways that city-level regulations could be discouraging different types of affordable housing. Also working with the private sector such as builders, and lenders to promote access to affordable housing. B. Review of Planning Commission Rules of Procedures Planning Services Manager, Jeff Dixon presented to The Planning Commission. The Planning Commission’s (PC) Rules of Procedure were last amended on June 8, 2021. Annually, the Planning Commission reviews the Planning Commission Rules of Procedure document as a content reminder and to consider any modifications. Staff member Dixon showed a presentation that described the purpose of each section of the Commission’s Rules of Procedure. He transitioned to a discussion of the proposed amendments. Planning and Legal Dept. staff reviewed the latest adopted Rules of Procedure document and noted a minor addition that is recommended and that is shown below and shown in strike- through (deletions) and underline (additions). As you may recall, last year during the Commission’s consideration of code changes to the City’s regulations for Wireless Communication Facilities (Cell Towers), there was some confusion about submitting information for the record of the hearing. Changes are proposed to clarify procedures. These are additions shown under a new subsection; “Hearing Record” starting on Page 11. Senior Assistant City Attorney Doug Ruth went over the changes with the Commission. 14. Hearing Record A. The “record” for a public hearing shall consist of all testimony or comments presented at the hearing and all documents or exhibits that have been submitted, according to these rules, in connection with the matter being considered. Specifically, the record shall include, but not limited to the following:  Recordings of a hearing, including all testimony presented at a hearing.  The hearing agenda, attendance sheet(s), and the Secretary’s minutes.  All final staff recorded testimony, presentations, documents, maps, reports, memos, and other staff-produced evidence submitted to the Commission to assist it make a decision or recommendation regarding the agenda topic that is the subject of the hearing;  All submissions to the City by the proponent of the subject matter of the hearing;  The Planning Commission’s findings of fact and formal recommendation, and record of any other action taken by the Commission;  Any document publicly cited by the Commission or a Commission member in connection with a decision or recommendation. B. Anyone wanting to submit into the record physical evidence (e.g., documents, letters, photographs, maps) shall provide the evidence to the Secretary of the Planning Commission. Persons may submit evidence by email or other electronic means to: planning@auburnwa.gov or by post mail to: Secretary of the Planning Commission Community Development Dept. City of Auburn 25 West Main St Auburn, WA 98001-4998 Additionally, a person may submit physical evidence into the record at the public hearing. However, Commission members may not be able to consider voluminous evidence that is submitted at the time of the hearing. The Secretary will enter the evidence into the record without the necessity of it being read into the record and shall make note in the minutes that the evidence was entered. Persons submitting physical evidence are discouraged from reading verbatim the evidence at a hearing; they are encouraged rather to summarize such evidence during testimony. All material submitted to the record by whatever means may be subject to disclosure to the public under the Public Records Act, RCW 42.56. C. The Planning Commission will accept physical evidence into the record prior to the date and time of the close of the public hearing. The Commission may close the record at an earlier time upon approval by a majority of the Commission. If the Commission reopens a hearing, the record shall also be reopened to submission of evidence. The Commission may accept evidence into the record after close of a hearing if it has not already adopted a recommendation or decision on the matter being considered and if a majority of the Commission finds that the Commission would substantially benefit from the material being submitted into the record. D. All physical evidence shall be suitable for copying for distribution (e.g. will be legible and on paper not exceeding 8-1/2 x 14 inches in size) and shall identify at the top of the first page or on a cover sheet the date(s) of the public hearing, the date the evidence was submitted, and the submitter’s contact information. All pages shall be consecutively numbered, regardless of the number of different documents submitted. Any submitted material proposing revisions to Auburn City Code shall show the revisions by striking out the text proposed to be removed from the code (e.g. for example) and underlining text proposed to be added to the code (e.g. for example). 5. Submitted evidence must consist of less than 100 pages, unless a majority of the Commission approves accepting submissions exceeding that number. If the Commission does not so approve, a person submitting evidence exceeding this page number shall have 3 business days from the close of the hearing to comply with the page limit. The Commission inquired about section D and the size of paperwork for 8 ½ x 14. They commented that it seemed small because of architectural drawings that could be submitted for the record. Most architectural drawings are on larger paper. Planning Services Manager Dixon commented that part of the reason for considering size limits is because if somebody brings an exhibit that they wish the Commission to consider, we often times need to make some copies of that. We have some limitations in terms of the availability of machines to make copies that evening during the hearing and can distribute that to the Planning Commission members or other participants in the audience. The Planning Commission asked if there should be a section establishing the format of digital evidence such as slide presentations or video presentations by the public. It would be good to clarify if it needs to be a PDF or on Windows based format. Mr. Ruth noted the comment in order to address in a future revision of the Rules of Procedure. It is proposed that at the next Planning Commission meeting on April 5, 2022, the revised Rules of Procedure will be presented and voted on by the Commission. C. Annual Election of Officers Pursuant to the Planning Commission’s adopted Rules of Procedure (provided as Attachment A), Subsection III.2 states that the Planning Commission shall elect officers at the first regular meeting of each calendar year, or as soon thereafter, as possible. Since the Planning Commission did not meet in January and February of 2022, staff requests that before the close of the March 8, 2022, meeting, officers should be elected for year 2022. The results of the election will take effect at the following meeting so that new appointees are prepared to serve in their new capacity. The term of office of each officer shall run until the subsequent election. Chair Roland called for nominations for the Election of Chairperson for the City of Auburn 2022 Planning Commission. Commissioner Stephens moved and Commissioner Moutzouris seconded a nomination for Commissioner Roland as Chairperson; no other Commissioners were nominated. A vote was taken, by majority vote of Commissioners, 7-0, Commissioner Roland was elected as the Planning Commissioner Chairperson for 2022. Chair Roland called for nominations for the Election of Vice-Chairperson for the City of Auburn 2022 Planning Commission. Commissioner Moutzouris moved, and Commissioner Amer seconded a nomination for Commissioner Stephens as Vice-Chairperson; no other Commissioners were nominated. A vote was taken, by majority vote of Commissioners, 7-0, Commissioner Stephens was elected as the Planning Commissioner Vice -Chairperson for 2022. IV. COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT REPORT Planning Services Manager, Jeff Dixon presented to the Planning Commission information about projects around the city. Health Through Housing Initiative King County partnered with local cities across the region to rapidly acquire and operate 1600 units of affordable housing for residents experiencing or at risk of chronic homelessness while reducing racial-ethnic disproportionality of homelessness. All housing will include the supportive services (with case management and supportive services) to reduce chronic homelessness and achieve and maintain health and stability. The initiative is funded through a dedicated sales tax implemented countywide. The State Legislature passed HB 1590 in 2020, which allowed jurisdictions to enact a 0.1% sales tax to finance. In 2020, the King County Executive proposed, and the County Council approved this dedicated sales tax. The Hotel that was purchased is the Clarion hotel that is located 9 16th St NW in Auburn and has 102 units that are currently being renovated. This is the fifth location that the County has acquired. The Commission asked if it is occupied at this time and staff responded that it is not occupied. However, during the Covid 19 Pandemic, the hotel was used on a temporary basis for a quarantine location but has since become empty. Former Heritage Building – Now called Divine Court. This site was the former Heritage Building that was destroyed by fire years ago. The name of the project is now called Devine Court. The project has been approved and should start construction within a month. Pre-construction meeting is scheduled for this Thursday, 3-10-22. There are a few construction logistics to work out such as construction material storage, staging, ROW (right of way) use, etc. The 60,000 sq. foot building will be 6 stories on approximately 0.28-acre site that is zoned mixed-use. The building will include 46 apartments and 42 micro housing units, approximately 3,900 square feet of ground floor commercial space, and 31 parking stalls. The Commission is pleased to see this project moving forward. Former Max House Building This property was formally known as the Max House. It was destroyed by fire this last year. There are no imminent plans for redevelopment as the property owner is seeking to sell. Materials have been ordered but are about 5 weeks out for a more permanent narrow 1-inch mesh black vinyl coated fencing with gates for securing the site Sound Transit Second Parking Garage Sound Transit is improving access to the Auburn Sounder Station for riders, whether they access the station by walking, bicycling, connecting buses or driving. The project st includes a new parking garage at 1 Street Northwest. The project is expected to be complete by 2025. Sound Transit held a design workshop on March 3, 2022, and Public open houses planned for April with specific dates to be determined. Planning Services Manager Dixon provided a map for the Commission to see the location. The Bridges (City of Kent Island surrounded by Auburn) The property was originally in Unincorporated King County and the site was initially going to be used for a water reservoir. Cities are allowed to make islands of incorporated cities for municipal purposes. Kent did that, but their needs changed and made the property available for development. This was also a time that Auburn annexationed the surrounding area. It became an area of incorporated Kent, surrounded by incorporated Auburn. Discussions are taking place to make this area a part of Auburn. Cities of Kent and Auburn have each asked their City Council to adopt a resolution supporting annexation from Kent to Auburn. Subsequent steps for annexation process to follow requirements under state law. Because this would be from a City to a City, this would not have to be done by a public vote. But the City does want to have an extensive outreach effort and talk to the residents in this community and how they could be affected by changes in that jurisdiction. There could also be some confusion by the residents as to which jurisdiction they belong to, and the City of Auburn wants to help clarify that with the residents. The Bridges consists of a subdivision and planned unit development (PUD) that would create 386 lots for detached single family development. The property zoning allows for a density of 3.63 dwelling units per acre (north) and 1 dwelling unit per acre (south). The total Ares of property is 156.47 acres. The Planning Commission asked if the children in the area attend Kent Schools or Auburn Schools. Staff responded that the school district is unaffected by the city boundaries. The don’t coincide. But this area is in the Auburn School District. The Commission asked if a resident were to call 911, which jurisdiction would respond. Staff stated that the first position service provider is Kent because this is located in the City of Kent. However, most agencies have reciprocal agreements to allow other police and fire to respond. The Commission asked if this would come before the Planning Commission and staff couldn’t answer that question at this time. Staff commented that an annexation of this nature has not been done for a long time and staff will need to get familiar with the process again and understand state regulations. GSA Property The US Government General Services Administration (GSA) site was advertised on line for an auction and there was a successful bidder on the purchase of the 129-acre property which is zoned C-3 Heavy Commercial. The sale is set to close in May 2022. Staff doesn’t know much about the purchaser but will know in the near future. The Planning Commission asked what the difference was between Heavy Commercial and Industrial. Staff responded that its largely the set of land uses that are allowed in those various zoning districts. The City has a couple of different designations for commercial zoning where we might have different intensities of commercial uses like retail sales and service and similar types of business activities. Then there are areas that are set aside for industrial uses. They may consist of light industrial or heavy industrial and those are intended to be more for manufacturing uses or warehouse distribution uses or wholesale and heavier industries. The Commission asked if the Boeing suppliers could move into, but staff was not aware of any plans but would depend on their land use type. The Commission asked what was happening with the Theater after the fire that had happened next door at Max House. Staff commented that the Parks Department has postponed or relocated performances scheduled in the building there while the building is being assessed for damages and the structural integrity is evaluated. The next Planning Commission Meeting is Tuesday, April 5, 2022, at 7:00 p.m. V. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business to come before the Planning Commission, Chair Roland adjourned the meeting at 9:01 p.m.