HomeMy WebLinkAbout07-07-2009
C~noF PLANNING COMMISSION
July 7, 2009
'WASHINGTON MINUTES
1. CALL TO ORDER
Chair Judi Roland called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. in the Council Chambers
located on the first floor of Auburn City Hall, 25 West Main Street, Auburn, WA.
Commission Members present were: Chair Judi Roland, Vice Chair Kevin Chapman,
Ron Copple, Peter Di Turi, Michael Hamilton, and Joan Mason. Commissioners Dave
Peace and Bob Baggett were excused.
Also present were: Assistant Planning Director Kevin Snyder, Principal Planner
Elizabeth Chamberlain, Principal Planner Jeff Dixon, and Senior Planner Chris
Andersen.
II. APPROVAL OF MINUTES
March 3. 2009
Commissioner Copple moved and Commissioner DiTuri seconded to approve the
minutes as presented.
The motion passed unanimously 6-0.
Mav 5, 2009
Commissioner DiTuri moved and Commissioner Copple seconded to approve the
minutes as presented.
The motion passed unanimously 6-0.
Mav 7. 2009
Commissioner Copple moved and Commissioner Mason seconded to approve the
minutes as presented.
The motion passed unanimously 6-0.
III. PUBLIC COMMENT
There were no public present for comments.
IV. PLANNING DEPARTMENT REPORT
Principal Planner Elizabeth Chamberlain updated the Commission on the downtown
construction. Completion of the medical office building and parking garage is scheduled
for October 2009 and the Auburn Professional Plaza is scheduled approximately
November 2009. In response to Commission's question, the current Key Bank building is
not slated for demolition. The City has applied for a$3 million Economic Development
PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING MINUTES JULY 7, 2009
Administration (EDA) grant for the Promenade, which is primarily a street and utility
infrastructure and street widening project. Part of this project funding will also be
through the State's Local Revitalization Funding (LRF) program which would be a match
to the EDA grant and the EDA grant would be a match to the LRF.
A public hearing at the July 20, 2009 City Council meeting will be held to receive
comments about establishing a Revitalization Area. The revitalization area is also the
same boundary as the City's designated urban center.
Commission asked for an update on two other downtown projects - the StratFord
property, also known as the Sunbreak block, and Cavanaugh's. Ms. Chamberlain
reported that the City has an agreement that if the Stratford Company does not submit
plans by a certain date, the City has first option to purchase back the property. The
Cavanaugh block is still on the market and staff has not heard of any pending sale. It is
being leased to the hospital for construction parking. These two properties would be
developed cohesively under the adopted Auburn Junction Design Guidelines.
Assistant Planning Director Kevin Snyder provided an update on other Department
activities. The Permit Center lost a Permit Technician position during the recent City
layoffs. Over 80 building permits were issued in the previous week. This is down from
the previous year, but is still a significant number. The Code Compliance Division staff
lost one position during the recent City layoffs as well. The remaining two Code
Enforcement Officers are managing about 200 cases - new and old - each a month.
Assistant Planning Director Snyder and Senior Planner Andersen spoke to the Planning
Commission regarding the effects resulting from the recently implemented code
amendments. Senior Planner Andersen noted that there are several developers who
have reported more viable and developable projects resulting from the increased
regulatory flexibility.
Principal Planner Jeff Dixon provided an update on the Howard Hanson Dam restrictions
and the potential flood situation. Mr. Dixon distributed an updated, city-produced flood
map that shows where potential flooding from the Green River could occur. The flooding
primarily impacts the north end of Auburn. Press releases indicate that the Army Corp of
Engineers is unable to discover exactly what the problem is with the earthen portion of
the dam and they are continuing to investigate the problem and potential repairs. With
the restriction, the Corp will only allow approximately one-third of the normal capacity
behind the dam. The City's Emergency Preparedness Manager has been working with
all departments on preparing an Emergency Response Plan in the event of flooding. It is
anticipated that this Plan will be in place by this fall. Mr. Dixon answered
Commissioner's questions about other possible flooding events and areas.
Staff provided and update on the status of the Les Gove Community Center at the
Commission's request.
V. PUBLIC HEARINGS
There were no items for public hearing.
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PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING MINUTES JULY 7, 2009
VI. OTHER BUSINESS
A. Code Update Project
Assistant Planning Director Snyder and Senior Planner Andersen reported on the
Phase II status for the Code Update Project. They summarized the discussion with
the Planning and Community Development Committee on June 30, 2009 regarding
the draft work program priorities, task workloads and project schedule for Phase II of
the Code Update Project. Assistant Planning Director Snyder and Senior Planner
Andersen advised that the Planning and Community Development Committee was
scheduled to provide overall direction and prioritization at its July 13, 2009 regular
meeting.
B. Population and Employment Targets
Principal Planner Elizabeth Chamberlain summarized the PowerPoint presentation
with the Commission regarding the 2009 Housing and Job Growth Targets allocation
process. Latest Office of Financial Management (OFM) indicated King and Pierce
counties are growing faster over long-term than previous forecasts.
Ms. Chamberlain reviewed how the growth targets are allocated for both King and
Pierce counties. The Growth Targets are adopted in King County via Countywide
Planning Policies (CPPs). The Pierce County Regional Council makes a
recommendation to Pierce County Council who makes the decision. The current
targets cover the planning period of 2002 to 2022; proposed target update pushes
the planning period out an additional nine years to 2031.
This round of housing and job targets is allocated to the cities and towns based on
the regional geographies outlined in Puget Sound Regional Council's Vision 2040
are broken into the following categories:
1. Metro cities
2. Core suburban cities - consists -of ten King County and three Pierce County
jurisdictions, including Auburn, with designated "Urban Centers"
3. Large suburban cities
4. Small cities
5. Urban unincorporated subareas
6. Rural
By going through the process of housing and job targets now it sets the framework
for the required update to the Countywide Planning Policies to be consistent with
Vision 2040 by 2010 and for the cities and towns to update their comprehensive
plans in 2011.
Ms. Chamberlain also reviewed the re-analysis of the core cities' urban centers.
There was an assumption that the core cities underestimated the capacity within
their urban centers in 2007 Buildable Lands Report and this exercise was to
determine if that assumption was correct. Suburban Cities Association re-analyzed
four jurisdictions' urban centers and determined that it was very likely the urban
centers' capacities were underestimated. This analysis will serve the cities in
determining what level of housing units and jobs it can reasonably accommodate.
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PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING MINUTES JULY 7, 2009
Staff then presented the methodology on how the proposed new housing units and
job targets were derived. Staff updated the Commission on the Planning and
Community Development Committee's concerns that with this target process,
housing units and jobs are not tied to any infrastructure level of service and that
funding is not available to make the necessary infrastructure investments.
C. 2009 Comprehensive Plan Amendments
The City updates its Comprehensive Plan annually and processes city-initiated
amendments and private-initiated amendments. Four private-initiated amendments
were received - one text and three map amendments.
Principal Planner Chamberlain stated that the docket is comprised mostly of policy
text amendments related to the recent update of Title 18 (Zoning). Additional
changes include minor revisions to the City's shoreline policies and regulations to
address the re-adoption of the Shoreline Master Program.
The Commission reviewed the proposed docket and proposed changes, and
provided staff with comments.
VII. ADJOURNMENT
There being no further business to come before the Planning Commission, Chair Roland
adjourned the meeting at 8:45 p.m.
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