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HomeMy WebLinkAbout06-22-2009 PLANNING & COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE A-tJ,BU,- WASHINGTON Y OF June 22, 2009 MINUTES 1. CALL TO ORDER Chair Lynn Norman called the meeting to order at 5:02 p.m. in the Council Chambers located on the first floor of Auburn City Hall, 25 West Main Street, Auburn, WA. Committee members present were: Chair Lynn Norman, Vice Chair Nancy Backus and Member Rich Wagner. Staff members present included: Director Cindy Baker, Assistant Director Kevin Snyder, Principal Planner Elizabeth Chamberlain, Principal Planner Jeff Dixon, Senior Planner Chris Andersen, Finance Director Shelley Coleman, City Attorney Dan Heid, and Planning Secretary Renee Tobias. Audience members present included: Hearing Examiner Phil Olbrechts, White River Museum Director Patricia Nicole Petrino-Salter, Karen L. Campbell, Rudy Terry, Virginia Haugen, Wayne Osborne and John Partridge. II. HEARING EXAMINER ANNUAL REPORT Committee asked the City's Hearing Examiner, Phil Olbrechts, to share his perspective on the recent city code changes that removed the City Council from quasi-judicial decision-making. Mr. Olbrechts stated that with the change in the code, his decisions are now final rather than recommendation to the City Council. The number of cases has decreased in the past year, but the cases he has heard were of a policy nature that he did not feel he needed Council's input; the code is pretty clear on the matters presented by staff. Mr. Olbrechts reported that he is the Hearing Examiner for twelve jurisdictions and has always felt that Auburn's code was good even before the recent changes. One issue was with conditional use permit criteria being a bit vague which has been addressed. The other issue is with the criteria for variances. These criteria are dictated by state law and there is not much the city can do to change the criteria. Mr. Olbrechts asked the Committee if they wanted more detail of the testimony given during the hearing now that the Hearing Examiner renders final decisions and not recommendations. The Committee agreed that they would like to see the testimony summarized in the decisions; this would also help indicate what the Hearing Examiner thought was important in making his decision. Director Baker noted that with the new fee schedule that Council approved, the Hearing Examiner hourly costs are paid by the applicant. Mr. Olbrechts stated that Auburn has one of the best planning departments who produce very thorough staff reports and that staff are well prepared at the hearing. The recent Auburn City Code update, adopted by the City Council on June 1, 2009, includes new flexible development standards. The Committee asked staff how the Hearing Examiner would be conversant on these. Director Baker responded that the staff report would include the information about development flexibility credits earned or Planning and Community Development Committee Minutes June 22, 2009 not earned. In response to the Committee's question, Mr. Olbrechts stated that he has dealt with planned unit development matrixes and believes that Auburn is on the cutting edge by using them in other areas. Staff is currently developing options for circulation planning requirements for the Committee's review at a later date, which is not limited to aspects of a traffic study. The Committee suggested that staff may want to have Mr. Olbrechts review potential circulation planning regulations early in the policy development process to get his input. After discussion about receiving the Hearing Examiner's decisions, the Committee asked staff to ensure that the written decisions are clearly identified when left in the Council work area. III. CONSENT AGENDA A. Meeting Minutes - June 8, 2009 B. Meeting Minutes - June 16, 2009 Member Backus moved and Member Wagner seconded to approve the consent agenda. MOTION CARRIED 3-0 IV. ACTION A. Population and Employment Targets At the June 8, 2009 meeting, the Committee acknowledged that there is a disconnect between infrastructure needs and GMA The challenge remains that the State requires the population and employment target numbers for Growth Management Act, but does not provide funds for cities to build the infrastructure to support higher population. The Committee agreed that a statement reflecting this would be included on any correspondence to Suburban Cities Association and/or the City's support of any proposed targets. Staff prepared a draft statement addressing the Committee's direction, which was distributed to the Committee for review. Director Baker clarified that the 8,400 population target did not include the West and Lea Hill annexations, as previously discussed with the Committee. In addition, Auburn is to assume a potential 2,500 units more. Other jurisdictions joined Auburn in expressing their concern to the Suburban Cities Association about the additional numbers and the omission of annexation information. It was noted that jurisdictions must send their concurrence of the target numbers to the Association by mid-July 2009. The Committee discussed the caveat statement presented by staff as well as various options to accept or reject the target population numbers. It was noted discussion surrounding the issues will continue and be addressed with the Suburban Cities Association before the July 2009 deadline. Page 2 Planning and Community Development Committee Minutes June 22, 2009 The Committee agreed that at the Committee of the Whole meeting on June 29, 2009, the Council would review information authorizing the Mayor to acknowledge the proposed population target range of 8,000 to 8,900 for the Auburn community with the caveat that additional local infrastructure funding must be available. The Growth Management Planning Council takes action on the targets at their September 16th meeting. Once the King County Council takes action on the amendment to the Countywide Planning Policies then Auburn has 90 days to take action; either ratify or not to ratify. V. DISCUSSION A. Resolution No. 4497 - Principle Services Consulting Agreement Finance Director Shelley Coleman stated that this resolution renews the existing contract with the firm which provides representation before various governmental agencies and political subdivisions. Director Coleman noted two changes. Specifically, Article 2.2 - the monthly retainer fee will be $4,650 per month, an increase of $150. The additional $150 represents an average of past year's small reimbursements and was at the recommendation of the auditor. Secondly, Article 2.3., all expenses will be documented. The Committee suggested that the results of the consultant's work be shared with Council; Director Coleman agreed. B. King County Historic Preservation Office Director Cindy Baker provided a briefing on historic and cultural preservation as it relates to Chapter 15.76 of the Auburn City Code and the Interlocal Agreement for landmark Services with King County. The rules and procedures for required Certificates of Appropriateness were reviewed and discussed. Auburn's historical data is incomplete both spatially and temporally. Survey data is from 1977 to 1986 with a supplement in 1996 for Main Street. The limited time horizon is pre-1942. Director Baker reviewed future tasks for both historic and cultural preservation. White River Valley Museum Director Patricia Cosgrove answered the Committee's questions about the King County Landmarks & Heritage Commission and their processes. Mrs. Cosgrove also stated that the City has had experience with historic and cultural preservation through the Mary Olson Farm. Mrs. Cosgrove suggested that the City complete a pre-emptive archeological investigation in the downtown redevelopment area prior to demolition and construction. Mrs. Cosgrove noted that often on a site, an archeologist or a trained monitor with authority to halt construction is required. Mrs. Cosgrove suggested having a building inspector attend the required four day training to oversee construction. C. Energy and Efficiency Conservation Block Grant Strategy Document Staff briefed the Committee on the key components and elements of the City's application for the Energy and Efficiency Conservation Block Grant (EECBG). The EECBG is administered by the US Department of Energy, which is funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARAA) of 2009. The City will receive a direct formula grant of $235,500. Page 3 Planning and Community Development Committee Minutes June 22, 2009 Three projects have been identified for the $235,500 grant: new energy efficient lighting at Game Farm Park, Greenhouse Gas Inventory, and participation in the Puget Sound New Energy Solutions (PSNES). If the PSNES does not go forward, an alternate project would be to purchase an electrical vehicle, with a charging station, for use by staff on in-city business. The Committee asked if the $235,500 grant would open the door to compete for a portion of the $400 million nationwide competitive grant. Assistant Director Snyder responded that the competitive grant is funded by the Department of Energy and would be a separate process. The Department of Energy has stated that projects of a regional orientation would be considered. Staff anticipates the DOE award announcement would be made by early fall. In response to Committee's question, Assistant Director Snyder explained the importance of the Greenhouse Gas Inventory, stating that receipt of the federal EECB Grant requires the City to report on actions that increase or decrease greenhouse emissions. Many of the grants the City is applying for ask questions about greenhouse gas impacts and reductions associated with the project proposed for funding. The City does not have a greenhouse gas baseline that can be used for comparison and analysis, and having this baseline would make the City competitive for future grant funding. Mayor Lewis reported that in Deputy Mayor Sue Singer's recent meetings with participating entities for the Puget Sound Regional Council's Prosperity Partnership program; the discussion has been about incubators for business, medical technology, weatherization, energy development and veterans retraining. Mayor Lewis noted that in conversations with federal staff, they knew about three jurisdictions' projects, and Auburn's was one of them. Mayor Lewis noted that Councilmember Wagner's contact and work with Washington State University has significantly contributed to the awareness of the City's proposal. D. Comprehensive Plan 2009 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. Staff distributed an updated table of map amendments to Committee. 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 Committee briefly reviewed the proposed docket and changes, and provided staff with recommendations and changes. E. Phase II - Code Update Project Staff distributed and reviewed the revised draft of substantive issues to be addressed as part of the Phase 2 effort, which will focus on the non-residential portion of the Auburn City Code. These issues were identified by the Committee, the Code Working Group and staff. Page 4 Planning and Community Development Committee Minutes June 22, 2009 The Committee agreed that the priority of issues would be for staff to start focus on the following: C-1 Moratorium, Temporary Uses, Administrative vs. Conditional Uses, Expanded Uses in Light Industrial Zoning District, Environmental Park District, and Sustainability. Staff will also add resolution of the current C-1 Moratorium to the list and make it a priority. The Committee asked staff to identify the approximate hours required for each issue to further assist in prioritization. The Committee stated it would finalize its direction at its June 30, 2009 special meeting and directed staff to add this item to the special meeting agenda. VI. INFORMATION A. Director's Official Decisions and Report None. B. PCDC Status Matrix None. C. Information • Comprehensive Transportation Plan: The Committee would like staff to present the Plan at the July 13, 2009 regular meeting. The Committee discussed issues, options and challenges for looking beyond the 20 year planning period to correspond with Puget Sound Regional CounciPs Vision 2040. • C-1 Zoning Multi-Family Moratorium: The Committee asked that this item be brought to the July 13, 2009 regulation meeting and requested that staff from planning, legal and public works develop options on approaches for resolving the moratorium prior to this meeting. VII. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business to come before the Planning and Community Development Committee, Chair Norman adjourned the meeting at 7:22p.m. APPROVED THIS DAY OF JULY 2009. ~ Lynn an, Chair enee S. Tobias, Planning Secretary Page 5