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HomeMy WebLinkAbout04-02-2019 Minutes • I\IJBI.JR.14S1 TY OF PLANNING COMMISSION WASHINGTON April 2, 2019 MINUTES 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. a.) ROLL CALL/ESTABLISHMENT OF QUORUM Planning Commission Members present were: Chair Judi Roland, Commissioner Mason, Vice-Chair Lee, Commissioner Stephens, and Commissioner Khanal. Commissioner Moutzouris was excused. Staff present included: Assistant City Attorney Doug Ruth, Planning Services Manager Jeff Dixon, Planner II Alexandria Teague, Planner Jeremy Hammar, Administrative Assistant Tina Kriss, and Office Assistant Jennifer Oliver. Members of the public present: Sean Douglas representing PSERN, Ross Rembac representing Motorola, Jeff Watson, Commander Jamie Douglas Auburn Police Department, Rick Cardoza representing LDC Inc, Robin Mulenga. b.rPLEDGE OF ALLEGENCE II. APPROVAL OF MINUTES A. March 5, 2019 Administrative Assistant Tina Kriss informed the Commission an acronym within the minutes has been updated. Referring to Page 2, paragraph 2 of the minutes, Public Safety Emergency Radio Network PSERN has been updated to read Puget Sound Emergency Radio Network PSERN. Commissioner Stephens moved and Commissioner Khanal seconded to approve the minutes from the March 5, 2019 meeting as corrected. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. 5-0 III. PUBLIC HEARING A. PSERN — Emergency Wireless Communication Facility Code Amendment (ZOA18-0001) Chair Roland opened the Public Hearing at 7:03 PM on PSERN. Commissioner Khanal asked that he be recused from agenda Item III A. as his employer does work for Verizon. PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING MINUTES April 2, 2019 Planner II Teague presented the staff report for the code amendment for PSERN — Emergency Wireless Communication Facility ( ZOA18-0001), providing the background and proposal and an overview of the discussion held at the March 5, 2019 Planning Commission Meeting. Staff reviewed the changes to the three zoning code chapters: • Chapter 18.04 (Definitions), • Chapter 18.31 (Supplemental Development Standards), and • Chapter 18.35 (Special Purpose Zones) Based on the findings contained in the staff report, staff recommends the Planning Commission recommend approval of the Amendments as proposed in Attachment Exhibit A to the City Council. Chair Roland invited members of the public to come forward for public testimony either for or against PSERN. Rick Cardoza, LDC, 24328 SE 440th St E Enumclaw, WA Mr. Cardoza is a consultant representing PSERN. Mr. Cardoza offered he was happy to assist the public and Commission with any questions at any time. He provided a handout of a communication signal coverage map showing holes before tower installation. The map also showed the same area after tower installation to show the difference in coverage and how those gaps would be filled in by the facility. A key aspect of the facility is that the system enhances first responder's communications to each other as well as improvement for the 911 system. Details were provided on the tower pieces and types, how they operate and why the antennas require installation at a great height. Commander Jamie Douglas 348 East Main St Auburn, WA Commander Douglas explained he is with the Auburn Police Department and a member of the PSERN Board. He explained the code amendment to allow the facility will improve communication between different counties and will allow officers to communicate if an incident crosses over into multiple counties. PSERN could service 20,000 Police, Fire and other types of first responder's. Commander Douglas stressed the importance of updating the network but also the need for it to be used by other jurisdictions such as the City of Auburn Public Works Department. Commander Douglas reminded the Commission and the public that he is available for any questions at any time. Again, Chair Roland invited members of the public to come forward for public testimony. After a third request, and without response, Chair Roland closed the Public Hearing at 7:30 P.M. on PSERN and the Commission deliberated. The Commission asked if staff could give a brief summary or highlights of the written comments received from the public. Alexandria Teague, City of Auburn Planner II showed a map of an adjacent property owner who commented. Mr. Wooding in written comments concluded that there appears to be no direct impact on his property. Jeff Watson, Planner representing the Muckleshoot Indian Tribe, also Page 2 PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING MINUTES April 2, 2019 sent correspondence regarding the process, and the combined SEPA and DNS issued by the City. Mr. Watson had general comments about the overall project and inquired on the processed being followed. Staff appreciated Mr. Watson's suggestions how the Planning Department could possibly improve the SEPA Processing. The Commission asked for clarification on how many other PSERN towers have co- location antennas established currently. In answering, Mr. Rick Cardoza provided feedback on a nearby tower that contains co-location established one being a mile away. Mr. Cardoza mentioned that other carriers may want to look at the new tower to carry antennas, but believed that most major carriers are already on this nearby existing tower under a master lease agreement so co-location on the new tower is unlikely. Chair Roland stated that one of the Commission's concerns was from the last couple of months was that the Commission wanted to ensure that the 911 communication needs were not interrupted as a result of co-location on the towers. Commander Douglas confirmed that it would not interrupt the 911-communication system. The Commission asked of the 57 other PSERN sites, how many other had co — location by other communication providers. Commander Douglas responded with the specific number. Vice Chair Lee moved and Commissioner Stephens seconded to move to City Council for review and approval the proposed code amendment consisting of changes to the following three sections: PSERN — Emergency Wireless Communication Facility (ZOA18-0001) • Chapter 18.04 (Definitions), • Chapter 18.31 (Supplemental Development Standards), and • Chapter 18.35 (Special Purpose Zones) MOTION CARRIED 4-0 OTHER BUSINESS A. Discuss joint meeting of the Planning Commission and City Council proposed for the regular City Council Study Session meeting May 13th. Planning Services Manager Dixon re-affirmed the joint Study Session meeting proposed for May 13, 2019 at 5:30 P.M. between the Planning Commission and City Council Members. He indicated that the topic was introduced at the Planning Commission meeting last month. He requested confirmation of members that would be able to attend and asked for any topics that the Commission would like to discuss at the meeting that would be of mutual interest. Council Member Bagget and Council Member DaCorsi would lead the discussion. Planning Services Manager Dixon spoke about the Page 3 PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING MINUTES April 2, 2019 informality of the Study Session meeting stating that the joint meeting would be early on the agenda. Commissioner Stephens confirmed he would not be able to attend due to an out of town commitment. Staff suggested subjects that are the purview of the Commission such as development code changes and Comprehensive Plan updates could be a great topic of discussion as well as sharing perspectives on the vision of future Auburn. The Commission asked what is the ultimate goal of this meeting? Planning Services Manager Dixon responded it was really a check in and sharing of information and a great way to start a dialogue by each body on the future of Auburn. Vice Chair Lee suggested that traffic be a key discussion and the parking, or lack there-of, in the downtown core. The Commission agreed that traffic is a key topic. The Commission asked about the rubber traffic count tubes that are strung across roads around Auburn to count cars. Staff confirmed that the tubes may have been placed either by the city to periodically count traffic volumes or by private contractors in preparation of a traffic study and then the results are submitted back to the City. The Commission remarked that it has observed more residential apartments being built downtown and wanted to know more about that. Staff confirmed that more residential apartments are being built in the downtown area. Staff reminded the Commission that more multiple family residences is encouraged by the Downtown Plan that the city developed and adopted a few years ago. Building new mixed-use projects is consistent with the concept of transit-oriented development to encourage more residences to utilize those services. The Commission asked what type of apartments are proposed by the two new projects downtown and staff confirmed that one project is senior and the other is not. The Commission asked about the exact locations of the projects and if the projects included commercial spaces. Staff confirmed that with more residences there will be more demand for businesses. Chair Roland was hopeful and curious if the City was planning to bring in more businesses downtown and Staff confirmed that the new buildings in downtown had commercial space to support businesses. The Commission suggested that Doug Lein, the city's Economic Development Manager come in and present to the Planning Commission on updates and initiatives his staff is working on for business growth. They would like for him to attend a meeting sooner rather than later as the commission is being asked often regarding the business growth in the downtown corridor. Topics have been noted and will be passed onto Council for the joint meeting discussion An email will be sent to Commissioner Moutzuori to confirm if he can make the meeting. Page 4 PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING MINUTES April 2, 2019 IV. COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT REPORT A Memorandum was presented to the Planning Commission from Senior Planner Thaniel Gouk regarding the Shoreline Master Program — Periodic Update Status and Schedule. Beginning in July of 2018 the Planning Commission began discussion on a State-mandated periodic update to the City's Shoreline Master Program (SMP). At that time, Staff presented the Planning Commission with a schedule showing the completion of this update by June 30, 2019. The City received a grant from the WA Dept. of Ecology to complete these updates. A consultant did identify mostly minor changes that will need to be changed to the SMP. However, updates are also needed for the City's Critical Areas Ordinance (CAO) that are also needed. The CAO is referenced within the SMP. Based on these CAO changes that were not anticipated, Staff reached out to the WA Dept. of Ecology for guidance on how the City should proceed given the target date of completion is June 30, 2019. It was recommended to the City proceed with making changes to the CAO even if that means pushing the target date out beyond the deadline. Staff is currently working on drafting these updates and will work on presenting them to the Commission in the coming months. The Planning Commission asked what their role would be and staff responded that there would likely be changes to City Codes, including the Critical Areas Regulations, to address changes in wetland classifications, delineation methodology, etc. Staff explained that the changes are not inconsistent with recommendations to other jurisdictions. Chair Roland asked for a recap of the history once the times comes. The Commission verified that the May 7, 2019 Planning Commission is still scheduled in addition to the proposed joint meeting at the City Council Study Session meeting on May 13. Staff presented Development Activity on the horizon in Auburn. Auburn Town Center, Auburn Legacy Senior Housing, Tru by Hilton, Fieldhouse USA, Wyndam Hotel, ARCO AM/PM, Auburn School District major school improvements, downtown façade improvement grant projects as well as an update on the Heritage Building that was affected by a fire. V. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business to come before the Planning Commission, Chair Roland adjourned the meeting at 8:35 P.M. Page 5