Title
Olympia Northeast Neighborhoods Alliance (ONNA) Subarea Plan Review and Discussion of Implementation
Recommended Action
Move to write a recommendation that Council accepts the ONNA Subarea Plan.
Report
Issue:
Whether to review ONNA Subarea Plan and recommend acceptance by Council and whether to discuss plan implementation.
Staff Contact:
Linda Bentley, Senior Planner, Community Planning & Development, 360.570.3746
Presenter(s):
Linda Bentley, Senior Planner, Community Planning & Development
Background and Analysis:
The City of Olympia 2014 Comprehensive Plan allows for and encourages a grassroots process whereby local residents, businesses, and community organizations work together in partnership with the City to help shape how neighborhoods grow and develop. This process, known as subarea planning, gives neighborhoods the chance to collaborate with the city to help shape their future development in alignment with neighborhood priorities while remaining consistent with the city’s Comprehensive Plan.
Subarea A (ONNA) Plan
Subarea A, now named ONNA, includes all of the residents and businesses within the subarea boundary. The planning team is composed of representatives from five of the seven recognized neighborhood associations in northeast Olympia - Bigelow Neighborhood Association (BNA), Bigelow Highlands NA (BHNA), East Bay Drive NA (EBDNA), Northeast NA (NENA), and the Upper Eastside NA (UENA). The planning team has been meeting regularly since 2014 to discuss how subarea planning could be an effective tool to shape their community and to develop their subarea plan.
ONNA’s draft subarea plan was presented to the Planning Commission in April. Tonight we are presenting the “final draft” plan that has been sent to interested residents for their comments before drafting the final plan, which will be submitted to Council for its acceptance. See the hyperlink to the plan in the Attachments section.
Implementation and Sustainability Discussion
The ONNA planning team and staff will be writing a retrospective of the subarea planning process to include, for example, what worked well; what we would do differently; what were the biggest challenges; etc. Tonight, however, I invite the Planning Commission to consider and discuss issues that have arisen regularly within the planning team, specifically the implementation and future sustainability of subarea planning.
Following are suggested items to consider and discuss:
• How do we see the City and the subarea using the plan in current and future planning, i.e., implementing the action steps?
• What are ways to meaningfully engage a broad range of community members and businesses in a subarea planning effort?
• How do we ensure continuity of leadership and engagement after the completed plan has been accepted by City Council?
• What is the relationship amongst the neighborhood associations, subarea plans and the Coalition of Neighborhood Associations (CNA)?
• Equity in subarea planning
• Financing subarea planning efforts
Neighborhood/Community Interests (if known):
In addition to the interest from residents in the subject area, other potential subareas in the city are also interested in this process and will benefit from ONNA’s experience.
Options:
1. Move to confirm ONNA Subarea Plan’s consistency with the Comprehensive Plan and recommend Council acceptance of the subarea plan.
2. Move to confirm ONNA Subarea Plan’s consistency with the Comprehensive Plan, recommend Council acceptance of the ONNA Subarea Plan, and write letter with further comments.
3. Take no action.
Financial Impact:
None at this time. Staff time and miscellaneous expenses are covered in CP&D’s 2016 budget. Future budgets may be impacted depending on projects chosen and level of City involvement.
Attachment:
ONNA Subarea Plan
ONNA Website