Title
Public Safety Chapter of the Comprehensive Plan Periodic Update - Briefing
Recommended Action
Information only. No action requested.
Report
Issue:
Whether to receive briefing on proposed amendments to the Public Safety chapter of the Comprehensive Plan.
Staff Contact:
Casey Schaufler, Associate Planner, Community Planning and Development, 360.753.8254
Presenter(s):
Matt Morris, Chief, Olympia Fire Department
Mike Buchanan, Deputy Chief, Olympia Fire Department
Sam Costello, Deputy Chief, Olympia Police Department
Jason Roberton, President, J Robertson & Company
Background and Analysis:
For the last Periodic Update, the City’s Comprehensive Plan underwent a major rewrite through a planning process that took place from 2009 through 2014. The Plan was adopted in December of 2014. At least once every 10 years, cities and counties that are fully planning under the Growth Management Act (GMA), must update its plan through a process known as the Periodic Update. The Periodic Update requires that jurisdictions update the planning horizon to a minimum of 20 years, update the population projection it is planning for, and address all new planning requirements that have been adopted since the previous update.
The Public Safety chapter is the renamed Public Services chapter. The new title reflects certain elements such as housing and land use policies and goals that are moved from the Public Safety chapter to other more relevant chapters. The Public Safety chapter is now exclusively focused on code enforcement, policing, and fire and medical emergency services. The overarching goal of the Public Safety chapter is to ensure that all Olympians feel safe and receive reliable, compassionate care. Success in this chapter is achieved when:
• All community members have access to quality, responsive emergency services.
• People in crisis are moved toward wellness through compassionate, coordinated care.
• Community members trust that the public safety system is equitable and unbiased.
• Low incidence of crime contributes to residents feeling safe and secure.
The Public Safety chapter will include policies and goals to address findings from City of Olympia initiatives that included significant public participation and input, including the following:
• Resident Satisfaction Survey
• One Community Plan
• Reimagining Public Safety Plan
Climate Analysis:
Olympia 2045 will include a new Climate Action and Resilience chapter. This new chapter will address both climate mitigation (the reduction of greenhouse gases) and resilience (the ability to prepare for, recover from, and adapt to climate change impacts).
Equity Analysis:
The Public Safety chapter will be a guiding document in implementation of the Reimagining Public Safety’s identified five goals:
1. Build trust and legitimacy in the City’s public safety system
2. Reduce overall crime by addressing root causes
3. Acknowledge and correct the disproportionate impacts the public safety system has on marginalized community members
4. Reduce the number of individuals who connect initially and repeatedly with law enforcement and the criminal justice system
5. Ensure the public safety system is accessible and responsive
Neighborhood/Community Interests (if known):
The Reimagining Public Safety and the One Community Plans garnered wide and varied interest from across the City of Olympia and the region at large.
Options:
1. Receive the briefing.
2. Do not receive the briefing.
3. Receive the briefing at another time.
Financial Impact:
The Comprehensive Plan Periodic Update is being funded, in part, by a $175,000 grant from the Washington State Department of Commerce.
Attachments:
Draft Public Safety Chapter - Track Edits Copy
Draft Public Safety Chapter - No Tracking Copy
Reimagining Public Safety Summary Document