Title
Approval of the Reconsideration of the Public Safety Chapter of the Comprehensive Plan Periodic Update
Recommended Action
Committee Recommendation:
Not referred to a committee.
City Manager Recommendation:
Move to recommend approval of the revised Public Safety Chapter of the Olympia Comprehensive Plan and forward to the full City Council for consideration.
Report
Issue:
Whether to recommend approval of the Public Safety Chapter of the Olympia Comprehensive Plan and forward to the full City Council for consideration.
Staff Contact:
Casey Schaufler, Associate Planner, Community Planning and Economic Development, 360.753.8254
Presenter(s):
Rich Allen, Chief, Olympia Police Department
Mike Buchanan, Deputy Chief, Olympia Fire Department
Casey Schaufler, Associate Planner, Community Planning and Economic Development
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 2014. At least once every ten 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
Olympia Planning Commission and Social Justice & Equity Commission
The draft Public Safety Chapter was presented to the Olympia Planning Commission in a briefing on August 19, 2024. It was subsequently presented to the Social Justice and Equity Commission on August 26, 2024. A public hearing was held on September 16, 2024, with no members of the community providing comment. The draft chapter attached to this report reflects clarifications and suggestions recommended by both Commissions. This includes a revision requested at the public hearing from a Planning Commissioner to provide additional language to address marginalized communities in disaster readiness.
The Olympia Planning Commission held deliberations for the Public Safety Chapter on October 7, 2024. The Commissioners present voted unanimously in favor of recommending approval of the Public Safety chapter with suggested modifications. The Planning Commission’s suggested edits to the draft chapter are outlined in the attached recommendation letter adopted by the Commission following deliberations.
Community Livability and Public Safety Committee
The Community Livability and Public Safety Committee (CLPS) reviewed the draft chapter and letter of recommendation from the Planning Commission on October 23, 2024. Council members of CLPS asked whether Social Justice & Equity Commission also provided a comment letter, which at the time was not yet drafted. The CLPS Committee voted to recommend approval of the Public Safety Chapter as proposed by staff and amended by the Planning Commission and to forward to the full Olympia City Council for consideration.
City Council Study Session
A study session Council was held on December 3, 2024. Concerns were raised about ensuring the chapter reflects a broader view of public safety, one that was not solely police-centric. Council members requested more narrative about the Olympia Police Department’s current mission and values in light of the work on the Reimagining Public Safety recommendations. There were also suggestions to broaden the chapter to include courts, social services, and other justice system components. Lastly, there was a broad consensus to make the language more inclusive and tell a more comprehensive story about public safety.
Revised Public Safety Chapter
The revised Public Safety chapter attempts to address concerns expressed at the study session by including a more explicit framing around equity, accountability, and community-centered approaches, particularly within the vision statement and police services sections. It emphasizes themes of equity, inclusion, trust, accountability, compassion, community wellness, innovation, and resilience as core elements of public safety. It introduces clear commitments reflecting the community's expectations around transparency and systemic change. The revised chapter provides a more detailed explanation of accountability mechanisms that highlight specific roles such as Olympia’s Community Policing Board, Civilian Police Auditor, and the Office of Professional Standards.
Beyond policing, the revised chapter emphasizes non-enforcement solutions, crisis response alternatives, and community collaborations. It focuses significantly on holistic community safety approaches beyond traditional enforcement. This includes an emphasis towards mental health crisis interventions and explicitly mentions increasing crisis intervention teams and unarmed responders.
The revised chapter also changed language throughout to be clearer and more concise, moved certain policies under a more applicable goal and reordered them for better flow and understanding. It also attempts to eliminate or combine duplicative language and concepts.
Climate Analysis:
Public Safety will be provided across the community through the provision of police and fire services and code enforcement. Climate impacts of how and where public service is provided will largely be addressed in other chapters of the Comprehensive Plan, such as the Land Use & Urban Design and Transportation Chapters. 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). The Climate Action and Resilience Chapter will influence and provide guidance to all chapters of the Olympia Comprehensive Plan, including Public Safety.
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. No public comments were received specifically for the Public Safety Chapter in writing or during the public hearing.
Financial Impact:
The Washington State Department of Commerce is providing a grant for up to $175,000 to help cover the costs of the City of Olympia’s Comprehensive Plan Periodic Update.
Options:
1. Move to recommend approval of the revised Public Safety Chapter of the Olympia Comprehensive Plan and forward to the full City Council for consideration.
2. Move to recommend, with amendments, approval of the revised Public Safety Chapter of the Olympia Comprehensive Plan and forward to the full City Council for consideration.
3. Take other action.
Attachments:
Draft Comprehensive Plan Public Safety Chapter
Draft Comprehensive Plan Public Safety Chapter - Tracked Changes
Olympia Planning Commission Recommendation Letter
Social Justice & Equity Commission Recommendation Letter
Reimagining Public Safety Summary Document
Presentation