Title
Comprehensive Plan Draft Transportation Chapter Review
Recommended Action
Discuss and suggest changes to the draft Transportation Chapter of the Comprehensive Plan.
Report
Issue:
Discussion on the staff working draft of the Transportation Chapter of the Comprehensive Plan.
Staff Contact:
Michelle Swanson, AICP, Senior Planner, Public Works Transportation, 360.753.8575
Presenter(s):
Michelle Swanson
Background and Analysis:
The Comprehensive Plan and this update
The Comprehensive Plan is the City’s overarching policy document that guides how Olympia will prepare for expected population and employment growth over the next 20 years. It was last updated in 2014. We are required by state law to update it every ten years.
This update is called a “periodic update,” meaning it is not a wholesale rewrite of the Plan. It is an opportunity to check in with the community and make minor changes to ensure we are still on track toward achieving the Plan’s vision.
The Plan has several chapters which are being updated on their own timelines. Our goal is to finish the update to the Transportation Chapter by the end of 2024 to meet legal deadlines.
Key policies to update
Transportation’s focus is to update the Comprehensive Plan to reflect the Transportation Master Plan. When the Comprehensive Plan was last adopted in 2014, the City did not have a Transportation Master Plan.
Additionally, the state recently started requiring that Comprehensive Plans include chapters on climate change and equity. While the Plan will have full chapters on those topics, we are also weaving them into the other chapter updates.
Background
At the March meeting, the BPAC offered feedback on these sections of the draft update to the Transportation Chapter:
• Values and vision
• Introduction
• Climate
• Equity
We have considered that feedback and made changes to those sections. You will see them reflected in the new working draft of the chapter, which is attached.
How to prepare
We have attached a summary of the significant changes to help orient you. After reviewing that, please read the draft chapter and consider taking notes while you do it. We have attached the chapter in two formats: one version has the new language in tracked changes, and the other has the new language without the tracked changes. Please read whichever one you prefer.
We are not including the appendices of the chapter yet, as many of those have maps that need updating. We will share those later.
Please come prepared with comments, feedback, and questions for your discussion.
If you would like to review the full Comprehensive Plan as adopted in 2014, we have attached a link to it, but it is not necessary to do that for this discussion.
Next steps
Staff will be seeking feedback from many sources before taking the draft updated chapter to the City Council for approval this winter. In addition to the BPAC’s review, we will be seeking feedback from the public, the Planning Commission, and the Social Justice and Equity Commission.
We anticipate the BPAC will have additional opportunities to review this at the July and September meetings.
Options:
None - information only.
Financial Impact:
There is no financial impact from this item.
Attachments:
Significant changes
Staff working draft_clean
Staff working draft_tracked changes
Link to 2014 Comprehensive Plan