Title
Comprehensive Plan Topics for Review, Continued
Body
Issue:
Comprehensive Plan Update
Committee Recommendation:
N/A
Director's Recommendation:
Move to determine a list of Comprehensive Plan topics on which the Planning Commission will deliberate and prepare a recommendation for City Council.
Staff Contact: Stacey Ray, Associate Planner, (360) 753-8046
Presenter(s): Amy Tousley, Chair, Olympia Planning Commission
Background and Analysis:
Background
On Friday, July 6, 2012, the City released a second draft of the Comprehensive Plan called the "July Draft." The July Draft is the draft on which the Planning Commission has requested community input on throughout July. The Commission hosted a series of public hearings on Monday, July 23, and Wednesday, July 25. The record also remained opened for the submittal of written comments until Friday, July 27 at 5:00 PM.
A Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) for the Comprehensive Plan was also made available on the City's website on July 18, 2012. The SEIS provides background and analysis for the proposed updates in the Plan. The comment period for the Draft SEIS will remain open until Monday, August 20.
Having completed the public hearings, the Commission can now begin determining what issues should be included on their work plan for deliberation. When the Commission deliberates, members review, discuss, and form recommendations on different elements of the July Draft. Staff will incorporate those recommendations into a new draft, which will then be forwarded to the City Council as the Commissions' recommended Comprehensive Plan update.
Prioritizing what issues to deliberate on is needed, as the Commission has entered into a Charter with Council agreeing to deliver their recommended update to Council in January 2013. This timeframe is consistent with the notion that there are elements of the Plan that are consistent with the community's long-term vision and need minimal review. Commissioners may use the time available to focus on strengthening the Plan where there areas identified by the community as needed resolution.
Recommended Resources
The July Draft is the product of over three years of community engagement in the Imagine Olympia update process, beginning with community-wide scoping in 2009. The update process to date has generated an extensive amount of community input and staff analysis, all of which is incorporated into the formal record and may be referenced in determining key issues for discussion.
Staff recommends the Commission consider the following sources when determining what issues should be prioritized for deliberation:
1. Imagine Olympia website (Attachment 1)
2. Council-approved Scope of the Comprehensive Plan Update (Attachment 2)
3. Focus Meetings Data and Methods Report
4. Focus Meeting Series Summary Report (Attachment 3)
5. Minutes from CPU Sub-Committee Meetings-Policy Discussion Series (August 22, 2011, September 12, 2011, October 10, 2011, November 14, 2011, and December 12, 2011)
6. April Draft Public Comments (Attachment 4)
7. July Draft of the Comprehensive Plan (Attachment 5)
8. Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (Attachment 6)
9. July Draft Substantive Change List (Attachment 7)
10. July Draft Public Comments (Attachment 8)
11. Planning Commission Comprehensive Plan Update Charter (Attachment 9)
Some sources noted in the above list are critical in understanding staff's directive and subsequent substantive changes in the draft, such as the Council-approved Scope of the Update and the Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement.
Other sources demonstrate and summarize the vast amount of community input received during the many meetings and workshops that were held throughout earlier phases of Imagine Olympia, such as the Focus Meeting Summary Report and the public comments received on the April Draft.
Lastly, the Planning Commission Comprehensive Plan Update Charter, approved by Council on July 10, 2012, outlines an agreed upon scope, roles, and goals for the review process. The purpose being to make clear to the City Council, Planning Commission, and the public the goals and process by which the Commission will review the Comprehensive Plan update.
Draft Topics for Deliberations
At the August 1 Special Meeting, Commissioners compiled a draft list of 23 topics for deliberation:
1. Process for Comprehensive Plan review*
2. Comprehensive Plan organization*
3. Review timeline and schedule*
4. Population estimates and projections
5. Transportation comments
6. Economy
7. Sub-area planning and neighborhood planning
8. Urban forestry and green space
9. Urban corridors (Carlyon, Gov. Stevens, Wildwood, and Harrison)
10. Density, corridors, and acreage
11. Downtown planning (open space, parks, heights, views, boundaries, and parking)
12. Form-based code
13. Ken Lake/Park Heights/Westbrook Park, steep slopes, and low-impact development
14. West Olympia
15. Street connectivity (Decatur, Fern St., Parkside, Log Cabin, etc.)
16. Views, view corridors, and heights (including the relationship to economic development and prioritization)
17. Urban agriculture, food security, local food production, and water quality
18. Sustainability as a thread throughout the Plan
19. Natural hazards (heat, air, flood, fire, drought, liquefaction, etc.)
20. Adaptation and climate change
21. Water uses and transportation
22. Critical areas and the uniqueness of the PNW marine ecosystem
23. City and Port relationship and jurisdiction (governance)
*Items 1, 2, and 3 were noted by Commissioners as very similar, interrelated, and more process-related. They could possibly be addressed either as one topic or by the CPU Sub-Committee. These three items are inclusive of Commissioners' concerns regarding the Plan's alignment with the Shoreline Master Program (SMP) and Capital Facilities Plan (CFP), staff's methodology, the existing level of specificity in goals and policies, adherence to the Growth Management Act, and inclusion of measurable targets or performance measures.
Commissioners agreed that the above list would form the basis for a continued discussion on August 8, during which Commissioners would continue to review and refine the topics, add additional topics as needed, and potentially organize them into major categories. Once completed, the draft list will be given to the CPU Sub-Committee to use in designing a work plan and schedule for review.
Neighborhood/Community Interests (if known):
Citywide.
Options: N/A
Financial Impact:
None. This work item is included in the Commission's annual work plan.