Title
Downtown Sanitation Master Plan Briefing
Recommended Action
Committee Recommendation:
Not referred to a committee
City Manager Recommendation:
Receive the briefing and move to forward a recommendation to City Council to approve the Downtown Sanitation Master Plan and staff recommendations regarding future public restroom placement in downtown Olympia
Report
Issue:
Whether to receive a briefing from the Consultant and Staff on recommendations provided in the Downtown Sanitation Master Plan
Staff Contact:
Mark Rentfrow, Downtown Business Liaison, Community Planning and Development (CP&D) 360.570.3798
Presenter(s):
Mark Rentfrow, Downtown Business Liaison, Community Planning and Development (CP&D) 360.570.3798
Adam Young, Young Architecture (City’s Consultant), 206.852.1956
Background and Analysis:
Olympia’s Downtown Strategy calls for the City to locate public restrooms downtown as one of its clean and safe efforts, with the assumption this action would help to reduce the impact of human waste in public spaces. Accordingly, in 2017 the City hired Young Architecture (consultants with experience siting restrooms in other communities) to help develop a Downtown Sanitation Master Plan (Attachment #1) to identify best practices, needs, locations, timing and costs for potential future downtown restrooms. The City Council directed that the plan should consider restrooms for all, and specifically for people who are street dependent as well as visitors. Also in 2017, the City embarked on a pilot project to test the viability of 24-hour public restrooms in five locations.
Staff’s presentation will cover:
• The Master Plan process
• Results of research into existing conditions and needs
• Best practices for siting, operating and designing public restrooms
• Results from the pilot projects, including available data
• Future locations of interest for public restrooms
• Next steps
Information collected from the City’s pilot program combined with best practices from others municipalities have been used to formulate a Downtown Sanitation Master Plan and recommendations regarding the future siting of downtown Olympia’s public restrooms. (Attachment #1)
Also attached is a list of best practices for siting, operating and designing restrooms, which are derived from other cities and Olympia’s experience. (Attachment #2). Public restrooms are commonly susceptible to abuse, and these best practices are intended to curb or mitigate negative behaviors so that clean, safe restrooms can be maintained for all. The attachment highlights where best practices were employed in each of the five portable restroom pilot projects.
Neighborhood/Community Interests (if known):
From business surveys, public outreach events at Sylvester Park, the Farmer’s Market and an open house at City Hall, staff and consultants heard interest in providing public restrooms in order to serve people who are street dependent, as well as visitors.
As the City moves forward with implementing its downtown strategy, identifying strategically viable locations for public restrooms is essential for this investment to be successful.
Options:
Receive the briefing and:
1. Move to forward a recommendation to City Council to approve the Downtown Sanitation Master Plan and staff recommendations regarding future public restroom placement in downtown Olympia
1. Do not forward a recommendation to the City Council to adopt the Downtown Sanitation Master Plan or staff recommendations at this time.
Financial Impact:
None
Attachments:
Downtown Sanitation Master Plan
Best Practices Chart