Title
Olympia 2045 - Natural Environment Chapter of the City of Olympia Comprehensive Plan Update Public Hearing
Recommended Action
Move to approve the Planning Commission Draft Natural Environment Chapter of the City of Olympia Comprehensive Plan update and forward to the Olympia City Council.
Report
Issue:
Whether to recommend approval of the Planning Commission Draft Natural Environment Chapter of the City of Olympia Comprehensive Plan update to the Olympia City Council.
Staff Contact:
Kym Foley, Environmental Habitat Planner, Public Works Water Resources, 360. 570.3957
Presenters:
Kym Foley
Background and Analysis:
Comprehensive Plan Periodic Update - General
Olympia is updating its Comprehensive Plan. This update will look out to year 2045 to show, among other things, how the City will accommodate new population and employment growth. It is also an opportunity to make sure the Plan and Development Regulations meet current state requirements that may have changed since the last major update of the Plan. Under the Growth Management Act, Olympia is required to update its Comprehensive Plan every 10 years.
Natural Environment Chapter
The Natural Environment chapter addresses the many benefits of a thriving natural environment (as opposed to built environment) and the ways we can work together to keep it healthy. From community-based habitat stewardship opportunities to strategies for protecting critical areas and wildlife from the impacts of development, the goals and policies outlined in this chapter aim to promote both human well-being and environmental health. Note: This chapter review is for pages 1-17 of the current draft. Pages 18-54 reflect the Shoreline Master Program, which was updated during this process only to reflect new state regulations adopted in 2021.
Chapter Update Process
Stakeholder engagement and formal public participation opportunities occurred between April 2023 and July 2024. This included an online survey, three tabling sessions at community events, and briefings with the Utility Advisory Committee, the Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee, and the Social Justice and Equity Commission. Additional comments were received via email and telephone from the public and Washington State agencies. Interdepartmental staff review is ongoing and includes representation from every department across the City.
Summary of Key Proposed Updates
• Mission/Vision/Values: Shift focus from ‘natural beauty’ to centering the important, reciprocal relationship between human health and environmental health. Include co-benefits such as sustainability, livability, and community well-being.
• Urban Forestry: Recommend development of an Urban Forest Management Plan to guide goals, policies and actions for a healthy and resilient urban forest. Include tree canopy goals to help strike a balance between benefits of the urban forest and needs related to housing and economic development.
• Stormwater Management: Update guidance to promote regional facilities that capture and treat runoff from multiple properties or roadways; explore private-public-partnerships to encourage multi-benefit, nature-based (“green”) stormwater infrastructure in development and redevelopment projects; develop prioritization tools to address roadway pollution with the greatest impact to salmon populations. Note: Some updates relating to stormwater have been moved to the Utilities chapter.
• Climate: Per new state legislation, a separate chapter on Climate is being developed as part of this Comprehensive Plan Periodic Update. Most topics relating to climate mitigation, adaptation and resilience will either be moved from the Environment chapter to the new Climate chapter, or have language represented in both (and other) chapters.
• Equity and Environmental Justice: Improve policies and prioritization strategies to ensure investments in environmental programs and projects reach communities most in need of associated benefits.
• Workforce Development: Establish or grow programming to create more pathways into “green” careers.
• Tribal Connections: Incorporate Indigenous knowledge and stewardship practices, cultural connections to the land, and outcomes related to Tribal treaty rights. Address salmon recovery as a key objective across land management and conservation strategies.
• Capitol Lake Estuary Restoration Project: Remain engaged as a key stakeholder through future phases of planning and implementation.
• Shoreline Master Program: Olympia’s Shoreline Master Program (SMP) is included as part of the Natural Environment Comprehensive Plan chapter, and reflects the most recent (2021) update to the SMP.
• Images, Formatting, Hyperlinks: Will be finalized prior to the final chapter update to ensure consistency with other Comprehensive Plan chapters.
Planning Commission Briefing 6/17/24 - Topics Discussed
• Urban agriculture: Comment shared with Parks and Land Use chapter leads.
• Septic to sewer conversion: Comment shared with Utilities chapter leads.
• PN1.11 move to Land Use or Economy chapter: Policy describes advance mitigation actions such as contaminated site clean-up. Language will remain in Environment chapter and will also be represented in Land Use chapter.
• Promote practices to reduce existing impervious surface area, such as depaving: This objective is included in language from PN5.2 “Reduce the… expansion of impervious surface in the community”.
• Better define “water-related recreation” in Shoreline Master Plan: SMP language was not updated as a part of this planning process, however this comment has been tracked for future edits.
• GN1 (“Important ecosystem structure, function, and processes are protected by Olympia’s planning and regulatory activities”) conflicts with current Critical Areas code: As with the aspirational nature of the Comprehensive Plan, this will be ongoing work of City planners striving to strike a balance between protecting the environment and reducing barriers to sustainable development.
• Promote green stormwater infrastructure (i.e. bioswales): Reflected in PN5.1 (“Communicate and collaborate across departments regularly to promote sustainable transportation, housing and economic development projects that include green stormwater infrastructure and other nature-based solutions to managing stormwater.”) and throughout Stormwater element of the Utilities chapter.
Summary of Chapter Updates since June 2024
• More specific language added addressing the recovery of Puget Sound salmon to various goals and policies located throughout the chapter based on input from the Squaxin Island Tribe and Olympia City Council.
• Updated images for better representation of Olympia’s diverse environment and communities.
• Letter to Olympia City Council provided by the Olympia Parks & Recreation Advisory Committee recommending acceptance of the proposed Natural Environment chapter edits.
Climate Analysis:
Each year we learn more about climate change and continue to experience its impacts in new and challenging ways. Unprecedented heat and flooding events in the last two years are just two examples of the ways Olympia needs to build resilience and adaptation strategies that were not as prevalent when the Comprehensive Plan was initially developed. With this 10-year periodic update to the Plan, a new Climate chapter will be created, and will include many goals and policies that overlap with the Natural Environment chapter and will be refined over the next 12 months. Overall, citywide goals and policies that address environmental health often have the added potential of increasing Olympia’s ability to adapt to a changing climate. For example, identifying areas where strategic tree planting or preservation will mitigate urban heat islands and reduce heat-related illnesses. Accommodating population growth and associated development while addressing climate-related challenges equitably and economically will be a priority during the update, specific to the Natural Environment and in coordination with other related chapters.
Equity Analysis:
Equity considerations will be integrated throughout all chapters during the update of the Comprehensive Plan. During each stage of the Natural Environment chapter update process, staff have considered those who would benefit and those who would be burdened by each goal, policy and strategic direction to inform how such goals, policies and strategic direction can be made more equitable. Additionally, the Comprehensive Plan update includes a public engagement component to promote transparency and provide representation across Olympia communities throughout the process. This will be supported by the Thurston Equity Index, which provides basic socio-economic, public health and environmental information on Olympia’s overburdened and vulnerable communities. The Olympia Social Justice & Equity Commission reviewed the draft chapter update and had a discussion with staff on 6/24/24. No specific changes to the draft were recommended at that time.
Neighborhood/Community Interests (if known):
When the Natural Environment chapter had its last overhaul in 2014, it was developed largely based on guidance provided by the community. Many of the goals and policies remain the same or are rooted in the mission, vision and values established during that time. Staff once again turned to the community to guide recommendations for this periodic update, using various methods of soliciting input. These included a digital survey and materials for review on the Engage Olympia website, public meetings, tabling and workshops held at community events, and presentations to City advisory committees such as the Utility Advisory Committee and the Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee.
Options:
Recommend that the Planning Commission Draft of the Natural Environment chapter update move forward to City Council for final approval.
Provide specific additional edits that need to be made before moving the draft to City Council for final approval.
Financial Impact:
The Comprehensive Plan establishes the strategic direction for the City of Olympia over a 20-year period. Funding for the implementation of the Environment Chapter comes from a wide range of sources which vary by department. In particular, all capital projects and grant-funded work benefit greatly from a Comprehensive Plan that supports related Citywide goals and policy directives, increasing Olympia’s ability implement the Plan.
Attachments:
Planning Commission Draft Natural Environment Chapter Update w/Tracked Changes -dated 8/26/24
Planning Commission Draft Natural Environment Chapter Update - Clean Version - dated 8/26/24
Parks & Recreation Advisory Committee Letter of Recommendation - dated 7/1/24