Title
Action Plan Status Update
Recommended Action
Committee Recommendation:
Not referred to a committee.
City Manager Recommendation:
Receive the update. Briefing only; no action requested.
Report
Issue:
Staff will provide an update on the status of the City’s first Action Plan.
Staff Contact:
Leonard Bauer, Deputy Director, Community Planning and Development (CPD), 360.753.8206
Presenter(s):
Leonard Bauer, Deputy Director
Background and Analysis:
In 2014, Olympia adopted a new Comprehensive Plan (Plan) with updated goals and policies that reflects our community’s vision. Early in the Imagine Olympia process, the City Council identified a vital next step: Ensure the goals and policies become reality and have real “on the ground” impact by creating an Implementation Strategy or Action Plan with performance measures.
In November 2013, the Council Land Use and Environment Committee (LUEC) provided staff with direction to begin work on an Action Plan. An interdepartmental staff team was formed to take what was learned during the Comprehensive Plan update process, Imagine Olympia, and develop a draft Action Plan.
The Draft Action Plan (Attachment 1) was released in April 2015, and was organized into five key Action Areas - Community Services; Downtown; Economy; Environment; and Neighborhoods. Each Action Area included:
• A summary of the vision and goals from the Comprehensive Plan:
• A draft list of actions, or things we want to do to carry out the Plan; and
• A draft list of indicators to help us track our progress in achieving our goals.
Feedback received during the public involvement process addressed the Action Areas, actions, and indicators. A summary of the major themes from the public comments - and how the Action Plan Team is working to respond to those comments - are included in Attachment 2.
Responding to the public comments has involved a major adjustment to the approach to the Action Plan. It has led to a focus on a web-based Action Plan, rather than a static document. This will provide more convenient public access, and more timely updates. It also provides for a more graphic display of the actions and strategies, and how they connect to the overall goals from the Comprehensive Plan. These graphic displays are often called ‘results maps’.
At its January 8-9 retreat, the City Council received a briefing on the updated approach to the Action Plan. A broad group of staff, led by the interdepartmental Action Plan team, have been working on implementing this approach, primarily by creating results maps for each of the indicators, as well as gathering data for the indicators
This agenda item is to provide committee members with a status update on the Action Plan. The briefing is in preparation for the Planning Commission’s recommendation to City Council in early summer 2016.
Neighborhood/Community Interests (if known):
The Action Plan is a document that will have community-wide impacts.
Options:
None; briefing only.
Financial Impact:
None; this work item is already budgeted for 2016. The Finance Committee has recommended some additional funding from 2015 year-end funds for Action Plan implementation. City Council is scheduled to consider that recommendation at its March 22 meeting.