Title
Comprehensive Plan Periodic Update Process
Recommended Action
Committee Recommendation:
Discussion only. No action requested.
City Manager Recommendation:
Discussion only. No action requested.
Report
Issue:
Discussion of the Periodic Update to the Comprehensive Plan.
Staff Contact:
Joyce Phillips, Principal Planner, Community Planning and Development, 360.570.3722
Presenter(s):
Joyce Phillips, Principal Planner, Community Planning and Development
Leonard Bauer, Director, Community Planning and Development
Background and Analysis:
Every eight years the City of Olympia is required to update its Comprehensive Plan. The update has specific requirements under the Growth Management Act and the Countywide Planning Policies agreed upon by Thurston County and the Cities within the County. The Periodic Update includes both the Comprehensive Plan and the Development Regulations that implement the Plan. The statutory deadline to update the Plan and Development Regulations is June 30, 2025.
Olympia completed a major rewrite of its Plan in December of 2014. This update provides an opportunity to update population projections, assess the adequacy of land available to accommodate that growth, and to incorporate any changes in state law and related work the city has completed since the last update. For example, changes may be desired to either the Plan, the Development Regulations, or both, in order to reflect the new One Community or Housing Action Plans, the Sea Level Rise Response Plan, or the updated Shoreline Master Program. Proposed modifications may also be influenced by new or updated data, such as from the Census or Thurston Regional Planning Council.
This update will include a review and analysis of every chapter of the Plan. In order to accomplish this, staff anticipates beginning the Periodic Update review process in 2022. Staff anticipates using a phased approach, designed to work on various chapters the year after any master planning work is completed, when applicable. A multidisciplinary team spanning all city departments will be formed to help complete this work and strive for internal consistency across Plan chapters.
There are multiple challenges to be considered, including:
• The Public Participation Plan must be broad in its scope but also nimble to address the span of time and topics
• Public engagement must be robust and inclusive but will also occur over a three year plus timeframe
• Environmental review conducted under the State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA) must be comprehensive but also occur over a long time frame
• Staff resources will be stretched thin as the Periodic Update is, by design, comprehensive in its scope and required attention to detail
• Annual Comprehensive Plan Amendment proposals would complicate the update process and may require previous steps or stages of the process that were completed to be reassessed/revised
Staff is working through these issues and will design the process to be inclusive. The Public Participation Plan will need to be broad enough to cover the entire scope of the Periodic Update (2022-2025) but also flexible enough to allow for focus to be directed to the chapters that are actively being worked on. Communication of this to the public and other entities will be incredibly important.
Staff proposes that the City Council refrain from accepting any annual Comprehensive Plan Amendment proposals until the Periodic Update is complete.
Neighborhood/Community Interests (if known):
Staff anticipates there will be significant interest from community members related to all aspects of the Plan, including but not limited to:
• Equity and Inclusion
• Public Safety
• Future Land Uses
• Neighborhoods
• Historic Preservation
• Multimodal Transportation
• Public Health
• Parks and Open Space
• Environmental Protection
• Density, Housing for all Income Levels
• Utilities, Water Quality
• Economic Development
• Climate Change, Mitigation and Adaptation
• Quality of Life Issues
Options:
1. Receive the briefing.
2. Do not receive the briefing.
3. Receive the briefing at another time.
Financial Impact:
Completion of the Periodic Update will take considerable contribution of staff resources and funding. Staff anticipates the phased approach that is proposed will provide for the Update to completed within the City’s annual budget. Additionally, the Washington State Department of Commerce may provide grant funding to help cover some of the cost.
Attachments:
Preliminary Phasing Plan
Update Schedule Map