Title
Planning Commission 2016 Work Plan - Continued Discussion
Recommended Action
No action required at this meeting - see tentative schedule below.
Report
Issue:
Annual work plans for the Planning Commission and other Council advisory committees run from April 1 to March 31 and are approved by the City Council in March of each year. On October 19 the Commission began discussion of the 2016 work plan. This agenda item is an opportunity for Commission discussion in preparation for recommending a 2016 work plan early next year.
Staff Contact:
Todd Stamm, Principal Planner, Community Planning and Development Department, 360.753.8597
Presenters:
Todd Stamm, Principal Planner
Background and Analysis:
At the request of City Council, each city advisory committee forwards a recommended Work Plan to the Council early in the calendar year. The General Government Committee of Council meets with advisory committee chairs to discuss the proposed work plans and forwards a recommendation to the full Council for approval. Annual work plans are effective on April 1 through March 31.
The Council- approved work plan establishes a set of tasks for the Planning Commission during the twelve-month period. The Chair, and sometimes other officers, then coordinates with staff to establish a work schedule and agendas. Note that during the course of a year it is common for the Council to add new items to an advisory committee’s work plan.
Tentative Schedule for Preparing 2016 Work Plan
• October 19: Commission’s initial discussion of potential 2016 work items
• December 7: Continued discussion (this agenda item)
• January 25: Prioritization and work plan recommendation to Council
• February 1: Refinement and additional deliberation if necessary for a final recommendation
• Late February: General Government Committee review of and recommendation to Council regarding Commission-proposed work plan
• March: City Council approves final work plan
• April 1: 2016 Work Plan in effect
Annual Work Plan Assumptions
1. Work plan will be in effect from April 1, 2016 to March 31, 2016
2. Planning Commission will hold 22 regular meetings, plus one ‘retreat.’
3. Regular meetings will be about 3 hours with up to one hour for administrative matters (general public comment, minutes review, reports, etc.)
4. Commission will utilize a “Finance” subcommittee to review the annual Capital Facilities Plan (CFP) update
5. Commission’s work plan will align with City Department work plans
6. Commission’s work plan will be consistent with Commission’s role as outlined in state law and in Olympia Municipal Code 2.100.350 through 2.100.410
7. Time should be reserved for two or more major work items to be added during the year
Sources of work plan items
• City department annual (calendar year) work plans established by City Manager and Council
• Commission duties established by local and state laws
• Proposals initiated by private parties, such as code amendments (note, a review fee is paid by the private party)
• Planning Commission initiated work items
Commission work capacity
The Commission’s regular meeting schedule provides about 50 hours per year of meeting time for business items. The work plan is usually built with a more conservative estimate of 44 hours (2 hours per meeting). The Commission’s work plan is also limited by the resources provided in the City budget, such as staff and consultant time. However, please note that there is no specific ‘Commission budget,’ instead city staff seeks to allocate a reasonable amount of time and other resources to Commission activities.
Prospective 2016 Work Plan Items
Standard Annual Work items:
• Review of Capital Facilities Plan update
• Review of Council-approved set of Comprehensive Plan amendments (including Kaiser Harrison opportunity area)
• Annual Commission Retreat
• Commission-hosted public information briefings
• Preparation of next annual work plan
2015 Work Plan items not completed by March 31:
• Campus-development code amendment (extended approval period)
• SEPA code amendments/update (may be downtown focused)
• Scenic views code revisions (phase one - downtown area)
• Review of Action Plan
• Review of Downtown Strategy
• Review of Subarea ‘A’ Plan (northeast neighborhoods)
• Parking Code review (bus corridor focus)
Commission member suggested additions of October 19:
• Critical areas ordinance update
• Code and Comp Plan consistency review relative to high density goals
• Continuation of Neighborhood Centers Code work item
Other potential work items related to City Department work plans:
• Cannabis Land Use Code update -- response to new State rules and regulations
• Sign code update
• Comprehensive Plan-implementing code amendments, such as
o Refinement of accessory dwelling unit, home occupation and other in-fill development standards
o Review and refinement of transitional zoning relative to low-density neighborhoods
o Update of downtown (and possibly other) design criteria
o Refinement of light industrial aspects of commercial zoning
o Urban corridor code updates
Proposed next step for developing the 2015 work plan
At the next review stage, the Staff will provide a draft work program based on this list and any other work items proposed by Commission members. Commission members may use the attached form to propose work items. Comparable to last year, the concluding review stage would include:
1. Staff briefing including draft work plan
2. Brief period for members to discuss proposed work items
3. Commission prioritization of each item as ‘high,’ ‘medium’ or low’
4. Sort by priority to identify those that fit within scope of annual work plan
5. Identify additional items to present to Council as alternatives
6. Recommend resulting work plan or provide direction to staff for preparing final draft
Neighborhood/Community Interests (if known):
General public interest should be anticipated.
Options:
1. Add additional work items for consideration
2. Affirm proposed process described above
3. Or direct alternative process
Financial Impact:
Development of work program is included in base budget; however specific work items could have financial impacts.