Title
Approval of an Ordinance Amending the Olympia Comprehensive Plan to include 2021 Plan Amendments
Recommended Action
Committee Recommendation:
Move to accept the Planning Commission recommendation to adopt the 2021 Annual Comprehensive Plan Amendments, with modifications recommended by the Land Use and Environment Committee.
City Manager Recommendation:
Move to adopt the 2021 Annual Comprehensive Plan Amendments, with modifications recommended by the Land Use and Environment Committee on second reading.
Report
Issue:
Whether to adopt the 2021 Annual Comprehensive Plan Amendments.
Staff Contact:
Joyce Phillips, Principal Planner, Community Planning and Development, 360.570.3722
Presenter(s):
Joyce Phillips, Principal Planner, Community Planning and Development
Background and Analysis:
Background and analysis has changed from first to second reading.
The changes are several deletions as follows:
Exhibit A, page 195 - section titled “Southeast Transportation Issues”
Exhibit A, pages 198 - 199 - section titled “Boulevard Road Corridor”
Exhibit A, page 216 - various Street Connections
The changes listed above are further outlined in the “Changes to Draft Ordinance” attachment.
Under the Growth Management Act, local governments are generally allowed to amend Comprehensive Plans once a year. Olympia has a process to allow for such amendments, as outlined in Chapter 18.59 of the Olympia Municipal Code (OMC).
Plan Amendments are considered in a two-step process and based on the review and evaluation criteria for each step. The first step is known as the preliminary or screening review. In the first step the City Council considers the proposals and determines which will advance to the final review stage, which includes a public hearing before the Planning Commission.
This year, there are three parts to a City of Olympia proposal to amend the Plan (the application materials are provided in full on the webpage, Attachment 4):
• Part A: Text amendments requested by the Public Works Department regarding multimodal transportation concurrency.
• Part B: Text and transportation map amendments requested by the Public Works Department regarding future street connections in the southeast portion of Olympia, in and near the area known as “LBA Woods”.
• Part C: Text amendments requested by Council to improve language around equity and inclusion, including adding a definition of Neighborhood Character.
Public Hearing
The public hearing was held on August 2, 2021. Public comments were solicited, and several members of the public provided written comments and/or testimony at the public hearing.
Planning Commission Recommendation
The Planning Commission deliberated on the proposed amendments over several meetings. The Commission’s recommendation letter is attached, including comments of dissention from one Commissioner and additional comments from two Commissioners. In summary, the Commission is recommending approval of Part A as proposed; Part B with minor text amendments requested by the Washington State Department of Transportation; and Part C with modifications to the definition of Neighborhood Character proposed in the Land Use and Urban Design Chapter and modifications to the land acknowledgement language proposed in the Community Values and Vision Chapter.
While the proposed amendments impact every chapter of the Comprehensive Plan, primarily because of changing the word “citizen” to “resident” or “community member”, the most substantive changes proposed are to the Community Values and Vision, Land Use and Urban Design, and Transportation chapters.
Land Use and Environment Committee
The Land Use and Environment Committee (LUEC) considered the Planning Commission recommendation at its October meeting. The LUEC made text amendments to the land acknowledgement and equity language in the Community Values and Vision chapter and to the Neighborhood Character language in the Land Use and Urban Design chapter. A summary of the LUEC changes to the Planning Commission recommended language is provided in Attachment 2.
Changes to the Draft Ordinance
At its meeting on November 16, 2021, the City Council approved the Draft Ordinance with three changes to Exhibit A (see Attachment 8). The changes include deleting references to the Log Cabin Road extension on pages 195, 198, and 216 of Exhibit A. An ordinance reflecting those changes is attached.
Neighborhood/Community Interests (if known):
There was a significant amount of public comment on portions of the proposed amendments, primarily about supporting Part B (street connections through the area known as LBA Woods) and expressing concern about the Neighborhood Character definition proposed in Part C. Most, if not all, of those commenting on neighborhood character stated that the qualities proposed (accessible, sustainable, and culturally inclusive) were agreeable, but many felt these were community values rather than characteristics of neighborhoods. The Council of Neighborhoods Association (CNA) suggested language to be added in the Community Values and Vision chapter and expand the description of neighborhood character in the Land Use and Urban Design chapter to include other aspects, such as social and economic attributes.
A summary of the proposed neighborhood character text, staff’s recommendation, and the proposal of the CNA is included in Attachment 5. In addition, all public comments received are provided in Attachment 7.
Options:
1. Adopt the 2021 Annual Comprehensive Plan Amendments as recommended by the Land Use and Environment Committee on second reading.
2. Adopt the 2021 Annual Comprehensive Plan Amendments, without the revisions recommended by the Land Use and Environment Committee on second reading.
3. Do not adopt the 2021 Annual Comprehensive Plan Amendments on second reading.
Financial Impact:
Comprehensive Plan Amendments are processed as part of the Department’s base budget and do not require additional financial resources.
Attachments:
Revised Ordinance
Changes to Draft Ordinance
Ordinance Passed 11/16/2021
Land Use and Environment Committee Changes
Planning Commission Recommendation
Webpage with Link to Applications
Neighborhood Character Proposals
Acknowledgement/Equity Language Proposals
Public Comments