Title
Acceptance of the Goals and Policies for the Capital Facilities Plan Chapter of the Olympia 2045 Comprehensive Plan
Recommended Action
Committee Recommendation:
The Land Use and Environment Committee recommends acceptance of the Goals and Policies for the Capital Facilities Plan Chapter of the Olympia 2045 Comprehensive Plan.
City Manager Recommendation:
Move to approve a Resolution accepting the Goals and Policies for the Capital Facilities Plan Chapter of the Olympia 2045 Comprehensive Plan.
Report
Issue:
Whether to accept the Goals and Policies for the Capital Facilities Plan Chapter of the Olympia 2045 Comprehensive Plan.
Staff Contact:
Susan McLaughlin, Director, Community Planning & Economic Development, 360.753.8206
Tim Smith, Deputy Director, Community Planning & Economic Development, 360.570.3915
Joyce Phillips, Planning Manager, Community Planning & Economic Development, 360.570.3722
Presenter(s):
Tim Smith, Deputy Director, Community Planning & Economic Development
Background and Analysis:
Every 10 years, the City is required by State law to review and update its Comprehensive Plan and implementing development regulations. 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 have changed since the last major update of the Plan, and to ensure that the plan reflects our community values.
Each chapter is being updated separately, although staff is working diligently to ensure chapters are supportive of each other and consistent. Because chapters are being reviewed on different timelines, staff is requesting that the City Council “accept” each chapter but to refrain from adopting until all chapters are complete and any final adjustments can be made. For example, there will likely be modifications or additions to some goals and policies in this chapter as a result of the proposed Climate Action and Resilience chapter, which has not yet gone through the public hearing process or been reviewed by Council. Staff intends to bring all “accepted” chapters back to City Council in one full document for review and final action. The deadline to complete this periodic update of the Comprehensive Plan is December 31, 2025.
The Comprehensive Plan exists in two volumes.
Volume One includes the main chapters of the plan, including Land Use; Transportation; Utilities; Economy; and Parks Arts and Recreation among others. There is a half-page chapter titled “Capital Facilities Plan” that essentially directs the reader to Volume Two, which is the Capital Facilities Plan that is updated each year as part of the capital budgeting process.
Volume Two, or the Capital Facilities Plan (CFP), includes information about proposed capital facility projects, estimated costs, how they will be paid for, and when they are likely to occur. Some projects take multiple years of funding before they can be physically constructed. By statute, the CFP focuses on the first six years. The Introduction section of the CFP includes the goals and policies related to capital facilities. These goals and policies have not been updated since the plan went through its previous major update, which was adopted in December of 2014.
A small team of City staff worked to review and propose updates to the goals and policies. It was then shared with recognized neighborhoods, interested parties, adjacent jurisdictions and agencies, and the public. A 30-day comment period was provided, with a commitment to consider all comments received by October 24 in revisions proposed prior to the public hearing.
The draft chapter was also shared with three of the City’s Advisory Committees for an opportunity to ask questions and provide input. This included the Planning Commission on November 4, 2024, the Utilities Advisory Committee on November 7, 2024, and the Social Justic and Equity Commission on December 2, 2024.
Comments from the public and Advisory Committees received were considered and a public hearing draft was issued on December 9, 2024. The hearing draft was posted online the same week. Staff provided a copy of the revised draft and responses to the two community members that provided written comments on the first draft.
Summary of Changes to Chapter
The main updates to the goals and policies are about better integrating environmental stewardship, addressing climate change (both in the way we prioritize projects and as we plan for investments in projects with lifespans that can last for decades), and ensuring that we incorporate equity and accessibility in our capital facilities work. There is an acknowledgement that at times, the city may need to make strategic investments in order to accommodate our anticipated population growth and to be more resilient to impacts of climate change. There is more language around ensuring we make investments in consideration of our other capital needs (Fones Road is a great example of how we do this) and that we consider implications of capital investments on our operating expenses over the long term too.
Summary of Public Process
The preliminary chapter was shared broadly, with the opportunity for people to review and comment. Staff gave briefings on the first draft to the Planning Commission, Social Justice and Equity Commission, and the Utility Advisory Committee. All comments received help shape the public hearing draft, which also had opportunity for review and comment.
Social Justice and Equity Commission
The Commission reviewed the first draft and offered excellent suggestions to help refine the language. Modifications to address their comments were made in the public hearing draft. Specifically, please see Goal 4 and Policies 4.5 and 4.6.
In general, the comments addressed ensuring accessibility is intentionally and specifically addressed in future capital facilities plans; maintaining accessibility in infrastructure like sidewalks; acknowledging that even if state and federal standards may change, Olympia should continue to strive to meet and exceed those standards in alignment with our values; and that we should include language around equity and universal accessibility more explicitly in the chapter goals, to emphasize that they are being considered and guiding the work of this chapter.
Planning Commission Recommendation
After conducting a public hearing and deliberating on the proposed amendments, the Planning Commission recommended approval. The Planning Commission recommendation letter is attached (see Attachment 2).
Council Committee Summary
The Land Use and Environment Committee reviewed the proposal at its meeting on March 27, 2025. The committee recommended approval with a few minor revisions and to forward the draft to the full City Council for discussion at a Study Session. Suggested revisions promote equity, consider climate impacts of city owned buildings, and to provide more support for affordable housing.
Council Study Session Summary
The City Council discussed this chapter at a Study Session in April. Comments were focused on assessing the impacts and efforts to address equity. No specific changes were requested, although council members did note that as part of the regular process to update the CFP, the council could consider amendments to the goals and policies more frequently.
Climate Analysis:
The wide variety of projects included in CFPs, over a number of years, can make it challenging to assess changes to greenhouse gas emissions. Overall, the projects proposed help reduce greenhouse gas emissions by addressing energy use in city-owned buildings, transportation projects that also benefit bicyclists and pedestrians, and projects designed to increase capacity and efficiency for our drinking water, wastewater, and stormwater systems.
By continuing to serve our community members, as well as accommodating new growth, within the existing City limits and urban growth areas, we are working to create a compact and urban community. This helps us reduce emissions from the transportation sector by promoting active forms of transportation and providing for shorter trips required in order to meet our daily needs. It allows for the delivery of drinking water, sanitary sewer, and stormwater treatment facilities in a contained, compact area which is more efficient and costs less to serve than it would otherwise.
The CFP supports the following portions of the Climate Mitigation Plan:
• Reduce energy use in existing buildings.
• Reduce energy use in new construction or redevelopment. The new maintenance facility for Waste ReSources will meet or exceed current energy efficiency requirements.
• Helps implement land use policies that increase urban density and reduce urban sprawl. Compact, walkable communities help increase urban density and reduce sprawl. The CFP includes several transportation projects that support compact environments for bicyclists and pedestrians.
• Increase the efficiency of the transportation system. The variety of multimodal transportation improvements in the CFP aim to provide greater mobility options and consider people trips rather than volume to capacity ratios for automobiles. This considers efficiency of the whole system. It also supports the related strategy of increasing the use of active forms of travel, such as walking and biking.
• Increase the use of public transit. Sidewalks, bicycle lanes, safety improvements and streetlights all support greater use of public transit.
• Increase the efficiency of water and wastewater infrastructure. The CFP includes replacement of aging and small diameter pipes and projects that address seismic issues.
• Divert more solid waste from landfills. The new Waste ReSources facility will help the city capture more recyclable materials that would otherwise go to the landfill.
While not every project will directly reduce greenhouse gas emissions, by providing the infrastructure and services necessary to support our existing community and anticipated growth within the growth boundary, we can serve a greater number of people efficiently and compactly, while also providing parks, open spaces, and fire protection.
Changes were made in the public hearing draft to address comments regarding prioritizing projects that address climate change.
Equity Analysis:
Equity is a policy consideration that is integrated into individual chapters of the Comprehensive Plan. Subsequent plans, projects and programs will prioritize equity in accordance with the Comprehensive Plan's directional guidance. In addition, equity issues are considered during budgeting and decision making. The City strives to address equity in capital projects by committing to equitable distribution across the City, across multiple types of projects (transportation, parks, drinking water, etc.), and by improving accessibility in City facilities (ADA Transition Plan for accessibility). This work is done within the limitations of the various fund sources for capital projects.
Some of the high-level data considered is that in Olympia, roughly 37% of all households are cost burdened, with almost half of those households being severely cost-burdened. Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) members of our community are more likely to be cost-burdened than others. Approximately 42% of Olympians have a household income of less than $50,000. Approximately 15% of our population live in poverty. In 2021, 13.5% of people in Olympia have a disability, up from 12.9% in 2016. Additionally, obesity rates have been rising in children and adults in Washington State.
Changes were made in the public hearing draft to better incorporate comments about equity and accessibility for those with disabilities.
Neighborhood/Community Interests (if known):
Comments were focused on better integrating environmental protection, climate considerations, and equity issues in our capital planning efforts.
Financial Impact:
A grant from the Washington State Department of Commerce, in the amount of $175,000 is helping to fund this work. Annual department budgets cover staff time, public outreach and engagement, and the majority of this work.
Options:
1. Accept the Goals and Policies of the Capital Facilities Plan Chapter of the Olympia 2045 Comprehensive Plan.
2. Accept the Goals and Policies of the Capital Facilities Plan Chapter of the Olympia 2045 Comprehensive Plan, with specific modifications.
3. Do not accept the Goals and Policies of the Capital Facilities Plan Chapter of the Olympia 2045 Comprehensive Plan and direct staff to make specific changes to it for reconsideration at a future date.
Attachments:
Resolution
Proposed Chapter
Planning Commission Recommendation
Social Justice and Equity Commission Letter
Chapter Webpage
Public Comments
Presentation