Title
Annual Comprehensive Plan Amendment Briefing
Recommended Action
No action required; briefing only.
Report
Issue:
The Planning Commission's 2015 work plan includes review and recommendation to the City Council regarding a set of annual amendments to the Comprehensive Plan. In preparation for more detailed review later this year, this briefing will provide the Commission with an overview of this year's amendments.
Staff Contact:
Todd Stamm, Principal Planner, Community Planning and Development Department, 360.753.8597.
Presenter:
Stacey Ray, Senior Planner
Background and Analysis:
Washington's Growth Management Act provides that the Comprehensive Plan of a municipality like Olympia must be updated every eight years, and that amendments can be considered no more often than once each calendar year. Chapter 18.59 of the Municipal Code establishes Olympia's specific process for such annual amendments. It provides that: (1) proposals may be submitted by anyone at any time without charge; (2) the City Council is to set a deadline for proposals to be considered in a given year (March 2 was the deadline for 2015), and City staff is to review and present all preliminary proposals to the Council to determine which should move forward for formal consideration by the Planning Commission and later the Council. The staff's review and recommendation at this preliminary stage is based on specific criteria set forth in code section 18.58.060.
Six proposed amendments were presented to the City Council on April 21, 2015. The Council selected three to forward to the Planning Commission for review, public hearing, and recommendation to the Council later this year. The three to be considered this year are:
1. Update of the Waste ReSources (solid waste) utility aspects of the Plan
2. Update of the Transportation Maps of the Plan - with regard to certain local streets
3. Amendment of the Future Land Use Map for a portion of the Copper Trails property north of Capital Mall Drive (plus an associated zoning map amendment to be considered concurrently)
Ordinarily the annual Plan amendments process extends over twelve months. However, because the major "Imagine Olympia" Plan update was not adopted by Council until December, the time-frame is more compact in 2015 and the Council decided to limit amendments to these three. The first two are City staff initiated amendments, the last was presented by the private property owner. Copies of these three proposals are attached.
Three other proposals were not forwarded. These were: (1) a set of amendments related to land uses in the vicinity of State Avenue and the Bigelow Historic District (this proposal was forwarded to the Council's Land Use and Environment Committee for discussion with neighborhood representatives); (2) a proposal to amend the land use and zoning maps for specific property southeast of the Kaiser Road / Harrison Avenue intersection (the Council directed that this proposal be merged with the "opportunity area" study scheduled to be completed for this general area in 2016; and (3) a proposal to amend the land use and zoning maps for an area north of the AutoMall (the proponent withdrew this proposal to provide time to explore options with interested parties).
At this meeting, the staff will provide the Commission with an introduction to the three Plan amendments to be considered in 2015. This briefing will be followed by more detailed analysis by staff and public outreach, including at least one staff-hosted informational public meeting regarding each of the three proposals.
The Commission will host public hearings regarding all three proposals - probably in August. More detailed briefings will be provided prior to those hearings. The Commission is to make recommendations to the Council in September to provide the City Council with sufficient time to consider the proposals and make final decisions before the end of the calendar year.
Neighborhood/Community Interests:
Each of these amendments is anticipated to be of differing public interest. The transportation map amendments probably will be of greatest interest due to their variety and potential impact on single-family neighborhoods.
Options:
No action required. The Commission may elect to provide City staff with direction regarding specific parties to be notified of these proposals; and specific information the Commission would like staffr to provide during the Commission's review of the proposed amendments.
Financial Impact:
These annual plan amendments are within scope of the basic budget.