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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes 10/26/1994 11 . . . AGENDA CITY OF PORT ANGELES PLANNING COMMISSION 321 East Fifth Street Port Angeles, W A 98362 October 26, 1994 7:00 p.m. I. CALL TO ORDER n. ROLL CALL m. A PPRO V AL OF MINUTES: Minutes of October 12, 1994 IV. PUBLIC HEARINGS: 1. STREET V ACA nON PETITION - STY 94(1O}07 - SHILLINGTON - One-half of "A" Street north of Fourth Street: Request for vacation of City right-of-way. (Continued from October 12, 1994.) V. PLANNING STUDIES - REVIEW OF ZONING/DEVEWPMENT STANDARDS FOR COMPLIANCE WITH COMPREHENSIVE PLAN: 1. Zoning Regulations - A. "Purpose" Section (pgs. 1 - 3) of Zoning Ordinance B. GMAC Minutes 2. Development Standards - A. Wastewater 3. Department Revenue Options Members: Orville Campbell, Vice Choir, Bob Winters, Cindy Souders, Bob Philpuu, Lindo Nutter, Tim German and Bob King.. Planning Staff: Brad Collins, Director; John Jimerson, Associate Planner; Sue Roberds, Office Specialist, David Sawyer, Sr. Planner. . . . VI. STAFF REPORTS vn. REPORTS OF COMMISSION MEMBERS vm. ADJOURNMENT All correspondence pertaining to a hearing item received by the Planning Department at least one day prior to the scheduled hearing will be provided to Commission members before the hearing. PUBUC HEARING PROCEDURE: Spokesmen for the proponents and opponents will be given an opportunity to speak to the request. Information submitted should be factual. relevant and not merely duplication of a previous presentation. A reasonable time (10 minutes) shall be allowed the spokesman: others shall be limited to short supporting remarks (S minutes). Other interested parties will be allowed to comment briefly (S minutes each) or make inquiries. The Chairman may allow additional public testimony if the issue Wllll'BDts it. Brief rebuttal (5 minutes) for proponents and opponents will be heard separately and consecutively with presentation limited to their spokesman. Rebuttal sball be limited to factual statements pertaining to previous testimony. Comments should be directed to the Board. not the City Staff representatives present. unless directed to do SO by the Chairman. . . . MINUTES PLANNING eOMMISSION Port Angeles, Washington 98362 October 26, 1994 7:00 p.m. ROLL CALL Members Present: Orville Campbell, Bob King, Tim German, Bob Philpott and Cindy Souders Members Excused: Linda Nutter, Bob Winters Staff Present: Brad Collins, Sue Roberds and Jack Pittis Public Present: Inge Baumwell, Mr. and Mrs. A. G. Thomsen, Bill Roberds APPROVAL OF MINUTES Following notation of clerical corrections, Commissioner Philpott moved to approve the October 14, 1994, minutes as presented. Commissioner Gennan seconded the motion, which passed 4-0. PUBLIC HEARINGS STREET V ACA TION PETITION - STY 94(10)07 - SHILLINGTON. Portion of "A" Street north of Fourth Street: Brad Collins reviewed the Department Report and explained that since submission of the petition, the property has changed ownership. The new owners, Dr. and Mrs. Torrance, have asked to continue with the process and have indicated that their representative will be Mrs. Inge Baumwell. Chair Campbell opened the public hearing. Mrs. Inge Baumwell, 175 Harrington Road, represented Dr. and Mrs. Torrance, new owners of the Shillington property. The petitioners would like to vacate the right-of-way which lies underneath their garage, which is located on the site under a Right-of-Way Use Permit. Dr. and Mrs. Torrance have serious concerns regarding the safety of the public who use the public viewpoint, which exists as the other one-half of this right-of-way. She was told by the Public Works Department that the City does not have any intention to open the right-of-way further as a scenic area. There is a vacant, privately owned lot west of what would be the remaining one-half street right-of-way which offers an extensive viewpoint at this location. This viewpoint was established after the 1981 denial of the street vacation petition. She presented pictures of the area indicating the property. She respectfully asked for vacation as petitioned. Chair Campbell asked Mrs. Baumwell why the property owner is requesting vacation at . . . Planning Commission Minutes October 26. 1994 Page 2 owners would like to obtain clear title to the property lying under the garage. A.G. Thomson, 808 West Fourth Street, owns the property directly to the west of the garage which Mrs. Baumwell photographed in her pictures as part of the viewpoint. Reduction of the City's right-of-way by this vacation process would reduce the City's ownership to thirty-five feet. The public uses his property now as a viewpoint. A fence may have to be installed to prevent that use and the liability it presents. The garage should be removed to allow the full right-of-way width to be used as a viewpoint instead of for one person' s use. There being no further comment, Chair Campbell closed the public hearing. Commissioner Philpott stated that vacation of the one-half street would not hinder the public's access to the remaining thirty-five feet of right-of-way for the public's use. Commissioner German had some trouble justifying the request as it is the City's policy not to vacate only one-half of a right-of-way and the area is in an environmentally sensitive area and there are several policies restricting the use of environmentally sensitive areas, as well as policies to save these areas for preservation and public enjoyment. In response to a question by the Planning Commission, Public Works Director Pittis said that the City has vacated half streets in very rare instances. The indication is that if there is a valid need for a right-of-way to be vacated, the entire right-of-way should be vacated. Half streets are not useful to the public. Chair Campbell concurred. The homeowner will still have continued use of the City's property for the garage and deck in this instance if the petition is denied. Their full use and enjoyment is not compromised by denial of the vacation. Commissioner King concurred. There is no valid reason for vacation. The current use will not be hindered, and there is a need to protect possible viewpoint areas whenever possible as there are not enough of them now. Commissioner German moved to recommend denial of Street Vacation Petition STY 94(10)07, citing the nine findings and three conclusions noted in the Department Report, as tallows: Findines: 1. The request is to vacate about 2328 square feet of the "A" Street right-of-way, located from Fourth Street north 40 to 50 feet. 2. The portion of the street proposed to be vacated constitutes half of the right-of- way which abuts Lot 11, Block 98, T.P.A. . . . Planning Commission October 26. 1994 Page 3 3. The site in question is located along the top of a marine bluff, which is an environmentally sensitive area. 4. The City has denied vacation of the <<A" Street right-of-way at this location twice before, upholding the Parks and Recreation Comprehensive Plan policy to preserve the street end as public viewpoint. 5. The right-of-way is improved with a garage~ carport and deck which are attached to the house on Lot 11. 6. The property above the top of the bluff is zoned RS-7. Property below the top of the bluff is zoned PBP. 7. The site is identified as Low Density Residential/Open Space on the Comprehensive Plan land use map. There are Comprehensive Plan Policies identified in the staff report which encourage protection of environmentally sensitive areas. 8. There are public electrical facilities located in the right-of-way. 9. Use and development of the site is subject to the requirements of the environmentally sensitive areas protection ordinance (Chapter 15.20 PAMC). 'eonclusions: A. Vacation of the right-of-way is not in the public use and interest and would not be a public benefit, as the site is identified for a public viewpoint in the Comprehensive Parks and Recreation Plan and is an environmentally sensitive area per Chapter 15.20 PAMC. B. The street vacation would be inconsistent with the Goals, Policies and Objectives of the Comprehensive Plan which stress the importance for view opportunities~ preserving unique features, protecting the environment, and providing unique recreational opportunities. C. Vacation of the right-of-way would be inconsistent with the Comprehensive Parks and Recreation pl~ which identifies street ends on the bluff to be maintained for public view opportunities. eommissioner King seconded the motion, which passed 3-1, with Commissioner Philpott voting in the negative. Mr. Collins noted that this item will be decided by the City Council on December 6, 1994, 7 p.m. Planning Commission October 26, 1994 Page 4 . PLANNING STUDIES Development Re~lations Review - Chair Campbell opened discussion on review of the City's development regulations for compliance with the State's Growth Management Act and the Comprehensive Plan. Although the City may not be able to completely meet the State's deadline of January 1, 1995, for compliance with the newly adopted Comprehensive Plan, substantive review and work toward that goal of compliance may forestall a moratorium on development imposed due to non-compliance with that January deadline. We will not be able to accomplish the task of review in its entirety in that time frame. The plan is to accomplish review of the zoning regulations and some of the level of service development standards by January 1, 1995. Director Pittis briefly reviewed the Public Works Department document "Design Guidelines for Development, 1994", which he has been working on for approximately two years. The document is an assemblage of a number of documents dealing with site development, environmental review, stormwater requirements, wastewater, and street and utility development standards. The intent is to compile development level of service requirements in one document/manual to provide developers and those involved in development projects. . Mr. Collins summarized the options of review of the development standards and the zoning ordinance. One approach is to go through the development regulations sentence by sentence. A broader approach is to decide we want to have a great amount of technical detail adopted by resolution but not be too detailed in the regulations ordinance. He believes the best approach is to establish the regulations in an ordinance and adopt the technical manual aspects by resolution. Commissioner German suggested that to put the regulations in ordinance form would be redundant. A development manual and a level of service ordinance might be the best approach. Design standards are generally pre-dictated, but the policy options should be open to public input. Director Pittis stated that it would be his preference that the requirements be adopted in one manner (ordinance) with the technical aspects prescribed by another (resolution). Director Collins indicated that staff needs to know what direction to take in accomplishing the task of compliance with the Growth Management Act (GMA). To streamline the review process, staff was directed to submit a much more refined version of the development standards to the Planning Commission for review and comment. The zoning ordinance is in pretty good shape. The subdivision ordinance will be tackled after the first of the year, by spring, 1995. Mr. Pittis stated he appreciated the feedback from the Commission. The Advisory Committee will endeavor to make the review document as understandable as possible. . Planning Commission October 26, 1994 Page 5 . Chair Campbell commended Director Pittis and the Advisory Committee on the work and on the quality Of the work to date. Mr. eollins indicated he would like to schedule special meetings on November 30 for a public hearing on development regulations for zoning and on December 21 for a public hearing on regulations for development standards consistent with the GMA and newly adopted Comprehensive Plan, eliminating the regularly scheduled December 28 meeting in the hope that the final public hearing on development standards by the City Council could be on December 27, thereby meeting the January 1, 1995 deadline. Commissioner German said this schedule is worth a try but it would be a near super human effort to accomplish this amount of review by January 1, 1995. He commended the Planning Department on its efforts and did not think the schedule could be met without a too quick review of the regulations. He would rather go slower and seek thorough public review. He wondered if the wording is being changed or just reviewed for compliance with the Comprehensive Plan. Mr. Collins responded that the latter is the process being followed. Staff is only looking at those things which are in conflict with or inconsistent with the Comprehensive Plan. He is optimistic that the changes are not radical or controversial. . Revenue Options - Chair Campbell noted the information presented for discussion as possible revenue options for the City (Planning Department). Commissioner German stated. opposition to the charge of an hourly fee for application processes. He favored a two tier system but preferred a rate based. more on whether the project would be more extensive or less extensive rather than a straight hourly rate for more extensive permit processes. (Cindy Souders joined. the meeting at approximately 8 p.m.) Commissioner Souders suggested that the application fee should cover a list of functions and that a checklist be established for processing and a fee charged directly to those functions. In response to Commissioner Souders, Commissioner German indicated the staff would need to account for the time worked if an hourly rate is established. Mr. Collins added that approximately eighty percent of applications are covered by the application fee; however, twenty percent are not. Some recent applications have extended to a year or two and ten times the number of public hearings normally scheduled for applications. These types of applications are hard to project in the beginning. The fee for services becomes borne by the public rather than the applicant. . Mr. German noted that in some instances where a disagreement arises which requires additional staff research, the applicant would be paying for that research as part of the processing which would increase the fee. He suggested this issue not be made as a last minute budget recommendation for this year's budget but to do a more thorough review for next year's budget process. . . . Planning Commission October 26, 1994 Page 6 Commissioner Souders indicated that the public is paying more taxes to support residential development. She referred to a study she had done recently which she offered to bring to the next long range meeting to share with the Commissioners regarding the issue. STAFF REPORTS Mr. Collins noted the grand opening of the Senior Center and an invitation to the Commissioners to attend the festivities. REPORTS OF THE COMMISSION ~ hr~?+Y 8r ~D Commissioner Souders reported that the County's Reg' at Comprehensive Plan and Watershed Management meetings have been very controvers' . The County wants the City to extend sewers to properties in the urban growth area A). A compromise has been proposed that development in the UGA will encourage sewer ut, if the sewer system would cost at least fifty percent more than th~, septic systems would be permitted. ADJOURNMENT ~L <;;'~ The meeting adjourned at 8:50 p.m. ~&9~~ Br Collins, Secretary ((J~~ ~ Orville Campbell, t:7 . . . . .H"', ,,"H'.. ..,. ,::. ......., .": .... :1Y~:,;':'\'H':':: .'H 12' /~k1~ /21!~ '\R-) A~ A. --' ~ /~ u PLEASE SIGN IN CITY OF PORT ANGELES Planning Commission Attendance Roster /!J-L j) . Meeting Date: - J'~/-X&/ /991 .......: ,.. ............,..... ". . 'ADDRESS:' ...",:.... .... ........ . . .. 808 L() 411fST ) 6iZi )1 N6;tJ...e:s _ LJ /J (77 fI {l~ rrh~~~O!.oI v;vd ~ ~ I?' tv" A1 \J v ( .