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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes 02/26/2003 o ~ ~ I. II. III. IV. . V. VI. VII. VIII. IX. . "DiOt )Rl''PJ.' /. Ni I'G... I.Ert,E'S(;; F /. - u" l ..... -~.. .'m~ fJ ,'_.n',~ ."......1 _ f WAS H I N G TON, U. S. A. DEPARTMENT OF COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT AGENDA PLANNING COMMISSION 321 East Fifth Street February 26,2003 CALL TO ORDER 7 p.m. ROLL CALL APPROVAL OF MINUTES: Meetings of January 22,2003, and February 12, 2003 OTHER BUSINESS: Comprehensive Plan Discussion ELECTIONS COl\fMUNICATIONS FROM THE PUBLIC STAFF REPORTS REPORTS OF COMMISSION MEMBERS ADJOURNMENT PLANNING COMMISSIONERS: Chuck Schramm (Chair), Fred Hewins {Vice Chair, Fred Norton, Bob Philpott, Len Rasmusstn, Two Vacancies PLANNING STAFF: Brad Collins, Director; Scott Johns, Associate Planner; Sue Roberds, Assistant Planner. . . . MINUTES PLANNING COMMISSION Port Angeles, Washington 98362 February 26, 2003 7:00 p.m. ROLL CALL Members Present: Bob Philpott, Fred Norton, Chuck Schramm, Leonard Rasmussen, two vacancies Members Excused: Fred Hewins Staff Present: Brad Collins, Scott Johns Public Present: Clay Crow, Dennis Yackovich APPROVAL OF MINUTES Staff polled Commission members prior to approval of the January 22, 2003, minutes with regard to public comments which were received prior to discussion of the Graving Dock (SMA 03- 01) issue but after staff had mailed materials for the meeting. Members present indicated that they had all read the letters received from Ms. Darlene Schanfald and Dr, Peter de Fur prior to the January 22,2003, meeting and had taken the comments into account before making the decision on SMA 03- 01. Commissioner Rasmussen moved to approve the January 22,2003, minutes with the clarification that all public comments received prior to the meeting had been read and considered prior to making the decision on SMA 03-01. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Philpott and passed 4 - O. Commissioner Philpott moved to approve the February 12,2003, minutes as presented. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Rasmussen and passed 3 - 0 with Chair Schramm abstaining due to his absence from the meeting. OTHER BUSINESS: Comprehensive Plan Discussion Director Collins began discussion on proposed Comprehensive Plan amendments. The press release and the subsequent article published in the Peninsula Dailv News on Sunday, February 23, 2003, were pointed out and discussed. Staff presented the Commissioners with a list of potential Comprehensive Plan amendment ideas. The list was divided into three categories of Include, May Include, May not Include, for discussion by the Commissioners. Low Impact Development standards are the issues receiving the most attention at this time. An interim ordinance is being drafted to address the issues that have gained consensus among staff and City Council members. Other issues including allowing septic systems in the City has not Planning Commission Minutes FebM/ary 26, 2003 Page 2 . achieved consensus and will not be brought forward at a later date. Dennis Yakovicll, 250 Meadow Lark Lane, Sequim, WA 98382, a local developer, spoke on the attempts that he and his employer had made to develop property in Port Angeles and the obstacles they had encountered in that process. Extension of sewer to outlying areas and the costs of adding fire suppression equipment to houses outside of the 4 minute response time made development economically difficult. . Chair Schramm asked staff if the sewer issue would require major policy revisions. Director Collins indicated that any changes to allow septic systems in the City instead of requiring sewer would take a major policy revision and that it would not be completed until June. Street standards would be easier to accomplish and would be done earlier. An interim ordinance that is being drafted may include items that would address fire issues as well, The intent of the changes is to reduce costs to developers. The question arose as to comparative costs involved between adding sprinklers to buildings or installing fire hydrants. Sprinklers are required if the location is beyond a 4 minute response time and Mr. Yakovich added that there is no savings in insurance costs due to the possibility of water damage from sprinklers being equivalent to the costs of actual fire damage, Director Collins indicated that the intent was of impact development standards is to attempt to eliminate redundancies of fire and other code requirements. Mr. Yakovich encouraged the Commissioners to look at all areas that increase costs to developers and expressed concern that low and moderate income buyers would not be able to afford property or homes. Chair Schramm expressed the need to find ways to reduce costs and that if the City's actions raise costs then there would be no point in taking those actions. Director Collins indicated that changes to the sewer requirements would be the most important issue to deal with in lowering costs to developers. He stated that the Commission could expect to see a draft interim ordinance by their March 12, 2003, meeting. Commissioner Rasmussen supported using low impact development techniques but suggested that in looking at low impact development techniques the City should first concentrate their efforts on mitigating stormwater impacts to commercial parking lots and cui de sacs that would not have through traffic. The techniques, if they are effective, could then be applied to broader areas. Commissioners decided that the issues of the Ennis Creek property owned by the City and the Performing Arts Center are project specific and should be moved from the 'may include' category to the 'may not include' category on the list of items to be considered. . The Commission was reminded that the U.S. 101 alternate route is already in the Comprehensive Plan but a specific route had not been adopted. Development is starting to take place in areas that might be used for an alternate route and opportunities are diminishing. Department of Transportation funding is not likely to be available and so WSDOT has not pursued the alternative traffic route plan. The Commission then determined that the US 101 Port Angeles Alternative Study Screening Criteria and Measures should be used to evaluate any potential alternative route for Highway 101. The US 101 alternate route should be elevated from 'may not include' to 'may include' on the list of items to be considered. Planning Commission Minutes February 16, 1003 Page 3 . Commissioner Rasmussen felt that the concept of a beautification effort for the east entry to Port Angeles is more project specific than the scope of the Comprehensive Plan and should be moved to the 'may include' category. Commissioners Norton, Schramm and Philpott disagreed and fel tit shoul d remain in the' incl ude' category, citing the expressed stand of the Port Angeles Forward group and the City Council and Mayor's interest in this item. Director Collins stated that revenue sharing with the County would be critical to providing services to the UGA. Negotiations with the County have not produced results at this time. Issues between the County and City were discussed. Director Collins indicated that a generic policy statement was likely to be drafted for the Commission's review. The issues of annexation, extension of sewer to the UGA, and revenue sharing are closely tied to each other. The issue of annexation of the UGA was left on the 'may include' list. Director Collins said that a generic policy statement on annexation is also likely. . The extension of sewer into the UGA was discussed at length. Commissioner Norton said that extending the sewer is a Port Angeles Forward priority. Commissioner Philpott said that he felt getting sewer to the Wal Mart store is very important and should happen as soon as possible. Director Collins said that staff would look for ways to include sewer extension in the Comprehensive Plan. Commissioner Rasmussen was concerned that if the sewer is extended for the primary purpose of keeping Wal Mart from having to move, that the sewer should be designed to allow others to connect to it in the future. Both Director Collins and Chair Schramm felt that if the sewer is extended it shuld be designed and sized appropriately to handle the needs of the entire UGA. Director Collins pointed out that the City is currently negotiating with the Lower Elwha Tribe to extend the sewer system to the west beyond the UGA. This is in response to effects of the removal of the Elwha River dams and protection of Tribal water supply. It was pointed out that such an extension would set a precedent for sewer extension beyond the UGA boundary and raised the question of sizing ofthe line to handle just the Tribe's needs or for possible future growth between the City and the Reservation. Expansion of the UGA east to include the Deer Park area was discussed. Director Collins said that the City applied to the County two years ago to extend the UGA and that request is still on hold with the County. He stated that the UGA would probably be extended as far east as Bagley Creek if the extension were to happen. This is an area where growth is taking place and in the spirit ofGMA the area should be included in the UGA. Director Collins also stated that the City may look into extension ofthe UGA to the west due to the Tribe's water system needs. . Director Collins discussed the possible creation of two new zones - the RS-12 (12000 SF minimum lot size) and RC, Regional Commercial zones. These zones were being conceived of based on information from the annexation study and low impact development ideas. He pointed out that the zones would include some areas currently in the City as well as the UGA and would help to better position the City in the current real estate and commercial market place. Another zoning change issue, the widening of the CA zone along First and Front Streets to extend to Georgiana and Second Streets, was also discussed. Planning Commission Minutes Febnmry 26, 2003 Page 4 . ELECTIONS: Chair Schramm asked that elections of Planning Commission officials be postponed until all the new members are seated and all members are present. Director Collins said that the vacant positions on the Commission would be filled by the next meeting. The new members will be Jack Pittis, former Public Works Director for the City, and Linda Nutter, a past Planning Commission member. Commissioner Philpott moved to postpone the Planning Commission elections until the new members are seated and all members present. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Rasmussen and passed 4 - O. COMMUNICATIONS FROM THE PUBLIC: None. STAFF REPORTS: None. . REPORTS OF COMMISSION MEMBERS Commissioner Norton indicated that due to personal business, he may not be able to attend Commission meetings in March. Commissioner Philpott indicated that he felt the State Department of Transportation should consider installing a traffic light that works similar to the one at 5th and Peabody which senses traffic and changes in response to traffic needs, rather than on a timer. ADJOURNMENT The meeting adjourned at 9:05 pm. ~~ Bra Collms, Secretary auf n~ Chuck Schramm, Chair PREPARED BY: S. Johns . · ~O'RTANGELES WAS H I N G TON. U. S. A. . PLANNING COMMISSION ATTENDANCE ROSTER AND TESTIMONY SIGN-UP SHEET PLEASESIGN IN Meeting Agenda of: lit&- 2~ ZcD3 PLEASE NOTE: IF you plan to testify, by signature below, you certify that the testimony given is true and correct under penalty of perjury by the laws of the State of Washington. S ify' /en I Signature below DOE NOT REQUIRE you to tes!l - zt only ac ow edges your presence. NAME: ADDRESS: Agenda Item No. Q.LAY C~oW '1'64 }AAJI'J1JA\ AII'C. N., D...nbj~l;...JJlvft I q ~Ilb \'.ov-."~"" \lo\i ~v ~~ It:;,tl M~~~ L....k \ n,..... .~,~..~ f.- ~ I