HomeMy WebLinkAbout2016-05-24 City Council Minutes Approved City Council Minutes—May 24, 2016
Mayor Laurie Gere called to order the advertised Anacortes City Council special meeting of May 24, 2016
at 11:00 a.m. Councilmembers Ryan Walters, Erica Pickett, Liz Lovelett, John Archibald and Matt Miller
were present. Councilmembers Eric Johnson and Brad Adams were absent.
Introduction
Planning Manager Libby Grage summarized the agenda for the session. She shared a comprehensive list
of the 85 public meetings held as part of the comprehensive plan update process since March 13, 2013
and the schedule for the remainder of the process through adoption of the updated plan.
Capital Facilities Element Discussion
Planning Director Don Measamer opened the discussion of the Capital Facilities Element beginning on
page 1-67 in Volume 1 of the draft plan and invited councilmember review of that element which had been
revised per prior Council requests. Mr. Measamer, Ms. Grage and Finance Director Steve Hoglund
responded to councilmember questions regarding Anacortes School District planning documents, school
impact fees, and land acquisition.
Mr. Walters stated that Policy CF-8.3(D) regarding the definition of essential public facility made
that definition too broad. Mr. Measamer said staff would review the language to ensure it was
consistent with the RCW and possibly remove it.
Mr. Measamer next directed the discussion to Capital Facilities section beginning on page II-125 in
Volume 2 of the draft plan and invited a discussion of capital facilities levels of service. He directed
attention to Table CF-1, Level of Service Standards, and briefly reviewed the contents of that table. He
then displayed the Summary of Rates and Impact Fees included in the packet materials for the meeting.
Senior Accountant Philip Steffen explained the methodology used to develop the recommended rates and
General Facility Charges for the water, sewer and storm utilities, and impact fees for streets, parks and
fire, based on the recommended levels of service and population projections included in the draft plan.
Ms. Lovelett asked how GFCs could be subsidized in order to achieve affordable housing. Mr. Measamer
shared draft language for AMC 19.75.040, which was included in the packet materials for the meeting,
which would be one way of addressing that concern. Ms. Lovelett asked that this be included as a goal.
Mr. Measamer suggested looking at that during the discussion of the Housing Element for that. Ms.
Pickett suggested calculating the GFC on a square footage basis so modest apartments would cost less
and large homes would cost more.
Mr. Steffen and Mr. Measamer emphasized that neither rates nor impact fees would be included in the
comprehensive plan and that the discussion of rates was intended only to make Council aware of the rate
structure that would be required to fund levels of service that would be adopted as part of the
comprehensive plan. Mr. Buckenmeyer explained the nature of impact fees and what types of projects
they could fund under GMA. He clarified that the sample road impact fees presented for discussion
included previously discussed pedestrian improvements on Oakes Avenue but not on D Avenue, with an
aim to maintaining the adopted level of service for vehicles on that roadway. Mr. Archibald and Ms.
Lovelett inquired if Council could adopt a different level of service for streets than that recommended by
staff. Mr. Miller spoke in favor of the proposed level of service. Ms. Pickett asked how the total proposed
GFC and impact fees, which would increase from $15,800 to $24,000 by 2021 according to the staff
recommendation, compared to neighboring jurisdictions. Mr. Steffen replied that Anacortes would still be
on the low end of the rate spectrum regionally.
At noon the assembly recessed briefly for lunch. At approximately 12:15 p.m. Mayor Gere called the
meeting back to order.
Fire Chief Richard Curtis presented a series of slides summarizing the recommended level of service for
fire protection and potential funding mechanisms, including replacing the current fire impact fee with a
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new fire impact fee of 35 cents per square foot. His presentation was added to the packet materials for
the meeting. He responded to councilmember questions about specific aspects of the potential funding
sources but reiterated that rate setting would occur separately, following adoption of levels of service as
part of the comprehensive plan.
Mr. Measamer asked if Council concurred with the proposed levels of service. Mr. Miller pointed out that
police staffing would need to increase by 2021 to meet the proposed level of service for police protection.
Mr. Walters said he supported the third and fourth bullets of the fire protection level of service in Table
CF-1 but was not ready to endorse the first two. Councilmembers discussed the Parks and Recreation
Comprehensive Plan with Parks and Recreation Director Gary Robinson, who explained that alternative
schedule for revising and adopting that plan due to RCO requirements.
Mr. Measamer then asked Mr. Hoglund to update Council on the process for preparing the 2017-2022
Capital Facilities Plan. Mr. Hoglund referred to the schedule included in Ms. Grage's slide presentation at
the outset of the meeting. He explained the different statutory requirements for preparation of the six-year
capital facilities plan and the departmental capital improvement project lists which are included by
reference in the comprehensive plan. Mr. Hoglund advised that the 2017-2022 CFP would be prepared
concurrently with the 2017-2018 budget and would include those projects with clearly identified revenue
sources. He clarified that the CFP could be amended if required as new projects and funding sources
were identified within the planning horizon.
Review of Proposed Revisions Made to Elements Other than Capital Facilities
A. Proposed Land Use Designations Map & Future Land Use Map
Mr. Measamer turned the discussion to a review of the revisions made to Volume 1 of the draft plan
following Council review at prior meetings. He displayed the updated version of the Proposed Land Use
Designation Changes map and pointed out the revisions.
Ms. Lovelett suggested that the Cap Sante neighborhood, where accessory dwelling units are not
currently allowed because of marine shipping, might be a good location for a transitional zone to
recognize its residential character and needs. Mr. Measamer agreed, noting the area around 31
and 41 Streets.
Mr. Measamer advised that representatives from Island Hospital would address Council during the
comprehensive plan public hearing to provide more information on the boundaries of the proposed
Medical Overlay. Councilmembers discussed the proposed overlay but did not request any changes to
the draft presented for public hearing. Councilmembers discussed with Mr. Measamer and Ms. Grage the
processes required to implement any changes adopted as part of the comprehensive plan on the Future
Land Use Map, to arrive at new development regulations and a new zoning map. Mr. Walters pointed out
that overlays exist only in the development regulations, not on the zoning map, so the precise boundary
of the proposed medical overlay did not need to be determined for the land use map. He requested
language in the draft comprehensive plan identifying the future land use map, identifying which
zones correspond to which comprehensive plan designations, and stating that the zones would
be implemented following adoption of the comprehensive plan. Mr. Measamer concurred.
Discussion turned to the land use designations in Table LU-1. Councilmembers and Mayor Gere
discussed the R-1 zone at length, including which if any methods were appropriate for allowing higher
density in that zone. At the conclusion of the discussion Mr. Measamer confirmed that the text for
Residential Low Density 1 in Table LU-1 would remain as drafted for the public hearing and that staff
would separately prepare for Council action a moratorium on planned unit developments until the
PUD requirements could be rewritten.
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B. Text-Goals & Policies (Volume 1) and Background Info (Volume 2)
Council next reviewed revisions to the Goals and Policies in Volume 1 of the draft plan, beginning with the
Land Use Element and noting any items councilmembers wanted to have revised prior to the public
hearing.
LU-6.3, bullet 1: Ms. Grage reported that a public comment had suggested encouraging rather than
requiring a covered entry facing the street. After some discussion, "encourage"was agreed upon.
LU-6.3: Mr. Walters requested that the verb be removed from the beginning of all four bullets,
such that none of the bulleted items would be mandatory in the comprehensive plan.
LU-9.7: Ms. Lovelett requested adding a third criterion for environmental sustainability. Mr. Measamer
suggested instead adding language to the introduction of this policy: "New or additional industrial and
manufacturing development should comply with the following criteria, consistent with the
environment and conservation element of the comprehensive plan:"
Councilmembers discussed Goal H-3 and specifically Policy H-3.7 at length regarding means of
incentivizing the creation of affordable housing. The following revisions were agreed upon.
H-3.9: "Evaluate land owned by the City and other public entities for use for affordable housing
and/or some type of community land trust."
H-3.10:include text identifying measurable progress;Mr.Archibald requested specific mention of
development standards.
At approximately 2:10 p.m. Mayor Gere called a 15-minute break. At 2:28 p.m. the mayor called the
meeting back to order.
Review of Volume 1 Goals and Policies continued. In the course of lengthy discussion of a number of
policies, particularly in the Environment and Conservation Element, the following revisions were agreed
upon.
• Page 1-37:Add a pullout box regarding fiber optic infrastructure instead of the photo of
fireworks.
• EC-6.2: Mr. Walters asked for insertion of a comma: "Streams and wetlands should be
maintained in their existing natural conditions or restored where appropriate."
• EC-8.4: Change "Consider developing..."to "Develop ..."
• New EC-8.12: "Consider developing a sustainable energy task force to develop a strategic
plan."
• New EC-1.9: "Work with appropriate agencies to identify and mitigate environmental
cleanup areas."
• EC-8.8: Change "green energy"to "energy conservation".
• New ED-8.4: "Anticipate and plan for potential changes to desired uses at March Point as
refineries transition to new processes, transport methods,products, and a sustainable
economy."
• T-1.2:Assign a separate policy number to the second sentence of the policy and renumber
the rest of the policies in Goal T-1 accordingly.
• T-1.13:Add at the end of the policy, "... using existing roadways."
• T-1.16:Add at the end of the policy, "... such as West Second Street."
• T-1.22:Mr. Walters asked that this policy be rewritten for proper subject-verb agreement
and that the reference to impact fees be removed. Ms. Grage concurred.
• T-2.24:Mr. Walters asked that former policy T-2.24("Improve local street design for
walking, bicycling, and transit use to enhance communities, connectivity, and physical
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activity.'), which had been entirely struck in the draft under review, be reinstated
somewhere in the Transportation element. Ms. Grage concurred.
• T-2.8:Add at the end of the policy, "... e.g., electric bike rentals".
• T-3.2:Remove "(i.e. $2,998.50 per new peak hour trip)".
• T-3.4:Remove A and B from this policy.
• Goal U-3:Add a policy or language to an existing policy calling for a fiber master plan and
require the installation of conduit where needed.
• U-7.4: Change to read: "Establish minimum setback requirements to protect transmission
pipelines, and to protect development from transmission pipelines, particularly
transmission pipelines."
Considerable discussion then ensued regarding Policy U-8.7 addressing the city's water rights. After half
an hour of thoughtful discussion and consultation with Mr. Buckenmeyer, councilmembers and Mayor
Gere agreed to restate the policy for the public hearing: "The city must not sell or lease its water
rights."Mr. Walters then persuaded his colleagues to add the following statement to U-8.7 [or add it as a
separate policy]for the public hearing, noting that language could much more easily be struck after the
public hearing than inserted: "The City may not enter into any contracts for the sale of water in
excess of[range from 1 to 1,000,000]gallons per year to any non-municipal or non-residential
water reseller for a term longer than five years."
U-8.1(4): Change "commercial"to "commercial and industrial".
Council next reviewed revisions Volume 2 of the draft plan, noting any items councilmembers wanted to
have revised prior to the public hearing.
Ms. Lovelett requested inclusion of definition of affordable housing. After discussion of various options,
she suggested a sidebar on page 1-34 referencing charts in Volume U for statistics regarding
income levels and housing affordability. Ms. Grage concurred.
Councilmembers discussed as some length which materials were appropriate for including in the Retail
Sales Conditions section beginning on page II-32. The group agreed to remove the section entitled
Impact of Large Format Retail but retain the Projected Retail Demand section and the Anacortes
Retail KT Analysis Report. Mr. Walters asked staff to remove sections that don't affect some
future reader of the plan, then revise the section to flow smoothly and coherently after the
deletions.
Next Steps
Ms. Lovelett inquired if any further feedback could be submitted to staff prior to publication of the draft
comprehensive plan for the public hearing. Ms. Grage indicated that any further councilmember input
would need to be submitted to her by May 31, 2016 and that she would email councilmembers confirming
that date. Mr. Walters requested a page near the front of the document listing all the other plans
that are incorporated by reference in the comprehensive plan.
Mr. Measamer advised that the public hearing had been scheduled tentatively for June 20. He suggested
that a second night might be required to accommodate all those who might wish to speak. Mayor Gere
and councilmembers discussed encouraging written comments and using published speaker time limits to
ensure that everyone would have a chance to be heard. Mr. Measamer advised that he would advertise
the meeting as potentially extending to the following evening and would include suggested speaker
timelines.
There being no further business, at approximately 4:35 p.m. the Anacortes City Council advertised
special meeting of May 24, 2016 was adjourned.
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