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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2014-02-03 City Council Minutes Approved City Council Minutes—February 3, 2014 At 7:00 p.m. Mayor Laurie Gere called the regularly scheduled Anacortes City Council meeting of February 3, 2014 to order. Roll call found present: Eric Johnson, Ryan Walters, Erica Pickett, Brad Adams, Liz Lovelett, John Archibald and Matt Miller. The assembly joined in the Pledge of Allegiance. Minutes of Previous Meeting Mr. Johnson corrected the minutes of January 21, 2014 regarding Ordinance 2919 to include Mr. Walter's request not to have a reconciliation process as part of future water levy determinations. Mr. Johnson moved, seconded by Mr. Adams, that the minutes of January 21, 2014 and January 27, 2014 be approved with that addition. Vote: Ayes—Walters, Pickett, Adams, Lovelett, Archibald, Miller and Johnson. Motion carried. Citizen Hearings No one present wished to speak on any topic not on the agenda. Mayor/Council Communication and Committee Reports Skagit Valley Tulip Festival Presentation: Cindy Verge, Executive Director of the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival, handed out 2014 Tulip Festival brochures. Ms. Verge thanked the City for its longtime support of the festival through Hotel/Motel tax funding. She presented the mayor with a framed print of the 2014 Tulip Festival poster painted by Luke Tornatzky of Port Townsend. Executive Summary of Mayor's Listening Tour: Mayor Gere presented a report prepared by her Transition Team summarizing the results of the Mayor's Listening Tour. The mayor reported that the Transition Team had disbanded at the end of January and thanked them for their service. She said the team sought input from over 70 local organizations and received 243 responses to the survey. Mayor Gere listed the seven cross-cutting themes that emerged as top priorities: open, transparent, accessible City government; a community-wide visioning process; a proactive, integrated strategy for economic development; a safe environment; steps to protect the natural environment and reduce pollutants; clear, simple City administrative processes; and working in tandem with local, county and state entities. The mayor added that the complete report and the tabulated survey responses were posted on the City website. Mrs. Pickett reported that she, the mayor, and several department heads attended the CSB report at Brodniak Hall about the Tesoro explosion. She said the report was very detailed and she thanked the Tesoro workers who spoke eloquently during the evening. Mayor Gere removed Item 7b, the Udd real estate transaction from the agenda and said it would come back to Council at a later date. Mayor Gere reported that she, councilmembers Miller and Lovelett, Public Works Director Fred Buckenmeyer, Planning Director Ryan Larsen and Human Resources Director Emily Schuh attended the Association of Washington Cities legislative conference in Olympia the prior week and met with Representatives Lytton and Morris and Senator Ranker. The mayor said the group emphasized community issues including transportation, City responsibilities involved with the legalization of marijuana, simpler taxation on recreational services, EMS levy caps, and the importance of the trail system to Anacortes. Mr. Walters reported from the Finance Committee that it had been working on a fund balance policy, an employee cell phone reimbursement and use policy, a sewer rate policy for entities that use significantly less sewer than water, a donation ordinance, and a revised procedure for payment of claims. Anacortes City Council Minutes February 3, 2014 1 Mr. Walters reported that the Public Works Committee met the prior week and discussed the 3MG water storage tank on Whistle Lake Road, garbage automation, trucks on M Avenue and the Pavement Management Plan. Mr. Walters reported that the Planning Committee met earlier in the evening on a number of items. He raised the question of the role of the Planning Committee in land use legislation. Consent Agenda Mr. Johnson moved, seconded by Mrs. Pickett, to approve the following Consent Agenda items. Ms. Lovelett disclosed that she sits on the Board of the Anacortes Farmer's Market. No one present objected to her vote on this matter. Vote: Ayes—Pickett, Adams, Lovelett, Archibald, Miller, Johnson and Walters. Motion carried. Approval of Vouchers/Cancellation of Checks Council voted unanimously that the following vouchers/checks audited and certified by the City's Auditing Officer(Finance Director) and subsequently reviewed and approved by the Council Finance Committee on January 22, 2014 and January 29, 2014 are approved for payment as of February 3, 2014. Claims: Check Numbers 71228 through 71348 in the total amount of$348,657.24 EFT Number 71227 in the total amount of$1,777.00 In the same motion Council approve a Street Fair Application for the Art of Gardening on April 26 and April 27, 2014 from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Finance Update Finance Director Steve Hoglund presented a fourth quarter 2013 financial update. He reviewed general fund revenues by source, noting that sales tax and building permits both came in significantly more than projected. Mr. Hoglund explained other variations over and under projections and summarized that overall general fund revenues were 3% higher than budgeted totaling $10,705,169. Mr. Hoglund then reviewed general fund expenditures by department explaining the few items that were slightly higher than budgeted. He concluded that overall general fund expenditures came in at 98% of budget. Mr. Hoglund then provided a more detailed review of sales tax, impact fees and real estate excise tax revenue compared to prior year and said the trends were up. Mr. Hoglund then reviewed revenues and expenditures in the other funds. He concluded that overall city-wide revenue exceeded expenditures during 2013 by over$3.5M. Unfinished Business Public Hearing: MJB Comprehensive Plan Map Amendment and Rezone Request Mayor Gere advised that Planning Director Ryan Larsen would introduce the evening, Museum Education Coordinator Bret Lunsford would provide a historical look at the industrial zone, then members of the public would be invited to speak beginning with those who did not speak at the last session on January 21. The mayor asked speakers to limit themselves to three minutes to give everyone a chance to speak. She said that after all citizen testimony the proponent would be given an opportunity for rebuttal. Mr. Larsen highlighted written testimony submitted by Police Chief Bonnie Bowers regarding impacts of big box stores on police calls in the region. Mr. Larsen also reported that there had been a correction to the projected sales tax revenue included in the MJB presentation from the January 21, 2014 City Council meeting: the projected sales tax revenue to Anacortes would be $300K rather than $705K. Citizen Bob Barry asked if it had been determined if Council had authority to respond to MJB's proposal at this time. City Attorney Brad Furlong said yes, the City did have authority. Anacortes City Council Minutes February 3, 2014 2 Mr. Lunsford then presented a slideshow overview of the economic history of the area proposed by MJB for rezone including early industrial activity, the demise of the mills, the urban renewal project in the 1960s, the Snelson-Anvil modular construction project in the 70s and 80s, and prior land use proposals by MJB since it acquired the property in 1991. Ron Smith, 14543 Jura Place, architect, said he respected MJB's ability to create a viable project but cautioned Council against rezoning the MJB property without fully considering all the impacts of that action. Mr. Smith said he and his wife, Ann, own commercial space and retail businesses downtown but after recently significantly upgrading their spaces they are holding off on future investment until they know the future. He described the special retail community in Anacortes. Mr. Smith said there is no town square, or piazza, no center of town, but MJB is proposing to further disperse traffic and retail development. Mr. Smith said Anacortes zoning makes sense now and questioned adding new commercial development two blocks east of Commercial Avenue. He urged Council to allow the project to be part of the 2016 Comprehensive Plan so the community could participate in a more complete and relevant process. Marilyn Stadler, 2301 35th Court, accompanied by her husband, Mark, said they support commercial rezoning of the MJB properties. She said a 100,000 SF Fred Meyer would be a great addition to the city. She said the Hebert report is right, a lot of money is leaving Anacortes. She said her family purchases things in Burlington that they can't get in Anacortes and that they save more by shopping there than it costs in gas to travel. Mrs. Stadler said the Council and Mayor must consider that bringing a new retailer to this area will be better for Anacortes and will bring economic development including jobs. She said about 20% of Anacortes residents are over 55 and don't like to drive across the valley and others can't afford to do so. Mrs. Stadler said Anacortes needs a Fred's and that she hoped Council would consider it. Clay Leming, 1913 22nd Street, said MJB's application was premature. Mr. Leming said the City first needs to decide whether any large retail should be permitted in the city limits. If so, the zoning code should be amended to allow those types of uses. He said he hadn't seen any documentation that any particular large retail store would in fact be located in Anacortes and called the present application speculative. He said the Economic and Community Impact Analysis and Market Feasibility Study prepared by Hebert contained errors and assumptions that may not be factual. Mr. Leming said the request should be denied or postponed and incorporated into the 2016 Comprehensive Plan update. He asked if it would be better to locate large retail in town instead of on SR20 across from Frontier Ford or on the Reservation. Robert Barry, 1914 22nd Street, said Council had been told there's a lot of stuff people can't buy in Anacortes but that's not true today. Mr. Barry said a new big box store is already in town via UPS and Fedex over the Internet. Mr. Barry said this trend has big box stores on the run and he didn't believe Anacortes was likely to have a store wanting to build here. He said MJB had at best a vague verbal indication of interest from Fred Meyer. He said Council should approve whatever it takes to allow such a store to be built but require that within twelve months there be a firm contract in place with a retailer and that construction be started within two years otherwise the zoning change would revert. Mr. Barry said that wouldn't guarantee a store in Anacortes but would protect against the possibility of a large retailer locating on Indian lands instead. Jim Rard, who owner of businesses at 2417 T Avenue and 700 28th Street, said he moved his business here 20 years ago from Seattle expecting a new marina, hotels, and exciting new things but nothing has happened that local businesses haven't pushed through themselves. He encouraged Council to approve the proposed change and said any change is good. He said neighboring waterfront cities are moving ahead and being competitive while we're parking boats on our waterfront. Carolyn Moulton, 1016 16th Street, co-owner of Bike Spot on Commercial Avenue, presented findings from Civic Economics and the Institute for Local Self-Reliance. She cited a study published in the Journal of Urban Economics in 2010 looking at how arrival of a large chain impacts local retailers. She said the study analyzed 1200 big box store openings and the impacts on businesses that competed directly with the big box and on businesses that offered different products and services. Ms. Moulton reported that the Anacortes City Council Minutes February 3, 2014 3 study found large negative effects on directly competing retailers within a five mile radius including a substantial number of store closures while non-competing businesses experienced no positive spillover from the new retailer. Ms. Moulton said this may be because retail spending is a relatively fixed pie. She said the most thorough study of Wal-Mart's impact on existing retailers found that 84% of Wal-Mart sales simply shifted dollars away from existing retailers. Ms. Moulton cited another study that found that big box stores, compared to specialty retail shops, cause higher road maintenance costs and higher demand for public safety. She cited a study published in Economic Development Quarterly in 2011 that analyzed almost 3000 counties and found that counties with more small locally owned businesses enjoy greater per capita income growth. Ms. Moulton said she'd like to know the true economic cost to the Anacortes community if absentee owned corporations displace locally owned businesses. She described what Bellis Fair mall did to Bellingham and urged Council not to approve the rezone but to consider it as part of the 2016 Comprehensive Plan. Andrew Stewart, 2003 M Avenue, said he moved his marine carpentry business to Anacortes 16 years ago and now employs four people. He said the gentrification of the region's waterfront had made it difficult to find affordable places to practice marine trades. He said Anacortes is regionally well known to vessel owners as a convenient hub for services and outfitting. Mr. Stewart applauded MJB's investment in the waterfront infrastructure, especially the upcoming heavy haul out facility. He said the City has a responsibility to provide clearly defined land use zoning building codes. He urged resumption of the Futures Project discussions to develop a common vision for the MJB properties. He said the City should recruit businesses that are a good fit for the community while supporting existing stakeholders. Mr. Stewart encouraged MJB to move past intransigence and cooperate to improve Anacortes in a way all can profit and be proud. Mr. Stewart said to spot rezone industrial land would divide the amount of land available for industrial development and that gentrification would raise the cost of future industrial and manufacturing activities which provide better jobs than consumer activity. He urged Council to deny the rezone and take it up as part of the 2016 Comprehensive Plan. Mr. Stewart called for recruiting industries that make quality useful products and employ skilled workers and for supporting the people and businesses already here. Lin Folsom, 1903 9th Street, echoed the comments of Mr. Leming and Mr. Stewart. She thanked MJB for bringing forward this proposal because it shows that Anacortes needs a plan including zoning, economic development, transportation, etc. She said an opportunity to do just that is coming with the 2016 Comprehensive Plan and she urged everyone to participate. Ms. Folsom requested that Council deny the request and address it after a thorough Comprehensive Plan review. Anna Holm, 1217 4th Street, Sedro Woolley, said she owns the Apothecary Spa in Anacortes and considers herself a potential future resident. Ms. Holm described Anacortes as a perfect small town. She observed that small communities are disappearing as convenience is becoming king. She said that a big box store would cost Anacortes the living history that attracts visitors. She urged inviting tourists in and said small towns grow by being unique and encouraging small business. Ms. Holm described the many benefits of shopping locally and questioned the value of cheap merchandise. Phil Elvrum, 2007 M Avenue, said his family has been in Anacortes since the 1800s. He said the City Council has two jobs, first managing a large complicated business called the City of Anacortes but also representing the spirit of the population and steering the town's identify towards an ideal community. He said based on the last public hearing and the reaction to similar proposals in the past, it seemed clear that Anacortes does not want a large box store. Mr. Elvrum said most places across the nation have lost their defining characteristics. He said Anacortes remains a rare exception for now, having escaped large scale corporate colonization so far. Mr. Elvrum acknowledged the testimony favoring considering the rezone as part of the 2016 Comprehensive Plan update but he urged Council instead to say"no"forever. He said formula business restriction is becoming more common as towns enact rules prohibiting chains and box stores. He said residents have spoken clearly and repeatedly: deny this rezone and start discussing a permanent legal barrier against future threats to what makes Anacortes wonderful and distinct. Vernon Lauridsen, 2219 32nd Street, urged Council to follow the Planning Commission recommendations to 1)deny the application because it is inconsistent with the current Comprehensive Plan, 2) move it to Anacortes City Council Minutes February 3, 2014 4 the 2016 Comprehensive Plan update, and 3)consider it in light of a city-wide comprehensive visioning process and strategy for economic development. He described the proposed new C2 zone and said it would effectively allow nearly all the permitted and conditional uses from the Commercial zone on this industrial property as long as no building is bigger than 105,000 SF. Mr. Lauridsen said the current Comprehensive Plan Goal 4 states, "Do not rezone additional areas for commercial development until existing commercial areas are fully developed or shown to be inadequate for the need." He said councilmembers have to follow the law. Mr. Lauridsen said the proposed rezone would be impermissible spot zoning inconsistent with the Comprehensive Plan. He said there is widespread agreement to undertake a community-wide visioning process and a long term economic development strategy. He concluded that process should happen first before rezoning any land in Anacortes. Jeanie Brown, 4506 Kingsway Place, commented on the Hebert Economic and Community Impact Analysis and Market Feasibility Study. Ms. Brown said the report is flawed because it is based on a phone survey of 200 respondents from North Whidbey Island, the San Juan Islands, and Anacortes—an area that hosts 53,000 people. She said it is unlikely any big box store would read this report, they would do their own market research. She said most people who moved here knew there wasn't a big box store here. Brian McDugle, 1014 6th Street, spoke under the Citizen Hearings section of the agenda rather than as part of the public hearing. Mr. McDugle said he was alarmed to find out the dangers of the fluoride in the water system. He said fluoride was implemented 53 years ago without total knowledge. Mr. McDugle read a long list of health problems associated with fluoridated water and referred to a Harvard study on the topic which he had distributed to councilmembers. He said this could have serious consequences and that he would like to get it out of the water. Diana Farnsworth, 2115 14th Street, extolled the virtues of Anacortes. She said her husband and his partner have a business in town and she hopes to open a retail shop here. She said she values personal relationships in local commerce. She said when she shopped at big box stores she was looking for items she didn't expect to last. She said she wants to buy things in Anacortes that will last. She said Anacortes has history and a value of something better, not commercialism. Pat Barrett, 11987 Marine Drive, endorsed Mr. Elvrum's testimony. Mr. Barrett said he read the Hebert study and it is suspect. He said if the Council and community are going to use numbers, they need to be accurate. He said Anacortes should ask, if we rezone a piece of property, what does it do for that business owner? If we rezone this for one business, what does it do to the value of their property? Mr. Barrett said that's a gift and he asked what Anacortes gets in return. He noted the generous involvement of local business owners in community affairs. He asked if Fred Meyer or Wal-Mart or Target is likely to pay the"commercial avenue tax"to support local groups. Andrea Doll, 1319 8th Street, asked if the community had looked at all the options for this property. She said there are other ways to look at this property besides just industrial and C2. She suggested the potential for a convention center, an aquarium, or a maritime interactive museum. She recounted the experience of Astoria, Oregon which has made itself into a destination city with a reconstructed waterfront and the Columbia River Maritime Museum. Ms. Doll said Anacortes has a similar, rich history and a fabulous location. She urged Council and the community to consider all the options. Ms. Doll asked Council to submit the land use question to the rigors of the 2016 Comprehensive Plan update. Sandra Spargo, 1408 11th Street, reported that she had sent out a survey to 1700 people on her listsery and received 87 responses, 70 of those from Anacortes. Of those, Ms. Spargo said 71% said they would shop at an Anacortes Fred Meyer, 58% said they would buy groceries, 69% said they would buy dry goods, and 62% said they would shop at a Fred Meyer on tribal land. She urged making Anacortes more affordable for children. She reported that 909 Anacortes students get free and reduced lunch and said working families need affordable clothing, housing, and groceries. She urged more price competition for children's and teen's clothing and said charity should not be the only option for the working poor. Anacortes City Council Minutes February 3, 2014 5 Alex Taylor, 1907 Cedar Springs Lane, said changing this zoning would open up Pandora's box with commercial. He asked if MJB would subdivide the property, or lease the land, or sell the land. He said big box stores bring their own construction companies so Anacortes construction companies wouldn't get work from it. He asked what MJB would do with the property if no store was built. He asked how much Anacortes would get in return. He pointed to the shipbuilding and rope businesses on 3rd Street and said they bring money and jobs here, the kind of jobs Anacortes needs. Mr. Taylor said MJB hasn't made much of an effort to develop the industrial land it has. He asked Council to do a real good study on what Anacortes will get if the zoning is changed and said he didn't think Council should change the zoning. Nick Rennis, 814 6th Street, owner of The Business on Commercial Avenue, said the few voices who support a Fred Meyer don't want a Wal-Mart but there's no guarantee a rezone will result in a Fred Meyer, nor that it will be just one box store. Responding to statements made by proponents of a big box store, Mr. Rennis suggested that bicycling on the Tommy Thompson Trail to shop at a big box store is not realistic, listed a number of Anacortes retail stores where socks are for sale, and said food and virtually anything ones wants to buy is available in town. He said people want one stop shopping, and if that's what they want, they don't want Anacortes, they want Burlington, and they'll still go to Burlington to go to Costco even if a big box store is built in Anacortes. He raised aesthetic objections to big box stores. He said a big box store would put existing stores out of business, then fail itself and leave an abandoned store and parking lot. Mr. Rennis said local business owners care about the community but absentee business owners don't. He urged councilmembers to vote no on the rezone. Nick Stowe, 1016 16th Street, said after living in San Juans for a decade he and his partner moved to Anacortes five years ago and opened their bicycle repair shop downtown three years ago. Mr. Stowe said he opposed the proposed rezone for several reasons: dividing the retail core is not a good idea, small businesses would close, and town would lose its character. Mr. Stowe told councilmembers it would be hasty to decide on this now and asked them to deny the rezone or at least put it off until the 2016 Comprehensive Plan update. Genevieve Gosselin, 2007 M Avenue, said many people had spoken about convenience and jobs. Addressing convenience, Ms. Gosselin said she does not know how to drive so she walks and bicycles around town and still finds all the comforts she needs here. She said the Old Town commercial district is essentially an outdoor shopping mall. She reported that she grocery shops with her bicycle. Regarding jobs, Ms. Gosselin said young people need to be able to live here and raise families and that industrial zoning is crucial for family wage jobs. She said the promise of 90 Fred Meyer jobs means nothing because that won't allow people to survive and buy a house in Anacortes. Cynthia Richardson, 315 V Avenue, said Mr. Leming's testimony hit the nail on the head: Anacortes needs to decide first if it wants a big box store, then if so, decide where is the best place for it. She said rezoning commercial area to allow larger stores would be the wrong thing to do and that the industrial area or LM1 out on the highway would be better because the scale of large retail could overwhelm the scale of existing small businesses whereas it would be appropriately scaled next to industrial buildings and parking lots. Mrs. Richardson warned that corporate retail strategies change over time and if a big box store were to close, a large empty building would be a blight in a commercial zone but in an industrial zone the building could be converted to manufacturing or office uses already allowed in that zone. She observed that SR20 and R Avenue are designed to accommodate the traffic including trucks that large retail stores would need. Responding to Mr. Rard's testimony, Mrs. Richardson said a decade ago Council changed zoning to CM2 on part of MJB's land and MJB still hasn't built anything there. She said the City has no guarantee that if the current proposed rezone is approved anything will be built on that land either. Jane Allyn, 2009 11th Street, quoted the Economic Opportunity Institute that"Good jobs paying a living wage are essential for economic recovery." She said in Washington State the living wage for a single adult is $15.28/hour but Fred Meyer typically pays $10.90/hour to cashiers and $13.72/hour to grocery clerks. She said this isn't a living wage. She added that"living wage" assumes full time employment but said Fred Meyer is noted for keeping workers below full time. She asked how a Fred Meyer store would benefit the community if it doesn't bring good jobs but rather contributes to greater poverty and increased Anacortes City Council Minutes February 3, 2014 6 crime and puts existing stores out of business. Ms. Allyn concluded that if citizens care about their economic, social and personal health they should deny Fred Meyer a place in Anacortes. Ron Harris, 1120 17th Street, said he can and does walk to all the shops and it's a kick. He said the real question is what kind of jobs does Anacortes want, grocery clerk jobs? He said any future vision should brainstorm what types of businesses will do some good for Anacortes and keep it the kind of community it is now. He compared Anacortes to Sedro-Woolley which, he said, keeps on keeping on. Mr. Harris said Anacortes needs a team to continue former City Councilmember Terry Christiansen's efforts to encourage businesses to come to Anacortes. No other members of the audience wishing to speak, Mayor Gere invited the proponent to present any rebuttal. Jimmy Blais, 510 4th Avenue West, Seattle, introduced Cynthia Hebert of Hebert Research Group. Ms. Hebert presented the findings of the economic analysis performed by her firm. She said their task was to look at what is actually happening in Anacortes. Ms. Hebert apologized for mislabeling one table in the study which suggested that the tax revenue to the City was over$700K per year. She said that is all of the taxes that accrue to the local governments of all levels and the City's share is actually about$300K. She said Hebert were tasked to look at the viability of a Fred Meyer-type store at 28th Street and R Avenue and do a comprehensive analysis of the demographic, income and consumption habits for the City of Anacortes and its trade area which includes the San Juan Islands and north Whidbey Island including the effects on wages and employment, impacts of a new store on the local economy, the importance of one stop shopping, identifying where people actually shop, identifying variables that would drive demand for a Fred Meyer, determining target markets, and assessing the needs for other commercial enterprises. Ms. Hebert described her company's phone survey of 200 people and explained why the survey was limited to individuals 25-35 years old. She said the margin of error for the survey is 6.9%. Ms. Hebert said her firm has done thousands of these studies in its 36 years and the results are not terribly different in any struggling community. She described the secondary research data sources including the U.S. Census, State Dept. of Revenue, State Dept. of Labor and Claritas. Ms. Hebert then reviewed the figures from the opportunity gap discovered by the study as described on pages 13-14 of the study including over$88M of retail leakage in the primary trade area and $132M in the secondary trade area. Ms. Hebert called the figures "stunning," some of the highest leakage numbers she'd seen in two decades. Ms. Hebert then reported on the employment section of the report, stating that job creation would be about 100 permanent jobs. She said a Fred Meyer would enhance retail convergence within the primary and secondary trade areas: that store would be the anchor to draw dollars from outside. Ms. Hebert estimated that an Anacortes Fred Meyer would generate 62,871 shopping trips annually and said those shoppers would likely shop at other local stores while in Anacortes. Ms. Hebert closed by restating and emphasizing the retail leakage figures. She said those dollars aren't coming into town to support public services that are supported by sales taxes. Ms. Hebert said grocery prices would go down, quality would go up and service would improve if the existing Safeway store had real strong competition. Mayor Gere asked if Internet sales were included in the leakage figures reported by Ms. Hebert. Ms. Hebert said yes. Mr. Blais returned to the microphone. He told Council that all the facts were before them. He said that MJB had been in town for 25 years and that its principals were not absentee owners. He said the data showed that the project would benefit Anacortes, would bring jobs, and would bring tax revenue. Mr. Blais said the majority of the community wants and needs this. Mayor Gere invited councilmembers to discuss the process moving forward. Mr. Miller suggested closing the public comment period in a way that makes sure the record is complete, possibly closing it the following day. Mr. Archibald agreed with Mr. Miller. Ms. Lovelett had no comments. Mr. Adams suggested a site visit. Mr. Larsen said councilmembers were welcome to visit the site individually or staff could schedule and advertise a coordinated site visit. Mrs. Pickett said she would like to allow another day or so for written comments and that she didn't have a strong opinion on a site visit. Mr. Walters said he liked Anacortes City Council Minutes February 3, 2014 7 the idea of a site visit and agreed that Council should close comment period, perhaps the following day. Mr. Johnson suggested keeping the public comment period open for written comments until February 7. Mr. Johnson said he had questions for Ms. Hebert. He said the Hebert study said it had found that one stop shopping would not replace the local businesses. Mr. Johnson asked in which cities Hebert had found that to be true. Ms. Hebert offered Leavenworth and City of Bellevue. Mr. Johnson asked if she could provide other names to Mr. Larsen after the meeting. Mr. Walters asked Ms. Hebert which part of the study was based on survey data and which was based on Claritas. Ms. Hebert said she couldn't say. She said part of the Hebert study is a statistically valid survey based on random sample of 200 residents of the three market areas. She said the other part of the study is secondary research based on secondary data sources used to augment and validate what the statistical survey indicated. Mr. Walters asked if the secondary data sources informed the retail leakage figures in the study. Ms. Hebert said yes. Mr. Walters observed that only 25-35 year old residents were surveyed and asked why. Ms. Hebert said that in 20 years when current projects are built those people would be defining the economy. Mr. Johnson asked Ms. Hebert how she defined the trade areas of Anacortes and asked how North Whidbey could be part of the Anacortes trade area. Ms. Hebert said a trade area is where people do their shopping. She said Oak Harbor and North Whidbey are within a 20 minute drive of Anacortes and the question was to find out why those shoppers aren't coming here. Mr. Miller asked Ms. Hebert where the reported retail leakage was going. Ms. Hebert said to Costco and big box malls. Mr. Miller asked what percentage was leaking to the Internet. Ms. Hebert said 15-20% is going to the Internet. Mr. Miller observed that the Hebert study said a Fred Meyer in Anacortes would capture $36M. Mr. Archibald said the Hebert study looked at how a Fred Meyer could fill the retail gap but didn't look at other options to fill that gap. Ms. Hebert said this was not a planning study but an economic analysis. Mr. Archibald said there could be lots of other ways to capture those dollars, as Leavenworth did. Ms. Hebert said that wasn't her firm's task. Mr. Walters asked Mr. Blais why this rezone shouldn't be pushed into the 2016 Comprehensive Plan. Mr. Blais said Fred Meyer told him they have been talking with other land owners in the area including the tribes, they want a store nearby, and if the rezone gets pushed to 2016 a store couldn't open until 2018 at the earliest. He said Fred Meyer wants to move quickly, not five years from now. Ms. Lovelett told Mr. Blais the community is concerned that the proposed rezone isn't project specific and asked what guarantees MJB can give. Mr. Blais said MJB could give no guarantees at this point in time, its a chicken and egg game: MJB needs proper zoning to get a store to sign on. Mr. Blais said he couldn't promise it wouldn't be a Wal-Mart or a Target, he could only give his word that Fred Meyer was the one on the top of MJB's list that they'd been talking to. Ms. Lovelett asked if MJB would put in writing that if it were not able to get a Fred Meyer it would retract the zoning request. Mr. Blais said he could take that idea to the owners of MJB. Mayor Gere suggested to Council closing the public hearing at the conclusion of the meeting, holding a site visit, and extending the written comment period until Friday. Mr. Miller observed that he was agreeable but would like to hold the Council deliberations in front of the same group of citizens who have been attending the public hearings so he asked to set and publicize the date for those deliberations. At approximately 9:30 p.m. Mayor Gere closed the public hearing. She said the written record would remain open until Friday, February 7, 2014 at 5:00 p.m. and that Mr. Larsen would schedule and advertise a site visit. She announced that Council would deliberate on the matter at its regular meeting on Tuesday, February 18, 2014. There being no further business, at approximately 9:30 p.m. the regularly scheduled Anacortes City Council meeting of February 3, 2014 was adjourned. Anacortes City Council Minutes February 3, 2014 8