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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2014-01-21 City Council Minutes Approved City Council Minutes—January 21, 2014 At 7:00 p.m. Mayor Laurie Gere called the regularly scheduled Anacortes City Council meeting of January 21, 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 moved, seconded by Mr. Adams, that the minutes of January 6, 2014 and January 13, 2014 be approved as if read. 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. Mrs. Pickett moved, seconded by Mr. Miller, to amend the agenda to move Item 6a (Public Hearing: MJB Comprehensive Plan Map Amendment and Rezone Request)to the end of the agenda. Vote: Ayes— Pickett, Adams, Archibald, Miller and Johnson. Nays— Lovelett, Walters. Motion carried. Consent Agenda Mr. Adams moved, seconded by Mr. Johnson, to approve the following Consent Agenda items. Vote: Ayes—Adams, Lovelett, Archibald, Miller, Johnson, Walters and Pickett. 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 9, 2014 and January 15, 2014 are approved for payment as of January 21, 2014. Claims: Check Numbers 71043 through 71226 in the total amount of$1,282,900.68 EFT Numbers 71040 through 71042 in the total amount of$47,117.97 Prewritten Claims: Number 71039 in the total amount of$1,500.00 Payroll for January 17, 2014 in the total amount of$610,708.92 Check Numbers 39201 through 39228 in the total amount of$40,499.41 Direct Deposit Numbers from 52369 through 52557 in the total amount of$348,911.75 EFT Numbers from 1628 through 1634 in the total amount of$221,297.76 School District Presentation on Two Levy Measures Dr. Mark Wenzel, Superintendent of Anacortes School District No. 103, briefly discussed the mission of the school district and encouraged partnerships between the city and the school district. Dr. Wenzel explained the upcoming school levy measures. He said ballots were mailed January 21 and are due February 11. Dr. Wenzel said Proposition 1 is a standard Maintenance and Operations levy and would provide 26% of the ASD budget, replacing the three-year levy approved by voters in 2010. Proposition 2 is a new technology levy. Dr. Wenzel said many school districts in the Puget Sound region have passed such levies to fund the critical link between technology and preparing students for the future. He said Proposition 2 would include funding for wireless internet access, tablets in classrooms, and technology staffing over the next four years at a millage rate of 32 cents per$1000 of assessed value. Dr. Wenzel thanked Council for its support of the schools. Anacortes City Council Minutes January 21, 2014 1 Mayor/Council Communication and Committee Reports Board Appointment Process Mayor Gere reviewed how she would be filling vacancies on city boards. She said the public would be invited to apply for each open position, that positions would be posted on the City website and in the Anacortes American, and that applications and resumes should be sent to the mayor's office where they would be reviewed by department heads and the mayor prior to the mayor bringing a recommendation to Council for approval. Mayor Gere announced that current openings on the Arts Commission and the Historic Preservation Board would be posted within the week. Arts Commission Reappointments: Rita James, Lanny Bergner, Terry MacDonald and Betsy Humphrey Mayor Gere recommended reappointing Rita James, Lanny Bergner, Terry MacDonald and Betsy Humphrey to the Arts Commission. Mrs. Pickett moved, seconded by Mr. Johnson, to reappoint those four commissioners. Vote: Ayes— Lovelett, Archibald, Miller, Johnson, Walters, Pickett and Adams. Motion carried. Forest Advisory Board Reappointment: Marty Laumbattus Mayor Gere requested Council approval to reappoint Marty Laumbattus to the Forest Advisory Board. Mr. Johnson moved, seconded by Ms. Lovelett, to approve the reappointment of Mr. Laumbattus. Vote: Ayes —Archibald, Miller, Johnson, Walters, Pickett, Adams and Lovelett. Motion carried. Mayor Pro Tern Johnson advised that he had handed out proposed Council Committee assignments the week before and had received no requests for changes. Mr. Johnson moved, seconded by Mr. Walters, to approve the City Council Committee assignments for 2014. Vote: Ayes— Miller, Johnson, Walters, Pickett, Adams, Lovelett and Archibald. Motion carried. Those assignments are: Finance: Johnson, Walters, Archibald Parks: Pickett, Adams, Lovelett Personnel: Pickett, Archibald, Miller Planning: Walters, Adams, Archibald Port/City Liaison: Pickett, Walters, Lovelett Public Safety: Adams, Archibald, Miller Public Works: Johnson, Walters, Lovelett Traffic Safety: Johnson, Pickett, Miller West Skagit RFA: Johnson, Adams, Miller County Marine Resources: Lovelett Jail Task Force: Pickett, Lovelett, Miller Street Tree: Pickett Resolution 1883: Authorizing Write-off of Miscellaneous Billing Balances Deemed Uncollectible Finance Director Steve Hoglund presented a resolution to write off a total of$2,067.63 of bad debt in nine customer accounts that had been sent to collections years before and for which the statute of limitations had expired. Mrs. Pickett moved, seconded by Mr. Archibald, to approve Resolution 1883 authorizing the write-off of miscellaneous billing balances deemed uncollectible. Vote: Ayes—Johnson, Walters, Pickett, Adams, Lovelett, Archibald and Miller. Motion carried. Ordinance 2919: Setting Contractual Water Customer Rates Mr. Hoglund briefly recapped the water rate presentation from the January 13, 2014 City Council study session, then presented an ordinance to adopt capital rates for the utility's six contractual regional water customers that would be effective January 1, 2014. Mr. Hoglund said the rate changes reflect an increase in debt service payments for the Water Treatment Plant improvements and also changes in the committed volumes from the six customers. Mr. Walters asked about two letters received from La Conner Town Councilman Dan O'Donnell contesting the rate figures. Mr. Hoglund advised that after extensive review he had concluded that none of the questions raised in that correspondence were material to the capital charges presented in Ordinance 2919. Mr. Walters reported the City Council Finance Committee recommendation that the City move towards a simpler rate system that would not involve annual Anacortes City Council Minutes January 21, 2014 2 reconciliations nor invite conflict over water rates and would be more in line with how other water utilities set rates. Mr. Johnson moved, seconded by Mr. Walters, to approve Ordinance 2919 setting rates and charges pursuant to water supply agreements with certain regional wholesale and industrial customers; amending Section 13.32.050 Anacortes Municipal Code (Ordinance No. 2898); and, ratifying and confirming prior acts. Vote: Ayes—Walters, Pickett, Adams, Lovelett, Archibald, Miller and Johnson. Motion carried. Purchase Option Contract - Udd Property Mayor Gere withdrew this item from the agenda and said there had been no action taken on the Udd property at this time. Resolution 1884: Adopting a Policy Regarding the Provision of Health Benefit Coverage for City of Anacortes Jail Inmates Human Resources Director Emily Schuh explained that the city has to pay for all reasonable medical expenses for its jail inmates pending disposition of their cases. She requested Council action on a resolution to create a policy to let the City look at whether it is more cost effective to provide health insurance through the Affordable Care Act for an inmate than to pay for his or her medical costs directly. Ms. Schuh advised that the City's insurer, Washington Cities Insurance Authority, approved this approach and indicated this may become the norm in the future. Mr. Walters asked if the City Attorney had reviewed the resolution. Mr. Furlong advised that WCIA had drafted the resolution, had reviewed Mr. Furlong's revisions to it, and had opined that it is in compliance with the state constitution and state law. Mr. Johnson moved, seconded by Mr. Adams, to adopt Resolution 1884 adopting a policy regarding the provision of health insurance coverage for City of Anacortes jail inmates. Vote: Ayes— Pickett, Adams, Lovelett, Archibald, Miller, Johnson and Walters. Motion carried. Sidewalk Ramp Retrofit Public Works Director Fred Buckenmeyer requested Council approval to award a contract to construct 48 ADA compliant sidewalk ramps at specified locations between 3rd Street and 11th Street. He reported that the City received twelve bids for the project with the low bid from Trinity Contractors Inc. in the amount of $98,442. The Engineer's Estimate was $122,243. Mr. Buckenmeyer said the contractor's references reflected excellent performance for other municipalities and that staff recommended awarding the contract to Trinity. Mr. Adams noted that nearly half the cost of the project would be funded by Federal grants. Mr. Adams moved, seconded by Mrs. Pickett, to award the 2014 sidewalk retrofit contract to Trinity Contractors, Inc. in the amount of$98,442. Vote: Ayes—Adams, Lovelett, Archibald, Miller, Johnson, Walters and Pickett. Motion carried. At approximately 7:37 p.m. Mayor Gere called a brief recess. At approximately 7:41 p.m. the mayor called the meeting back to order. Unfinished Business Public Hearing: MJB Comprehensive Plan Map Amendment and Rezone Request City Attorney Brad Furlong explained that this hearing resulted from the City Council decision on December 2, 2013 to hold a public hearing on MJB's proposal to modify the Comprehensive Plan and amend the Development Regulations to allow a change of use on the subject property. Mr. Furlong said that Planning Director Ryan Larsen would introduce the proposal, then the proponent would be allowed up to 15 minutes for an opening statement to describe the proposal, then members of the public who had signed up at the beginning of the meeting would be allowed to testify about the proposal for up to three minutes each but could not yield their time to another speaker. Mr. Furlong said anyone who did not have a chance to speak at this meeting could speak when the hearing was reconvened on February 3, 2014. After all public testimony the proponent would have up to 15 minutes for rebuttal and summary, then Council could decide to close the hearing or keep it open for further oral or written testimony. Mr. Furlong added that the mayor and councilmembers could question witnesses during their testimony and that after the hearing was closed Council would deliberate and take whatever action it deemed appropriate. In response to a question from Mrs. Pickett, Mr. Furlong explained that this hearing concerned a particular property and a particular owner's right and ability to use its property in the way it sees fit so it Anacortes City Council Minutes January 21, 2014 3 had taken on the appearance of a quasi-judicial matter. He said that any substantive decision on the proposal by Council would be a legislative act but because of the application of the decision to a particular piece of property it was safest to handle the matter as if it were quasi-judicial. He said doing so allows full public participation and precludes ex parte communication. Mr. Larsen then described MJB's proposal to change the Comprehensive Plan Map designation from Industrial (I)to a new Commercial 2 (C2) district concurrent with rezone of the property to a new C2 zone and development code changes to match. Mr. Larsen indicated the property on the overhead, 3.5 parcels north of 26t street and east of R Avenue, and described the surrounding zoning. Mr. Larsen said staff had proposed several alternatives to the original proposal and that MJB was amenable to several of those potential scenarios. Mr. Larsen read the Planning Commission's recommendation which was to deny the proposal and process the request with the 2016 Comprehensive Plan Periodic Update. Mayor Gere asked councilmembers if they needed to disclose any ex parte communication about this proposal. Ms. Lovelett said that during the 2013 campaign many people talked to her about the notion of big box stores in Anacortes but that she definitely felt she could be unbiased about looking at the zoning. Mr. Archibald said he had discussed the process but not the particulars. Mr. Miller observed that the proposal was discussed extensively during the 2013 election campaigns but that since being sworn in he had removed himself from meetings where this proposal was being discussed. Mr. Johnson stated that he had attended MJB's presentation at the Depot during 2013. Mr. Walters said he had attended that same presentation and had talked to many people about many aspects of the proposal. Mrs. Pickett observed that it had been hard to avoid comments from people on all sides of the question. Mr. Adams concluded that when the topic was first raised it was not clear that it would be a quasi-judicial matter and all councilmembers had talked about it but there was no reason the Council could not be unbiased and listen to the testimony objectively. Mayor Gere advised that she had discussed all MJB's property with Mr. Blais the prior summer but since taking office she had walked away from meetings and discussions of the topic so that she could be impartial. Mayor Gere advised that at least 25 people had signed up to speak and that she would call them in the order they signed up. She asked speakers to limit themselves to three minutes each and to think about decorum and be respectful of one another. Jimmy Blais of MJB Properties, LLC (Merlino Jones Brothers Properties) described the ties of the property owners to Anacortes. He provided an overview of the development plan for all the MJB properties which were purchased in 1991. Mr. Blais said the current proposal addresses MJB South, south of 22nd Street. He described the businesses developed there thus far, including the Pacific Marine Center which has been operating for three years and will get a new travel lift next year. He said MJB has also been grading lots and creating boat storage areas and has the ability to store 518 boats upland. Mr. Blais said Pacific Marine Center has 145 boats in storage now and concluded they don't need more space for marine trades or boat storage in that area. Turning to the current proposal, Mr. Blais said the proposed rezone came out of the Anacortes Futures Project recommendation to allow a dry goods retailer. He said MJB did not have a signed agreement with a dry goods retailer, that they had talked with Fred Meyer, Costco, Wal-Mart and Target but that Fred Meyer was at the top of their list and was used in their modeling. Mr. Blais said the Futures Project indicated the public wanted more shopping opportunities, wanted to encourage ferry riders and marina guests to stay longer and spend more, to market Anacortes as a destination and to expand retail loyalty among the primary and secondary trade areas. He said MJB recognized an opportunity and a need to bring a dry goods retailer to Anacortes. Mr. Blais said MJB had been working with Fred Meyer for about ten years, looking at layouts. They considered portions of the MJB property further north but felt the shoreline wasn't far enough from Q Avenue to accommodate a store there. He said the current proposal uses the portion of MJB's property between 24th Street and 28th Street, east of R Avenue and west of the Tommy Thompson trail. He said the store had been scaled down to 100,000 SF facing south and displayed a schematic site plan on the overhead. Mr. Blais said MJB supports the multiple alternative proposals staff has discussed. Anacortes City Council Minutes January 21, 2014 4 Mr. Blais stated that the C2 proposal would not take commercial businesses away from the downtown Commercial Business District (CBD). He said MJB wanted a unique zone that would only allow for a larger dry good retailer, no residential, with buildings up to 105,000 SF with a height limit increase up to 45 feet high for façade reasons. Mr. Blais display a range of potential store designs. Mr. Blais said the Planning Commission had asked MJB for hard economic data. He said MJB had hired Hebert Research Group out of Bellevue who surveyed 200 respondents in Anacortes's primary (Fidalgo Island) and secondary(Whidbey and San Juan Islands)trade areas and also looked a published data sources. He said the analysis assumes a Fred Meyer of 100,000 SF. Mr. Blais reported that the Hebert study,just received today, identified a large opportunity gap: in its primary trade area Anacortes has a retail gap of$88.5M, mostly in general merchandise stores, and in the secondary trade area, the gap is much larger with $423.7M being spent elsewhere. Mr. Blais said the study projected that a Fred Meyer would create 89.9 full time jobs (with additional part time jobs)with indirect and induced effects creating another 17 full time jobs in the community. Mr. Blais said the proposed dry good retailer would impact existing businesses but the economic impact study said no existing business should go out of business if they diversify. Mr. Blais said the study predicted that in the first year of sales the store would bring in $705K in tax revenue to the city including both groceries and dry goods and by the third year would bring in $726K to the city's tax revenue. Mr. Blais said that among the respondents to the Hebert survey, when asked, "Would you want one stop shopping and if so, what would you want?", 58% wanted a Fred Meyer in town, 47% wanted no change, 20%wanted Costco, 16%wanted Wal-Mart, and 10% didn't know. In summary, Mr. Blais said that a 100,000 SF Fred Meyer in the proposed location would bring 62,871 extra shopping trips to Anacortes from its secondary trade area. He said other retailers would benefit from convergence. He reiterated that the proposed store was projected to generate 90 direct and 13 indirect full time jobs and $705K in tax revenue the first year and that 58% of Hebert's 200 survey respondents wanted a Fred Meyer. Mr. Blais reported that 59% of Anacortes Chamber of Commerce members who responded to a poll approved of the rezone and 68% of them said they wanted a dry goods retailer in town. Mr. Blais concluded that MJB had been looking at this since 2007 and that the time to act was now, not as part of the 2016 Comprehensive Plan. Mr. Walters observed that Council could adopt the MJB proposal, reject it, or adopt some alternative. Mr. Johnson said he had questions about the Hebert survey and its assumptions. Mayor Gere suggested addressing those at the beginning of the February 3, 2014 meeting after the public had had a chance to testify. Mayor Gere then invited speakers to the microphone in the order they had signed up prior to the meeting. Donna Davidson, 2411 28th Street, said it was past time for a development reality check. Ms. Davidson said it was clear we weren't going to get marine industrial but that a big box store on R Avenue was not going to attract shoppers from Oak Harbor or the San Juans. She noted the Swinomish are developing a resort on SR20 and the Samish are planning a casino there and said Anacortes needs to attract development in the downtown core that would attract some of those tourist dollars. She said no big box stores would do that. Ms. Davidson suggested putting any mass retailers out on SR20 to be more convenient for through traffic, ferry traffic and Oak Harbor residents. She urged looking at rezones in light of the Comprehensive Plan, as a whole, not rezone by developer choice. She said Anacortes has impressive industry, excellent medical facilities, an active arts community, fantastic scenery, and that it could capitalize on some dollars from elsewhere, not just holding resident dollars in town. Ed Forsman, 4307 Westwood Court, said he is not for the Fred Meyer store in that location. Mr. Forsman said it would be nice to have it across from the Ford dealership on SR20 if it is going to be put it in so Anacortes gets the tax revenue. Mr. Forsman said the rezone would jeopardize existing business and would have traffic impact on roads. Mr. Forsman also addressed past proposals for MJB North and made suggestions for development of public amenities in that area. Mr. Forsman urged Council to visit Renton and see the park and boat launch there on the shore of Lake Washington. Anacortes City Council Minutes January 21, 2014 5 Anita Luvera Mayer, 2111 19th Street, provided a brief history of MJB and its proposals. Ms. Mayer said the property in question was determined to be urban renewal, was zoned industrial, and was purchased by MJB as industrial property. Ms. Mayer said every 2-3 years since then MJB has proposed something new for the site. She recalled that the City finally decided to have a vote and citizens voted resoundingly a "no"to a big box store and a rezone. She said locally owned businesses suffer if a big box store goes in outside the central business district. She said MJB can come up with a more creative use for its property than a big box store. She wondered why people who want to live closer to a big box store didn't locate in Burlington or Mount Vernon. Jim Taylor, 301 5th Street, said no action should be taken on the MJB request. Mr. Taylor said the MJB issue should be part of the 2016 Comprehensive Plan update and quoted RCW 36.70A.070 that the comprehensive plan "shall be an internally consistent document". He said the MJB proposal would not be part of an internally consistent document if acted upon now. Mr. Taylor said changing a comprehensive plan to fit the economic desires of a developer is not in accordance with the GMA nor in the community's best interest. He reiterated that land use decisions at the local level have to follow the GMA to protect community health, safety and welfare. Economic return for the developer is not a criteria. He discussed the importance of public input during the 2016 comprehensive plan update to develop an internally consistent document. Mr. Taylor urged Council to put off any amendment to the City Comprehensive Plan until that process. Bob Barry, 1914 22nd Street, said he has thirty years of experience in regional planning and socioeconomic analysis. Mr. Barry emphatically supported Mr. Johnson's suggestion to look carefully at the Hebert study presented by MJB. He said after just twenty minutes to review the materials he noted that the opportunity gap analysis indicates that Fidalgo, Whidbey and the San Juan Islands only buy 30% of their gasoline within those boundaries. Mr. Barry asked where they do buy it. He called this a prime example of people taking perfectly good data but misusing and misrepresenting it to fit their aims. Mr. Barry suggested Council not move forward on this proposal until its proponents can answer where Anacortes and its market area do buy gasoline. Boshie Morris, 1618 7th Street, said industrial land is irreplaceable. She recalled the comment by Mr. Blais that Anacortes doesn't need more area for boat storage or marine trades and begged to differ. Ms. Morris said she wasn't for or against big box stores but that she questioned the process and method of this research and the findings. She said this rezone could be the end of an era of non-mega stores in Anacortes. Ms. Morris observed that the Hebert survey was apparently done on New Year's Eve. She noted that the survey mentioned the Wal-Mart and Costco in Mount Vernon but missed that there is a Wal-Mart in Oak Harbor. She said the reported opportunity gap includes motor vehicles and parts and she questioned how Fred Meyer was going to help that. She questioned whether Anacortes residents were adequately represented in the telephone survey. Ms. Morris urged Council not to pass this forward and to do a very thorough study. Ed Gegen, 2009 N Avenue, said he is not against business. Regarding grocery prices, Mr. Gegen observed that stores need to make money so they can't sell items at less than cost without charging more somewhere else. He said small stores do go out of business when big box stores come in. He said he wants to keep this city the flavor that it is. He said Anacortes has beautiful waterfront property and having a big box store in front of Mt. Baker upsets him. He suggested walking parks, ball parks, maybe a convention center. Mr. Gegen pointed to Leavenworth and Winthrop that were dying but are now vibrant, not with big box stores but with tourism. He said big box stores won't keep people in town. He urged MJB to look for a property use that would benefit the entire city. Marilyn Derig, 1302 K Avenue, noted that she had already submitted written comments to the Planning Commission that were part of the record. She added one brief statement: the proposal is an example of haphazard planning for an undetermined project which could have severe economic impact on our existing businesses for years to come. Ms. Derig echoed the Planning Commission recommendation. She urged Council to slow down and move thoughtfully and methodically on this matter. Anacortes City Council Minutes January 21, 2014 6 Cynthia Richardson, 315 V Avenue, said Council has no choice legally but to deny MJB's rezone request. Mrs. Richardson said that approving any of the three alternatives presented would be illegal because it would violate Goal 4 of the Commercial section of the current Comprehensive Plan: "Do not rezone additional areas for commercial development until existing commercial areas are fully developed or shown to be inadequate for the need." She said no analysis presented thus far proves that to be the case. She said that even if need for a larger store were demonstrated, the proposed zoning changes are not specific to provide for that potential need. She said MJB's proposed new Comprehensive Plan wording for the C2 zone doesn't match its proposed zoning code text for the C2 zone, which allows for commercial development of any scale. Mrs. Richardson said two are inconsistent and that the proposed language could result in ten acres of ticky tacky little stores and fast food joints. Mrs. Richardson reiterated that approving the rezone request would be illegal because it would do precisely what the Comprehensive Plan says not to do. She suggested that Council can consider this issue as part of the 2016 Comprehensive Plan Update, do its own analysis, and come to a more balanced conclusion. Randy Flodquist, 3805 Q Avenue, said when he was a Seattle resident he watched University Village built and used the Fred Meyer in Ballard that is between a shipyard and a bicycle trail. He said he is in favor of a Fred Meyer but not a Wal-Mart. Mr. Flodquist said there are a lot of things you can't buy in Anacortes that a big box store would offer. He said Anacortes can't stay just as it is, it needs a tax base. He said this is probably going to happen. He said kind of controlled development should work. Mr. Flodquist concluded that you have to have a place to buy underwear and a lot of the dry goods. Sandra Spargo, 1408 11th Street, said the City needs to be flexible to consider opportunities that arrive before the 2016 Comprehensive Plan Update. She said denying MJB's rezone request says to companies, "Don't bother us, don't call us, we'll call you." She said her household shops locally but also shops at Fred Meyer and Costco because they carry more organic produce. Mrs. Spargo noted the millions of dollars it will cost to maintain City roads and asked how the City will fund that need. She referred to the Hebert Research report finding that Anacortes residents spend $39M on general merchandise outside of Anacortes. She quoted the Hebert Research projection that$705,545 of sales tax would come to the City from Fred Meyer in the first year. She said local merchants are not providing basic household items and clothing. Mrs. Spargo said she saves more money shopping in Burlington than it costs her in gas to drive there. She said there is a lot of focus on reducing the community's carbon footprint but we appear to think it is okay for everyone to drive to Burlington to shop. Keith Rubin, 915 Haddon Road, said though he is a Port Commissioner he was speaking as private citizen. He said if the Port had considered this question, it would have considered the loss of industrially zoned land. He agreed with Ms. Morris that once you lose industrial land it is gone forever and then where will you put future industrial jobs? Mr. Rubin said he was also concerned about the impact on the CBD. He recalled that the small Midwest town he grew up in had a Sears and a Penney's in the CBD but after a mall was built on the outskirts of town the CBD died. Mr. Rubin encouraged Council to consider making this change part of the 2016 Comprehensive Plan Update if at all and said there is no need to hurry. He asked councilmembers to carefully consider the impacts to industrial land base and the CBD. Brent Morrison, 1109 3rd Street, said MJB's supporters have argued that the public needs to give MJB the latitude it needs to put its land back to work. Mr. Morrison said the land is empty because it is zoned industrial as it was when it was purchased but MJB won't use it for industrial uses and won't let anyone else do so either. He said MJB hasn't added a single permanent building to the property. He said there is very little land that is so flat, so proximate to navigable waterways and so centrally located among a pool of skilled high tech manufacturing workers. He said these are the progenitors of the next big things that will keep the economy strong such as renewable power which requires shipping by, and sometime deployment in, water. Mr. Morrison said the MJB site is one of the few in America where skilled workers could design and build the next big thing whereas cut rate retail could be built anywhere. He noted that when Anacortes auto dealerships outgrew their space downtown they moved out to SR20 to locations that were appropriately scaled and situated. He said big retail should do the same: land intensive but location insensitive operations belong out there. Anacortes City Council Minutes January 21, 2014 7 Jeanie Brown, 4506 Kingsway Place, said the MJB rezone proposal brings up more questions than it answers. She asked Council to put the brakes on the rezone proposal and take time to consider it in the 2016 Comprehensive Plan. Ms. Brown questioned that a big box store would be interested in locating on R Avenue. She said she believes MJB has no potential client. She said last fall Mr. Blais told her that the last talks with Fred Meyer were five years ago and that Fred Meyer was also considering a location near the casino. She said anyone in charge of siting a box store would put it out in a better traveled location, not on R Avenue. An R Avenue store would be a smaller version and she noted that a medium box store would mean reduced selection so people would still drive to Burlington to get the rest of what they need. Ms. Brown disagreed that island shoppers would come to shop at a Fred Meyer in Anacortes and said they would go to Burlington to get to Costco and wider selection anyway. She also noted that grocery sales add nothing to the sales tax base and said Safeway prices are identical at the Burlington store. Mark Bunzel, 14004 Biz Point Lane, said he had worried that a zone change would change the character of Anacortes but said the question is what is the highest and best use of this property for the citizens. Mr. Bunzel said the property has been zoned industrial for 40 years and nothing industrial has been built. He said light manufacturing might work there but asked if the tax and employment benefits from that would be any higher than from a dry goods store. Mr. Bunzel said he would like to be able to ride a bike or walk to shops and that means a dry goods store in town. He said he worried how much Anacortes residents spend in fuel and time to drive to Burlington; he estimated at 130,000 gallons of fuel per year. He said he was worried about local businesses competing with a medium box store but said they are specialty retail and know how to adapt. He said the same concerns were raised when the casino was built and when Anthony's opened but local businesses adapted. Mr. Bunzel said the highest and best use for the property would allow a tasteful shopping center on one end of town. Nick Rennis, 814 6th Street, owner of The Business, spoke about his hometown in Illinois which let box stores in and destroyed its historic downtown neighborhood. He said there are more than 4000 abandoned box stores in America. Mr. Rennis said Anacortes will not be an exception. He said over the last month or so something inspiring has happened: there's been a lot of discussion about this proposal among small business owners and their clientele, banding together and supporting each other. He said he couldn't think of a single reason to vote against the community that Anacortes has created especially not for the benefit of a faceless corporation that could move in. He quoted Jane Jacobs that when stores like box stores come into communities local businesses close and "every place becomes more like every other place all adding up to no place." Elliot Staatz, 801 33`d Street, said he liked the MJB presentation more than he thought he would but ultimately he takes issue with that usage of the land. He said to rezone it completely seems pointless. Mr. Staatz called himself somewhat of an environmentalist but said a drive or bus ride to Mount Vernon doesn't bother him and furthermore he'd never driven to Mount Vernon to shop at a box store because he needed something, he only goes if he's there anyway. He questioned how much a box store would close the retail gap. He added that underwear is sold in Anacortes at Walgreens. He said he commutes to Mount Vernon and he likes coming home to the Anacortes waterfront. Corinne Salcedo, 4303 Kingsway, said Anacortes needs dry goods in town so she supports the project except for Fred Meyer's 55% grocery requirement. She said Anacortes doesn't need any more groceries and wouldn't get any sales tax for food. She said Anacortes should wait for a dry goods only project. Genevieve Gosselin, 2007 M Avenue, said Anacortes has an undeniable magic pull that attracts visitors from around the world. Ms. Gosselin called Anacortes a destination, not just for its beauty but for its charm and character. She said local shop owners are also characters and are appreciated by visitors. She called the businesses downtown the heart of the community but reminded that the local economy is fragile. Ms. Gosselin said allowing in a big box store would be foolish, there isn't enough thriving to go around as it is. She said people who love to shop in Burlington will still do that and that a box store would only kill the small business community and maybe even take down one of the existing grocery stores. She said she did not want to see more empty store fronts in Anacortes but this pattern has repeated itself all Anacortes City Council Minutes January 21, 2014 8 over north America. Majestic places are turned into parking lots, lose their identity, and are no longer destinations. After everyone who had signed up to speak had spoken or declined to speak, Mayor Gere invited others who wished to testify to come forward. Don Yankacy, 13995 Trafton Road, said a rezone for one piece of property for one group is a spot zone, is illegal, and should not be done. He urged against setting a precedent for spot zoning. Mr. Yankacy said rezoning for a large retailer would hurt the downtown business community. He said the Commercial Avenue corridor could become vacant properties and decay could take over the town. He said property values would go down and crime would go up. Mr. Yankacy asked Council to stop the rezone and protect the town and jobs. Mr. Yankacy said there is a shortage of industrial land in Anacortes and Skagit County. He urged Council to protect industrial land and get started creating jobs. Brian Wetcher, 814 26th Street, recalled this same issue being discussed in various incarnations over the years. He reported that in 1976 he worked for a modular construction company that employed over 2000 union trade wage laborers, that much of downtown was supported by that labor, and R Avenue got paved from those tax dollars. Mr. Wetcher said over the next decade thousands of men worked there bringing hundreds of thousands of dollars of subsidiary revenue into the city. He said when the property was sold to MJB they asked to change the zoning, which they have repeated regularly since then, but they have discouraged the use of one of the best modular construction sites in the world for industrial construction, a tremendous value added product. Mr. Wetcher said modular has spread all over the world but one of the best sites on the Pacific coast has not been used nor marketed for that. He said MJB is asking to truncate industrial capacity in Anacortes. He asked if this is a wise decision if Anacortes wants industrial capacity in town to offer living union wages. Kenneth Piekarski, 1216 6th Street, said there's a great charm about downtown Anacortes. He said downtown businesses are fragile and gave the example that if Fred Meyer starts selling records it would compromise the local record store, The Business, which would cost the city a music venue as well as a retail store. He said losing culture like that makes it less desirable for young people to stay here or move here. He said from a cultural perspective it's really important not to have this thing show up here. Mr. Piekarski related how big box stores have hurt the downtown in Pasco. He said it would be wise not to let the rezoning occur. Steve Monrad, 1615 14th Street, said he hears both sides of the issue and said he's not in favor of rushing anything and any changes need to be part of the process. Mr. Monrad said it's not necessarily a wise move to slam the door on retail. He said he's a big supporter of local business and shops locally but he can't get everything he needs here so he sometimes goes across the valley to shop and spends entertainment dollars while he's there. He echoed Mr. Bunzel's comments that to have the ability for people to stay in town is huge. He said he is absolutely not in favor of a huge store but scaled down stores can fit nicely in communities. At approximately 9:16 p.m. Mayor Gere announced that the public hearing would remain open until the regularly scheduled February 3, 2014 City Council meeting. There being no further business, at approximately 9:17 p.m. the regularly scheduled Anacortes City Council meeting of January 21, 2014 was adjourned. Anacortes City Council Minutes January 21, 2014 9