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City Council Minutes—August 13, 2012
At 7:00 p.m. Mayor Dean Maxwell called the regularly scheduled Anacortes City Council study session of
August 13, 2012 to order. City Councilmembers Eric Johnson, Ryan Walters, Erica Pickett, Brad Adams,
Bill Turner, Cynthia Richardson and Brian Geer were present.
Council Discussion on Direction to the City Council Planning Committee
Members of the City Council Planning Committee reported on three subjects currently under review by
the committee. Mr. Adams reported on the land use matrix being prepared by the committee and staff to
show the types of permitted and conditional uses allowed in each zone on one convenient visual aid for
use by Council and the public. Mrs. Richardson reported on the committee's review of the packet of
suggestions for code changes submitted by former city councilmember Terry Christiansen. Mrs.
Richardson said the committee is reviewing the packet item by item and deciding which are not
necessary, which deserve to move forward through the regular development regulation amendment
process, and which should perhaps be pursued with alterations. She said within the next few months the
committee hopes to bring its recommendations on each of Mr. Christiansen's suggestions before the full
City Council so it can decide on the next steps. Mrs. Richardson then reported that the committee has
also been working on a definition for assisted living based on state code and samples from other
jurisdictions. Mr. Adams said the proposed definition will come back to Council as a whole for review and
recommendations for further action.
Council Discussion on Urban Growth Boundary Expansion
Planning Director Ryan Larsen reported that staff has been in conversations with Tethys Enterprises
regarding the company's continued interest in finding a suitable location for a beverage manufacturing
facility in Anacortes but that property of a suitable size has been difficult to locate. He said a portion of the
property currently being evaluated is outside the Anacortes Urban Growth Area (UGA) and would need to
be incorporated into the UGA to accommodate the Tethys facility. Mr. Larsen reported on the application
the City recently filed under the Mayor's Administrative Authority to Skagit County on behalf of several
property owners for consideration of an expansion of the Anacortes UGA to include four properties
totaling approximately 11.15 acres south of Stevenson Road and west of Reservation Road. Mr. Larsen
explained that the Samish Indian Nation recently bought 15 acres of LM1-zoned property in the City's
UGA and is in the process of converting that land to trust status which would eliminate the City's zoning
control of that acreage and diminish the amount of land available for industrial uses in the Anacortes UGA
below that allocated in the countywide planning policies. He said expanding the UGA as proposed in the
recent application and zoning that property LM1 would allow the city to maintain the acreage allocated to
it for such uses. Mr. Larsen posed the policy question to Council of whether including this area in the
UGA seemed logical, regardless of whether the Tethys project eventually locates there. He said to
continue processing the application Skagit County requests a motion and/or resolution from City Council
supporting the application. He demonstrated on the aerial photo the notable exclusion of the area in
question from the city's UGA when the original boundaries were drawn.
Mr. Larsen suggested that since the present study session was not advertised as an opportunity for public
comment, the regular City Council meeting of August 20, 2012 be advertised to take public comment
including comments on a draft resolution that staff will prepare in advance of that meeting. He said
Council would not need to take action on the draft resolution at the August 20 meeting and could elect to
act at the September 4, 2012 regular meeting instead. He added that written comments may be directed
to the Planning Director and will be provided to Council.
Councilmembers then discussed at length the timetable and course of action proposed by staff, Skagit
County deadlines and the opportunities for public participation at the County level if the application is
endorsed by City Council and moves on for processing, future Skagit River water flow, the amount of
manufacturing land available in the city and its UGA, the odd shape of the current UGA boundary, the
timing of and authority for the application filing, future Council opportunities to review the Tethys proposal
in more detail, whether the UGA expansion would or should occur regardless of the Tethys interest in the
Anacortes City Council Study Session Minutes August 13, 2012 1
site, and uncertainties arising from the fact that both Anacortes and Skagit County processes for
expanding the UGA are untried at this point. Several councilmembers requested additional information on
the County process of reviewing the application. Council generally agreed to continuing the discussion
following public comment at the August 20, 2012 meeting.
At approximately 7:51 p.m. Mayor Maxwell called a ten-minute break. At approximately 8:00 p.m. the
mayor called the meeting back to order.
Council Discussion on Proposed New AMC Title 19, Options A and B— Use of a Hearing Examiner
Mr. Johnson opened the discussion by proposing that the Planning Commission and City Council hold a
plenipotentiary session to discuss a potential third option: trying a hearing examiner for three years. Each
councilmember discussed the factors leading him or her to favor or disfavor changing to a hearing
examiner system. Factors mentioned included Planning Commission work load; the need for
development code revisions and proactive planning and the best way to achieve those ends; the relative
costs to the City, proponents and appellants of operating under each system; liability and managing
same; avoiding ex parte communication in an increasingly electronic age; the success thus far under the
current system; responding to public records requests; control of the public record; costs to defend legal
challenges to land use decisions and who bears those costs; and ensuring adequate staff support for land
use decision makers.
Mr. Adams asked to have this issue placed on the agenda for action at the August 20, 2012 regular City
Council meeting. Mr. Larsen confirmed it was slated for that agenda. Mr. Walters suggested that in light of
Mr. Johnson's request for a joint session, the Planning Commissioners be invited to attend the August 20
City Council meeting. Mayor Maxwell advised that due to short notice and summer schedules it was
unlikely all the commissioners would be available but that they would be invited.
There being no further business, at approximately 9:00 p.m. the regularly scheduled Anacortes City
Council study session of August 13, 2012 adjourned.
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