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City Council Planning, Development & Environment Committee Auto captions

Tuesday, October 3, 2023

6:30 PM · 1h 26m · Council Chambers, 135 E. Sunset Way, Issaquah WA
Topic tracked across meetings:
Recommendation on Revised Policies in the Draft Land Use and Sustainability Element, (D) ID 1403 4/5
3. APPROVAL OF MINUTES
3a
Minutes of September 6, 2023
packet pp.5–6
Staff report:
APPROVAL OF MINUTES a) 09-06-23 City Council Planning, Development & Page (1) Environment Committee Minutes CITY OF ISSAQUAH City Council Planning, Development & Environment Committee 6:30 PM Council Chambers, 135 E. September 6, 2023 MINUTES Sunset Way, Issaquah WA
4. AGENDA ITEMS
4a
Comprehensive Plan Update Draft Land Use Element ID 1403
60 min · Christen Leeson, Senior Planner · packet pp.7–110
Topics: Land Use
Staff report:
State Requirements
0:04 good evening welcome everyone to the
0:06 city council Planning Development and
0:08 environment committee meeting of October
0:10 3rd 2023 my name is council member
0:12 Victoria hunt and I am here tonight with
0:15 council president Walsh and Council
0:16 Deputy president Hall
0:18 we have one item on our agenda this
0:21 evening
0:22 um and before we get to that we will at
0:25 this time take public comments
0:28 um so
0:30 I will check in at this time if I will
0:33 note for the record there are no members
0:34 of the public in the audience this
0:35 evening
0:36 city clerk are there anyone is there
0:39 anyone in the virtual meeting and if so
0:41 I will read some additional instructions
0:43 sharehunt we currently have no online
0:45 attendees all right
0:50 then
0:51 I will note that at any time if you'd
0:54 like to give us any comments please feel
0:56 free to email us at city council
0:58 issaquah.gov and with that we will move
1:00 past the
1:02 public comment period to approval of the
1:04 minutes we have minutes from the
1:05 September 6th meeting did we have any
1:08 comments or edits to those
1:10 looks like we do not so then I'll move
1:12 to approve those all those in favor
1:14 please say aye aye
1:17 minutes are approved and with that we
1:20 will go to our first and only agenda
1:22 item which is ID 1403 comprehensive Plan
1:25 update drafts land use element and this
1:28 will be presented by Kristen Leeson our
1:30 senior planner Kristen welcome
1:40 there we go good evening I'm Kristen
1:42 Leeson senior planner with Community
1:43 planning and development
1:45 good to see you tonight we are talking
1:47 about the first draft of the land use
1:49 element for the 2024 periodic update of
1:51 the comprehensive plan
1:54 and we're just looking for input on our
1:56 first draft from you all tonight
1:59 so there are oops I apologize there are
2:02 several questions that we are going to
2:04 ask of you
2:06 um one is if there are any any
2:07 additional considerations that you'd
2:09 like PPC to look at the planning policy
2:11 commission to look at should staff
2:13 further expand on language on two of the
2:15 neighborhood character policies which
2:16 we'll get we'll look at a little closer
2:18 later on
2:19 did staff consider edits to any of the
2:21 unchanged policies that are in there and
2:24 are there any additional topics that we
2:25 should consider when making edits to the
2:27 final draft
2:35 so just a little background again the
2:38 element the land use element sets the
2:39 vision and the intent for the land use
2:43 Issaquah it's closely tied to the
2:44 transportation
2:46 element it guides implementation through
2:48 the land use code through the Strategic
2:50 the city strategic plan the shoreline
2:53 master program and then other plans
2:54 functional plans that are in place for
2:56 the city
2:58 it is monitored through periodic and
3:00 annual updates that we do to the land
3:02 use code title 18. it is also going to
3:04 be monitored now for through the newly
3:07 State mandated report cards that are
3:09 going to be done every five years
3:13 just as a reminder some of the things
3:14 that were required are the land use map
3:16 that shows City Limits Urban growth area
3:18 and proposed or land use designations
3:23 it also is required to include our
3:25 capacity and our targets so this is as a
3:27 reminder we'll be adding this as one of
3:28 the new things this year our capacity
3:30 for both jobs and housing is way over
3:32 our targets our capacity for housing is
3:35 just over 12 000 and our capacity for
3:37 jobs it's just over fourteen thousand
3:39 yet our housing Target is 3 500 and the
3:43 jobs Target is 7 500 and these are by
3:45 Between the years of 2019 to 2044.
3:51 some of the bigger changes that we had
3:53 were the changes to the sub area
3:55 neighborhood map
3:57 we've added neighborhood plans template
4:00 policies
4:01 we as I just mentioned are including our
4:03 new targets
4:04 a state mandated policy is to provide a
4:07 policy to mitigate risk from wildfires
4:10 and we also did a giant reorganization
4:12 of the element it may have seen in the
4:15 draft
4:16 I'm going to start with the maps
4:18 our sub areas when we first adopted it
4:21 back in 1994 were much 1995 were much
4:23 much smaller than this because the city
4:25 was smaller so as we have annexed and
4:27 changed our boundaries have grown and
4:29 changed and we've sort of added on
4:31 they've been in place the sub area since
4:34 1994.
4:35 however in 2017 we had a neighborhood
4:39 coordinator who was to go out and start
4:41 networking with the different
4:42 neighborhoods and said I need to go out
4:44 and find out who identifies with what
4:46 neighborhood and so this new map was
4:48 drawn up in 2017.
4:51 our two difficulties are is that one as
4:53 you can see here the colors are the
4:54 neighborhood map the red lines of the
4:56 subarian map they do not line up
4:58 and another issue is that Communications
5:01 Public Works planning we all use these
5:04 Maps regularly and if you don't have
5:06 lines to line up it's really been
5:07 causing a headache for us for the past
5:09 six years
5:11 so we have looked at incorporating the
5:14 2017 map into the Sudbury map also you
5:18 may recall there were changes to the
5:19 central Issaquah boundary in 2018 that
5:21 were never addressed so things that were
5:23 taken out of central have just been
5:24 floating out there and then we also
5:27 annexed in that time the what we call
5:29 the King County donut which was also
5:30 never included or identified as a
5:33 sub-area
5:34 so those changes needed to be made we
5:36 worked with current planners and the
5:38 Communications Department to
5:40 make what is now our proposed map for
5:44 since for uh the city and this has also
5:47 been run by public works as well and
5:49 they provided us with one comment
5:52 you have any you want me to keep going
5:56 okay
5:58 so our proposed policy is I'm just going
6:00 to work through those policies that have
6:03 changed because there are so many in the
6:04 land you settlement I'm also going to
6:06 know that most so so many in here are
6:09 that it was simplified language was
6:10 removed because it's been codified or
6:13 um because it was redundant I'm not
6:15 going to go over those I'm going to
6:17 point out those that are a little bit
6:18 different
6:19 so if that's okay with you all that
6:22 works
6:24 okay
6:25 so one we did change goal a which is to
6:29 Serve and Protect natural systems from
6:31 negative impacts of development we
6:32 merged it with policy a because they
6:34 said almost the same thing
6:35 we did that the rest of those on here A2
6:38 through A5 are all simplified or
6:40 language removed because it was codified
6:45 um same here except for a13 mountains to
6:48 sound has always had an intent or vision
6:50 statement and that changed since we last
6:52 updated this in 2017 so we updated it to
6:55 make sure it's consistent with mountains
6:56 to sound
6:59 we also there were there was a policy B1
7:01 about trees and some of it had to do
7:03 with trees in the urban environment some
7:05 of it was the tree canopy so we pulled
7:06 out some of that and we're putting it
7:08 into the environmental element which has
7:10 a much longer name but that's what I'm
7:11 going to refer to it and we left the
7:13 Urban Tree piece here
7:18 C2 where to focus future growth we've
7:21 always struggled sort of with
7:23 rezones and redesignations so we are
7:25 trying to point out that we really want
7:27 our growth to be in the regional growth
7:29 Center which was not specifically there
7:31 before so we updated that policy
7:37 the rest we just simplified
7:39 M2 and N3 are the ones that we're going
7:41 to focus on a little bit later they have
7:43 to do with neighborhood character
7:45 and those both comply or are
7:47 implementing this strategic plan or they
7:51 or vice versa to maintain the existing
7:54 character or the character of existing
7:56 neighborhoods the one state requirement
7:59 that we had for the land you settlement
8:00 was to mitigate risk to lives and
8:02 property posed by wildfires we put the
8:05 policy in there how exactly that will be
8:07 done will be done through our Emergency
8:08 Management
8:11 all right
8:14 so an uh another one this is really can
8:16 I can I pause this for one second so
8:19 um I think we're several of us are
8:21 trying to follow along and I I'm one I'm
8:24 just wondering
8:25 um I'm realizing the numbers is it
8:28 because then the lettered numbers moved
8:31 from different sections and then
8:32 eventually we're gonna re-number them so
8:35 right now these are all of these are
8:37 kind of in all the differences they're
8:38 all over the place but we know that
8:40 they're going to change a couple of
8:41 times between even now and by the time
8:43 it's done so we've just said we're just
8:45 going to have to leave them as much as
8:46 we can for now so in the end you'll
8:48 renumber them oh yes with the new goals
8:52 okay yeah so yeah yeah all right um I
8:54 think that I think that makes sense but
8:56 we're like all right thank you
9:01 on this one another one that was
9:03 required by the county is that we
9:05 address Equitable amenities and services
9:07 in land use so it talks about services
9:09 and facilities for all types of
9:12 residents
9:14 um again focusing future growth in the
9:17 regional growth Center and other
9:18 mixed-use areas this actually took it
9:20 Beyond a regional growth Center
9:24 see again support Urban core development
9:27 as a regional growth Center so it
9:29 emphasizes Again The Reef work to do in
9:30 the regional Breast Center
9:32 explore opportunities X3 is a new one
9:35 explore opportunities to accommodate
9:37 Transit and Transit oriented uses and
9:39 this sets us up we're about to start our
9:40 work on
9:41 the light rail planning and the transit
9:44 station so this sets up some direction
9:46 for us to do that
9:51 and our last page here is it says cue to
9:55 conserve productive Forest resource
9:58 lands we just took out the hillsides
10:00 viewscape because that's not what this
10:02 is about and there are plenty of others
10:04 that protect the hillside's viewscape
10:05 and this one was actually about the
10:06 forested resource lands
10:09 um and then the last one support
10:11 comprehensive annexation of the of our
10:14 one remaining potential annexation area
10:17 we just broaden it
10:19 um to sort of cover the policies there's
10:21 the state has very very very detailed
10:23 requirements and annexations
10:26 do that comprehensive over
10:31 I was wrong
10:34 gold Z
10:36 uh these are our neighborhood template
10:38 policies that we have in here develop
10:41 nature so these are all new most of
10:43 except for one develop neighborhood
10:44 plans to enhance an established
10:46 neighborhood amenities
10:48 adapt guiding principles from
10:50 neighborhood planning guide which has
10:52 not been developed yet but it will we
10:53 have a consultant to do that for us or
10:55 with us
10:56 in three we actually moved in here X8
10:59 consider 10 minute neighborhoods
11:03 and I'll just the planning policy
11:06 condition struggled a bit with this one
11:07 you may have seen that meeting they
11:09 struggled about with that one
11:12 X9 celebrate the history and culture of
11:14 each neighborhood and X10 maintain an
11:17 enhanced neighborhood Aesthetics and
11:19 unique aspects was also a bit of a
11:21 struggle I've edited it since we saw a
11:23 planning policy commission a little bit
11:26 um they struggled with the word design
11:27 that was in there so we've taken that
11:30 out
11:32 so then we have all of our I'm not going
11:34 to go through them all of our unchanged
11:36 policies here if there's anything
11:37 specific that you would like to talk
11:39 about
11:40 here
11:41 on our next steps we're going to revise
11:43 this again thank you for we'll look
11:45 we'll have a second draft as you know
11:47 we'll send it to this state in January
11:49 for their review q1 of 2024 we'll have
11:53 our final review of all of the elements
11:54 and then in Q2 we'll have the public
11:56 hearing and it's anticipated it will be
11:58 adopted in by around September of 2024.
12:04 and for you all your timeline at our
12:07 next meeting at your next meeting you
12:09 will have a cipascope review and
12:11 environment stewardship and climate
12:13 resilience element aka the environmental
12:16 element as I keep calling it
12:18 there we go
12:22 all right thank you very much
12:25 um do we have any questions I have a
12:27 couple
12:30 okay so the first one
12:33 um I think every every time we do this
12:36 it's helpful to go over the housing
12:38 Target burst capacity and how to
12:41 think about the target how to
12:46 think about it in terms of policy
12:48 and and how we get those numbers
12:52 all right I was trying to do this I
12:53 would make you dizzy but um I'm just
12:55 gonna
12:59 okay
13:01 there we go
13:05 so you want to talk about what each one
13:08 means
13:09 um and specifically the difference you
13:11 know how do we how do we think about the
13:13 fact that our Target is very different
13:16 than the capacity
13:17 um how you would advise us to think
13:20 about that as policy makers so when we
13:22 said when we did the central most of our
13:24 capacity
13:25 is in central Issaquah not just the
13:28 urban core or the region or the regional
13:30 growth Center
13:31 um it's it's all of central Elizabeth
13:34 and
13:36 we upzoned it in 2014 so that for future
13:40 growth targets we even have a place to
13:42 accommodate our targets that was one of
13:45 the initial reasons that we did it two
13:47 we wanted Light Rail to come through
13:48 here so we needed more density so that
13:50 was another reason to do it and three we
13:52 wanted to protect our hillsides so we
13:55 increased the allowable capacity in in
13:59 this area
14:00 so that we have it for the future so
14:02 that's part of the reason why we have so
14:04 much right now we way up zoned it back
14:07 then
14:08 our capacity is just how much can come
14:10 in there
14:11 how much does our zoning by right allow
14:13 to come in there how many housing units
14:15 could we fit under you know if you have
14:16 four and a half dwelling units break or
14:18 how many can you actually fit in there
14:19 and that's how we figure it out when we
14:21 do this we do take out critical areas
14:22 those are removed from the study and
14:25 things like city-owned properties
14:27 Condominiums are taken out because if
14:29 you have you know 62 condominiums in a
14:31 building hard to get 62 people to
14:33 redevelop their property so things like
14:35 that are removed our targets are
14:37 established through negotiations with
14:39 the county and other cities the state
14:41 says this is how much growth we need
14:42 this is how many units we need county
14:44 says or they say counties this is what
14:47 we are allocating to you and then the
14:49 cities spend six months negotiating how
14:52 much we're each going to take and that
14:54 becomes our Target and our Target does
14:56 not mean that this is how much we have
14:57 to build because we're not builders
15:00 we also can't make people build here our
15:02 Target is how much we have to
15:03 accommodate
15:05 so that's the difference between the two
15:07 and how we get there
15:09 council president Washington yeah I just
15:10 wanted to ask a follow-up on that when
15:13 you're talking about our capacity for
15:15 building I know you said a lot of it is
15:17 in the
15:19 um Urban core area and other areas um in
15:23 that area but does it also
15:26 consider
15:28 um adus and things that were allowed
15:31 because of 11 10 house about 11 10 or
15:34 anything like that that would allow for
15:37 more housing units per parcel no it does
15:40 not
15:42 I know and adus are considered units
15:45 they're considered so when we build adus
15:47 they'll count toward our
15:50 s but our capacity right now does not
15:54 reflect the fact that
15:56 previously a
16:00 parcel that had a single family home on
16:02 it could now have to or more correct
16:08 so our housing capacity
16:11 is actually higher than that probably
16:14 higher than that
16:16 interesting okay we have amended our
16:18 code but it will be higher than that
16:19 likely yes yeah okay thanks you're
16:23 welcome
16:27 and a lot of that is when we set these
16:29 targets before the most recent State
16:31 changes that happened right I think I
16:34 remember you guys coming to us for
16:35 feedback when we were negotiating where
16:37 these things we negotiated in 2021 and I
16:41 believe they were adopted in 2022.
16:45 not interested
16:46 okay thanks
16:49 early 2022 so yes before the house bills
16:52 were adopted
16:58 okay
16:59 um on the on the sub areas versus the
17:03 neighborhood Maps
17:05 it looks to me like the map that we will
17:09 be going forward and so all of the
17:12 Departments like you were saying it
17:14 would all be
17:15 the neighborhood map plus some areas
17:19 that I guess didn't identify with a
17:21 particular neighborhood but have but
17:23 have neighborhood names on this map is
17:25 that right yes okay so those ones we use
17:28 the sub-area name of that area like um
17:31 Tiger Mountain is not
17:33 label that on the self-reflection
17:35 neighborhoods right and actually
17:37 something that we've talked about is
17:38 removing Tiger Mountain the South part
17:40 of Talus and
17:43 Lake Sammamish State Park because
17:44 technically those aren't neighborhoods
17:45 those are preserved areas
17:48 so not really any you know not can't
17:50 really go have a community meeting there
17:52 which is what Communications uses it for
17:54 so and that not that they've come out
17:56 the map altogether they come off the
17:58 neighborhoods man but obviously they'd
17:59 still be reflected when we show open
18:00 space
18:01 and so forth
18:03 um not all the names stay the same
18:05 Newport changed because Newport was
18:07 actually different parts it was parts of
18:08 different
18:12 sorry sub areas there we go but yes most
18:16 of the names stayed the same
18:18 okay and so this would then be the same
18:22 map that we would use for neighborhood
18:25 Communications and for public works and
18:27 for Community Development so all of the
18:29 Departments would use these yeah same
18:31 names
18:32 okay
18:36 and I'm sorry so the one difference in
18:39 the naming is Issaquah Valley versus
18:43 so between
18:46 a couple
18:51 I'm sorry uh Newport changed to Issaquah
18:54 Valley which is this yeah so Issaquah
18:56 Valley is the same as the neighborhoods
18:58 the Newport name
19:00 is the same as the neighborhoods we
19:03 changed South Cove at the request of the
19:05 South Cove resident so it's actually
19:06 South Lake Sammamish now
19:08 the rest are the same
19:12 oh nope nope uh
19:15 the Tibbetts Creek Valley actually is a
19:18 combination of two different of the
19:19 neighborhoods
19:21 and we we added Tibbetts Creek Valley
19:23 back in as a sub area it was there
19:25 before because just the topography and
19:26 the way we're going to plan for those
19:28 areas
19:29 is similar it's there are lots of
19:32 critical areas there because of the
19:34 creek that runs through it's zoned for
19:37 Less density so as planners we looked at
19:39 it and said for us if you don't mind
19:41 this makes a little more sense
19:43 okay and the main reason for these names
19:45 is that Communications work that was
19:47 done earlier about where people what
19:50 people call their neighborhoods what
19:51 people what neighborhood people identify
19:53 with is that correct yes
19:56 okay
19:57 all right thank you
19:59 question
20:01 um on that I notice in the sub areas
20:05 there was one for Lakeside
20:08 and that is now listed as North Issaquah
20:12 I wonder whether the lines on that
20:14 should be adjusted for the top portion
20:17 of Lakeside that is going to end up
20:20 being a neighborhood that would probably
20:23 fit best into Issaquah Highlands we
20:26 struggled with that one
20:28 um Issaquah Highlands
20:30 in the code has its own
20:33 design standards so for that reason we
20:36 thought this is easier for residents and
20:39 planners and developers to recognize as
20:42 a separate area that falls under these
20:44 design standards now lakeside's a
20:46 development agreement it's not in the
20:47 standards but they also have they are
20:49 governed by their development agreement
20:51 not through the land use code have the
20:53 same area and we we did we struggled
20:55 with withson and if we did just
20:58 Lakeside my mouse appeared we did just
21:01 Lakeside
21:02 then you still have this weird King
21:05 County area that was annexed with part
21:07 of central Issaquah so we've kind of
21:11 we've struggled with it admittedly so if
21:12 you guys have any suggestions I mean we
21:15 could you know attach this to it and
21:16 that could all be part of Lakeside
21:18 this is what we came up with as an
21:20 initial thought so we are open to
21:22 suggestions okay I I appreciate that the
21:25 explanation of why it well it might fit
21:29 based on how a future resident there
21:32 might think of themselves at the same
21:35 time there are important differences to
21:37 reflect from a city Side so I'll think
21:39 on that more okay thank you you're
21:41 welcome
21:44 we have anything
21:46 any questions
21:51 yeah go ahead
21:53 um I just have a couple nitpicky
21:54 questions so hold on a second
22:01 the um so I noticed there are five
22:04 instances where we say like best
22:06 practice or one instance of best
22:08 practice and five that are best
22:09 management practices for different
22:12 things I'm just wondering if you know
22:13 when we when staff reads that if we have
22:16 a good idea of kind of what that means
22:17 or do we have any concern about like a
22:19 staff change year over year with that
22:22 change in the eyes of our staff or is it
22:25 a best practice to just say best
22:26 practice my question yes because those
22:29 change
22:32 I have a feeling these two are going to
22:33 have a better than answer than I would
22:35 but if it's Transportation I can't even
22:37 this is why I'm thinking of him there
22:39 there are Transportation policies that
22:40 were in place that were really at the
22:42 time they were the best practices best
22:43 things to do and then something new
22:45 comes along and then something new comes
22:47 along and it's you know from different
22:48 agencies or different groups or it's
22:50 amended or things change so I it is
22:53 typically best just to say best
22:54 practices
22:55 as opposed to referring to one doctor
22:58 yeah I can see that I guess what what
23:00 I'm thinking of you is as
23:03 we continue to
23:05 add our best practices it's now
23:07 different
23:08 what maybe the next door City's best
23:10 practices is because maybe they don't
23:11 know that this other place has thought
23:13 about it a little bit more and has a new
23:15 best practice so I don't really know how
23:17 to Grapple that with
23:19 Federal answer for me especially because
23:22 I don't want to necessarily Define it
23:23 all in here
23:28 the um oh which one was it the
23:31 neighborhood there were a couple under
23:33 goal Z about pending neighborhood
23:34 discussion can you talk to us a little
23:36 bit about what that is
23:38 right here
23:40 yes
23:41 okay
23:42 and you just want to know more about
23:44 what that's for yeah like the reasons
23:47 from
23:48 um say pending neighborhood discussions
23:49 so is that actual going out to
23:51 neighborhoods and having discussions or
23:52 is some boarding commission going to
23:53 have a discussion about neighborhoods or
23:55 are we going to have that it it was
23:58 pending neighborhood discussions with
23:59 plans planning policy commission and
24:01 Planning Development and environment
24:03 committee and Council
24:05 um how these were going to go they just
24:07 they weren't
24:08 and that was our reason for putting him
24:11 in there we want to do general you know
24:13 neighborhood plans and what the
24:15 guideline for us we want consistency
24:17 when we go out and talk to neighborhoods
24:18 about what we're going to talk to them
24:19 about what we want to plan for and so we
24:22 put these in here and just wanted to
24:23 make sure that
24:25 this was something that you all agreed
24:26 with
24:28 right okay
24:31 some of the ones that weren't changed
24:34 that had to do with schools I'm just
24:36 curious if like in years past as those
24:38 were developed where they developed
24:40 collaboratively with the school district
24:41 are they aware of these policies
24:43 they were they were okay they were yes
24:46 thumbs up then
24:49 and then how does this state so when we
24:52 finish
24:53 everything it goes to the state for
24:55 review what is that process like is it
24:57 they usually come back with tons of
24:59 notes like here's why we think you're
25:01 doing wrong or what should we expect
25:02 from them sometimes they do I can't tell
25:05 you what happens if you're doing
25:06 something wrong because we didn't do it
25:07 last time I was here
25:09 um but they do make it they will come
25:11 back with you and say these things need
25:12 to be corrected and then it has to be
25:14 reviewed again and if you know once
25:16 you've fixed it
25:17 they will also make recommendations for
25:19 future
25:20 comp plan updates something that they do
25:25 so it's a back and forth stuff for us to
25:27 keep track of for the next yes
25:32 um I think that's
25:36 it for me I keep going back I'll
25:38 probably wait for the comments but I'm
25:39 having a having trouble with the way the
25:41 benefits of 10 minute neighborhoods so
25:43 I'll probably talk about that with you
25:45 guys but I don't have a question about
25:46 that thank you though
25:48 all right I have one question that
25:51 so goalsy
25:54 it says golsi develop neighborhood plans
25:57 to enhance and established neighborhood
25:58 amenities but I had I have I'm looking
26:00 at golsy
26:02 in the
26:04 draft the clean draft and it's
26:06 completely different so
26:09 I tried to abbreviate here instead of
26:11 putting okay
26:13 I I think it to me it means something
26:16 completely different which is why I'm
26:17 confused so this one says ensure
26:20 welcoming attractive and walkable
26:21 neighborhoods with various amenities
26:22 that support the city's cultural and
26:24 economically diverse community so that
26:26 seems different than developed
26:27 neighborhood plans but um
26:30 is that
26:35 okay okay
26:42 all right good
26:49 in on the same section it talks about a
26:52 neighborhood plan template policies so
26:56 is that also part of that conversation
26:59 with PPC and pde and right that's what
27:01 these are these are the neighborhood
27:03 template
27:04 policies
27:06 so the concept then is to have a section
27:13 the comprehensive plan land use element
27:15 that has a section on hey here's what we
27:18 think neighborhoods should be whether
27:21 that's a
27:23 future or here's what all neighborhoods
27:26 should share or something like that
27:28 whether that's a future neighborhood or
27:30 an existing neighborhood so it's not
27:33 necessarily us telling them what they
27:34 should share
27:36 it's us
27:38 covering these issues with the
27:40 neighborhoods and saying
27:41 what are your amenities do you want to
27:43 protect these things do you want to
27:46 allow small-scale residential here
27:47 because we got pushback from playing
27:49 policy Commission on the small scale
27:52 retail and the 10-minute neighborhoods I
27:54 said wait what if I live in a
27:55 neighborhood where we don't want it okay
27:57 but we're not just going to avoid the
27:59 question with you we're at least going
28:00 to ask you if you want it when we meet
28:02 with you the history and culture of each
28:05 neighborhood maybe Central Issaquah
28:07 doesn't have a whole lot of history and
28:09 culture or maybe you know some something
28:11 like that because it's brand new it
28:12 hasn't been developed yet but
28:14 other neighborhoods do they've got you
28:17 know I look I think of squawk Mountain
28:18 that all has all the mid-modern houses
28:20 or the cemetery and all these
28:22 you know the coal mines and historical
28:24 things like that that they might want to
28:25 protect so this is coming out of my head
28:27 I'm not talking to the neighborhood so
28:29 it's yeah yeah okay so I think there's a
28:32 conversation to be had about how that
28:35 reads because I don't think I read it
28:38 the same way that you described so
28:40 thanks
28:46 okay and do you have any other questions
28:50 that's it okay
28:52 um all right could you please pull up
28:54 the list of questions that you have for
28:56 us again thank you
28:59 all right
29:02 so let's go through these questions and
29:06 then we can also have General time does
29:09 that sound uh good okay
29:14 uh yes let's let's check in I will note
29:16 for the record that um at this time we
29:18 will call for public comment but there
29:19 are no members of the public in the
29:21 audience and I'll check in with the city
29:22 clerk if there's anyone online
29:24 chair hunt there are no virtual
29:25 attendees at this time all right thank
29:27 you thank you for the reminder
29:31 then we will move into
29:33 um deliberation so the first question
29:35 that we have
29:37 um from
29:38 the administration is are there any
29:40 additional considerations that planning
29:42 policy commission should study prior to
29:43 finalizing their recommendation to city
29:46 council
29:49 anybody
29:51 I can start or okay I'll go ahead and
29:53 start
29:58 these are in order that they appear in
30:01 the
30:02 um in the document so the first one is
30:05 um the natural environment goals I think
30:08 the wording was changed and it it no
30:11 longer
30:13 I think makes sense so it says conserve
30:15 and enhance the city's natural systems
30:17 from the potentially negative impacts of
30:19 Land Development I think it made sense
30:20 when it was protect but now it's saying
30:21 conserve and enhance from potentially
30:24 negative effects and I like conservative
30:26 enhance so I just I think the sentence
30:29 needs to be reworked to something like
30:31 conserve and enhance the city's natural
30:33 systems and protect it against negative
30:35 impacts of development something like
30:37 that
30:39 um I
30:42 wondered on
30:45 um throughout throughout this there is a
30:47 lot of protection and respect for
30:51 topography
30:54 about hillsides firstly I thought we
30:58 should also make sure to be protecting
31:00 other critical areas like and it does
31:02 have Wildlife corridors but also the the
31:05 buffers
31:07 um and things like that and it has
31:08 Wildlife corridors include the stream
31:10 sweepers but I think some statement
31:12 about protecting critical areas in
31:14 general would be good to have in this
31:15 section
31:18 um and would cover a lot of ground and
31:20 then
31:22 the uh the word respect did jump out at
31:27 um I think we've
31:28 talked about this before but
31:31 um in general for these land use
31:33 policies I I like to have words that I
31:37 know as a policy maker or you know
31:40 trying to look at it through the lens of
31:42 a staff member what does it mean so um
31:44 what does it mean to respect the
31:46 topography that's a hard as a policy
31:48 maker that's hard so I think um just the
31:50 the more action kind of oriented what
31:52 does it mean and some of these are great
31:56 in terms of being like I know what
31:58 action we would take but
32:00 some of them like respect that one in
32:03 particular jumped out as as a
32:06 open to interpretation
32:12 okay on the land on the goal queue which
32:17 is maintaining uses of uses and
32:19 activities of
32:21 of the lands natural resources the first
32:24 one talks about small
32:27 agricultural uses like pea patches and I
32:31 wondered if there's a specific legal
32:34 reason why we are limiting this to the
32:38 like the creek Valley and the Issaquah
32:41 Creek area and the reason is I I do know
32:43 that there's a lot of pea patches for
32:45 example in the highlands and I don't I
32:47 don't know that we wouldn't encourage
32:49 that they seem to be thriving so
32:53 yeah is there a reason that we call out
32:57 these valleys I think when this policy
33:01 was written it was probably just where
33:03 they were located so it's something
33:05 that's been overlooked
33:06 okay yeah so I think you know might as
33:08 well encourage them wherever
33:10 people
33:11 neighborhoods want to have them
33:23 okay
33:24 um under sustainability this is similar
33:26 to my uh
33:28 concerned about the word respect
33:31 and maybe maybe this is a conversation
33:33 but balance Urban Development with the
33:35 protection of the natural environment
33:37 and environmentally critical areas
33:39 balance seems uh
33:43 hard to interpret how one balances
33:46 especially as a policy
33:49 um I don't know if if any other if
33:51 planning policy had any
33:53 conversation about that word or no no
33:57 okay we can rethink it okay
34:03 yeah I think I think rethinking it and
34:05 it's in the sustainability section so
34:07 you know through the lens of the
34:10 sustainability part of our land use
34:12 what do we mean with how you would
34:15 protect the natural environment um
34:19 or yeah just the policy side of what it
34:22 means to balance those things I think
34:24 would be good to clarify
34:30 okay land use policy X2 is in
34:34 sustainability it's about encouraging
34:36 the development of amenities that are
34:38 supportive of all types of families
34:40 and and I wondered
34:43 what the rationale of putting that there
34:46 is in the sustainability section and
34:49 maybe I'm just missing it but it seems
34:50 like it kind of went more like in the
34:52 neighborhood section to me which is
34:54 in a different part of this
34:59 I don't recall the ration okay okay
35:02 um so my suggestion there would be to
35:04 put you know things about amenities and
35:06 services it seems like the rest of those
35:08 were in
35:09 the seemed like the rest of those were
35:11 in the neighborhood part
35:14 um so just grouping that in there
35:18 I thought this the actions in the um
35:22 gold G which are reducing greenhouse gas
35:24 emissions are very specific and very
35:26 actionable and I appreciated those a lot
35:44 I have some specific wording things but
35:46 I don't think I need to get into that
35:54 and then I think
35:55 um I had a fair amount of I although I I
35:59 think maybe I didn't understand the
36:01 context of the changes that were made to
36:03 the section about goalsy but I did have
36:06 a number of comments on that so maybe we
36:08 can talk about that separately and it
36:10 sounds like
36:11 um planning policy already considered
36:13 that so I don't know that they need to
36:15 reconsider that I think maybe that's
36:17 something we have to talk about
36:22 okay I have a question on the under the
36:24 annexation section
36:27 policy X4
36:29 make every effort to ensure that lands
36:31 within issaquah's potential annexation
36:32 area develops according to Issaquah
36:34 comprehensive plan policies and
36:36 development standards annexation
36:38 how how would we make sure that lands
36:42 that we have not yet annexed develops
36:45 according to our plans we work with the
36:47 county
36:48 okay and who who they are the reviewers
36:50 of things before they come into Issaquah
36:53 so we work with them okay I might
36:55 actually
36:56 I might actually then recommend so that
36:58 they work with the the
37:02 County to ensure that because I yeah
37:08 because it's not directly in our control
37:10 so then it's unclear how we make every
37:12 effort
37:14 so but that's a good that's a good
37:16 clarification so thank you
37:18 and
37:29 there's another instance of balance
37:31 development with protection and land use
37:32 A2 so again that would be good to
37:34 clarify and then my last
37:37 one is um
37:42 under results and accountability
37:44 provide recommendations for potential
37:47 land use amendments when gaps are
37:48 identified in achieving land use goals
37:51 and policies I thought that was an
37:53 interesting
37:55 interesting but I also thought it would
37:57 be good to clarify who this is a
37:59 document the comprehensive plan is a
38:01 document that's used by lots of
38:03 groups and uh
38:06 staff staff members as well as Council
38:09 and as well as the public and so I
38:12 wondered if that one
38:14 [Music]
38:16 who who is responsible for it because
38:18 this one is also about
38:20 there's an interpretation here necessary
38:23 of if we're achieving the land use goals
38:24 and policies I thought that one maybe it
38:26 would be good to clarify who that one is
38:29 directed to or is that every everyone
38:31 involved should be assessing if we met
38:33 the goals and policies and providing
38:35 recommendations if we're not
38:38 but I thought that one could also use a
38:40 little Clarity to make it more
38:42 actionable
38:44 and those are some of the things that I
38:46 thought could be
38:48 we could take a second or could have a
38:51 second look at
38:55 president Walsh okay
38:59 my notes aren't nearly as organized in
39:02 order they're just all the things that I
39:05 found
39:08 one of the areas that was removed was
39:13 policy H1
39:16 um which if I'm going back to that it's
39:21 a decrease Auto Reliance through
39:23 sustainable land use planning that
39:25 encourages dense mixed-use development
39:27 patterns in central Issaquah nearby
39:29 multimodal Transportation networks and I
39:32 get that that was moved to the new
39:34 environmental stewardship and climate
39:36 resilience element but that really to me
39:39 talks about our land use planning
39:43 um and I think it also pairs pretty well
39:48 with the new
39:51 policy X8 around 10-minute neighborhoods
39:54 and also potentially policy 01
39:59 well-distributed commercial available
40:01 via non-motorized travel and so I wonder
40:06 if there's a way to continue to bring in
40:08 that concept because it land use
40:14 achieves the goals of sustainability
40:16 through
40:18 our use of land in an appropriate method
40:23 Etc
40:28 so I can see that one
40:32 so for a lot of the transportation
40:33 policies that were in the land use them
40:35 before they're focused on a lot of the
40:38 transportation demand management for
40:40 transportation and from House Bill 1181
40:42 that's actually required to go into the
40:45 new environment which is why it was
40:46 being used to have moved from land use
40:48 to the new environment element that's
40:50 the main reason why a lot of those are
40:52 getting moved over we agreed with you
40:53 that they are kind of a land use base
40:55 but because of 1181 we wanted to make
40:57 sure that we were making it easier for
41:00 compliance
41:01 yeah
41:03 if you feel like we should have related
41:07 policies in the land use element we
41:08 could take a look at that
41:10 yeah I think the thing that this policy
41:13 does for me when I'm thinking about it
41:15 in context of land use is it
41:19 specifically ties the idea that our land
41:22 use is related to our Auto Reliance
41:24 which I think is a really important
41:26 connection to make and that we
41:28 accomplish that via dense mixed-use
41:32 development patterns and nearby
41:34 multimodal Transportation networks and
41:37 so I still think emphasizing those two
41:41 methods as a way to achieve our goals
41:45 when we're talking about land use is
41:48 extremely important now you can do some
41:52 of that when we're talking about
41:53 development patterns and 10 minute
41:56 neighborhoods if you specify that it was
41:59 you know dense mixed use or mixed use
42:02 horizontal or vertical something that
42:06 talks about our Auto Reliance so that
42:08 that might be one way to accomplish it
42:10 but I still
42:12 I feel like there's something there that
42:15 still needs to be added into one of
42:18 those few policies if not
42:20 bringing this and
42:22 um keeping it in the land use section
42:27 okay that was one
42:30 um there's two new policies X12 and x13
42:33 which were related to like programs and
42:38 education
42:39 I can't see where those belong in land
42:42 use rather than environment
42:49 um I'm looking at those right now
42:53 administering Creekside and Wetland
42:55 restoration and
42:58 the provide public education programs
43:02 those let's see what I'm sorry what are
43:04 they currently under
43:06 develop they're under sustainability
43:07 yeah they're the last ones and goal L
43:12 under sustainability
43:16 um that those were there because it
43:18 started off as managed city-owned land
43:20 in a sustainable manner including they
43:22 fell under that policy so we can and
43:25 then we got rid of part of that policy
43:27 and made two more out of that that's why
43:31 it stayed there but we can move them
44:24 thank you chance I appreciate it I'll
44:26 state that again uh policy m6 and M8 the
44:30 arterials that's related to
44:31 neighborhoods
44:33 um how do
44:37 how do we otherwise
44:41 figure out what an a neighborhoods
44:46 traffic
44:48 situation should be and whether we would
44:51 consider an arterial like is there
44:53 someplace else that's not in a land use
44:55 element that we really talk about what
44:57 the design of
45:00 streets versus arterials and how they
45:02 relate to neighborhoods
45:05 yeah we do we have our I'm going to
45:08 probably let Steven address this and we
45:09 have our street standards the taco
45:12 yeah so we have the Citywide Street
45:14 standards that address roadway design
45:16 but it's also tied with the state
45:18 classification of arterios that also
45:21 dictates how roadway design also really
45:24 incorporates a lot of that
45:26 differentiating from the neighborhood
45:28 roadways which aren't intended to take
45:30 the brunt of a lot of the traffic versus
45:32 our arterial
45:35 okay and then the other portion that
45:37 those policies mentioned was that
45:40 Transportation facilities can create
45:43 pressure for development in certain
45:45 areas especially sensitive areas so I
45:49 wonder if they're
45:51 should be a consideration when we're
45:54 talking about land use especially land
45:56 use in an area that maybe hadn't been
45:58 developed before and whether
46:01 these streets that are created in that
46:04 could
46:05 create pressures for either further
46:08 development or development toward areas
46:11 that are particularly sensitive
46:13 environmentally so is is there
46:16 something that belongs in that land use
46:18 section that that really talks about how
46:20 Transportation can create pressures for
46:22 more development
46:32 so when in when we are considering a lot
46:34 of these policies we didn't really think
46:36 that the transportation facilities were
46:38 going to create development pressure
46:39 primarily because of Transportation
46:40 facilities were more of the result of
46:44 the development pressures
46:45 preceded a lot of those translation
46:47 facilities so any of the development
46:49 that's going to be surrounding any of
46:50 those speeds are already planned for
46:52 rather than trying to create new
46:53 pressures for the neighbor
46:55 does that help kind of address the point
46:57 you're getting or do you think that
46:59 within the land use element we need to
47:01 be addressing Central pressures from
47:03 Development coming in that's planned for
47:06 I guess I'm thinking of
47:09 you know induce demand created by
47:12 building Transportation but that's
47:14 probably more of a regional or you know
47:17 outside of our particular City situation
47:22 there probably aren't that many
47:24 transportation areas that we could you
47:26 know expand a roadway one or two and it
47:28 would induce demand uh development
47:31 within the City of Issaquah it would
47:33 probably create more demand in say Maple
47:35 Valley yeah yeah okay
47:40 um okay next one uh policy X3 which is
47:44 related to Transit and the transfer
47:46 Transit oriented development support
47:49 um I really like that policy and I like
47:52 that it's added in there I guess I would
47:54 just
47:55 question whether
47:58 if we're thinking about this as a
48:00 long-term plan whether it should live
48:03 inside of goal P which talks about the
48:05 urban core
48:07 or whether there's the potential to kind
48:11 of talk about some of that outside
48:15 of that Urban core area
48:20 I'm going to take a stab at this but
48:22 again because Steven's more involved in
48:23 transportation he probably knows it
48:25 better but I we don't know exactly where
48:27 it's going to be and the transit
48:29 if you look at Totem Lake which is going
48:31 to be a Transit Center that is in
48:32 Kirkland that has really expanded
48:35 outside of what I you know was
48:37 it's it's huge and so if if that's to
48:40 come here and say it's closer to Front
48:42 Street then what if it starts to touch
48:44 Front Street or
48:46 I think I think the point is we don't
48:48 know exactly where it's going to go and
48:50 if it's going to potentially touch areas
48:52 outside of the urban core or outside of
48:54 central Issaquah we'd want to be able to
48:56 address that too and by it you mean the
48:59 transit center the transit oriented area
49:01 yeah yeah which isn't just the transit
49:04 center it's the housing that goes with
49:06 it and the retail that goes with it and
49:08 yeah I guess the the piece that
49:13 comes when I'm looking at that
49:15 this suggests that we've had a policy
49:18 conversation that
49:20 Transit and Transit oriented development
49:23 should be only in the urban core and I
49:26 don't think we've really had that policy
49:28 conversation and I think in fact
49:30 development in many ways is
49:34 saying hey you've got a Transit Center
49:36 up in the highlands and the transit
49:37 center down near tell us that
49:40 are could be could act in that same way
49:44 and
49:46 so I guess I just until we have really
49:49 truly had a conversation about where
49:52 that should be and looking at it for a
49:54 20-year period or 10-year period which
49:56 is what the comp plan does I hesitate to
49:59 have that live
50:01 only in the urban core section so I
50:04 think that it would be a good question
50:05 to bring up to PPC and kind of have that
50:09 that conversation so that we can be
50:12 appropriately forward thinking on that
50:17 um so
50:18 I think
50:20 so this is the wording of the section so
50:22 it does talk about this
50:24 it does talk about some other
50:27 maybe it could be softened but it
50:30 doesn't only limit to so you're saying
50:32 that you don't think quality
50:37 yes it's undergo P so goal p is focus
50:40 and promote office housing and Retail
50:42 development in the urban core regional
50:44 growth Center and other areas designated
50:45 for compact mixed-use development served
50:48 by a full range of Transportation
50:49 options
50:50 so I think maybe we want to
50:53 we could kind of expand on to other
50:56 areas designated for
50:59 compact mixed use development
51:02 now I think that's a really good call
51:03 out I just didn't
51:06 um I read it too fast and just
51:08 considered it Urban core I think that
51:11 answers my question so
51:13 yeah you guys already did the work for
51:16 me thanks
51:18 um okay next
51:23 um policy O2 is related to pedestrians
51:29 um can we change this to something other
51:31 than inspire
51:33 it just I think that one is really hard
51:37 to understand uh as a concept inspire a
51:40 community well I'd like to be actionable
51:46 let's see
51:49 um I agree with councilmember hunt that
51:51 X2 probably belongs in a different
51:54 section from sustainability on that
51:59 um got other stuff on 10 minute
52:00 neighborhood
52:05 okay so goal m
52:07 is in I think that's in the
52:10 sustainability section let me check yeah
52:14 so one of the things that this calls out
52:17 it says allow for and accommodate growth
52:19 in a manner that is fiscally responsible
52:21 responsive to the community and enhances
52:24 and protects the natural environment
52:27 and
52:28 this is going to be a little bit of a
52:30 long rant idea but fiscally responsible
52:34 I think is a really important thing to
52:36 call out as a city when we're trying to
52:39 decide what the land use should be one
52:42 of the things that we really need to
52:44 consider is what the cost to maintain
52:48 that and provide services to a land use
52:51 versus the tax revenue that we bring in
52:54 and well we don't know from our
52:57 individual City studies Studies have
52:59 been done on many cities around the
53:01 country that dents or downtown areas
53:06 smaller units provide more of a tax
53:10 basis and larger Parcels with only a
53:14 single family home on them are often
53:17 subsidized because their tax revenue
53:19 doesn't cover the cost to maintain and
53:23 provide services so that while it's in
53:27 the sustainability section actually
53:29 brought up this concept of
53:32 do we should we have a policy or even a
53:36 goal in the area
53:38 and the land use element that talks
53:40 about
53:41 what the fiscal impact of different
53:45 types of development are and if we have
53:47 a preference for types of development
53:50 that create a net positive rather than a
53:54 net negative
53:56 so I think that's a big enough one that
53:57 I would want it to go back to PPC and
54:01 obviously need to hear from my
54:03 colleagues so those are my areas
54:07 okay
54:08 some thoughts on a follow-up thoughts
54:10 but do you do you want to you haven't
54:12 gone yet so yeah I mean I don't have any
54:14 additional considerations for that first
54:16 one I liked the word inspire but I can
54:18 live with changing it if you want to go
54:19 I think you bring up a good point though
54:21 I I think the intent of what you're
54:23 saying lives in this goal in my mind but
54:26 if you think we need to pull it out or
54:28 call it out in a new way
54:30 willing to have that conversation I'm
54:31 curious what our chair
54:35 okay I'll stop there for now okay
54:38 um I and I
54:40 I feel similarly with respect and
54:42 Inspire I think those the words are
54:45 great but I just need to know what's the
54:47 action that we do to
54:50 to inspire like how so
54:53 um that's more my goal uh with the my
54:57 comments on the respect so I agree
54:59 um okay so on this uh allow for an
55:03 accommodate growth in a manner that is
55:04 fiscally responsible responsible to the
55:06 community and enhances and protects the
55:07 natural environment I think and this and
55:10 then my first one or my comment in that
55:12 section was about balance I think maybe
55:15 my concerns and your concerns might be
55:18 addressed if we split this out like that
55:21 goal covers a lot
55:23 of ground it covers fiscal
55:26 responsibility responsive to community
55:28 and the natural environment so I think
55:31 maybe instead of saying you balance all
55:34 of these things in the first goal like
55:35 maybe we we tease apart those goals for
55:39 those different things like we have some
55:42 goals for what we mean by being fiscally
55:44 responsible or policies about what we
55:47 mean to be fiscally responsible as the
55:49 goal and what we mean about
55:52 enhancing and protecting the environment
55:54 in the context of sustainability
55:57 um I think that might help
56:00 um so
56:03 toward that idea I think if you tease
56:06 out each of those three concepts
56:09 responsive to the community I think
56:11 would be probably the neighborhood
56:13 section and the enhances and protects
56:16 the natural environment would probably
56:18 be the natural environment section
56:22 but I don't think we have
56:24 anything maybe you could put the fiscal
56:27 responsibility into the development
56:29 patterns and create a policy
56:32 or go under that that you know really
56:35 talks about what the aim of and uses
56:42 so I think
56:44 um from my from my perspective I think
56:46 that the uh what it means to be fiscally
56:49 responsible could could have some goals
56:51 under that or some policies rather sorry
56:53 under that and that would be helpful but
56:56 I do think that the um because it's
56:58 about allowing for an accommodating
57:00 growth while protecting the environment
57:02 and so when we have the focus the future
57:05 growth in areas with no minimal or
57:07 environmentally critical areas I do
57:08 think
57:09 that that is speaking to sustainability
57:12 so I think I think that
57:16 um for me it's really just separating
57:18 out the fiscally responsible piece with
57:21 policies by what what do we mean for
57:23 that and then the
57:25 accommodating growth and protecting the
57:27 environment and policies related to that
57:29 I think that would that would help I did
57:34 while we're in this section the
57:37 um the mitigating Wildfire one which is
57:39 the last one in this section I believe
57:43 um is
57:45 because the state has required it um but
57:48 it's also something that our community
57:51 cares a lot about and we've had recent
57:54 discussions with our emergency
57:55 management team
57:59 um so to that end I wondered if we
58:02 shouldn't also talk about maybe expand
58:06 on that or break it into also one also a
58:09 policy about evacuation planning and and
58:13 sort of emergency planning for other
58:15 natural disasters and I'm not sure that
58:17 that does go into the sustainability
58:19 section
58:20 um but I I did think maybe we could
58:22 cover
58:24 um some of those other emergency
58:26 preparedness concerns
58:32 and and expands upon it
58:36 also for flooding I know it on that one
58:40 all right
58:42 yeah
58:44 do you think that
58:46 [Music]
58:48 like exit what is the word why am I not
58:52 evacuation yeah evacuation routes
58:54 belongs in the land use or is there
58:55 another element or chapter of the comp
58:58 plan
59:02 it's here in the new environment element
59:05 there is going to be a subsection within
59:07 that that's going to be addressing
59:08 climate change or resilience and so it's
59:12 going to be talking about natural
59:13 disaster reaction Emergency Management
59:16 kind of to the note that the committee
59:19 members are kind of speaking to tonight
59:20 but if you want us to speak more on the
59:22 evacuation disaster management or land
59:25 use
59:26 could look at adding additional policies
59:28 around that or this element
59:31 yeah because I wonder if that would
59:32 either belong in the transportation
59:34 element or in the new climate element
59:39 versus land use because I I really like
59:43 this policy I just don't know if I would
59:45 go into evacuation in this concept
59:52 adding on to what Stephen just said we
59:54 met with the sustainability Department
59:56 today and they did ask us to put a
59:57 policy in there around making
1:00:01 City facilities climate resilient
1:00:04 so that will be once we
1:00:07 that was today so once we figured that
1:00:08 one out that'll go in here as well but
1:00:10 it still does not address evacuation but
1:00:12 it does address
1:00:13 other natural disasters and as a safe
1:00:16 place for those
1:00:22 yeah so I think
1:00:24 um I think then this policy which is a
1:00:26 new policy
1:00:27 it would also then help to clarify by so
1:00:31 it says land use planning tools that
1:00:33 reduce Wildfire risk the residential
1:00:35 development in high risk areas and and
1:00:38 separating the human development from
1:00:41 Wildfire prone Landscapes so I think
1:00:44 um the separating for future development
1:00:47 that's clear what that would be and then
1:00:48 I was thinking that for the existing
1:00:51 developments existing homes one of the
1:00:55 things that would fall under land use
1:00:57 would be planning around like evacuation
1:00:59 roads so I'm actually not sure what else
1:01:01 what other
1:01:03 um land use tools we would use for
1:01:06 established neighborhoods and so that
1:01:08 might be if there aren't then I think
1:01:10 explaining what we mean by that would be
1:01:13 helpful here and if there are other
1:01:14 tools then putting that information in
1:01:17 here would also be helpful
1:01:20 so like a lot of my comments really
1:01:21 trying to get at what uh what are the
1:01:25 actions what are the specific
1:01:28 things we could do to achieve that
1:01:33 great that's a little Deputy president
1:01:38 yeah and I have no problem with changing
1:01:39 some of the verbiage
1:01:43 what you're feeling is less actionable I
1:01:45 guess in my mind I'm thinking this lives
1:01:47 kind of above the action and then we
1:01:50 have like actionable plans that stem
1:01:52 from these where the action comes from
1:01:54 so but either way I'm totally fine with
1:01:57 that I I did want to express I don't
1:01:58 know if it's maybe a difference of
1:02:00 opinion or just something I wanted to
1:02:02 highlight so it sounds like goal m
1:02:04 um the first one under sustainability
1:02:06 definitely is when the PPC should
1:02:08 consider because I think no matter what
1:02:10 we do it's important that these three
1:02:12 elements the fiscally responsible
1:02:14 responsive to the community and protects
1:02:16 the natural environment
1:02:19 um live together somehow because I mean
1:02:23 the balance of those three things is
1:02:25 what spells out success you know you do
1:02:27 some quick analysis you've got
1:02:29 liabilities and then you've got
1:02:31 responsiveness to the community that's
1:02:33 needs or services for the community and
1:02:34 then protects the environment that's
1:02:36 also needs or services for the
1:02:37 environment too right so you're kind of
1:02:39 weighing pros and cons for these kinds
1:02:42 of things so I just think whatever we do
1:02:43 there needs to be important that these
1:02:45 things are all interrelated and need to
1:02:47 be considered
1:02:54 so it does sound like then that's
1:02:57 something we think PPC it would be good
1:03:00 to have PPC take another look at
1:03:04 so goal goal M potentially easing it
1:03:09 apart but taking into account that these
1:03:10 different pieces
1:03:12 also can impact
1:03:18 is that right okay okay
1:03:28 you have any other
1:03:30 um thoughts on this first one
1:03:33 anything else that we think PVC should
1:03:41 I think the goal Z is okay definitely an
1:03:45 area but they were already planning to
1:03:47 talk about that is there
1:03:50 should is there something that we have
1:03:53 as feedback for that or well my
1:03:55 understanding is actually they they have
1:03:57 talked about it they have talked about
1:03:58 it where they had their issues were with
1:04:02 preserving neighborhood character
1:04:04 and I just closed all the policies
1:04:06 somehow in front of me and more but for
1:04:07 the preserving neighborhood character
1:04:09 and the 10-minute neighborhoods those
1:04:12 were big discussions that we had
1:04:14 they thought 10-minute neighborhood was
1:04:16 a bit specific
1:04:20 and that was one of those conversations
1:04:22 well what if we don't want it well
1:04:24 that's we just want to have the
1:04:25 conversation and then the other one was
1:04:28 uh the design
1:04:31 the version that was sent to them
1:04:32 originally talked about preserving the
1:04:36 neighborhood design character
1:04:40 and there were some discussion about
1:04:42 just removing the word design they felt
1:04:43 like it was a bit restrictive
1:04:46 so we changed it to assets and unique
1:04:49 unique assets and
1:04:53 um okay I I think well in the version
1:04:55 I'm looking at it has as the last goal
1:04:58 in that section maintain an enhanced
1:05:00 neighborhood Aesthetics and unique
1:05:02 assets through best practices in design
1:05:05 and development regulations so they were
1:05:07 okay with
1:05:09 that they haven't seen the new version
1:05:11 but they trusted us to bring it to you
1:05:12 okay for discussion okay so they've had
1:05:15 a conversation and they identified some
1:05:17 things but um
1:05:19 some changes have been made subsequently
1:05:21 in the search
1:05:26 so I hate to throw something back to
1:05:28 them that they
1:05:30 didn't have a clear answer on
1:05:35 I like the concept of
1:05:38 policy n and policy X8 which is the
1:05:43 allow small scale retail and personal
1:05:44 services and residential area that meets
1:05:47 residence needs and then also with the
1:05:50 benefits of attendant neighborhoods Etc
1:05:53 um I like those as Concepts I think
1:05:56 that's something that every neighborhood
1:05:58 would benefit from and the way that I
1:06:01 read those policies is that
1:06:04 that should be something allowed in
1:06:08 every neighborhood and so if there is a
1:06:11 disagreement that that should be the
1:06:13 policy uh because certain neighborhoods
1:06:17 might not want that then we need to
1:06:19 figure that out before we put it in the
1:06:21 comp plan
1:06:24 because if I read that and come in I'm
1:06:27 going to say well we should probably
1:06:29 have code that allows for small-scale
1:06:31 retail in every neighborhood would be my
1:06:34 reaction to reading that policy
1:06:37 I don't know if there's a different
1:06:40 interpretation
1:06:42 I think that was their initial reaction
1:06:45 and not understanding that are me not
1:06:48 just explaining well enough that this is
1:06:50 a conversation to be had
1:06:52 and not a definitive all neighborhoods
1:06:55 will have 10 minute neighborhoods all
1:06:57 neighborhoods will have small scale
1:06:59 it was not a broad stroke this is the
1:07:01 way it will be it was more
1:07:03 when we go talk to these neighborhoods
1:07:05 this is one of the topics we need to
1:07:07 discuss do they want this
1:07:10 then I might just adjust the policy to
1:07:16 consider
1:07:18 policies neighborhood by neighborhood
1:07:20 that would allow
1:07:24 and I think that clarifies that's not
1:07:27 the direction that I necessarily want to
1:07:30 go but I am one of seven and also not on
1:07:34 PPC anymore uh so I think that's
1:07:38 probably a conversation that should be
1:07:42 um because I could see that going two
1:07:44 different directions
1:07:46 and then on the 10-minute neighborhoods
1:07:51 I think that's kind of a kitschy term
1:07:54 that in you know it used to be 15-minute
1:07:57 neighborhoods Etc I would prefer
1:08:00 defining what the benefits are of that
1:08:03 so when I think of a 10 or 15 minute
1:08:05 neighborhood I think of the fact that
1:08:08 there is there are services such as
1:08:12 small scale retail and personal services
1:08:14 either in
1:08:16 mixed-use vertical or horizontal
1:08:20 that are accessible
1:08:22 to most neighborhoods
1:08:25 within a
1:08:28 easy bike or walk
1:08:31 and so that that I think
1:08:35 gets to the concept without using
1:08:39 terminology that somebody might not know
1:08:42 or might have a different conception of
1:08:47 we were we have a definition to
1:08:49 including the definition section which
1:08:51 the planning policy commission saw but
1:08:53 you're saying to include it if we can as
1:08:55 much as possible within the policy
1:08:57 itself
1:08:58 yeah I I think so because I'm not sure
1:09:03 if the
1:09:05 concept of the public concept of a
1:09:07 10-minute neighborhood
1:09:09 is necessarily the same concept
1:09:12 everywhere even if it is defined I think
1:09:15 it just doesn't provide the same clarity
1:09:18 just defining what we're talking about
1:09:33 Okay so
1:09:37 then are we comfortable with
1:09:41 knots and not would this go back to PPC
1:09:45 uh it would go back to the PPC but we
1:09:48 could either call it out for them to
1:09:50 take another look with a specific
1:09:51 question or they could just look at what
1:09:53 you've done to address their concerns in
1:09:55 your review I yeah and I I I'll make the
1:09:58 changes or make the suggestions and take
1:10:00 it back to them and call it out as
1:10:01 something that you all asked them to
1:10:02 revisit
1:10:03 right I think we I think we maybe do we
1:10:09 do we need do we still we need them to
1:10:12 specifically revisit this or just that
1:10:14 there will be changes
1:10:16 I would just highlight it as a change
1:10:18 since the last time they saw it
1:10:21 um I think the
1:10:22 sustainability goal m is a focused
1:10:26 conversation about you know how do we
1:10:28 manage all of these Concepts I think the
1:10:32 suggestion here is potentially this is
1:10:36 responsive to what their needs were if
1:10:39 they see that and feel otherwise then
1:10:41 they can have a conversation
1:10:45 okay um I think in that case I I liked
1:10:49 your wording on
1:10:51 um neighborhood by neighborhood
1:10:53 conversation for and three which is
1:10:56 about allowing retail and then
1:10:59 um X8 which is the 10 minute
1:11:01 neighborhoods so I think
1:11:04 I think that makes sense and also I I
1:11:05 don't think I would have read it
1:11:08 that way as as written um so it's good
1:11:12 clarification
1:11:18 I had a question that I didn't read
1:11:21 earlier on this on this section or is
1:11:23 there somewhere else the concept of the
1:11:26 green necklace
1:11:28 and that as a neighborhood
1:11:31 connectivity and amenity type of
1:11:35 it's not referred to in land use it's
1:11:37 all over the parks element but it's not
1:11:39 referred to here
1:11:44 um I think that's interesting I mean it
1:11:47 so for the comprehensive plan it is
1:11:51 comprehensive it's meant to tie together
1:11:53 our different
1:11:56 um goals and be overarching and so we do
1:11:58 have a goal for example
1:12:01 um about designing and creating trails
1:12:03 and paths to increase connectivity
1:12:06 um and so I thought there for example
1:12:08 you know in in alignment with the goals
1:12:10 of the green necklace
1:12:12 um but I thought maybe specifically
1:12:14 referring to the green necklace would be
1:12:17 would be a good addition
1:12:20 so I would think that the trust station
1:12:22 line also has a policy calling up okay
1:12:30 I would say I think
1:12:32 the concepts are included here you
1:12:35 mentioned one about Trails there's M11
1:12:37 create connected Wildlife corridors so I
1:12:40 I think there is that if we wanted to
1:12:44 say such as the green necklace
1:12:48 um I think that would be fine but I do
1:12:50 appreciate that it's used in many other
1:12:52 areas
1:13:10 sorry so back to our list so we've
1:13:13 covered the first one I think
1:13:15 things for planning policy which is
1:13:17 really focusing on that the big
1:13:19 sustainability goal that we talked about
1:13:22 earlier
1:13:24 um we've covered I think M2 and and
1:13:28 three
1:13:34 yes we talked we talked about N3 not so
1:13:37 much about N2 M2 right so M2 is not in
1:13:43 the draft the clean draft
1:13:47 okay is this supposed to be
1:13:50 oh where is it
1:13:57 that was in okay yeah that was in the
1:14:01 block and things in sustainability that
1:14:03 I thought should be in the neighborhood
1:14:04 character
1:14:11 okay so it's in sustainability so did
1:14:14 you would were you thinking it would go
1:14:16 into Z which is the neighborhood one
1:14:23 yes sorry I'm rereading it and I I have
1:14:25 to admit
1:14:27 um I thought the same as you earlier
1:14:28 today when I was looking at this so um
1:14:30 but yes looking at it again yeah
1:14:31 neighborhood okay
1:14:34 um so that's our first comment
1:14:37 um we agree that we think it should go
1:14:38 in the neighborhood section
1:14:50 and can you remind me is this the one
1:14:52 that you mentioned uh planning policy
1:14:55 was had a discussion about the word
1:14:57 character in M2
1:15:00 they did it was it was really
1:15:02 neighborhood this isn't the same policy
1:15:04 there was another one we took the word
1:15:05 design out but it was uh
1:15:09 neighborhood character design or
1:15:11 neighborhood design care something like
1:15:12 one of those two
1:15:14 the word design was a little
1:15:18 hit them the wrong way
1:15:37 as I watched I don't like the word
1:15:39 character either
1:15:41 I like it better than scale but
1:15:45 um I think
1:15:49 you know if there's a better way to
1:15:51 frame it great I think the fact that we
1:15:54 have already
1:15:56 eliminated some other areas and kind of
1:15:59 streamlined what that concept is and
1:16:01 added other things to me makes this less
1:16:05 of an emphasis I could live with it I
1:16:08 like the fact that it talks about
1:16:11 providing character you know some sort
1:16:14 of sense of self to newly developing
1:16:17 neighborhoods I just don't think we
1:16:19 should ever say that a neighborhood
1:16:24 can't change I mean that suggests that
1:16:27 there was no history I mean I understand
1:16:29 we don't live on the east coast and we
1:16:31 aren't around history of you know
1:16:33 development all of the time but
1:16:36 yeah I I my fear when using the word
1:16:39 character or retaining character is that
1:16:42 we are saying a neighborhood is set in
1:16:44 stone and cannot adapt and change to
1:16:48 growing needs and differing people that
1:16:52 move in as
1:16:54 as things change
1:17:01 um I agree but that's actually why I
1:17:03 love N3 I think N3 is perfect I don't
1:17:05 think that needs to change one bit
1:17:07 because I think the way that we describe
1:17:09 the spirit of what goes into a
1:17:12 particular neighborhood really and then
1:17:13 we say enhanced neighborhood character
1:17:15 to me like that one hits neighborhood
1:17:18 character perfectly but the first one I
1:17:21 I wrote and three spells it out and this
1:17:24 one doesn't this one just says
1:17:27 you have retained desired neighborhood
1:17:29 character and provide character to newly
1:17:31 developing neighborhoods and I I didn't
1:17:33 get the same kind of
1:17:35 I don't know I don't have an answer I
1:17:37 don't know how to change this I'm sorry
1:17:38 but I just felt like N3 in particular
1:17:41 made me feel good at the end of it when
1:17:42 I read never heard character and then
1:17:44 the first one I didn't feel good reading
1:17:46 neighborhood character and it's because
1:17:48 what a neighborhood character good
1:17:50 neighborhood character bad there are a
1:17:53 lot of ways the connotation of
1:17:55 neighborhood character can be taken
1:17:57 um and I think in N3 we nailed it
1:17:59 perfectly but an NT or an M2 maybe that
1:18:01 could be something
1:18:03 PC thinks about two or maybe it could be
1:18:05 something staff thinks about or perhaps
1:18:08 bear hunt has a thought right now about
1:18:10 about M2
1:18:14 um well I like I like the idea of kind
1:18:19 of modeling the way we talk about it in
1:18:22 and three
1:18:24 and I also was was also going to suggest
1:18:27 that I thought the way that we talk
1:18:30 about
1:18:32 um addressing the so uh x 11 which is
1:18:37 also in the section it talks about
1:18:40 um adapting guiding principles maybe
1:18:41 that may be needed to address the unique
1:18:43 interests and needs of each
1:18:45 neighborhood's residence I thought that
1:18:46 was also kind of a way to address this
1:18:51 um so then it would be maintain
1:18:52 development regulations that promote
1:18:55 compatibility between uses and
1:18:59 you know
1:19:00 address the unique interests and needs
1:19:03 of each neighborhood's residence it also
1:19:04 implies
1:19:05 getting to know the unique
1:19:07 uh situation of the neighborhoods which
1:19:10 is what the intent was with these
1:19:14 so something like that might be good
1:19:24 did staff consider edits to unchanged
1:19:26 policies I think we had several that we
1:19:29 mentioned
1:19:30 um or several of the yeah that we
1:19:33 mentioned um do we have any additional
1:19:39 uh additional topics for staff to
1:19:42 consider when making final edits through
1:19:44 the draft
1:19:48 council president
1:19:50 well technically this skips question
1:19:52 number four from our packet which said
1:19:55 do the proposed changes fully meet the
1:19:56 expectations for the land use element
1:19:58 update and I just had something
1:20:00 underneath there about this is just a
1:20:03 really great reworking and I love the
1:20:08 simplification of this before it felt
1:20:11 monotonous and like there was a lot
1:20:13 there and it was all over the place now
1:20:16 it's like oh this really gives me a
1:20:19 sense of where we're going as a city and
1:20:22 so I just sorry I wanted to call that
1:20:25 out because it was really nice and
1:20:27 refreshing
1:20:28 okay are there any additional topics for
1:20:31 stuff to consider I think honestly we
1:20:34 have probably pulled it out in that
1:20:37 first question
1:20:39 um I will just put back my hat of
1:20:43 physical responsibility and strong towns
1:20:45 and all of that I think
1:20:49 addressing that in the land use element
1:20:51 is important and so well I did
1:20:54 appreciate what Deputy council president
1:20:56 Hall said about hey those three balances
1:20:58 are important and keeping that in mind
1:21:01 is great and maybe we do maintain that
1:21:05 there but I think we still need to
1:21:07 address the
1:21:09 tax and City costs and revenue and all
1:21:13 of the implications of land use
1:21:17 that never get talked about
1:21:21 well we're starting to talk about it now
1:21:23 because we've realized that there are
1:21:24 some areas that are subsidizing other
1:21:26 areas
1:21:28 and I just think if we're going to have
1:21:30 a comprehensive plan we need to think
1:21:32 about what our cities fiscal future
1:21:35 looks like if we continue a certain
1:21:38 development pattern versus others that
1:21:42 adapt to that so
1:21:49 okay okay
1:21:51 um yeah and I will agree there were a
1:21:54 lot of things that I really liked like I
1:21:56 I really liked especially the
1:21:58 the greenhouse gas and Energy Efficiency
1:22:00 section I was like okay great you know
1:22:02 very clear and um so I there is a lot to
1:22:06 like here
1:22:06 [Music]
1:22:12 do you have any any last on this one or
1:22:16 the doesn't mean expectations two I mean
1:22:18 I'm sure you all dream and comprehensive
1:22:20 land language at this point so just
1:22:22 thank you for bearing with it
1:22:25 quite a bit longer actually sorry
1:22:30 I have a last question
1:22:33 um is the so the uh Treasures
1:22:37 are in are referenced in the comp plan I
1:22:42 believe do you know what section and it
1:22:44 would not be land use they are in the
1:22:46 land use appendix
1:22:48 volume two okay
1:22:56 um I think I don't know if uh
1:23:02 I don't know exactly where that would
1:23:04 fit into this but I was just looking
1:23:07 over you know some of these that talk
1:23:09 about maintaining the important you know
1:23:13 the things that are important for
1:23:14 cultural educational Scenic recreational
1:23:16 resources celebrating local and Regional
1:23:18 Heritage a lot of those are the
1:23:20 treasures and that's why the treasures
1:23:22 list was created and so I think
1:23:24 referencing that would be would be good
1:23:28 and in an appendix it might not
1:23:31 be as easy to to know so maybe we could
1:23:34 reference it and and and that was in the
1:23:38 1000 goal n
1:23:40 um there may be another place that would
1:23:42 work better but
1:23:43 that might be a nice addition
1:23:46 also president Walsh I've got one more
1:23:48 sorry
1:23:49 um the there's the one section that adds
1:23:52 the area about the Wildland Urban
1:23:55 interface and fires and all of that and
1:23:58 councilmember Hunt brought up while we
1:24:00 were kind of talking about that also
1:24:01 flooding
1:24:03 and that made me realize like are we
1:24:07 talking about one versus the other do we
1:24:11 have an area that really effectively
1:24:14 talks about
1:24:16 letting do we need
1:24:19 something in a land use section that
1:24:22 does or does that belong in the climate
1:24:25 change and resiliency
1:24:28 we have several policies that talk about
1:24:30 storm water management
1:24:32 in the landing settlement
1:24:35 okay so it's called out as storm water
1:24:38 rather than flooding
1:24:41 interesting okay
1:24:43 now that is a good point
1:24:54 okay thanks
1:25:07 um do we have any anything else
1:25:11 all right
1:25:14 I assume that in the climate resiliency
1:25:15 Wildfire is also covered under there
1:25:18 yeah okay so it will just be in a couple
1:25:21 of places
1:25:23 great great
1:25:24 um well thank you again and this was
1:25:27 um great to read and also great to hear
1:25:29 about the conversations that were had at
1:25:31 our volunteer commission and thank thank
1:25:33 them as well for their hard work on this
1:25:37 um do you have what you
1:25:39 need from us on this
1:25:41 um topic yes I do thank you okay great
1:25:49 we have no other items so I think the
1:25:51 last thing is if there are any
1:25:52 announcements
1:25:56 yes salmon days is coming right up
1:25:59 um encourage the community to go to that
1:26:03 um there being no further business then
1:26:04 we are adjourned at 7 56 pm thank you