Loading...
2023-06-14 Planning Board MinutesCITY OF EDMONDS PLANNING BOARD Minutes of Hybrid Meeting June 14, 2023 Chair Gladstone called the hybrid meeting of the Edmonds Planning Board to order at 7:07 p.m. at Edmonds City Hall and on Zoom. LAND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT FOR INDIGENOUS PEOPLES The Land Acknowledgement was read by Board Member Mitchell. Board Members Present Judi Gladstone, Chair Lauren Golembiewski Jeremy Mitchell Nick Maxwell Lily Distelhorst (student rep) Board Members Absent Richard Kuehn (excused) Susanna Martini (excused) Beth Tragus-Campbell, Vice Chair (excused) READING/APPROVAL OF MINUTES Staff Present Susan McLaughlin, Planning and Development Director David Levitan, Planning Manager MOTION MADE BY BOARD MEMBER GOLEMBIEWSKI, SECONDED BY BOARD MEMBER MAXWELL, TO APPROVE THE MINUTES OF MAY 24 AS PRESENTED. MOTION PASSED. ANNOUNCEMENT OF AGENDA THERE WAS UNANIMOUS CONSENT TO APPROVE THE AGENDA AS PRESENTED. AUDIENCE COMMENTS Jacob Stegman referred to Aurora and SR 104 and commented that it is a horrible route for bicyclists and pedestrians. He recommended keeping this in mind as they discuss the Highway 99 Community Renewal Plan. He noted that the information in the packet looks great. UNFINISHED BUSINESS A. Highway 99 Community Renewal Plan Planning Board Meeting Minutes June 14, 2023 Pagel of 5 Development Services Director McLaughlin noted that the draft Plan has been completed and was included in the Board's packets along with staff s recommendation. She discussed previous planning efforts and infrastructure challenges. Under a Community Renewal Plan (CRP), special tools would be available to start getting development opportunities with the intention of catalyzing investment for both public and private investment in the corridor. The analysis confirms that Edmonds is eligible to apply for a CRP based on physical dilapidation of buildings, unsafe conditions, insufficient access to parks/open space, inadequate street layout, inadequate lot layout, and excessive surface parking coverage. Additionally, there is a big gap in tree canopy coverage along Highway 99. Assets of the area include proximity to the coming Sound Transit light rail station, Ballinger Park, culturally relevant businesses and non-profit service providers, community gardens, City Hall neighborhood office, full -service grocery, lively shopping plaza, Swift BRT stations, Mathay-Ballinger Park, bus transit hub at Aurora Transit Center in Shoreline, and businesses generating tax revenue for public services. Director McLaughlin discussed structural issues in the area. Highway 99 cuts through existing neighborhoods, creating a barrier between the Lake Ballinger neighborhood and the rest of Edmonds. Several irregularly shaped lots were created that have been difficult to develop because of their odd shape. The medians also present access challenges. Construction of the interchange at Highway 99/SR 104 made access to the Burlington Coat Factory site difficult. Access remains an impediment to redevelopment of the site. Site Design Safety Challenges exist because physical barriers and poor sight lines create "dead zones", especially between and behind buildings enabling crime along the corridor. Many buildings in the area are more than 50 years old and/or in "below normal condition". She discussed potential implementation strategies: adopt a community renewal area, explore tax increment financing as an option to address infrastructure needs, foster public -private partnerships, pursue Reconnecting Communities Grant, and continue to invest in parks and transportation per the Highway 99 subarea plan EIS. She explained that Reconnecting Communities is a federal grant created for the purpose of reconnecting neighborhoods that have been inequitably bisected. It is not yet known whether Edmonds would be eligible but it is an exciting possibility. Recommended projects include public -private redevelopment, access improvements near the interchange, through block connections, neighborhood park, Green Streets, business revitalization, and interchange replacement. General clarification questions and answers followed. Board Member Golembiewski asked about the boundary of the Community Renewal Area versus the subarea. Director McLaughlin explained that per the RCW definition they focus directly on the corridor itself and the results of Highway 99 bisecting the neighborhoods. Board Member Golembiewski asked what happens with the tax increment financing if it doesn't get built. Director McLaughlin explained this is a risk. She spoke to the value of using the powers under a Community Renewal Plan to foster that and ensure that you get a return. Board Member Golembiewski asked what happens to the property values of people who own property in a Community Renewal area. Director McLaughlin was not sure but indicated they could look into that further. Chair Gladstone also wondered if this would change over time. She stated she went to community meetings on this and instead of focusing on being eligible for a Community Renewal Plan, the focus was on designating it as a blight area. There was a lot of bristling at the idea of calling this a blighted area. Director McLaughlin acknowledged that there is great sensitivity to the word blight. She explained that this tool is something that is used for conditions that are undesirable or unsafe as a result of infrastructure. Chair Gladstone said she appreciates the emphasis on being eligible for being a Community Renewal area rather than talking about blight. Planning Board Meeting Minutes June 14, 2023 Page 2 of 5 Director McLaughlin concurred and expressed hope that these tools could provide the feasibility of tackling larger scale issues. Board Member Mitchell asked how the Community Renewal Plan would keep people consistently engaged. Director McLaughlin spoked to the value of an implementation strategy associated with a master plan to create a cohesive development. She commented that community engagement is key. Board Member Maxwell commented that the area has been very stable (unchanged) for at least 30 years and, without some sort of intervention, he believes it will not improve or change. He thinks it is a great idea to explore this. Student Representative Distelhorst commented that the narrative on Highway 99 is that it is unsafe and because of that we shouldn't have development. However, what people don't realize is that redeveloping it can really change it and benefit the city more. Board Member Mitchell noted that when you put improvements in place or a plan for improvements in place, it shows that you care about a neighborhood. Usually when you care about a neighborhood, crime starts to go down. Director McLaughlin added that through the Community Renewal Plan they would have more powers to help people who have been displaced as a result of anything they would do along the corridor. Board Member Golembiewski wondered about the impacts of living in an area/building designated as a Community Renewal Area and whether it made sense to include certain apartment buildings. Director McLaughlin indicated she would go back to some case studies and talk to people in cities that have been through this process. Chair Gladstone said she thinks having a Community Renewal Plan for this area makes a lot of sense; however, it seems to be lacking a sense of where the dollars will be targeted. She is hesitant to call it a plan. She also asked how much of the plan is going to be community -driven versus other kinds of drivers. She referred to community engagement and stressed that part of this is having results that the community cares about. She thinks this plan identifies good strategies but doesn't give a sense of how they are going to decide what to do. What is the community's role in determining that? When the Council approves it, what is their expectation for the implementation of this? Director McLaughlin said her recommendation is to get the area designated as a Community Renewal Area and then launch into comprehensive plan conversations. That scope will allow staff the opportunity to work with the Highway 99 community, dust off the subarea plan, and reidentify the issues and areas of focus to help inform the strategic plan moving forward. Chair Gladstone referred to Green Streets and noted that in her opinion this would need more substantiation on the stormwater side to make it worth spending the dollars that might otherwise be spent on other projects. Director McLaughlin explained that Green Streets in Edmonds would be much different than Seattle. It is a full cost continuum between adding additional street trees to the full blown engineered bioretention cell. The feedback in this area has been that there is an absolute void of tree canopy, landscaping, and walkable streets. Chair Gladstone stressed that Green Streets could provide some tree canopy which is valuable, but they are absolutely not a substitute for parks. Planning Board Meeting Minutes June 14, 2023 Page 3 of 5 Board Member Golembiewski asked how they would know when the Community Renewal Plan is done. Director McLaughlin replied that it is never really done. It's more of a designation. Removing the designation would also remove the tools they have access to. Board Member Golembiewski asked if a city can have more than one Community Renewal Area. Director McLaughlin was not sure. Board Member Maxwell recommended that the word blight be taken out of any of their conversations unless they need to use it for application purposes. Director McLaughlin concurred. Board Member Maxwell said he grew up in an area that was redeveloped and renewed and those are dirty words to him. In Philadelphia renewal and redevelopment always meant the places you love were destroyed and replaced with huge concrete messes that no one loved and no one wanted to be around. To avoid that he recommended maintaining the tax base. This would help to guide away from things that the community would not actually want. Regarding business revitalization, he suggested finding a way to support businesses. He discussed a program where businesses pay little to no rent for a certain period of time to see if they would be successful. A big part of what makes Highway 99 currently unattractive is that it is not continuous. There are big areas where there are no businesses and you lose the community sense. Finally, he stated he was amused that the study was enthusiastic about cut throughs. There was some discussion about the difference between cut throughs and through -block connections. Director McLaughlin explained how Washington State Complete Streets mandate and Reconnecting Communities fit into this. Chair Gladstone referred to the map on page 27 which is trying to portray the potential through -block connections. It looks like those are crossing Highway 99 as well as breaking up the long blocks in the residential areas. Board Member Golembiewski asked if the intent is to reduce the attractiveness of Highway 99 as a commuter highway and make it more focused on local access. Director McLaughlin explained that it is. There was discussion about potential next steps and the process going forward. Board Member Maxwell stated he was generally comfortable with this. Chair Gladstone commented that it appears that the Board agrees conceptually that it makes sense to have a Community Renewal Plan (or some sort of plan) for this area as a tool for the City to provide best services to the community; however, there are differences in opinion about the details of the projects. Board Member Golembiewski recommended getting answers to some of their questions before sending this on to Council. Director McLaughlin indicated she would try to bring this back in July with more information. She noted that the nomenclature for Green Streets could be changed to be more generalized. Chair Gladstone also recommended having a community -driven prioritized list so the community can see the results they want and continue to be engaged. She also wondered if this would even qualify for the Reconnecting Communities grant because the real divide occurred between Shoreline and Edmonds with SR 104. Board Member Mitchell asked if there is a specific way to highlight crime reduction as a goal for some of the recommended projects. Director McLaughlin noted that public -private redevelopment would afford a police substation and community wraparound facilities. She indicated they could clarify this. PLANNING BOARD EXTENDED AGENDA Planning Manager Levitan reviewed the extended agenda. Planning Board Meeting Minutes June 14, 2023 Page 4 of 5 PLANNING BOARD CHAIR COMMENTS None PLANNING BOARD MEMBER COMMENTS Board Member Mitchell thanked staff for putting together the special meeting. Student Representative Distelhorst thanked staff for the presentation. ADJOURNMENT: The meeting was adjourned at 8:44 p.m. Planning Board Meeting Minutes June 14, 2023 Page 5 of 5