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2023-11-08 Planning Board MinutesCITY OF EDMONDS PLANNING BOARD Minutes of Hybrid Meeting November 8, 2023 Chair Gladstone called the joint hybrid meeting of the Edmonds Planning Board and the Economic Development Commission to order at 7:00 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 Richard Kuehn (online) Nick Maxwell Jeremy Mitchell Emily Nutsch Board Members Absent Susanna Martini (excused) Beth Tragus-Campbell, Vice Chair (excused) Lily Distelhorst (student rep.) (excused) Staff Present Susan McLaughlin, Devt. Services Director Mike Clugston, Senior Planner Economic Development Commission Members/Representatives: Todd Tatum, Community Culture and Economic Development Director, staff liaison Nicole Hughes, Chair Kevin Harris, Vice Chair Natalie Seitz, Commissioner Jay Hoag, Commissioner Darrol Haug, Commissioner Matt Cox, Commissioner Nick Perrault, Commissioner Kevin Smith, Commissioner Allan Townsend, Commissioner David Preston, Port Commissioner, ex-ofcio READING/APPROVAL OF MINUTES MOTION MADE BY BOARD MEMBER GOLEMBIEWSKI, SECONDED BY BOARD MEMBER MAXWELL, TO APPROVE THE MINUTES OF OCTOBER 25 AS PRESENTED. MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY. Planning Board Meeting Minutes November 8, 2023 Page 1 of 7 ANNOUNCEMENT OF AGENDA THERE WAS UNANIMOUS CONSENT TO APPROVE THE AGENDA AS PRESENTED. AUDIENCE COMMENTS Roger Pence, former Planning Board member/chair, gave some background on the Board's work on the vision statement which was crafted as a value statement. He thinks Joan Bloom's version of the vision statement is the most useful. He also noted there is an "information fire hose" on the agenda tonight with a 73-slide presentation. He hopes it does not then go into radio silence if the historical pattern of receiving big briefings and then not hearing more about the topics continues. He said he wished staff could figure out a way to keep the information flowing on a more rational basis. ADMINISTRATIVE REPORTS None NEW BUSINESS A. Joint Discussion with Economic Development Commission regarding existing conditions for Comprehensive Plan Update Director McLaughlin introduced the consultant team from VIA: Kate Howe, Dan Kennedy, Shreya Malu, and Brian Vanneman as well as Paul Sharman from Transpo who is working closely with the team. Director McLaughlin began the presentation with an overview of the Comprehensive Plan and what was heard from community conversations. Brian Vanneman discussed economic development including commuting patterns and employment data. He also presented goals from the 2020 Comprehensive Plan and solicited feedback on the goals. A. Foster a healthy business community B. Revitalize and enhance the city's business districts C. Diversify and grow the City's make-up D. Support and enhance the community's quality of life E. Expand and enhance the tourism sector Comments/questions on the goals: (B) Equity is a big thing that is missing. There is a disparate pattern going on right now where there are a lot of businesses and services in areas without a lot of nearby population and population growth areas that aren't necessarily close to those amenities and services. There should be more of a focus on equity in implementing the Growth Management Act (GMA) so that investments are consistent with the growth of the area. (D) Economic development in some cases, especially along Highway 99, has real health consequences especially regarding air quality. Is the City making investments to mitigate those impacts? There needs to be a focus on public health and infrastructure to support development. Planning Board Meeting Minutes November 8, 2023 Page 2 of 7 • (E) Tourism is mainly felt in downtown Edmonds, but the actual amount of sales tax derived from downtown Edmonds in comparison to other areas of the city is quite low. The current economic development section doesn't ever really mention what the primary retail driver is which is the cars. There should be a more intentional focus on where they currently get their money from and where are they investing. • (C) Maybe expand C to point out the different business districts with the intention of the goal to grow those districts to the extent that residents want them grown in those areas. • There needs to be current numbers. He commented that the bowl produces more property tax than the homes on Highway 99. Additionally, car sales have plummeted during Covid. Also, working from home has changed tremendously. Additionally, the Amazon sales tax factor has spread throughout the city since 2020. • Are we talking about revenue from commercial development or property tax? This is an important distinction. • What kind of measurements are typical to help understand how well things are working? • Council has repealed the ordinance adopting the Highway 99 planned action. This was referred to in some of the background slides. What they have seen is much more residential than commercial development so far in that corridor. From the community renewal plan they have seen a lot of business concern about displacement. There should be some goals around understanding displacement pressures and trying to understand what the repeal of the ordinance now means. Is that whole corridor now going to be housing? • (B) should be the highest priority. Business districts are geographically dispersed very nicely. We should focus on growing and enhancing those districts which would resolve a lot of the other issues. • How can we look at the work -from -home change to make sure the business districts are meeting the needs and creating economic vibrancy for the work -from -home world. • Light rail is opening up in Lynnwood next year. It isn't directly touching Edmonds, but it is close and opens up opportunities to attract more people. How can we make Edmonds a place for people to go? How can we use that to improve the quality of life for people in Edmonds? • In terms of quality of life, a priority should be to create high -paying jobs in Edmonds so that the people that work here can also afford to live here. We should make sure we have the infrastructure to support professional services. • There should be a goal to come up with a cost-effective way to pay for fire services for all of Edmonds. There is a direct tie to economic development with this because there are two complexes on Highway 99 that are or have been burned out. Mr. Vanneman invited participants to email any further thoughts on this. Kate Howe continued to discuss existing land use, the future land use map, what is equitable land use policy, equitable housing policy, current Edmonds population, housing types, applying the Equity & Social Justice Framework, engaging with Community Champions, Climate Action planning, PROS (Parks Recreation Open Space) Plan. Paul Sharman from Transpo Group gave an overview of the state of the transportation system. He reviewed the pedestrian network, bike network, existing multiuse trail network, existing transit network, vehicular level of service (LOS) standards, transportation safety, Transportation Element next steps, and transportation concurrency. Comments/Questions: Planning Board Meeting Minutes November 8, 2023 Page 3 of 7 • Will specific recommendations from the SR 99 EIS and the Community Renewal Plan be considered for the Comprehensive Plan. Mr. Sharman replied they would. • Intended purpose and design of roads aren't necessarily indicative of actual use, especially in areas where there has been a lot of growth. Is this being considered? Mr. Sharman acknowledged this and replied they have a lot more information about this. The roadway design will be reflective of the goals of the City and how the roads are actually being used. • Was LOS analysis only done on intersections where there were letters on the map? Mr. Sharman replied that it was; 30 intersections were selected by the City. • Sidewalks are important in considering transportation. Kids have to walk to school if they live within a mile. Old people have to use the sidewalks near their homes and downtown. When they talk about mobility, they need to consider the demographics of the people that are doing these things. Mr. Sharman replied that sidewalks are a big focus as they are the primary means of pedestrians getting around the city. He expects there will be a lot of sidewalk construction projects on the project list. He noted that one of the big focuses in transportation design recently has been on the term "all ages and all abilities" meaning the infrastructure should be designed to be used by everybody. They definitely want kids to be able to walk to school safely. There is some state funding available to help with this. • When they are talking about bike planning, they need to make sure they are considering the changes that are happening with the increase in e-bikes. This includes safety concerns as well as opening the door to bicycling for a lot of people that couldn't do it previously. • The transit map shows local transit options, but if 95% of people are commuting elsewhere, they need to put a heavy emphasis on the regional network with Sound Transit. • There was so much emphasis on the intersections of Highway 99 that there was no evaluation of the traffic impact on the surrounding area as a result of what growth was supposed to be in that area. There needs to be some balance around where the major arterials are and impacts to the neighborhoods. • How do they systematically take all of the information presented in the other plans and consider downstream ripple effects and unintended consequences? Director McLaughlin explained that they need to balance honoring past planning documents that were adopted by elected officials. To do due diligence they will layer all of the planning documents to consider gaps, obsolete items, and opportunities. Dan Kennedy explained they would be working closely with Transpo to align transportation and land use approaches. He discussed existing capacity, meeting 2044 growth targets, affordable housing targets, and state level single-family zone housing actions (HB 1110 and HB 1337). Ms. Howe summarized that they need to accommodate more housing in the city as well as some more jobs. This is a great chance to rethink the transportation network and activity centers. She proposed some topics for imagining economic growth such as: building on Edmonds' unique strengths; enhancing core areas of stability like established job clusters; grabbing the opportunity for placemaking and revitalization around Downtown and Waterfront given cancellation of Edmonds Crossing project; connecting the downtown and waterfront economic centers; and positioning the Highway 99 medical district for success. The listening sessions will be an opportunity to listen to people's ideas about their vision for Edmonds on topics such as equity and environmental sustainability; livability and housing; building on Edmonds' assets (arts, healthcare, strategy, and innovation); and integrating the Highway 99 Plan, 15-minute city ideas, and neighborhood centers and hubs. Questions/Comments: • 500 jobs need to be created. Does this need to be a certain type of job? Planning Board Meeting Minutes November 8, 2023 Page 4 of 7 • Prior to the 2017 up zone, the Census Tract 509 was already designated as an area with a moderate risk of displacement. It is a historically disadvantaged community which has gotten worse in terms of what people are making versus what it costs to live there. The bubbles overlying the transit places to up zone are the exact same locations that would trigger the other part of that House Bill around anti -displacement strategies. How are the anti -displacement strategies for that community going to be developed. Director McLaughlin replied this is something that is high on their radar but it is too early to be able to answer it. The group recessed for five minutes from 8:53 to 8:57 p.m. while the Economic Development Commission members left the meeting. UNFINISHED BUSINESS A. Comprehensive Plan Vision Statement Review Director McLaughlin thanked the subcommittee for taking a look at this. She commented that they honored the commonly used words while modifying it modestly so it is still consistent with community feedback. She spoke to the importance of acknowledging Student Representative Distelhort's concerns. Chair Gladstone explained that unfortunately Student Rep. Distelhorst was not able to participate in the discussion. In order to do this in a timely fashion they had to do it via email. She presented a draft to the group which attempts to convert this from a part vision/part value statement to a vision statement. She thinks that a vision statement is important for the Comprehensive Plan because the community is expecting it and because it sets the stage for policy to come. A vision statement should be forward thinking and aspirational. She reviewed the process taken to convert the statement to a vision statement encompassing the responses from the engagement survey. She invited discussion regarding Student Representative Distelhort's concerns about "small town feel" conjuring up something of the past and not of the future. Chair Gladstone explained that "small town feel" was included because it had 211 hits in the community responses. There was also a comment from Ron Eber mentioning access to natural beauty, and not just the fact that it exists. Board Member Maxwell said he thought he understood what people meant by "small town feel" but Student Representative Distelhorst's comment made it clear that there are other interpretations. She is concerned that a small town could become synonymous with suburban. To him it is related to grid streets, easy walkability, and short buildings not more than three stories tall. Board Member Golembiewski agreed but noted that it is hyper -focused on the bowl. Using it to describe Edmonds as a whole, and so early in the vision statement, re-emphasizes that the bowl is where they are focusing their priorities. She thought it would be inaccurate to list "small town" in the vision statement for Edmonds as a whole. Chair Gladstone said she felt comfortable having it in there because it relates to the walkability, the interconnectedness, and the shorter buildings. She lives near Highway 99 and isn't sure that having 75-foot buildings everywhere is what they want to aim for either. She was fine with striking it but noted that if they tried to put something else in there, they would be moving away from reflecting some of the language in the responses. Planning Board Meeting Minutes November 8, 2023 Page 5 of 7 Board Member Kuehn expressed appreciation for Board Member Distelhorst's comments. He noted that "small town feel" was something that was continuously brought up in the responses. He thinks this is more a character of the city itself and a lot of the neighborhoods or communities. A lot of areas within the city have characteristics of their own that have that kind of feel. Also, a lot of people are drawn to Edmonds because of that small town feel within it. He doesn't want to get away from that characteristic because it is one of the things they consistently heard from the respondents. Board Member Mitchell commented that from an urban planning perspective, they could still plan from that term. It could mean things like smaller streets, larger public realms, etc. You can still have a small town feel in a densified area. Director McLaughlin commented that the phrase might be challenging for non-English speakers. She also thought that the fact that people need to explain what they mean by it also raises some concerns. Board Member Nutsch commented that what it seemed like they were trying to get at is that Edmonds is a place you want to live and where you want to be, not just where you have your address. Chair Gladstone asked if there was any other word they would want to include if they drop that phrase. There was agreement to strike the phrase, "that has a small town feel". Chair Gladstone asked for feedback about the suggestion to include "access to" the natural beauty of the community. There was general agreement to include this. She read the revised proposed vision statement as follows: Edmonds is a welcoming city offering outstanding quality of life for all with vibrant and diverse neighborhoods, safe streets, parks, and a thriving art scene, shaped in a way to promote healthy lifestyles, climate resiliency, and access to the natural beauty of our community. MOTION MADE BY BOARD MEMBER MITCHELL, SECONDED BY BOARD MEMBER MAXWELL, TO RECOMMEND THE ALTERNATIVE VISION STATEMENT AS READ TO THE CITY COUNCIL. MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY. PLANNING BOARD EXTENDED AGENDA • November 29 meeting - Private property tree code recommendations from the work group, CARA public hearing, and introduction of detached ADUs. • The December 5 City Council meeting report will be pushed out to January because of the City Council schedule. • December 13 meeting — Detached Accessory Dwelling Units. • Some adjustments will need to be made to the extended agenda for everything beyond November 29. • Chair Gladstone requested more specificity as they move forward on which elements of the Comp Plan will be addressed and when they will be addressed. Director McLaughlin agreed. • Commissioner Maxwell asked about the process of making land use changes that are reflected in the Comprehensive Plan. Director Mclaughlin explained that the Comprehensive Plan is first adopted and that leads code development. Subsequent to adoption of the Comprehensive Plan, staff will work to Planning Board Meeting Minutes November 8, 2023 Page 6 of 7 make sure that the zoning code is consistent with the Comprehensive Plan. Some zoning changes may be done concurrently. PLANNING BOARD MEMBER COMMENTS Board Member Golembiewski said she was happy to see the Landmark project still alive. Chair Gladstone agreed and added that they need to make room on the extended agenda for reports. Director McLaughlin noted that November 18 will be the second community meeting on that. Board Member Kuehn said he didn't see anything on the calendar for the November 29 meeting. He enjoyed tonight's meeting. PLANNING BOARD CHAIR COMMENTS Chair Gladstone said she really enjoyed meeting with the Economic Development Commission. She reported that it looks like she will be winning the position for the Commissioner for Olympic View Water and Sewer District. She also stated that the Transportation Advisory Committee has selected Board Member Martini to be their representative on their committee. ADJOURNMENT: The meeting was adjourned at 9:25 p.m. Planning Board Meeting Minutes November 8, 2023 Page 7 of 7