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2017-03-08 Planning Board MinutesCITY OF EDMONDS PLANNING BOARD MINUTES March 8, 2017 Chair Rubenkonig called the meeting of the Edmonds Planning Board to order at 7:00 p.m. in the Council Chambers, Public Safety Complex, 250 — 5 h Avenue North. BOARD MEMBERS PRESENT Carreen Rubenkonig, Chair Nathan Monroe, Vice Chair Todd Cloutier Daniel Robles Malia Clark, Student Representative BOARD MEMBERS ABSENT Phil Lovell (excused) Alicia Crank (excused) Matthew Cheung (excused) READING/APPROVAL OF MINUTES STAFF PRESENT Rob Chave, Planning Division Manager Brad Shipley, Planner Jerrie Bevington, Video Recorder Karin Noyes, Recorder BOARD MEMBER ROBLES MOVED THAT THE MINUTES OF FEBRUARY 22, 2017 BE APPROVED AS PRESENTED. VICE CHAIR MONROE SECONDED THE MOTION, WHICH CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. ANNOUNCEMENT OF AGENDA The agenda was accepted as presented. AUDIENCE COMMENTS No one in the audience indicated a desire to comment during this portion of the meeting. DEVELOPMENT SERVICES DIRECTOR REPORT TO PLANNING BOARD Chair Rubenkonig referred the Board to the written report that was provided by the Development Services Director. There was no discussion relative to the report. IMPLEMENTATION ACTION AND PERFORMANCE MEASURE MONITORING REPORT Mr. Shipley reminded the Board that a set of implementation actions and performance measures were adopted with the 2015 Comprehensive Plan update. The intent was to track implementation of the Comprehensive Plan and provide an annual report to the City Council and Planning Board. This is the first annual report, which covers 2016. He reviewed that "implementation actions" are steps that are intended to be taken within a specified timeframe to address high -priority goals that relate to sustainability and Comprehensive Plan elements. "Performance measures" are intended to provide targeted information about the implementation and effectiveness of the Comprehensive Plan. They are intended to help assess the City's progress towards achieving the goals and policy direction of each Comprehensive Plan element. He reviewed the Implementation actions and performance measures as follows: Community Sustainability Element Implementation Action. By 2017, update the City's Hazard Mitigation Plan to reference emerging risks and hazards related to climate change, such as rising sea levels and ocean acidification. Mr. Shipley explained that the Hazard Mitigation Plan (HMP) is a preparedness document that describes the potential hazards that could impact the City and details the relative likelihood that those risks might impact people, property, and the economy. It also lists mitigation action items being planned or undertaken to minimize or eliminate risk for those hazards. He emphasized that the Federal Emergency Management Association (FEMA) requires that cities have approved plans in place in order to receive federal funding to cover disaster -related costs. He reported that FEMA recently approved the City's HMP, so this implementation action has been met. • Performance Measure. Annually report on energy usage within the City, both by City government and by the larger Edmonds community. Mr. Shipley provided data that shows that energy usage on City -owned properties has generally been decreasing. Energy use has also been decreasing for residential properties even though the number of units has increased. Energy usage for commercial properties has remained stable. He concluded that this performance measure is being met. Housing Implementation Action. Develop a Housing Strategy by 2019 for increasing the supply of affordable housing and meeting diverse housing needs. Mr. Shipley said the City recognizes that the rising cost of housing is a critical issue. Together with the Housing Authority of Snohomish County, the City is in the beginning stages of developing a Housing Strategy with the goal of increasing the housing supply. Meanwhile, the City is working to increase the number of affordable units. Recently, the City designated the Westgate Mixed Use Zone as a residentially targeted area, which allows future projects to qualify for a multi -family tax exemption for affordable units. He summarized that this implementation action is not yet due, but it may end up being completed early. • Performance Measure. Report the number of residential units permitted each year with a goal of reaching 21,168 units by 2035 or approximately 112 additional dwelling units annually. Mr. Shipley provided a table of information to illustrate the number of new housing units added each year from 2011 through 2016. He reported that there were 126 new units added in 2016, which means that the City's target of having approximately 112 units added to the housing supply each year was met last year. He noted that the City's best opportunity for meeting the yearly target is via multi -family development/redevelopment. Economic Development • Performance Measure. Report the number of jobs within the City each year, with the goal of reaching 13,948 jobs, excluding jobs within the resource and construction sectors, by 2035. This would require adding approximately 95 jobs annually from 2011 to 2035. Mr. Shipley reported that the number of jobs increased by about 2,626 between 2011 and 2015, which is an average of 525 additional jobs per year. He concluded that this performance measure, so far, has been more than met. Community Culture and Urban Design Implementation Action. Develop an update to the Street Tree Plan by the end of 2016. Mr. Shipley reported that the Engineering Department hosted several meetings with the Public Works and Parks Departments to draft an update to the Street Tree Plan in 2016, so this implementation action has been met. In addition to identifying requirements for species and location, the plan includes a mechanism for removing street trees that are not performing well or have overgrown the areas where they are planted. The Engineering Department has noted that a lot of work still needs to be done to integrate the Street Tree Plan into the upcoming Urban Forest Management Plan. Formal adoption of the Street Tree Plan was postponed until the Urban Forest Management Plan is underway. Planning Board Minutes March 8, 2017 Page 2 Implementation Action. Develop an Urban Forest Management Plan (UFMP) by the end of 2017. Mr. Shipley advised that the City has just under 200 acres of publicly -owned open space and parkland. Some sites are heavily treed and others have clusters of trees. The City recognizes that local citizens value trees but also have concerns about having the right trees in the right place. The City's goal is to maintain and/or plant trees effectively and sustainably on its properties. He reviewed that, two years ago, the City's Tree Board developed a draft code for tree preservation that included private property. While the draft code contained some good ideas, its requirements for trees on private property were broadly seen as over -reaching. The draft was not adopted, but it helped spark the discussion about the need for an UFMP to guide policy decisions about the urban forest. The City's management of trees on public lands is considered a priority. During the discussions about updating the Critical Areas Ordinance, concerns were also raised about the relationship of trees on public and private lands to priority habitat corridors and how these should be managed. He announced that the City Council recently approved authorization to executive a professional services agreement with Davey Resource Group to assist staff in developing a URFP and facilitating the public process. The budget for the project is $130,000, and it is scheduled for completion by the end of 2017. He noted that this implementation action is not yet due. Utilities • Performance Measure. Lineal feet of old water, sewer and stormwater mains replaced or rehabilitated. Mr. Shipley advised that, since 2015, the City has replaced or rehabilitated 13,050 linear feet of water mains and 11,100 linear feet of sewer mains. He noted that, with the information provided, the Performance Standard has been met. Capital Facilities • Implementation Action. Develop Level of Service (LOS) Standards for key public facilities by the end of 2017 and consider including standards in the Comprehensive Plan. Mr. Shipley advised that this implementation action is not yet due. However, he reported that, currently, several City departments are coordinating efforts on possible LOS Standards, and progress will be reported in 2018. • Performance Measure. Project delivery results, based on comparing projects in the Capital Facilities Plan to what is actually done on the projects. Mr. Shipley provided a chart that tracks the progress of each of the projects in the Capital Facilities Plan. He reported that four projects have been completed, four are in some stage of progress, and two remain in the conceptual stage. He noted that, with the information provided, the Performance Standard has been met. Transportation • Performance Measure. Number of linear feet of sidewalk renovated or added to the City's sidewalk network Mr. Shipley reported that in 2016, 600 linear feet of sidewalk was added on the south side of 85th Avenue, 250 linear feet was added on Maple Street between 6"' and 8th Avenues, 500 linear feet was added on 238"h from 76th Avenue to 80th Avenue as part of the 228th Street Corridor Improvement Project, and 1,200 linear feet was added on 238th Street SW from 100th to 104th Avenues. He concluded that, with the information provided, this performance measure has been met. Chair Rubenkonig asked Mr. Shipley to share background information about how the performance measures and implementation actions came to be. Mr. Shipley answered that the performance measures and implementation actions were incorporated into the Comprehensive Plan when it was updated in 2015. They are intended to help the City track how well the Comprehensive Plan is being implemented. The metrics in the performance measures were suggested by the departments and a few came from the Growth Management Act (housing and jobs). The goal is for staff to report the City's progress to the Planning Board and City Council on a regular basis. Chair Rubenkonig asked if the Strategic Action Plan also influenced the performance measures. Mr. Chave responded that the performance measures are geared towards the Comprehensive Plan over a longer period of time, and the Strategic Action Planning Board Minutes March 8, 2017 Page 3 Plan is for a much more focused period. Chair Rubenkonig pointed out that the dialogue pertaining to the two documents has often been very similar. Mr. Chave agreed but said the performance measures have a different scope and timeline. Board Member Cloutier pointed out that the performance measure for utilities does not include any specific goal or context. For example, he suggested it could include a goal of a certain amount of replaced or renovated mains each year. He commented that simply reporting what was accomplished does not seem like a very aggressive goal. The numbers would mean more if the performance measure identified the City's goal over the next five years. Mr. Shipley explained that the intent was to keep track of how many of the mains were being replaced, but it did not include a specific goal. Board Member Cloutier again said it would be good to have some context for the numbers provided in the report. For example, how many linear feet of water main is there, how many of them are over 50 years old, and how many are reaching the end of their lifespan. He suggested that the report should provide this information in graphic format. Mr. Chave agreed that would be helpful information. However, he explained that this year was intended to give staff experience in pulling the numbers together. The performance measure could be expanded at some point to include additional context, since the Engineering Department has information about how many mains need to be replaced each year on average. Board Member Cloutier pointed out that the Hazard Mitigation Plan talks about how the City might start addressing climate change, but there is no mentation of the Edmonds Climate Protection Committee or the Climate Action Plan that has been in place since 2009. Rather than rewrite the actions that need to be taken, the actions identified in the Climate Action Plan could be integrated into the Hazard Mitigation Plan. Board Member Cloutier pointed out that, although a lot of numbers were provided in the report relative to electricity consumption, the report does not address natural gas consumption, which is one of the largest contributors to global warming. He said he understands that the information is available for inclusion in the report. In addition, the Public Utility District (PUD) can inform the City on the amount of solar power that is generated each year. Mr. Shipley clarified that the solar power generated was subtracted from the numbers provided for electricity. Vice Chair Monroe agreed with Board Member Cloutier that it would be nice to know how many linear feet of water and sewer main needs to be replaced or renovated each year. Without that information, it is impossible to know if the City is on target or not. Vice Chair Monroe asked if duplexes are allowed in Edmonds, and Mr. Chave answered that they are allowed and considered to be multi -family residential development. There is not a specific duplex zone. Vice Chair Monroe suggested it would make sense to add another column to the table provided in the report to track affordable housing. Mr. Shipley explained that the current measure was taken directly from the Growth Management Act. The five columns provided in the report show where the additional housing units are coming from, but the performance measure only requires the City to report on the total number of new units. Measuring affordable housing should probably be a separate metric, since this particular measure is intended to track the Growth Management Act requirement. Mr. Chave suggested this is something to keep in mind when updating the Housing Strategy later in the year since it requires a different type of analysis. He noted that the Housing Alliance of Snohomish County tracks this information and they presented a report to the Board last year. As the Board discusses the Housing Strategy in the coming months, they could consider a potential performance measure for tracking its success. Chair Rubenkonig summarized that the current performance measure relative to housing is tied to the Growth Management Act. She suggested that this should be made clear in the report and in the Comprehensive Plan. Mr. Chave explained that the Comprehensive Plan and the Growth Management Act are two separate documents that are not necessarily tied together. As the Housing Strategy is updated, it is likely that the implementation actions will need to be updated. However, performance measures are different than implementation actions in that they need to be done on a long-term basis. Housing is just one example where information needs to be tracked over a decade because projections will change over time. It is hoped they can expand the number of things that are tracked to provide more elaborate information to tie back to the goals in the plan. This is just the initial effort to track and assemble information. Chair Rubenkonig commented that, as the Board works on the Housing Strategy throughout the year, one thing to consider is the addition of a performance measure for affordable housing. Mr. Chave agreed that is something that could be decided during the review process. He added that the Board could also address the need to amend the existing performance measures Planning Board Minutes March 8, 2017 Page 4 to provide more information as the City moves forward with updates to other plans. The intent of the performance measure data is to inform future updates. He commended Mr. Shipley for doing a great job of assembling the report, which is a good first step but also a work in progress. Vice Chair Monroe asked why the Transportation Improvement Plan (TIP) does include a performance measure that identifies the number of linear miles of roadway that have been paved or rehabilitated. Mr. Shipley answered that the current performance measure focuses on walkability. However, he recognized that an additional measure could be added for roadways, too. He commented that the report takes a great deal of time to assemble, and it is important to focus on the high- level items that will help guide the City in the future. Mr. Chave added that the Board could raise this question when the Capital Facilities or Capital Improvement Plans are presented to the Board later in the year. Board Member Robles asked if the City's goals and metrics would change as the Federal Government changes its funding priorities for disaster relief, climate impacts, etc. Mr. Shipley explained that because the Hazard Mitigation Plan Update has been completed, it will no longer be identified as an implementation action that needs to be measured. However, other implementation actions may be added the next time the Comprehensive Plan is updated. Mr. Chave commented that there will be additional steps coming later relative to climate impacts, but the implementation action was simply to update the disaster plan. He reminded the Board that the City is also working with students from Western Washington University to identify impacts related to sea -level rise, which was also called out as a high priority in the Comprehensive Plan. A lot of the exploration of impacts of climate change will be ongoing. Mr. Chave explained that the Hazard Mitigation Plan is an important requirement of FEMA as an attempt to reduce exposure to disaster response reimbursements. They want communities to analyze their hazards and risks and be proactive in reducing the risks over time. That is the purpose of this exercise. The Hazard Mitigation Plan is a set of plans going forward to continually analyze the City's risks. It is a relatively new requirement, but cities must have one in place or run the risk of not getting full FEMA compensation if a disaster were to occur. Board Member Robles recalled that the Board has discussed branding affordable housing in Edmonds as the ability to "age in place," which means retaining residents as they age, etc. Board Member Robles asked if the decline in energy use is related to technology changes or weather impacts. Mr. Shipley said the representative from the PUD did not have too much to say on the issue, but he did mention lower wattage bulbs and energy -efficient appliances. Solar generation is also a small contributor. Mr. Chave commented that as older appliances are replaced with more energy -efficient appliances, there will be a consistent pattern of energy use decline. Board Member Robles recalled Mr. Shipley's earlier statement that multi -family development is responsible for most of the growth in new housing units. He asked if this is because the Economic Development Commission is promoting multi -family housing or is there an effort to promote affordable housing, as well. Mr. Chave explained that the City is faced with an infill situation. There is a limited number of single-family lots available for development or redevelopment relative to opportunities for multi -family development. When a single-family lot is redeveloped, the home is simply replaced with a new home and there is no gain in the number of units. Many multi -family lots are underutilized, meaning that substantially more units can be added to take full advantage of the density allowed if redevelopment occurs. There are also opportunities for multi -family housing in mixed -use zones. Board Member Robles asked if existing single-family property owners have been given the opportunity to recognize the economic advantage associated with accessory dwelling units (ADUs). Mr. Chave agreed that is an important issue to discuss as part of the Housing Strategy update. This could include a discussion about market conditions, as well as potential code amendments to accommodate ADUs and how to communicate to citizens that ADUs are an option. Board Member Robles noted that no water lines were rehabilitated in either 2015 or 2016. Because rehabilitation is typically a less costly approach, he questioned if the numbers will be modified in future years to include more rehabilitation. Mr. Chave said that is a good question for the Board to direct to the Engineering Department. Board Member Cloutier reminded the Board that the City already has a goal relative to reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Planning Board Minutes March 8, 2017 Page 5 Student Representative Clark voiced concern about the City's approach for providing affordable housing. She understands that Westgate is intended to be the location for a large number of multi -family units. She said she does not want to see housing popping up all over the place. Mr. Shipley reminded the Board that Edmonds is primarily built out, and the majority of new multi -family development will occur along the major corridors where there are already good public transportation opportunities. Student Representative Clark said she does not want affordable housing goals to take precedence over protecting the environment. Chair Rubenkonig commented that the numbers provided in the Economic Development Report do not add up to her, and Mr. Shipley agreed to double check the math. Chair Rubenkonig commented that some very good years are needed in order to make up for the years that were slow. Mr. Shipley agreed that the numbers are below the bar, but it is important to understand that it is a long-range goal and there may be some very good years in the future. REVIEW OF EXTENDED AGENDA Chair Rubenkonig reviewed the extended agenda, which was recently updated. She noted that the Parks and Recreation Quarterly Report was postponed to the May lOd' meeting so that staff can introduce the Highway 99 Development Regulations on March 22" d. A retreat is tentatively scheduled for April 12"'. PLANNING BOARD CHAIR COMMENTS Chair Rubenkonig reported that representatives from the Bartell Family, the current developers at Westgate, have agreed to attend the Board's retreat to share their thoughts and answer questions. Chair Rubenkonig reminded the Board that detailed information about development permits is available via the City's website (www.edmondswa.goy). At her request, Mr. Chave demonstrated how to access the information. PLANNING BOARD MEMBER COMMENTS Vice Chair Monroe reported that, at a recent Economic Development Commission (EDC) meeting, he was asked what the EDC could provide to the Planning Board to make the process better. He asked that the Board provide feedback as he prepares to respond. He reviewed that the EDC has been involved in the sign code, civic field, and a number of other issues. Chair Rubenkonig recalled that the previous EDC presented periodic reports to the Planning Board, and a member of their Commission attended the Board Meetings as a liaison. Although the new EDC has submitted letters for the Board's consideration, they have not appointed a liaison to attend their meetings. Vice Chair Monroe agreed to make that request. Board Member Robles reminded the Board that they will be tackling the Housing Strategy later in the year, and it would be appropriate for the EDC to share insight on how to promote ADUs so that individual property owners have the same advantage as developers when the message is delivered. It would be helpful for the EDC to adjudicate relative to the sign code, as well. Mr. Chave cautioned that the EDC and Planning Board operate in slightly different spheres. While there is some overlap, the EDC does not work on code amendments to the same degree as the Board, and the Board does not get into the big picture economic outlook that the EDC does. He agreed with Chair Rubenkonig that it would be helpful for each body to provide a liaison to communicate and keep in touch. Chair Rubenkonig recalled that the previous EDC requested a joint meeting with the Board, but she has not received a similar request from the new EDC. Vice Chair Monroe commented that the Highway 99 and Five Corners Subarea Plans are pressing agenda items for the EDC. Mr. Chave reviewed that the Highway 99 Subarea Plan is close to being approved by the City Council, and the next step is for the Board to review possible code amendments to implement the plan. He presumes the EDC will be interested in working with property owners to kick start the plan's implementation. He said that a joint Planning Board/EDC meeting might be appropriate for this purpose. ADJOURNMENT Planning Board Minutes March 8, 2017 Page 6 The Board meeting was adjourned at 8:10 p.m. Planning Board Minutes March 8, 2017 Page 7