2018-08-22 Planning Board MinutesCITY OF EDMONDS
PLANNING BOARD MINUTES
August 22, 2018
Chair Monroe called the meeting of the Edmonds Planning Board to order at 7:00 p.m. in the Council Chambers, Public Safety
Complex, 250 — 5' Avenue North.
BOARD MEMBERS PRESENT
Nathan Monroe, Chair
Todd Cloutier
Phil Lovell
Daniel Robles
Carreen Nordling Rubenkonig
BOARD MEMBERS ABSENT
Matthew Cheung, Vice Chair (excused)
Alicia Crank (excused)
Mike Rosen (excused)
READING/APPROVAL OF MINUTES
STAFF PRESENT
Rob Chave, Planning Division Manager
Kernen Lien, Environmental Programs Manager
Jerrie Bevington, Video Recorder
Karin Noyes, Recorder
BOARD MEMBER LOVELL MOVED THAT THE MINUTES OF AUGUST 8, 2018 BE APPROVED AS
PRESENTED. BOARD MEMBER RUBENKONIG SECONDED THE MOTION, WHICH CARRIED
UNANIMOUSLY.
ANNOUNCEMENT OF AGENDA
A discussion about the Planning Board Retreat was added under "Unfinished Business," and the remainder of the agenda was
accepted as presented.
AUDIENCE COMMENTS
There was no one in the audience.
DEVELOPMENT SERVICES DIRECTOR REPORT TO PLANNING BOARD
Chair Monroe referred the Board to the Development Services Director's Report and invited Board comments. Board Member
Lovell strongly recommended that a member of the Board attend the public open house on the Housing Strategy on August
27' at 7 p.m. in the Brackett Room on the 3rd Floor of City Hall. Board Member Rubenkonig agreed to attend.
PUBLIC HEARING ON AMENDMENTS TO THE CRITICAL AREA ORDINANCE (CAO) UPDATES TO
SPECIFIC WETLAND REGULATIONS
Mr. Lien reviewed that the City completed a comprehensive review of its Critical Area Ordinance (CAO) as required by the
Growth Management Act (GMA) in May of 2016. In June of 2016, the Department of Ecology (DOE) issued new guidance
for wetlands (Publication No. 16-06-001). At that time, the City Council was also in the process of a comprehensive update of
the Shoreline Master Program (SMP). The City Council indicated a desire to have the most current wetland regulations apply
to shoreline jurisdictions, so certain wetland sections of the CAO were excepted from the SMP and wetland regulations
consistent with the new guidance was added to the SMP to replace the excepted sections. This resulted in the City having two
versions of wetland regulations: one that applies within shoreline jurisdictions and another that applies outside of shoreline
jurisdictions.
Mr. Lien advised that the City is required to complete a periodic review of the SMP by June 2019. In order to provide consistent
wetland regulations throughout the City, the City Council asked that the CAO wetland provisions that were excepted from the
SMP be updated to be consistent with Publication No. 16-06-001. The Board had a public hearing on the proposed amendments
to the CAO on July 111, but the DOE issued new guidance for wetlands on July 121. He notified the City Council of the new
guidance, and the City Council confirmed that they wanted the most up-to-date guidance incorporated into the CAO.
Mr. Lien referred to a FAQ sheet on the updated guidance and the DOE's recommendations (Attachments 2 and 3 in the Staff
Report). He reviewed that the primary change between the 2016 and 2018 guidance is a regrouping of the habitat scores.
Wetland buffer widths are determined by the habitat score assessed when wetland determination is made. The 2016 guidance
has four potential buffer widths based on habitat score, and the 2018 guidance provides three. He explained that a low habitat
function was previously represented by a score of 3 or 4 points and moderate habitat function by a score of 6 or 7 points. A
habitat score of 8 or 9 was classified as high habitat function. The DOE has regrouped the scores so that the habitat score of 5
was combined with scores of 3 and 4 into the low habitat function category and scores of 6 or7 falls into the moderate habitat
function.
Mr. Lien advised that two other revisions to the CAO are also proposed. The first corrects a scrivener's error in ECDC
23.50.040.G.3.d and the second deletes an allowed activity in ECDC 23.50.020.E. The allowed activity relates to development
within the previously developed footprint for which specific regulations were included during the CAO update. ECDC
23.50.020.E is no longer applicable and should be deleted.
Mr. Lien reported that he was notified via email that the DOE has reviewed the update and approves of the proposed changes.
Board Member Lovell recalled that, at their last meeting, he proposed some changes to ECDC 20.80.100 to provide greater
clarity as to who is responsible to pay fees when appeals are filed. Mr. Lien indicated that the language has been updated, but
noted that the changes to ECDC 20.80.100 are related to the SMP periodic review and not the CAO update.
Chair Monroe opened the public hearing. As there was no one in the audience to participate, he subsequently closed the hearing
and returned to the Board for deliberation and a recommendation.
Board Member Rubenkonig referred to the minutes of August 81h, noting Mr. Lien's comment that following the public hearing
and public comment period, staff would respond to comments received and then the Board could formalize its recommendation
to the City Council. Mr. Lien advised that this comment was related to the SMP periodic review and not the CAO update.
To clarify for the Board, Mr. Lien explained that the current SMP excepts four provisions that are contained in the City's
current CAO:
• ECDC 23.50.010.13 — Wetland Ratings
• ECDC 23.50.040.F. I — Buffer Requirements
• ECDC 23.50.040.F.2 — Standard Buffer Widths
• ECDC 23.50.040.K — Wetland Buffer Modifications and Uses
He further explained that the City adopted a specific version of the CAO into the SMP that did not include these four provisions.
Instead, similar versions of these sections, consistent with Publication No. 16.06.001, were added to the SMP. The CAO is
used outside of shoreline jurisdictions and the SMP is used inside shoreline jurisdictions. As part of the work program adopted
by the City Council, they agreed to amend the four provisions in the CAO that were excepted from the SMP to bring them up
to date with the DOE's 2016 guidance and then the 2018 guidance. When the SMP periodic review is done, it will readopt the
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August 22, 2018 Page 2
CAO with the changes that are currently proposed (Attachment 4). This will result in one set of wetland regulations that apply
throughout the City.
Mr. Lien reviewed that, at the Board's last meeting, he presented proposed amendments to the SMP, noting that they are waiting
for the Edmonds Marsh Study to get further along before moving them forward to a public hearing. He summarized that the
CAO amendments must be adopted first before they can be incorporated into the SMP. Although the CAO amendments relate
to the SMP update, they are separate and require a separate action.
BOARD MEMBER LOVELL MOVED THAT THE BOARD FORWARD A RECOMMENDATION TO THE CITY
COUNCIL THAT THE CRITICAL AREA WETLAND REGULATIONS BE UPDATED CONSISTENT WITH
WASHINGTON STATE DEPARTMENT OF ECOLOGY PUBLICATION NO 16-06-001 (WETLAND GUIDANCE
FOR CAO UPDATES) AND THE UPDATED BUFFER GUIDANCE ISSUED BY THE DEPARTMENT OF
ECOLOGY ON JULY 12, 2018 AS PROVIDED IN ATTACHMENT 4 OF THE STAFF REPORT. BOARD
MEMBER CLOUTIER SECONDED THE MOTION, WHICH CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.
PLANNING BOARD RETREAT
Chair Monroe suggested that the retreat be scheduled for September 12t1i. However, a few Board Members indicated they
would be unavailable on that date. Chair Monroe agreed to poll the Board Members to identify a date that works best, likely
either September 12t1i or September 26r''.
Board Member Lovell recalled the Board's discussion at their last meeting about potential retreat topics. Two ideas were to
bring in a guest speaker to talk about Blockables or conducting a review of a property that might be appropriate for affordable
housing to see what would be required. He agreed with the point made by Board Member Cloutier that these two discussions
should be held at a working meeting so the public has an opportunity to participate. However, he suggested it might be
appropriate to invite a guest speaker to talk about the housing situation within Snohomish County in general.
Board Member Lovell said some of the other topics discussed relate to economic development and tourism, which fall under
the Economic Development Commission's purview.
Board Member Rubenkonig recalled that the City Council recently considered a proposal from the Economic Development
Commission to amend the BD zoning provisions to allow three-story development. The Historic Preservation Commission
voiced opposition to this change, and particularly voiced concern about how it could change the historic character of the
downtown. She suggested it might be helpful to discuss historic areas and the steps that other communities have taken to
preserve them.
Board Member Robles recalled that the Board did well anticipating the housing issue. They recognized potential problems
early on and put their heads together to talk about solutions. Perhaps the Board could do the same with other hot -button issues
and get ahead of them with anticipatory policies. For example, short-term rentals could become a hot -button issue in Edmonds.
While it is a small issue now, it is a growing problem in other areas as more opportunities for this type of use become available.
Board Member Lovell suggested it might also be worthwhile to invite a guest speaker to discuss the Buildable Lands Analysis
as a place to start when looking at viable options for housing alternatives in Edmonds. Mr. Chave said he could explore the
potential of someone from the County coming to the retreat to present this information to the Board.
Board Member Rubenkonig suggested another topic might be the impact of Snohomish County's urban centers on the City of
Edmonds boundaries, since code in Snohomish County allow a different type of development.
Mr. Chave said the Board could also have a discussion with staff about the subjects that are coming down the pike. He said
staff is currently working to establish a list of projects that will need to be added to the Board's extended agenda.
Chair Monroe agreed to meet with Ms. Hope and Vice Chair Cheung to finalize agenda topics and a date for the retreat.
REVIEW OF EXTENDED AGENDA
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Mr. Chave advised that the Parks, Recreation and Cultural Services Director has indicated a desire to provide a quarterly report
to the Board. This report will be scheduled at one of the Board's September meetings, depending on when the retreat is held.
Board Member Rubenkonig recalled that the Board has previously held joint meetings with the City Council, Architectural
Design Board and Economic Development Commission. She asked if any joint meetings are anticipated for later in the year.
Chair Monroe said it is on his list of things to discuss when he meets with Mayor Earling again.
PLANNING BOARD CHAIR COMMENTS
Chair Monroe did not provide any additional comments.
PLANNING BOARD MEMBER COMMENTS
Board Member Lovell announced that the Advisory Task Force for the Edmonds Street Waterfront Connector will take place
on August 23' from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. in the Brackett Room on the 3rd floor of City Hall. The alternatives have been narrowed
down to two, and it appears that the most favorable is a land bridge approach that includes a fairly wide landscape setting area
over the tracks. While this approach has the lowest profile in terms of view obstruction, it also has the largest daylight blockage
of the beach area. The other option is a promenade approach. It is anticipated the task force will identify a preferred alternative
to carry forward through environmental review and the next stage of design.
Board Member Robles reported that, as far as he knows, the new entry sign on SR-104 will not move forward. The project got
tangled up in politics and nothing will happen in the near future except perhaps restoration of the existing sign.
Board Member Rubenkonig asked how the new provisions related to pedestrian signs (A -frame) in the BD zones are working.
Mr. Lien said that following the initial roll out and notification to property and business owners, the new regulations seem to
be working well. They haven't received any citizen complaints in recent months.
Board Member Rubenkonig requested an update on the Community Center project. Board Member Lovell responded that the
project is in the design development stage at this time. The project has had several City reviews and fundraising is still going
on. The Senior Center has received a lot of help from the public and various organizations and has found alternative locations
for all of its programs while the new center is being built. It is likely that a building permit application will be submitted to the
City in the next few months, and they are hoping to break ground next February.
Mr. Lien added that the Senior Center applied for the land use permits (Conditional Use, Shoreline and Design Review), and
all are in the initial comment period that ends tomorrow. They have some revisions to make to answer some questions. Once
these changes have been addressed, the application will go to the Architectural Design Board for review and then the Hearing
Examiner for a public hearing.
Chair Monroe asked the status of the wayside horn on the railroad tracks. Mr. Lien advised that the Public Works Director
informed the City Council that the project has been delayed while Burlington Northern Santa Fe works on other projects. They
are waiting until this work is done before installing the new horn so it doesn't have to be relocated.
ADJOURNMENT
The Board meeting was adjourned at 7:45 p.m.
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