JULY 2021 MEETING AGENDA
- 6:30 – 6:45 Neighborhood Reports (1 minute challenge)
- 6:45 – 6:50 Council Liaison Report – Councilmember Yen Huynh
- 6:50 – 7:05 Primary Election Candidate Questionnaire and General Election Planning – Larry and Jim Rioux
- 7:05 – 7:15 Return to In-Person Meetings Discussion (do it ourselves tech?)
- 7:15 – 8:10 Presentation by Joyce Phillips and Discussion of Comprehensive Plan Proposal to Redefine “Neighborhood Character”
(Please prepare for discussion by reading attached backgrounder prepared by Larry) - 8:10 – 8:20 MOU Discussion Recap of June 29th – Helen and Melissa)
- 8:20 – 8:30 Minutes Approval and Agenda Ideas
- 8:30 Adjourn
CNA Meeting Minutes – July 12, 2021, via Zoom, 6:30-8:30 p.m.
Present:
Council of Neighborhood Associations Officers: Larry Dzieza (Nottingham) – Chair, Melissa Allen (BHNA) – Vice Chair, Mark Toy (SWONA) and Jim Rioux (ENA) – Co-Secretaries.
Members: Bruce Coulter (NWONA), Dana McAvoy (Eastbay Drive), Helen Wheatly (CRNA), Darrah Johnson (Wildwood NA), Judy Bardin (NWONA), Lisa Riner (Burbank-Elliott NA), John Newman (Burbank-Elliott NA), Marty Worcester (Redwood Estates NA), Dave Marty (ICNA), Bob Jacobs (Gov. Stevens NA), Jean Wulf (DNA)
City Representatives & Presenters: Lydia Moorehead, Leonard Bauer, Joyce Philips (Community Planning), Yến Huỳnh (City Council)
6:30 – 6:45 Neighborhood Reports (1 minute challenge)
Larry asked for an update and what we liked about our neighborhood.
CRANA – Not much happening
ENA – Meeting Wednesday
Burbank-Elliot NA – Neighborhood meeting postponed
BHNA – Food truck for…(Larry starts recording) Like Mostly smaller (starter) homes – good mix of singles, young couples, elderly – not too many teenagers.
NWONA – Trying to get board together to talk about NMG to restructure NA (processes to help communication and hopefully boost membership). Hoping to get in person annual meeting at Garfield in October or November. Like Pulling ivy in hill behind West Bay Drive with Oly Ecosystems group.
Eastbay Drive NA – Board meeting last week. Rejected NMG based on insurance requirements. Annual meeting in September. Like Walkable neighborhood. Lots of people out walking with the warmer weather, lots of dog walking.
Gov. Stevens NA – Like Varied housing, age structure. Proximity to Capitol, downtown, shopping, schools. Lots of sidewalks, walkable. Don’t Like Freeway noise, do not see sunsets, telephone poles, lines.
DNA – Things downtown going pretty well. Problems with heatwave as older buildings had no AC. Board meeting regularly, new board member to secretary position (Alex). Not a lot of new events.
Wildwood NA – Summer kickoff event instead of kid’s parade delayed to Thursday of following week due to heatwave. Lots of popsicle, sandwiches. Kid’s book exchange. Planning for National Night Out first Tuesday in August (Larry will e-mail flyer about event). Annual meeting in October. Like Trails at Watershed Park.
SWONA – Signed NMG last week, will look at insurance again after Dana’s comment. Saturday covered graffiti on mural, talked to Carrie Ziegler about collaborating with Climate Action group on mural but there are having issues with City on contract so unsure how that will turn out. June 17th had quarterly meeting. Meeting in next week with mural volunteers and also SWONA board about NMG implementation, next quarterly meeting. Like West Central Park, Decatur Woods Park. Don’t Like trucks going in front of house for construction of Wellington Heights for last year.
ICNA – Not a long going on. Like Housing types, bicycling, Woodland Park Trail.
Nottingham NA – Will be meeting in person for first time. Annual picnic (ice cream, potato salad) planned. Like Noted transformation in neighborhood demographics (significantly younger in last three years – young families with children). Lots of OPD traffic signs out.
BHNA – Like Melissa hands out starts from nursery to new neighbors as way of introduction.
6:45 – 6:50 Council Liaison Report – Councilmember Yen Huynh
Tuesday evening City Council meetings returning to in-person starting tomorrow. Not set up for hybrid yet. Re-imagining Public Safety process starting next month with listening sessions. Sign up soon – will send out. New OPD guidance document on crowd control, no longer using tear gas. Scattered Site Program will begin July 15 in coordination with Thurston County – new program for homeless services, conflict resolution with housed neighbors (Yen will send link). Olympian Downtown Alliance to honor historical community figures on street pole banners on 5th/Washington, working with high school students. Love Oly Summerfest noon to six Saturdays through August. Like Downtown walkability, shopping, library, post office, views of water, mountains.
6:50 – 7:05 Return to In-Person Meetings Discussion (do it ourselves tech?)
Larry – CNA in person meeting in August? (Bob, Bruce, Melissa in favor, Judy has reservations.)
Yen – Issues with hybrid approach – hard for remote folks to be heard at City Hall room (sound issues). Vaccinated can go unmasked to City Hall, but only verifying for City employees (responding to Jim’s inquiry).
Jenn – Reticence to do in-person (immunocompromised) – maybe outdoor meeting? Judy OK with outdoor meeting.
Mark – Suggest Farmers Market. Noted earlier in pandemic knitting group that met there – can be socially distanced, sheltered at bandstand area.
Lydia, Yen – Open to in-person meeting.
Leonard – IT working on Room 207 (CNA normal meeting room) for hybrid use.
Larry – Will send out ranked choice survey for next meeting.
7:05 – 8:00 Presentation by Joyce Phillips and Discussion of Comprehensive Plan Proposal to Redefine “Neighborhood Character”
Larry – Sent out information on this. Amendment to Comprehensive Plan. Land Use and Environment Committee – What does Neighborhood Character mean with regard to EDDS (Engineering Design and Development Standards) was asked by a City Engineer in a presentation. Definition means something in building, traffic codes. Means a lot for routing of traffic through neighborhood. Steve Sperr talked to Leonard about this and here we are.
Yen – Proposal not to remove Neighborhood Character but to define it.
Helen – Who is proposing change?
Yen – Yen, Dani, Jim Cooper developing proposal. Still a ways to go.
Judy – Introduced in February, just hearing about it now. Comp Plan update process took five years. Currently described in several sections of the Comp Plan. Need to involve the community if changing the definition of Neighborhood Character. Public could not make comments at Planning Commission, first opportunity at Public Hearing (<45 days, only written comments accepted).
Larry – 45-day window not in statute. It is wholly a decision by the City Council. The amendment was described as language changes on equity and inclusion, no mention of Neighborhood Character in description of changes.
Melissa – What problem is proposal trying to correct?
Joyce – Comprehensive Plan amendment application review process. Language proposed, do not look on intent. This proposal from City Council, trying to include equity and inclusion in neighborhood character.
Helen – Issue is if new definition adopted, all previous definitions voided. Term needs to be adaptable. Proposed definition not consistent with previous descriptions in literature.
Joyce – (shares screen – “Character” as described in the Comprehensive Plan document, will be made available to public. Will e-mail Larry to share with group.) The term Character is used 106 times in the Comp Plan. Can be applied to built, non-built environments, plus other aspects. Public Hearing postponed, will be August 2. Staff review added this language:
Larry – Brought up current proposal:
Proposal is citywide not specific to individual neighborhoods. Suggest changing definition to value statement in Community Values and Vision in Comprehensive Plan rather than a definition for Neighborhood Character. Problem is several references to Neighborhood Character in Plan and they mean slightly different things in each section. Jim thought discussion was very clarifying. It’s really hard to define character, but you know it when you see it. Larry found guidance on how to define neighborhood character on other cities’ websites.
Judy – Reads intro to Comprehensive Plan which addresses Neighborhood Character. Emphasizes sense of place.
Helen – Watched her neighborhood get split by a highway growing up. Security and safety elements need to be captured as well. Thinks CNA should come out more strongly that Council proposal should be in values section rather than as a definition for Neighborhood Character. Jim feels CNA should come out with a statement rather than leave it to individual RNAs.
Melissa – suggest CNA work on language proposal for value statement (Larry did hand count of NA reps, passed. Larry, Lisa, Judy, Helen to work on). Bob agrees with Larry’s sentiment of citywide vs. neighborhood orientation of proposed language.
8:00 – 8:10 MOU Discussion Recap of June 29th
Leonard did summary of meeting between CNA and City reps, listing what works well and not so well. Larry put summary on screen on main points. Consensus that MOU does not need major changes, further discussions on revisions.
Bob – We got into conversation on Neighborhood Character late. City would not treat other community organizations (like Chamber of Commerce or Downtown Alliance) like this.
Melissa – Thought Jay (City Mgr) willing to work on process improvements. MOU seems fine, implementation needs work.
8:10 – 8:20 Primary Election Candidate Questionnaire and General Election Planning – Larry and Jim Rioux (moved from 6:50 pm so Yen could excuse herself)
Candidate questionnaire re-sent with two more candidate responses (after meeting Taluana Reed late response also e-mailed to CNA members). Larry did not send questionnaire second notice to nonresponsive candidates (Larry eventually did send second notice). Mark suggested doing reminders, group thought not enough time to primary. Larry said Clark Gilman uncomfortable with answering questionnaire. There is an undercurrent that City staff does not want to give political connotation to CNA rather than RNAs. Melissa gave kudos to journalism intern at Olympian for doing interviews with candidates.
Candidate Forum workgroup volunteers – Dana McAvoy, Roger Horn, Mark Toy, Melissa Allen – to be held in October.
Larry shared screen again with e-mail he sent to City:
8:20 – 8:30 Minutes Approval and Agenda Ideas
Minutes approved. No discussion of agenda ideas for next meeting.
8:30 Adjourn
Meeting Handouts / Attachments:
Background Material on Neighborhood Character short
Council of Neighborhood Associations 