April 2024

Meeting summary for CNA Meeting (04/08/2024)

Attending:  

Bob Jacobs, Gov. Stevens NA; Tim Smith, (City Staff); Melissa Allen (Bigelow Highlands), Dana McAvoy (East Bay Drive NA), Karen Sweeney (Eastside NA), Robert Vanderpool (City Council), Gerald Apple (South Capitol), Leslie Wolff (NWONA), John Saunders (South Capitol), Marian and Michelle Horaney (Evergreen Pointe), Judy Bardin (NWONA)

Overview

The meeting covered neighborhood updates on the urban forestry program and proposed, rental regulations current and proposed and with questions about their enforcement. Discussions also touched upon revisions to the city’s comprehensive plan language and utilizing new technology for data gathering and community engagement.

Larry, led discussions on various topics including potential meeting locations for the next month, the introduction of Gerald for the program and events coordinator position. Gerald expressed his need for more detailed information about the position to ensure he was a suitable candidate. Finally, an icebreaker question about eclipse experiences was posed.

Neighborhood Reports

Bob reported on the success of the Governor Steven’s Neighborhood egg hunt and the early work on the Path Restoration project.

Karen shared updates about the East Side Neighborhood Association, highlighting their plans for a mural, banner, rod and reel adventure for kids, block party, annual picnic, and garden tour.

Dana mentioned their neighborhood’s upcoming presentation about a sediment study by the Port project manager.

Melissa discussed her neighborhood’s plan for a quarterly meeting and a new initiative led by Larry, and Mike Ruth.

Marian, the treasurer of the Evergreen Point HOA, expressed concerns over low turnout at meetings, the need for candidates for the Secretary’s position, and the need for guidance on allowed landscaping due to their neighborhood being in a flood zone.

Leslie from the Northwest Olympia Neighborhood Association discussed their recent activities and future plans, which include publishing a physical newsletter, increasing local business engagement, and organizing garden parties.

Gerald from the South Capitol Neighborhood Association shared about their annual meeting, which had over 60 attendees out of 600 households and 15 members of the Board.  Mayor Paine attended their last meeting particularly about speeding on Capitol Way.  They plan on attending council meetings to present five ideas to address the issue including enforcement, speed bumps, signage, and crosswalk painting.  They received a grant to aid in a picnic social with youth activities and music.

Larry, from the Nottingham neighborhood also reported on the success of their recent egg hunt.

Councilmember Update

Robert emphasized the importance of community involvement in decision-making processes. He also discussed the upcoming neighborhood centers conversation on land use and the need for a redesign of Capital Way to reduce speeding. Gerald asked about damage caused by large trees on sidewalks, which Robert agreed to discuss with the planning department. The meeting also clarified that the drive-throughs would be discussed and voted on in the upcoming council meeting. Finally, Judy inquired about the timeline for the implementation of new rental regulations, which Robert promised to look into.

Tim’s Report on Development

Larry introduced the topic and emphasized the importance and challenges of street trees in neighborhoods.  He observed that while trees are a public asset they are treated as a private liability.  Tim discussed the urban forestry program of the city, its status, and future challenges. Tim explained that the city’s urban forestry program is divided among three departments and includes six International Society of Agriculture (ISA) certified arborists plus 13 staff with urban forestry skills and job responsibilities. 

He also outlined the city’s tree maintenance responsibilities, regulatory document governing development and tree maintenance, and showed a flow chart about the roles of adjacent property owners and homeowner associations. Lastly, Tim highlighted the upcoming plans for the city’s urban forestry management, the process of assessing tree removal requirements within development projects and addressed questions about the management of the urban forestry program.

Melissa inquired about historic trees in Olympia, and Tim directed her to Jason Johns for information.

Larry asked why the city takes responsibility for the trees in the downtown area and along certain corridors and if that was done by a decision based on city laws or simply a “practice” someone at some time adopted?  Tim said he would tap into the historical knowledge of someone who was familiar with the program in 1990s. 

Rental Registry and Tenant Protections

Judy Bardin presented a comprehensive overview of Olympia’s recent rental regulations, including new rules enacted within the past two years, upcoming inspection cycles, and proposed penalties for non-compliance. She also outlined the city’s upcoming consideration for regulating tenant screening practices and hinted at the potential negative impact of the 5% rent increase cap on both landlords and tenants.

John, representing the South Capital neighborhood, questioned the city’s refusal to conduct quarterly meetings with neighborhoods to discuss these regulations, as required by the Olympia municipal code. Tim clarified that the city had resumed quarterly forums but couldn’t hold one in time for the upcoming decision due to staff constraints. Larry had proposed to the city bringing renters and landlords together for community dialogue.

Michele raised concerns about the application of proposed regulations to single-family homes and the need for effective code enforcement. The meeting participants agreed to explore ways to connect all relevant parties to the system and to ensure the new regulations are enforced effectively.

Chair Reports

Agriculture Parks – Larry presented his observations about the city’s recent consideration of developing an agricultural park program.  He questioned why it focused primarily on large scale farming when the studies’ surveys showed the public really wanted community gardens and the report highlighted their benefits for food availability, community connection, and neighborhood beautification.  

Technology for Communicating Among Neighborhoods – Larry said he is working on finding the best way for inter and intra-neighborhood information sharing.  He has been working on using Google groups but saw some problems managing it and was told by a tech expert who works for TVW that we should consider a dedicated Facebook group, while also acknowledging privacy concerns.

Program and Events Coordinator Vacancy – The executive committee elected Gerald Apple as the programs and events coordinator for the South capital neighborhood.

Neighborhood Character and the Comp Plan – The CNA was brought up to date on the background on the controversy surrounding the proposed changes to the city’s comprehensive plan, which aimed to eliminate the term “neighborhood character” that began a couple of years ago.  The city was heading to replace the term with an aspirational statement about inclusion and diversity that the CNA agreed with as values statement but strongly disagreed with the removing the concept of neighborhood character from the Comp Plan. The city planning staff also presented information that said that such elimination would make it difficult for them as neighborhood character is a useful and common planning concept.  Ultimately, the city largely adopted the CNA’s suggested language changes with a slight modification with the intent for doing a further review in 2024. CNA will keep on top of any future proposed changes as part of the Comp Plan and may need to reengage on the topic.

Sidewalk App Training – Recent training of neighborhood residents in the Bigelow Highlands neighborhood on the use of the CNA sidewalk app for gathering data on problem sidewalks was shared.  The experience and reaction of neighbors observing the data collection highlighted its potential to promote neighborhood engagement and involvement.

Agenda Ideas

In the next meeting, the group planned to discuss the land use and environment chapter’s impact on neighborhood centers, with Robert expressing his expertise and eagerness to contribute.

Minutes

Adopted.

Next steps

• Robert will inquire about the implementation timeline for the new rental regulations and report back to the CNA.
• Tim will provide more information on the minimum number of units required for multifamily tax exemption and confirm if the 13th & Cherry Townhomes project has applied for this exemption.
• Tim will connect with the City of Olympia to request quarterly meetings with neighborhood associations, as required by the Olympian Municipal Code.
• Larry will explore using Facebook or Google Groups for neighborhood association discussions and information sharing, seeking input from the CNA membership on the best platform for dialogue and participation.
• Judy will follow up with Joyce Phillips on the progress of the Comp Plan update, focusing on the land use and urban design chapter and ensuring neighborhoods have appropriate representation and input.