September 9, 2024 CNA Meeting Minutes
Attending:
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), Peter Guttchen (Northeast), Larry Dzieza (Chair and Nottingham), Judy Bardin (NWONA), Marty Worcester (Redwood Estates), John Newman (Burban-Elliott), Keegan Wulf (Downtown), John Saunders (South Capitol), Bob Jacobs (Gov. Stevens)
Overview
The group discussed their neighborhood association activities. They also addressed concerns about property subdivision, unit density, and the impact of new legislation on property development. Lastly, they discussed the importance of community engagement, social infrastructure, and the need for people to join clubs and other community groups to strengthen social bonds.
6:30 – 7:00 Neighborhood Reports
Downtown Neighborhood Association represented by Keegan Wulf who informed the group that Jen, a former board member, will no longer attending the meetings. The group expressed their appreciation for Keegan’s presence and the ongoing changes within the group. Keegan shared the challenges faced by the board following the loss of a key member and their efforts to keep the organization alive. He mentioned plans for a neighborhood meeting at the library and the intention to make their website more mobile-friendly to foster community engagement. Melissa suggested Yến Huýnh, a city council member who lives downtown to their meetings to increase awareness and collaboration. He shared they will be having a meeting at the downtown library and they are working on making our website more mobile friendly.
Melissa Allen (Bigelow Highlands) reported that their annual event in early August was successful, but they might face a hiatus due to a lack of board members attending their October meeting. This could lead to a loss of eligibility for matching grants.
Judy shared that their summer fun fest was well attended, with about 80 people, and they are planning another event in October. She commended
Leslie Wolfe for doing a really good job of promoting it including multiple postings on Nextdoor and MailChimp emails.
Karen Sweeney (Eastside NA) mentioned that they are organizing a fall festival in October and gave thanks to the city for the matching grant for an apple press.
Dana McAvoy (East Bay Drive NA) reported that their annual picnic was well attended, and they are preparing for their annual fall meeting on October 10th that will be at the Hands On Children’s Museum. They also completed a mural update on East Bay drive over the weekend with the help of volunteers. Their Board is in good shape.
Marty Worcester (Redwood Estates) discussed the dynamics of her small neighborhood highlighting recent deaths, medical emergencies, and police intervention. She expressed appreciation of their Secretary for keeping things going. There is concern about the lack of connections among neighbors and the challenges of maintaining a small neighborhood.
John Saunders (South Capitol) shared the success of their annual neighborhood picnic, which had a turnout of over 120 people. Two Councilmembers
Robert Vanderpool and Clark Gilman attended and representatives from the Oly PD from Thurston County Emergency Management, the Conservation district, the Deschutes Estuary Restoration program at DES and Let’s Energize Olympia program had information tables.
Peter Guttchen discussed the activities of the Bigelow Highlands Neighborhood Association, which is currently in a state of hibernation but remains active with a small set of board of members. He also shared about the Joy Avenue edible garden project, which involves using volunteer labor and city grant money. Peter highlighted the installation of a rainwater catchment system to irrigate the garden, making it self-sufficient and sustainable. He also mentioned the transformation of the Joy Avenue pathway, which has been enhanced with new plantings and is now heavily used for its edible produce. Peter’s long-term vision for the Joy Avenue edible forest garden is to turn it into an educational resource with signs and QR codes for harvest information. Larry suggested that Peter write an article about his work for the jolt to bring attention to neighborhood projects.
John Newman (Burban-Elliot) talked about the Green Cove Development and their effort with Ecology, a 10-year process about the project and the concerns about waste dumping and inadequate testing. Ecology doesn’t really recognize the issue. The project could result in 140 units but they need to be safe.
Bob Jacobs (Gov. Stevens) they are having their annual BBQ this Sunday.
7:00 – 7:20 Councilmember Update
Robert Vanderpool shared updates on various committees and a visit from Japan. He briefed on plans for road improvements, including bike lanes and traffic calming measures, to be implemented in phases. He provided information on a community meeting held a couple of weeks ago regarding Percival Canyon. The Canyon is near the area he lives in. He said that they recently provided housing for about 30 people that were living there. The city is making it harder to camp there and there will be more patrols.
Robert discussed the upcoming work on affordable housing in late September by the Land Use & Environment Committee. He also alluded to budget discussions that are coming up but is not at liberty to discuss in detail at this time.
Judy asked about the definition of workforce housing. Peter raised concerns about the budget process and community engagement before public comment. Robert said he will get more information about the communication plans.
7:20 – 7:40 Tim’s Report on Development – Tim Smith
The group asked for less ambiguity surrounding the terms ‘affordable housing’, ‘low-income housing’, and ‘workforce housing’. They also discussed two ongoing projects, the Easterly Phase 2 and Landsdale Point, and the challenges they face. The group also discussed the city’s development projects, including the Malt House and West Bay Yards. A request was made about what projects have applied for MFTE property tax exemptions.
7:40 – 8:00 City Response to Legislative Mandates for Missing Middle Housing – Tim Smith
Tim presented on the city’s plan to harmonize past ordinances and address state requirements related to middle housing, accessory dwelling units, and co-living housing. The plan involves a public engagement process and changes to design review standards and subdivision code.
Judy, Tim, Larry, John Saunders, and Peter discussed the implications of new state legislation on property subdivision and unit density. They debated the new unit lot subdivision which allows owners to divide units on a single lot so they can be sold separately from the lot itself. There was a question about how it would affect the existing unit density rules. They also discussed the definition of a major transit stop and its potential application to their area. The group also touched on the concept of co-housing and the potential for shared facilities, with Judy expressing concern about adequate facilities in relation to impact fees and other requirements.
John Saunders raised the question of public input on these changes, and Tim suggested that there might be flexibility in how they address the different standards. Peter brought up the possibility of the new provisions preempting local government code if local action is not taken.
Tim pointed out that these are zoning changes for uses that that could expand housing options, but it doesn’t guarantee they’re affordable.
8:00 – 8:25 Chair Reports
- City’s Sidewalk Survey Progress
Larry said that he was told that 25% of the city’s contracted sidewalk survey has been done to date. The data the RNAs have collected should be compatible with the contracted survey. He said the contract’s statement of work called for including the “context” of each block and the RNA work ought to be considered in that.
- Housing Forum Staff/CNA Planning
Larry and Tim discussed the meeting held with Stacy Ray and Karen Sweeney. Larry said that we disagreed with the staff recommendation because it didn’t call for a dialog between the public and the city but was a listening session designed to hear from the public – again a one-way conversation. He further recommended that the forum should include members of the council and planning commissioners at a minimum.
Larry recommends that there be advance work to set the foundation for the current situation and address questions that neighborhoods and the public want to have answers to and include it in a online briefing book. That would make the meeting more productive.
At the planning meeting, there was a discussion about the shared concern of how to get renters engaged.
Melissa emphasized promoting dialogue in the draft plan. John asked about the timeline for finalizing the dialogue component, and Tim responded aiming for October pending support and securing a facilitator. The group planned to announce a forum date incorporating dialogue.
Judy expressed concerns about the effectiveness of small group discussions during meetings, arguing that they sometimes disrupt group dynamics and hinder meaningful discussions. Tim and Larry raised the tradeoff with smaller groups encourage more participation and open discussions.
- Addressing Flight Activity and Environmental Concerns, Olympia Airport Impact on Neighborhoods Follow-up
Larry presented an update on excessive flight activity, highlighting multiple flight schools and the Washington State Patrol planes flying loops, causing noise and potential environmental issues. He suggested meeting with the flight schools, State Patrol, and Oregon Aviation Watch to discuss operations and lead measurements.
The group agreed on their interest in further discussions. Concerns were raised about health impacts from leaded fuel, noise, increased traffic, and pollution from the Port of Olympia’s traffic redirection and the Olympia airport’s development. The group discussed community involvement in planning and considering if developments like drones and electric air taxis align with community needs and values.
- Fostering Community Connections and Social Infrastructure
Larry introduced the group to a film documentary and a new book by Robert Putnam, which highlights the need to revitalize social infrastructure and its potential relevance to neighborhoods. Putnam relates joining groups as essential for community engagement. He further tries to elevate how social infrastructure is as important as physical infrastructure in making a community livable. The group watched the trailer for the documentary “Join or Die”. Larry also talked about the importance of social capital and community connections for addressing issues like loneliness and polarization. Larry has been talking with Danny Stusser about co-sponsoring a community event around a movie screening for discussion.
8:25 – 8:30 Minutes Approval and Agenda Ideas
Minutes of the August CNA meeting were approved as amended.
Sea level rise was suggested as a potential topic for the next meeting, with Judy noting it could involve joint discussion with the Sea Level Rise Committee and land use/environment implications.
Next steps
Tim Smith
- Follow up with Joyce about the definition of a major transit stop and its applicability to Olympia and on the development of focus groups for public engagement on housing changes.
- Confirm with housing program if any of the mentioned development projects have applied for property tax exemptions.
- Work with Stacey Ray on finalizing details for the upcoming Neighborhood Forum.
- Provide an update on the West Bay Yards project at the next meeting.
Robert Vanderpool
- Discuss with City Manager Jay about the communication plan for the upcoming budget process.
- Keep the group updated on any developments regarding the city budget process.
Larry Dzieza
- Continue monitoring and updating the group on airport noise and pollution issues.
- Larry and Danny Stusser to explore co-sponsoring a community event around the “Join or Die” documentary.
- Add sea level rise as a potential topic for a future meeting.
CNA members
- Send Larry additional topic ideas for future meetings.
8:30 Adjourn
Council of Neighborhood Associations 