November 2024

November 18, 2024 CNA Meeting Minutes

Attending:  

Tim Smith, (City Staff); Melissa Allen (Bigelow Highlands), Dana McAvoy (East Bay Drive NA), Karen Sweeney (Eastside NA), Clark Gilman (City Council), Gerald Apple (South Capitol), Larry Dzieza (Chair and Nottingham), Judy Bardin (NWONA), Marty Worcester (Redwood Estates), Lisa Riener (Burbank/Elliot), Keegan Wulf (Downtown), Bob Jacobs (Gov. Stevens), Jeff Kean (Wildwood), John Saunders (South Capitol), Gordon White (Wildwood), David Ginther and Joyce Phillips (City planning staff).

Overview

The meeting involved discussions about neighborhood issues, updates, and activities, with a focus on the upcoming comprehensive plan update and the need for more resources and support for neighborhood planning. Also discussed was the city’s budget balancing efforts, potential changes in federal policies, and the impact of these changes on the city’s development projects. Lastly, the meeting touched on the importance of collaboration between neighborhoods and the city, the potential for redirecting unspent grant money to neighborhood projects, and the upcoming neighborhood matching grant applications.

Neighborhood Reports

Jeff Kean, representing the Wildwood Neighborhood Association, shared an upcoming event, a holiday sing-along at Vic’s Pizza on December 6th. Gerald Apple expressed interest in attending and reporting on the event.

Karen Sweeney shared her neighborhood’s plans to build snowflakes and their annual meeting in January, focusing on food insecurity.

Bob Jacobs expressed his positive views on fall leaves and their use in gardening. Martha raised concerns about the inefficiency of the city’s leaf pickup machines and the need for a reliable landscaper for their neighborhood.

Peter Guttchen shared updates on the Northeast Neighborhood Association’s projects, including the Joy Avenue food forest and the establishment of a neighborhood center.

Lisa Riener brought up the issue of RVs parking in Burri Park and the need for new rules and regulations. In response to Lisa’s question, Tim shared a flow chart detailing the city’s response to liveaboard vehicles, which includes coordination between various departments. Lisa asked about the distance between RVs, to which Tim confirmed that there is a city ordinance regulating this. Tim also mentioned that the city is committed to revisiting the ordinance in about nine months.

Dana McAvoy from the East Bay Drive Neighborhood Association discussed their efforts to address traffic issues, including speeding, passing in the center turn lane, and concerns about crosswalks for school children. The group also discussed the lack of support for maintaining speed limits in their area.  Dana mentioned the upcoming Northeast Neighborhoods Alliance meeting in December and the need to brief other neighborhoods about traffic issues on East Bay Drive.

Keegan Wulf shared that they are planning to make some actions for next year and are looking forward to discussing a grant resource with Dana before the next meeting.

Larry discussed the activities of the Nottingham neighborhood, including the need to clear leaves from the drains and the upcoming annual meeting in April.

Clark Gilman warned about an upcoming storm that could cause more leaves to fall and suggested keeping drains functioning. Gerald offered help with speeding issues in the neighborhood.

Councilmember Update

Clark Gilman discussed the city council’s budget balancing efforts, which included staff reductions and budget cuts. He also mentioned the ongoing work on restructuring and efficiency. Clark Gilman further discussed the city’s preparation for potential changes in federal policies and practices, including attending webinars and learning about ways to defend core city services. He also mentioned a council appointment due to Lisa Parshley’s election to the Legislature.

Tim’s Report on Development

Tim provided an update on three development projects: The Easterly Apartments, located on Eastside Street and 10th, received land use approval and will be a three-story building with 18 apartment units.

The project on Legion and Jefferson, located downtown, also received land use approval and will be a mixed-use building with 87 units with retail and parking.

The Lister Glen project, a subdivision off Lily Road, is in the process of being reviewed and will include 24 single-family lots.

Melissa asked if these units are low income or market rate housing.  Tim replied that they were all market rate. 

Melissa asked about an affordable housing grant the city is applying for but is being built in Rochester and Littlerock.  Clark Gilman explained that it is a part of a larger federal grant aimed at regional cooperation and various housing types including affordable housing and to make it competitive it needed a rural element.  Most of the grant would be Olympia, if it gets approved.

Land Use Update – David Ginther

Larry then introduced the topic of the land use update with David Ginther and Joyce Phillips, emphasizing the importance of understanding the proposed changes to provide informed input. David then began his presentation on the process of updating the land use and urban design chapter, mentioning the importance of community outreach and engagement.

David discussed the comprehensive plan update for the city, focusing on the land use chapter. He mentioned that the plan covers various aspects, including general land use, urban design, historic structures, and housing. He also highlighted the importance of the future land use map, which shows the city’s future land use areas. David then listed several anticipated changes, including the neighborhood centers report, the capital mall triangle subarea plan, and the parking strategy. He also mentioned the need to address issues like sea level rise response, Capital Lake being changed to an estuary, and urban agriculture recommendations.

David also discussed the checklist from the State Commerce Department and the new housing chapter. He mentioned that the housing chapter will be separate from the land use and urban design chapter as per State law. David also discussed the comments received during the environmental impact statement scoping and the request for consideration of redesignation of several parcels along the westside of Capitol Lake. He concluded by discussing the timeline for the update and the need for public outreach and engagement.

The meeting participants discussed several topics related to the city’s comprehensive plan update including information on policies regarding land use near airports, particularly addressing concerns about noise from the Olympia Regional Airport impacting neighborhoods in Olympia. He notes the city does not have specific policies but could look into the issue.

Judy raised questions about incorporating recommendations from the neighborhood center report, and David explained he will work with the CNA Sounding Board to determine what to include. Peter asked about addressing sub-area plans developed by neighborhoods, measures of progress for implementing previous plan goals, and how sub-area planning might proceed. David confirmed measures of progress will be addressed and explains there are city-led and neighborhood-led processes for sub-area plans.

Comprehensive Plan and EIS Integration

David, Peter, and Joyce discussed the process of updating the comprehensive plan, including the incorporation of sub-area plans and the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). David clarified that comments on the draft chapter are welcome at any time.

Gordon raised concerns about the review process for the EIS and the integration of new development codes with the comprehensive plan. Joyce explained that the EIS for the comprehensive plan would focus on projected growth patterns, while the EIS for the new development codes would be a non-project SEPA review.

Judy questioned how the new development codes would be integrated with the EIS for the comprehensive plan, and Joyce confirmed that the SEPA review would occur after the first draft is completed. Gordon also mentioned a recent Supreme Court decision in Washington State that could impact on the non-project environmental review process.

Chair Reports

Larry expressed his appreciation of the city planners’ work and his desire to see more investment in social infrastructure at the neighborhood level. He also discussed his concerns about the city’s planning process, particularly the lack of recognition and support for neighborhood associations. John Saunders then shared his experience with the Planning Commission, highlighting the confusion and misunderstanding about the role of neighborhood associations. Bob suggested that some city council members might view neighborhood associations as threats, while Peter emphasized the need for a more collaborative approach between neighborhoods and the city. Karen added that the lack of resources and support for neighborhood planning was a significant deterrent for other neighborhoods to participate. The group concluded with a discussion on the need for more resources to support neighborhood planning and the importance of collaboration between neighborhoods and the city.

Next steps

• Gerald to attend and report on the Wildwood Neighborhood Association holiday sing-along event on December 6th at Vic’s Pizza.

• Sounding Board team to review and provide feedback on proposed changes to the Land Use and Urban Design chapter of the Comprehensive Plan over the next few weeks.

• David Ginther to prepare an initial draft of proposed changes to the Land Use chapter and post it on the city website for public comment.

• Joyce Phillips to provide an update on new housing-related bills and potential impacts on density calculations at a future CNA meeting in January or February.

• Tim to follow up with Larry on the status of the sidewalk study being conducted by Max DeJarnatt.

• Larry to coordinate with city staff on integrating neighborhood-identified sidewalk repair needs into the formal sidewalk study results.

• Tim to reallocate staff to manage the Neighborhood Matching Grant program after Lydia’s departure.

• CNA to consider ways to use any unspent Neighborhood Matching Grant funds to support broader neighborhood engagement and communication efforts.

• CNA members to submit ideas for topics to discuss at the next meeting to Larry.

• CNA to begin planning for the next round of Neighborhood Matching Grant applications, likely due in February or early March.

• Joyce Phillips to review the recent Washington State Supreme Court decision on non-project environmental reviews and its potential implications.

• Tim to provide an update on plans for the housing forum in Q1 2025 at a future meeting.