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11/13/2017 - Minutes 1 City of Port Orchard Economic Development and Tourism Committee Meeting Minutes Monday, November 13, 2017 Committee Members Present: Council Members Bek Ashby (Chair), Fred Chang, Clancy Donlin City Officials and Staff: Mayor Rob Putaansuu, City Clerk Brandy Rinearson, Community Development Director Nick Bond, Long Range Planner Keri Sallee Guests: Matt Murphy, Bobbi Stewart, Kathleen Wilson The meeting was called to order by Chair Ashby at 9:02 a.m. 1. Downtown Business Discussion: Review of Roger Brooks Webinars and Future Actions. Chair Ashby asked the business representatives at the meeting (Matt Murphy, Bobbi Stewart and Kathleen Wilson) for their feedback on the completed series of Roger Brooks webinars, and for suggestion on future City actions that could assist local businesses. Wilson said that the webinar presentations hosted by the City were a show of partnership that was much appreciated. She and other attendees have shared what they learned with members of the Port Orchard Bay Street Association (POBSA), and they have seen some interest and actions in response. Ashby said that POBSA can share the City’s notes of all the webinars with its members. Murphy said that if the City reshowed the webinars at evening times, there might be additional attendance from POBSA members. He added that Chamber of Commerce members will meet on November 14 to discuss updates to the City’s welcome brochure, including highlights about downtown shopping, recreational opportunities, and the waterfront area. Council Member Chang said that the next challenge will be for downtown business owners to implement the suggestions in the webinars to attract customers and grow their businesses. Wilson said it’s as important for downtown businesses to attract local residents as it is to attract out-of-town tourists. Ashby said that downtown merchants need to be actively engaged in local events instead of just passively depending on them to attract customers. Murphy said that, as has been discussed before, consistent and extended operating hours by all businesses are needed for the success of downtown. Ashby said that since the Roger Brooks series has concluded, the City would like to hear from local businesses how the City can provide education and other assistance in 2018. She thanked the Chamber and POBSA for their engagement in the committee’s 2017 business discussions and their contributions to the strategic tourism promotional plan. 2. Discussion: 2017 Foot Ferry Financial Report. Ashby said that the Lodging Tax Advisory committee (LTAC) has recommended contributing $6,300 in 2018 to support the foot ferry, which is less than the 2017 contribution. The City needs to learn what the estimated 2018 costs for the foot ferry operations will be, as well as what Kitsap Transit’s plans are for the 2018 foot ferry and fast ferry schedules. It is important to continue having Sunday service. Ashby added that if the mixed-use pilot program (MUPP) moves forward, the City will need to coordinate with Kitsap Transit on providing consistent foot ferry service to Bremerton seven days a week, to serve the commuting needs of downtown residents. The City should also encourage Kitsap Transit to accept the ORCA card on their ferries. It is probably not feasible for a private ferry service to become established, since Kitsap Transit “owns” the route across Sinclair Inlet. Council Member Donlin said that Kitsap Transit could consider allowing corporate sponsorship or advertising on its ferries to raise funds. Ashby said that local businesses or community groups could potentially band together to sponsor extra runs during events or during the holiday season. 2 3. Discussion: Mixed-Use Pilot Program. Development Director Bond provided an overview of the proposed mixed-use pilot program (MUPP) ordinance. The MUPP will provide incentivized development standards for density, parking and building height to promote development of transit-oriented, mixed-use projects near downtown Port Orchard and the City’s passenger ferry terminal, while ensuring high-quality building and site designs that enhance the downtown business environment and complement existing development. Properties were selected for the MUPP based on criteria such as downtown location, proximity to transit, existing site development and potential for redevelopment, and topography and critical areas. The division of the MUPP into four height zones allows for a balance of site development with view protection for nearby properties. Murphy noted that the reduced parking requirement is likely to be a major topic of conversation for the public. Mayor Putaansuu said that the market will determine how many parking spaces above the minimum requirement will be built for each project; a developer won’t provide so few spaces that no one wants to live in that building. Bond said there are also options for offsite and shared parking to help balance parking needs. Ashby asked if MUPP projects would be required to pay traffic impact fees. Bond replied that each project would prepare a traffic analysis, and traffic impact fees will be calculated based on whether the site is vacant vs. redevelopment and on how transit-oriented the project will be. A public hearing on the MUPP was held at the Planning Commission’s November meeting, and the Commission recommended that City Council approve the program. The Land Use committee also reviewed the MUPP, and voted to move it forward to the full Council on November 14. The MUPP is proposed to become effective in April 2018, once the new architectural and site design standards that City staff and consultants are working on have been adopted. There will be an open house on the draft design standards on November 15. The design standards will then be reviewed by the Planning Commission in December, and the Commission will hold a public hearing on the standards in January 2018. If there is a delay in approving the architectural and site design standards, implementation of the MUPP will be delayed until those standards are effective. After completion of the initial pilot program, City Council can decide if some or all of the program’s standards should be permanently incorporated into the City’s zoning and land use code. 4. Discussion: 640 Bay Street Property. Bond said that City Council will consider on November 14 whether the City’s vacant property located at 640 Bay Street should be surplused. If Council votes to surplus it, a Request for Proposals for its development under the MUPP will be issued on November 24. Any purchase and/or development agreement will need to ensure that the City recoups the costs it has invested in the property, and will require that the developer promptly work to have a project approved and built, instead of holding the property as an investment. Ashby noted that the City’s committee assignments will change in 2018, and thanked the EDT committee members for their work over the past two years. She also thanked outgoing Council Member Donlin for his service on the City Council. The meeting was adjourned at 10:26 am. Audio-visual recording was successful. Next Meeting/Location: The December EDT meeting was cancelled. The next meeting will be on January 8, 2018, at 9:00 a.m. in the Council Chambers.