February 2, 2021, Planning Commission Meeting MinutesPlanning Commission Meeting Minutes
February 2, 2021
Zoom Teleconference
Commissioners:
Present: Stephanie Bailey, Phil King, Annette Stewart (Chair), Trish Tierney
Absent: Dave Bernstein, Joe Morrison, Mark Trenary
Staff:
Community Development Director Nick Bond, Long Range Planner Keri Sallee
City Consultants (For Item 4a):
Jeff Ding, EA Engineering
Jeff Foster, GGLO
Mitch Ptacek, GGLO
Rich Schipanski, EA Engineering
1. Call to Order: Chair Stewart called the meeting to order at 6:01 p.m., and led the Pledge of Allegiance.
2. Public Comments: There were no comments from the public regarding issues not on the agenda.
3. Approval of Minutes From January 13, 2021: Commissioner King made a motion to approve the minutes of the January 13, 2021 Planning Commission meeting, as presented. Commissioner
Tierney seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously.
4. Business Items:
Public Meeting: Draft EIS for Downtown Subarea Plan. Community Development Director Bond introduced the City’s consultants on the Downtown Subarea Plan: Jeff Foster and Mitch Ptacek
of GGLO, and Jeff Ding and Rich Schipanski of EA Engineering. Schipanski provided an overview for the public about the planning process that had been used to create the draft Downtown
Subarea Plan and how the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the plan had been prepared, and how the EIS would be used to evaluate future development proposals within the area.
The EIS included an evaluation of three alternative levels of growth and development intensity (no action, residential focus, mixed-use focus). Goals and policies have been created
specifically for the Downtown Plan that are consistent with and implement the larger overall framework of the City’s Comprehensive Plan. Standards for street frontages, building design
requirements, building height limits, and parking have been modified in certain zones and overlay districts. Schipanski discussed how proposals for redevelopment of the City’s downtown
commercial corridor and Kitsap County’s uptown campus expansion would fit into the Downtown
Plan. The public was invited to submit questions and comments to the City and consultants on both the Downtown Plan and the EIS.
Shahbaz Naftchi said that he and his family live in the heart of the area that is being studied, and they appreciate the planning effort that has been made. There have been a lot of
demographic changes since they moved here in 2005, including younger families and children, and they feel these are good changes for the community.
Ann Wiggins asked how the plan would specifically impact her home at 1147 Sidney Ave. Bond said that although Wiggins’ property was within the 800-ft notification area, this property
is outside of the Downtown Plan boundary, so there will be no direct changes to her property. Wiggins said that she is concerned about additional traffic from more growth in the downtown
area affecting her when she drives to and from her home. She would especially like to know if development or transportation construction projects will affect Sidney Ave. Bond said that
the traffic impact analysis that has been prepared for the plan shows that under all three EIS alternatives, there is minimal impact from increased downtown growth and new trip generation,
and is not anticipated to trigger any new level of service (LOS) failures to existing streets in the area. Bond noted that the intersection of Sidney Ave and Bay Street is under state
control, since Bay Street is a state highway, and this intersection cannot be changed without state involvement. There is no possibility of widening Bay Street without removing buildings
and this is not proposed. Sidney Ave may see some traffic impacts from construction when the County’s expansion projects take place, but these are temporary and the final traffic counts
from the improvements are not expected to result in significant degradation of the existing LOS on Sidney Ave. Wiggins said there is already a problem with speeding on this road. Bond
said that the road design in front of the proposed new courthouse will include bulb-outs to slow traffic flow and shorten the pedestrian crossing distance at crosswalks. Wiggins hopes
that construction traffic plans will accommodate pedestrians trying to cross the road with temporary stop signs and other measures.
Pat Moriarty said that he lives at 1710 Guy Wetzel St, and asked if there would be any impacts to his property. Bond said that no changes were proposed for this residential area above
the Westbay Center, or for the allowable height in the Westbay Center. The only impacts would be general in nature, from a small population increase and additional building development
as evaluated in alternatives 2 and 3.
Stanley Smith asked how higher tides could impact future downtown development. Bond said that future sea level rise has been evaluated as part of the City’s periodic update to the Shoreline
Master Program (SMP), which is the next item on the agenda. The City is increasing the required base flood elevation for new construction within areas identified as vulnerable to future
flooding from sea level rise and coastal storm events. The City will also adopt FEMA’s new floodplain maps within the next year or so. The City does not require property owners to make
changes to existing properties and structures, but when changes are proposed in future, they will need to comply with the updated standards and requirements. Public works projects for
seawalls and road reconstructions that require elevation increases in response to sea level rise will be the City’s responsibility, but private property owners will be responsible for
the protection of their own shoreline properties.
Smith asked if the Downtown Plan and EIS have considered the boardwalk and pedestrian pathway along Sinclair Inlet. Bond said that while the plan acknowledges the pathway, that project
has already been approved and has received federal grant funding, so its impacts have already been evaluated and are not part of the EIS. Public works projects for seawalls and road
reconstructions that require elevation increases in response to sea level rise will be the City’s responsibility, but private property owners will be responsible for the protection
of their own shoreline properties.
Public Hearing: Draft 2021 Shoreline Master Program Update. Long Range Planner Sallee introduced the final draft 2021 periodic update to the City’s Shoreline Master Program. The revised
SMP includes updates required by the Department of Ecology, minor changes for internal consistency with updated City policies and regulations since the 2013 SMP was adopted, and new
policies and regulations regarding future sea level rise and coastal flooding hazards. The official shoreline maps were also revised for consistency with post-2013 updates to the City’s
Comprehensive Plan and Critical Areas Ordinance.
Gary Anderson, Port of Bremerton Commissioner, asked if there has been any communication with WSDOT about elevating Bay Street, so that when buildings are elevated you won’t have to
step up into buildings from the street level. Sallee said that the City informed WSDOT about the sea level rise study and shared it with them, and WSDOT expressed concerns about future
impacts to Bay Street from sea level rise. At this time, however, WSDOT does not have a plan or budget for Bay Street retrofitting in response to sea level rise. Bond said that WSDOT
eventually plans to turn over Bay Street to the City for maintenance, and is not focusing its efforts on this and similar “spur roads” in small communities that will eventually come
under local jurisdiction.
Randy Corbell said that he had reviewed the redline version of the SMP update, and asked if the shoreline permit exemptions section had been removed. Sallee said that this section used
to include a verbatim list of everything in the RCW that provided an exemption from shoreline permit requirements, but the City found that this SMP section quickly became outdated as
the RCW exemptions were revised. This SMP section will now simply reference the portions of the RCW that contain shoreline permit exemptions, and therefore it will always remain up
to date.
Discussion and Recommendation: Draft 2021 Shoreline Master Program Update.
Commissioner Tierney made a motion to recommend that the City Council approve the draft 2021 Shoreline Master Program update. Commissioner Bailey seconded the motion. The motion passed
unanimously.
Adjourn: Chair Stewart adjourned the meeting at 7:34 pm.
Annette Stewart, Chair
Nick Bond, Community Development Director