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03/02/2020 - Minutes1 City of Port Orchard Land Use Committee Meeting Minutes – March 2, 2020 Committee Members Present: Scott Diener (Chair), Fred Chang, Jay Rosapepe City Officials and Staff: Mayor Rob Putaansuu, Community Development Director Nick Bond, Public Works Director Mark Dorsey, Long Range Planner Keri Sallee Chair Diener called the meeting to order at 9:31 am. 1. Election of the Chair: Councilmember Rosapepe made a motion to nominate Councilmember Diener as the 2020 committee chair. Councilmember Chang seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. 2. Discussion: On-Street Parking for City Vehicles. Public Works Director Dorsey said that the Mayor has requested that three onstreet parking spaces on the south side of Geiger Road adjacent to City Hall be reserved for 24/7 parking of City vehicles. This will free up three spaces in the employee parking lot. Revisions to POMC 10.12 regarding signage will also be required to allow the onstreet parking. Community Development Director Bond said that he is concerned that this location of these parking spaces on a steep hill will not meet ADA requirements. One of Bond’s employees who uses a City vehicle has a disability placard in his private vehicle, and is currently on light duty. The committee agreed that once the ADA concerns are resolved in consultation with Human Resources, this issue will be moved forward to a Council work study meeting. 3. Discussion: Parking for 817 Sidney Avenue. Dorsey said that he has received a request from the occupants of 817 Sidney Ave for the City to designate the parking in front of their building with a 1- or 2-hour time limit. Currently, parking on Sidney south of Ada St does not have a time limit, and the occupants believe that the spaces in front of their building are being used all day by ferry commuters, Kitsap County employees, and courthouse jurors and attendees. It is difficult for their elderly and handicapped clients to walk up the building’s steep parking lot to the doorway, and it would be easier if those clients could park in front of the building. Dorsey said that converting onstreet parking to benefit one business could be a slippery slope, particularly since City code requires businesses to provide their required parking onsite. Bond noted that with the County’s upcoming, nearby parking lot project, which should begin within 9-18 months and be complete within 2 years, pressure from County parking on Sidney Ave should be reduced. The committee agreed that no action should be taken at this time. 4. Discussion: Veterans Memorial Park. Dorsey said that Kitsap County plans to decommission a portion of Veteran’s Memorial Park, and ultimately would like the City to take over ownership and maintenance of the 48- acre park. The Mayor has had conversations with the County on this topic. The City isn’t interested in purchasing the property, and before accepting it as a donation would need to see statistics on the park’s annual maintenance costs, and the amount of deferred and future maintenance and improvements that could be expected to fall to the City. The park is 10 times the size of all the current city parks combined. The City doesn’t have large-scale mowing equipment or the staffing levels to maintain a park of this size, while keeping the City’s other park properties maintained. Dorsey said that if the City accepts Veteran’s Memorial Park from the County, this will be the event that establishes the City’s need to form a Parks and Recreation Department or a local parks district. The committee agreed that the Park Plan update that is currently underway should evaluate the options for taking and operating Veteran’s Memorial Park, based on community interest and financial implications. Additional evaluations, such as risk assessment and property appraisal, may also be required. 2 5. Discussion: Church Encampment House Bill 1754. Bond presented the text of House Bill 1754 ES, which addresses requirements for homeless encampments hosted by religious organizations. The City has the opportunity to adopt alternative regulations prior to the adoption of the bill; otherwise, if the bill passes, the City will be bound by the requirements of that legislation. The legislative session ends in about two weeks, however, and the City would not be able to pass an ordinance that quickly unless it declared an emergency. The committee agreed that no action should be taken. 6. Discussion: 2020 Comprehensive Plan Amendment Docket. 2020 Comprehensive Plan Update – Preliminary Agenda. Bond introduced the staff-recommended docket for the City’s 2020 Comprehensive Plan amendments. The City prepared one set of text amendments and one set of map amendments, primarily to update the City’s TIP and functional plan documents and maps, and to clean up inconsistencies between the Comprehensive Plan map and the Zoning Map. The City also received one map amendment and one text amendment from private citizens. Bond recommended that the private text amendment (Geiger Road LLC) be moved forward along with the City amendments. This amendment would revise the size of the Sedgwick Bethel Countywide Center from 141 acres to 161 acres, with the addition of 20 acres to the southern boundary of the center, south of Geiger Rd. The boundary currently bisects two 20-acre parcels owned by Geiger Road LLC so that only the north half of these properties is included in the center. The addition of the southern half of these properties would allow the entirety of Geiger Road LLC’s future multifamily project (Glenmora Apartments, 320 units) to be included in the center. The private map amendment (Errol Dow) was not recommended for approval, since the proposed redesignations of certain lots from HDR and UI to LDR would create a patchwork of “spot zoned” low-density residential lots intermingled with industrial lots, which would create the potential for incompatible uses and development impacts, and would not support the goals and policies of the Comprehensive Plan. The committee agreed that the docket should be moved forward for action at the March 10 Council meeting, as recommended. 7. Discussion: Revisions to Design Standards. Bond presented a number of revisions to the City’s Title 20 residential design standards that McCormick Communities/Quadrant Homes has requested, so that the code will better align with Quadrant’s standard housing designs. These revisions allow for modification to: elevation requirements for detached houses on sloping lots or lots below adjacent right-of-way, location of primary access to a detached house, allow “carriage units” in cottage court developments, and modify requirements for front porches. The draft revisions were reviewed favorably by the Planning Commission at their February meeting; they will review an ordinance and vote on a recommendation to Council at their April meeting. 8. Discussion: Potential Cook Road Annexation. Bond said that the owner of the property at 1405 SW Cook Rd, located in the urban growth area (UGA) between the South Kitsap Industrial Park and SR 16, may be interested in annexing the property into the City. The annexation would allow the property to obtain City water. The owner has obtained permits from the County for site development and construction of several commercial shell-type buildings. If annexed into the City, the zoning would likely be Light Industrial. The committee was supportive of the proposal. 8. Discussion: Affordable Housing. Councilmember Chang asked for an update on Housing Kitsap’s Sherman Ridge project, which is a 27-lot subdivision. Mayor Putaansuu said that they have been revising their designs to comply with the City’s design standards. Chang is also concerned that Housing Kitsap is spending funds on housing projects in Mason County instead of Kitsap County. The Mayor noted this was due to the increasing 3 price of land in Kitsap County. 9. Discussion: Fireworks Sales. Bond said that per POMC 20.39.040 (Land Use Table) of the City’s zoning code, as of March 2019 fireworks sales have been permitted only in the Commercial Heavy (CH) and Industrial Flex (IF) zones. However, this requirement was “grandfathered” for 2019 because of the short notice for community groups who rely on Independence Day fireworks sales for significant yearly fundraising. In May 2019, Kitsap County banned fireworks in unincorporated areas from June 28 through November 1, 2019, because of expected drought and increased fire risk conditions. There was some discussion at that time that the ban could be made permanent, in which case the City may have followed the County’s lead and changed its own code accordingly. The permanent ban did not happen, but no further contact was made by the City with historic fireworks sales permit holders. The committee decided that fireworks sales permits should be issued to permit holders outside the CH zone for 2020, provided all other safety and compatibility conditions are met, and that a letter should be sent with each permit indicating that in 2021 permits will only be issued for fireworks sales locations zoned CH. (There are currently no properties in the City zoned IF.) Additional Items: Just before the committee meeting, residents of DeKalb St and Harrison St delivered several letters to the DCD front counter, with a request that they be reviewed by the Land Use committee. The letters express concern about parking on Harrison St in front of the Capital Christian Church, which currently has a 4-hour daytime parking restriction. This parking is being used by homeless people living in cars, who stay in these spots overnight and create noise, litter, and other disturbances. Since there was no time to review the letters prior to the meeting, the committee agreed that this issue would be postponed and reviewed at the April Land Use meeting. Diener also inquired about the ‘Cheers building’ parking variance and the circumstances surrounding the moderate request. Bond noted the request for parking reduction closely mirrored a 1:1 parking ratio for the development which consists largely of one-bedroom residential units. There was also some discussion about the potential for offsite parking in an adjacent parking lot that is located entirely within the state right-of-way for SR-16. Chair Diener adjourned the meeting at 10:55 am. Next Meeting/Location: Monday, April 6 at 9:30 am in the DCD Conference Room (720 Prospect St.)