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12/12/2017 - Minutes 1 City of Port Orchard Land Use Committee Meeting Minutes – December 12, 2017 Committee Members Present: Scott Diener, Shawn Cucciardi, John Clausen City Officials and Staff: Mayor Rob Putaansuu, Community Development Director Nick Bond, Long-Range Planner Keri Sallee, Code Enforcement Officer Doug Price Chair Diener called the meeting to order at 7:30 a.m. 1. Discussion: Kitsap Building Association Request for Advisory Group. Mayor Putaansuu said that Kitsap Building Association (KBA) has requested Kitsap County and each of the cities to create a committee of developers and similar representatives to provide input on proposed code amendments. Putaansuu said that he does not propose to take any action until 2018, as the membership of the Land Use committee may change with the new year, and he would want any decision to be supported by the full committee. It may be more appropriate to notify KBA representatives of upcoming Land Use meetings and issues and invite them to attend, without establishing a formal, separate review committee. Chair Diener said that the County’s Department Advisory Group (DAG) has been operating since 2007; its primary purpose was initially just to advise the Community Development Department on its business practices, but now that there have been a number of positive changes in the department, the group seems to be “on a mission to find a mission”, and provides input on areas outside their initial scope. He would not support a similar advisory group being a regular participant at City committee meetings. Council Member Cucciardi said that establishing an advisory group solely for developer interests could alienate constituents who do not share their views. Council Member Clausen said he would not support incorporating an advisory group into the regular business of the Land Use Committee, but one option would be to appoint a KBA representative to the Planning Commission. Cucciardi said that the City already makes significant efforts to inform and obtain input from KBA and other parties during all steps of developing new regulations. Diener said that KBA should be asked what is wrong with the status quo that requires this change. Community Development Director Bond noted that when the City initiated significant code update projects such as the Unified Development Code and design standards, stakeholder review committees were established which included developer representatives. Putaansuu will take KBA’s request to the Council’s January work-study meeting. He and Bond will attend a meeting with KBA on December 19 to discuss this and other issues. 2. Discussion: 2018 Comprehensive Plan Amendments/Crawford Road Properties. Bond said that the plan to submit applications to amend the City’s comprehensive plan is January 31, 2018. The City Council may want to consider a City-sponsored amendment for the properties on Crawford Road. All of these properties have residential uses or are vacant, but are zoned Commercial. Because of this discrepancy, the homes are considered a nonconforming use, and the property owners have either been unable to improve the properties or are reluctant to make any investment in them. Code Enforcement Officer Price said that the neighborhood has deteriorated as a result, and has become a constant code enforcement problem. Although not all of the property owners may support a residential rezone, Crawford Road is very narrow and insufficient for commercial access, and the lots are very small and not suitable for individual commercial sites. Bond suggested rezoning the properties to Residential-4.5 (R4.5) with a zoning restriction or overlay, requiring that any future application to change zoning back to Commercial must stipulate that the entire Crawford Road area be addressed in one master development application. Primary access from Salmonberry Road, instead of from Bethel Road, would likely be required for a commercial proposal. Rezoning would also allow property owners to maintain, expand and redevelop existing residences, and hopefully reduce code enforcement problems. Bond will bring the Crawford 2 Road discussion, and potentially an unrelated rezone of several County properties along Bethel Road that are needed for right-of-way expansion, back to Land Use in January to be followed by Council work-study review. He will also work on a potential new zoning category and design standards for historical residential neighborhoods in the City’s core. 3. Discussion: 2018 Potential Zoning Code Revisions. Long Range Planner Sallee introduced the proposed “housekeeping” amendment to Title 20, which will make a number of minor updates and corrections that have been identified since Title 20 was adopted in June 2017. This amendment will go to Council work-study in January 2018, and to the Planning Commission for a hearing and recommendation in February 2018. Bond said that since the City’s draft design standards for commercial and multifamily development are nearly complete, he is looking for guidance on the future role of the City’s Design Review Board. Putaansuu said he would prefer that deviations from the design standards not go to the Board, since the criteria for deviation approval will be well-defined in the code and can be administratively applied, and having another layer of review and delay could discourage applicants. The committee agreed that the Board will be asked to review the design standards at the end of each year, as well as the projects to which they were applied, and provide feedback to the City on the success of implementation and where improvements could be made. The Board could also be asked to serve in an advisory role for individual project applications at the request of the applicant, regarding the correct application of the design standards and/or the deviation process. Bond said that the design standards will go to the Planning Commission for a hearing in February 2018. 4. Discussion: Draft Accessory Dwelling Unit Code. Bond said that a draft code for accessory dwelling units (ADUs) has been prepared for inclusion in Title 20. ADUs should be encouraged, to provide affordable housing and additional housing options, in compliance with requirements that protect existing single-family neighborhoods. Staff is also looking into certifying a number of “pre-fab” detached ADU structures for building code compliance, to streamline the building permit process. All detached ADUs will need to comply with design standards and other zoning requirements in Title 20. The ADU code will go to the January 2018 work-study meeting. Diener adjourned the meeting at 8:43 a.m. Audio-only recording was successful. Next Meeting/Location: January 17, 2018, at 7:30 am in the 720 Prospect conference room.