City of Chewelah
Planning Commission
Special Meeting – September 6, 2007
A special meeting of the Planning Commission was held on September 6, 2007. The meeting was officially called to order at 7:13 P.M. by Chairperson, Tom Bristol. In attendance were Commissioners Daniel Voltz, Tom Bristol, Alice Crowley, Kevin Herda and Bill Davies. Staff members present were Tracy Ferrell, Executive Secretary and Chaz Bates, Planner. Citizens in attendance were Bob Playfair, Timothy Schwantz and Robert Hanson. Commissioners Irv Schick and Doug Sassman were absent.
Because this was a Special Meeting, Agenda items 1 – 8 were dispensed with. Mr. Bristol reminded all that Public Comments would be accepted at any time during this meeting.
There was a brief discussion in regards to the decision at the last Planning Commission meeting to change back to two meetings per month. Tom Bristol pointed out that having just one meeting per month would be less costly for the city, as staff members are paid for their time to attend meetings. He added that he feels it may help to keep the Commission on task if there was just one meeting per month with time limits set for agenda items. Because the two Commissioners who were in favor of two meetings per month were absent, the discussion was tabled until the next meeting.
It was decided that the remainder of the meeting would be more of an informal discussion on the 2007 Comprehensive Plan Goals and Policies. The Commissioners would begin by going section by section, as presented by Chaz Bates and commenting. Citizens were encouraged to participate as well. The meeting moved to the table.
The discussion went as follows:
Item
LAND USE
Residential Goals and Policies
Goal
LUG-2 Encourage a range of housing types and densities to meet the communities needs and preferences.
Policies
Lup-2.1 Residential areas are reserved for housing, which shall be developed at urban densities.
Discussion
Mr. Bates suggested that the R-1 Zone be more firmly defined in order to create a finer grain and better zoning pattern. There was further discussion on the issues involved with changing the current zoning. Any zoning changes would need to be made very public. Alice Crowley asked about the definition of multi-housing and the differences. Mr. Bates commented that the zones could be more limited then are currently presented.
Item
Lup-2.4 Develop standards to ensure an adequate supply of below market rate housing in accordance with both Chewelah’s need and regional fair share.
Discussion
Mr. Bates noted that with the new proposed developments in the vicinity of Chewelah, there would be a demand for more affordable housing by employees at the developments. He would like to evaluate options that would encourage /provide standards that would allow for affordable housing.
Kevin Herda expressed concern over the lack of public involvement in the Comp Plan review process. He was also concerned about setting standards that could greatly effect building in the city and the Planning Commission
Mrs. Crowley asked what the process for changing the comp plan was. Can it be changed annually, if necessary? Mr. Bates answered that yes, it can be changed annually.
Both Mr. Herda and Mr. Bristol were concerned about the words used in the Comp Plan, such as “ensure”, “encourage”, “provide”, etc. It was requested that a glossary be included in the front of the plan that would clearly define these words.
Bill Davies expressed concern over a new Anti-Discrimination law in regards to Mobile / Manufactured homes and how they are portrayed in the Comp Plan.
Item
Policies
LUP-3.3 Encourage maintenance and improvement of the commercial district. Provide public improvements to support private investment, including landscaping and signs on the highway to encourage visitors to stop and shop in Chewelah.
Discussion
Mr. Bates gave an explanation of Form Base Code Planning and the benefits to the downtown Commercial Zone. There was further discussion on this type of planning. Concerns were expressed in regards to implementing this type of planning.
Item
Policies
LUP-6.7 Develop standards that protect the ecological functions of the shorelines of Thomas and Paye Creeks.
Discussion
Mr. Bristol asked if this refers to the Critical Ordinance Area element of the Comp Plan. Chaz replied
that this portion would establish standards and rules in regards to development in the vicinity of
Item
Policies
LUP-7.2 Encourage the restoration, preservation and reuse of historic buildings.
Discussion
Daniel Voltz inquired if the city would be responsible for providing incentives to encourage
restoration. There was a brief discussion on this topic. One of the questions was in regards to the
word “encourage” and the vagueness implied. What is the point of including this in the Comp Plan?
Tracy Ferrell added that the City of Colville and Stevens County have actual Historic Preservation
Committees and Associations that do offer guidance and small incentives such as plaques.
Item
CAPITAL FACILITIES
Discussion
Mr. Bates provided a table of various Facilities and Services of the City and the Level of Service Standards (LOS). He noted that the various department heads will help determine any new / revised Level of Service Standards. However, it is very important for the Commission to read them in detail.
Item
Policies
CFP-1.2 Review the Capital Improvement Program annually as a part of the City Budgeting Process.
Discussion
Mr. Bates noted that this item was moved from a “Goal” to a “Policy”. He feels it is one of the more
important things that was accomplished by GMA – linking the development of cities to their
expenditures.
Item
Policies
CFP-5.1 through 5.5 in regards to fire protection
Discussion
There was discussion in regards to this portion of the policies, especially with the extensive use of the word “ensure”. CFP-5.3 states that the city will “ensure that each fire hydrant is served by a 6-inch water main”. It was felt that a better way to phrase this might be “ensure that each fire hydrant provides adequate water flow”. T
There was further discussion on definitions and how to avoid / reduce some of the vagueness.
Item
Parks and Recreation Section
Discussion
A policy will need to be added in regard to the addition of the Paye Creek Park. There was discussion in regards to the recent purchase of the property.
Item
Water Service Section
Discussion
Mr. Bristol inquired about a policy regarding Storm Drain improvement.
Item
Sewer System Section
Discussion
There was a brief discussion in regards to a sewer policy for North Chewelah.
Item
Housing Section
Discussion
This section was discussed briefly. Again, there were concerns by Mr. Davies in regards to mobile / manufactured home inclusion.
The rest of the document was briefly reviewed with minimal comments and/or discussion.
Mr. Bates announced that the October 5, 2007 meeting would be a Public Workshop. (It was later clarified that the first Wednesday in October is actually October 3, 2007). There will be press releases and as much publicity as possible to encourage Public Participation. It was determined that it would be necessary to have two meetings in the month of October.
Prior to the next meeting, Mr. Bates will provide a comparison of tonight’s document to the 1997 GMA Comp Plan. When received, Mrs. Ferrell will mail to the Planning Commission for review.
There was a brief discussion on the Shoreline Master Plan. Mr. Bates noted that the final draft had been approved at the City Council meeting on September 5, 2007.
There being no further business, there was motion made and seconded to adjourn the meeting. Chairman Tom Bristol adjourned the meeting at 9:03 P.M.
Respectfully Submitted,
________________________________________ _______________________________________
Tracy Ferrell, Executive Secretary Tom Bristol, Chairperson
