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HomeMy WebLinkAbout02/14/2006 MINUTESMinutes for City of Bremerton Planning Commission Special Meeting February 14, 2006 I. Call to Order The meeting was called to order by Commissioner Cockburn at 6:33 p.m. II. Roll Call Those present were: Commissioner Cockburn, Commissioner Friedberg -Nerf, Commissioner Hoell, Commissioner Kosusko, and Commissioner Streissguth. Quorum certified. Also present: Andrea Spencer, Nicole Ward, Geoff Wentlandt and Pam Ransier (DCD staff); Roger Lubovich and Ken Bagwell (City legal staff). III. Approval of Agenda Commissioner Cockburn introduced the agenda. It was agreed by general consensus to approve the agenda as presented. IV. Public Meeting A. Public Hearin e: 1. Critical Areas Ordinance Update: Andrea Spencer, Planning Manager, began the staff presentation on the Critical Areas Ordinance Update. She briefly reviewed changes made to the draft Critical Areas Ordinance based on input from the Commission and the Technical Advisory Committee. She noted that all changes made to the draft were entered into a matrix for the Commissioners to review more easily. She advised the Commissioners to review changes, hear public testimony, then direct staff to include the changes from the matrix and any additional changes from this night's meeting into the final recommendation to City Council. Andrea added that there had been some written public comments and advised the Commissioners that some of those letters or a -mails contained comments about previous drafts that had been changed before the letters or e- mails arrived at the DCD office. Commissioner Cockburn asked if there were any comments from citizens. Art Castle, Kitsap Home Builders Association: "I would like to congratulate staff for their work on this. One suggestion that I would like to add is in the Fish & Wildlife section, if you would take similar language in the Wetland section, which, under, obviously, under Criteria, the possible use of Low Impact Development techniques and Planning Commission Meeting February 14, 2005 Page 1 of 4 buffers for streams in addition to Wetlands, which is already in the document. Thank YOU." Richard Nerf, Bremerton: "I just want to say that I believe this has been a very successful attempt to create a very good Critical Area Ordinance. I want to congratulate all the people who have been working so hard on it. When I saw it from the beginning, I never quite imagined how much it could improve. I thank everyone involved." A motion was made by Commissioner Streissguth and seconded by Commissioner Kosusko to continue the Public Hearing, including public comment, until February 28, 2006 at 5 :50 PM in the Meeting Chambers of the Norm Dicks Government Center. Called for a vote: Commissioner Cockburn: Yes; Commissioner Friedberg - Nerf: Yes; Commissioner Hoell: Yes; Commissioner Kosusko: Yes; Commissioner Streissguth: Yes. The motion carried. Geoff Wentlandt, City Planner, continued the staff presentation and discussion. Referring to the matrix, he began by reviewing the changes made to General Provisions giving explanations when needed for clarification of why the change was made. There were no comments or questions from the Commissioners on this section. Moving on to Definitions Geoff again gave an overview of the changes made. Commissioner Streissguth asked if the addition of language for "Channel Migration Zone" was in response to a letter from Washington State Fish & Wildlife. Geoff said it was. Nicole Ward, City Planner, continued with Aquifer Recharge Areas In response to comments from the Planning Commission and the Technical Advisory Committee, changes were made to §20.14.440, Allowed Uses with Performance Standards, for clarification and additional information. Low Impact Development was added to the requirements of a level one hydrogeological assessment in §20.14.450(a). Commissioner Streissguth asked if staff had considered the monitoring agency to be used to enforce §20.14.450(b)(3). Andrea replied that the City's Water Resource Manager would have text to staff by the end of the week. Changes for Wetlands include criteria for Walkways and Trails and adding language to §20.14.340(e), Mitigation Timing. In §20.14.340, Mitigation Requirements, Commissioner Friedberg -Nerf asked how the mitigation plans would be modeled and what the language would be. Andrea explained that it was usually included in the monitoring, but staff would look through the code for more details. Commissioner Streissguth wanted to know where the time period of ten (10) years in the proposed language for Mitigation Timing originated. Andrea thought this was in response to a verbal suggestion from Jeff Davis, Washington Fish & Wildlife as a requirement for forested wetlands; Commissioner Friedberg -Nerf remembered Jeff making that statement as well, noting that there was reference to a vegetative canopy closing and the time needed to accomplish that. Staff will ensure that different types of wetlands will have appropriate mitigation monitoring periods. Planning Commission Meeting February 14, 2005 Page 2 of 4 Commissioner Streissguth asked if staff had received any response from the Department of Ecology regarding standards for no net loss of wetlands. Staff has not. Geoff reviewed the changes and additions made to Geologically Hazardous Areas In reference to §20.14.640& On Site Sewage Disposal, Commissioner Friedberg -Nerf asked if the City of Bremerton was continuing to permit for septic systems. Geoff explained that there probably were new septic systems being permitted where there is no sewer hookup available, but did not know the number per year. The changes for Fish & Wildlife were summarized by Nicole. To help illustrate the sub- categories and buffer distances within Saltwater Shorelines, staff provided a map of the City with color coded designations. A table with updated buffer width standards was also provided. Commissioner Streissguth asked what the changes in buffer width were based on. Nicole explained that staff had used the existing Shoreline Master Program aild areas of conservancy. Commissioner Streissguth expressed concern that the areas shown as fully developed (commercial, residential, etc.) truly were fully developed. Geoff explained that the map was an integration of the Shoreline Master Program and the Critical Areas Ordinance. The background research for this change is outlined in the Findings of Facts. Commissioner Kosusko expressed concern regarding the effects of the 200 -foot buffer plus 15 -foot setback affects property beyond the 200 -foot reach of a buffer; he suggested a smaller buffer or setback. Both Commissioner Streissguth and Commissioner Hoell requested staff to provide the science that would support a change in buffer or setback width before implementing any changes on this item. Geoff referred the Commissioners to page 10 of the Finding of Facts. He noted that, while there is ample information on freshwater shoreline buffers, there is not much data regarding saltwater shoreline buffers. Taking into consideration the requirements for freshwater shoreline, the need for preserving shoreline vegetation, and protection of the shoreline from bulkheads, etc., staff felt having a twenty -five to thirty -five foot buffer is defensible. Similar conclusions were found in Kitsap County's Best Available Science Report. There was some discussion on §20.14.750, Mitigation Standards and Criteria, to include language to encourage rehabilitation of shorelines with some kind of incentive. Nicole explained that this issue would be addressed in a Habitat Management Plan. Nicole continued with the matrix and explained the changes made to the Fish and Wildlife Habitat section of the draft CAO. Andrea noted that an additional item, Low Impact Development standards, should have been included on the matrix. Commissioner Streissguth asked for an update on §20.14.500, Frequently Flooded Areas Nicole explained that there were no changes made to this section since the end of December with the exception of a reference to the International Building Code that had been added for clarification. Section 17.60 of the Bremerton Municipal Code will be updated with the adoption of the Critical Areas Ordinance. Planning Commission Meeting February 14, 2005 Page 3 of 4 Commissioner Cockburn asked when the updated documents would be ready for the Commissioners. Staff anticipated having the documents ready by February 23, 2006. Commissioner Streissguth and Commissioner Friedberg -Nerf will not be attending the meeting on February 28, 2006. Commissioner Kosusko asked if staff had addressed the issues raised in a letter from Barclay North. Staff has responded to the best of their ability with the science available. Commissioner Friedberg -Nerf asked if the City website contained the most current information. Nicole replied that the website had been updated two days prior with links from the homepage to Critical Areas information. V. Adjournment Meeting was adjourned at 7:47 p.m. The next Special Meeting is scheduled for February 28, 2006. Respectfully submitted by: r� Chris Hugo, Executive Se etary Approved by: f I ockburn, Chairman Planning Commission Meeting February 14, 2005 Page 4 of 4