HomeMy WebLinkAbout11/20/2007 MINUTESMinutes for
City of Bremerton Planning Commission
Regular Meeting
November 20, 2007
I. Call to Order
The meeting was called to order by Chairman Cockburn at 5:32 p.m.
II. Roll Call
Those present were: Commissioner Kennedy, Commissioner Mosiman, Commissioner
Streissguth (arrived at 5:36), Commissioner Wheeler and Chairman Cockburn. Commissioners
Kosusko and Hoell were excused. Quorum certified.
Also present: Andrea Spencer, Geoff Wentlandt, and Pam Ransier (DCD staff); Mike Mecharn
and Larry Matel (PW &E staff); and John Perlic (consultant to the City).
III. Approval of Agenda
Chairman Cockburn introduced the agenda. It was agreed by general consensus to approve the
agenda as presented.
IV. Approval of Minutes
The minutes of the Special Meeting held on October 23, 2007 were presented for approval by
Chairman Cockburn. A motion was made by Commissioner Kennedy and seconded by
Commissioner Mosiman to approve the Special Meeting Minutes of October 23, 2007 as
presented. Called for a vote: Commissioner Kennedy: Yes; Commissioner Mosiman: Yes;
Commissioner Wheeler: Yes; Chairman Cockburn: Abstain. The motion carried.
VI. Public Meeting
A. Call To The Public (public comments on any item not on tonight's agenda).
Chairman Cockburn asked if there were any comments from citizens. Seeing none, he
closed this portion of the meeting.
B. 1. Public Hearing — Downtown Regional Sub -Area Plan_: Geoff Wentlandt, City
Planner, introduced the Downtown Regional Sub -Area Plan and gave a brief history of
the sub -area plan process and explained the purpose of a sub -area plan. Action items
were also included in the sub -area plan to guide Community Development and other
departments in future development. Geoff responded to questions regarding building
scale, stacked units, and build -out numbers brought forth by the commission at the
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previous meeting. Using a slide showing local and international landmarks such as the
large shipyard crane, the Smith Tower and Space Needle (Seattle), and the Eiffel Tower
(Paris, France), Geoff illustrated how the proposed building heights in downtown
Bremerton would measure in comparison.
The issue of stacked flats in the proposed R -20 near Evergreen Park had been revisited
and it is believed a workable solution has been found for owner - occupied, ground related
stacked flats.
For build -out or development numbers, additional research by staff has shown that the
commercial increase under the proposed sub -area plan compared to the 2004
Comprehensive Plan would be about 3 %; residential would be an increase of about 7% to
8 %. The 2004 Comprehensive Plan had not taken into consideration the neighborhoods
at the edges of the downtown core and had relied on a 2001 study called The Calthorpe
Plan for projected density. Staff also requested the ability to make minor adjustments to
the parking quantity and the addition of broader language regarding the Multi - Family Tax
Incentive boundary before bringing this plan to City Council for action.
Letters from Brad Rucker, Metrovations Development Company (Ron Sher), Kim
McDonald, and Gardner Johnson were entered into the record.
Chairman Cockburn asked if there were any comments from the public on this item.
Mark Goldberg, MS Cavoad Co., Seattle, WA: "First I want to commend the City's
Department of Community Development staff for doing an incredible job of bringing in
this company who did this sub -area plan. I've been in the development business over 30
years in the greater Seattle area, and this is one of the finest plans I've seen put together.
As, I think, most people know, I'm very active in town here and I've been watching this
thing come together and this is very well thought out. I've said to the people that, staff,
over the years (none of them are here today), that until the City develops a plan that
makes the land more valuable than the houses, none of these houses around here are ever
going to disappear. This plan absolutely does it and I heartily recommend the passage of
this and the tax abatement over all the area the plan, not just including condominiums,
but in apartments. It's critical that we have housing for the workforce that's going to
come Here. Not everybody's going to be able to afford a condominium. Thank you."
Pastor Dennis Payne, Ebenezer AME Church, Bremerton, WA: "We sit on Park
Avenue and own property on McKenzie and, working with the staff, we recommend that
this recommendation go forward. We've been in the City for 95 years and one of our
biggest obstacles is parking and alleyways so we would love to see that area rezoned so
that we can have some mixed -use and some condos or some apartments on top with the
retail space on the bottom. I commend the committee for their work and ask that we
would move this forward. Thank you."
Kurt Weist, Bremerton Housing Authority, 110 Russell Road, Bremerton, WA: "I
also am very pleased with the process that the City has gone through up to this point with
the sub -area plan. The Housing Authority owns a significant piece of property on Park
Avenue between 7"' and 8"' and Warren. Included on that parcel of land is an existing
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multi- family apartment complex, The South Court Apartments, and we've also spent
some money doing brownfield remediation of property that's been contaminated. That
work has been completed on the block. We're looking forward to providing a
development on that block that is something that will be a benefit to the City of
Bremerton and provide workforce affordable housing for residents here. [Inaudible]
talked with planning staff and consultants, let them know what our plans are and we're
very pleased with the direction that's going with [inaudible] fits in very well with our
vision of what we should do with that property, so I would endorse the work that's been
done thus far and look forward to Council approval as well. Thank you."
It was noted that several members of the Ebenezer AME Church concurred with Pastor
Payne's earlier comments regarding the Downtown Regional Sub -Area Plan.
Chairman Cockburn asked if there were any further comments from the public on this
item. Seeing none, he closed this portion of the meeting.
Chairman Cockburn asked for clarification on how traffic to the ferry would flow as the
obvious choice, Pacific Avenue, was slated for "pedestrianization ". Geoff explained that
ferry traffic "trickles in" as compared to the rush of traffic leaving the ferry, thus the
emphasis on pedestrian traffic. Mike Mecham, City Engineer, agreed, adding that the
tunnel project would alleviate the heavier traffic exiting the ferry.
Chairman Cockburn expressed concern regarding the addition of a median or turn lane
to 11` Street and how that would impact the high volume of traffic in that area. Mr.
Mecham said that staff was waiting for a traffic study from EK Engineers (consultant to
VIA Architecture).
A motion was made by Commissioner Streissguth and seconded by Commissioner
Kennedy recommend to City Council an amendment to the Bremerton
Comprehensive Plan adding the Downtown Sub -area Plan (shown in Attachment I),
and an amendment to Zoning Code Chapter 20.80 to activate the development
regulations of the Downtown Sub -area Plan (shown in Attachment 11) based on the
Findings and Conclusions (shown in Attachment III), and allow for correction of
minor errors and omissions in advance of City Council review. Called for a vote:
Commissioner Kennedy: Yes; Commissioner Mosiman: Yes; Commissioner Wheeler:
Yes; Chairman Cockburn: Yes. The motion carried.
2. Public Hearing; — Non - Motorized Transportation Plan: Mike Mecham, City
Engineer, introduced the Non - Motorized Transportation Plan. Using a Power Point slide
show, Mr. Mecham gave an overview of the plan. He noted that many of the items listed
in the plan would most likely not come to be for many years, but stressed the importance
of having a non - motorized transportation plan in place when applying for grant money
for sidewalk and roadway improvements. Stakeholders were included in the plan's
process; these stakeholders included the school districts, Puget Sound Naval Shipyard,
the West Sound Bicycle Club, Olympic College, Kitsap County, and Harrison Hospital.
Two open houses were conducted to engage the community, as well as letters and e -mails
from citizens. Mr. Mecham's presentation highlighted areas of the city that needs
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improvement and reviewed the plan to correct and enhance the non - motorized portion of
Bremerton's transportation problems.
Chairman Cockburn asked if there were any comments from the public on this item.
Seeing none, he closed this portion of the Meeting.
Commissioner Kennedy asked about the appropriateness of having curb cuts in the Non -
motorized Transportation Plan. Mr. Meeham said it was because it could still be
regarded as separate from the plan when applying for grants, but the information was
important for inventorying sidewalk needs.
Commissioner Wheeler asked about the proposed use of center left turn lanes on 6"'
Street. John Perlic (Parametrix) said that the language had been changed to be a center
left turn lane or a center median, depending on the access needed.
A motion was made by Commissioner Streissguth and seconded by Commissioner
Wheeler recommending the Non - motorized Transportation Plan per Attachment I
to City Council for adoption. Called for a vote: Commissioner Kennedy: Yes;
Commissioner Mosiman: Yes; Commissioner Streissguth: Yes; Commissioner Wheeler:
Yes; Chairman Cockburn: Yes. The motion carried.
3. Public Hearin — 2007 Comprehensive Plan Amendment Docket: Geoff
Wentlandt, City Planner, presented the request for a land use designation rezone near
Werner Road. The request had been introduced at the September 18, 2007, Planning
Commission meeting and had been revised per the commission's instructions to staff
regarding the size and location of a proposed Neighborhood Business. The revised
request also included the retention of an Industrial Park land use designation at Werner
Road to allow the area to remain semi - industrial in character while providing access to
the proposed residential development.
Chairman Cockburn asked if there were any comments from the public on this item.
Jeff Pander, Hatton Godat Pantier (engineering /planning firm representing TriWay
Enterprises): "I was here on September 18` last time, and so I thank you for taking the
time to hear this again. You thought you were done, but we're back. I think that the
work that Geoff has done here with this revised proposal is a better proposal than the one
that was brought before you on September 18 " It's a result of, as Geoff put it, sort of an
understanding with the property owners in the area. I thought that it was interesting, in
your deliberations back in September, that the Commission shared a common goal with
that of TriWay Enterprises; that is, TriWay believes that, with the development of the
West Hills project, along with this additional land that's the subject of this
Comprehensive Plan amendment, that there will be a need for some commercial services
to support this residential development. And in looking at that, we thought that it would
be better served and, as Mr. Mccham talks about making the city pedestrian friendly and
so forth, I think that this is in line with that because what we've done is located the
commercial area, the 1.5 acre area in red, central to the entire development, and so that'Il
make it more accessible for the residents that are going to live in the development. It's
probably a little hard to see or put it in perspective on that snap [indicates the map
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provided to the commissioners by staff], but it truly is about as centrally located as you
can get, considering where the main collector roadway traverses through the site from
Pendergast Park area and then on up to Werner Road. So, we like that location; we also
like the idea that one of the findings that was made back in September 18` was that the
Commission urged staff to continue to work with the property owner, TriWay
Enterprises, with the development of this commercial area in such that, maybe it could
grow to something larger than an acre and a half in the future. We support that and we
agree that we think there's potential for something greater there. You see the area that
Geoff's dotted in red around their potential future expansion; we believe that that's a very
good possibility that we'll be back to you in a few years to talk about that. But we also
understand that the plan. needs to unfold before we go there. I would urge the
Commission to recommend approval of this to the Council, and include a similar finding
that the Commission made September 18` whereby the staff continues to work with
TriWay and address the needs for a commercial center in this area, of appropriate size, to
serve the entire neighborhood. I'm happy to answer any questions if you have any.
Thank you."
Chairman Cockburn asked if there were any further comments from the public on this
item. Seeing none, he closed this portion of the meeting.
There was general discussion regarding clarification of where the access road to the
development would be. Staff used an aerial map to show the access roads.
A motion was made by Commissioner Streissguth and seconded by Commissioner
Kennedy to revise the Planning Commission's recommended action of the 2007
Comprehensive Plan Amendment Docket as shown in Attachment I based on the
revised Findings of Fact and Conclusions in Attachment II. Called for a vote:
Commissioner Kennedy: Yes; Commissioner Mosiman: Yes; Commissioner
Streissguth: Yes; Commissioner Wheeler: Yes; Chairman Cockburn: Yes. The motion
carried.
Chaim - ian Cockburn closed the Public Meeting.
VI. Business Meeting
A. Chairman's Report: None.
B. Director's Report: Andrea Spencer, Director of Community Development, reported
that Geoff Wentlandt had been promoted from Planner 11 to Senior Planner.
Because of a heavy City Council agenda, staff is recommending cancelling the December
2007 Planning Commission meeting.
Community Development has received a $125,000.00 grant to be used for the study of
school siting and its relationship to the City's land use plan.
C. Old Business: None
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D. New Business: None.
VII. Adjournment
Meeting was adjourned at 6:43 p.m. The next Regular Meeting is scheduled for January 15,
2008.
Respgctfully submitted by:
Andrea-Sp 4 er, Executive Secretary
Approved by:
John Vckburn, Chairman
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