Planning 2014-07-24 Minutes - Public Hearing - 2015 Comprehensive Plan: Tukwila South and Economic Development Elements

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PC Public Hearing Minutes July 24, 2014 for the Comprehensive Plan Update. Outdated language has been removed, and the background section has been updated to reflect work that has been completed. Mr. Miles also gave an overview on the Economic Development element. He said that the economic data has been updated, the 2010 census has been incorporated, references to Code Enforcement have been removed, and there is a lot of emphasis on employability. Language was also added from the Strategic Plan and outdated policies have been removed. Mr. Miles also addressed a question raised at the July 22nd worksession regarding how large the annexation area is, which he said is approximately 52 acres. Public Testimony: Becca Meredith works at Forterra, a regional non - profit organization, said supporting economic development is a key component to their mission. Ms. Meredith read some of the recommendations from the comment letter submitted by Forterra. She said she was pleased to see that some of the updates reflected the community conversations and the engagement process they went through with the City. She said based off of what was heard from the community and community connector's engagement program she said she wanted to offer some recommendations. Such as, 1) Acknowledge the rich diversity in Tukwila residence and businesses and support for under- represented communities; 2) Include community engagement as an important aspect for policy and program development where appropriate; 3) Highlight the need for healthy food or health oriented practices as an important economic development component. She said she believes these recommendations support the City's goals of creating a diverse and regionally competitive economy. A copy of Forterra's letter, which has additional comments, is included in the 7/28/14 PC packet. Njambi Gishuru, Global to Local, Community Engagement Consultant, spoke in support of Ms. Meredith's recommendations. Ms. Gishuru a Tukwila business owner , said she is limited to the appropriate resources and there needs to be more opportunities for minority owned businesses. She said there is a great need for resources to accommodate and create a more inclusive community for all residents. She mentioned International Boulevard in particular. Marcela Albornoz, interpreter, for Ancarnaco Romero, said he feels grateful for the City of Tukwila and the aid and help he has received. He said he was thankful that the City closed the hotels on highway 99 and ended the problems. He said highway 99 and 144"' street corridor is a good place to have businesses and it will create new businesses. Jami Balint, Segale Properties, said Segale is completely in support of the proposed Tukwila South element. She said they see this as a cleanup item. She said the City and Segale entered into a Development Agreement in 2009 and the Comprehensive Plan elements have not been updated to reflect the Development Agreement. She said it is important to update the Comprehensive Plan. For example, Segale is currently commenting on a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) from Sound Transit. One of Segale's concerns with Sound Transit's long range plan for the EIS is that they failed to include Tukwila South in their planning; and in their analysis of the City of Tukwila's landuse element. She said when Sound Transit do their planning they rely on and look at the City's Comprehensive Plan and landuse plan, and incorporate those elements in their planning processes. The reason Segale sees the update process as a clean -up item is because Tukwila South is vested until 2024, which means all of the Page 2 of 5