HomeMy WebLinkAboutPlanning 2014-07-22 Minutes - Work Session - 2015 Comprehensive Plan: Tukwila South and Economic Development ElementsCity of Tukwila
Planning Commission
Planning Commission Worksession Minutes
Date: July 22, 2014
Time: 6:30 PM
Location: City Hall Council Chambers
Present: Chair, Louise Strander; Vice Chair, Mike Hansen; Commissioners, Sharon Mann, Miguel
Maestas, and Nhan Nguyen
Absent: Commissioners, Brooke Alford and Thomas McLeod
Staff:
Nora Gierloff, Department of Community Development, Deputy Director; Brandon
Miles, Economic Development, Planner, and Wynetta Bivens, Planning Commission
Secretary
ISSUE: Overview of updates to the Comprehensive Plan Tukwila South and Economic
Development Elements
Nora Gierloff explained the process in order to prepare for the upcoming public hearing, and then she
asked Brandon Miles to give a walkthrough of proposed updates.
Tukwila South
Brandon Miles, Economic Development, Planner, gave an overview on the Tukwila South element. He
said the Tukwila South element has been in the comprehensive plan since the area was annexed into the
City, and a lot of the goals and policies have been fulfilled. There is not a strikethrough underline version
of the element to review because it is a completely new element that needs to be updated to reflect a lot of
the work that has already taken place over the last ten years. Over the last ten years there have also been a
lot of entitlements and agreements entered into with the property owner, Segale Properties, in order to
move the Tukwila South development forward.
Tukwila South is over 512 acres, and Segale Properties is the largest property owner in the area. It's
larger than downtown Bellevue and South Lake Union. The City approved 10.3 million sq. ft. of new
development, 8.6 commercial developments, and 1.7 residential. At full build out there could be 3,200
new residence and approximately 23,000 new jobs, which is a 50% increase of total jobs in the City. Mr.
Miles also discussed the development agreement and the master plan the City entered into. He said
Segale is anticipating marketing for tenants in September 2014. Fifteen years ago there were a lot of
issues that presented development challenges. Segale has done a lot to solve and alleviate issues in order
to develop. However, there are still challenges and issues with the project, such as lack of transit, City
boundaries, and zoning cleanup.
Mr. Miles also talked about characteristics of the project that will help the City meet its growth target.
The importance of Tukwila South is that it helps the City meet their housing target. The goal is to
incorporate the entitlements and agreements made with Segale into the Comprehensive Plan. He said
Segale has reviewed the plan and provided some comments and suggested language.
PC Worksession Minutes
July 22, 2014
Staff walked through the proposed updates and engaged in discussion and answered questions for the
Planning Commission. In response to a question that was raised staff said that the Development
Agreement and the Master Plan will govern Tukwila South.
Economic Development
Mr. Miles also gave the overview on the Economic Development element. Mr. Miles said this is an
optional element to include in the plan but is not required by the Growth Management Act. One of the
goals of the existing Economic Development is to identify a single point of contact for the business
community regarding business retention, business outreach, and economic development activities.
There are a lot of things that happen that are indirectly related to economic development, such as transit,
utilities, and public safety.
Mr. Miles talked about Tukwila's past, present, and future. He also gave some statistics on population,
age, ethnicity and diversity, medium household income, poverty, unemployment, education, housing,
jobs. He talked about where people that work in Tukwila live and where people that live in Tukwila work.
He also gave some statistics on retail, taxes and revenue.
Some of the current economic development activities were noted. Mr. Miles said that a strong business
sector helps the community. The Economic Development element has new policies focusing on
improving Tukwila residence employability. The City also wants to look at ways to diversify the City's
revenue. In 2015/2016 the City anticipates having an Economic Development Plan.
The Planning Commission and staff discussed and suggested revisions to the proposed update language
for the Tukwila South and Economic Development elements. The updated language is available in the
7/24/14 Planning Commission public hearing packet.
The first five elements reviewed will go to City Council for their review in August. The Planning
Commission will review the final three elements in September. Staff proposed providing the Planning
Commission with a document of issues, in order to discuss and receive feedback from the Planning
Commission before preparing the proposed strikethrough underline versions.
Director's Report:
• The Commission was reminded that they will meet only on 8/28/14 in August.
Adjourned: 8:40 PM
Submitted by: Wynetta Bivens
Planning Commission Secretary
Adopted: 8/28/14
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