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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPlanning 2021-01-28 Item 2 - Adoption of 12/10/20 MinutesDate: Time: Location: Present: Excused Absence: Staff: Agenda: Adopt: Minutes: City of Tukwila Allan Ekberg, IMlayor Department of Community Development - Jack Pace, Director Chair Watters CITY OF TUKWILA PLANNING COIMIMISSION (PC) PUBLIC HEARING MINUTES December 10, 2020 6:30 PM Virtual meeting via Microsoft Teams Chair Heidi Watters; Vice Chair Louise Strander; Commissioners Dennis Martinez, Karen Simmons, Dixie Stark, and Andrea Reay Commissioner Sharon Mann Department of Community Development (DCD) Deputy Director Minnie Dhaliwal, Associate Planner Meredith Sampson, Council Member Kathy Hougardy and Planning Commission Secretary Wynetta Bivens Transit Oriented Housing Action Plan Briefing Commissioner Reay moved to adopt the 11/12/20 minutes Commissioner Martinez seconded the motion. Motion passed. called the meeting to order. Meredith Sampson, DCD Associate Planner, gave the presentation for staff. She provided background information on what the Transit Oriented Development Housing Strategies Plan is, where it came from and the process for the plan creation. She provided background information about HB 1923 and the grant opportunities that it gave to local jurisdictions. Through the HB 1923 legislation Tukwila was awarded $100,000 from the Department of Commerce to complete a Housing Action Plan. Following are the HB 1923 required guidelines that a Housing Action Plan must meet: • Quantify existing and projected housing needs for all income levels. • Develop strategies to increase the supply of housing and variety of housing types. • Consider strategies to minimize displacement of low-income residents. • Review and evaluate the current housing element. The announcement of HB 1923 brought the following six South King County jurisdictions together: Renton, Burien, Kent, Federal Way, Auburn and Tukwila. These jurisdictions will pursue collaborative efforts on the first portions of each city's Housing Action Plan to discover broad trends in the South King County housing market. The second portion of the Housing Action Plan is Tukwila -specific and is focused on the Transit Oriented Development area around the Tukwila International Boulevard Link Light Rail Station. Highlights from the South King County Collaboration: South King County needs over 63,000 new homes to be built before 2040, to compensate for the existing and projected housing deficit. Current production rates fall short of the anticipated annual demand by approximately 1,000 homes per year. Tukwila City Hall • 6200 Southcenter Boulevard • Tukwila, WA 98188 • 206-433-1800 • Website: TukwilaWA.gov PC Public Meeting 12/10/20 Page 2 Approximately 20% of all households, or over 54,000 families in the sub -region are cost -burdened by rent or mortgage. Tukwila -Specific Highlights from the South King County Collaboration: It is projected that Tukwila needs to build 4,224 new housing units by 2040. Approximately 1,100 should be affordable housing, for those earning between 0-50% of the Area Median Income (AMI) which would serve households making up to $51,700 income annually. There was a 31% increase in the average 2 -bedroom apartments between 2013 - 2020, ($1,047 - $1,374). There was a 126% increase in median home sales prices between 2013 - 2020, ($182,500 - $412,00). Of the six South King County Cities, Tukwila's rent increased the least, but the median home sales price increased the most. 60% of owner -occupied households and 84% of renter -occupied households making 0-50% of the AMI are cost -burdened (they spend more than 30% of their income on housing). 34% of owner -occupied households and 47% of renter -occupied households making 0-50% of the AMI are severely cost -burdened (they spend more than 50% of their income on housing). Tukwila's Individual Portion of the Plan: A Public Engagement Plan has been developed as a joint effort between the consultant and City staff. Public outreach is currently being conducted with stakeholders in one-on-one interviews and focus groups. Approximately 25 to 30 people are being interviewed to understand what they are seeing on the ground in terms of housing affordability and quality around Tukwila International Boulevard as well as what they think are the greatest housing needs. A public engagement summary will be completed as well as a housing assessment and housing policy framework, and an opportunity and barriers mitigation report. Additional outreach including a virtual open house will be conducted in late February or early March. Next Steps: Staff will provide the PC with an update, first quarter of 2021. In March, the PC will hold a public hearing. Staff will provide the PC with recommendations to consider. The PC will forward their recommendations to the City Council, by April 2021. The Plan must be adopted by June 2021, which is required based on the grant guidelines. Staff also answered several questions for the PC and offered to meet one-on-one with the PC if interested. Following are some questions and comments from the PC: 2 Commissioner Strander asked if the 4,224 new housing units that need to be built is citywide? Commissioner Stark asked for clarification on how the structures should look. Commissioner Simmons asked for clarification on the housing strategy elements listed on pages 39-49 of the packet? Commissioner Reay inquired on the timeline regarding community engagement, and whether this item will come back to PC in February? Staff noted they will hold a virtual open house, Phone: 206-433-1800 • Email: Mayor@TukwilaWA.gov • Website: TukwilaWA.gov PC Public Meeting 12/10/20 Page 3 prior to the PC public hearing in March and offered to brief the PC in February or provide updated packet documentation. Commissioner Watters asked about the history for defining the TOD when it was established and whether there was community feedback? Commissioner Watters asked staff their thoughts on which strategies might be potentially important for Tukwila and to provide budget expenses? Commissioner Watters also asked about specific efforts regarding anti -displacement? Comments and suggestions: Commissioner Martinez said investing in rehabilitating facades along TIB needs to be part of the conversation — to try and get a better imagine of some of the housing on the off streets along the TIB, which encourages development. Commissioner Simmons thanked staff for a very thorough packet, which she said covered every aspect of housing strategy possibilities for residents in Tukwila, as well as South King County. She pointed out she particularly liked the strategy regarding the regional revolving loan plan. Commissioner Watters was in consensus with Commissioner Simmons comments regarding the strategies listed in the packet. Requests: 1. Commissioner Strander requested that staff coordinate with her as the incoming Chair to set meeting agendas in 2021. 2. She asked for consensus from the Commissioners to distribute the workload better, so the meetings are not so long, and the agenda is not overloaded. 3. She also asked for consensus from the Commissioners to request that the City Attorney attends the PC public hearings, so the PC can ask questions during the meetings. Minnie Dhaliwai, DCD Deputy Director thanked Commissioner Strander for her suggestions. Pertaining to request (# 2) staff said a quarterly meeting agenda schedule can be provided ahead of time for projects coming to the Commission. It was noted that staff does not have control over when projects are received for private development, so flexibility will be necessary for those agenda items. However, staff can provide the long-range planning agenda schedule for the whole 2021 year, which are Tukwila South Design Standards and the Housing Action Plan. Pertaining to request (#3) staff said they will raise it with the Administration and will need to determine what the contract stipulations are for the City Attorney to attend evening PC meetings and follow up with the PC. Commissioners Martinez and Watters were in consensus with Commissioner Stander's request #2 and #3 Commissioner Martinez said the City Attorney should attend for major development projects. Commissioner Watters said she likes the idea of the City Attorney attending for major development projects — and asked to know the cost involved to have the City Attorney attend meetings, she said that it should be a consideration when the budget is tight. Commissioner Simmons, Stark, and Reay did not comment. Staff answered Commissioner Martinez's previously raised questions regarding how many projects were approved by the Planning Commission for projects that have 501(c)(3) status. Ms. Dhaliwai thanked everyone and said it has been interesting transitioning from in-person to virtual meetings, saying they came a long way. She said a few months were lost when virtual meetings were Phone: 206-433-1800 • Email: Mayor@TukwilaWA.gov • Website: TukwilaWA.gov PC Public Meeting 12/10/20 Page 4 started and stopped (due to COVID), and as a result it affected the schedule. She said she appreciated everyone's time and commitment. In terms of efficiencies, she said there is always room for improvements, and staff is open for suggestions. She said some of the key takeaways from staff's standpoint are, time is critical and if the meetings are running long and some of the comments are being repeated that it may be because of the virtual format. The PC are given the opportunity to ask questions after every step, and maybe they should reconsider how that is done. Staff is open regarding how to streamline the process and be more efficient. She said last year the year was kicked off with training with the City Attorney, and staff provided everyone a binder of the training materials. There was discussion regarding open meeting act, difference between quasi-judicial and legislative items etc. The PC were informed that for quasi-judicial matters Commissioners are not supposed to talk to each other outside the public hearing, or to the applicant. Those limitations do not exist for legislative matters for which the PC are making a recommendation to the City Council. She also asked the PC to please let staff know if they feel the sample motions that staff provides should be revised, or other ways staff can assist them make the meetings more efficient. She also asked if staff needs to include more training. Commissioner Watters made some final remarks as the outgoing Chair for the year. She said there was so much that went on this year. She said hopefully this will be their one and only crash course in virtual Planning Commission business, and pandemic conduct. She thanked everyone for the grace, patience, creativity, and fortitude through all of it, and said they got a lot done despite everything. They heard a lot of public comments, tackled a lot of tricky issues, and looked at packet material on the computer. She said she really appreciated everyone's willingness to be flexible, the consideration, and how much they got done was a big accomplishment this year. She said she was glad that even though things were tough that they were able to make a lot of important decisions for the City, and think critically about strategies, and everyone brought their perspective, she always appreciated learning from all of them. She said with the virtual setup and with all the help that staff gave them she hopes everyone was able to feel heard, and the process worked for them. And that they are getting better at it. She wished everyone a happy holiday, and to be safe. She closed by welcoming Commissioner Strander as the 2021 Chair. Adjourned 7:45 p.m. Submitted by: Wynetta Bivens Planning Commission Secretary Phone: 206-433-1800 • Email: MayorTukwilaWA.gov • Website: TukwilaWA.gov