Planning Commission - Regular Meeting

Good evening. I would like to welcome everyone to tonight's meeting. It's December 8, 2025, and the time is now 6.01 p.m. This meeting will come to order. Tanya, will you please call the roll?

Yes. Ali Shasti? Yes. Ben Reed?

Present.

Brian Kesterson?

Here.

Dion Dittmar? Here. Justice Phelps? Here. Sandra Pereira-Reynolds? Here. And Todd Oyofeso should be joining us shortly. Thank you. And for the record, there is no remote attendance for board members at this meeting.

Thank you. Are there any added items or changes to the agenda from staff?

Good evening. We will be flipping the order of items number four, sorry, items number five and six. So we'll have the rediscover downtown plan update first and then the periodic update for the critical areas ordinance.

Awesome, thank you, Kristen. The minutes from the previous meeting have been presented to the board. I call for a motion to approve the minutes of November 5th, 2025 as presented.

This is Justice Phelps. I move to approve the amendments or the minutes as presented.

Brian Kesterson, second.

Is there any discussion? All right, I call for a vote to approve the minutes. All in favor say aye.

Aye.

Okay, the vote is approved six to zero. Tonight, oh, no, we're skipping that one. Going here. Okay.

Chair, may I suggest that you read item eight, and then we'll move on to number 11 for speaking points.

Oh, okay. This, the script is updated. Got it. Okay. Tonight we are holding a land use and planning board meeting in which staff will give presentations on the critical areas ordinance update and the rediscovered downtown plan update. Following those information only presentations, there will be a vote to elect a new chair and co-chair for the 2026 land use and planning board. There are no objections from the board members at this time. We are ready for rediscovered downtown plan update presentation. Carolyn, you may begin.

All right, we are excited to share with you some of the work that we have been doing on the Rediscover Downtown Plan. I think you'll notice that it's come quite a ways since the last time I was able to present. So let's dive in. We'll start by showing you the updated goals. Last time I was here, we had some great discussion about the goals and a lot of your feedback has shaped the way that these have been distilled. We've also gotten a lot of feedback from our community advisory group, from other community members. I've met with Kent Station and Show Wear and the Chamber of Commerce and a number of other groups and organizations. KDP we've been kind of in close contact with as well. and City Council, we were able to get their feedback as well. So we are excited to show those to you and see what you think about some of the updates that have been made. We'll also talk about the urban design framework. This has gone through a number of iterations at this point. A lot of work with our internal staff in various departments has really shaped the way that this particular piece of the plan has come together. So we'll get to walk through that. And we'll talk about some of the potential implementation strategies. This is currently kind of where we are spending the bulk of our time right now is in really trying to write the meat of the plan, the recommendations that will accompany the urban design framework to implement the goals. But it's all still kind of a work in progress. So we want to show you what those potential strategies might look like on a high level and get your feedback to make sure that our priorities are aligned and that we generally are covering all of our bases. And then we'll walk through some next steps. We are very close to wrapping up this plan, and so we're excited to show you kind of where we're going. Just a quick recap on some of the work that we did that led to the goals and that we've been continuing to do. Again, we've met with a number of these groups and organizations that I mentioned before, and certainly our advisory group has done a lot of work to help us Get to where we are with the plan today. So on the screen you see some of the frustrations and opportunities that we've heard from the public. Those have really shaped what we have distilled those goals into. In addition to all the feedback that we've heard. About how we can be more concise and more deliberate and more tailored to Kent as a community. So. I think each of you also have a copy of these goal statements as well. But I will go ahead and walk through each of these to make sure that the language is fitting. So for goal one, we are really looking at identity and placemaking. Create a safe, welcoming and walkable downtown that tells Kent's story through art, design, events and cultural experiences. For goal two, provide a range of housing types, services, and amenities to support new and existing residents in a vibrant, mixed-income, intergenerational downtown. So this is really about living downtown, promoting housing downtown. goal three pertains primarily to economic development so build a more diverse and resilient economy that highlights local businesses encourages entrepreneurship and attracts new investment so that businesses of all sizes thrive careers grow and opportunity is open to everyone For goal four, transform downtown by embedding health, equity, and sustainability into every project, program, and action, building a community where people and the environment thrive. This goal really is an overarching goal that will be woven throughout each of the recommendations in the plan pertaining to equity and the environment. For goal five, we're looking largely at transportation and connectivity. Make it simple to get to and around downtown, whether by walking, biking, transit, or car, with convenient parking and connected routes that link people to parks, shops, and destinations. And for goal six, we're really looking at infrastructure and internal staff coordination, coordinate investments and infrastructure and capital facilities today to anticipate future growth and development downtown. And this is really important for us. A lot of the work that we've been doing with our staff internally over the last couple of months has really helped us coordinate and understand what each of the departments are doing downtown. We'll show you kind of a glimpse specifically for parks and public works, but there's a lot going on. And so we want to make sure that as we go forward to implement our plan downtown, that we're really working in lockstep with all the different projects that are in play. So we'll look at the urban design framework. We start by looking at some of the real assets that we have in the downtown. So we have the Sounders Station and the rail line that comes through the Interurban Trail 167 and we have this really nice diverse range of park types, sizes and typologies in the downtown. As a starting place, we're really excited to see what we can do to support what parks is pursuing with some of the parks in the downtown. So that is a key piece of what we're going to be looking at this plan. We also looked at a number of, again, of these existing projects and plans across the board from different departments. And we really drew out specifically public works in parks. So you'll see on this map the red icons are public works, capital projects, and planning projects. So some of these are currently underway or will soon be. And then in the kind of light blue or the aqua color parks, those are parks, recreation, and community services capital projects and plans. So these are some of the pieces that we know they'll be focusing on or are currently focusing on. So with those assets in mind, we're getting into kind of the actual framework itself. So the core or kind of backbone of the plan, we're really looking at this connection between show where Kent Station through downtown past Town Square Plaza, the library, and then into that historic part of the downtown area. around Meeker and then coming down onto First Avenue in particular. And then Meeker as a whole, there's just been so much work done there to do placemaking. And as you come into the downtown, you have a number of business opportunities and historic structures that we think that these two spines are really kind of pivotal for people's experience in the downtown. We want to create a unique experience in these areas. And so we're calling them destination streets. These are some images that our consultants have pulled to help us think through what some of these streets might look like as destination streets. The next really key piece that we've heard from a lot of the conversations that we've had is Central Avenue. So we know that it both serves as a barrier for a lot of people who are trying to walk or bike into the downtown. It's also a visual barrier for people who are traveling along Central by car. they wouldn't necessarily know that downtown is over here, that all these things exist. And so we are going to be working to create more of a presence along Central Avenue in the short term to sort of indicate that you're coming through the downtown, that you're passing by it, that you might want to come into the downtown. And then longer term, we are looking at, are there some development opportunities that might come up along Central that we could capitalize on? Are there some ways that we could create a better pedestrian environment? um in particular along central avenue we recognize that this is a really challenging piece of our plan as well as especially as we've spoken with public works there are a lot of constraints along this right-of-way and so we are recognizing that but we also know that it's an important thing for us to work on so we're balancing that we know it'll be an ongoing conversation to explore what should happen on central avenue but it's important The next piece is going to be these green lines. These are areas that we're studying connections between public spaces and parks. As we met with our internal staff teams, we realized that some of the lines that we had drawn on the map with our community advisory group. might not be the exact route that we would use to implement these connections. And so we want to make sure that we highlight these because we know they're important, but they'll be for future study and ongoing conversations with parks and public works and some of our other staff to study those connections to make sure that we get the right ones in place. We do also have some funds lined up, for example, from the Mill Creek Canyon Earthworks Park into the downtown. We have a grant to study that. So that's one of the pieces that we have highlighted here. And these are some thoughts on what some of those trail connections might look like. Wayfinding is going to be a key part of what we'll need to do to connect these spaces. But we're also looking at kind of on street and off street possibilities for making these connections. So the next component are these yellow lines. So you'll see solid and dotted yellow lines. The solid lines are existing multimodal portions of the streets. They have bike lanes or other multimodal components where they will soon. The dotted lines are areas where we would like to evaluate the possibility for future multimodal or pedestrian improvements that could be made. These are areas where it might be trickier or more expensive for us to add those components. And so recognizing that again, these will be ongoing conversations or as. development comes forward will evaluate and have this in the plan to note that it's a desired connection, but we're not going to. We don't have a prescribed path per se for moving those parts forward at this time. And these are some thoughts on what some of those multimodal connections could look like or could be considered along these particular paths as opportunities come up in the future. And then the final piece of the urban design framework are going to be these circles that are on the map. So there are, you'll note the existing gateway element that's in the roundabout along Willis at the bottom. It's a solid line. All the dotted pieces are for potential gateways, the larger circles. The smaller circles are for additional signage and wayfinding or other lighting treatments or art treatments that we could consider. So as a whole, this is the totality of our current iteration of the urban design framework. Again, we've gone through a number of different maneuvers to get here, but we would love to have your feedback at the end here to get your thoughts on whether we're missing anything. So for the gateways and wayfinding elements, these are just some of the concepts or ideas that have been put forward. Now, looking into the potential implementation strategies, one of the pieces that we have recognized are that we do have A number of underutilized sites downtown, and we also are looking at those sites that might be tax generating versus non-tax generating uses. And how can we promote tax generating uses downtown to support the kinds of services that we want to provide in the downtown area to create a better balance? So we're looking at identifying sites that are likely to develop, promoting some tax generating uses, looking at some public partnered private partnerships that we could form to look at mixed income housing and also a multi mixed mixed use developments as well. The next piece that we are focused on really is relating to that public safety component of what we've heard in terms of feedback. So we're gonna continue to advocate at state and regional levels for tools and resources that will help us address abandoned or neglected or underutilized properties in the downtown area. We're going to be looking at additional activation and programming options that might help us bring more people downtown, more eyes on the street to create that feeling of safety more often downtown. We're going to be looking at our code enforcement processes and what's working, what's not working, what we can do better to, again, address some of these vacant or neglected properties. And again, coming up with a site strategy for how we might approach these kinds of issues downtown in the long term. Back it up. Another piece that we're really focused on from an economic development perspective is really identifying what's unique about the downtown within the city of Kent. So we know that downtown looks very different than the Industrial Valley or some of the East Hill or West Hill areas. that we have. And so we see this as a unique opportunity to support small businesses and entrepreneurs who might want to test businesses or explore ideas. These are smaller spaces that we have downtown versus in some of the other parts of the city. And there are some relatively affordable leases, lease options for people who are maybe wanting to test or grow a business. So we're looking at transitional uses that could be considered on certain sites, potentially a mixed use project with a kitchen incubator, along with small restaurant stalls or other flexible retail bays. We're looking at supporting potentially pop-up markets, food trucks, or other street vending as well to see if there are a variety of techniques that we could use to accommodate some of these growing businesses that we might want to support. We also, again, getting back to those connections between our parks amenities that we have, we are looking at streetscape and trail improvements. We're looking at assessing and reducing heat island impacts to see where we might want to add more green. Signage and way finding is going to be key for that getting to and from some of these places and then safe and convenient parking. We will need a strategy for how we are going to be managing parking. And then one of the pieces that we are also focused on for the downtown as we've looked at some of the economic development we're tracking we note that downtown already has a number of businesses that are cultural anchors regionally they're drawing people in to the downtown already how can we grow from that and really highlight and promote some of those cultural resources and businesses that we have to support to really promote in a meaningful way downtown Kent as a regional destination for those sorts of cultural, cuisine, shopping, and other community events. We are also wanting to update our downtown art and culture plan in order to kind of again highlight and look at a kind of a well-rounded opportunity to create an identity for downtown. So this is the identity and place making piece. We're also, as part of this, I think we are also really interested in pulling out some of the history of Kent, so some of our aerospace history and agricultural history as well. We want to look into all of that as we look at the identity of downtown. And then to help implement the plan, we recognize that there are challenges in Just making sure that some of these strategies are actually implemented and move forward. So we're considering looking at a downtown program manager as a partial FTE to help basically create some of these partnerships and work with KDP and Chamber of Commerce and a lot of our other players downtown. Look at funding strategies and partnership development that could help implement and give legs to the plan. So with that, we would love to hear from you on what you see, and this is starting with the urban design framework, but if you have comments on the goals as well, we would love to hear what your thoughts are on where we landed with the goals and the urban design framework. Are we missing anything? What are your thoughts?

Yes.

Yeah.

This is really great to see it all in one and I really appreciate that. The one thing I do think we might be misjudging, I guess is a better term than missing, is the connector of Smith by saying that we need to have signage and wayfinding there, that's really a gateway for those that are coming off of 256. Because I always look at, James, are those coming off of 132nd and 240th? Whereas Smith are those that are coming in from Covington but down 256 and Kent Canely, that's really our connector down into the valley because we're not going to go Those of us that live over by 256 aren't going to go to James. We're going to come down Smith. So really looking, I think maybe considering that as a gateway would be a better thought process for it than just adding signage.

That makes sense.

On page 22, you mentioned vacant underutilized site strategy. Could you talk more about that and what that's likely to look like?

Yes, so we are still working on some of the specific pieces of what that can look like. A big part of that conversation is going to be talking about code enforcement, and we're also going to be looking at our legislative actions that we might want to track and consider advocating for certain changes. I know Kristen has been more in the loop on some of those things. I don't know if you want to add context for... I don't see the light. Can you all hear me?

Yes. Okay, thanks. So vacant and underutilized sites has come up a lot as a deterrent in the neighborhood. And so there's a variety of strategies that we could pursue. One is... Looking at code enforcement and really targeting those sites that are causing challenges to bring them up to standards to be held more accountable. Another option is we have a brownfields grant that allows us if they have contaminants on site and that may be a reason why they're not transferring or redeveloping. using some of those funds to help identify what the cleanup would be, and then we can leverage, kind of snowball that money into actual dollars from a future grant for brownfields to clean up the sites. And then even it could go as far as potentially forcing a property owner, if they're not willing to take action, We could do that and then put a lien on the property or ways to recoup it. And then there's other options too that aren't so stick part, but are more like a carrot. And so that would be, there's a program at the state legislature adopted that we have not utilized yet. Spokane has utilized it and there's several cities that are looking into utilizing it called, I always get it wrong, it's pavement to people. I always want to say pavement to parking, which is the opposite of what we're trying to do. But basically, it looks at underutilized sites, specifically looking where there's parking that's happening, either private or public use, and giving a sales and use tax incentive so that it encourages redevelopment to happen on those sites. So basically it says the cost of the development for housing, and it has to be within certain parameters that the state says as well as the city has the right to help shape what our goals are. But it basically gives, because sales and use tax is about 10%, it reduces upfront costs for developers, which is sometimes more important than long-term development. property tax abatement or property tax waivers or things like that. And so it's been used really successfully in Spokane. There's been some glitches at the state legislature for implementation of it with specifically a couple people at the state that are administering it. And so we're trying to identify more certainties FOR THE PROGRAM AND FOR THE CITY BEFORE WE PURSUE IT. IT'S AN OPTIONAL, NOT A MANDATED PROGRAM, BUT WE THINK IT COULD ACTUALLY HELP GIVE US ANOTHER TOOL. NOTHING'S GOING TO BE A MAGIC WAND THAT FIXES ALL OF IT, BUT ANOTHER TOOL TO HELP US ENCOURAGE AND INCENTIVIZE DEVELOPMENT. AND IT REALLY IS, IT'S A REALLY INTERESTING PROGRAM THAT'S ALSO CAPTED CERTAIN population limitations. So Seattle can't use this program. So it gives us a little bit of a leverage ahead of Seattle for once in a program that we're not just competing against a bigger market there. So variety of options to explore, but those are some of the three that are emerging in our conversations right now. I know Council has expressed a desire to see something with this, and so part of this is setting a policy direction to confirm with Council they really truly intend to do some of this or would like staff to do some of this work to further flesh it out. And it seems like that's the direction they're going, but they ultimately have the authority.

And I might also add, I think for all of these potential implementation strategies is what we're calling them right now. They are still kind of in a stage where we are developing the language for the specific recommendations. And we've got it out to staff and the advisory group and a number of other places. We're trying to piece together what specific strategies might be appropriate. So we have a number of things floated with our consultant, but a lot of these things still have potential. So if you have thoughts about what we should be pursuing or not in terms of how to get some of these things done, we're open to any additional ideas still at this point. I think we're still pursuing this.

So different question. I know that we have a problem with the number of trains coming through and the amount of time the train whistles blow and particularly when it comes to attracting investment in residential. Do we have, and I know that they've been working on getting those things silenced, but without success. Do we have differing ideas of how this looks if we can get that versus if we cannot?

Kristen knows more about this.

Yeah. So the quiet zones, there's been several efforts along each of those crossings, basically where the railroad on the east part of town and the streets are coming across. So Smith is one example. Meeker is another. um in order to allow the quiet zone which is where the train horns don't blow all of the improvements along that entire stretch have to be done they were waiting on one or two final stretches i think they were getting ready to have an inspection and then the shutdown happened and that's caused a little bit of a delay with everything else but i've heard that they are moving through their final checklist so it should be coming soon soon in federal government transportation world You know, I may be close to retiring, but my understanding is it actually is sooner than that.

Will there be fireworks or a party or something?

We will blare the horns one more time. But my understanding is that project is moving forward and it was just a series of can't happen until all of them are done. And now they're relatively finished. It's just final process.

That could make a huge difference.

Yeah, there's a lot. The Public Works also has a study for the tracks that are closer to the interurban trail on the west side. They received funding to study what those facilities would look like and if there's any potentials for closures or of crossings or to improve safety or, again, quiet zone stuff. So they have some other funding available that they'll be working on for the other side of town as well.

I am super curious about this downtown program manager. Could you, you mentioned somebody to kind of spearhead partnerships to help benefit downtown and achieve some of these goals. Do you have any other details you might be able to share? I think that it just sounds like a really great idea.

Yeah, I think our idea is just as we've worked with staff, we recognize that we're all in our own lanes and we have once the plan is wrapped, there isn't really an assigned responsibility to continue coordination with some of these pieces. And so what are some options for that? So this is one of the ideas that's been floated. I don't think we have a lot of extra detail, unless Kristen knows something that I don't, but it's just the idea of we know we need a little extra push in order to give these things legs. They're not just going to magically move forward on their own unless there's a key owner who's willing to champion it. And that was one of the strategies that we could consider.

Thank you.

Yeah.

Caroline, I know you have some other questions. In the interest of time, do we want to read them out and provide some opportunities for responding to them in total?

Yes. So we are certainly interested in your thoughts on some of these additional implementation strategies, which we've already started discussing. If you have any thoughts or concerns or notice anything missing, we would love to hear that now because of the stage that we're in in terms of drafting. And we're also interested in anything that you think should be prioritized like this is really important. We need to make sure this moves forward and then in particular if you have anything that you see or that you know of that you feel like we should really Mark as an early win like we need to go ahead and start doing this once we adopt the plan we need to jump into this because this could be a game changer or Whatever your thoughts are on that. So I'm interested in your feedback on all of these pieces, but in particular if there are priorities or things you think we should start on first.

Hi, this is Ben Reed, for the record. For me, in terms of prioritization, anything you can do to help Central be more safe and secure and walkable, that would be the priority for me. then I love the idea of connecting or finding a way to connect the Kent Memorial Park and the milk Creek Canyon Park if it seems like it's backstreet enough or there's a way that we could make it walkable between there that seems like a great opportunity to connect to those two but definitely central's uh security issues would be just like it's kind of wild yeah people drive pretty fast and like i know as it's gotten a little bit further closer towards like the 167 67 on ramp it's a little bit better there's some crosswalks but it's still um kind of sketchy yeah get across there so definitely

Hello. Where are your gateway slash major entries are located? Those are at the entrance to the city or at the entrance to the so-called downtown?

I think for this particular plan, our focus has really been on what are the key points when someone is coming toward downtown where we can make connections. a difference in terms of their coming into the downtown specifically. So they would be places where we could really highlight the overall Kent brand. But I think the focus is really on downtown. Like, how do we let people know as they're driving through along Central or any of these other places where we've noted the gateways? We feel like those are areas where We could potentially like draw some people in and make a difference in terms of really putting the stakes down for downtown.

Yeah, so my priority and my suggestion would be at the entrance to the city we have. Kind of distinguished entrance to the to the city. Something that beautify the entrance and because to me if we get to the to a point that we have a downtown the true downtown when you get there, you know you're in downtown. You see what I'm saying? But when you enter the city, you don't know if you are in Renton, your Kent, SeaTac, you know, so I think that would be important if you can beautify that because it gives you that first impression when you entered the city.

Yeah. I'll say thank you for that. I think that is a longer term conversation because short term, we've had a lot of conversations with people, especially if you recall back for Bill's presentation of there's 30,000 vehicles daily that are going through. There's hundreds of people going through Sounder. station. There's more that are going to be coming in through the Best Rapid Transit. And people literally don't know that one block over something is there. And so I think this is a shorter term, more direct application. But I think that broader note, there's a lot of ways to enter Kent. And so I think we'd need to have a conversation about which areas to prioritize. Because I think coming off of West Hill down Meeker, we have the flags and some really great gateway presentation, but I think there's a conversation we could have about other locations as well. So noting that as well, but I think both are important for various reasons. Thank you.

I'm not even going.

I was going to agree with kind of along the lines of what's already been said, but I think if you're looking for early wins or demonstration projects, just kind of looking through what other things are on the list. A lot of these things are not things that the city has direct control over, just installing actual businesses. You're looking to attract them, so I think really maybe some early wins could be just. visual things that make it feel a little bit more tied together so that when people are looking for a place to put their business or to start something, that they're looking at it like, oh, this place is exciting. Why isn't somebody here yet? Just things like through lighting, signage, landscaping. I really like the way for the street, the portions that have been completed already. It's starting to kind of feel like a place. So kind of just continuing that through downtown and giving it a feel where people can envision themselves going to a festival or putting a business or wanting to go out for dinner, those kinds of things. Things that would be within the city's actual control to do and maybe would be relatively inexpensive depending on what it involved.

That's awesome. I know we've been in close conversations with Public Works too about how Meeker is coming into downtown. There's a lot of exciting ideas there and I think that will be a real opportunity for us to do some of that. Just make it a really elevated environment there.

And I think for me, so some of the easy wins, it's not going to be the projects, it's going to be the money that we can finance. I'm actually excited that Kent's looking at implementing a part-time FTE to do the downtown partnerships or program manager. And I think there are a lot of funding opportunities that are currently sitting at the state level that I'm sure Kent's utilizing some, but may not know others. Like there's a historic preservation aspect of a grant program. There's the main, uh, yeah, main street funding programs that are available. Like getting those are going to like, it's what I consider to be wins for Kent. Um, I will also note I one thing as we were talking about the mini markets or the like mini stalls for food vendors. I immediately went to Pipist Market, which is in Wenatchee. It's a little marketplace that they built on the water on the Columbia River that literally has. I think five or six different food restaurants, woodworking, artists, everything in there. That's that. We have another one that's looking at doing it in Zilla. It's another little mini market that they're going to work with, a brewery that's right next door. That's something that Kent would succeed at. And we have, I think, some areas that they could put it.

What is the name of that project again?

The first one's called Pipus Market, so it's already done. It's been around for a while. And then the second one is Zilla Market. I don't think their city managers come up with a great name for it yet. And he's actually, they're just starting the groundwork on that.

Oh, awesome.

But I know Spokane's looked at it, is looking at it. Olympia has one too, and I can't remember what Olympia's is called. but a lot of these mini markets or mini storefronts or basically mini Pike places are popping up.

Great.

So this one's kind of obvious, but just to make sure that it's on the list in terms of early things that need doing in things like the no K no, The old no K no building and there's that black building at Meeker and like second where the entire thing is peeling and it all just looks like, oh, this place is falling down. You know all that I just.

Is that a. prioritization of focusing on some of those visuals. Okay.

To get, it's not a low hanging fruit because I don't think either one of them are going to be easy, but it is, you know, those are essential early steps because I don't think, you know, nobody's going to want to invest in here if it looks like a war zone.

I hear you. Thank you.

Yeah.

Kristen, is that the Brownsfield grant? Are we using some of that for I think it's Central and James where they meet across. There's that one gas station that's been shut down forever.

So that site is on our radar for a potential use. The EPA has several different pockets of funding. And so one thing we have to check is whether we can use it because it's had such a history with gas. being a barren field and contamination. So unclear right now if if that site is ultimately going to get this pot of funding, there's other pots of funding in the future that we could go after for some of that as well. But yes, it's it's a site we're well aware of. I think a lot of the funds that we anticipated the grant was written to focus on downtown and on the West Hill. So thinking kind of the midway area. And then where there's a lot of commercial manufacturing and two landfill sites. And then also considering our downtown plan, knowing that some of these sites would be contaminated and have some challenges that this would give us some early implementation dollars for.

Yeah, anything else? Any other questions? Thank you so much, Carolyn. Thank you, thank you. Okay, if there are no objections from the board members at this time, we're ready for the critical areas ordinance update presentation. Lindsay, you may begin.

Alright, good evening everyone. So today we will be having a briefing about the critical area code changes in preparation for a hearing next month. Some of this information is going to sound a little bit familiar, but I know there's a lot of information in this presentation, so feel free to ask questions if they come up. As a reminder, we have a pretty quick timeline for this project. We're currently finalizing the codes this week while we wait for Agency Commons to consider and incorporate. And then we're expecting to have that hearing next month after we incorporate any changes needed based on Agency Commons. So I will jump right in on the proposed code changes for administrative updates and exemptions. We made some updates including definitions, fencing and signage, vesting language for those projects that are currently in progress, as well as exemptions for recreational uses and site cleanup when there's no net loss of ecological function. To add to that, we also aligned our application requirements with our checklist and other public informational guidance. We also updated our criteria for reasonable use permits. This is essentially a permit that allows the least impactful use of a property that otherwise would be considered unbuildable because of the critical areas. We typically see this on a lot that was plotted before the critical areas code was incorporated, or maybe changes happened to the code to where now the buffers had expanded and make it unbuildable. So this is a permit process that essentially goes through a hearing that allows someone to make the least use of their property, typically like a small home. So we reviewed that criteria and saw we had some different criteria based on other jurisdictions that were a lot more stringent. So we work to match it to other jurisdictions. We still do have six stringent criteria that they have to meet in order to get a reasonable use permit. But this allows us to align with other jurisdictions. We have also updated regulations about sensitive area tracks and easements. This is essentially land that is set aside that encompasses the critical areas and their buffers. Usually it's maintained by an HOA if it's in a neighborhood. We clarified that those tracks cannot be combined with other tracks like stormwater or recreational tracks. Also that these tracks and easements can be updated if necessary. While rare, there are situations where neighborhood A may have a sensitive area track just because of buffers from an offsite wetland. Neighborhood B comes into develop and they either fill that wetland or do some type of alteration where those buffers no longer go onto that neighboring site. So now there's language that allows neighborhood A to adjust that track, maybe turn it into recreational if it's no longer needed for critical areas. So we do have some proposed definitions we are adding to our codes, as well as some amended definitions. Some are for clarifying purposes, but there are also a lot that were regulatory requirements for updating these definitions to match best available science. When we jump into our general mitigation and monitoring section, it's mostly updated to clarify regulatory information. And as we've mentioned before, we currently have a five-year monitoring schedule where someone submits a monitoring report every single year. best available science only requires that every other year. So we're adjusting that language so it's every odd year. And there's rare circumstances where there may need to be an extended monitoring for those larger projects that the state's involved in. So now we do have that language in case those situations arise. This allows a pretty significant cost savings for applicants and then time saving for staff as well. So it reduces barriers for permitting. For wetlands, we are clarifying requirements for submitting those reports and expanding the permanent uses for recreational purposes. Best available science also requires us to increase that compensation ratio for permanent wetland impacts. So depending on the type of wetland, there may be additional compensation required outside what we see now, which tends to be like a one to one ratio. So for instance, if someone was to impact 500 square feet of a wetland, they have to mitigate that 500 square feet. Some circumstances now will increase that ratio. So like we mentioned before, we will be updating the stream typing and their associated buffers for fish and wildlife conservation areas. We have updated the permitted uses for this area the same way as we updated them for wetlands for recreational opportunities. We are also defining and establishing the riparian management zones per best available science, which is an expansion of the critical area that helps protect the streams and lakes. Fish and wildlife has recommendations for priority species. So we are referencing those and matching those in this code for their management recommendations. And then best available science recommends updates to buffer restoration, which can be increased if it doesn't sufficiently compensate for the impact proposed. And then we did update this chart for riparian management zones based on conversation with other South King County jurisdictions and what they are proposing based on their urban environments. So we did propose to keep the 100 feet for fish bearing streams as well as increasing the non-fish bearing streams to 75 feet buffer. We're expecting to discuss this further with the Department of Fish and Wildlife and we'll let you know the final proposal at the hearing. So the updates for geological hazard areas was pretty simple. Just clarifying that 15 foot building setback line is in addition to that buffer and not included within that buffer. We are replacing any use of the term safe with standard care of of the industry, which is. Now, the standard terminology within most jurisdictions and then also having language to keep the professional on record to stay involved when there's impacts to a site with geological hazard areas just so they're available to monitor during construction. And then finally, we have the critical aquifer recharge areas. Like we mentioned before, the best available science was actually already written into the city's Woolhead Protection Plan, which is housed within our Public Works Department. There's two categories of aquifer recharge areas, category one and two. So we include the language for when critical area reports are required per each of those categories, and then the enhanced requirements that are required based on high-risk activities like fuel stations, dry cleaners, and wrecking yards. And then language was also included for prohibited uses within each category. And those are based on environmental impacts like disposal of radioactive waste and other waste management facilities. So coming up, our hearing is scheduled for January 12th. Comments can be provided by mail, email, and in person at the hearing. We have our draft codes available for agency comments now. That's the Department of Commerce, Fish and Wildlife, and other state agencies. So we're continuing to receive those comments. We will be showing how we address those at the hearing and also showing any changes that we incorporate into our code based on those comments. So with that, if anyone has any questions, happy to answer.

I'm curious, what is your fencing requirements?

Sure. So when it's a critical area that the public's not supposed to enter, it's the cedar post that wildlife can pass through with the signage usually every 100 feet or every yard if it's in a neighborhood. There's some critical areas that don't require that because it's not an issue if a person enters that. But the fencing requirement is really supposed to be non-treated, wildlife passable cedar fencing.

OK. um my other question is the uh some of the short plat or the smaller subdivisions uh they don't have homeowner association so how do you handle um maintaining the tract yes um so on the face of the plat if they don't create an hoa it typically says it's in um

ownership of every neighbor, every lot there, which if it's two lots, then it's the two neighbors. So equal ownership and equal maintenance of it. I know decades ago they used to dedicate to the county or the city, but that's no longer a best practice.

Anyone else? Okay. Thank you, Lindsay. Wow. Done. Okay. If there are no objections from the board members at this time, board members will vote to fill the land use and planning board chair and co-chair vacancy for 2026. Staff, you may begin.

Great. Thank you all. First, before... Before we do any of the elections, I do want to recognize the time that Dionne Dittmar has spent as our land use and planning board member. She also served in leadership positions. She helped usher the preliminary parts of the downtown plan or of the comprehensive plan through the process. She started January of 2020. which uh six years flew by she didn't realize and i didn't realize how fast it had gone um but i mean i think dion you've left your mark and fingerprints on so much of the city and the work that we do here Thank you for sticking with us through our weird transition to remote and then transitioning back and figuring out how to use council chambers and getting to know each other. It was so delightful working with you. And I think over the last couple of years, I've heard just so much positivity of your approach and your willingness to balance multiple opinions. So I have a certificate of appreciation for you. I'll go ahead and we'll do a picture up front. with the certificate, but I wanted to thank you and provide if anyone else had anything they wanted to say in recognition of member Dittmar before we move on to the elections. Thank you. All right, let's go ahead and get a picture. Okay, come on up. Yeah, you have to come down. Thank you. Thank you.

Thank you so much. You can taste everybody's best.

And now to the fun part. So I want to thank Sandra as our chair. You've served for two years ushering us through the comprehensive plan, all of the recode Kent first phase of housing. You have led meetings with a nice balance between letting people speak and also recognizing our time and So thank you so much for running smooth meetings. You are termed out as chair. Per our bylaws, there's a two-year process that you can serve. You may serve as vice chair if you're interested. I also want to recognize... Member Kesterson, you have stepped in in great ways, and sometimes I get a frantic text that I send to you at 445, and I'm like, hey, are you going to be showing up because something happened, and you have always been willing to step in. You've been a very steady presence, and we appreciate that. So You also are termed out as vice chair. You are eligible to serve as chair should you be nominated or nominate yourself and be interested. But neither of you are obligated to continue your service. This is also an opportunity for others to pursue opportunities for leadership should they so decide. So I will say fair warning. The the. obligations of chair is um every other week we have a standing phone call to check in about the upcoming meeting and then if you're vice chair the expectation and hope is that you'll be able to be present if the chair is unavailable and we'll check check you into the goal here is to help support you in running a meeting well and facilitating so we want you to be as prepared as possible so however we can help support that we want to so i will let you all discuss um any interest of self-nomination or nomination of others and then eventually we'll call for a vote um a motion uh to move forward nominations i'll let i'll let uh yes yeah

This is Ali Shasti. I nominate Benjamin Reed to be chair and Todd Oyefeso to be co-chair.

And may I suggest that before you have an official nomination, maybe some discussion of interest and whether people would be willing to accept. Can you turn on your mic?

Thank you, Holly, for the nomination. I don't know if, yeah. Todd, do you have any interest in chairing and I can co-chair or vice, yeah.

I'd definitely be interested in co-chairing, but just seeing how I do have some of the shorter tenure with the group, I'm not 100% sure I'd be right for the chair role, but taking a back seat to the chair I think would be a great experience for me.

Okay, man?

Yeah, I'm happy to serve, I think. I'm like Deanna, I think, and Sandra, if we've been here, I don't know. Yes, I would be happy to do it. Deanna is leaving. Yeah. But yeah, I don't think I'm far behind her, I guess, is my, so yeah, I'm happy to do it unless there's other interest.

Kristen, what are our term limits? Where are we at with everything?

So, that is an excellent question. I know Ben still has quite a significant, both of the nominated candidates have more than two years left and will not be termed out at their next appointments. Okay. Yeah, so that's a good question. I don't remember, Ben, if you were filling a vacancy or if you were starting an entirely new term. But either way, you're allowed two full terms and you've not come to one full term yet. And terms are three years.

Oh, you're the best.

Ben, when you say, I'd be happy to do it, is that a, I'll do it if you stick me with it, or I'd actually like to do this job?

I have a toddler at home that sometimes can be, means that while I want to fulfill my duty in public service, my prioritization is going to be her. So if that's going to create a conflict, I just want that to be considered as well.

Which would mean, Todd, you'd be stepping up as chair when he needs that.

So because of that reason, I do think the co-chair position would be reasonable. But personally, if Brian is interested, I would like to nominate him for chair as well, if you would like it.

I'm interested, but I'm not willing to wrestle anybody for it. You know, I'd like to do it, but I'd also, I understand if, you know, if other people want a chance. I will say this, if you've worked with a toddler, then you probably have some training for the job.

Hey, hey, hey. Fair enough. Sure, then, yeah, I'd be happy to do it. Thank you, Ben. Oh, thank you. Thanks, Holly.

Is there anyone else that would like to enter a nomination or anything along those lines before we move on? We'd be happy to hear more.

I feel like we've had a good discussion team, yeah? Love it.

OK, what's the next to do here?

So now a time for emotion. So I'd say only if you want to repeat your motion and then we'll have a second. And discussion.

This is Ali Shastri. I nominate Benjamin Reed to be chair and Todd Oyefeso to be co-chair.

This is Sandra Pereira-Reynolds, and I second. Any discussion? Beautiful. If no further discussion, I call for a vote to approve Ali's nomination as presented. All in favor say aye.

Aye. Aye.

The vote is approved 7 to 0. Congratulations Ben and Todd on your chair and co-chairship. Thank you. All right, congratulations. Is there any further business to bring before the board?

No other business. I do want to thank you all. I think the comprehensive plan was hard in a different way. This year was especially difficult with all of the new state mandates we were implementing, as well as throwing in really wonky best available science and other things for critical areas. So thank you all for your service. Look forward to working with most of you next year and want to welcome Bonnie Williams on the board. So we will have our end-of-year gathering, and I hope that we all have time to meet Bonnie as well. Thank you.

Take a second to introduce.

Sure, Bonnie. So Bonnie Williams will officially be appointed tomorrow night. So this is a little bit premature. I'm I'm jumping the gun a little bit, assuming that council is not going to object. But we have put forward her nomination. She applied earlier this year asking to be involved. She previously served on the Parks and Recreation Board during the pre-COVID into COVID time period. And then was looking to get re-involved in community. She lives in Kent. She works in Kent. Her family's here. And I think one of the things that she said is she knows the rhythms of Kent. She knows what it's like as a resident day in and day out and is excited to help be a bridge in terms of the community as well as what she hears and so She asked to be joined the land use and planning board and an application and we didn't have a space So she happens to also live in our downtown area So we slotted her on to an advisory group and she served Through the summer on that advisory group that group has since wrapped up and so I said hey Bonnie Do I have a position for you? And so we're excited for her to continue her growth and volunteering for the city.

Thank you.

I don't want to put you on the spot yet, but Bonnie will be around for dessert and hot beverages.

Thank you. It's been my pleasure to be your chair this year, the last couple of years, and I'm really, really excited to see where your guys' leadership takes us next year. Since there's no further business, it's my last time, so I'm going to use it. This meeting is adjourned.