Planning Commission - Regular Meeting

Elizabeth, Derek, can you hear us? Can we get a sound check real quick? Yes, I can hear you. I can hear you. Great. We can hear both of you loud and clear. Awesome. Okay, good. Thank you. Mhm. All right. And I call to order the 429th planning commission meeting of the city of College Place. Today is April 21st and it is 6:00 p.m. Will the clerk please take the roll call? Commissioner Ivy present. Commissioner Tan present. Commissioner Saniano present.

Uh Commissioner Rogers present. Commissioner Riceley present. Commissioner Valero does not seem to be present at this moment. Uh we have an excused absence from Commissioner Stepper. And we have a quorum. Thank you. Now time for public comment. Clerk, did anyone submit a written comment or request to speak by telephone virtually?

We received no comments. Thank you. Now, time for the consent agenda, which includes our agenda for today, the 21st, and the minutes from February 17. Are there any items uh anybody would like removed from the consent agenda? Um hearing none, is there a motion to accept our consent agenda? Commissioner Ricewick motions to accept. Uh thank you. Is there a second? Commissioner Santeiano seconds.

All in favor say I. I. I. I. And all opposed. So we're going to uh the motion carries and we will proceed with our regular agenda. Um okay, regular agenda. Here we go. There's uh one action item on our agenda today. Uh we welcome public works director Robert McAndrews with staff from JUB Engineering to present the general sewer plan update. A public comment period will occur after the staff presentation and then the commission will make a recommendation to city council.

Yes. Thank you. I'm Robert McAnners, public works director. Um, with us today are Alex Romero and Tyler French from JB Engineers, and they're going to give a presentation about our general sewer plan update, I believe. Right. Is this good?

All right, there we go. Um, thank you guys for having us uh tonight. Uh, Tyler French and Alex Romero with JB Engineers. So, we've been working with uh Robert and the public works uh group on uh the 2026 general sewer plan update. Uh we've got some slides here that we can pull up and and go through here uh to give you an update on this project. Um uh we've got uh an outline here, but let's just go to the next slide and and jump right in uh to the presentation here. So, the what and why of the general sewer plan. Uh so the department of ecology requires all communities to have a general sewer plant. Uh the GSP identifies uh all sewer projects needed in the city uh whether they're rehab or replacement or establishment of uh new sewer infrastructure. um a city's sewer system is really a big asset for the community and for the the you know the public in general and the GSP is uh helps to manage that and and uh develop a a plan for the the path forward there. So within a general sewer plan we prioritize projects by the need um plan ahead for hopefully rehabilitation instead of replacement with rehab being a cheaper alternative almost every time. um and then help master plan for future development and growth of the community. Within a general sewer plan, we usually have uh the list of prioritized projects uh along with projected costs um and uh general timelines which helps the the city um choose which projects need to be done uh when and where and prioritize and uh potentially even staff or develop budget or uh coordinate with other projects in the community. Um and then the exciting part about a general sewer plan is the list of projects uh actually when the plan is approved by ecology, the projects are eligible for funding. So in a community such as College Place,

it's a um big deal to get some some funding um to help pay for these projects. Next slide, please. So, the general sewer plan background as it pertains to the city of College Place, uh the city's first GSP was developed in 2024. Um the plan outlined 37 projects uh needed um within the community and uh shortly after that plan was approved by ecology uh a great funding opportunity occurred and actually 24 of the 37 projects were funded uh a part of two big um construction contracts. So that was uh looking at the notes here 4.2 million in funding uh the city received on these 24 projects. um in a very short amount of time and uh of that 4.2 million half of it was grant and half of it is a a low interest loan. Uh so essentially 10 years uh the the general sewer plan planned 10 years worth of projects uh they got completed within a 2-year period. Um fast forward a little bit now that the list uh got cleared out of course there's always more projects and always more work that needs needs to be done um especially with the the rehab projects. So, uh, the city applied for additional ecology funding for the general sewer plant update, which is what we're presenting here tonight. Uh, essentially develop a next the next list of priorities and, um, start applying for or trying to figure out how to get funding for those projects. Uh, so we began work on this sewer plan update in 2025 and, uh, working on finishing up the plan now. Um, one other note I wanted to mention is Ecology has a skipple program. I always have to look at the uh what it stands for, their small community project priority list. Skipple, a little easier to say. Um, and

once a general sewer plan is approved by ecology, um, the projects on it can can go through the skipple funding program instead of h having to develop individual funding applications for the project. So, the general sewer plan really fast lines um being able to get funding uh you know and and worked on a priority list. So, I'm going to hand the the mic over um to Alex here. He's going to go through some of the key findings and key developments of this new update plan.

Thanks, Tyler. So, uh if you can go to the next slide, please. Uh so, some of the key outcomes of the general sewer plan. So uh the main thing that we looked at was the growth of the or to build out of the urban growth area. Uh so within that uh boundary uh we looked at areas that the city uh will be growing over the next uh 20 years is kind of what we developed as a timeline. Uh so some of the uh areas and um outcomes that we we found were the homestead lift station serving the homestead community looked at the uh capacity of that facility. A lot of growth is anticipated in that portion of the uh community and uh growing west towards Martin Airfield. Uh that's like a light industrial area. That uh growth is anticipated in the near future. So that was a focus of the plan. Um in addition to the urban growth area boundary uh the infrastructure that is going in the ground is planned to have a 50 plus year uh lifetime. So uh another thing that we considered is growth beyond that urban growth area. And you know this pipe's going to go in the ground and be in the ground for a long time. So, we want to make sure uh it's sized and installed at the appropriate depth to continue that expansion, you know, over the next iterations of the general sewer plan. So, looked at a couple areas of growth further west of Martin Airfield and then to the south of the area um south, sorry, south of the community towards the state route 125. So, we'll have a few figures here in the coming slides to talk about that. Um, as Tyler alluded to, uh, earlier, aside from all the system expansion, another component to the general sewer plan is looking at the, uh, existing infrastructure and performing, uh, an

evaluation of the conditions that the pipes are in and seeing if there's, you know, more candidates for rehab or replacement project. So we worked with the city operations staff to uh develop that criteria and and rate those pipes. U so kind of the the outcome of the plan after we've done all this analysis is developing that uh next 10-year capital improvement plan. Uh so we worked with the city to develop uh you know what that budget for that next 10 years may look like. uh and uh used the number of $500,000 for the next uh two years or every two years, seeing how many projects we could get done uh off that list that we developed. Uh and again, kind of reiterating what Tyler was mentioning, uh looked at the city's uh budget over the next few years. Uh there's as we'll see there's more projects that uh you know are beyond that budget and we want to have those improvements ready in the plan so that they can you know be implemented if future funding becomes available. Um so one of the last things that we looked at is um we also worked with the operations staff and looked at ways that the maintenance program uh can be improved or continue things that are going well. So the things that we looked at were inspections of the existing system um you know as part of that rehab and re uh replacement program just to make sure the pipes are being cleaned uh appropriately and um limiting some of the catastrophic failures that can happen if those things aren't uh being taken care of. Uh so if we can go to the next slide please. Uh so some of the specific projects that we found that are needing to happen sooner than later, uh there's a few lift

stations that have um communication technology, so they're able to relay alarms um statuses to the treatment plant if there's u power failure and things like that. So right now, lift station 3, which is the homestead lift station, uh and lift station 7, which was completed a few years ago, uh they currently use a landline, uh call out system, which is becoming obsolete with uh other utility projects that are happening around town. So one of the improvements we're recommending is to upgrade those to a more modern cellular based uh system. So those are some improvements that we're recommending. And then uh recently at the lift station 3, the homestead site, one of the pumps uh went out. So we're recommending replacing that so that we always have uh two pumps there uh so that there's never downtime. Uh and then as part of the rehab and uh assessment part of the plan, one of the the major pipes that we want to get a condition assessment on is the large pipe that's going out to the treatment plant. uh it's a key component to the system. So, uh if that breaks or there's an issue with that line, it could be catastrophic to the system. So, um we recommend getting an assessment on that pipe to figure out what kind of shape it's in and if improvement is is needed soon. Um, so there was two projects that were on the uh improvement list from the previous plan uh that didn't get done in those uh 24 projects that Tyler was talking about. Those carried over to this plan and uh did receive funding recently. So those projects you are ready to go into design and eventually construction. But benefit of you know having those on a previously approved document is that um you know if funding becomes available they could hit the

ground running. Uh let me go to the next slide. Uh so some alternatives that we considered as putting the plan together. Um we'll see there's those areas of growth towards Martin Airfield. So there's a couple alternatives on how to serve those areas and we'll go through the through those here in a second. uh talked about prioritization criteria and evaluating the existing system. So there's two main components that go into that evaluation. Uh one is um the likelihood of failure of a pipe. Uh so things under that category are things like uh frequency of maintenance of the material of the pipe. Um and we'll look at a couple other examples here in a second. And the other half of that is the consequence of failure. So we were talking about that large pipe out to the treatment plant. If uh you know if that pipe is near a a stream, a school or if it serves a large area that has a larger impact to the system. So different things that we considered in terms of uh ranking uh improvements. Uh and then the last item on the list is part of those improvements. Uh kind of like Tyler referenced earlier, we look at either replacing it uh open cutting the pipe and replacing it that way uh which is the traditional method or um a trenchless rehab, which is typically more cost effective. So, uh, we evaluate, you know, those two options to make sure, uh, we're making the, you know, most coste effective decision. Uh, next slide, please. Uh, so this is a figure of the master plan or the overall improvement plan. Uh, in green, you could see most of the existing pipe. Uh, they're uh, kind of towards the eastern part of the

community. Uh the pipes in blue are things that we looked at for six system expansion. Uh so you can see there's a lot of growth to the west in that Martin airfield area and then uh as you go south towards u highway 125. So we'll go through a series of uh figures here uh talking about the different areas of growth that we focused on. Uh next slide please. Uh so this is a figure of the Martin Airfield. Uh last year we uh worked with the the city to look at the light industrial area that's developing out there. Uh we proposed new infrastructure along Whitman Drive to serve that light industrial area. Um this area will eventually need a pumping station to collect uh flow from that area and pump to the treatment plant. Um you can go to the next slide. Uh so out in that area too there's uh anticipated residential growth as well. Uh so one of the alternatives we looked at is uh seeing how much of that area could be captured by existing infrastructure. Uh due the topography of the area, it slopes to the southwest. So uh new pumping stations will be necessary out here. Uh one of the things that we did consider in terms of alternatives is um the uh homestead lift station which is just to the east there. Uh overall if if you can eliminate pumping stations it's cost effective to the city for the uh operation maintenance. You don't have to uh pay pumping costs or electrical costs or maintenance costs if you don't have pumping stations. Uh unfortunately we can't eliminate eliminate those everywhere. Uh but we did look at alternatives here and one of the sites that could be removed is the homestead

station. So we considered that u an alternative to on the next slide. Yeah. So on this slide everything still flows to the west. Um but we can eliminate lift station 3. Uh so we presented those two options in the plan and kind of the layout of this is all based on the existing ground that's all dependent you know if a developer comes in and uh does some massive grading uh you know a lot of these assumptions might might need to be updated. Uh next slide please. Uh so this is area west of the Martin airfield that we talked about maybe you know the 50-year horizon out there that we looked at that you know as infrastructure continues west it's likely a lot of this existing pipe and pump stations may still be in the ground this might have useful life still so uh we would just want to make sure those pipes that are going in to the east are deep enough deep enough and large enough to serve some of that uh future infrastructure to the test uh and again in this area we considered eliminating uh pump stations uh to you know make the operation side most efficient for the city. So there's two uh alternatives presented here uh to eliminate lift stations to the east and gravity flow as much as possible to the west. Uh since this is uh you know a long time in the future uh it's likely that two different pumping stations will be necessary here. Uh next slide please. Yeah. So this alternative uh removed one of the pumping stations and just shows one large regional and like I mentioned

it's not likely since development of that area is um not anticipated in the near future. Uh next slide please. Uh so this is a chart uh talking about the prioritization of the rehab of pipes. Uh so we have two larger categories. Uh we have the likelihood of failure and the consequence of failure. Um so those two categories are weighted. So working with the operation staff it was determined that the likelihood of failure has a higher significance than the consequence of failure. Uh so things like um operation and maintenance frequency, the pipe condition, those things were more weight heavier than uh the location of pipes or potential impacts if those pipes are damaged. So, um, we rated every single pipe in the system to see, you know, what condition it was in and then made improvement recommendations off of that. So, in the lower right, each pipe uh gets a grade A through F. Uh, A being the best conditions and then F being uh ones that need improvements. Um, so on the next slide, uh, we'll have a map that graphically shows this scoring. Uh so anything in red are areas that need improvements. Um so earlier we're talking about on the previous plan, you know, there was 37 locations that needed improvements. Uh 24 of those were addressed. So those are uh blue now. Uh but you know, as we reassess the system, there's still a lot of pipe out there that um you know, needs improvement. So, um kind of one of the drivers of of the general sewer plan is getting this figure here and identifying more projects uh for the

city to continue improving uh their sewer system. Um so on the next slide we kind of take that map one step further and we we know the budget the city has uh accounted for over the next uh six years in their capital facilities plan and uh we try to kind of cookie cutter you know that budget and find the worst pipes I need to be fixed. Uh so we create the capital improvement plan for the next 10 years and figure out which projects uh need to happen when. And as we'll see on the next slide, there's a slew of projects and those dollars only go so far. So um yeah, if we could advance to the next slide here. Uh so this is a table of all the improvements that we recommend. um you know through the next 10 years there's only so many projects that uh can be done under the the city's budget there. So kind of the bottom half of that table and even on the next slide there's there's a lot of projects that still need to be done uh pending funding becomes available. So this is kind of one of the important um components to the plan is identifying what needs to happen and you know if funding becomes available uh you know the city has projects they can point to that they're identified and um you know ready to be designed and and constructed. So uh I think with that I'll turn things back to Tyler to talk about some more numbers here.

Yeah, you can go to the next slide please. Um, so as Alex pointed out that the the plan has it's a big report that discusses a lot and as the engineers we flip back to the back we look at the map that you pointed out and we look at the table and that's what that's what we focus on. Uh so that's kind of the summary of the the big report is the map and the table and then this slide is going to summarize the summary. Um so really those upper projects uh on that table um over the next uh 10 years or or six years um is really $4.1 million worth of worth of work and uh upfront engineers estimate on that. And so that that budget actually aligns with the capital's facility plan budget uh the city's budget over that time period 2026 through 2031. the rest of the table and the rest of the map um is roughly $13.3 million worth of future work. Um that doesn't necessarily have uh a year associated with it, at least not yet. Um and so that's where um those projects if they're not funded can get uh added to the list for the next goound. But if funding is available, such as the skippipple, uh that those projects are are ready and they're prioritized and the city knows what to attack next if if more budget is available. Um and and budget being funding dollars uh more more likely than not. So, um, as far as impacts to the rates, uh, the city historically has a 3 to 5%, uh, increase every year, and that's essentially as as a part of that, um, that upper budget, that $4.1 million that's planned for. Um, the 13.3, like I said, is is future projects in addition to um, at the time. At this time, the city doesn't anticipate increasing rates uh, to achieve the 13.3 million. Um the city uh

maintains a rate model uh to help identify um rates and required increases throughout the years. Uh and a rate studies being updated in in 2026. Um the general sewer plant being a big aid in uh I would say uh also helping to develop fresh uh engineers estimates on what these projects will uh cost as well. Next slide please. Uh environmental and cultural impacts. Uh the general sewer plan itself doesn't have any environmental or cultural impacts or studies associated with it, but each of the projects on the list will need to go through um some form of evaluation on a cultural uh and environmental um side and uh I guess at an individual basis at the time of the design or the construction. Um and just as a reminder, I'm sure we all know, but uh much of College Place is is culturally sensitive. So many of these projects will uh have a cultural component um associated to the cost of the project and the construction and um many of them will require cultural monitoring uh during the excavation and and uh construction. Next slide please. Schedule. So we are currently going through the sea uh process and part of that is our meeting tonight with uh the community engagement. Um a draft of the general sewer plan is uh being reviewed by ecology and we expect comments um from them within the next few months. Uh and then uh next steps are to address ecology comments, address any public comments um and finalize the general sewer plan that will be presented to council um for approval. And uh with that we can start working on the the new priority list. Uh, and as Alex mentioned, um, a couple of the projects from the old list, uh, recently received funding and so we're already getting a

start on, uh, on the new list here. Uh, and I think I think this is our last slide here if you want to do one more. Yeah. So, I'm going to open it up, um, to questions or comments from the commissioners or from uh, the public for either Alex or I or both of us or Robert. Robert, I'm not going to leave you out of this. All right. If we don't have anybody volunteering, I'm going to go through the commission members and check in with each one of you to see if you have anything you want to uh say or ask. Uh so, Mr. Tan, do you have any questions or comments?

I think what I'd like to know is how old is our current system?

Yeah. So most of the uh infrastructure uh the original construction I I think is um kind of approaching about a hundred years or so. There's a lot of that'd be the oldest infrastructure. There is a lot of newer PVC pipe that has been installed. Uh but a lot of the older concrete and iron pipe is typically what uh is reaching the end of its useful life. and you see those uh pipes showing up as red and uh having a lot of uh roots or uh fractured in joints that are triggering a lot of these improvements. Um so once the pipes are lined and rehabbed with the trenchless methods that have been done over the last few years, uh you're essentially putting a a a new pipe back in the ground and it's anticipated that those materials will last uh 50 to 100 years. So, uh, it's a really cost-effective, uh, way to rehab those pipes and it's been a very successful program. So, um, you know, I think that's one of the intents of this exercise is to identify, you know, which of those pipes we want to rehab.

I I think a good exhibit to look at in the in the plan is figure 6.4. It has the the colors that you were talking about. And if you look at the core of the city, most of our main sewer lines are in good condition. That blue, it's it's kind of the trunk line that's in like orange or red. Um, which is kind of unknown. Um, but a lot of it's in good condition. Um, and then some of them like the the green, we have some roots and stuff that Alex pointed out. Um and then there's some uh yellow that are getting inflow like water's getting into the lines I think is what that means. Yeah.

So when you mention about catastrophic those are just contingency. I'm sorry. Can you repeat the question? Okay. when when there's mentioning about you know get being prepared for catastrophic failure are those just contingency.

Yeah. So uh when yeah when we refer to failures um you know the the trunk line going out to the treat treatment plant. Um so there is that prioritization criteria. So uh we look at each pipe to see what the consequence of failure is. Uh and that goes into the scoring criteria. So for example on this figure uh the red pipe going out to the treatment plant uh there's really no alternative to uh send water uh or waste water out to the plant. Uh so in that uh criteria the consequence of failure of that line would be really high uh because there is no no other option to serve the system there. So um working with the operating staff uh like I mentioned the the consequence of failure in this iteration scored uh lower compared to the likelihood of failure. So, uh, existing operation issues, uh, but that criteria can be updated anytime there's a general sewer plan update. It's, um, you know, working with the city and operation staff to see, uh, and determine what's most important and, uh, where the problem areas are. Um, but if there are areas that do have alternative um, routes, then their consequence of failure would score lower. I think you that answer my question.

Okay. Um, Mr. Risewig, comments or questions? None and they've been answered. Thank you, Miss Rogers. No, thank you for asking. Miss Satiana, um, I have two questions. You mentioned something about a landline. Um what is the purpose of that uh landline now and if you were to replace it with you mentioned something more cellular um would that landline still stay or are you taking everything out and what are the advantages of um replacing versus leaving or having both?

Yeah, so the the landline systems I think um are becoming outdated. So it's like your typ your typical phone line that folks would have at at their home. So what that is, it's a yeah like a sentry link or similar utility line to the pump station. And what happens there if there is an alarm, there's a piece of equipment that will send the operators a phone call with the pre-recorded message that there's something going on and that somebody needs to go out there to uh investigate. Um so the issue with the the facilities on the on the list is that uh the utilities are doing uh new projects and removing the landlines. Uh so those are going away. Uh so that's what's triggering some of these improvements. Uh so the new technology uh we just uh installed at the lift station 5 site. um instead of using a a phone line, uh there's a a cellular antenna at the pump station. So, it'll send out the same alarms um and report back to the staff, but it'll do it over a cellular signal. Uh so, there's a little antenna at each uh station that would be installed. And um I think it would be a little more reliable. We've heard complaints or feedback from the operators that you know if there's heavy rains uh sometimes the landlines aren't working properly. So I think that cellular option would be more modern and um you know something we've implemented at one of the other sites already and so far I think feedback has been well so trying to convert that kind of systemwide. So even with um there's sometimes there's uh power outages that affect like towers that uh superate those services. So even then um it will be you'll consider that it would be more

reliable to have that service.

Yeah, I think uh so those uh the product that we had been using I think was using uh typical cellular carriers and it it uh I think has uh agreements with multiple providers. So say if a Verizon goes down, it would try to work with uh some other antenna nearby to to get signal. So what what we have on some of our water SCADA system has a fail safe where it's continuously communicating and if it loses communications, an outside source calls and notifies us so we know that we've lost power and lost communications and we can go physically check. I would assume this works the same. Yeah, I think uh one of the alarms on on the system is um yeah, like a loss of power alarm or loss of connection. It'll automatically trigger an alarm to the operators and they know when they get that message that something like that happened. So, they'll go out and do an investigation to see what's going on.

Thank you. I appreciate that. Um my other question has to do with rates. You mentioned something about rates that the city normally or tries not to increase by more than 3 to 5%. Is that right? So is that rate the rate that's increased to the um to the citizen and that's reflected on their utility bill? Is that the rate that you're referencing? Okay. Yep. That's the rate that normally monthly bill. Yep. Their monthly bill. So that normally when they are increasing it they may increase it on an annual basis 3 to 5% but probably no more than that.

Yeah that's that's been the the typical pattern I guess. Um and so that this city is re-evaluating the rates uh in 2026. Um again not specifically because of the general sewer plan but just because it's time to evaluate that. And uh typically it's been a 3 to 5% uh increase in the rate annual increase. Yes, thank you. Our our finance folks look at that every year and recommend updates along with the budget each year. So, but typically it's not anything more than 3 to 5%.

We we also um have contracted out to there's a FCS group is a company that we've um contracted out to to do major rate studies. Um, so we look at all of the infrastructure costs for water, sewer, um, other infrastructure to determine what our connection charges are for new new projects. Um, and then also the monthly utility rates. But annually it seems like we we do incrementally look at that. But if we're we're getting close to needing to do a a major evaluation and bringing in a third party to do that, I think we're talking about doing that in 2027. But

yeah, I think that's the goal depending on our budget for that study. But in the near future, we're looking at a more comprehensive rate study. Uh thank you. I had maybe three questions. Uh it sounded like the um the scope of the study was limited to what we think we can afford basically over the next 10 years. And I guess the question that I have is whether it's the we have a feeling like we're keeping pace with what needs to be done or whether we think we're going to be in a worse position in 10 years than we are now.

Uh that's a good question. I think we are keeping pace. We were fortunate in 24 to receive so much funding to tackle so much of the general sewer plan. um which is really the only reason we're redoing it at this point um to update the list as as I think Tyler mentioned so that we'll have new projects on the list for new funding and we continue to have routine regular conversations with ecology about those projects and about funding opportunities. Um I don't see us going in a negative direction. I think if anything we're we're keeping up.

Okay, great. And I I would add to that uh beyond beyond 10 years in in a sense because the roughly $4 million that's allocated over the next period and then an additional 13 million that's the be that's the beyond part. Um and and so um as as Robert said, trying to get ahead of that and especially if we can do rehab projects instead of replacement projects ahead of schedule, that really

allows for more projects to to get done. And and also um you know, with the the funding availability, there's there's years for there's availability and then there's you know, a couple years in a row that there may not be. So to be set up and to be able to take advantage of um years where there is more funding available and uh to essentially have have the list of priorities um then I guess uh one more thing to add is uh it's always good to get the projects done and start the next list but there's always new new issues right or new things we learn about um new new maintenance and priorities I guess. Um, and so this is kind of a a refresher on that even though it's only been a couple of years since we prioritized all these to begin with. So,

yep, I'm uh I'm pretty new to this process. I was wondering if somebody could speak to whether this was a cons consistent strategy with our previous like iterations or we feel like we're getting further and further ahead of the problems. I mean, it's similar to the previous question about whether we're keeping pace with the issues, I guess. But the the STR the investment strategy here is that similar to what we've done before? Yeah, it is similar to what we've done before. Um, we typically plan for the maintenance uh for about to do work every other year because you get more bang for your buck when you do bigger projects and smaller projects. And so that's why we've kind of laid it out and every two years we're going to spend I think it's about 500,000. That's what we budget for. Um and yeah, I I it's very consistent with the last process which worked very well for us and feel good about this moving forward. One one thing that I think um is really useful in this plan for the planning commission is the future um planning areas, the master planning that's gone in in this recent iteration. Um, you know, the Martin Airfield area has been mentioned. Um, even beyond Martin Airfield. So, the university owns a lot of property to the west of Martin Airfield. This study looks at how we would serve those areas. They're not in our UG. They're not in our 20-year growing, you know, uh, growth plan, but they will be at some point. And it helps us um strategize and understand, you know, what we need to do in our current UG and our current city limits to make sure that, you know, we're setting the new lift station at the the proper depth to to maybe receive, you know, more flow from, you know, the west or or whatever. Um at same thing when you look at the figures that um south of of the high

school um south of 125 there's some pretty far out looking ideas of growing even south of Old Mountain Highway. There's some land down there a few years ago. We were talking with some of the property owners about the potential of of those properties coming into the city. It's it's way far out there. we, you know, probably we're not in a position right now to bring those into our UG just because of our the growth patterns in the valley. Um, but it's still a very useful tool. Um, so we can kind of have an idea of, you know, is it even financially feasible for us to grow out in that area or does it, you know, how would we tackle the sewer out in those areas? So,

excuse me, just to add to what Robert and John said. So typically the general sewer plans are required by the state every 10 years. Um so uh kind we started off with the city's first plan was the 2024 plan. So typically you would update these documents every 10 years so you're keeping up with the um anticipated growth plan that the city has. And um one of the the recommendations we made to continue this uh analysis of evaluating the pipes um was to recommend the the city and their operations team to implement a a video program um to routinely uh inspect the pipes to continually build the assessment of those pipes and um you know catching th those things proactively rather and reactively and uh they have a really good cleaning program. So, continuing to do those type of things, but uh the the camera and the video inspections bring a lot of value to these types of uh evaluations. And uh to take it a step further, one of the recommendations we had was to implement the city's uh GIS system into that so you can graphically uh save that data and more frequently create figures like the ones we've produced to show kind of where the hot spot or trouble areas are. So uh that was something else that we considered and recommended to the city as well.

Uh yeah, that makes sense. So that going to improve confidence in some of the recommendations by little more investigation. The uh so you mentioned the future growth areas. Uh was that leads me to my second question that uh looking far down the road right as we look to the west um uh a little bit outside urban growth and even beyond uh is the uh at what point would it be do you think it would be appropriate to consider I'm sorry getting a little little bit in the weeds here. Uh what what point do we think it would be appropriate to consider a second main line from the west instead of going clockwise all the way around the treatment plant?

Yeah. So on uh some of those areas that uh John was referring to the Martin Airfield uh and further west um I don't know if we can bring those figures up but those do show a independent feed coming from the west to the some of those areas. Um, yeah. So, right now everything's kind of coming from the east out to the treatment plant. Um, yeah, we scroll a little bit there. So, this Martin Airfield area is for far enough west where it won't feed into that main trunk line that we've been talking about. Uh, so there's a kind of dashed purple line there at the bottom that shows that anything collected from this area will have an independent pipe. uh going to the treatment plant and as that growth continues to the west um you know sim similar routing will occur. uh one of the areas um to the south that John was talking about with that new lift station 7 project uh it takes a lot of um collection from that area and does connect to that larger interceptor pipe but it's a lot further west than most of the collection system. Um so as you can see it's that's a critical piece of infrastructure. So, one of the recommendations that, you know, we want to to make sure that happens is seeing what condition that pipe is in and um seeing if there's an improvement or rehab that needs to be made on it.

Uh thank you for educating me. Does that reduce the consequence of failure on the existing mainline? uh the alternative routing or uh I guess I the the the dashed one coming I'm yeah is that an alternate path if the main the existing mainline fails? Uh so the the these pipes here shown on the map would only serve that Martin airfield area so there would still um need be need for that pipe from the east.

Okay. Thank you for your patience with my my questions. Uh my last one is I think maybe more of a comment. You had presented three ways of updating or modifying a pipe, open trench, some other newer trenchless stuff. Um I turned into a question. Is there a reason why we would consider an open trench or should we by default be selecting the modern methods without consideration of the older methods? Yeah, I don't want to take this.

Yeah. Well, I I think if it's if it's just a condition issue, I think um a lot of the modern um lining type projects can can, you know, help maintain or help make that pipe strong again uh without leaking. Uh if it's something to do with sizing, um right, if we if we have higher demands, then we need to upsize the pipe. And then most often we're replacing the pipe via open trench.

Yeah. Most of the time if it's just a replacement or rehab, lining is a good option. But there can be situations where pipes are so offset by root growth or things like that where uh the trenchless methods might not be the best option. But typically they are. I think uh in the recent projects that we've done, there's only been small sections where uh the trenchless options haven't been the preferred alternative. But we do a condition assessment on those projects when we start to see if you know most of it could be lined.

Uh thank you. I guess uh just to to wrap that one up um app thank you for educating me again. Uh given what you know about the condition of the pipes uh how would you describe the risk of a um large budget increase necessary to change methods uh as we tackle these projects? Would you say that based on condition assessment it's a low risk of having to switch to an open trench method?

Uh I think it's I would say on an individual basis, right? And so um as a part of the last general plan, we um did about 10 years worth of lining projects all under one project. And so uh with that came all the benefits of of it being a larger project, getting better bids for the city, getting everything done at once. Um, but also once we got in there, there were certain areas where, you know, hey, for this couple hundred feet, we did need to dig and replace, but replacing a couple hundred feet versus all of the lines shown on the maps are are very very different. Yeah, very different. So, um, I I think o overall that's been a success for the the city. Um, and as far as when when talking about um failure, you know, it might not be that a a pipe gets plugged up or that it that it falls apart. It might be that it's leaking. So, uh, from an environmental standpoint, you're, you know, leaking sewer, uh, out or you're infiltrating groundwater in, which, you know, increases what the wastewater treatment plant needs, uh, to to clean up, right? So, um, I guess kind of that's part of the evaluation on the pipe repair or replacement uh, is is also that how it affects the wastewater treatment plant.

Yeah. Yeah. And as the video program develops, um, you know, we'll be able to get a better feel for that over the next few years.

Thank you. I'll I'll stop. Um, so we're now going to open it up for public comment on the general sewer plan. Uh, is there anybody who would like to speak? Please raise your hand. If you are in person virtual, please contact the clerk, request to speak. Not seeing anybody who would do that. So, um, any additional discussion? Give that an awkward pause. Not seeing any need for that. Is there a motion? Oh, so this the staff recommendation is that a motion recommending the city council adopt the general sewer plan update. Is there a motion uh regarding that? A motion.

Thank you. Is there a second? Second. Uh any additional discussion? Not seeing any. All those in favor say I. I. I. And any opposed? Not hearing any. The eyes have it. Motion is passed. I think that completes that agenda item. Thank you very much, Tyler and Alex. You guys,

also on the regular agenda is a workshop for the comprehensive plan. We have an action-packed agenda tonight and we welcome Elizabeth Smith and Derek Bratton with apologize if I said that wrong with JUB to present tonight. Please proceed.

Sound check. I'm good. Can you hear me? We can't hear Lizzy now. Are you on mute? Oh, great. Her battery's probably died. Modern technology. Can you hear me now? We can. Yes. Okay, perfect. Crisis averted. Um, okay. Let's see real quick. When I switched the USB on my computer, my mouse stopped working. H would you like to share your screen or I would like to yes but my um mouse is not working. Let's see.

Got to love technology. I know this I swear it only happens with this group. So thank you for dealing with me. Let's see. Okay, looks like it's working now. And then I will share my screen. Is everyone able to see that? No, not at this time. Okay, something's coming now. How about now? We can now.

Okay, awesome. We're in. So, um, good evening everyone. Um, tonight's presentation will be an overview of where we are in the comprehensive plan update process, highlighting key changes from the 2018 plan, which is the current plan. Um, and then walking through the draft plan elements that have been prepared for your review and feedback. So, hopefully you've had a chance to look at those. Um, I know that we have all met before. I'm Elizabeth Smith um, in our planning group and then I'll let Derek introduce himself. Um, I believe this is the first time you've been with planning commission,

correct? Thank you for having us. Um, yeah, my name is Derek Brotten. I've been I'm the senior planner in Washington. Um, I'm up in Spokane. um and come with this is my first consultant job, but I come with about 20 years of a municipal planning experience specializing in communities just like College Place, uh smaller towns, rural communities, generally speaking, communities with 20,000 or less in population. So, I'm happy to um be here and primarily I'm here to for uh I don't know, whatever Lizzie needs me for.

Yep. Derrick's part of the team. Yeah, we're very lucky to have him. He's been working really closely with me behind the scenes um working on all of the draft content. So, I figured it'd be good to get him in front of the group. Um you'll be seeing more and more of us um throughout the year. So, um we will move on to the next slide. So, looking at our agenda, we'll quickly go over project timeline and kind of where we're at. Um I'll give a quick update on the local commission and representatives update. Um and then most of the presentation and discussion will be on the comprehensive plan and the elements in that plan and then just a quick um touch on what's coming up um and what you can expect for next steps. So project timeline um similar um to the project timeline that you've seen before. So anything with a check mark is something that we have completed um and that we are you know have moved past. So, we're really wrapping up phase two with some um maps and then focusing more on phase three. So, um anything with a star is what we're working on now. So, like I said, we're working on preparing maps. I know that the content that we provided doesn't have any maps. We're still doing some additional analysis on those. So, you will get to review and QC um the maps at our next commission meeting or at the block party um coming up. And then tonight getting the planning commission review and making sure that the comp plan is still in line um with College Place and the vision that College Place has for its community. Um local commissions and representatives. So kind of working um top to bottom planning commission. This group we've met in November and February and then again today. Um, so really your role, just as a reminder, is to review, refine, and recommend updates and ensuring that Dererick and I are continuing to prepare a document that isn't al in alignment with um the city of College Place and your vision. We've also met with our technical advisory group or our TAG. So, we met with them

in September and then in January of this year, and we will plan to share um a more complete document with them in July um so in the summertime. Um and then we've also met with the historic preservation commission. So we shared um I believe it's chapter 10 or element 10 which is the historic preservation element. Um they were reviewing that in February and provided some comment and feedback on that. Um so I guess all of this does anyone have questions or concerns on you know who we have or haven't talked to as far as commissions or kind of what the schedule is looking like? Hearing none, we will move on. Um, so the comprehensive plan, I'm hoping that this is, you know, a conversation and a dialogue. I want to hear from this group. Your opinions are really important. Um, as we go through this process, so feel free to, you know, jump in if you have questions, comments throughout the way. Um, I welcome any and all comments. So pulling up the table of contents, I just kind of wanted to give you a high-level overview of what the comprehensive plan um is like as far as layout. So you know, introduction, setting the stage, and then getting into our, you know, more typical elements. So land use, housing, capital facilities, utilities, transportation, those are, you know, the general um typical elements that you see. And then I want to highlight chapter 7 which I'll talk a little bit more about later but this is the new element for this update which is the climate change and resiliency. So this is a update that was required from the state of Washington um and college place is working um with a separate group to develop that content. And then we have our optional elements. So economic development, parks, recreation and open space and historic preservation. And so these are optional. they are not required but college place um you know wanted to include these

because they are important to the community. So we have um content that is um focused on that and these are in the existing plan. So this is these are not new. They'll just be updated and revamped um to better align with the community today. Um key changes from the 2018 plan. So um there's kind of three big things that I wanted to touch on. So, one of them is kind of the document um layout and style. This document will be one comprehensive document. You won't have to go to, you know, other studies or plans to get your content. Everything is going to be included in the comprehensive plan. There may be references to other plans, but we will be able to provide a summary and you'll get most of the content that you need um from a high level in the comp plan.

Did I hear a comment? No, we're good.

Okay, perfect. Um, one of the other, um, structural changes that we made with the comp plan is having element specific goals and policies. Before we had overall goals for the entire comp plan, but now we have specialized element specific goals and policies that are um, in alignment with those goals. And then the last, which I, you know, briefly touched on, is the Washington state law updates. So, there's going to be policies and language updated um throughout the plan to reflect Washington state planning requirements and this just ensures continued compliance with the state law and best practices. Okay, so chapter one um so this is our introduction chapter. It's really just setting the stage for our planning framework for the document. Explains what a comprehensive plan is, why we're preparing one, and how this update was developed. This chapter is also addressing coordination with um the county so in the form of the countywide planning policies which we are still waiting on from the county. So those will be incorporated. I believe that there was a placeholder in that chapter um noting that we are still waiting on that content. Um also any coordination with regional partners and the recent um growth management act amendments or the requirements from the state. We also included an update um overview of the community for college play. So, demographics and history, things like that. Um, and then on the left here, I just kind of have a general um view of what the table of contents looks like for that chapter. So, my plan is to kind of outline what each chapter is, any changes that we made to it, and then open it up for discussion, comment, questions, um, after each slide just so I can make sure that I document any questions or concerns that, um, the group has. So, are there any questions, comments, things maybe we need to discuss for this chapter?

not aware of any.

Okay, perfect. Thanks. Um, moving on to the land use chapter. So, this is the chapter that provides the foundation for how land will be used and developed um over the planning horizon, which is a 20-year planning period. Um it will include an updated land use inventory, future land use designations, um identifying the urban growth area and then land um demand and needs assessment. So this chapter also includes updated goals and policies kind of like I mentioned before um with objectives that guide these land use decisions. And um I made some comments in the document. I hope you're able to see them. Um that clearly identify which policies or goals um that were included due to state requirements. Any questions, comments on this one? So far,

unfortunately in the board docs app, we can't see your comments, but they should have been available online. Okay. Would you like me to go through some of those um goals and policies that were required um from the state or is that something that you'd like to save for another time or that they can look at online? Uh it might be useful for a quick rundown of those.

Okay, perfect. So, we're in the land use chapter under goals and policies. Um so, some examples of the required language we included due to state requirements. So promoting land use patterns that support walking, biking, and transit and reduce per capita vehicle miles traveled or VMTS um while in avoiding increases in emissions elsewhere in the state. Um some other ones um uh land use policy 1-5 maintaining open space corridors between UGS um and cities that support recreation habitat trail connectivity and community forest systems. There were a handful of requirements for environmental justice considerations and then reducing wildlife or wildfire risk um throughout planning and sighting practices and just being more wildfire resilient. Um I know that's something that a lot of us eastern Washington communities unfortunately deal with annually. So um being mindful of that. Um looking at just kind of some of those climate things that this area faces. So flooding, drainage, storm water issues, protecting critical areas, and protecting the quality and quantity of groundwater um used for public water supplies. And then let's see, another um newer one for sure is allowing sighting of organic materials management facilities and designated priority areas. So that's something that you're going to see in all the comp plans in, you know, the state. This is just another requirement. And then identify, designate, and preserve land suitable for current and future public purposes. So, you know, any utilities, making sure that we have land dedicated for those uses. Um, and I think the last one, so discouraging incompatible uses near aviation airports like the Martin Airfield. um and making sure those codes and plans um with WASHAR are compatible

um and filing required notices and amendments as mandated. So, I know it's kind of a lot of different things included in the land use chapter. Um is there anything that stuck out that you know maybe was of concern or anything that you liked or you were glad to see um throughout this chapter within the goals and policies? Uh not seeing any comments.

Okay, perfect. Sounds good. Um we will move on to the next one which is housing element or chapter 3. So um this chapter evaluates existing housing conditions, population trends, projected housing needs. Um, it also includes an inventory of the housing types, um, an analysis of housing supply and affordability, any future needs and growth, um, that we've been allocated from the county for the city. And then, you know, you'll see this in all the elements, but updating goals and policies, um, to support that growth and the having more flexibility on housing choices and affordability all while maintaining state housing requirements. Any questions or comments? There's a lot of interesting data in this chapter um just about the affordability and vacancy rates and f future housing needs. Um we prepared a land capacity analysis um middle of last year. So that information has been included in this document as well. Lucy, do you know about how many of these are required by the state as well

for the policies? Yeah.

Yeah, we can go over those. Um, so looking at goals, policies, and objectives. So, let's see. We have one here for encouraging the maintenance and rehabilitation of existing housing stock. Um this is reflected in another chapter in historic preservation but that was something that came forward um with that group that really maintaining and preserving the existing stock that um the city has. Um another one is um preserving and maintaining that stock for long-term affordability and stability. And then um adopting anti-displacement strategies. Um,

what what's the goal number on that one? I'm not finding it. Uh, goal number two. I can make it a little bit bigger. Yeah, we we can't see it on your screen. Did you have something to add, Derek? I was just going to say it's housing goal 2 H23 specifically is the last one you were just talking about. Mhm.

This is where I have a lot. This is my not the housing in general, but all the legal ease stuff. Um, yeah. So, this is language that we have and really what it boils down to is when you're planning a road, you're not going to drop it in the middle of somebody's neighborhood. Um, you know, and make it so that they've got to evac. A lot of this is um clarifying things that people already, you know, how the city, you know, I don't think the city would go, "Hey, you know, there's a poor neighborhood. Let's run a road through it." Um, you know, that's just not how folks operate. But, um, the state wants it clearly articulated in the plans now as opposed to assumed.

Yep. Yeah. I think it's very helpful to have these policies written in a plan because we the when we fill out a checklist or a project fills out a check, environmental checklist, it'll ask if you're, you know, displacing any, you know, housing units. But that's when you're asking that question at that point in time, it's a little too late. You already have a project. So to have something like this in our comp plan to remind us that like, hey, you know, we want to make sure we want to try to work, you know, to not displace people. And if we do what what how how are we going to you know deal with that? So

yeah, this so this comes out of the old red lining and various other things that used to occur back in the past and again it it's not really common practice anymore. However, it's something that if you don't articulate it and you have it in writing, that's when it can sneak up and get you. So Yep.

Exactly. And I'm, you know, I didn't quite explain this super clearly, so I just want to touch on it. Um, all of these goals will kind of be formatted in there'll be a letter or two designation to identify the chapter um with the goal number and then each relevant policy will have that same letter designation with the goal number followed by a dash and then the number policy. So this was implemented so that you know years down the road we can say oh I'm referencing specifically policy H2-3 and there won't be confusion on what goal it references because that first number is the goal number and the second number is the policy number. So hopefully um that's clear and if there's confusion on that we can definitely rework it um to be more user friendly. But that was our initial um plan to just kind of get some more clarity when we're you know discussing these plans or or these goals or policies in future um environments. Um okay. So some other requirements from the state. So having the city update zoning and development regulations to remove barriers and correct policies that create racially disparit impacts exclusion or displacement. So, kind of along the same lines of, you know, what John and Derek were mentioning, um, the city will review its zoning regulations and infrastructure investment patterns to identify any that may cause racially disparent impacts, exclusion, or displacement. Um, let's see. The city will map and track neighborhoods at higher risk of displacement due to market pressure, zoning changes, or major public investments. And that is the end of the housing chapter. So, all of those required um goals or policies I kind of went through already. Um any questions or comments or things we want to, you know, um take a look at more closely?

Looks like a no.

Okay, sounds good. Let's move this content over. Okay, so I know that we just spent lots of time talking about the sewer plan. Um, so you guys are up to date on all the things sewer. Um, but our next chapter is the capital facilities plan. So this is looking at existing public um, facilities and services. So admin, buildings, public safety, park, schools, transportation, and utilities. So like water, sewer, storm. Um, focusing on city-owned and operated services. This is going to talk about level of service standards, outlining capital improvement um planning considerations, and then providing those goals and policies to ensure the infrastructure keeps pace with growth. So, in this chapter, I'll use the sewer plan um as an example since you're um super familiar with it now and the status. So I basically worked with Alex and Tyler to help um get a draft summary of that plan um with the understanding that it was going to be adopted in you know April May um of this year. So Alex actually crafted the summary for the sewer um section of this plan and then we did reference that general sewer plan. Um so it'll give you you know a quick snapshot of here's what's going on with sewer and if you want more you know detailed information or calcs you can go over to the general sewer plan. So all of the utilities listed here kind of follow that same um same style and just noting the parks, recreation and open space. There is an element um dedicated to that. So that summary is a little bit more brief and then we'll be um there will be a more in-depth summary in that element. Um but yeah, any questions or comments on that? Uh no comments or questions.

Okay, sounds good. Moving on to utilities. So this is a similar chapter, but it focuses more on the infrastructure such as like energy, telecom, solid waste, things that are not city um city-owned and operated. So looking at existing plans and planned improvements um and then including those relevant goals and policies to support reliability, capacity and coordinating um with future development just looking um and I um okay y just wanted to make sure I wasn't missing anything in my notes that I wanted to touch on. Uh this is Commissioner Ivy. A question about this one.

Just curious. I didn't I don't see cellular providers on the list of utilities. Are they not interested in our area or are we covered by Walaw Wala or is that maybe not classified as a utility in this context? Derek, do you mind taking that? Yeah, it would it it does fall under telecommunications, but um it's rare that we list uh and I honestly can't tell you a specific reason, but it's mostly the fact that you can get the Ver if a Verizon's available, AT&T's available, that type of thing. Um but it's something that we could easily add in if that's

these these providers um actually have franchise agreements with us because they actually have they work within our right of way um or they have like fiber lines or um you know old telephone lines which are going out um power um gas uh so that's I think primarily why you know you're seeing right there um why those are listed cellular providers while they are working in our area they lease you know space on our water tank things like that um they don't have franchise agreements with us so I think that could be one reason why um we don't really call them out but they could be listed on there as a utility they're they're not well I mean we pay a tax on them um you know every phone bill you know has this little city utility tax on it that so

yeah the Well, so Washington state has a definition of a public utility. Telecommunications falls. They they're kind of like a public utility, but they're kind of not. And um they do have when it comes to installation of towers and things like that, they do have the ability to fall back on the public utility classification for infrastructure. Um, but they're also at the same time they're forprofit. I mean, other ones are too. So, but like I said, not a problem to add them in there if that's something that um you would you would like to see. It would it would flesh out the section um and and show all those providers. We would just have to know who all is available. Um, and then whether or not we want to include things like satellite service, you know, that um, what is that? Staret, Skynet, what? No, it's not Skynet. Um, the Elon Musk satellite phone system. Um, I can't think Starlink. um you know it's it and that's also part of it too is telecommunications is very broad and then we start going into these things then okay if we're doing him then do we do the others um so that's one thing we will need to get a little guidance just how far you want us to go with listing those providers as well or do you just are you primarily concerned with say like phone you know that you know basically the phone operators um but that we we can discuss that now or we can discuss that at a later meeting. I maybe I'll just close this line of inquiry by saying I have I have no concerns but I think with explanation that it

mostly ties maybe to writeaways or um use of right okay franchising and if there are no other things that we really need to consider like then there's no barriers to deployment of cellular or satellite or whatever then we just like there's no reason to change right so okay yeah you know the Only thing the only reason why I could think of maybe including like cellular is that we do regulate them you know like placement of cell towers and antennas. So that could be one reason to include them.

Okay. I've made a note um in the SharePoint John Michael um if we want to you know think on it and then maybe we can follow up in our next um check-in meeting on kind of where we're leaning. And I think we have a couple options. Um but just making sure that I don't think the the plan is to have it a completely exhaustive list, but just focusing on um phone providers. So I've made that note in the document. So that will be something that we will address or make a note of um based on your comment. Thank you, Commissioner Ivy. Um are there any other comments or questions on this chapter specifically? hearing none. Okay, perfect. Um, we will move on to transportation. So, this chapter addresses the city street systems, bike, ped, transit, rail, aviation, any way that someone is moving um throughout the community, and it's evaluating existing conditions, level of service, future needs, and then establishing those goals and policies consistent um with um the county and their um plans as well. And I did want to note that we are still doing additional analysis on this chapter. So at our next meeting or at the block party, um just be mindful that there will be content um that will be new um as our transportation engineers are working on um just getting some more detailed information for this chapter. Questions, comments?

Commissioner Ricewig here. Um, just noting that the last paragraph in 6.2.5 probably needs some significant reworking cuz I do not believe it aligns with uh some of our recent stuff. Okay. And is that you said 6.2.5? Correct. Okay.

Yep. I'll pull it up real quick. Um, so this is referring to um one of the modes of transportation. So let's see. Okay. So, currently Martin Airfield is within um the UG. So, thank you for um making that note. Okay, perfect. Thank you for that. Appreciate it. Um are there any other questions or comments um on this chapter? No.

Okay. making a quick note for myself. Um and then the next chapter so this is the climate change and resiliency. So as I mentioned earlier this is a new requirement um for the state. So um this is something that is currently in progress and we are working with um similar to the comp plan has the technical advisory group the climate element has their own um group dedicated to this effort. Um this is has separate funding outside of the comp plan. Um so this process is a little bit hi behind the comp plan. So, I would expect um to see some additional comment or content um at the next planning commission meeting or review or the block party. And a little shout out, we have a survey going on right now for the climate element. So, you can either scan the QR code or check out the website um to take the survey. We would love to hear from you. Um, like I said, this element is still in progress. So, all feedback is, you know, really appreciated. Um, if you take the time to do that, that would be great. Um, do you have any questions, comments on this element?

I'll distribute the survey link for everybody and they can distribute that as well to the public if they've got connections. Also, watch watch your utility bill because it'll be in the next um newsletter. So, the QR code so you can have your family members and everyone take take the survey.

Yes. Awesome. Cool. Thank you, Michael and John. Um, not hearing any comments on that one. So, looking forward to hearing your feedback in the survey. Um, our next element is the economic development chapter. Um so this is the chapter that will provide an overview of the community's economic content um context and I identify stren strengths, weaknesses, opportunities or threats, also known as the SWAT analysis. Um and it will include an implementation framework um discussing partnerships and future funding tools and establishing metrics for monitoring progress and um also having those um relevant goals and policies and objectives. And I'm sure you notice this element still has a lot of gaps in it and it's, you know, another chapter that we're working on really closely with our economic planners um just doing some additional analysis. So again, I would just expect to see more content at our next planning commission meeting or at um the block party in May. Any questions or comments on this one?

Looks like we have none.

Okay, sounds good. Moving on to the parks, recreation and open space element. So like I me mentioned before, this is a this element is a summary of the existing parks, recreation and open space plan that was adopted in 2024. Um so it has you know the same evaluation of existing parks and trails, the same assessment for level of service and future park needs and then it has um the same goals and policies um in this document that's also in the parks plan just for consistency. Um and there is a call out you know if you want more information or more detailed analysis to check out that plan. Um but the intention here was if someone opened up the comp plan they would get you know a highle view and an understanding of you know the status and future plans for parks, recreation and open space. Any comments? Not hearing any. We'll move on to our last element. So this is the historic preservation um element. And like I mentioned um earlier in the presentation, the historic preservation committee has reviewed this document and I know that there are still a handful of comments or questions in the document that we have working um right now with John and Michael. So um any comments on that is great. I know the historic preservation um commission is also working on getting some of those addressed or updated. Um but the historic preservation chapter really introduces the local preservation framework you know describing what the historic preservation commission does the ordinances and any historical content um context. So that's including you know um inventory of resources and then establishing those relevant goals and policies focusing on identify protect and preserve the city's um historic assets.

Any questions or comments on that one? And just a reminder, this is an optional element. So something that, you know, the city finds important for the city and so that's why it's included um in this document. Okay. No comments. A quiet bunch. Saved all your comments for Alex and uh Tyler earlier.

Yeah, pretty much. Um so looking forward um next steps you know we have prepared the draft plan. We're you know reviewing the document with you now and then over the next couple weeks um we'll incorporate any comments, questions, concerns that this group has and then also taking the draft comp plan to the block party on May 17th um and getting feedback from the community um at at at that event. So then, you know, we're going to take all the feedback, all of the comments, questions, and refine it um and get you a new document um later this summer. And then looking forward ahead to fall, we'll look at adopting the document. Um you know, presenting it to this group with recommendation of approval, we'll present it to city council and um we'll get it approved. Any questions, comments on next steps? I I have a go back so I apologize. In the histo in the historic section,

yep. Uh under inventory, the last paragraph there looks like it has some grammar and typing errors that may need to be addressed. Okay. And is that the It says the survey documented 62 properties. Yep. That that paragraph there. Okay. Perfect. Um I will highlight it. Make a note that this needs to be reworked. Um, I don't want to take time away from you guys watching me words miss something on the fly. Um, so I'll get that updated. Thank you for that note. Um,

I would just add that obviously this is a lot of information and we're not to the finish line yet. So, there's plenty of opportunity for you guys to reread. I know you guys spent all weekend looking at this. So, you you still have an opportunity to reread it again. If you you know, if there's something that you want to um you have a question about or want to provide some feedback, feel free to email Michael by what? April 28th. April 28th. So, a week from now.

Yeah. Yeah. Historic preservation is is looking at the revisions that were made uh to it. So we we do have time for red lines to come in and incorporate those.

Yep. Yeah. Our goal is to get comments from, you know, planning commission and other commission groups um with the city to present a more refined polished document to the public. You know, these groups are really important. Um so we want to make sure that your voices are heard and reflected in the document before, you know, the overall general public sees it. Um, so yeah, you have, you know, the next week to review and just send comments to Michael. Um, and we'll work on getting those implemented. Okay, and that is all we have. Um, thank you for taking the time to go through this with us. Um, you know, I thank you for your comments and questions and then we'll just wait to hear um, some feedback from you that you provide to Michael. Thank you, Liz, Derek.

Yep. Of course. We'll talk soon. Yep. Nice meeting you. Or sort of meeting you virtually. Yeah. Yep. Thank you. All right. Sounds good. Thank you. Bye. All right.

Okay. Completes another agenda item. Uh next, we have a presentation from staff regarding the comprehensive plan amendment applications for urban growth area. Yeah, this is just a quick report. Um, we there have been a a number of workshops that staff has attended at the county planning commission. Um, and for the most part, um, just kind of sat back and watched, but we did provide some feedback when asked to provide it. Um the uh hearing for the docket their docketing system is scheduled for the 30th of this month. Um so next next week next Thursday um we have hired um we've been diligently doing some additional work um we have some additional studies that we'll be providing uh utility exhibits uh transportation exhibits uh and memos um showing our ability to serve the urban growth areas that we're proposing to grow into. Um, and also, um, we've hired legal counsel who will help represent us at the hearing itself. Um, for some of you that are relatively new to the planning commission, the county's docketing system is a two-part. So, the first is to, um, decide whether or not your application meets their criteria to move on to a final docket. if they do hold a hearing um that first hearing uh at planning commission and um we'll see if the county planning commission chooses to recommend that it move on to the final docket. Um the the sense I have is that the that

the county planning commission wants to wants to give the the county commissioners an opportunity to review our applications. So that feels very promising. Um the county staff and their consultant is recommending that our UG applications be denied. Um we have two applications. So we have the UG expansion applications and then we have um a swap of existing UG to areas that we want to swap and apply it to other areas. And they're recommending that one of those swap areas move forward and the other one not. So the bl the block swap application um they're saying is uh urban in nature and therefore would doesn't qualify as a swap. Um we have our professional planning opinions um otherwise and we'll be trying to you know plead that case. Um we've continued to meet with each of the county commissioners individually to explain our applications to them. um they're open to hearing us. So I I I feel pretty confident that we will at least get a hearing in front of them and and allow them to make a decision at some point. Um it's a two-part process. So um if you have any questions, be happy to answer them. If you want to meet with us individually, if you have questions about our applications, you can reach out to us and we can um we can go over those applications um individually with you if you'd like as well. So,

I have a question. Um the one uh the swap where the their recommendation is to deny it. Um so, this is these are properties in existence. Uh somebody owns them and what is their position? So, we we did notify all of the property owners within the swap area um the the one area down off of Southwest 12 that they're recommending, you know, move forward. Um two of the property owners, the there's a no contest to the reallocation of the UG to a different area. And then the third one um deanaxed up with the understanding uh that we would be reallocating. So the hay shaker farm beast um so there's not any issues down there and then the block area um all of those property owners have been notified as well and we have not heard back from any of them. It really doesn't change much for them. They're on a in a private water system, public water system that's not the city. They're on septic. Um they currently are in the county, so they're still, you know, it's, you know, still they go to the county for building permits and things like that, which coincidentally there really hasn't been anything built new in that area in the last 30 years. Um other than, you know, little remodels here and there, but no new units. Um there's some advantages if you know you lived in that area. If you're in UG, you can't get a burn permit. So, some of them might be in favor of it. I don't know. Well, we haven't heard from them. Uh, yay or nay. So,

yeah, but they have been notified. Thank you. So, we're just keeping our fingers crossed.

Thank you for the update. Anything else from the uh anybody have any more comments or questions? Hearing none. Uh that brings us to closing. Uh next regularly scheduled meeting is May 19. Uh is there any other business for the good of the order? Thank you for the script. Any any more discussion? Thank you. What he said what he said actually these are his words too. So

um yeah. All right. Do we have a motion to conclude? Commissioner Ray Swig. So motioned. And a second. Second. There's no objection and seeing none. This meeting is concluded at 7:35