Remarks by Lesley Wiscomb
62 remarks on the record, newest first · Page 2 of 3
- Play at 1:12:29
“Okay, which takes me to my next question. since some of us don't have planners speak, are we going to have a handout for this for applicants and developers and anyone that's interested that actually goes through these calculations, each one of them to... That is the intention, yes.”
Planning Commission · Aug 20, 2026
- Play at 1:12:59
“Because I think without it, heads are going to spin without it. So, okay. And then I just have one more question so far, and that is on page 25, you talk about a 10% increase for each year that payment is delayed. So that's, I guess, for each year the in lieu fee payment is delayed. So after they get their building permit, they have up to one year to pay the in lieu fee. Is that right?”
Planning Commission · Aug 20, 2026
- Play at 1:13:38
“It's more of a technical question, but I just want to make sure that we're not losing out on this.”
Planning Commission · Aug 20, 2026
- Play at 1:14:42
“So if you if you Now I'm even a little more confused. So if you, I understood that you, so are you saying you have to pay it at the time of the building permit, but you can opt to wait till C of O? Correct. But can you opt to wait a year or 11 months and 29 or 30 days? I mean, you have to pay it before C of O.”
Planning Commission · Aug 20, 2026
- Play at 1:15:14
“But, okay, if C of O comes 29, I'm sorry, if C of O comes 11 months and 29 days after the building permit, which is probably impossible in this town.”
Planning Commission · Aug 20, 2026
- Play at 1:15:29
“If it did, you could pay it then and not pay the 10% increase.”
Planning Commission · Aug 20, 2026
- Play at 1:16:03
“It's the greater of the two. I just want the local housing trust fund to get the money ASAP.”
Planning Commission · Aug 20, 2026
- Play at 1:16:34
“Okay. And I think, yeah, that's all the questions I have for now. Thank you, Madam Chair.”
Planning Commission · Aug 20, 2026
- Play at 1:40:45
“Commissioner Wiscombe. Thank you, Madam Chair. I just wanted to comment and ask a question about Commissioner Wardlow's comment about perhaps lowering from $91 down. I gather that's what you wanted to do.”
Planning Commission · Aug 20, 2026
- Play at 1:41:08
“Yeah, I understand it's in the CBD, but My question, I guess, to staff is what is our goal here? Isn't it to actually build a housing? Because if you lower that fee, then you're gonna get, it's an offset fee, and you're gonna get more downtown developers saying, no, I'm gonna just opt out of building the housing, and we're gonna lose some economic diversity downtown, I think. That's my feeling. I don't know if staff has considered lowering that number. I know some people think it's really high, but it seems to me, based on that calculation we saw for the 4.3 units, that it was very…”
Planning Commission · Aug 20, 2026
- Play at 1:43:10
“Yeah, that's what I thought, and I'm not saying that you advocated for it, because you said you didn't know how you felt about it, but I was, I guess I just felt that staff needed to address that, because I think our goal is to get the housing, but there are going to be some developers that just say, I'm not going to build it because I don't want to manage it for 90 years, and You know, so I'm just going to pay the fee and move on. And it seems to me that's what we've heard for years from developers. Give us that option to do that. And this seems very reasonable. So that's my comment. Thanks.…”
Planning Commission · Aug 20, 2026
- Play at 2:13:55
“Thank you Commissioner Westcom Thank You madam chair Okay, I I Just did some calculations I think I think what we have to think about here that I understand Commissioner Ward Lowe's comments about lowering the the cost and i think commissioner peterson said you know are we better off not building the two units in the 20 unit building but building the 20 units of deed restricted housing across the street i think we have to realize or keep in mind that we're dealing with moderate units and and the leverage is different if if at all for moderate units when you come to when you come to um the…”
Planning Commission · Aug 20, 2026
- Play at 2:15:39
Not quoted here: it may name a member of the public. Hear it at the meeting.
Planning Commission · Aug 20, 2026
- Play at 2:33:22
“Lucille, you haven't spoken. I have not. Do you want me to make comments and then the motion? If you're willing, yes. Okay. Well, I think, first of all, we have to realize the goal here is we want to develop moderate deed-restricted units in the city. The lowering the fee for that, I think, deprioritizes the on-site deed-restricted units. And down to the point of the units becoming 583, let's call it 584,000 per unit to deposit in the local housing trust fund, I think we all realize that's really low. And that's going to catapult, I think, a lot of money going into the trust fund. But keep in…”
Planning Commission · Aug 20, 2026
- Play at 2:37:44
“Sorry, Jasper. Okay. And it's actually net livable floor area. Yeah. I think that's what we want to be consistent. So if we have examples of Calculation examples that show net livable floor area, we want that in the definition, which doesn't exist there right now.”
Planning Commission · Aug 20, 2026
- Play at 2:38:14
“So item B of the recommendation to forward to city council and item C. Second, second, second.”
Planning Commission · Aug 20, 2026
- Play at 2:42:23
“What? Wow. I think it's a number that's been thrown out without any consideration other than the fact that it lowers the cost of a unit to $584,000, which is a steal. You're not gonna get any moderate units built in the central business district, I don't think. I think you're just gonna get contributions to the local housing trust fund. And where, yes, you will get affordable units built eventually from the local housing trust fund, you're not going to get the moderate units, which was the goal here of the program. And I also feel that we have not given this offset fee a chance to take it for…”
Planning Commission · Aug 20, 2026
- Play at 2:45:15
“Okay. But I also feel that we haven't given developers the option to have an offset fee, and now we're giving them that option. The amount of money we're getting per unit at your $73, I think I calculated at 72, so I might be off a little bit, but $584,000 does not build a unit. And I think we all know it doesn't build a unit. I would be happy to keep the motion as it is and also to make comments to city council on a very considerable discussion we had up here about lowering that fee in the central business district. But I think that that should be studied more, and I don't think it should be…”
Planning Commission · Aug 20, 2026
- Play at 2:46:19
“So it's not that I'm making up the number Someone needs to make a substitute motion. I think that's what Benjamin did.”
Planning Commission · Aug 20, 2026
- Play at 2:49:10
“I'm voting no because I think that, first of all, we have never given developers an opportunity to have an offset fee, which this package gives them. I think that the $72 or $73 a square foot in the CBD, which is probably the highest cost place to develop in the city, Uh, produces a unit that's, that's below 600,000 per square foot. And, uh, I'm sorry, per, per unit, 600,000 per unit, according to our examples. And it's, it's going to create a lot of developers that come forward and, and just, uh, give, give money when staff has said our incentive is to build. some affordable units downtown…”
Planning Commission · Aug 20, 2026
- Play at 14:10
Not quoted here: it may name a member of the public. Hear it at the meeting.
Planning Commission · Aug 13, 2026
- Play at 17:03
“Commissioner Wiscombe? Yeah, I like this a lot. I think this is perfect, and I feel it's what our commission was looking for, especially the part about a new coastal development permit may be required for plantings or site work subsequent to the removal. I think that's exactly what we wanted. That's from my standpoint. Thank you.”
Planning Commission · Aug 13, 2026
- Play at 40:21
Not quoted here: it may name a member of the public. Hear it at the meeting.
Planning Commission · Aug 13, 2026
- Play at 42:15
“So is this one just going to the oak tree, or is this one going to all of the native trees on site that get planted? That's my main question. Or will you have other policies that apply to the native trees, and this should be specifically revised to apply just to the oak tree, the new oak tree that's getting planted, the 48-inch box oak tree? Do you follow what I'm saying? Because it's confusing. It talks about Tree replacement for removed oak tree, and then it says the monitoring effort will consider growth, health, and condition of the subject trees. So it's plural. So that's where I'm…”
Planning Commission · Aug 13, 2026
- Play at 43:26
“Okay. Then we should probably revise the title of Bio 1, right? Tree Replacement for Removed Oak Trees. Are we removing other native trees? I remember we saw that the first time we saw this. I can't remember. Are we removing other native trees and replacing them?”
Planning Commission · Aug 13, 2026