Planning Commission - Regular Meeting

Good evening. My name is Kim Lehrman. I would like to call the City of Pasco Planning Commission meeting to order. First, would you join us in the Pledge of Allegiance? To begin tonight's meeting, I would like to ask the clerk to call the roll.

Sunny Varick-Panu. Austin Crawford, excused. Pat Jones. Present. Kim Rehman. Present. Rob Waits, excused. Dana Crutchfield. Present. Bryant Tungsvik.

Present.

Miguel Miranda.

Present.

And Jerry Cochran, excused. Chair, there are six members. We do have a quorum.

The Planning Commission is an advisory board made up of volunteers appointed by the City Council. The purpose of the Planning Commission is to provide recommendations to City Council regarding changes to the City's comprehensive plan, land use updates, block grant allocations, and zoning code. The Planning Commission is tasked with considering the long-term growth and development of the community, the impact of land use decisions on community, livability, economic opportunity, housing affordability, public services, and the environment. I would like to remind the audience tonight's proceedings are being broadcast live on the City of Pasco's Facebook page and Charter Cable PSC channel 191 and will be rebroadcast several times during the next month. This meeting is also being recorded so you can watch it on the City of Pasco's website, which is pasco-wa.gov. Click on the video on demand link and make your selection there. There are copies of the meeting agenda available online on the City of Pasco website so you can follow along with the meeting. At this time, I would like for you to silent your cell phones to prevent interruptions during our meeting. For those present this evening, when you are given the opportunity to address the commission, please raise your hand so that we know that you would like to address the commission. Speak clearly into the microphone, and so don't forget to hit the button on the front so that way it's glowing red, and therefore you know it's your turn to go ahead and speak, and then shut it off when you're done. And then state your name and city of address for our records. Before we begin tonight's meeting, I need to remind the audience and the Planning Commission that Washington State law requires public meetings like this one being held this evening, not only to be fair, but also to appear fair. In addition, Washington State law prohibits Planning Commission members from participating in discussions or decisions in which the member may have a direct interest or may be either benefit or harmed by the Planning Commission's decisions. An objection to any Planning Commission member hearing any matter on tonight's agenda needs to be aired at this time or for it to be waived. First, are there any planning commissioners who have declaration at this time regarding any of the items on the agenda? Let that be a record that there is no declarations at this time. Second, is there anyone in the audience this evening who would object to any planning commissioner member hearing any of the items on the agenda? Let the record show that there is no declarations at this time. We value your input. We as a Planning Commission need and value your input. It helps us to understand the issues more clearly and to make better recommendations to the City Council. Furthermore, in many cases, your input here at the Planning Commission meeting is your only opportunity to get your facts and opinions placed in the official record the City Council will use to make its decisions. I encourage you to take full advantage of this opportunity. Should we go ahead and pause and add... Commissioner Waits to the roll. Rob Waits.

Present. There are seven members. Okay, wonderful. Thank you.

Okay, next for approval of minutes. The next item is from May 21st, 2026, approval of minutes. These meeting minutes were mailed out to the commissioners ahead of time with the opportunity to go ahead and read over it. And so I'd entertain a motion for approval of minutes.

I'll move approval of the minutes from May 21st.

Commissioner Jones approved the minutes.

I second.

And there is a second from Commissioner Waits. Next, all in favor say aye. Aye.

Aye. Aye. Aye.

The minutes were approved unanimously. Okay, we do not have any old business, so instead we'll go ahead and move on to the public hearings. And the first item is 2027 Community Development Block Grants CDBG Program Allocation. City staff?

Good evening, Planning Commission. Tonight I will be discussing the 2027 Community Development Block Grant Annual Work Plan and Allocations. The outline for the grant program is HUD approves the five-year consolidated plan, which is the goals and strategies for funding for the next five years. Then each year of the consolidated plan, we submit an annual action plan, which is the basis for carrying out the annual goals and activities for each program year. At the end of each fiscal year, we submit the consolidated annual plan evaluation report, also known as the CAPER. Evaluate the which evaluates the annual action plan performance and of course citizen participation is mandatory and encouraged Throughout the process with public comment periods and public hearings like the one tonight It's not moving again, yeah, sorry The consolidated plan 2025-2029 goals are increase and preserve affordable housing. This is done through down payment assistance and owner occupied rehabs. Community, neighborhood, and economic development through facades, public works, and facilities projects. Example would be like installing ADA equipment at the city parks. Homeless interventions and public services through activities like the YMCA and the Arc of Tri-Cities. This is an estimate of the available funds based on the entitlement total for 2026. And as you see, it's only $621,000. There were no prior funds, and I'm not anticipating any program income for this year. So available is the 621,797. For a 2027 allocation, we received 13 proposals. for funding total $807,000. So with an estimated of $621,797, we have a deficit of $185,000. There is constantly a shortfall in available funds due to the volume of proposals exceeding the allocated budget. Additionally, with annual fund reductions by Congress, there is a possibility that we may eventually be unable to support any activity. For example, from 2025 to 2026, we had a $29,000 reduction in funds. The prior year we had $38,000. This is a breakdown by project type, which lines up with the consolidated plan. And this is a timeline of what the path forward is. So the application deadline was August 31st. Tonight we're having the public hearing. um tonight also ends the public comment period for the annual action plan and then next month we will be bringing back a staff recommendation for the planning commission's action and then we will be taking this to city council for their approval and finally update allocation for the final submission to hud With that, are there any questions from the Commission? If not, we'll be opening the public hearing and we'll be hearing from the applicants. And again, at the October meeting, we'll be bringing back our recommendations.

Commissioner Jones has a question.

Thank you very much. Could you go back to that pie chart that showed what the money was broken down to? That went by really fast, and I think it would, since we have an audience here tonight, I think it would be worth leaving that up there for just a minute so they can see the breakdown and the requests that come in, because it is a wide variety, and the money is spread out over a lot of different areas, and it's always a difficult thing, and like your slide showed, there's a deficit of money available versus requests. The amount of money keeps going down. So the slide is very important to show the money does go to a lot of different areas to try to help as many organizations and people as possible. So just leave it there until it feels uncomfortable like it's been there too long. And then advance it. Thank you. Thank you, Chair.

Ms. Webb, I have a question. I looked through the packet. I didn't see the rubric we've used in the past where it describes out priority as well as goal-stated objectives.

That is actually on the long, the big one.

Yeah.

Yep. So it may be kind of small for you guys to see.

So I do see that, but there's no explanation of what three, two, or one stands for in the goals. That's what I was looking for. Oh, okay. You've shared that out. Yeah. Same thing with the priorities, too. Okay. And risk, because not everyone quite understands what that means through your lens or through the applications. Okay, commissioners, does anyone else have any other questions? Okay, seeing no more questions or comments, We'll go ahead and open up a hearing, and each applicant is welcome to come to the mic, and don't forget to state your name and address. Please go ahead and limit down to under five minutes due to the volume of this meeting, the length of time. Consider sharing with us stuff that you have not already added in the application, please.

Okay, so tonight we're going to start with the YMCA if somebody is here.

Good evening, Planning Commission. My name is Colleen Hinman. I'm the Director of Program Operations for the YMCA of the Greater Tri-Cities. And our address is 1234 Columbia Park Trail in Richland, Washington. I want to thank you for the opportunity to speak tonight about our block grant application for the Pasco YMCA with the Martin Luther King Jr. Center. This is more than a building. It is a safe and welcoming place for youth and families. And I don't want to go into details about what we provide because that's been outlined in the application, but I did want to share a story of impact. We had a participant named Lindsay Sanchez. Lindsay started playing soccer with the Pasco YMCA when she was five years old. She played for nine years and she was often the only girl on the team. She helped lead championship teams and she rarely missed a practice. Her coach said what stood out wasn't just her talent, it was her understanding of teamwork and the game itself. Today, she is signed with Cruz Azul, which is one of Mexico's premier professional soccer clubs. Her journey shows that what can happen when a young person is given opportunity, encouragement, and a place to belong. Not every kid that comes through our doors is going to become a professional athlete, but that's not our goal. We want every child to have the right for an opportunity to build confidence, develop character, make friends, and discover their potential. And that's what we strive as a Y to provide every day. There are hundreds of children in Pasco whose stories are still being written. Children need a safe place after school, teens who need positive influences and opportunities, families who need affordable programs and support. The MLK Center serves those youth and families every single day. So with your support of the MLK Center, you're investing in young people, strengthening our families, and building a stronger Pasco community. We are proud to partner with the city of Pasco in this work, and we thank you for the consideration of our application and for your continued commitment to Pasco's youth and families.

Commissioners, do you have any questions? What are your hours that you run the soccer program?

So the building itself is Monday through Friday, 3 to 7 p.m. And then actually our soccer season starts this Saturday where we will run 8 to 8. And then they have games through the week until 7 p.m. We hit capacity at 53, but we had five to six teams that we actually had to turn away because we didn't have the... staffing more the time because that would mean playing till 11 midnight at times which is just not something that we can do but that tells you the amount of people interested in participating so earlier than 3 p.m. others able to utilize the building so we share the space with head start and then there's also indoor leaks that come in during the day but our operations are specifically three to seven that we staff thank you Commissioner Jones

Thank you. In looking at the application, it looks like directly the $20,000 that you're asking for would go directly to providing more kids an opportunity, paying directly for more heads. Yes. No overhead, no anything else, strictly towards more opportunities for kids, if I'm reading this correctly. Is that true? Yes.

And yes, we want that to be, because this is one of our mission-based programs, So we also keep our fees at a very reasonable rate in comparison to other opportunities that the Y provides. So this specific funding is so that we don't have to turn away a participant or family.

So that $20,000 would get a lot of kids some programming. Yes. Rather than just buying a table or chairs or something.

Yes, many.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Can you explain the connection between the $45,000 leverage?

I cannot speak to that, but I can take note and have our CEO respond with her answer for that. Okay.

All right. Commissioners, any other questions? Okay. Thank you so much, Colleen, for your time. Thank you.

Next, we're going to have Columbia Industries doing business as Columbia Ability Alliance.

Well, good evening, everyone. I'm Michael Novakovich. I'm the President and CEO of Columbia Ability Alliance. Our business address is 900 South of Dayton Street in Kennewick, Washington. Thanks for this opportunity to share with you our grant proposal. It's for recreation grants for individuals with disabilities residing here in Pasco. Next slide, if you would, please. So we have two different programs that your grant opportunity for us would fund. It's our Community Center and our Nexus Youth Club. So both of these programs working with individuals, again, with disabilities, Our community center is serving individuals, adult individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. It's a day program. And then our Nexus Youth Club is youth ages 12 to 22. So it's when students are in school before they age out of school. So it's an after school program. Matter of fact, it's a new program for us. We launched it earlier this year. This summer we held the three week long We called them summer socials, but they were youth camps. East Pasco, we were at Crispin Park. We were in West Pasco, we were at Chihuahua Park, and we were in Central Pasco at Memorial Park. Happened to be there in August when it was smoking hot right next to the pool, which worked out. But it was a good opportunity for youth to come together. We had a whole host of activities as we're building community and building capacity with our youth. It is respite care. So for these adults who are providing care to these individuals, they have a safe, secure location for these people under their care. So Maybe they can go to work, visit a doctor, and just take care of a little, provide some self-care as well. Next slide, if you would. So things that we do, life skills development. So things like cooking and fitness classes, the youth of commerce, even logic and reasoning. We do gardening classes, arts and crafts, and so much more. Some of our clients actually live independently, and these skills help them to be successful in those environments too. Next slide, if you would. Community integration, so we actually go out into the community. We'll enjoy events and festivals and so much more. The things that you and I have ready access to that might be barriers for our clients, we remove those and we're able to do it through scholarships. And the next slide. Socialization, this is a big component of what we do and we see a lot of development in this space. So there's community in this space, there's belonging, people develop friendships and they develop these social skills that are so important. It often happens as we're out enjoying our community and it translates to some incredible outcomes and I'll share those in just a moment. But first, if you would, that next slide. The funding, just so you understand how our clients access these programs, some of our clients have what is called DBA funding, it pays for respite care, but there's a limited amount of funds that only goes so far, so our clients are often relying on private pay or scholarship opportunities. For our youth, many of them have not yet connected to those services, so we work to get them connected, but scholarships bridge that gap. And the next slide, if you would. I wanted to introduce you to three different individuals. The one on the top is Sheila. She lives independently, so she does not have respite care available to her. So she relies on scholarship opportunities to attend our community center. Pretty cool opportunity there. I mentioned the power of those social skills. Sheila has really grown in that capacity. She just landed a job through our employment services. When our clients land a job, they ring a bell. Today, Sheila is ringing the bell. She's going to work for the Tri-City Americans, so we are there celebrating her. George, the next gentleman there, funny enough, George and Sheila used to date. They are no longer a hot ticket, but George enjoys coming to our community center. He has limited respite funding available to him, so he relies on scholarships. But same kind of an outcome as Sheila. His social skills have grown. George decided he wanted to become employed, so for the second year, he's worked for the Benton Franklin Fair and Rodeo doing grounds maintenance. It's been pretty awesome. And then finally, Joanna, she enjoys coming to our Nexus Youth Program. She lives in supported living, so she doesn't have respite care available to her either, so mom and dad are having to fund her sessions. Scholarships allow her to attend more sessions and really enjoy that camaraderie and community we build. That's what I had for you. I'm happy to answer any questions you might have.

Commissioner Jones?

Thank you. Your application states six This money would serve six people per quarter?

Correct.

And then for a total of 24 per year? Yes, sir. Would that be the same six per quarter? Or would it vary based on need and application status?

Great question. 24 unique individuals is the intent. So, yes, we'd be serving different individuals. And we do have some other funds that this will be coupled with to allow us to create greater access to our programs.

So $15,000 would be leveraged to provide service for 24 individuals?

That's correct. Thank you. Of course.

Any other commissioners with questions or comments?

All right. Thank you so very much.

Next, we're going to have the Boys and Girls Club of Benton and Franklin Counties.

Good evening. My name is Deidre McCollum, and I'm the area director for traditional clubhouses for the Boys and Girls Club. Our business address is 3315 West Clearwater Avenue in Kennewick. So I'd like to start tonight with our mission. I had the opportunity to work for Boys and Girls Clubs 25 years ago when I was first starting my career, and the mission has been the same since I worked for them then. And it's to empower all young people, especially those who need us most, to reach their full potential as productive, caring, and responsible community members. Next, please. The Boys and Girls Clubs respectfully request $20,000 to support program supply costs at our Pasco Clubhouse. These funds will support direct services for over 600 K-12 youth, particularly those from economically disadvantaged households, providing materials necessary for daily programming and academic success, life and workforce readiness, health and well-being, and character and leadership development. Our youth face real challenges, we know that here in Pasco. 98% of our students qualify for free or reduced lunch, and over 27% of them are chronically absent. After school programs like ours are highlighted regionally as a critical strategy for violence intervention. Boys and girls clubs make a difference. By expanding our focus to the full K-12 continuum, this investment supports early academic intervention, fosters healthy behaviors, and builds the next generation of leaders from the ground up. At the Pasco Clubhouse, we offer a robust slate of programs intentionally designed to provide a safe, welcoming environment where youth feel a deep sense of belonging. By providing programming completely free of charge, we're removing financial barriers for over 600 youth in reaching 60% more kids with the CDBG funding than we did last year. Our goal is to create a safe place where kids want to be, catching them early in elementary school and providing consistent, caring mentorship through high school graduation. Through hands-on STEM activities, daily homework help, and career exploration, we equip them with the tools they need to succeed academically. Our programs also emphasize personal growth and resilience. Whether they're participating in sports and recreation, learning financial literacy, or joining our cooking activities, every aspect of our K-12 program is designed to meet young people right where they are and inspire them to meet their full potential. This project directly aligns with HUD's national objective to primarily benefit low and moderate income persons. It also strongly supports the City of Pasco's consolidated plan and local allocation policy by prioritizing essential public services and specifically assisting disadvantaged youth right here in our community. We've served youth in Pasco for nearly 30 years. The Pasco Clubhouse sees hundreds of youth annually, and it's fully staffed to deliver high quality programming. Further, our organization has experience managing state and federal funding, and we're well equipped to meet all grant reporting and compliance requirements. This funding request of $20,000 will directly support the growth and sustainability of youth programming at the Pasco Clubhouse. As participation increases, so do our operational costs. This investment will help us maintain high quality programming while expanding access to meet rising demand. So thank you for your time and consideration. Your support ensures that more Pasco youth have access to meaningful opportunities after school and during the summer. Safe spaces to learn, grow, and lead. Thank you for considering this important investment in our youth.

Thank you, commissioners. Any questions? Okay. Deidre, I have a question. Yes. So in the packet it says 600 youth is what annually is served, and the 20,000 is now going to serve 374 more?

Correct. Last year the proposal was specifically to support teen programming, but we're expanding it this year to serve K-12 students. Okay.

Wonderful. So almost 1,000. Wow. Okay. Any other questions from commissioners? Thank you, Deidre, for your time. Thank you.

Next, we're going to have Elijah Family Homes. Thank you. Then next, we'll have Christopher with Columbia Basin Veterans.

Hello, my name is Christopher Dare, and I'm the Executive Director at Columbia Basin Veterans Center right down the street here at 1020 South 7th Avenue in Pasco. And it's good to meet you. And I'm excited to share about the Veterans Stability and Resource Connection Program that we have going on. And there's a lot of different programs we have. I'd like you to share the whole picture and then kind of scale down into this if that would work for you. And so... Something you need to know, if you probably are aware, we have over 20,000 veterans in this community, and that is throughout the Tri-Cities. And if you go out about 50 miles, you're almost up to 70,000 veterans. And that's, if you think about the families, it's quite large and quite a need. In this area, we do not have a VA, so what we do, we serve as a non-profit VA. No veteran ever pays a dime to come and see us, and so with that said, every person we see every time is like a new person, and we've actually grown 25% in the last year. With that said, this is our mission, and we have a few different things that we do. We currently do not have a Veterans Therapeutic Court in Franklin County yet. It was tied together, but if you're watching Benton and Franklin have fun together, now they have their own. So we're working with them to have that. But we have our housing, which we have two homes, one in Kennewick and one in Richland. That does serve Pasco residents as well and everybody, but our goal is to have actually a home here as well, right in the city. We have our community outreach and connection. And that piece is one of those things, I don't know if you have seen on the news, but the rising tide of the need of connection and lack of isolation for our veterans because we have suicide on the rise. Now with that said, that is horrible and terrible, but even the steps to that are just as bad. And so even if you came over tomorrow, we'll have about 50 veterans together hanging out, having coffee, and talking with each other. People who usually are in their shell come out and come alive. And so with that said, we easily see 400 to 500 veterans every month, and we get no subsidy from the government. We do grants only, private donation, and other people who care. We do resource assistance and so that's for both Franklin and Benton County. People come in and that's probably every week about 40 to 50 individuals from all over the region that will come helping with utility, helping with you name it from staying in their home, to food, to gas, and different things that they do need. Now, with that said, we are the front-facing group, like a VA would be, but we do that for the Benton and Franklin counties, so the taxes that go in there are the ones that give out that, but they don't pay us to do that. So our people, we do, the people we have in the front office, the lights, the electricity, all the things that we do is what the services we bring. And so we're coming to ask for $30,000 to help us continue to serve this community. And with that said, our budgets, I think it's all on there, but our budget is around $600,000. About half of that comes in in regular kind of grants. So beyond that, we have to continue to raise money. If you want to go through the slides, this is something we want in the future for everybody here in the community. But we do have it for Benton County for now. Would you like to go to the next slide? Our housing assistance is crucial to us. you'll find that no veteran is on the streets if they do not want to be. When I say that, sadly, we don't want them there either. But with that said, we have a place for them to stay, and we quickly jump in there and help. We work with all the groups here in the region to make sure that no veteran is ever homeless if they do not choose to be. And again, we talked about the connection piece. And this is where I'd sit for a minute, which is one of the things that this grant helps us. It keeps us open. We're a beacon, a lighthouse in the community. And what ends up happening is the more that we're here, the more we see people coming to us. We've seen about 6,000 to 7,000 people that we think we'll see this year. But we also know many veterans are not even connected to services. So when we say 20,000 in this region, I think it's more. A lot of them get very frustrated with the process between computer and telephone, and next thing you know, they just don't go after their services. So we're asking for your help to be a part of that. With that said, I understand this finances will strictly serve this community. All of the casework we do and the different things we have have very strict guidelines, and we keep very good track of that. So I'm Christopher Dare, and I am here to answer any questions you might have. You'll see these around town. You might have seen these already because they're kind of everywhere. We'll be doing this again in November as well.

Thank you, commissioners. Is there any questions for Christopher? No. I have two questions. One, the leverage is for $150,000. Can you explain that source?

Yes, I was showing you that we're doing this work either way, and that's my own leverage. We will serve. We will do what we do. We're just asking for... help in doing so. So with that said, nothing's waiting. I understand what that word means, but I didn't want to say that there's no money. I wanted to show you that we will do the work one way or another. It just will be less work.

Okay, wonderful. Second question I have, so you mentioned a 25% jump up. What is your success story for this last past year that has created?

This makes it sound prideful. I moved here from Nevada and I'm the new executive director, been here for a year and a half. With that said, it's not me, it's our team. When you didn't have the right team leader, with that said, he actually helps us. The old team leader does help us, but having the focus in what we've done in the community and been in the community has grown. And so we've almost in a sense turned on a light And our team is rocking it. And we also, the other thing we did, there's a GHN grant that we received that allows us to do case work. So we're not just handing off stuff. We actually keep track of their names. We follow up with them. Kind of kick them in the butt in a nice way to say, did you do what you should do for yourself? And so that's been very helpful as well. So it's a piece of all those things, but it's our team is stepping up and doing the work.

Commissioner Waits?

You mentioned you had a plan to have a house here in Pasco. Can you outline what that looks like?

Sure. I've been talking to Franklin County about it. They have money in their veterans resource finances, and they told me that that's one of their goals. One of the things that you'll find with our housing is that because of how those are funded, it's with the GDP grant. Everything has to be low barrier, and For me, that's okay, but that can't be the last step in that. So I want to have a home in Pasco, which is something our people can graduate into. that allows them to have a next step. And they could even stay there longer as long as they're doing the things that are there. It's a little different for our other homes. Though we can bring them in and we can help them, it has to be a guided path in the sense that it's their own. And some of them work very slow. They can be there up to two years. I'd like to have a home, and my goal would be here in Pasco, that would actually rise it and help them actually not just maybe make it, because most of ours do, but it depends on the grit they have and the skill sets they have. If you have one, we have a whole other conversation, if you'd like.

Commissioner Jones has one quick question before we move on.

Thank you. Do you provide transportation?

We actually do for those who need it. We work very closely with Benton Franklin Transit. There's actually a new transit coming right to our center, right in front of it. And so they have other things, and we hand out those things. But we actually get people to Walla Walla when needed. We take people wherever we can when they can. We actually can't. in some cases because of the accessible needs they have with a wheelchair or something. That's something beyond our staff's availability.

What kind of vehicle do you have that you use for the facility?

We have a minivan.

Okay, thank you.

Thank you, Christopher, for your time.

Thank you, appreciate it.

Next we have Children's Development Center.

Good evening, I'm Paloma Dahan, the development manager at the Children's Developmental Center located at 1549 Georgia Avenue in Richland. Thank you for the opportunity to speak on behalf of the center and for your consideration of our application this evening. For nearly 50 years, the center has been a part of the Tri-Cities community providing developmental services and therapies to infants, toddlers, and children with developmental disabilities, developmental delays, and other unique needs. No child is turned away at our center because of their family's inability to pay for services. Our work is really about giving children the opportunity to reach their potential and giving families the support, resources, and specialized services that they need along the way. Each year we serve more than 800 families throughout our Tri-Cities region. And while our physical center is located in Richland, our impact is regional. We serve families throughout the Tri-Cities and more than one third of the 800 families that we do serve are Pasco residents. Over the years, our center has grown significantly because the need of these services has grown. More services equals more employees. We now have about 45 to 50 employees and we continue to see more children and families who need our services each year. And that brings me to the project that we have tonight. We are requesting $7,000 from CDBG funding toward a 50,000 facility improvement project at the CDC. The project will add accessible men's restrooms and a staff break room. And the opportunity for the CDBG to be alongside us to that finish line is we are investing personally $43,000 of our own funds towards this project. And we're asking the city to help us complete the remaining $7,000 through the CDBG. The economic development component of this request is particularly important to us because our center has experienced consistent growth. And as we grow, we need to continue adding employees so that we can increase the capacity to serve more children and families. The challenge is that our building was designed in the early 1990s when our workforce was entirely women and females. Today we have a much more diverse workforce and with nearly 50 employees, but we do not have a dedicated men's restroom or a break room. That creates a very real facility barrier for us when we're trying to hire and appropriately accommodate male employees. Our current workaround involves having male staff use space intended for female staff, which is not an appropriate long-term solution for our growing organization. So the restroom itself is not necessarily job creation, but the improvement removes that physical barrier that is currently limiting our ability to expand our workforce. By completing this project, we will be better positioned to create and accommodate additional positions at our center as it continues to grow. These employees directly support the services that we do provide the children and families throughout our region, including the many Pasco families who do rely on our center. We also believe that this is a strong example of organizational investment as well. Our center is putting 43,000 of our own dollars and our own resources into this project. And we're asking the city for 7,000 to help complete the final portion and head towards the finish line with us of an improvement that supports the workforce expansion increases our capacity at our center and ultimately allows us to serve more families. We recognize that our building is located outside of Pasco City limits and we want to be very clear about what we believe this project has a direct benefit to Pasco. The investment isn't simply improving a building in Richland, it's helping a regional nonprofit create that physical capacity to employ more people and provide that developmental services that are significant to a number of Pasco families. For nearly five decades, our center has been a part of the community, and we want to continue growing so that we can meet those needs of the children and the families who depend on us. We're very grateful for the opportunity to be considered for this funding, and we appreciate the city's investment in organizations that contribute to the strength, workforce, and well-being of our local community. Thank you.

Commissioners, any questions? Okay, seeing none, thank you so much.

Thank you.

Next we have the Arc of the Tri-Cities.

Hi, I'm Donna Tracy with the Arc of Tri-Cities, and I brought Clifford Morse. And Clifford, do you want to say where you live?

Hello, I'm Clifford Morse, and I'm part of the Arc of Tri-Cities. And thank you for letting me be here.

Do you want to tell me your address? Do you know your address? You live on Hayden Street?

I live on Hayden Lane, 4104.

Pasco, Washington.

Pasco, Washington.

Right. Thank you very much. And Clifford's been with us since you were a kid, right, Clifford? Yep. And I've known Clifford, I've been at the ARC 33 years, so I feel like I've raised half the audience, right? Honestly, I don't usually do slide shows because I'm so lousy at it. But anyway, can you push the button? I'm not good at flowering or anything. Everybody else is so much better than this. But I just wanted to show you some pictures. That was one of our first activities. We were started by parents, and we've been in the organization since 1952. We have long-term relationships with Columbia Ability Alliance and Children's Developmental Center. We have a strong community serving people with developmental disabilities. It's a wonderful community. And we serve year-round. We average in our day program 175 people a week. Clifford's one of those participants. Clifford goes to the Special Olympics, everything that we do. Clifford faced your mom getting ill. And so she reached out to the ARC because she was a single mom and had no other family. And so Clifford is now my neighbor. And we worked on getting him housing and helping him get situated. What I love about the ARC, it's a tool that the families, we have 23 parents who run it. They help motivate and cause. They help each other. We've had adoptions from the ARC. We've had marriages from the ARC. We've done guardianships. It's a safety net for our community. The recreation adds to our life and quality. But in reality, it's that organization of parents, helping parents and families. That really makes it such a vibrant tool in our community. Let's continue on with slides. Of course, we do a lot of activities, and that's why we're asking for that support. Clifford makes just very bare minimum social security. And so he doesn't have monthly fees to pay for a lot. And then you support a living, so then you're left with no money. And we're like Clemmie Billy Alliance. We need a little extra help, and so we scholarship. Clifford and making sure he gets to go a month, you know, and make sure full lives. We do a summer camp. We serve 245 kids this summer, 82 of them one-on-ones. And I have to share with you something that coming up, I've been doing this a long time, and I see a wave of really significant level of disabilities. If you look at your school districts, they're drowning. Families are having a hard time We have a full-time nurse that's just every week talking and navigating. She works with Seattle Children's, helping these families try to navigate very challenging situations. So what we are today, in 10, 15 years, there's just higher needs coming. I love that your aquatic center, you offer a safe environment. It's closed. Especially during the day at school, you'll see that you'll find a lot of individuals that have more high-packed needs. be attending that aquatic center. Let's continue, thank you. What do we do, children, adults? 300 volunteers in Pasco alone, many of them youth. We had kids, about 42 kids donated eight hours a day for the minimum of four weeks, many of them seven weeks. We do Monday through Friday, we do 41 days during the summer. And those kids donate their time to be able to help and adopt these special needs kids and help serve them. Our motto is bring them home alive, and we even have it on our T-shirts. So it's not always easy keeping kids who don't even know where their shoes are alive. So let's continue. Friendship and activities, it adds quality to our life. I'm a mom, and I have some friends, and additional people live with me. I couldn't survive without that supportive respite. I wouldn't be able to help. I have other parents who have done the same. I had one parent that they, one person who lost their mom. We had another family participate and they adopted him. So anyway, I don't want to take any more of your time, but thank you very much.

Commissioners, do you have any questions?

Okay. Thank you.

Next we have Samantha with the City of Pasco. She's going to discuss the Downtown Lighting Improvement Program.

The Downtown Lighting Improvement Program is intended to support energy-efficient exterior lighting to improve safety, accessibility, and appearance. Alleyway lighting was identified as a priority through the Downtown Master Plan. During the implementation of the Master Plan, a nighttime field review conducted with the Police Department identified alleyways as a priority due to the inconsistent lighting and safety concerns. This new program will address those concerns while also being intentional on how the funding will be utilized. Thank you. One of the primary reasons we're pursuing this program is safety. Some of our downtown alleys and the areas behind the commercial properties have very limited lighting. These areas aren't just simply used after dark. They include employee and customer entrances, parking and service areas, pedestrian connections between businesses and other parts of downtown. When those areas aren't adequately lit, visibility becomes a concern. It can be more difficult to see where you're walking, see what's happening around you, or even to clearly identify entrances and access points. That can also make people less comfortable using these areas, particularly in the evening. We want employees leaving work after dark, customers accessing businesses, and pedestrians moving through downtown to have an environment that is well lit and feels safe and comfortable to use. This program is designed to be fairly straightforward for participating property owners. Property owners would apply to participate and the city would review the property, conduct a site assessment to determine the lighting needs and whether the project is a good fit for the program. For approved projects, the city would use the existing federal energy efficient funding to purchase the approved lighting equipment. The property owner would then would work with a qualified contractor to have the lighting installed on the property. With the CDBG funding we're requesting, the city would reimburse eligible installation costs up to $5,000 per participating property. Once the project is complete, the city would verify the installation, complete the documentation required by the funding sources. The property owner would ultimately be responsible for the ongoing operations and maintenance of the lighting. Next slide. The funding is really where this project, it makes this program possible and is also why we structured the program this way. The city has already been awarded approximately $131,000 through the DOE's Energy Efficient Conservation and Block Grant Equipment Voucher Program. We intend to use that funding to purchase the energy efficient lighting equipment. One of the limitations we've encountered with the funding is the installation. Under the structure available to us, the city would need to be responsible for having the equipment installed. Because we're talking about work being performed on privately owned commercial buildings, this creates an additional liability for the city. Rather than having the city manage contractors performing the work on private property, our proposed approach is to have the property owner manage their own installation and for the city to reimburse eligible installation expenses. That's why we are requesting $50,000 in CDBG funding at up to $5,000 per property. Our initial goal is to assist approximately 10 downtown businesses. Although these grants give us the opportunity to launch the program, we don't want this to be a one-time lighting project. Part of what we're doing now is creating the framework for an ongoing downtown lighting improvement program that includes the application process, site assessments, project evaluation criteria, participation agreements, and standards for the lighting itself. Once the framework is established, we can continue using it as other funding opportunities become available rather than starting over each time. The initial funding will allow us to address some of the highest priority locations and demonstrate how the program works. From there, we can evaluate the results, identify additional needs, and look for opportunities to continue expanding the lighting improvement throughout downtown. Ultimately, the goal is to use the funding we already have as effectively as possible while creating a program that can continue to support the revitalization of downtown over time. I'd be happy to answer any questions.

Commissioner Jones?

Thank you. Who will pay for the electricity then once those lights are in?

It will be the responsibility of the property owners.

Thank you.

Commissioner Waits?

mentioned that there were some high priority locations. Is there a list and have those business owners already been identified and communicated with?

Yes. So during the walk downtown, those areas were identified. I believe in 2024, we did do a pilot program to see how the lighting would work. And it worked really well. I honestly should have included the photos of the areas that were lit compared to the areas that are still really dark at night. But yes, those have been identified and we would be working with the property owners to have them apply for the program.

Okay, so your target is 10 of those property owners?

Yeah, that's our initial target is 10, yes.

Okay, and you're already in communication with those 10?

Not at this time. We want to we want to see how about this funding first and depending on this funding Will depend on how we need to proceed with this program.

Thank you and then it would be up to the Commercial buildings property owners to maintain. That's correct. Yes, okay Is there any buy-in that they have to pay for out of the five thousand you said up to five thousand would be reimbursed and

Yes, so eligible costs such as the electrician installing, so they can't just install it themselves. So whatever costs that they do, if they do additional improvements will be on them. It will just be strictly the installation of the lights that they would reimburse for up to $5,000. Okay.

Any other commissioners? Okay. Thank you very much, Samantha.

Next, we have the City of Pasco, Angela Bichon. She's the interim director for the Parks and Recreation. She's going to talk about the ADA improvements playground equipment.

Good evening, Chair and members of the Commission. So the Parks and Recreation Department is requesting $100,000. to expand our inclusive and accessible playground equipment in pasco parks currently about 25 percent of our city parks include inclusive play features most are located at playgrounds constructed or renovated within the last 15 years this leaves many children with disabilities and their families without equitable access to play opportunities in the neighborhoods This project would install accessible equipment or features at one or more eligible parks. The specific improvements would be selected based on site needs and may include equipment that supports children with physical, sensory, communication, or other disabilities. These improvements benefit the entire community by allowing children of different abilities to play, interact, and build relationships together. The project builds on the improvements funded in 2026, including communication boards at six parks for children who communicate non-verbally and an inclusive merry-go-round at one of our parks. The request for $100,000 would be used for the purchase and installation of additional equipment. Ongoing maintenance would be incorporated into the city's regular parks operating budget. Success would be measured through completion of the improvements and observation of how the new features are used by children and families. This investment would remove barriers within public facilities, improve equitable access to recreation, create more welcoming parks for Pasco residents of all abilities. Thank you for your consideration, and I'm happy to answer any questions.

Commissioners, you guys have any questions? Seeing none, thank you very much, Ms. Pashon.

Thank you.

So the other applications that we have are also for the program administration, the facade improvement program, which helps businesses downtown, one of the businesses downtown improve their exterior structure of their building. Then we have the chip miner rehab program, which helps individuals with upgrading housing needs as far as like a roof, an HVAC system, and then we also do have the Section 108 debt repayment that we still have to provide for for the next 18 years. And that's all we have tonight.

Commissioners, any questions for Ms. Webb? Any other statements from the audience? Going once, going twice, three times. It's closed. All right. Our next hearing is the public hearing for UGA expansion resolution, and we'll allow staff to go ahead and share out with us.

Okay.

Good evening Planning Commissioners. Hope you're excited to be back in action after your summer off. I appreciate you taking the break and I'm back on a part-time basis so thank you for working with us on the schedule. We have a longer meeting tonight. This is the second public hearing that is scheduled for the evening. I'll take that clicker if you don't mind. Thank you. And this is related to a resolution for If you want to click that screen, it should liven it back up for me. There you go. This is a resolution and planning commission doesn't typically approve resolutions. I included it just for your knowledge that would be what I would draft for council or something similar. So tonight we are asking for the planning commission to weigh in on this UGA growth boundary topic. and make a recommendation to the city council related to the expansion. And for those of you who, we do have a newer planning commission, but there's a lot of acronyms in government, unfortunately. But for those of you who are unfamiliar with UGA, that is the urban growth area boundary for the city. So we have a line that goes around the city and designates the city limits. And then there's another layer on top of it called the urban growth area. And that's an area where the city has designated a future area that the city could grow. So it's still technically in the county, but we've identified it as an urban growth area where an applicant could submit an application later on and annex into the city limits. So that's what we mean by urban growth area, just basically where the city is growing in the future. So here's the purpose of the item. And during the comp plan process, we have gone through the exercise with the planning commission a couple of months ago where we went through the land capacity analysis and our general plan for the next 20 years. And I have mentioned before that the State requires that cities densify first before growing outward. That's the growth management act is basically consolidate your services. It's better when things are closer together, instead of driving three hours to get a gallon of milk, ideally. you know, it's within a few minutes of where you live. So you want to consolidate services and utilities for efficiency purposes and densifying the city limits and then leave the outer areas more or less dense so that you can have more compact development. So that's the idea behind the Growth Management Act. And as part of the comprehensive plan update, the city is required to look at its boundaries and how much room we have in the city for additional housing, additional jobs. And so the city went through that exercise and determined that we did not need to grow our boundaries based on the existing information. And then we were asked by the county, and we do have county staff present here and both applicants for the application shown on the screen. The county did reach out to us and ask for input on these two applications that are here on the screen. And they both have numbers that's using the county numbering system for input on these applications that are processed at the county level for an urban growth area application. And so the city did review this with its land use consultants and we've outlined in the packet support for the Port of Pasco application for a number of reasons in there. And then the application submitted by Savea Truex, did I say that right? The city has some reservations about recommending approval at this time, not to say later on that we wouldn't. And this is staff's recommendation. The Planning Commission can recommend whatever they want to the city council. The city council will then recommend action for the county to consider when processing this application. And I did want to say I appreciate the coordination with the county. did this profession on the west side of state and the previous two cities I worked for, the counties tended to leave the cities out of the process and it was hard for collaboration. So I do appreciate the county reaching out and this collaboration early on just so we're in sync. We may not have like the exact same take on it, but at least coordinating early on, I think is always a good thing between entities. So I do have a map here on the slides that I will get to. Here's a summary of the two different proposals that are listed in the packet. And there is a correction on the North Ryman property. I believe it's 166 acres, not 180 acres. And then there's a comment that I believe Ms. Patrick printed out and gave to the group. From both applicants, the port submitted a comment that clarified the sequencing for, I believe, the waterline extension, and then Ms. Truax did submit a comment letter in response to the staff report. This is a public hearing, so I'm sure you'll likely hear from one or both applicants later on in the process. Just to show you where these areas are, You know, looking back, I probably could have included a map of the whole city in the UGA, but if you have really good eyesight, there's a tiny map of the entire city of Pasco just right below the legend, and those red areas show the existing UGA areas within the city. The map showing on the screen, this is the first application ending in 01. That's the location. of the 01 application, it's probably easier to start with this one. So this is the Port of Pasco and it's just north of city limits. So the red areas you see on there, those are UGA areas and then the areas outlined in red is city limits.

I wonder if I can kind of wave my mouse around the, yeah, you can see the mouse.

This is the city limits here. And then these red areas are the UGA. And the proposal, the first application, even though it's 02, I'll talk about this first. This is from the Port of Pasco. And this is for an industrial project. I've included the details in the summary. And this is the most logical property to include into the UGA for its proximity to existing services. South of that site is Dairy Gold. And there are utilities that were brought up to it. And then the other site, which is north of the Port of Pasco, would be connected utility-wise. The reason that the staff is recommending that the Planning Commission and Council recommend approval of the port site and not necessarily the other site is because the port site is in a favorable location for utilities. It also has a project that's been underway and it's been working with the City of Pasco related to utilities planning and that project. And then the main reason is this is a numbers exercise for the city of Pasco. And without getting too overly complex with it, the state of Washington requires that cities show their work before expanding their boundaries. It's just the nature of the Growth Management Act established in 1990 In the 1990s, as you want to consolidate, the state wants cities to consolidate and densify. And whether or not you agree with it or not, I know that there's different varying opinions. That is just the state law that you need to densify. And before you expand the boundaries, it used to be easier. So 10 years ago, I believe it was 10 years ago, someone correct me if I'm wrong, on this panel that we have here of our great planners, Pasco did expand a lot of its property or a lot of its city limits in the north end of town. And I believe that would have been a lot harder exercise to do now just because there's more rules and you show your work. If we did want to expand the city limits, we would need to show that there's no room in the city to accommodate this need. So we did the exercise, ran the numbers related to jobs, and found that there was a deficit of jobs in the city limits that could justify this expansion. And the deficit is 187 jobs, and the port project would bring in more jobs than that, but the exercise shows that we can accommodate it. The exercise did not show that we could accommodate both sides from a land use standpoint only. So if you're just looking at the numbers and what the state will likely approve and probably what the county would likely approve, the numbers do need to justify it. So for that reason, that's why we're not recommending approval. If there's a political reason or we want to include it in the recommendation, you know, that's your purview, right? And I can guide you, you know, the pros and cons to it. But from a strictly unused standpoint, that is why we are recommending that approach. So I am at this point happy to answer any questions that you have that are technical in nature before you open up the public hearing. So happy to. Happy to answer. Sorry, I haven't done a meeting in a while, so I appreciate you guys working with me on this presentation.

I feel a little rusty. We feel a little rusty, too. Commissioners, does anyone have any questions? Okay. Can we go back to the map that you just showed right there? And then the white section right underneath the site location, is that where Dairy Gold is?

Yes.

Okay. Wonderful.

And that's in city limits. The red is the UGA boundaries, and then the city limits is, yeah, not colored. So we can work on the colors for the next run of this.

Commissioner Jones has a question.

Well, this is probably where some of my ignorance as someone who's only lived here a few years. This letter that we received about Bjorkman Family Farm, LLC wanting to be included into the process. Is that on the map here?

Yeah, I believe the farm is that property to the north. So that's, let's see here. I've got too many clickies over here. This is the site that is referenced. So this is the Truex application. So that site that's just north. So the port site is north of city limits. And then just north of the port site is the, the Truax application, and I believe that's where the reference of the farm is, right, that's existing there.

So when you reference the Truax application, that's the one for Bjorkman Family Farm? Correct. That's the same thing?

Yes.

Okay.

Yes, and that letter was reemphasizing the application materials and just, you know, emphasizing that that site is located north of the port, so there is a logical transition of utilities, which staff is not arguing against. We believe, yeah, it is an orderly, if we were growing... Maureen needed the jobs. I think that would be a very logical next transition to include.

Yes.

Yes. So that's the site. And then if you go up north, that would be the other one.

Yes.

Questions from commissioners? Okay, seeing none, we are opening the hearing. Please go ahead and state your name and your address when you come to the mic.

Good evening, commissioners. How are you today? I'm Stephen McFadden. I'm the Deputy Executive Director of the Port of Pasco. My role is economic development on behalf of the Port, which is a public agency under the umbrella of the State of Washington with a mission of economic development. There are a couple of things I'd like to make sure that you're fully aware of. Can you go back to the slide with our property highlighted? Where it shows site location, if you were to see the northwest corner, A 16-inch city water line already lies there. We built that at the same time that we built $22 million worth of infrastructure to serve the Darigold milk processing facility. And earlier this week, C&E Trenching mobilized to that 166 acres and is building about a $4.5 million water line project that was designed entirely to city standards. In fact, 100% Design had concurrence and approval from Pasco Public Works. So our site already is in the Long Platte subdivision process with Franklin County, developing seven lots. We have four of those lots under contract with companies that would be classified as light industrial, including cold storage and general manufacturing. And of course, when you're involved in economic development, attracting private business to make private investments in your community and create high-paying jobs is essentially the bread and butter of the work that the Port of Pasco does. This is part of the 300-acre Ryman Industrial Center that we purchased in 2019. We conducted an engineering master plan that was reviewed by the city back at that time, and then we were able, as a result of that master plan, to leverage the funding from multiple agencies to build all the infrastructure necessary to land the Dairy Gold project that was looking for a home in one of 44 cities in three states. So we do hope that you support the expansion of the UGA for a couple of reasons. City Water Line is already going to be on the ground, and we have customers who would like to connect to that City Water Line system. And secondly, we also would like to eventually extend sanitary sewer, which is actually at the proposed UGA addition, it is down at the southwestern corner, and that was because during the Darigold project, it was extended to Darigold's northern property line. Having sanitary sewer and municipal water is really critical to industrial development. At the same time, if you've ever heard of Not In My Backyard, the port prefers to do industrial development on the edge of the city limits because that way we're not right up next to residential development. And this area and about 1,000 acres north of this area is exactly the perfect place for industrial development adjacent to US 395 and a long way from clustered residential density. And I will say that when we do this water line project, that the 16-inch main will actually travel across our northern border and be located immediately adjacent to our neighbor's property line, which would mean there would be water available to them once they were in the UGA as well, or by outside utility agreement. Thank you.

And anyone else? Any questions from the commissioners? Okay. Anyone? Another applicant would like to speak?

Go ahead. Good evening. Is this going to work here? I am Svea Truax, and I am the General Manager of the Bjorkstam Family Farm, since that name has not been pronounced right. And actually, the application has my personal name on it, but that property is owned as the Bjorkstam Family Farm LLC. And it's been in my family for 100 years. The current mailing address for the farm is 958 Hoodview Court, Hood River, Oregon. First of all, thank you. members of the council for your time and your commitment to the City of Pasco. So I've submitted the letter, it sounds like you got it, and some additional documents. That's where I try to further clarify why I am advocating for, I'm going to call it the CPAM-2025-01, which is the Bjorkstam Family Farm. addition to be included in the current UGA expansion. And I hope that you thoroughly consider this analysis by reading what I've submitted. So I will note that in the paragraph in the Notice of Open Record Public Hearing concerning this application, after recommending it be declined at this time, It appears that, as has been mentioned tonight, that that's on the grounds of there's enough land capacity to provide for jobs currently with the inclusion of the other applicant. And then it goes on to state It does not preclude future consideration of the property through a subsequent comprehensive plan amendment or UGA review when additional industrial land needs or specific and infrastructure development plans may be demonstrated. So I'm gonna propose here tonight that those specific development and infrastructure plans are not off in the future, but they're here now. So I have two specific examples of infrastructure projects that relate to the parcel under consideration. Number one, I'm currently in active time-sensitive easement proposal negotiations with the Franklin PUD. And they are, I guess you can, they have, They have power that's going to go up along Railroad Avenue, along the site of the North Ryman, and then it will go up along the western border of my property up to the Big Bend PUD has purchased that corner just north of the site location, and I believe they plan on putting a substation in there. So now they would like to put some power lines going from the port directly all the way up there, all at the same time. And those easements are significant impact to my property. The second thing, and I think Steve mentioned it earlier, is that there's plans to put, between the port property and my property, I've been informed in the last two weeks that they would like to put a road in there. And the port, and my property would each basically donate the right-of-way to the city of Pasco. And again, I don't have a document in front of me. I've just seen an engineering plan. And then there'd be a water line, I believe, as Steve mentioned. And I understand that it would be beneficial to all if the Bjorkstam family farm could share in that construction of that road and then donate the right-of-way to the city of Pasco. So I just wanted to come here tonight and just say that the Bjergstam Family Farm is a willing and able partner in all this infrastructure development. But we request to be treated equitably by being currently included in this UEGA adjustment. And I'll just mention, I think I put in the application a year and a half ago, so you know these UEGA adjustments don't happen super often or overnight. Again, I just hope that you can take a look. I really understand the land capacity numbers, but in this letter that I have sent, I think yesterday, and then the letter that I sent back in July, there's a lot more going on than just land capacity numbers. There's resiliency to the transportation of goods. Say something happens to transportation on the Snake River or one of the dams, Having rail access and this highway access, which this property is located, really helps that resiliency. And also, I don't know that there's a parcel this large that would be available for, say, a larger project that wants to come in and have the UGA resources to help it. And again, the Bjergsen Family Farm really wants to work and partner with the City of Pasco to make all this infrastructure happen, and it's kind of happening now. So thank you again for your time.

Oh, do you have any questions? Commissioners, any questions? Commissioner Jones?

Thank you. If that were to be included in, does that change your tax structure, your tax status of how you would pay your taxes on your land?

I don't know.

Does anyone here know? I'm sure someone in this room knows the answer to that question. Not dollar-wise, but the way it's zoned or anything like that, how it's assessed.

I'm sure when use changes, then that affects things. Yeah, I know that. But I don't know immediately if it would or not.

I don't know enough to speak about it intelligibly. I'm sorry.

Because you're farming the ground right now. Yeah, I'm farming it right now. Is it in open space? I believe so. So it would stay in open space as long as the ground is farmed. What would likely happen is if you were to sell the ground, let's say you sold the ground to the Port of Pascoe, It would have to come out at open space at that time. And of course, as you know, there's a sort of a penalty process when that occurs. So it usually would be something negotiated between buyer and seller. at the time of the closing, where either you're sharing it or one or the other is covering the penalties. But at the point that this gets added, when it gets added to the urban growth area, it would not impact that designation of open space, because the ground would most likely still be farmed for a period of time.

Yeah, on a smaller scale as this stuff happens. Thank you, Steve. Thank you, Steve.

Any other questions from commissioners?

Okay. Thank you so much for your time.

All right. With no further discussion, we'll go ahead and close the hearing. Ms. Mattson, what would you like us to do next?

Staff is requesting... a recommendation be provided from the planning commission to city council related to, um, UGA areas in Pasco. And so you don't, you don't need to approve the resolution. You can just provide a recommendation, um, on the applications. And I don't know if I drafted one in the packet for you, but I did not see recommendation could be to recommend that the city council, uh, consider recommending approval of the North Ryman site, or if you want to include both, you can too. That would be an alternative. But if somebody did want to make a recommendation, for instance, for the North Ryman site only, it could be a motion could be made to recommend that the Planning Commission recommend approval of the North Ryman application uh... cpa m two zero two five dash out to you to the city council naked take something up if you want it on the screen or someone to take a stab at it i can help help you if you'd like that question from commissioners have questions for mismatch so the recommendation at this time is to consider it this i'm sorry that l l c

BFF LLC possibly at a later date. This doesn't make it so that they will have an opportunity at a later date. to apply or be included?

Yes, they can apply at a later date. I'm not actually sure when the next date is available based on the county timelines. We do have the county planning director here if you'd like to know that information. I'm just sorry to call you out there. But yeah, I don't know the exact timing. But they could apply at a later date.

Well, what I'm seeing in this is that your recommendation is because the current capacity is enough at this time yes then the recommendation for the one that the gentleman spoke about being by dairy gold not infringing on residential and all made sense as well as to the city apparently and I support that given everything that I've read and so forth.

Would you like him to share or would you like to turn it into a motion? I don't know if there's any more discussion amongst the commissioners, but okay. Go ahead, Commissioner Jones.

Thank you very much. So is the northern part of this project, Truex property being denied this because of the formula that you've introduced to us tonight, then the formula that the state is imposing on communities to use.

Yes. And tonight isn't like technically the correct term right now. We are formulating a recommendation via resolution for the County to consider when processing the application. So the County will formally approve or deny. the application, but it's my understanding the county will use the city's resolution as part of their review of the application. The reason that staff has not recommended supporting the other is largely based on state guidelines. So I'm looking at it as your professional land use staff person. From a number standpoint, based on state growth figures, and I just, I know that there's a huge hurdle to get through in order to expand the city limits for either site to be honest, any site in the city. You have to justify it and show the numbers. So, from the standpoint from the planning team in the land use perspective. we do not have enough land capacity to justify additional industrial because Pasco has a robust industrial base. Um, politically, you know, Pasco's land use ratios, having a lot of industrial is a really good thing for the city, in my opinion, for jobs and, and that kind of thing. We have a lot more industrial compared to our neighboring cities. So that is something that identifies Pasco. So I think, Yeah, having that additional land even north of Ryman, like from a city perspective, isn't necessarily a bad thing. Looking at it just from the city's perspective, not the county's perspective or the state's perspective. So I understand from a city level council or planning commission or even, you know, our city manager's office may be supportive and the planning team supportive of having that additional property eventually come into the UGA. Just from a number standpoint, I don't have the math to show that it's, going to work. Now, if the group does want to just, you know, say, why not? We recommend the county include both sites. You can do that. It's just likely that the numbers, you know, won't work to justify it. But if you feel, hey, why can't we include that and you want to do that as a political gesture, you're more than welcome to do that. Staff's recommendation is just we can't show the math that supports it. So I can't recommend that.

Right, and that's what we ask you to do is to provide that information and recommendations based on those things that you have to do. I've been involved in city government planning between the state of South Dakota and here for almost 20 years. Never have I ever heard anyone say, gosh, we have too much land. You know, it's just an opportunity to get more land doesn't come along that often. It doesn't seem to me that there are, I get the formula, and I get what the state of Washington is trying to do to our communities. This council has had numerous discussions about those things with residences and what people who own land can do, how many houses they can build on their land, and all the squeezing that we're getting from the state for that. This is another example of that in my opinion. So I very much appreciate the letter submitted. The letter makes a lot of sense to me. I don't see any way where we lose in adding that. It's a logical, it's not like it's zoning or adding on in two different areas that aren't connected or don't make sense. It's a logical direction to go. As the gentleman from the Port of Pasco so eloquently told us, that's the direction they see for the future for all kinds of development. There's highway, there's railroad, There's everything there. Why not be a little bit foresighted here as this organization and recommend to those that see it above us to include them both. And then if it gets shot down as it moves forward, well, so be it. But someone along the line needs to look into the future a little bit and try to prepare us to be in the best possible position to help Pasco grow properly. And so I would make a motion that we recommend including both of the Ryman. Was that the one property?

Yes.

Okay, the Ryman and the Truax properties to the City Council for the urban growth area boundary. Did I say that? Appropriately for a motion?

Yes. I believe you're identifying the sites appropriately enough to where that would work.

Chair, that's my motion.

Motion by Commissioner Jones. Is there a second?

I second.

Second by Commissioner Waits. Let's go ahead and take a vote by saying aye.

Aye. All in favor?

All in favor?

Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye.

Aye.

At this time, aye. Okay.

All right. So, six for, one against. I'll go ahead and explain my against. We do have other organizations besides the state to consider Such as future wise if we end up being too aggressive in the amount of land that we asked to Expand to then the city can end up being sued. I'm not sure how far along down the line that is but you did mention that there's some political pressures and and that might be one of the political pressures. I absolutely understand, like, the want, like, if that land is there to go ahead and get it. I also understand, and thank you so much. It sounds like your guys' farm has gone through it quite a bit for that property. It's been a long time coming, and thank you so much for the work you did in working with the county as well as with the city and sharing that out with us. Appreciate that. So I'm just in good faith I'm not there yet and be able to combine both. All right. We had closed the hearing. And then what's next?

So I've received direction from the Planning Commission to recommend that council adopt the resolution that recommends support of both applications to the county. um, via vote, not in unanimous, but the vote prevails. So I will be as a next step, preparing the packet for council. I have this as a workshop item on September 28th with hopefully a final decision by October 5th. And then we can hopefully wrap that up and get it over to the County to use as a resource as they process the applications. And then staff intends to, um, work with the county as needed for any technical data that they need to process these uga applications and again i appreciate the coordination between the two entities that i i don't see that a lot in my career and that is just very refreshing to have so appreciate it okay and our next workshop is critical area update thank you Yeah, the comprehensive plan update is first. Chair.

Oh, excuse me. Yes. Good night, you guys.

Just jumping ahead. Okay. So I know it's getting late and we have packed this agenda, so I will try and be quick. And tonight, the purpose of this presentation is to give you an overview of the comprehensive plan. And I have done this already with the group. different states I'm throughout the year but I would like to give you an overview so that you are refreshed and that by the time we come next month with our 800 pages of comprehensive plan update you'll you'll know at least the the general themes and then I do I am joined tonight by our planning team as well and they do a great job on implementing the codes that are in place when they review current development applications. And the comprehensive plan does guide down to development review for sites. So this is the overarching plan for the city. It's the 20 year update. It's our dream for Pasco. Where do we want to go in 20 years? What do we want to be while addressing state requirements and things that we have to address? So this is the purpose of the plan. It's required to be updated every 10 years for Pasco. And it's also a state requirement so that cities plan for infrastructure and that, you know, the idea is that you don't avoid The idea is that you avoid haphazard development or start placing uses that don't belong next to each other. It just goes back to the concept of zoning. Here's the comprehensive planning. I've mentioned this a few times. The Growth Management Act was established in Washington State and there's the picture of our county and city there. And you are required to look ahead and establish a roadmap. And this plan looks at everything. It's the environment, it's the land uses, it's housing, it's jobs, it's economic development, police, fire, library, just every services, like everything you need in a city for it to function correctly. You're supposed to look at all the elements and update it at least every 10 years, but ideally you are updating it more as needed. Um, so the land capacity analysis, we've talked about that as well. That's also a state requirement and it is a jargony term and a little technical, but the easiest way I like to explain it is just you, what do you have room in your city for? What do you have in your city right now? What's filling up the city and, What land do you have left and what can you put in that land? So the land capacity is just a snapshot of the city. What's in the city right now and what do we have room for moving forward in the next 20 years? And do we have enough room in the city for the next 20 years, which we covered in the previous topic and decided, you know, we do have room and maybe a little more room for one or two of those sites, but the numbers showed for one. So we work with the county and the state and we look at our land capacity within the city and use this allocation to determine what's going on in the city in the next 20 years. And these numbers have been shown before, but we do have a future population estimate in Pasco of 121,000 people. That's the city and the UGA. Currently, I believe we're around 85,000 in Pasco. So that's quite a large growth number for the next 20 years. So we are expecting to get more people in the city, more growth. And then on top of that, we have an estimate of 20,000 or just less than 20,000 new housing units that are projected to be needed to accommodate those new people moving into the city. And then with that jobs, we have an estimate of about 13,000 jobs for the city. And so we look at these numbers and these numbers are provided by the state and cities are required to grow. So politically there's cities, maybe even Pasco would like to not grow and stop growing and not let anyone else in the city and just keep it the same size forever and ever. And there's a lot of cities in the state who would probably like to do that too. And there's some cities that want to grow, but the state requires across the board that all cities have to accommodate growth in order to address the housing shortage statewide. And I believe it's a pretty big number, about 300,000. units housing units where there's a shortage and then the cost goes up and and there's a shortage so the state has dictated that cities address this deficiencies at the city level and so there's a additional step to the 20 000 housing units the previous update required that you provide 20 000 housing units or whatever amount we were assigned the the new regulations require you to provide that many provide capacity for that many housing units, but then also for a variety of housing units that addressed multiple income levels. And we've done a deep dive into this, so I won't spend too much time. The summary is here on this slide. Pasco has a deficit of low income units, so apartment units. And that's pretty obvious when you drive around town, you see a lot of the historic you know, homes with the big lots, especially in the Riverview area. And then you see in the north end of town, single family homes, smaller lots being built. You don't see a lot of apartments. There's some cropping up in the Broadmoor area, but when you're driving around Pasco, I wouldn't describe it as a very apartment heavy city. And in order to address different income bands, people that, you know, make a certain amount where they could maybe only afford an apartment to live in, we don't have that type of housing in in pasco and we need to verify their zoning will allow for it so that is a state requirement and then there is a requirement that we've talked about too about middle housing the different types of missing middle housing um allowing for more accessory dwelling units duplexes triplexes four plexes um everything in between a house in an apartment unit those those types of housing units so we have a deficit of the lower income band there on the screen, you can see 6,200 units approximately. And then we have a surplus of the 80% to 100% AMI income. So those are just the bigger single family houses that would cater to those income levels. So we look at all of these requirements at the state level, study what's in PASCO, look at our existing codes and say, okay, do our existing codes allow for, these types of uses, and we do need to revise our codes to allow for additional housing types in PASCO, which we've talked about. So there's housing needs, and we've talked about the land capacity analysis, and then as far as the overall comprehensive plan, and you'll start seeing the drafts next month. Um, we have these themes for the update to comply with state mandates and a lot of the state mandates this year revolve around housing types. For the most part, there's been some updates to critical areas regulations, but most of its housing, um, climate change, which this group has talked about previously. So those are the state requirements related to affordable housing, reducing parking and allowing for middle housing in cities. And then we need to respond to the land capacity requirements. And then, of course, our community feedback, which I believe is very important to hear from the community. And we have done a bit of outreach. You know, not unique to Pasco, we did not get a ton of feedback from the community. We have done a variety of outreach efforts online. We've had a nice online open house. I don't know if a few of you have been able to log in and and look at it, but it shows our plan for the next 20 years. And we had a community dinner, a little get together with a few of the community leaders. I think there was about 15 to 20 people that showed up to that and we got some input there. And then we have feedback from the community. There was a survey We tried to make it really easy, like swipe left or right if you like this type of housing or if you like this type of park. We did get some good feedback on it and we felt that it was pretty user-friendly. The feedback is shown here on the screen. And, you know, you can see what people were in favor of. There was a few people in favor of corner stores. I saw some comments based on like pedestrian facilities that they need to be better lit, more parks easier to get around town. So we do take in all of this information when we update the comprehensive plan and put policies in place. And we use these guiding principles and establish bigger ideas. So this is just a simplified version. When you get the packet, it won't be simple. It'll be a huge packet of the comprehensive plan for you to read through. And I would suggest when you're reviewing the materials, you don't need to memorize everything. I'll talk you through it. But just kind of read through it. It's meant to guide the city growth. But don't feel like you need to be an expert when you come to the meeting. I'll talk through all the different elements. We're taking the old comprehensive plan and just updating it. to address state guidelines and community feedback. So we're giving it a good refresh. So these are the big ideas that are within the plan that include a variety of connected neighborhoods, safe routes to school, well-used parks and public spaces, and connection to the shoreline. And that came up a few times throughout the process, just embracing the river. I believe Planning Commission brought it up too when we looked at the economic development element. Pasco has a beautiful river that surrounds the southern border and there's just not a lot of places where you can see the river unless you're going specifically to a certain location. So that was brought up during the process and there were comments related to a range of housing types for the community, mixed-use neighborhoods, neighborhood corner stores. I believe there was a state bill that came through this year to require corner stores in residential neighborhoods. I don't think it passed though. It could be mistaken, but I don't believe it passed. I would anticipate it would pass either next year or the year after, just the way the state is going with these regulations. Safe routes to school, that's important to the community. and trying to keep it positive tonight with the state regulations. Then the big ideas, the open space areas and well-designed parks are always appreciated by the community for use. Then connection to the shoreline, which I mentioned. And as far as the element updates, we are working to consolidate the land use map. And we've covered that in previous meetings. The land use map is just a color coded map of the city that shows where certain uses can go. So it's the overarching map. And then under the land use layer are certain zones that bundle under those land use. So on the screen, you can see the color coded land use designations on the right hand. side of the screen we have a list of our current land use designations throughout the city and then the proposed we've consolidated and the reason we've consolidated the residential designations um for example low density and medium density is with the state guidelines on middle housing those there's really no distinction between those anymore so we've combined those into one neighborhood residential designation and then have reduced the amount of land use designations. And we do intend to do that for zones as well, consolidate zones. Pasco has a lot of zones throughout the city and a lot of them do similar things. So we'd like to consolidate it to make it easier citywide. So that is a theme you'll see in the comprehensive plan update packet. Housing element. The baseline within the housing element is that four units are required to be allowed per lot in the city, everywhere in the city. So that's a big change. And I know we've, we've talked about this quite a bit and it does reshape how we look at density. So for example, the city of Pasco in certain zones say you can have X amount of units per acre. It's now transformed to units per lot. And in theory, there's a minimum lot size. You can't fit four units on a 500 square foot lot. But that is the shift that the state has made with four units per lot. And our zoning code and land use code will be built around it. So it will be a shift for the planning staff, for our customers, for property owners. Um, the easiest way to explain it is it'll be more favorable to fitting more units on your parcel, but you will still need to maintain fire setbacks, building setbacks, you know, design guidelines, those, those kinds of things. So you can't just fit four units on every lot. If you have enough room and you can meet all the development regulations, you are allowed to based on state regulations to fit four units on, on any residential parcel that allows for single family homes. That's the biggest change I would say in the comprehensive plan update this year that will be faced by PASCO. We do have some zoning concepts that I'm excited to share with you. It will be next month related to the unified development code update where we are looking at the zones. There's not too much flexibility for distinguishing mill housing throughout town, but what I heard from planning commission and council was that we wanted Riverview to be as Suburban as possible. So there are some things that we will distinguish between the Riverview area and the north end of town That that will hopefully make it less dense in the Riverview area But we really can't get around the four units for a lot that will be allowed but there's some some things we can do to maybe do bigger setbacks in Riverview and this is all up to the Planning Commission to provide input on that so that will be next month and due to timing and We are likely going to be holding a public hearing on that just to hear comments on it in October and then another public hearing in November so that we can get it to council to approve by the end of the year. So that will be coming in October. Then parks and space, open space element, as part of the comprehensive plan, we look first at the land use, how many houses, how many people, how many jobs are in the city, and then how can we accommodate these people and provide sufficient park and open space for these individuals. So that will be part of the update, too, where we update the parks element. And then the economic development is our plan for economic development in the city, and we've covered this with the group as well. And then other elements that coincide with this are the capital facilities plan, the utilities, public services, and the resources. So the plan is really just the blueprint for the city over the next 20 years. And it's generalized, but there's enough policies in there where you can use those later on and reference the plan for multiple areas of the city. It really guides how we grow and how our city operates. Next steps, that should say questions for Planning Commission. I apologize there. We will be providing you the draft comprehensive plan elements in October. And I think we can get away with just one meeting per month if, you know, there's not, we'll know in October. So I'll bring the whole plan to the Planning Commission. And if there's just a section, like, let's say climate change, which I don't think will be an issue because we've covered it already. But if there's a section that the planning commission is like, this is so way off base, we need more time to do a deep dive. We may need to talk about having a second meeting in November, which gets a little awkward with the holidays. So I think we've had enough check ins to where nothing you see will be a surprise. We've brought you. different pieces along the way and to city council as well, just because everything pinches at the end of the year. We will bring you the large packet. There will be a lot of reading. We'll try and get it to you earlier if we can, so that you can space out the reading because it does get a little dense. But what I would suggest is read through it and just flag things you have questions on, keep a list, and then we can just go through it next month. So we'll bring the draft elements and then we have some noticing paperwork, environmental review to do, but we're hoping to get your feedback next month and then hopefully approval in November so that we can move it to city council to approve before the first week in December. So it's moving quick. If there is a catastrophic event or something that really needs to be looked into further, we can talk about piecing that out, adopting the rest of the plan and get to that later. But I don't want to, you know, make up different scenarios that may not even occur. So next month you'll get a large packet. I'm hoping that we have enough people for a quorum so that we can keep this moving and that will be what we present to you. So does anyone have questions about the comprehensive plan or the concept or anything or what's coming? Any questions that you have? I'm happy to answer.

I have a question. Was ADUs surveyed? to find out what the public thinks about possibly living in those situations?

Yeah, mixed feedback. So like I said, we didn't get a ton of feedback from the public. I think there were a couple hundred responses for the survey, which was great, the swipe left or right. I think that one was easy for people to utilize. So I think there's mixed feedback for it. There's some people who don't like ADUs in their neighborhood, and there's some that just love it as an economic thing. you know, they can't afford a full house, so living in an ADU and being able to own it would, you know, help them out. And that is a requirement by the state. So it is good to get feedback on the matter, but, you know, whether for good or for bad, it is required by the state to allow two accessory dwelling units per lot. And now the city is required to allow ownership opportunities of accessory dwelling units. So before we could say, You can have one ADU per lot. The owner has to live in either or so it doesn't become rented out, both units rented out. Now the city can't establish that as a regulation. Both the house and the ADU can be rented out and the ADU can be condominiumized essentially so that you can own the ADU and the property around it. There's just more ownership opportunities that will be allotted to folks for middle housing and accessory dwelling units. And we are working on the municipal code as well at the same time. So there's two huge projects going on right now. One, the comprehensive plan, the 20-year plan, and then some municipal code changes that have to be changed at the same time. Otherwise, we're not in compliance with state law.

Any other questions from commissioners?

OK. All right.

Thank you.

Ready for the next one and I will be quick. There are a lot of slides on this and I believe we have Hillary Hahn online. If she's not, we'll get her next time. Yep, she is online. So I'll just go through the presentation and if I get stumped, I'll refer to, I'll ask Hillary for help, but she is, she's listening. And she's with FACET and has helped us with the critical areas ordinance update. So this is a rather straightforward update except for one component. And this is another state requirement to do by the end of the year. And it's related to updating our critical areas ordinance. And PESCO is unique as far as critical areas. It's very not unique to Tri-Cities, but it's just dry. There's not a lot of wetlands or fish habitat. We have the river. And we have shrub stump habitat. So there's not, and there's some priority species habitats around town, maybe for wildlife, but it's not a very, like, it does not have a lot of critical areas in the sense of wetlands and fish habitat throughout the city, like you'd see on the west side. So as far as that, it's fairly straightforward. It's not that, a lot of sites in Basco do not have critical areas at all. So it's not a very heavy topic for this city specifically. But either way, we are required to update the critical areas ordinance. And it falls asleep if you don't click on it. And we hired Facet, like I said, to help us do what's called a gap analysis. And that's the review of the code and then identifying in the code what needs to be revised, either for the city or state guidelines. And so We are required to establish what's called best available science to reference when we're changing the code. And we especially need that if we're going to deviate from any state requirements. And here on the screen shows definition of critical areas. So those are listed on the screen. I won't go through all of those with you. And there is a requirement that if you develop, there is a requirement to have a no net loss in ecological function. So I'll use Trubstep as an example since we have that in PASCO. And that is the... vegetation you see, the dried out vegetation, it provides habitat for different species. So if you were to develop a site and you had some high quality shrub steppe habitat or a burrowing owl nest or anything like that, you probably need to actually build around the nest and leave that there. But if you were to develop over a critical area, you would be required to replace it or have no net loss in function. So this is where qualified professionals help with these site studies. We do have, you know, staff is familiar enough with it to review the reports in-house for the most part. If it gets super complicated, we would likely send it out to a third party. But for the most part, you know, we would require either a site visit or a report that says there's a critical area on this site and we're either going to build around it or if you impact the critical area, how are you going to make up for it so you're not losing any of the function of the critical area. And this is a state code referencing best available science. And then I'm going to go really quick through this. Um, this is the gap analysis. So we focused on different, these are different sections of the municipal code and definitions need to be updated. And these are listed here. And this is to comply with state regulations. It does look like Pasco updated the critical areas ordinance in 2021. So there's not too much of an update to do other than just fine tuning. some of the shrub step guidance, which I felt was lacking when I started working here and working with applicants and staff. Our code didn't really call it out specifically, and applicants were relying on submitting their application, having the Washington Fish and Wildlife staff go out to the site and look at it and determine what was shrub step habitat. The applicant would say, okay, this is what the staff have said. Now we are going to mitigate for these shrub stuff that we're getting rid of. And I don't think there's anything inherently wrong with how that was going, but the city of Pasco is its regulator of critical areas, not fish and wildlife. So fish and wildlife can give, you know, advice, reference their codes. And we do have to comply with the state codes and being compliance with it. But the city is the regulator. So what, what we're aiming to do is, um, revise the process a bit so the city has more of like a say of the shrub step review and what goes on in the city of pasco and what what shrub step is let's define it and put it in code so that it's clear for the development community what shrub step is and what it isn't instead of relying on field visits to kind of determine the field visits are great i think that it is good to get on the ground and see it but i also believe that there should be a clear path in code that is um, predictable for applicants. Here's what shrub step is. Here's how it's defined. Here's what it's not defined as, and then do an approach. And with these critical areas, if you do a re uh, approach that's slightly different than the state guidance or completely different than state guidance, you are required to establish your best available science. Um, so we have some options at the end. I'll present to the planning commission. So we're moving through the different changes to the best available science. There's some provisions that are going to be edited. And you can see that in the packet, the changes that we're making to these different topics here. And we did have a meeting with Fish and Wildlife. And Hilary, that might be something I'll ask you to weigh in on after I'm done with this slide, if you're there. If you're not, that's OK. We can get you at the next meeting. But for planning commission tonight and council eventually, we will have two options for consideration. The first is to incorporate the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife guidance and management recommendation by reference. Um, so we would be referencing the state guidelines and just adopting those straight across the board related to critical areas. And the state is in the midst of updating their guidelines still is as far as I understand. So we don't have the guidelines yet, but they're coming. They won't be done until next year. So we could adopt their guidance, current guidance right now, and then the new guidance. I believe the current guidance is lacking clarity in my opinion. I just, I don't think it's as clear as I would like it to be. And I know that they're working on it right now. The second option would be to do a more tailored approach to PASCO, where we have our own local regulatory framework and we establish more detailed Um, shrub step standards and review procedures directly with Pasco. This is what I would recommend that we, we do just so it's more specific to Pasco and that we can guide the applicants through, through the process. Um, and, and Hillary, if you're on, is there anything that I missed there with the two options that you wanted to, to mention as far as how the process would work out if you're, if you're there? She may not be there. No, that's totally OK. So that is what I would recommend. And we did have a meeting with Fish and Wildlife to discuss this, and we will be sending them the documents to review. So that would be the policy direction that I'd be asking for from the group. I think with wetlands, we don't necessarily need to spend a ton of time of pushing back. I did work for a city previously on the west side that did not appreciate the state's guidelines as written and wanted to have it more tailored for urban development and felt that you know, for example, on a wetland, a hundred foot buffer doesn't really make sense in every situation. If you were to apply the new buffer, it would just, you know, apply over homes. And so we wanted to do our own wetland buffers at the last city I worked at. So this is, this would be similar here where instead of just outright adopting the fish and wildlife guidance, we would have our own regulations that where we look at site specific characteristics and potentially look at areas if they're so degraded to the point where there's, you know, not a shrub step habitat there. Is it even shrub step habitat at that point? Does it need to be medicated or is it just, are we going to call it not shrub step and then move on and develop? So we want to have more tailored regulations. to Pasco. So that would be the question to the group. And then if you want to click on that screen, wake it up again for me. Thank you. Aqua for recharge areas. That's a type of critical area that I don't think we encounter too much in Pasco that is required. We do need to update our GIS maps to make sure that we have these different critical areas here. Flood hazard areas is also another one. There's not a huge amount of changes proposed to that. And like I said, we're changing different definitions for the fish and wildlife areas, and then a definition for qualified professional and just trying to outline this. So it's more user friendly and easier to use for staff and for applicants so that it's more clear. And then exemptions will be a lot more clear in the code, um, which critical areas exempt and when, and then reasonable use exceptions will be updated. And we have information in there, um, related to pre-application meetings and the process. So it's a little easier for applicants to understand. And then here on the screen, we have option two for the strobe step regulatory approach where, um, the director has discretion in there and then we'd review a preliminary reconnaissance and not necessarily require a full on report as the first step. So it'll save some money at the beginning. Um, and then here's some determination language that we'll put in there. You don't need to know all of this in there. It's in the packet and I'm trying to cover the bigger themes here. And then if, if a detailed study isn't required, there's stipulations in the code that allows us to waive it in certain situations. Then general provision changes. Those are also in the packet. And then, um, some other updates to address state requirements related to wetlands. And then same with the fish and wildlife habitat conservation areas. I'm just going through this quickly because I know we are running a little late today. And then here's the shrub step habitat approach here. And I just need, I can't see from here, so I need to look at it for one moment. So this is helpful in the code. When I first started working here, I wasn't really familiar with what shrub stub was and applicants were asking how to mitigate for it. And our code actually didn't list it in there as far as I'm aware. So we are putting specific requirements that are specific to PASCO and not generic terms, which I think will be a lot helpful, a lot more helpful for developers. So this will show what you need to do for these specific shrub stub habitats. Then some more updates here. for the aquifer recharge area and geologic hazard areas. So I didn't go through all the slides of all the code changes. I think the biggest political change for this code would be the shrub step guidance. Um, instead of adopting fish and wildlife guidance or the upcoming guidance, we can create our own in the code and still follow state regulations and the state will be required to review it. So that would be the policy question for the group. Would you prefer that we adopt the state standards for shrubs up, or would you prefer a tailored approach for shrub step? Um, in, in Pasco is the question I have.

Um, so. Before there's a motion, is there any discussion or questions for Haley?

Haley, I have a question. So if we tailor our own, don't we still have to meet the state guidelines? I mean, ours have to be at least as good or not good or whatever. We have to follow the guidelines of the state. Do we not for that?

Yes, we do, but we can establish our own best available science to back it up and maybe not have the exact standards as the state. So it would be a little more tailored to PASCO. Okay, thank you. I have a question.

There's a commission, or sorry, there's a question from Commissioner, can you remind me how to pronounce your name, please?

It's just Sonny.

Sonny, okay.

I guess for me, just understanding from that perspective. What is the advantage and disadvantage of adopting the state versus having our own? What does that mean to economic development and things like that? I just want to get that perspective.

I would say, just to be transparent, that the standards would be more flexible for the development community than adopting the state regulations. You still can't achieve no net loss. So you still have to replace any habitat that's degraded or anything that you develop over. I think that, you know, if we have our own guidance on what shrub step is and define it, I don't believe there's clear guidance out there right now. I believe right now applicants are developing, inviting the state to come look at their site. They're getting advice on site, which I think is great. I'm not coming down on that current approach, but just having more clarity, I think is helpful. Like I would say if we adopt the state guidelines that aren't even really out yet, like, so I don't know what they are. So I'm a little hesitant to put into the city code that we're adopting the state guidelines that you know, subsequently are still being adopted. So I would say the pro to it is it's just more tailored to Pasco and more on the grounds where we adopt our own you know, mapping and methodology for shrub steppe. They may come out with a map that says Pasco has, you know, 50% covered by shrub steppe, but maybe it's not updated. Maybe like there's more information on the ground. So this allows applicants to look at sites on a site-by-site basis, let us know if there's shrub steppe habitat there. So I would just say it's just more tailored to Pasco and possibly more flexible for applicants. And if it helps, I could walk through maybe an example site at the next meeting and just say, here's a site and here's what the applicant would need to do and this is what our regulations would do versus the state if that helps walk through it more.

Any other questions from commissioners? Commissioner Jones? Do you have a statement? Nope.

I think that would be a good idea. That way we could actually see how it applies and where if we did our own, it would be better off for our development versus how just blanketing the states would impact our developers that we work with on a daily basis. So great idea. I would look forward to seeing that myself.

Okay. Yep. We can walk through what our current process is and then what it would look like with the state regulations, then city. Then you can see the changes. and see a specific site example. I'm not sure if Hillary, are you online by any chance? No. She's the smart one. I did let her know that she could come to the next meeting and answer questions, so if I did get stumped, we will invite her to the next one. Does anybody else have questions on this?

Director Matson. On that information that you're gonna share with us for the next meeting, walking us through the steps that would be for both directions, whether it's Fish and Wildlife, their regulations, or the new SHREP definition, you had mentioned something about some cost savings. Could you add in some of those pros and cons too, as well? Awesome. And then the second question I have is, are we fully staffed as, um, the community director or economic directors, um, staffing, um, for the department, like the community and economic development department?

Are we fully stuffed?

Yes.

Um, I believe that we still have one pending position. It's a building inspector position in the department. I believe we've recently filled all the other vacancies. Is that accurate? You guys. Okay.

And do you foresee that you will have enough staffing for taking more of the burden of evaluating the land and stuff like that versus the Fish and Wildlife?

I think so. If the code is easy to understand and read through, if this is what you need and this is what you don't need, then it makes it a lot more efficient for staff to go through it. And I believe, yeah, we have very competent staff that can go through this. So yeah, I believe, you know, we're not in a position to go out and be a scientist and look at the shrub step and say, Yes or no. That is on the applicant to do their initial reconnaissance. I would say as good practice, we would go out and look and just make sure, you know, get eyes on the site. If it looks like a robust wildlife habitat, I think anybody even without a science background would say this might need to be looked at closer. But I'll use myself as an example instead of just generalizing. You know, I don't have a scientific background. degree, but I know enough about habitats that, yeah, if you see wildlife there, or if I go out there and it's dust and like a few dry tumbleweeds, not even connected to the ground, I'd probably say there's not much subset habitat here and maybe get a third opinion if needed. But then at that point, I wouldn't say applicant, you need to invite fish and wildlife out here, get a consultant out here, pay for a scientist. Like I would just say, I think, you know, based on your reconnaissance, your report, following our new critical areas ordinance, you wouldn't need to go to that step. So that's where the cost savings would be instead of just, Hey, a map shows there could be a habitat and a report is automatically required kind of a thing. So savings to the developer as well as to the city? Yes. Okay. Yeah. I would say it's going to save staff time. Just having it in code makes it easier instead of trying to invent the process as you go. Okay. All right.

And then, um, yeah. So for staffing, we know that, you know, budgets are tight everywhere. Don't know what that, uh, crystal ball will show as far as like, well, we have enough staffing. So thank you for, budget for enough staffing so thanks for sharing that is there any other comments from the commissioners oh do you mind going back to the slide that had the two options please so we can be able to see some of the language that you're asking

I'm going fast. They did have tiramisu. It has coffee in it. I think right before the meeting. Um, I thought I had a slide. Oh geez. It's probably at the beginning. I think it was towards the beginning. Um, yeah.

Did I pass it? Yeah.

Oh geez. It's like when everyone's watching too. Okay. There it is.

Yes.

Yeah. So option one is, adopt the state guidelines, option two. And I also should have mentioned this before. This is meant to be an introduction to the topic. So if you need more information than what I've given, I've given a very high level overview. eight 45. So I've tried to go quick, but if there's something in here that I've said that you want like more information on next month, let me know. That's, that's mainly what I need from the group right now. You don't necessarily need to say option one or option two. I have a hunch what maybe you're leaning toward, but if you need more information at the next meeting, let me know. And I'd be happy to provide that is what I'm mainly asking for at this point.

I think that information that we inquired about earlier, would really help out. Great. Okay, I have it down. Thank you. Okay, anything else good for the order?

Yeah, I have a few director updates, and I'll go really quick. And to save time, I'm just going to read from this. piece of paper. This is related to development agreements. So recently the city managers or staff has requested that an ordinance be prepared that amends how the city of Pasco reviews and approves development agreements between the city and developers. And for the group, if you're not familiar with the development agreement, it is an agreement that is between the city and the developer related to a development project. And it is used to not replace zoning, but, you know, allow for different stipulations required to the development and, Deviate. Yes, thank you. Deviate from the code. So our code currently is written to bring development agreements to the Planning Commission. And that is very rare to have a Planning Commission review. It almost would be like having Planning Commission review a subdivision application, which used to be the norm. And it's, you know, Planning Commission has shifted over time to more legislative and bigger picture items, which I think is more important. And then the code implementation is our planning staff, where they look at the code. implement it. And then the hearing examiner is a third party that's separate from, you know, neighbors and knowing people. And it's just, you know, independent third party that looks at these types of things. So development agreements, we are revising that code so that those go to council only. And we are in the midst of working on one right now. So due to timing, we are bypassing the planning commission and taking it straight to council. to make that edit. And so I was just letting planning commission know as a courtesy that we're working on that. And our code currently does allow for certain things to go straight to council and not planning commission. And that is something that I think we could clarify a little bit better in the Pasco code. Every city is different. So I think there's pros and cons to bypassing the planning commission. So we will be outlining that more in the municipal code that we bring to you, but I wanted to bring that up to the group. that that will be going to council. So if you have any comments on that, let me know and I can pass those along. And then the other comment I had is the municipal code update. We will be bringing that to you next month and that will be a series of code changes related to cleaning up Pasco. And I would look at it as phase one of many phases to come related to the municipal code. We will be updating certain zones and and those types of issues. And, and tonight I did, I was joined by most of our planning team, which is great. We have Dan, our planner two, Shannon is our planner two, right? Yep. And then Ivan is planner three, you know, Ivan and then Daniel's our planning manager and myself, Haley, and then Carmen, our admin assistant. So. I just appreciate this group very much, and there's a lot going on in PASCO right now, lots of development, code changes, and I invited the group to come so that they could gain some insight into the comprehensive plan update and the critical errors update. because it does relate to what they're working on.

So I appreciate you guys coming and staying late and doing what you do.

And I also appreciate the Planning Commission. You are volunteers. You don't get paid to come here and stay late and talk through these big topics that are sometimes exciting and sometimes not exciting. So I appreciate your work and what you do for the community. So thank you. That's all I have.

Thank you, and welcome back, everyone. Is there a motion to adjourn? Okay, do I have a second?

I'll second.

There we go.