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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCity Council Committees - Planning and Economic Development Committee - 10/08/2012 ECDC Minutes October 8, 2012 Page 1 of 3 ECONOMIC & COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE MINUTES October 8, 2012 Committee Members Committee Chair Jamie Perry, Deborah Ranniger, Bill Boyce. Perry called the meeting to order at 5:30 p.m. 1. Approval of Minutes Councilmember Ranniger Moved and Councilmember Boyce Seconded a Motion to approve the Minutes of August 13, 2012. Motion PASSED 3-0. 2. Glenbrook Neighborhood Council Recognition - Resolution Neighborhood Program Coordinator Toni Azzola introduced members of the Glenbrook Neighborhood Council: ValRae Pullin, Patty Alfonso, Sherry White, and Phyllis Haynen . Azzola stated that the Glenbrook Neighborhood consists of 148 homes and is located off 152nd Ave. SE south of Kent Kangley. Committee Chair Perry described how the neighborhood grant program could benefit Glenbrook and stated that the Glenbrook Neighborhood Council Resolution would go before City Council for adoption. Perry congratulated the Glenbrook Neighborhood for their participation and noted that the City has formed 23 neighborhood councils to date. Councilmember Boyce Moved and Councilmember Ranniger Seconded a Motion recommending Council approve and adopt the proposed resolution which recognizes the Glenbrook Neighborhood Council, supports its community building efforts, and confers all opportunities offered by the City’s Neighborhood Program. Motion PASSED 3-0. 3. KCC 12.05 – Mobile Home Parks Ordinance ZCA-2012-2 Planner Katie Graves stated that these amendments address minor changes to the Mobile Home Park (MHP) Code, Title 12.05 of Kent City Code. Amendments provide consistency with current code enforcement regulations, update definitions noted elsewhere in code, and provide updates to the review process for mobile home parks for consistency with the existing permit process. She stated that the Land Use and Planning Board recommended approval of these amendments. After briefly deliberating, Councilmember Ranniger Moved and Councilmember Boyce Seconded a Motion recommending to City Council approval of amendments to Kent City Code Title 12.05, Mobile Home Park Code as recommended by the Land Use and Planning Board. Motion PASSED 3-0. 4. 2012 Annual Docket Report Planning Director Fred Satterstrom defined the annual docketing process, stating that the submittal deadline is yearly on the first business day of September. The public or city staff may submit suggestions for amendments to the comprehensive plan text, land use plan map designations, or the City’s development regulations. Satterstrom further noted that this process is described on the city’s website and invites the public to participate. Satterstrom stated that four (4) items to amend Kent’s Comprehensive Plan (KCP) were submitted for consideration as part of the Planning Services 2013 Work Program: (1) relates to the 2012 Comprehensive Sewer Plan, (2) relates to the 2011 Water System Plan, (3) relates to the 2009 Kent Fire Department’s (KFD) Standards of Response Coverage and adds the KFD’s Regional Fire Authority’s Capital Facilities and Equipment Plan to Appendix A , (4) amends the Capital Facilities Element of the KCP related to current Fire and Life Safety Services. Satterstrom stated that staff will return to the ECDC for action in considering which of these proposals will be included in the 2013 work program. ECDC Minutes October 8, 2012 Page 2 of 3 Informational Only 5. Sound Transit – South Corridor Update Project Manager Cathal Ridge (on behalf of Rachel Smith) reported that the Federal Way Transit Extension (FWTE) project runs from the S. 200th Street Transit Station to the Federal Way Transit Center, a distance of 7.6 miles. He stated that the Scope of Work includes analyzing alternatives, completing the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) and conceptual engineering by the end of 2014, with completion of the Final EIS and preliminary engineerin g by 2016. Sound Transit anticipates startup by 2023. Ridge stated that with available funding, Sound Transit would like to extend construction of light rail to the Kent-Des Moines area and will pursue Federal Transit Authority (FTA) New Starts funding requirements. Ridge stated that public meetings will be held Thursday, November 8th and Tuesday, November 13th to introduce the public, agencies and stakeholders to the FWTE project and obtain public input. He stated that over 25,000 postcards will be mailed providing notice of the meetings. He reported that web and print ads will be published in several newspapers , including an early scoping notice in the Federal Register, on neighborhood blog sites, and posters will be placed at several strategic sites. A video will run on Somali TV. Ridge stated that alternatives will be screened and evaluated, then narrowed down to a focused set of alternatives by the end of May 2013 with staff being notified of the outcome within 6 -8 months of that date. Alternatives at this time indicate alignments from South 200th Street Station to the Federal Way Transit Station, although Sound Transit is not restricted to looking at just light rail and can field recommendations for other alternatives. The Board will make a final decision based on specific criteria. The overall intent is to extend light rail to Tacoma. Ridge provided email, web, and mailing addresses for submitting comments. Informational Only 6. Agriculture in King County Satterstrom introduced Steve Evans with King County Agriculture Commission (KCAC). He announced that a round table will be held on November 1st at Green River Community College, Kent Campus, to discuss the future of agriculture in King County. Evans extended an invitation to all those who might wish to attend the meeting, and stated that Mayor Cooke has agreed to speak. He stated that the point of the meeting is to educate the community on the importance of agriculture, pointing out that the three basic necessities of life are food, shelter and clothing. Evans reported that King County’s (KC) agricultural value of production is higher than Spokane County and that KC is 13th in the State in terms of agricultural production. A study concluded that it is apparent agriculture will leave KC as building development begins to affect and encroach upon agricultural lands. KCAC has been working towards building relationships within the agricultural communities, looking at establishment of urban gardens and farmers markets. Informational Only 7. Economic Development and Permit Report Economic Development Director Ben Wolters stated that permitting is a dashboard indicator for Kent on how the building industry is going and indirectly on how the business community is doing in terms of their willingness to invest dollars in our community. Satterstrom stated that it is a significant factor that permitting activity has become the focus of economic development. Predominately large commercial development construction projects fell off in late 2008/2009, while residential development kept pace with 150-175 single family residential (SFR) building permits issued per year. Satterstrom stated that there has been a slow but gradually upward climb in the number of permits applied for, issued, and in the total building valuation of construction authorized by those permits since 2009. August building valuations totaled $22 million with another big month showing valuations of $15 million. September was the second biggest month in 4 years with building valuations of $18 million, thus totaling $40 million in building construction value within ECDC Minutes October 8, 2012 Page 3 of 3 a two month time period. There is still significant value in permits that have been applied for and not yet issued. Satterstrom stated that commercial rather than residential permit issuance has lead to a significant increase in building valuation. Total permit value per building valuation for commercial permits was $26.5 million within the first 9 months of 2011. The total value for commercial permits this year is $52 million, a 97% increase. Since the risk of flooding and the Howard Hanson Dam issues have been resolved, more companies are now willing to take investment risks on the valley floor. Wolters stated that in an effort to improve the permitting process, on -line permitting was launched for electrical, plumbing, mechanical and reroofing permits with 15 permits issued in the last 7 days. Staff will continue to expand on-line issuance of permits which will streamline the process for both the customer and staff. Wolters stated that the business community is now turning their attention towards the condition and status of the levees. He stated that their view is that the city is working towards making steady progress to improve flood protection. The market-place measures how the city is doing by whether or not it will achieve accreditation by FEMA up to the 100 yr standard. That standard is used because insurance, regulatory restrictions and property values are tied to that status under the new regime FEMA has established. Wolters stated that there has been discussion about delaying implementation of FEMA’s new standards to give the region time to meet those standards and work towards greater standards up to 500 years. The business community wants progress towards accreditation to be communicated with the electeds. Wolters stated that the Goodman project is moving forward. Structural fill soil is in place and will be allowed to compact for 6-8 weeks. Goodman’s project manager Brad Reisinger and CEO George Petrie have indicated their commitment to the project. The Green River Community College (GRCC) may be signing a 10-year lease/contract for roughly 80% of the first floor for their international student housing program , as enrollment in this program has greatly increased. Acquiring a contract will ensure the success of this project and further anchor the expansion of GRCC in our downtown community. The Goodman project will move forward with construction to begin in 2013 and completed by the second quarter of 2014. Wolters reported that Carlisle Interconnect Technologies an aerospace company manufacturing wire and cabling systems for in-flight entertainment systems on jetliners, has begun operating in their new Kent facilities with about 200 employees. They will be moving all 800 employees to their new facility from Tukwila within the next 6 weeks. Wolters stated that Carlisle Interconnect would like to utilize two dead -end side streets for future employee parking. These streets are currently designated as arterial streets. Current code does not allow parking on arterial streets. Staff may propose amending the code designation and may bring a proposal before the city council for consideration. Omax Corporation (a high speed water jet cutting company) acted on a permit issued in 2010 to complete a 22,000 s.f. expansion of their research and development facility this year. Informational Only Adjournment Committee Chair Perry adjourned the meeting at 6:30 p.m. _______________________________________ Pamela Mottram, Secretary Economic & Community Development Committee P:\Planning\ECDC\2012\Minutes\10-08-12_DraftMin.doc