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Home My WebLink AboutCity Council Committees - Land Use and Planning Board - 06/26/2023 Pending Approval � Land Use and Planning Board �KENT Land Use Regular Meeting Wp ° °T°° Minutes June 26, 2023 Date: June 26, 2023 Time: 6:00 p.m. Place: Chambers Members: Dione Dittmar, Chair Sandra Pereira, Co-Chair Shane Amodei, Bryan Kesterson, Sally McDonough, Justus Phelps, Benjamin Reid Agenda: 1. Call to Order 6:00 p.m. Attendee Name Title Status _ Arrived Dione Dittmar Chair Present Sandra Pereira Co-Chair Excused Shane Amodei Excused Bryan Kesterson Present Sally McDonough Present Justus Phelps Present Benjamin Reid Present 3. Changes to the Agenda No changes 4. Approval of the Minutes a. Approval of Minutes dated June 12, 2023 MOTION: Move to approve the Minutes dated June 12, 2023 RESULT: APPROVED [UNANIMOUS] MOVER: Bryan Kesterson SECONDER: Benjamin Reid AYES: Dittmar, Kesterson, McDonough, Reid ABSENT: Phelps EXCUSED: Pereira, Amodei S. Public Hearing - Determination of Significance, Request for Comments on Scope of EIS ........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... Page 1 of 3 Land Use and Planning Board Land Use Regular June 26, 2023 Meeting Kent, Washington Minutes Staff provided an overview and update on the 2044 Comprehensive Plan. The Land Use and Planning Board held this public hearing to receive public comments on the record for SEPA EIS Scoping. BACKGROUND: A Comprehensive Plan envisions a city's future and describes its long-term vision for growth and accompanying infrastructure and services. Under the Washington State Growth Management Act, cities are required to plan for residential and employment growth over the next 20-years. Comprehensive plans are required by the State of Washington to be updated every 10 years. Since the City of Kent's last update in 2015, several state laws and regional requirements have been adopted and implemented that are now required as part of this Comprehensive Plan update process. Over the next 20 years (through 2044), Kent is expected to accommodate 10,200 housing units and 32,000 jobs. These growth targets were established through efforts and negotiations in previous years to update the King County Countywide Planning Policies. The deadline to adopt a periodic update of the Comprehensive Plan is December 31, 2024. The process to update Kent's Comprehensive Plan will be in four phases. Community engagement will occur throughout the entire project. Phase 1 Community Engagement (Project Launch and Scoping) is active from June 2 through July 17, 2023. To learn more about the project, take a survey, and sign up to receive project updates visit Engage.KentWA.gov/FutureKent <https://engage.kentwa.gov/futurekent>. PUBLIC COMMENT Randy Srnsky (98031) - Mr. Srnsky encouraged the "live where you work" philosophy as he has lived in Kent since the early 60s and part of that time he was able to work in Kent as well. He discourages policies that support long commutes. Susan Holliday (98031) - Ms. Holliday shared concerns about the Missing Middle Housing Bill (HB1110) that has just passed at the State Legislature. She had questions about the fairness/equity of changing single-family neighborhoods to include multi-family as the people who purchased into the neighborhood paid for SFR neighborhood and slightly larger lots. She brought up logistical problems with this including parking and utilities. William Heath Cote (98032) - Mr. Cote brought forward the topic of electric cars and the effect they will have on the City and how the City will create policy for that. Belo Ochea (98042) - Mr. Ochea has a minor in Urban Ecological Design from UW and stated that urban planning is his passion. He had several points including, increasing urban embellishments with art, green spaces, pedestrian only zones, sustainable architecture, rehab/outreach for the homeless and drug affected, community gardens, ethnic inspired architecture, as well as suggesting looking at other cities for inspiration such ........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... Page 2 of 3 Land Use and Planning Board Land Use Regular June 26, 2023 Meeting Kent, Washington Minutes as Singapore. He promoted the University of Washington's Design Activism website where they endorse a co-generative approach to policy creation. He concluded with a personal poem. Justin Englund (98042) - Mr. Englund encouraged Kent to create policy that would allow for a wide range of diverse housing types. He highlighted his concern around lack of access to public spaces be it no sidewalks, no bikes lanes and poor parking options. He believes there should be more effort to create public spaces that communities can gather in particularly the East Hill of Kent. He also spoke about creating vibrant neighborhoods especially downtown and along Benson Highway. Benson Highway will be the arterial used for the new King County Metro Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) I-Line and he stated that there are lots of under-utilized locations along that route. Simon Apol (name was not written down so unsure of spelling and no zip code was given) - Mr. Apol wants Kent to use this opportunity to be more forward thinking so that Kent will not just be know as an industrial hub. He also endorsed the idea of living where you work by creating more favorable policy for developers. He also agreed with other commenters that the downtown needs to be more pedestrian friendly. He wants Kent to be a great place to live with quality amenities. END OF PUBLIC COMMENT Kristen Holdsworth, Long Range Planning Manager, took some time to talk about House Bill 1110 and how that may affect the City. The City has hired consultants to help better analyze how this will impact Kent. Ms. Holdsworth also touched on the City's history with Accessory Dwelling Unit policy and the new bill passed in the State Legislature. Ms. Holdsworth next touched on the Downtown subarea plan update that is taking place simultaneously with the Comprehensive Plan Update. 6. Adjournment 7:05 p.m. Tawycv KOV-4'U Committee Secretary ........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... Page 3 of 3