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HomeMy WebLinkAboutSpecial County Council May 7 1990WHATCOM COUNTY COUNCIL SPECIAL MEETING May 7, 1990 The meeting was called to order at 7 p.m. by Council Chairman Don Hansey. Present were: Absent: Dan Warner Marge Laidlaw Emily Jackson Dennis Vander Yacht Mary Vanderpol Bob Imhof 1. MOTION ACCEPTING ACTIONS OF THE MAY 1 COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE MEETING Hansey explained this item. Vanderpol said he had concerns regarding the last meeting where the Council was dealing with the Planning Commission's proposal and making a lot of changes to it. After thinking about this, he said he and Hansey talked about other alternative approaches and compiled a presentation. Vanderpol read the proposal attached. 2. CONSIDERATION OF POINT ROBERTS COMPREHENSIVE PLAN AND RELATED DOCUMENTS Jackson said the Council is really anxious to proceed with the plan but maybe it needed to go over the goals before making changes. She said there are significant similarities on all maps and those need to be stressed. Commercial area on Tyee drive, Lily Point, buffer area around the golf course, a character plan, etc., are things that need to be addressed. The Council won't be able to make everyone happy but it should try. Hansey said the plan he and Vanderpol are proposing is taking the 1979 plan and dealing with the problem areas. Each plan would allow for additional growth but there are less than a hundred building permits issued each year. Currently there are 1480 homes on the Point. Jackson noted the Heacock property and said the line north of Gulf should be extended as Resort Commercial to make it more consistent. Taylor said Planning has no problem with this being Resort Commercial. Warner said he does not like to go back to the 79 plan which was based on water needs nor does he like to see Transfer Development Rights (TDRs) abandoned without examination. People say that governments need to be innovative but complain when they try to be that way. He has great difficulty with the Planning Minutes, 5/7/90, Page 2 Commission plan with the small land parcels that would encourage spot developments without overall planning. The Planning staff map which Warner distributed shows the areas that are being downzoned. The Council needs to engage in long range planning and not just consider a few years in the plans. WARNER MOVED COUNCIL ADOPT THE PLANNING STAFF PLAN. Jackson agreed with Warner that the Planning staff proposal would be a good place to start. She stated she would like further study on the TDRs and would like a character plan developed. WARNER ADDED TO HIS MOTION THE FOLLOWING: TRANSFER DEVELOPMENT RIGHTS NOT TO BE IMPLEMENTED UNTIL COUNCIL HAS ADOPTED A PROCEDURE AND FOLLOWING THE DEVELOPMENT OF A CHARACTER PLAN. JACKSON MOVED TO AMEND THE PLAN TO HAVE THE AREA NORTH OF GULF ROAD TO PANORAMA DRIVE CHANGED TO RESORT COMMERCIAL. Motion to amend carried with 5 -1 with Hansey voting no and Vanderpol abstaining. WARNER MOVED THE BONSTEIN PROPERTY ON THE EAST TYEE BE REINSTATED TO COMMERCIAL. Motion carried unanimously. LAIDLAW MOVED MONUMENT PARK AND LIGHTHOUSE PARK BE ZONED ROS. Motion carried 6 -1 with Vanderpol abstaining. Discussion continued. VANDERPOL MOVED TO HAVE ALL R5A AND R10A AGREE WITH PLANNING COMMISSION AND MAKE THEM R2A. Motion failed with Vanderpol and Hansey in favor. VANDERPOL MOVED THE THIRD TEN ACRE SECTION WEST OF MILL ROAD BE ZONED UR4 Imhof said the majority of that area has severe limitations for soil suitability. There was further discussion. Minutes, 5/7/90, Page 3 Motion carried unanimously. Vanderpol asked when sewer service would be discussed? Hansey said it would be appropriate now. VANDERPOL MOVED THE DEFINITION OF PUBLIC SEWER AS APPLIES TO THE "URBAN RESIDENTIAL" AND THE "URBAN RESIDENTIAL MEDIUM DENSITY" DESIGNATIONS SHALL INCLUDE SEWER SERVICE PROVIDED BY PUBLIC ENTITIES SUCH AS MUNICIPALITIES, SPECIAL DISTRICTS AND ASSOCIATIONS OR TO SEWER SYSTEMS THAT ARE DESIGNED BY A LICENSED SEPTIC TANK DESIGNER AND APPROVED BY THE COUNTY HEALTH DEPARTMENT WITH ONGOING OVERSIGHT BY THE COUNTY HEALTH DEPARTMENT. Warner agreed this would be a good idea. He said people should be allowed septic system under the Health Department designed by licensed designers. Vanderpol withdrew his motion to be discussed at a later time. Motion to adopt the Planning Staff Plan carried with Hansey and Vanderpol voting against. WARNER MOVED TO ADOPT THE TITLE 20 AMENDMENTS AS RELATED TO POINT ROBERTS WARNER AMENDED THE MOTION TO DELETE ENTIRE SECTION OF 20.72.153 AND 20.72.201 ON BOTTOM OF SAME PAGE TO BE AMENDED TO READ SERVICE STATIONS IN ALL ZONES." Jackson asked staff how many more gas stations could be requested? Taylor said three. Jackson asked if present stations could be put out of business if they had not met requirements. Taylor said they would be given time to comply. She said she feels this can be handled by the planning department. Motion failed with Warner and Laidlaw voting for this motion. Warner said Jackson was correct; we need to review this in view of the changes. TDRs, sewer programs, buffer zones, tree cutting regulations, and the environmentally sensitive wildlife areas were some of the issues that must be considered. Warner withdrew his motion to adopt the Title 20 amendments and would prefer to discuss this at more length. Warner said these should be listed, prioritized and discussed. Meeting adjourned at 8:40 p.m. ATTEST: n Ba bara Maher, C uncil Clerk Minutes, 5/7/90, Page 4 WHATCOM COUNTY COUNCIL WHATCOM COUNTY, WASHINGTON May 7, 1990 Fellow Council Members: Some of us are having a difficult time coping with the process being followed in updating the Point Roberts Comprehensive Plan Map and Zoning Text. The procedure has taken an extraordinary amount of time for the area size and population involved and has generated an atmosphere of conflict and friction between many of those affected or involved. The original Staff Proposal was a complete rewrite of the existing 1979 plan which created extensive changes to the land use permitted resulting in widespread opposition by a large portion of the affected public. The Planning Commission then attempted to modify the Staff Proposal to overcome some of these objections and to bring more balance between the Staff position and the affected property owners. Now the County Council is attempting to modify the Planning Commission's proposal by making piecemeal amendments with some debatable results. We are suggesting that we begin with the existing plan map (which has been before the staff, Planning Commission, and public throughout the process) and make the necessary adjustments to accomplish the goals set forth in the "Goals Statement" of the 1989 "Proposed Plan for Point Roberts ". Some of the major concerns would be addressed as follows: CONCERN PLANNING COMMISSION PROPOSED AS AMENDED BY CURRENT PLAN COUNCIL WITH CHANGES N.W. Corner Coastal portion RC, Golf All RC as presently and Golf Course RR1 with Rookery R10A. exists. This was a Course rezone adopted in 1981. Heron Rookery Zoned R10A with provisions Zoned UR3 with same of buffering for protection. protection buffering (could be changed to R10A). N.W. & S.W. Zoned ROS Same Parks CONCERN PLANNING COMMISSION PROPOSED AS AMENDED BY CURRENT PLAN COUNCIL WITH CHANGES Balance of UR3, RC, Same West Coast S.W. Area RC by Council Motion. UR3 same as Zoned RC by Planning had RR1. proposed f o r Council surrounding area N. and W. Existing is RLD. Commercial GC all sides of Tyee/ Same but does not Areas Benson Rds. (W/ Council adopt Council Arad. Amendment). E. of Tyee, N. of Benson. S.E. Below Zoned R10A Same R10A - Note: the Bluff This is downzoned from present RLD (up to 4 per acre). S.E. Corner Lilly Point at UR4 with All UR3. This is Lilly Point balance of area R2A to changed from RLD Development West and UR3 and RR1 North (up to 4 per acre). .of development area. . N.E. Corner Zoned RC Same Area Tyee, R2A (CG NW, URM 6 All URM 6 except Benson, Mobil, UR4 NE Comer) same CG area. Boundary, zoning is RMD APA Rds allowing up to 6 per acre. R10A Pubic (Fire Hall, Sewer Plant Property) /WORMLE/PRESENT.ROB 2 CONCERN PLANNING COMMISSION PROPOSED AS AMENDED BY CURRENT PLAN COUNCIL WITH CHANGES General Various RR1, UR3, R2A, R10A Generally to UR3. Residential Rationale -UR3 is Zoning - Low effectively R5A with - Density (RLD) out approved sewers. If sewers come to portions of these areas they should be higher density. Without sewers they stay at very low density. General Various RR1, UR4, R2A, URM 6 Generally to UR3 and Residential URM6. Rationale - Zoning - Medium Same as above with Density (RMD) provision for higher density in these areas with sewer as provided in present plan. General for Various RC, LII, RR1, UR3, This proposal reduces GC, LII, etc. UR4, GC, etc. the number of zones West Central and provides for more Area compatible, adjacent land uses. RC has UR3 on N. and S. and joins GC on the East. TRANSFER OF DEVELOPMENT RIGHTS - It is recommended that TDR's not be adopted in the Point Roberts Plan for the following reasons: 1. TDR's are not a necessity for any of the zoning proposals to work according to staff statements. 2. TDR's are too new and usage too limited to base a recommendation on their track record. 3. TDR's require a locked in commitment for ever once the program is implemented even though the system proves to be unworkable and a bookkeeping nightmare. 4. TDR's are a major concern for landowners experiencing a downzone. What assurance is there that the supply won't far exceed the demand? /WORMLE/PRESENr.ROB 3 5. TDR's for Point Roberts would give us a two track zoning system within Whatcom County. 6. TDR's should not be used but rather encourage more transfer of density rights through "clustering ". DEFINITION OF "PUBLIC SEWER SERVICE" - Due to the unique location of Point Roberts in relation to the remainder of the county, the provision of approved sewer service should be modified to meet the needs of the area. Throughout the Urban Reserve text the requirement of sewer service would only be provided by "public sewer" to allow the allocated densities. If is suggested the following text change be made: Within the Point Roberts Special District the definition of "public sewer" as applies to the "Urban Residential" and the "Urban Residential Medium Density" designations shall include sewer service provided by public entities such as municipalities, special districts and associations or to sewer systems that are designed by a licensed septic tank designer and approved by the County Health Department with ongoing oversight by the County Health Department. GENERAL - This map would represent a concept of amending the existing comprehensive plan map to meet changing needs rather than creating a new plan that has generated a great amount of dissatisfaction. As was pointed out in the public record, Point Roberts has had land use designations for years that would permit many thousands of homes to be built but in fact, even with the accelerated building taking place in the Northwest in recent years building activity has not increased substantially. It was pointed out that few new jobs have been created in the Point requiring new residences to be built and it is very difficult to live on the Point and work in Canada due to immigration laws. To live on the Point and work in other parts of the county is difficult due to the travel through Canada and the borders. Neither of these situations are likely to change with the possible exception of the Free Trade Agreement. The major construction that may take place soon will be the golf course and the resort at Lilly Point. These will likely proceed with or without plan changes but with certain plan changes they may be able to adjust their construction plans in a manner that will be more compatible for the Point. It is not going to be whether the comprehensive plan allows a potential 4000, 6,000 or 8,000 buildout that determines the actual construction activity at the Point but it will be other factors such as previously mentioned or physical factors such as the actual practical means of providing approved sewer service. One further consideration should be the impact on property owners and /or Water District 4 on making drastic downzone changes to large areas of the Point. The assessments for the bond issue were apparently made on the present zoning density. If there was a substantial reduction in the allowed density potential on given areas - say /WORMLE/PMEN EROB 4 from RML (potential 4 per acre) to R2A (1 for 2 acres) - would the landowner still have to pay assessments based on the higher density? If not, how would the assessment be made up? The proposal being presented would alleviate the problem to a large extent. It should also be noted that with the Planning Commissions version with proposed Council amendments there are approximately 55 different zoned areas on the map. With this proposal there are 15 differently zoned areas. This relatively small size planning area should not require such a large number of small parcels with different zone designations. Over the next three years it will be necessary to review and amend the Point Roberts Comprehensive Plan (along with other county sub- areas) to comply with the State Growth Management Legislation (BB 2929). During that time additional adjustments could be considered if the amended plan for Point Roberts is not working toward creating orderly growth. In the meantime the principal environmental concerns will be met with this proposal as well as, or better than, the Commission plan. /WORMLE/PMENT.ROB 5