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PC APPROVED Minutes 05-12-16 APPROVED Minutes Spokane Valley Planning Commission Council Chambers—City Hall, May 12,2016 Chair Graham called the meeting to order at 6:02 p.m. Commissioners, staff and audience stood for the pledge of allegiance. Administrative Assistant Deanna Horton took roll and the following members and staff were present: Kevin Anderson Erik Lamb, Deputy City Attorney Heather Graham Christina Janssen, Planner James Johnson Chaz Bates, Economic Development Specialist Tim Kelley Mike Phillips Suzanne Stathos Joe Stoy Deanna Horton, Secretary of the Commission Commissioner Stoy moved to accept the May 12, 2016 agenda as presented. The vote was seven in favor, zero against and the motion passed Commissioner Stoy moved to approve the April 28, 2016 minutes as presented The vote was seven in favor, zero against and the motion passed Commissioner Stoy moved to approve the May 3, 2016 minutes as they were presented Commissioner Graham She wanted to clarify something which was said at the May 3, 2016 joint meeting. She read a prepared statement saying she took exception to statement made by the Community and Economic Development Director John Hohman at the May 3rd Joint Council/Commission meeting. She said during the opening of the meeting Mr. Hohman made a comment that the Planning Commission had somehow diverted its attention away from the Comprehensive Plan to focus on the marijuana issue. She said she would like to remind City staff the Commissioners work at the behest of the staff, as they set the Commission's agenda. Interruption in the Comprehensive Plan was not because the Commission was so focused on the marijuana issues nor was it because they wanted to ignore the Comprehensive Plan, as a matter of fact we spent many meetings addressing several of the items on the Comprehensive Plan, until it fell off the Commission agenda in June (2015). She said there were several meetings cancelled in the summer and the fall. When the Commission resumed in 2016, is when the marijuana issues came forward and the Commission heard nothing more about the Comprehensive Plan until the joint meeting. She stated she cannot speak for all the Commissioners however as the chairman of this Commission, she felt as if the integrity of their work had been questioned. She said she felt it was most important to bring this forward and ask for an apology from City staff. Commissioner Kelley said he did not get that feel from the statement. He said he felt it was more as if Mr. Hohman was simply explaining the Commission has had other work as well, such as this marijuana subject, which has taken considerable time. The other Commissioners said they stood by Commissioner Grahman's statement. The vote on the motion was seven in favor, zero against, and the motion passed COMMISSION REPORTS: The Commissioners had no report. ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT: There was no administrative report. PUBLIC COMMENT: There were no public comments. COMMISSION BUSINESS: A. Public Hearing— CTA-2016-0001 proposed amendment to Spokane Valley Municipal Code (SVMC)19.85 Marijuana Uses,19.120.050 Permitted Use Matrix and Appendix A Definitions Commissioner Graham opened the public hearing at 6:08 p.m. Deputy City Attorney Erik Lamb gave an overview of the revised proposed amendments to the SVMC regarding the marijuana regulations. Previously a public hearing had been conducted on April 14, 2016. At that hearing the Commission was contemplating a complete ban on any new retail marijuana stores, any new marijuana producers or processors. After the public hearing the 05-12-16 Planning Commission Minutes Page 2 of 5 Commissioners made an informal decision to modify the proposal for consideration. Staff determined the modifications were substantial enough to warrant another public hearing. The proposed modified amendments are: • A definition for a marijuana club or lounge has been added • A definition for a marijuana cooperative has been added • The name of the Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board has been updated in the definitions • A definition for marijuana sales with a medical endorsement has been added • The definition for marijuana sales has been updated to reflect the medical endorsement • Marijuana production has been returned to permitted with supplemental conditions status in the Permitted Use Matrix • Marijuana processing has been returned to permitted with supplemental conditions status in the Permitted Use Matrix • The regulations for 19.85.010, Marijuana production has be added back, with updates to the language regarding City Hall • The regulations for 19.85.020, Marijuana processing has be added back, with updates to the language regarding City Hall • The regulations for 19.85.030 Marijuana retail sales has been modified to state no new marijuana retail sales and allow the current retailers to move within the City as long as they can still conform with the previous standards which were in place • 19.85.040 are the regulations for marijuana uses which are prohibited including clubs, lounges and cooperatives, but does not apply to home grows • 19.85.050 are the regulations for marijuana processing and production in a residential zone, which is home grow for qualified patients. Commissioner Graham asked about the City having a restriction for a marijuana business being near a day care. Mr. Lamb replied the State had its own buffers. City's buffers were in addition to the State's. When an address is identified, the City does a review for not only the City's but also the State's buffers as well. Commissioner Graham closed the public hearing at 6:23 p.m. Commissioner Stoy moved to approve CTA-2016-0001 as presented. Commissioner Johnson said he feels continuing with the moratorium on any new retail business is not going to have the impact the Commission is hoping for. He feels more retail establishments will open immediately outside the City's borders with that revenue going to another jurisdiction. In the end will be just as much cannabis inside the City as if we allowed the market factors to control the business. He did appreciate and support the Commission's evolution on production and process and said he supports Commissioner Phillips amendment from the last meeting to allow the current retail outlets to move should they need to, but he would be voting against the amendment feeling it needed to allow more than the three current retail stores. Commissioner Kelley said he also would be voting against the amendment, saying not enough is known about how this would work. He feels the current amount of producers, processors and retailers are sufficient. He would rather have the City wait five year and see how things have turned out before allowing any more marijuana businesses. He would not be supporting the amendment for this reasons. The other Commissioners had no comments. Chair Graham called for the question. The vote on the motion was five in favor, two against, with Commissioners Johnson and Kelley dissenting. B. Study Session: Comprehensive Plan—Economic Development Retail Improvement Report Economic Development Specialist Chaz Bates gave a presentation on a recently completed economic development study, this one regarding retail improvement, which will be incorporated into the Comprehensive Plan. The information in the study is from 2015. This will be used to track retail growth in the City, this will also provide strategic actions for the City to be able to use in the future. Staff conducted an inventory with the consultants of the current retail in the City and the consultants 05-12-16 Planning Commission Minutes Page 3 of 5 were surprised at how many big box stores the City already had. This helped them to identify the key retail anchors, define the retail trade areas, demographics and the retail demand. This report will be used at a tool to assist in attracting businesses and facilitate growth in the City's retail footprint. This report assisted in identifying the primary trade area, which is a five minute drive from a major retail location. This primary trade area is generally the City's boundaries. The secondary trade area is generally a 10 minute drive from a major retail location,which reached out beyond the City's borders. The demographics of the trade area for the City had a wide range of incomes. Mr. Bates stated that relatively speaking the City has a more households earning between$30,000 and$75,000 than the City of Spokane. There were higher pockets of income north and south of the City but these people were driving through the City to shop. The City has almost 36%of our households spending more than 30% of their income on housing costs, which reduces the amount of income for discretionary purchases. Commissioner Johnson asked about the demographics of these statistic. Mr.Bates said he did not have that information with him this evening,however this information was coming from the 2015 American Community Survey data. The greatest number of retail establishments are food services and drinking at 19%, small to mid-size retailers at 13% and motor vehicle/part dealers at 12%. Big box stores only account for 2% of the market, but have a large influence on the retail sales. While the food services account for 19% of the market, they are limited service, not sit down restaurants. The largest spending category was motor vehicle sales and parts,which is followed by general sales which is the big box stores. This is 66% of all the retail sales in the City. The City captures more than 100%of the spending power in most retails categories in the primary trade area. The categories where the City captures less than 100% are accommodations, food and beverage stores, performing arts, and spectator sports. The key themes which came from this study are • Regional draw for shoppers throughout • Spokane Valley Mall is a major retail the region draw • Few neighborhood retailers • Few full-service restaurants • Retail is anchored by big box • Higher incomes outside City to the north and south • Big box stores represent significant • Area of retail are underperforming or portion of sales underutilized Six retail improvement goals came from the report, along with possible supportive actions: • Leverage regional and local assets to drive local commerce o Identify potential projects that could spur tourism and prioritize city investments o Consider implementation of a `night out' program o Consider implementation of a `Taste of Spokane Valley' or`restaurant week' event • Support and expand existing retail centers o Offer financial incentives for voluntary physical improvements o Match businesses to available space o Intensity recruitment efforts o Provide flexibility for allowed uses and development types • Support catalytic,transformative, or innovative retail projects o Encourage high quality retail and supportive uses at Mirabeau Point o Participate in subarea planning process for the City Hall area o Market analysis for a farmer's market • Craft policy to support good retail in the right places o Rezone commercial corridors o Expand and/or create neighborhood commercial overlay zone o Permit `local production' uses • Plan and build infrastructure to support retail development o Identify capital improvements to existing retail centers o Invest in appearance of key gateways in Spokane Valley 05-12-16 Planning Commission Minutes Page 4 of 5 o Use Appleway Trail to spur retail development on nearby retail development on nearby parcels • Strengthen Spokane Valley's image as a retail destination o Promote retail segments o Promote Spokane Valley's priorities and marketing in regional marketing efforts o Publicize retailers and events Mr.Bates stated the next steps are to integrate this information into the Comprehensive Plan and amend the development regulations to support these suggestions. Explore retail connections to the Appleway Trail. Develop marketing materials which support our retail trade, coordinate with our regional partners,develop a list of retail vacancies,and coordinate with developers to fulfill economic priorities. Commissioner Anderson asked for clarification on a part of the report which said `critical mass of business verses limited mix,'which is in Exhibit 4. Mr.Bates said there is usually a tipping point when it comes to retail. Commissioner Anderson asked of there was a list of the things the City was missing in its retail, naming specific stores. Mr. Bates stated this was not this consultant's expertise. Information that specific would come from a retail recruiter. Commissioner Anderson said one of the sporting events missing from the list was a volleyball tournament every year, which usually is 12,000 rooms per year. Commissioner Stoy commented on a large soccer tournament which also happens every year at Plante's Ferry Park. Commissioner Johnson wondered how the Planning Commission would be able to impact these goals. Mr. Bates and Ms. Janssen explained the information would assist in creating policy in the Comprehensive Plan which would guide the staff in the work they do. Commissioner Johnson also said he felt there should be more social media interface in order to reach out to the younger people in the community. The subject of a mixed use development in the City of Spokane had been mentioned and Commissioner Anderson has shared he did not feel the City should be`hanging its hat' on this however Commissioner Johnson said he felt a development of this type would be something which should be worked into the plan. Commissioner Stathos said the joint meeting had conflicting points in it. For example there was question of water conservation but in also then beautification of the City with trees and grass which require watering. She said the exercise was eye opening in the fact it seemed to want certain things, in certain areas but not the same in all areas. Mr. Bates stated Mr. Basinger would be returning to the Commission to share the results of the workshop which was held May 3, 2016. He said this report did not deal with conservation. She said she would like to see some of these things addressed, hiring a specialist, but she was waiting to find out where the money would come from other than raising taxes. Commissioner Anderson said from a Planning Commission position and the Comprehensive Plan the only thing the Planning Commission could do to assist retail sales tax improvement would be to let zoning restrictions or zoning changes where more businesses could locate. He said a City can't make retail sales happen. He said the City could facilitate it by not restricting business. He said return on investment (ROI) was mentioned in the report several times, but what did we spent to get it,the City did not invest a penny to get it. He did not know what else the City could do other than change the zoning structure,or cut back on our restrictions to allow more businesses. Mr. Bates said the return on investment was referring to hiring a marketing firm to help us develop a marketing program and making sure if we are going to invest in capital improvement it would generate a return on that investment. Commissioner Anderson commented the report discussed investment in infrastructure. Commissioner Johnson asked how much of an impact the Planning Commission would have on the development of infrastructure. Ms. Janssen said the Comprehensive Plan is a road map to staffs work, it guides the programs which are implemented. If implementing infrastructure was a goal & policy in the Comprehensive Plan then staff would work to towards programs or decisions which supported those goals and policies. Commissioner Kelley said he felt it was more like a big picture, broad brush so when changes came forward the Commission would know why things would be a certain way. 05-12-16 Planning Commission Minutes Page 5 of 5 GOOD OF THE ORDER: There was nothing for the good of the order. ADJOURNMENT: Commissioner Johnson moved to adjourn the meeting at 7:05 p.m. The vote on the motion was unanimous in favor, motion passed. Chair Heather Graham Date signed I, Secretary Deanna Horton