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2020-11-05 PC APPROVED SIGNED Minutes Special Meeting Minutes Spokane Valley Planning Commission Council Chambers—City Hall November 5, 2020 I. Chairman Johnson called the special meeting to order at 6:00 p.m. The meeting was held remotely via ZOOM meeting. II. Commissioners, staff and audience stood for the pledge of allegiance. III. Administrative Assistant Deanna Horton took roll and the following members and staff were present: Fred Beaulac John Hohman, Deputy City Manager Karl Granrath, arrived at 7:11 Erik Lamb, Deputy City Attorney Walt Haneke Jenny Nickerson, Building Official James Johnson Bill Helbig, City Engineer Danielle Kaschmitter Jerremy Clark, Senior Traffic Engineer Bob McKinley Adam Jackson, Engineer Sherri Robinson Deanna Horton, Administrative Assistant Taylor Dillard, Administrative Assistant Marianne Lemons, Office Assistant There was consensus from the Planning Commission to excuse Commissioner Granrath from the meeting. IV. AGENDA: Commissioner Kaschmitter moved to approve the November 5, 2020 Special Meeting agenda as presented There was no discussion. The vote on the motion was seven in favor, zero against and the motion passed V. MINUTES: Commissioner Kaschmitter moved to approve the October 22, 2020 minutes as presented Chairman Johnson moved to make a change to page three, paragraph three to include the language"Kenneth Ward was not notified by staff that he would be getting any of the vacated property." The vote on the amendment was six in favor, zero against and the motion passed There was no additional discussion. The vote on the amended motion was six in favor, zero against and the motion passed. VI. COMMISSION REPORTS: Chairman Johnson reported that he continues to work with the Human Rights Task Force. VII. ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT: Building Official Jenny Nickerson thanked the Planning Commission and administrative staff for the implementation of new Zoom meeting protocols. Deputy City Attorney Erik Lamb reminded the Planning Commission not to use personal media devices while attending Zoom meeting because the meetings are open to the public and subject to open record requests. 1 11-05-2020 Planning Commission Minutes Page 2 of 5 VHI. PUBLIC COMMENT: There was no public comment. IX. COMMISSION BUSINESS: a. Public Hearing: CTA-2020-0005: Impact Fees for the South Barker Corridor The public hearing was opened at 6:I1 p.in, City Engineer Bill Helbig introduced the public hearing item. He explained that the City is proposing a code-text amendment to implement transportation impact fees along the South Barker Road corridor. Deputy City Attorney Erik Lamb explained that the City staff really attempted to get notification out to the public regarding this proposed amendment. He stated that the City followed the legal requirements of publishing the notice in the newspaper for two consecutive weeks. Staff also did additional notifications by sending out press releases, emailing to resident distribution lists, posting on the main page of the Spokane Valley website, and sending out through all social media platforms. The press releases led to articles in the Spokesman.Review and the Journal of Business and some new broadcasts on some of the radio stations. Mr. Helbig explained that impact fees are statutorily authorized mechanisms to have new development pay for their proportionate impact on services and infrastructure and may be limited to an identified geographical area. These fees can only apply to new development and cannot be used to correct existing deficiencies. He stated that the City has conducted a substantial transportation study of the South Barker corridor. The study identifies seven recommended improvement projects throughout the corridor for a total of approximately $18.8 million dollars. If the impact fees are implemented, they will cover about 19% of the improvement amount Mr. Helbig stated that if these fees are adopted, there will need to be code changes made to the Spokane Valley Municipal Code (SVMC). A new chapter will need to be added to Title 22 adopting and imposing Transportation Impact Fees (Chapter 22.100). Some additional updates will need to be made to 17.90 regarding appeals, 17.110.010 regarding fees and penalties, and 22.10.010 regarding authority. Also, Chapter 3 of the Spokane Valley Street Standards will also need to be updated. Mr. Lamb explained that these changes are primarily set forth by state law because there are very specific requirements that have to be met in the code language. The language specifically states that these fees are only for the Barker Corridor based on the traffic studies completed. He noted that the fee amounts will not be included in the code because they are based on information gained from traffic impact studies. The rates will be adopted as part of the City's fee schedule which will allow flexibility for updated rate studies in the future. The impact fees will be assessed at the time of issuance of building permit. He explained the highlights in the new SVMC Chapter 22.100 including the assessment procedure, the deferral process, exemptions, credits, independent fee calculations, appeals and refunds. Mr. Helbig presented the proposed rates. The proposed rate for South Barker is $1,272 per PM peak trip. The adopted SEPA mitigation fee for the Northeast Industrial Area is 2 11-05-2020 Planning Commission Minutes Page 3 of 5 $2,831 per PM peak trip so this new impact fee is substantially lower than other adopted fees. He gave a comparison of the proposed rates to other municipalities adopted fees. Mr. Lamb stated that the Findings of Fact will be presented at the Planning Commission meeting on November 12, 2020. The findings will then be forwarded to the City Council on November 24, 2020. Commissioner Beaulac asked about the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) funded improvement projects in the corridor. Mr. Helbig answered that the new roundabouts off of the interstate are just interim improvements. WSDOT hopes to be able to upgrade those roundabouts to two lanes and increase the capacity of the bridge over Barker Road. Deputy City Manager John Hohman added that if those improvements aren't completed, it could cause a bottleneck on the City projects. However,the City and WSDOT are working together to get the projects completed as quickly as possible. Commissioner Beaulac asked if schools or public facilities could be exempt from paying impact fees because the fee amount would be burdensome. Transportation Engineer Chris Breiland with Fehr and Peers (the technical consultants for the traffic impact fee rate study) answered that according to state law, impact fees must be assessed equally among all uses that generate trips. Therefore, schools and public facilities cannot be exempt. However, the fees assessed for schools could be lower because they aren't impacting traffic during PM peak times. Commissioner Robinson asked about the comments received from the City of Liberty Lake. Deputy City Attorney Erik Lamb responded that the City does not have jurisdiction to collect fees outside of the City limits but the City hopes to work with other jurisdictions. Comments were received from the City of Liberty Lake that they are in favor of impact fees but they are concerned about what the fee amount is and imposing that fee in their jurisdiction. He explained that the City is not looking to do that through this adoption of fees, they will only apply within the Spokane Valley City limits. Chairman Johnson opened the public testimony. Barb Howard, Spokane Valley, asked why these impact fees are not being implemented throughout the entire City. She expressed concern about a lower amount being assessed on storage sheds. Scott Grimmett, Spokane Valley, stated that he is a property owner and developer on Sprague Avenue and he is opposed to impact fees because they are unfair. He explained that infrastructure developments benefit everyone that use them so the fees should be the same for everyone. He stated that this impact fee will inflate home prices and reduce affordability through the City. He asked the Planning Commission not to approve the request. Chairman Johnson asked if the City is planning to implement fees anywhere else in the City limits. Mr. Helbig answered that staff does plan to look at some other areas of the City for rate study analysis. However,the Barker corridor has the biggest impact and has the most development occurring so it is the primary concern for staff right now. 3 11-05-2020 Planning Commission Minutes Page 4 of 5 The public hearing was closed at 7:18. Commissioner Kaschmitter moved to recommend approval to the City Council of CTA- 2020-0005 as presented. Commissioner McKinley expressed concern that this fee could make homes in this area less affordable and it could be a detriment to the development of the area. Mr. Hohman responded that there is a cost savings for development by doing impact fees because they will no longer have to do individual traffic impact studies for each new development. Senior Engineer, Jerremy Clark added that small projects require a Trip Generation Letter and that is approximately $1,000 - $2,500 depending on the size of the project. For larger developments that might trigger mitigation(which is anything in excess of 20 trips) the City requires a full traffic impact analysis. They can range from $15,000 - $70,000 and can take up to three or four months to be completed. Commissioner Robinson commented that currently multifamily housing up to 60 units is exempt and this will force them to mitigate their impact on the traffic system. Commissioner Beaulac expressed concern over the implementation of the fees but said that he would be willing to approve these impact fees on a trial basis to make sure that the system is actually doing what is needed for the City, especially before approving any additional impact fees. Commissioner Kaschmitter stated that she thinks this will streamline things for developers wanting to build in the City. She thinks this will be a much easier process for them and it is a needed revenue source for infrastructure improvements. Commissioner Granrath said that he thinks this adoption will lead to some intergovernmental agreements with other jurisdictions to address some of the impacts coming from developments outside of the City limits. Commissioner Haneke said that he thinks the costs of impact fees versus impact fee study requirements will be very similar and shouldn't cause a big change in affordability. Chairman Johnson stated that he supports this request and feels that it will help the developers and keep the taxpayers from having to pay for all needed improvements. The vote on the motion was seven in favor, zero against and the motion passed. X. GOOD OF THE ORDER: Chairman Johnson stated that long-time Spokane Valley resident, Sally Jackson passed away on November 2, 2020. He said that she will be greatly missed in the community. XI. ADJOURNMENT: Commissioner Kaschmitter moved to adjourn the meeting at 7:37 p,m. There was no discussion. The vote on the motion was seven in favor, zero against, and the motion passed. /Z-4 s/0-6,z James ohnson, Chair Date signed 4 11-05-2020 Planning Commission Minutes Page 5 of 5 EglaIORD Deanna Horton, Secretary 5