[0:05] Well,
welcome everyone to Planning Commission.
[0:09] Let's have our pledge and then we will
go about our uh
[0:15] Yeah.
Our next item. All right.
[0:19] I pledge allegiance to the flag of the
United States of America and to the
[0:24] republic for which it stands, one nation
under God,
[0:29] » indivisible, with liberty and justice
for all.
[0:33] » All right.
Well, our first item of business before
[0:38] we do our roll call is to welcome our
new
[0:43] member of our Planning Commission, Tony
Matesi.
[0:47] Matesi, okay. So,
uh we need to do a swearing in, is that
[0:51] right?
>> Yes. Hi guys. Hopefully you can hear me
[0:55] okay. Hello Planning Commission.
Um I'm here on behalf of the City
[0:59] Council and uh Mayor Hill to formally
swear in Tony. So, I'm going to do this
[1:04] virtually.
Um I was thinking I will pull up
[1:09] the oath. You all can hear me, right?
Okay, great. Nothing like talking when
[1:14] you
nobody can hear you. Okay. So, here's
[1:17] your oath of office, Tony. If you could
raise your right hand and repeat after
[1:20] me and I'll try to go slowly here. So,
I, state your name.
[1:24] » I, Tony Matesi,
>> do solemnly swear or affirm
[1:32] » do solemnly swear or affirm
>> that I will support the Constitution
[1:37] » that I will support the Constitution
>> and laws of the United States
[1:40] » and laws of the United States
>> and state of Washington
[1:44] » state of Washington
>> and the ordinances of the City of Lake
[1:47] Stevens
>> and the ordinances of the City of Lake
[1:49] Stevens
>> and that I will faithfully and
[1:52] impartially
>> and that I will faithfully and
[1:55] impartially
>> perform and discharge the duties of
[1:58] planning commission member
>> perform and discharge the duties of
[2:02] planning commission member
>> according to the law
[2:05] » according to the law
>> and to the best of my ability and
[2:08] understanding.
>> to the best of my ability and
[2:10] understanding.
>> Awesome. Congratulations, Tony. You are
[2:13] official.
[2:16] » Thank you.
>> Welcome.
[2:20] » All right, we're shaking hands. All
right.
[2:22] » [laughter]
>> Have a great meeting, everyone.
[2:25] » Thank you.
[2:28] Great.
Well,
[2:31] um
I had the pleasure to be part of the uh
[2:36] the interviewing committee for uh Tony
and
[2:39] the other candidates and um
uh I'm I'm really looking forward to
[2:43] having Tony uh and and and your opinion
uh
[2:47] and your uh and your input on what we'll
be discussing.
[2:51] Would it be appropriate to introduce
yourself to everyone?
[2:54] » Yeah. Uh
Tony Motesy, I've been living in Lake
[2:58] Stevens for
6 years
[3:02] and uh
was
[3:04] planning on it just being a starter
area, but
[3:07] my wife and I have fallen in love and
don't plan on leaving anytime soon or
[3:11] ever, possibly. And uh
yeah, I've just really been wanting to
[3:15] get more and more in part of the
community.
[3:17] And so, that was part of my
goals for the past year and a half,
[3:21] joined Rotary and then that has led to
applying for this position and joining
[3:26] the commission.
>> Awesome. Well, great.
[3:30] Um thank you. We will uh go on with the
roll call. So, Janice Huckford?
[3:35] » Here.
>> Tony Motesy?
[3:37] » Here.
>> Jennifer Davis?
[3:39] » Here.
>> And uh
[3:42] my brain is
>> Mike Dorr.
[3:45] » Mike Dorr.
>> [laughter]
[3:48] » Uh
and uh we have Amy Liledahlsky and
[3:53] Connor Davis uh are uh out today asked
to be excused. Okay,
[3:58] if we can have motion to excuse them.
>> So moved.
[4:02] » Second.
>> I'll second.
[4:03] » Okay.
And all in favor?
[4:05] » I.
>> Any opposed?
[4:07] » That was Janice that seconded.
Thank you. Sorry. Now that we have
[4:11] Jennifer back, I'm not the only female
on the
[4:14] » [laughter]
>> Yeah, I I think
[4:17] Connor is enjoying his summer too much.
As a teacher, I follow him on Facebook
[4:23] and I see all the places that he's
going.
[4:25] » [laughter]
>> Great. So, we have
[4:29] any Is there anyone online?
Okay.
[4:33] We have nobody in the room.
So we have no guest business.
[4:38] We have let's let's have Has anyone Has
everyone had a chance to review the
[4:44] minutes from our last meeting?
And does anyone have any comments?
[4:49] And if not,
we can take a motion to approve the
[4:54] minutes.
[4:57] » I move that we approve the minutes as
written.
[5:01] » We have a second.
>> I'll second.
[5:04] » Jennifer Davis second.
>> Okay.
[5:06] Okay.
So to approve minutes, all in favor?
[5:10] » I.
>> I.
[5:11] » Any opposed?
Great. So we have as our discussion item
[5:17] tonight
our main discussion item tonight, we
[5:20] have the public engagement plan and that
will be presented by
[5:26] staff.
Mr.
[5:31] » Well, good evening Planning Commission.
Christie Schmidt. This evening with
[5:34] great pleasure we have an intern with us
for the summer of 2026, Alicia McPhee.
[5:40] She's been helping us get some projects
that have been on the table kind of out
[5:44] the door that have been sitting back on
our long-range program. And one of them
[5:48] is the draft public engagement guide.
So, as part of her internship here at
[5:53] City of Lake Stevens, part of it is
giving a presentation. And so, tonight
[5:57] you are her assignment in presenting the
public engagement plan.
[6:02] So, with that, I'm going to turn it over
to Alicia to make the presentation on
[6:06] the work that she's done on this
project.
[6:11] » Perfect. Well, yes, hello. I am the
planning and community development
[6:16] intern this summer. And one of the main
projects I've been working on so far has
[6:22] been updating and reformatting the
public engagement guide draft. And so,
[6:28] today I'm going to be walking you
through some of the key changes that
[6:33] we've made and gather feedback on this
updated draft.
[6:41] And so, first with some background, the
draft was created and presented to the
[6:48] Planning Commission in 2025. But then,
the guide was placed on hold due to
[6:54] shifting priorities to long-range
planning. And so, now since they have
[7:01] some more bandwidth from hiring an
intern, we are able to revisit this
[7:06] project again. And I have been able to
spend some time reformatting, editing,
[7:12] and expanding it to a complete draft
version.
[7:18] And so, one of the main goals of the
public engagement guide is to provide
[7:24] staff with a one-stop resource to use
for public engagement. And this guide
[7:31] includes multiple different tools,
methods, and guidance for all different
[7:36] levels of engagement. And the guide is
designed to help staff communicate
[7:42] projects early on, gather input, and
find solutions for engagement setbacks.
[7:49] And all of this supports the city's
mission of providing a safe, desirable
[7:55] community with open communication and
public service.
[8:01] And so, I'm going to be briefly going
over some of the key updates with this
[8:06] table. All the ones are on the left are
the completely new additions to the
[8:11] draft. And then, the ones on the right
are things that I've updated, but were
[8:16] in the previous draft already. And so,
starting with the new level of
[8:23] public participation section on page
three. This provides context for the new
[8:30] flowchart and graphic that are on the
following pages three and four. And all
[8:36] of those support the updated and revised
public participation spectrum table,
[8:43] which is on page five.
And then, there is the new section
[8:49] beneath the ground rules for collective
creativity figure, which is on page 10.
[8:56] And that just provides context and
guidance. And there's also some new
[9:02] resources, templates for engagement
materials, and images throughout the
[9:08] document. As well as a fully updated
engagement timeline sample in the
[9:15] appendix on page 22, and
reformatting improvements across the
[9:20] entire document.
And so, now I'll be going over some of
[9:26] the additions in a little more detail
starting with the new level of public
[9:32] participation section. And this section
introduces the idea of determining the
[9:39] appropriate level of public
participation based on the intended role
[9:44] of the public.
And it includes guiding questions to
[9:49] help staff evaluate their project and
identify the right level to use.
[9:56] And it includes it introduces the public
participation spectrum framework, which
[10:02] is what our document uses. And that
framework has identified five levels of
[10:08] participation. And those include
informing the public to understand
[10:13] issues, options, and solutions.
Consulting the public by gathering
[10:18] feedback. Involving the public to ensure
public concerns are considered
[10:23] throughout the process.
Uh collaborating with the public by
[10:29] actively involving them in every step
and decision. And empowering the public
[10:35] by placing the final decision with them.
And at the bottom right of this slide is
[10:42] the new public participation
relationship visual that illustrates how
[10:48] communication flows between the city and
the public at each different level.
[10:56] And next is the new flowchart that goes
along with the public participation
[11:02] spectrum framework. And this flowchart
is used to determine the right level of
[11:08] public participation.
And it is intended to be simple, clear,
[11:14] and a quick tool to help the staff
identify which level of participation
[11:21] fits their specific project. And it
walks the staff through
[11:26] a couple yes or no questions with each
question building on top of the other
[11:32] and reflects the increasing public
participation. And so by answering each
[11:37] question, the staff can identify where
their project realistically fits.
[11:44] Next, we are looking at the updated and
expanded public participation spectrum
[11:50] table. And this table now includes the
goals, public promise, examples,
[11:57] strengths, and challenges.
And if the staff doesn't want to use the
[12:03] flowchart from the previous slide, they
can still identify which level to
[12:10] that would match their project by
reading through the row of goals to
[12:16] determine which one is appropriate. But
then, they can also use the examples,
[12:21] strengths, and challenges rows when
planning engagement techniques. And the
[12:27] public participation
spectrum framework is intended to help
[12:32] reduce overengagement and
underengagement for these projects.
[12:39] And now looking at another addition is
the section beneath the ground rules for
[12:46] collective creativity. This new portion
adds context for the ground rules and
[12:52] includes practical tips that can improve
collaboration when working in groups.
[12:58] And the original 2025 version only
presented this visual. And so, by adding
[13:05] these these boxes, it provides more
information on what each element means
[13:12] and makes this visual much more
beneficial for the reader.
[13:18] And so, some of the next steps that we
are hoping to
[13:24] work through is gathering feedback and
edits tonight and then inputting those
[13:30] into the guide and finalizing it and
then hopefully presenting this guide to
[13:36] the city council later this month or
possibly in early September. I do
[13:42] believe it's going to be later this
month.
[13:45] And for the feedback, we have some
questions that we are wanting to ask
[13:51] you, which is is this document easy to
use and understand? What are some
[13:58] additional ideas, resources, templates,
concepts for public engagement or tools
[14:05] that could be beneficial and practical
to implement? Are there parts of this
[14:11] plan that feel too detailed or not
detailed enough?
[14:16] Are there any additional city
stakeholders that can be added to the
[14:20] list in the appendix in section A4? And
any other changes that you guys would
[14:28] think would be beneficial for the guide?
[14:34] And that is all.
>> Excellent. Could you leave those
[14:39] questions up so that we can
give you that feedback? So,
[14:44] who would like to go first and provide
their feedback on on these questions?
[14:51] » I had a specific comment. It had to do
with the response
[14:56] Well, first of all, globally, I loved
it. It's great. It's something we've
[14:59] been talking about for
feels like decades.
[15:02] And I really appreciated the sort of
algorithmic worksheet for staff to use.
[15:08] I think that that's really transparent
for the public to see how these
[15:12] decisions are made, that it's not by
whim. It's there's an actual
[15:16] which I think is [clears throat] great.
Um
[15:18] the this topic of response summaries I
thought was so interesting because one
[15:22] of the hurdles I think that we see a lot
on planning commission is people the
[15:26] public comes they give comment and then
the we sort of evaluate we give our
[15:32] recommendation council makes their
decision and then members of the public
[15:36] are like well it didn't go the way I
thought it should go so what's even the
[15:39] point of me participating it's shouting
into the void you know there's a lot of
[15:42] I think that can be a barrier to public
participation so I was thinking about
[15:47] um
that's wonderful I I like that as a
[15:49] concept to help
address that idea of
[15:54] that the public has sometimes that their
participation is pro forma and it's sort
[15:57] of to check a box and it's not really
being evaluated so my my question is um
[16:04] is there a way to and I don't know
I'm so backwards with AI but is there a
[16:10] way that AI could be leveraged to
somehow
[16:12] summarize the deliberative processes
that happen um
[16:18] cuz I know it'd be really staff heavy to
have it have you have anyone actually
[16:22] summarizing all the processes but
there'd be it'd be wonderful if some a
[16:26] member of the public who who
participated in whether it be in a
[16:29] workshop or in public comment could say
wait whatever happened with that and
[16:34] what what did council say about that and
what did the planning commission end up
[16:37] doing with our
our input um
[16:40] so that was kind of what I was thinking
I think the response summaries are a
[16:43] great idea and I was just trying to
think of a way that
[16:46] to capture sort of the why that that so
that people feel like their
[16:51] participation was genuinely evaluated
and plugged into the process that's
[16:57] that's my comment on that
>> definitely
[16:59] » oh it's uh commissioner Jennifer Davis
sorry speaking of AI we're supposed to
[17:02] say our names before we speak
>> training up
[17:06] » yeah yeah
>> that's a good call
[17:10] » I know that's definitely something that
I hadn't considered but can look into
[17:15] somehow adding that process in.
>> Direction. Yes.
[17:21] » Mhm.
>> Um this is Commissioner Duer.
[17:26] I really appreciate you know where this
is going and some of the changes that
[17:29] are here and I find the you know the
graphics and workflow models to be very
[17:34] helpful. Um you know I think about how I
might apply something like this where I
[17:37] work and I can see some things that I
might borrow
[17:40] in here. So that's you know thank you
very much for that. Uh especially
[17:45] especially some of the discussions about
um
[17:48] kind of that civility and
communications. Um all too often I've
[17:52] seen um
things get hostile fast and usually that
[17:55] comes from a a position of just not
being well informed on the way in so it
[17:59] manifests itself in the form of fear and
anger.
[18:02] Um so hopefully that helps uh with that.
I think um
[18:07] uh if I had kind of one ask it's
actually two. One just that we go
[18:11] through and make sure that it everything
in here is a may consider instead of
[18:15] will consider
so that there's that scalable
[18:18] flexibility. Mhm.
And that we don't back ourselves into a
[18:22] into a may will shall problem. You know.
Um
[18:26] and um I think the other piece you know
as I as I look at this is does does city
[18:31] of Lake Stevens have like a PIO office
or is it
[18:35] sort of? Yeah so that
so that there can be
[18:39] uh along with these with these outreach
whether it's a planning thing public
[18:44] works thing.
Just kind of that constant repetition
[18:48] whether that's a um
a YouTube short or you know a TikTok for
[18:53] the kids or whatever it is. Um
um what's going on not you know not just
[18:59] a traditional
email blast or something like that but
[19:03] you know a a 30 second spot you know
drone footage of Lake Stevens saying
[19:07] like hey are you interested in this area
you know don't forget we're soliciting
[19:11] feedback about X, Y, or Z.
>> Mhm. [clears throat]
[19:15] » I will add we did we have a
split position.
[19:26] So, we do have a split position. That's
our grant writer communications person.
[19:31] And so, we did run this document by our
communications person and they were you
[19:35] know, generally supportive of it. Had a
few tweaks and edits.
[19:39] But I I think your suggestion that we
could go one step further and see how we
[19:43] include them such as news flashes on our
website. We do use Well, in the past we
[19:50] had a tool to do our
projects on our website. I think that
[19:54] tool is going to be changing. But I I
hear your thoughts that we need to be
[20:01] looking at all of our opportunities and
we do try to push out our projects
[20:06] through social media at least sort of an
initial
[20:09] stabs. So, I think that that's probably
a great addition that we're covering the
[20:14] our bases on where we're distributing
information.
[20:17] » Yeah, and I think one of the reasons I
bring up like a PIO
[20:20] or or graphics person or something like
that is and again, a trap that I fall
[20:24] into is I can communicate technical
items very well, but my graphical
[20:29] ability is zero and a lot of people
respond well to that. So, having
[20:34] somebody who whose profession is that
who can take the
[20:39] the technical and make it so that the
whole community can understand it in in
[20:42] something simple, flashy, and you know,
uh with a little bit of music behind it,
[20:47] you know, that that I think will go a
long way.
[20:53] » What we do plan to do next and if you
have further ideas after we answer these
[20:57] questions and if you go out to your
businesses and if you have other ideas,
[21:01] our goal is to keep this a living
document so it doesn't die and so we can
[21:05] update it with technology just like your
AI suggestion and graphics. And then in
[21:10] addition after our meeting here, we plan
to go send this out to our department
[21:16] heads and staff, get additional feedback
based on your comments, and then present
[21:21] to city council on what how we intend to
use this document. So we could use it in
[21:26] the comp plan update for 2026 as an
example.
[21:31] That's it. I'll turn it back to Alicia.
>> I do have some feedback. This is
[21:35] Commissioner Morton. Um so overall I
think it's this is great. I I like that
[21:41] the majority of the document is
the templates. I think that's the most
[21:46] valuable
part of this. Um
[21:49] and
I do but in the body I do have a couple
[21:53] things I'd would like to suggest.
Um one one of the main
[21:59] things one of the main misconceptions
that I think a lot of people have in the
[22:04] like is
um
[22:07] the belief that the the city has
dictatorial powers
[22:11] uh
and that
[22:13] um
when we present a plan or or proposal
[22:19] that it is or or
that it's it's it's that's what we're
[22:25] dictating
or actually maybe instead
[22:29] is
people
[22:32] are afraid that a plan becomes something
that's be required when it's when
[22:36] they're already grandfathered in. Or uh
if there people complain that something
[22:43] is happening in the city and the city
doesn't have power to stop it like
[22:47] they see apartments going up but they
don't want to see apartments going up.
[22:50] Why doesn't the city stop that? Well
we don't have the legal authority to sit
[22:54] to stop it, right? So
I would
[22:57] I would say uh
may in the section where you have tools
[23:02] and methods, I would say
uh do dispel misconceptions.
[23:09] Um
and in the page before, uh there's the
[23:12] this the civility, inquiry, and
creativity. Uh I would add to the
[23:17] creativity section, uh look for win-win
solutions.
[23:21] Uh
that's from my seven habits uh
[23:25] experience. Um
so that that would be my my suggestions
[23:31] for the body. Um
also
[23:34] when it comes to the the the templates
are are really useful, but in addition
[23:38] to the templates in here, it would be
nice to have, and you probably already
[23:42] have this, a library
of previous engagements. So like for
[23:47] example, uh when the the comp plan
update, there's public engagement for
[23:51] that.
Well, it would be nice to be able to
[23:54] say, "Okay, what's uh what did we do the
last time we did public engagement for a
[23:59] comp plan update?" I just want to take
that, tweak it,
[24:04] and then uh and then boom,
[clears throat] it's easy done
[24:07] uh rather than
I mean, the worksheet here is good, and
[24:11] we have and it should be uh followed,
but uh for things that are similar to
[24:16] what's been done in the past, it's
probably even easier to go and uh
[24:21] go pick out that that engagement plan
that engagement uh
[24:25] library or that engagement process from
the library and just modify it.
[24:30] Um I like that there's uh
uh uh these the the formulas and the and
[24:37] the flowcharts. Uh engineers love this
stuff. Uh so [laughter]
[24:43] um
that helps a lot, I I think. It helps
[24:47] objectify things that are subjective.
Um
[24:51] and uh
let me see. I do questions. Easy to
[24:55] understand, yes.
[24:58] The the the
the stakeholders, I think that that's
[25:02] very comprehensive and I think I don't
have any suggestions for that.
[25:07] Um
Uh
[25:08] yeah, that's feedback I have.
>> Perfect, thank you. I only have one
[25:13] quick addition. I would add in
stakeholders under housing partners and
[25:17] agencies, the Association of Washington
Cities.
[25:21] In our dialogue, we often refer to what
cities surrounding us are doing,
[25:26] uh what cities that are um
uh perhaps
[25:31] hesitating on some of the legislation
and the Association of Washington Cities
[25:35] has also also been um very helpful in
finding that.
[25:39] Um to counter balance a couple of my
colleagues, AI is not um a friend when
[25:48] it comes to being a business owner in
Lake Stevens or anywhere uh right now
[25:53] because it is the black hole of time
and um if when you want a moving piece
[26:01] of of work,
if you get into an AI
[26:05] circle, um you can count the rest of
your day gone. So, not a fan.
[26:11] Um that's why we have a panel because
there's others that are um I think that
[26:15] it's putting people out of jobs and it's
making my job so much harder. So, um
[26:20] those are just my two cents' worth.
Otherwise, I think it's lovely. The idea
[26:23] that you're using current photos will go
a long way. The fact that we've used the
[26:28] same static photos for
presentation after presentation um is
[26:35] noted. So, I like that we have some
current stuff going on.
[26:38] » Thank you.
[26:43] » Don't have too much feedback to provide.
Uh
[26:46] This is Tony Motsi. Uh
I do find the document easy to
[26:50] understand.
Um I definitely liked all the different
[26:54] charts. Uh,
big fan of that. Uh,
[26:57] and just the clarity.
Uh.
[27:02] I did not have any uh stakeholders to
add. I tried looking through it multiple
[27:07] times trying to find some and think
you've covered everyone that I can think
[27:10] of.
[27:14] » Perfect.
>> Good. So, uh any other feedback?
[27:19] No?
Right. Well, thank you very much.
[27:21] » Thank you.
[27:24] » All right. So, on to the next item.
Um.
[27:28] We have Let me scroll back up.
[27:33] Okay. Uh,
we are ready for commissioner's report.
[27:38] That was our one discussion item. We do
have the fine director's report which
[27:40] has some content which is in the packet,
but we'll let's go over to
[27:44] commissioner's report first.
Commissioner Huxford.
[27:47] » Nothing today. Thank you.
>> All right. Commissioner McMillan. Let's
[27:50] see. This is just so you know, this is
an opportunity to bring up things that
[27:54] are like not specifically on the agenda
that are
[27:58] um
uh germane to planning commission
[28:03] uh stuff, not like personal items. All
right?
[28:06] » [laughter]
>> Uh,
[28:08] but anything like
uh that that has germane to planning
[28:11] commission stuff. You'll you'll you'll
see examples, but do you have anything?
[28:14] » Nothing at this time.
>> Okay.
[28:16] Jennifer Davis.
>> Nothing for me.
[28:19] » Commissioner Dwight.
>> I want to welcome our new commissioner.
[28:21] Um,
I will say firsthand that there could be
[28:24] kind of a learning curve and if we ever
start using like jargon or something,
[28:27] please please please like to slow us
down.
[28:32] Uh, there's a lot of acronyms that get
thrown around and it does take some time
[28:35] to learn it all. Um,
um.
[28:38] We're here as a resource. We're all
We're all in it together. We look
[28:40] forward to working with you. Thank you.
[28:44] » Um.
[28:49] What are was I'm saying it's the uh
What was the name of the document that
[28:53] the big document we had it's like it's
the uh
[28:56] the it's our
[29:00] our has the city plans for all the
different It's our
[29:04] » Our strategic plan?
>> Our strategic plan or it's
[29:06] » Our comprehensive plan?
>> Uh
[29:09] It's one we did like about a year and a
half ago.
[29:12] Uh where it has all of our plans and
policies
[29:17] uh
that um
[29:20] uh that document was is it was a
really informative for me when we went
[29:26] through it and I I'd encourage you go
through it.
[29:28] » It's the our comprehensive plan.
>> Yeah, comprehensive. Yes. If you go
[29:31] through the comprehensive plan fun
reading
[29:33] » But
>> But it it is uh
[29:36] I'd encourage you to at least uh look at
that document.
[29:39] » The comprehensive plan is kind of like
uh
[29:42] everything that we do everything that we
do kind of like condensed down into one
[29:46] document.
Uh
[29:48] so I I encourage you to that we recently
updated it and we're going to be
[29:51] continuing to update it on forever.
>> [laughter]
[29:58] » Um
So um my uh my feedback I've been
[30:02] thinking a lot about the the
the um I know we're this is
[30:08] about the
the tree height the the setbacks for the
[30:13] for the streams and and such.
Uh I I've been thinking a lot about that
[30:18] and uh
there's one item in there. I know I'm I
[30:22] made my I I made a statement
at the time.
[30:27] Uh I'm
about the um and it seems
[30:32] useless uh the
the fences.
[30:36] Is [snorts] my my question is
the the split
[30:40] rail fences
is that a state law?
[30:45] Or is that something that we put in as a
as kind of like a helper so that we can
[30:50] help remind the homeowner not to go
beyond this or or what?
[30:56] » Um it is not specifically a law. It's
best practice to provide a physical
[31:03] separation.
And split rail fences have been widely
[31:07] adopted because they allow for animals
to continue to migrate in and out of
[31:13] critical areas, but still create that
physical
[31:17] barrier.
>> Okay.
[31:22] » Christy Schmidt, planning manager. To
add on to Director Wright's comment, we
[31:26] do have a codified fencing and signage
that is required in the code. So, the
[31:32] type of split rail fence, that's
actually outlined in our We have a
[31:36] detail in our ads. So, that's where it
comes from.
[31:41] Other jurisdictions have different types
of fencing, but the split rail is the
[31:45] most common one cuz it's most affordable
and as Russ mentioned, it does allow
[31:51] animal migration and passage of animals.
>> Yeah.
[31:56] But not people.
>> Well,
[32:00] » Okay. Well, um I I
Yeah, I
[32:04] Let's
I don't know if this is a appropriate
[32:08] time to mention it, but I I would like
to see if there's a way that we can
[32:13] discuss even the way to make that
uh a a may
[32:19] or
to make it optional rather than
[32:21] required.
Cuz
[32:24] it's from what we discussed earlier,
it's not enforced anyway and
[32:31] uh
So, why even do it?
[32:35] So,
um
[32:37] I don't know. It's It's
I'm I'm far out in left field for this,
[32:42] but uh it's just my my my opinion. I
thought I would.
[32:45] » So, Planner Levitan will be bringing
back the critical areas ordinance to the
[32:50] Planning Commission. I believe it's
early September
[32:53] uh to you, so that may be an item of
discussion
[32:57] » Yeah.
>> within that topic.
[32:58] » Yeah, I would like to discuss that
later. Uh
[33:01] it's one of the appropriate times.
So,
[33:04] um
that is all my comments. So,
[33:09] uh
let's go on to Planning Director's
[33:11] Report.
>> Okay. Um you have the report um
[33:16] obviously in your packet, so I might
just um highlight a couple of things and
[33:20] add on a couple of things.
Um so, the the first big news that's not
[33:24] in here and it would really be part of
our third quarter report is
[33:27] um two of our key staff people are
leaving the agency, so our building
[33:32] official um is retiring. So, we're all
very excited for her to take that next
[33:38] step in her life. And then our code
enforcement officer has accepted a
[33:42] position in another jurisdiction. So,
we'll be recruiting for those those two
[33:47] key positions, and I just bring that up
cuz we try to do an introduction of who
[33:51] we are at the beginning of the document
just so um you know us and some of the
[33:56] roles that we do.
Um otherwise, if we go to basically some
[34:01] of the permit statistics,
this has been a really, really busy year
[34:07] for us. We've had some really unex-
well, some expected, some unexpected
[34:12] projects, a lot of school projects, and
the sheer volume of school projects
[34:18] we're processing this year has taken
We could have had another employee just
[34:23] dedicated or two just dedicated to to
school projects.
[34:28] Um so, that's been a really big one. Um
we've been working on a long-term
[34:34] migration of our paper records into
digital format. And along with that,
[34:41] we've been going through quite intensive
disposition effort that Don has been
[34:47] crucial in doing that. And so, we are
going to be paper-free by the time we
[34:54] move to the new building except for
archive materials that we have to
[34:58] maintain, but otherwise we're either
scanning, tossing. So, that has been a
[35:05] Herculean feat like cleaning out the
stalls, right?
[35:09] » [laughter]
>> Um
[35:13] talked about our development review
statistics. You have some photos in
[35:16] there of some of the new projects.
And then just the statistics on our code
[35:22] enforcement. And hopefully you will all
have seen our new gateway signs that we
[35:28] put up continuing to try to do our
beautification. And then we were able to
[35:34] work with other teams to get the artwork
up for the
[35:39] um America 250 celebration. So,
hopefully everyone appreciated the new
[35:44] banners as well as the other versions of
banners. And then our civic capital
[35:50] projects are going along very well. Um
it's fun to watch the progress on the
[35:55] museum every day.
Um and it's it's really cool. They're
[36:00] getting ready to start going up with
their third story.
[36:03] And I can say that we have a great first
floor tenant. And we're getting close to
[36:08] having a second floor tenant. And then
we have a contract now to have a
[36:14] consultant or contractor start the city
hall construction. And so, we're looking
[36:19] forward to that project starting and
then
[36:22] be moving over there sometime um early
2027.
[36:26] So, that's just a a quick overview of
our report. Otherwise, I don't have a
[36:32] lot of um new things to to add other
than just the volume of work. It's been
[36:38] a a busy That's been a busy summer for
us. So,
[36:42] » I'm sure.
Right.
[36:44] Uh I do have one question uh on the the
permit performance chart.
[36:50] Um the average is very close to the
limit and I'm wondering do you have an
[36:55] idea Could you in general
what was the range
[36:59] of those cuz uh it looks like
probably a a good portion of these went
[37:04] beyond the statutory deadline. I'm
guessing.
[37:08] » Um
[37:10] I This
represents I It's not in
[37:16] Well, and maybe Christie, you're going
to need to help me cuz you did a lot of
[37:19] the review of this.
Um but I think the expanded report, I
[37:24] don't remember seeing projects that have
gone
[37:28] beyond the statutory deadline or a
handful. So, maybe you're
[37:31] » Very few.
Excellent question. So, what we do to
[37:35] comply with 5290, when we have projects
that go over two reviews, let's say
[37:40] four,
we ask the applicant to provide a 5290
[37:45] waiver letter, which essentially waves
us from the state statute. And the
[37:50] reason why we do this and it's
recommended by the state is because we
[37:54] do allow concurrent submittal of
permits. So, what that looks like,
[37:58] someone comes in for a subdivision,
we'll allow them to submit a
[38:02] construction plan at the same time. So,
that bolts all their permits up to four
[38:06] permits traveling at the same time. Not
all the permits that come in early
[38:12] get issued with the first permit. So, as
an example, the construction plan has to
[38:17] hang there and wait there.
So, that is why you'll see some permits
[38:21] that go over, but we're still not
penalized for it. We did have a couple
[38:26] that did went over because we were
short-staffed. We've been short-staffed,
[38:30] so we did have some over the dates.
We hope to improve our range next year.
[38:35] » Okay, good. Yeah.
>> We do. It's a It's a in progress cuz now
[38:39] we have full staff, so we'd like to get
back to where we were the year before.
[38:43] » We had a staff. Now we don't.
>> Yes, well, okay.
[38:46] » [laughter]
>> We're going to work on it. HR is helping
[38:49] us.
>> I I only mention this cuz a friend of
[38:52] mine
had
[38:54] had a long
their permit process took longer than
[38:58] they were expecting.
Just wanted to
[39:01] provide that feedback.
>> Are you done? I don't want to interrupt.
[39:04] » No, no, go ahead. Yeah, I'm good.
>> Um if I may parlay off of that question,
[39:07] if there is a um hang-up during that
process specific to something, I'll say
[39:14] the energy code.
Does the city
[39:17] um
go out to
[39:21] um
maybe an outside entity, an authority in
[39:25] that area, whatever it was something
outside of the city, or is it up to the
[39:30] the petitioner, the the permit holder,
to then prove to the city?
[39:36] » It is up to the applicant. We provide
review comments for compliance. They
[39:40] have a check sheet for their energy
credits, and they're required to provide
[39:44] a certain level depending on their
project, and so it's up to them to
[39:48] provide and select what items they would
like with the building permit as example
[39:53] single-family home, whether they choose
energy efficient water heater, whether
[39:58] they have a solar panel, etc. There's
multiple choices that they can pick, but
[40:02] it is the burden of the applicant to
design it correctly to meet code.
[40:06] » Understood, and asking for a friend.
Just saying that um if there is a a
[40:13] process that is going through that the
applicant holder has now proven, does
[40:18] that clear the way to the person that
comes behind that applicant holder to um
[40:24] does the city learn from every permit
because every every project is
[40:28] different, right? And so does the city
then say, "Hey listen, this was verified
[40:33] that this was outside of the norm and
and was proven to not needed to be in
[40:38] that space?"
>> Sure.
[40:40] » Will will they then convey that to the
next person that comes into shorten that
[40:44] next person's delay?
>> I would say yes, the answer is yes and
[40:47] I'll give the example of a our tank.
It's a storage facility for storm water
[40:53] facility. At first they weren't
permitted. We have allowed them. We have
[40:57] four or five in the city and now we do
allow them with certain requirements. So
[41:01] you could take that same applicability
to the building code also.
[41:05] » Okay.
>> So yes.
[41:06] » But with the caveat they still have to
prove the applicability to their
[41:11] project. And so it still has to come as
part of the recommendation of their
[41:16] architect engineer specific to
their site. Does the city need to vet
[41:22] the
project as much if it's a new
[41:26] technology, a new technique? No, that's
where we're learning but it's always up
[41:30] to the applicant still to prove that is
an acceptable means and measures to
[41:35] complete their project and we verify
that through our review process.
[41:40] » Okay, that might be one of the things
that could be communicated a little bit
[41:43] better.
Um
[41:46] to have something hung up when you know
you're not the first has been a
[41:50] complaint that has come
from my own household as well as people
[41:54] that I know that are in the same space.
So um
[41:59] again
uh I
[42:02] anything that that can be done to help
communicate the process better
[42:08] um in a moving target in a moving
industry would be
[42:13] very much appreciated.
>> We do try to be very direct and upfront
[42:18] with our applicants and provide
guidance. So, if there's some sort of
[42:22] issue, you can feel feel free to give me
a call and we can talk about it.
[42:27] » Happy to do so. Thank you. Yeah.
>> And with that, I think we are at the
[42:33] bottom of our agenda.
Um
[42:36] do we want to adjourn?
[42:40] » I'd make a motion to adjourn. Yes.
>> I'll second it.
[42:44] And
all in favor?
[42:47] » I.
>> Opposed.
[42:49] We are adjourned.