GRANDVIEW PLANNING COMMISSION

REGULAR MEETING MINUTES

JANUARY 31, 2007

1. CALL TO ORDER

Commissioner Byam called the regular meeting to order at 6:00 p.m., in the Council Chambers at City Hall.

Planning Commissioners present were: Dennis Byam, John Hunting, Kathy Gonzalez and Brad Shreeve. Commissioner Don Olmstead Jr. was absent.

Staff present were: Senior Planner Michael Buchanan and Drew Miller of the Yakima Valley Conference of Governments, Parks & Recreation Director Mike Carpenter and City Clerk/Secretary Anita Palacios.

2. MINUTE APPROVAL – NOVEMBER 29, 2006 REGULAR MEETING

On motion by Commissioner Hunting, second by Commissioner Shreeve, the Commission unanimously approved the November 29, 2006 regular meeting minutes.

3. ACTIVE AGENDA

A. Public Hearing - Comprehensive Plan Parks & Recreation Element Draft Update

· Received staff report and public comments

Commissioner Byam opened the public hearing for the purpose of receiving comments on the Comprehensive Plan Parks & Recreation Element draft update, a copy of which is attached hereto and incorporated herein as part of these minutes.

Drew Miller of the Yakima Valley Conference of Governments presented the staff report, a copy of which is attached hereto and incorporated herein as part of these minutes.

No public comments were received by mail or during the hearing.

The public testimony portion of the hearing was declared closed and no further comments were received.

On motion by Commissioner Shreeve, second by Commissioner Gonzalez, the Commission unanimously adopted the following findings of fact:

The proposed changes to the Parks, Recreation & Open Space Element are in keeping with the recommended changes to the Land Use Element Goals and Policies.

The Parks, Recreation & Opens Space Element responds to the community’s desire for recreation and open space facilities and provides meaningful direction for managing these facilities.

The public use and interest will be served.

The Parks, Recreation & Open Space Element is consistent with Washington’s GMA requirements, as well as requirements outlined under the Interagency Committee for Outdoor Recreation planning guidelines.

Environmental (SEPA) review will be conducted prior to submission of the proposed changes to the Department of Community, Trade and Economic Development (CTED) for review.

And recommended that the proposed Comprehensive Parks, Recreation & Open Space Element amendment be submitted to CTED for 60 day review.

B. GMA 2006 Update for Yakima County - Urban Growth Area Analysis for Grandview

· Reviewed comments from affected property owners

At the last meeting, the Commission reviewed a letter dated November 15, 2006 from the Yakima County Planning staff proposing that the City remove the parcels located east of the Sunnyside canal and west of Olmstead Road from the City’s UGA where infrastructure had not been extended. The Commission decided to invite those affected property owners to tonight’s meeting to provide their input. The following list of property owners would be affected by said removal:

Property Owner Parcel No. Parcel Size

Norman Benjamin Fisher 230913-24002 19.47 acres

Armando & Celine Castillo 230913-24402 2.5

Armando & Celine Castillo 230913-24401 2.5

Armando & Celine Castillo 230913-24403 14.2

Wilbert & Hilda Horst 230913-23006 1.39

Wilbert & Hilda Horst 230913-23005 16.77

Wilbert & Hilda Horst 230913-23002 9.95

Samuel & Graciela Murillo 230913-23001 9.8

Alberto & Guadalupe Rodriguez 230914-14008 2.04

Peter & Carole Schlotfeldt 230914-14006 4.76

Peter & Carole Schlotfeldt 230914-11002 14.68

Peter & Carole Schlotfeldt 230913-22006 22.76

Ronald & Shirley Grow 230913-21002 17.58

Donald Bentley 230913-21005 16.19

Donald Bentley 230913-21004 1.93

Senior Planner Buchanan explained to the audience that the City was currently in the process of amending its Comprehensive Plan which was a requirement under the Growth Management Act. Cities must amend their Comprehensive Plans every seven years and the Urban Growth Area (UGA) must be reviewed every ten years. As part of that process, the City had a number of public hearings regarding its UGA and future land use designations within the UGA. The City made a recommendation to Yakima County that its UGA be expanded by approximately 100 acres in the southeastern corner of the City on Grandridge Road. The UGA consists of land outside the City limits that provide a supply of land for annexation to the City for the next 20 years. Under State law, property can only be annexed into the City if it is in the UGA and is contiguous to the City. The UGA provides a reasonable way of annexing land into the City to provide for growth of the City.

Senior Planner Buchanan further explained that with respect to this process, Yakima County actually sets the City’s UGA boundary, after consultation with the City. Following the City’s recommendation to add lands on Grandridge Road and the County’s analysis of the lands available for development within the city limits, their findings were that the City had approximately 100% more land within its UGA than was necessary for growth. Under State law and some of the hearings board decisions, it was recommended that cities have land sufficient for growth plus a market factor of 25% more land than what would be necessary for actual projected growth.

Senior Planner Buchanan added that as part of the negotiation process, the County identified land (as identified above) as an area that may not be well served by city services in the next 20-years, and that the City could negotiate by removing some of those lands from the UGA in order to add the 100 acres in the southeast corner. Prior to this meeting, the City notified the County that this area was adjacent to two city wells and could certainly provide services to this vicinity.

Senior Planner Phil Hoge of the Yakima County Department of Public Services – Planning Division distributed a spreadsheet (a copy of which is attached hereto and incorporated herein as part of these minutes) that supported the calculations of the County’s UGA analysis. He explained that the County prepared an initial analysis and then shared that information with the City. County and City staff then met to review and revise information and maps used for the analysis. He reviewed the County’s UGA analysis and GMA requirements to size UGA to accommodate 20 years of growth. The County’s analysis found that the UGA currently has a surplus of 200 acres with a 63% market choice factor to accommodate growth through 2025 and County staff believed that adding land to the UGA without removing other lands from the UGA would be contrary to the GMA.

The following property owners voiced opposition in their property being removed from the City’s

Urban Growth Area:

· Armando Castillo

· Norman & Sharon Fisher, copy of letter attached

· Wilbert & Hilda Horst, copy of letter attached

· Peter & Carole Schlotfeldt, copy of letter attached

· Ronald & Shirley Grow, copy of letter attached

Following discussion, the Commission concurred that it would not be in the best interest of the

City to remove these properties from the City’s Urban Growth Area.

4. UNFINISHED AND NEW BUSINESS - None

5. REPORTS

Housing Element – City Clerk Palacios informed the Commission that the Housing Element draft update would be presented to the City Council at their February 5, 2007 meeting for review.

Olmstead Annexation – City Clerk Palacios advised that the Letter of Intent and Petition for Annexation of property located on Puterbaugh and Forsell Roads which would include property owned by Chairman Don Olmstead Jr., would be presented to the City Council at their February 5, 2007 meeting for acceptance. Staff would be recommending that the annexation petition be heard by a hearing examiner rather than the Planning Commission in order to meet appearance of fairness.

6. ADJOURNMENT

The meeting adjourned at 7:05 p.m.

________________________________ ________________________________

Commissioner Don Olmstead, Jr., Chair Anita Palacios, City Clerk