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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2025.02.20 Planning Commission Meeting Minutesry Of v4i'sco PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING MINUTES City Hall - Council Chambers 525 North Third Avenue Pasco, Washington THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 2025 6:30 PM CALL TO ORDER City of Pasco Planning Commission meeting was called to order at 6:30 p.m., by Chair Jerry Cochran. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE Chair Cochran led the Pledge of Allegiance. ROLL CALL Commissioners Present: Rosa Torres, Pat Jones, Kim Lehrman, Dana Crutchfield, Jay Hendler and Jerry Cochran, a quorum was declared. Commissioners Excused: Rachel Teel Staff Present: C& ED Deputy Director Craig Raymond, CDBG Administrator Kristin Webb, and Administrative Assistant II Carmen Patrick DECLARATIONS Chair Cochran asked if there were any Planning Commission members who have a declaration at this time regarding any of the items on the agenda. ❖ No declarations were heard. Chair Cochran asked if anyone in the audience objected to any Planning Commission member hearing any of the items on the agenda. ❖ No declarations were heard. Chair Cochran stated the Planning Commission needed and valued public input explaining it helped the Commission understand the issues more clearly and allowed for better recommendations to City Council. Furthermore, in many cases, this could be the only forum for the public to get facts and opinions placed into the official record and City Council will use to make the Commission's decision. He encouraged those present to take full advantage of this opportunity. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Commissioner Jones, motioned to approve the Planning Commission meeting minutes of December 19, 2025. Commissioner Hendler seconded, and the motion carried unanimously. Commissioner Lehrman motioned to approve the Planning Commission meeting minutes of January 16, 2025. Commissioner Crutchfield seconded, and the motion carried, Commissioner Jones abstained from voting due to not attending the meeting. OLD BUSINESS 2025-2029 Tri-Cities Consolidated Plan and 2025 Action Plan - Presented by Kristin Webb The 2025-2029 Consolidated Plan is a federally required strategy guiding HUD funding for housing, infrastructure, and community development in Pasco. It prioritizes affordable housing, economic opportunities, and essential services for low- to moderate -income residents, based on data analysis and community input. Key challenges include housing affordability, infrastructure gaps, and climate resilience. The plan will go before the City Council for review in late February and early March before submission to HUD, ensuring strategic investment in community needs over the next five years. Planning Commission Meeting Minutes Page 1 of 4 February 20, 2025 Questions/Comments from Commissioners Commissioner Crutchfield asked if rental units are included in these funds and if are they monitored for safety issues. Kristin stated yes, they are. Code enforcement would still be involved if there was a call made regarding safety issues. Commissioner Jones asked where the funding came from, and if federal, what would they do if those funds were changed. Kristin confirmed the money she gets is from HUD federal funds. She stated that the funds were already allocated for projects, should funds change then they would do a disproportionate decrease to all funds for all activities. That CDBG would decide that allocations and they would be made public. Chair Cochran asked that not only the funding could change, but HUD could change the criteria for which funding is allocation. Kristin stated yes, and that at the 2024 HUD did make changes to the Home Investment Program to put more funds toward more rehabs. Commissioner Torres asked about the funding. Kristin stated the Annual Action Plan outlines funding priorities for the next five years, with $1.6 million allocated for affordable housing and another $1.6 million for community, neighborhood, and economic development. For 2025, the focus is on housing and economic development, with no funding allocated for public service activities next year. Commissioner Lehrman made a motion to approve the 2025-2029 Tri-Cities Consolidated Plan and the 2025 Action Plan. Commissioner Jones seconded; motion passed unanimously. PUBLIC HEARINGS None WORSHOP None OTHER BUSINESS • Overnight Truck Parking and Habitation Craig Raymond gave the Commissioners a copy of Ordinance No. 4575 that was passed by City Council. Questions/Comments from Commissioners Commissioner Hendler stated I have some concerns. I read this. I don't know how they came up with some of these things. For example, and again, I'm just going to go on record. I know we can't change anything, but I don't understand how they can just summarily allow for C3 to be included in potential sites. That is a good way to destroy a C3 district. If you got several 15-acre truck stop in a successful C3 district, you're going to have major serious problems, and I'm not going to go down the list. The other question I have is, was there a study done on why 15 acres is the maximum size. In my mind, when you look at 80-foot-long semis dragging these trailers into a 15-acre site and the amount of radius they need to make turns and to back up, I question why 15 acres was chosen. If it's within the realm of reason, I would request a study. I'd like to see the study that was done that came up with 15 acres. When you read about how many trucks they could potentially have in there, I'm reading between the lines, but 60 trucks in there, in a way, isn't going to happen. Commissioner Crutchfield stated I have some comments, too. I agree with Commissioner Hendler. Absolutely. I have some notes written, so I don't leave anything out. I was very surprised when I read what had been adopted. The Planning Commission, we worked through several meetings, public hearings over the course of a year on an ordinance which would protect the residents from Planning Commission Meeting Minutes Page 2 of 4 February 20, 2025 potential problems with this truck parking. I think it's important to note that this is the first site in Washington State for overnight parking. The Planning Commission invested really much time and forethought in this in order to, as the purpose of the ordinance states, develop standards and regulations which protect the health, safety, welfare of the residents of the city of Pasco, not to accommodate or draft or adopt an ordinance which will meet the needs of a certain applicant in order to use a certain piece of property. Most of our recommendations were removed, if not reduced, drastically. The 1,000-foot buffer down to 250 feet, that is, I believe, four small city lots, 60 feet each. No on -site management or waste disposal, no landscape buffer. The parking, the gravel is confusing because the New Ordinance states, without clarification, it appears to allow gravel, but it doesn't require, it says it may allow gravel. Does that mean, in other words, the owner could simply have trucks parking on an unimproved site? That would lead to obvious problems for the street maintenance. The other part is the maximum stay, the on -site management that we discussed. The ordinance states that there's going to be a telephone number displayed so the user can contact an on -site manager. To me, that makes no sense. If he's on -site, I don't know if it was just an error in transcribing, but more importantly, if there's no on -site manager, how is compliance going to be achieved? Now, the ordinance requires overnight truck habitation facilities to be approved by a special pernlit. So, they've added the C3 instead of just the industrial. But I feel that there's little the hearing examiner can consider as that section specifies various site development requirements, and the hearing examiner cannot deviate. In other words, he's powerless to require more than 250 feet separation from residential uses and zones. He can't require pavement of the site. What's the purpose of the special permit? Lastly, the staff presented a draft ordinance that was worked on by the Planning Commission, as well as the applicant's desired ordinance at a city council meeting in October last year. I recognize we are an advisory board, but if our recommendations are being taken so lightly, this is my opinion, I'm not speaking for my fellow Commissioners, then I feel, why are we wasting our time? That's all I have to say. Thank you. Chair Cochran stated he thought the Commission had voted it down, however Commissioner Lehrman stated she remembered it had passed with one voting it down. Then when we finished with it, we had a gentleman from B4 Development, came forward and thank the commission for their hard work but he specifically said that he was priced out of the opportunity. Commissioner Lehrman asked from the original applicant, what zone was it in, as well as the size of the lot. Craig Raymond responded that he would need to go back and check. Commissioner Torres stated I think I agree with Commissioner Lehrman, and I think that was the case. I think it wasn't so much the zone. I think it was the piece that you mentioned about the 1,500 feet or the 1,000 feet that we had mentioned, and so it was going to knock them out of that. I think their lot was only five acres, if I remember correctly. I think the only other thing I would like to, I guess, put on the record, because I know we're not doing anything, is if maybe we could have a summary of what the differences were, because I know that the staff worked really diligently on trying to be very specific and gather information from best practices from other states, and even going so far as, I think, talking to somebody over in Tennessee or somewhere in the Midwest. Maybe if there was a summary between what was presented and then what ended up getting actually passed would be great information in addition to this. Commissioner Jones stated his concern regarding anything in the ordinance about the trucks running overnight and lights being on and that thing? Because with that buffer being reduced from 1,000 to 250 feet, a lot of trucks running, exhaust all overnight. I mean, that's going to become a major Planning Commission Meeting Minutes Page 3 of 4 February 20, 2025 pollution zone and other things, but especially with that minimal buffer, no landscaping, nothing to absorb it or catch it or anything. Craig Raymond answered, there is not, in fact, part of the security features of the orders and the proposal is to make sure it's well -lit and there's no dark zones. It will be illuminating appropriately or well -illuminated, I should say. But no, nothing as far as hours of trucks running or idling and things of that nature. Nothing in there. He also stated that's important to note, as each citizen has the right to appeal or to ask the council to amend zoning codes or municipal codes. They have that ability to ask, so they can go straight to them in that regard. In the interest of due process, they're allowed that. Commissioner Lehrman asked at what point does it get sent back to the Planning Commission of it's changes so much of the integrity or the original code, is there something that is a policy within our city's policies or a state law about it? Craig Raymond stated he doesn't believe there is. It was discussed that if citizens were concerned, that they have the right to go directly to their council member and complain and get action if needed. Commissioner Crutchfield added we just talked about the applicants may go forward and request information or that. But in the notes that we were provided, or I have here on the meeting of October 28th, the staff, you all, presented the draft ordinance, Planning Commission, and the applicant's desired ordinance to the council. That's what it says here, requesting to do something, getting some ideas or saying, I'd like to do this, this may stand in my way, or I don't agree with that. This sounds a little different to me. That, I think, is something to note. ADJOURNMENT Chair Cochran stated with no other business, I recommend a motion to adjourn. Commissioner Jones made the motion to adjourn the meeting, it was seconded by Commissioner Lehrman, motion passed unanimously. Meeting adjourned at 7:06 pm. YouTube link to watch full meeting: Pasco Planning Commission February 20 2025 R ;� tfully subs t , Carmen Patrick, Administrative Assistant II Community & Economic Development Department Planning Commission Meeting Minutes Page 4 of 4 February 20, 2025