Date: October 17, 2019
To: Members of the Planning Commission
From: Scott Tempel, City Planner
Title
Discussion on Planning Commission Work Plan
Body
Action Requested:
The Planning Commission discusses a work plan for future actions.
Summary Report:
Staff has been working with the Planning Commission over the past several months to outline opportunities to organize efforts to implement City goals. Commissioners provided their individual priorities for action, and staff has outlined amendments that could help further goals and the City's strategic priorities. Both of these documents are attached.
Many commissioner comments involved updating the Comprehensive Plan. The 2020 budget did not allocate funds for hiring consultants to work on the Comp Plan. Initiation of a Comp Plan revision will most likely occur in 2021. This specific initiative is not currently identified in the City's Strategic Plan as a priority for 2020. Strategic Plan objectives the Planning Commission could help further include "Grow and Maintain Affordable Housing" and Economic Development. The following broad categories of actions could have a positive impact on the cost of development as well as the timeline it takes to implement projects.
1. Simplify the code
2. Streamline the code
3. Modify or eliminate requirements discouraging development or not meeting community goals
4. Reduce development costs while balancing quality
5. Enable or encourage development
Simply stated, the cost of developing housing exceeds the amount moderate income residents can afford to pay, leaving developers with only the higher end market or deeply subsidized low-income projects. Certain regulations can add directly to development costs through required design and physical improvements. Other intangible costs follow the old adage that "time is money". Decreasing complexity and uncertainty while increasing the speed and reliability of the development process can result in savings, which can dec...
Click here for full text