 VOLUME XX, ISSUE 4 APRIL 2007
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LEGISLATIVE SESSION NEARS END
During the 2007 session, the WA-APA legislative committee tracked over 106 bills, testified on many of them and provided input on many others. Late in the 2007 session winds down, only 35 of these bills were still moving through the process. Of the 37 GMA-related bills tracked by the legislative committee, only 5 were still moving. Below is a quick overview of hot topics in the final days of the session related to issues WA-APA set forth in its 2007 Session Priorities. A fuller update on legislation will be a key feature of the next Planning Northwest newsletter.
Other issues of interest to the chapter have come up this session. The legislature passed the streamlined sales tax bill, SB 5089. Legislative negotiation continues on regional transportation governance for the Puget Sound region. The Kelo/eminent domain issue resurfaced this session; however, this legislature did not agree on a bill (HB 2016) that would have further limited the use of condemnation for economic development purposes while allowing for the original owner to buy back the property if the land is no longer needed. Another eminent domain bill, SHB 1458, regarding notification did pass. As this session came to a close, the House Local Government Committee was already planning for next session; annexation will be studied this interim. Meanwhile, the WA-APA legislative committee is planning to host meetings with a variety of land use stakeholders in an ongoing attempt to find common ground for next session. After a 105-day session, most legislators and lobbyists were just looking forward to parting company and reintroducing themselves back to their real lives. As the lobbyist for your chapter, I am certainly looking forward to a productive interim in preparation for the 2008 session. 
2007 CHAPTER ELECTIONS This year’s election is for the positions of Vice-President, Treasurer and Secretary. The successful candidates will serve on the Board for two years beginning in July 2007. The Nominating Committee consisted of Bill Grimes, Chapter Secretary and Inland Empire Section member; Barbara Robinson, Peninsula Section member and Bob Sokol, Nominating Committee Chair and Puget Sound Section member. After numerous phone calls, arm twisting and other forms of coercion, the Committee came up with the following very well qualified slate of candidates: Vice-President: Nicole Faghin, Scott Greenberg and Paul Krauss
In previous years, the chapter offered options to vote via e-mail and fax. Despite these options, member participation in elections was very low. For the past two years, the Chapter restricted voting to mail in only and voter participation increased dramatically. We hope to continue that trend this year. Your ballot arrived by mail in early April. We hope you remembered to return your ballot postmarked by April 27, 2007. Election results will be available soon!
2007 APA/PAW JOINT AWARDS PROGRAM
For the past 21 years, The Washington Chapter of the American Planning Association (APA) and the Planning Association of Washington (PAW) have jointly sponsored the annual planning awards program. The goal of this program is to bring public attention and recognition to public and private sector planning efforts throughout Washington State. The program also recognizes student planning projects in university planning programs. In past years, separate award categories have included:
The 2007 Joint Award Program Announcement will arrive via e-mail and U.S. mail shortly. The deadline for Submittals will be in July. The Award winners will be announced at the 2007 Joint Conference of the Washington and Oregon Chapters of the APA to be held October 3-5, 2007 at the Greater Tacoma Convention & Trade Center in Tacoma, Washington. For more information on the 2007 Award program, please contact Bob Sokol, AICP at bobhsokol@earthlink.net. Over the next several issues of the newsletter, award winners from 2006 will be highlighted. The Chapter website http://www.washington-apa.org/events/awards/index.shtml also includes a summary of all of the award winners for the past several years. This month, we will take a closer look at the merit award winners in the Physical Plan and Implementation Plan categories. Merit Award – Transportation Plans
The South Lake Union neighborhood is positioned to experience what may be the most rapid and dramatic urban redevelopment of any Seattle neighborhood in recent history. The neighborhood is already undergoing change from a light industrial/warehouse district to a vital mixed-use urban center that is projected to support 20,000 new jobs and 10,000 new housing units by the year 2020. If development continues as projected, the neighborhood will see 13,000 more daily vehicles in this timeframe. The South Lake Union On-Street Parking Plan brings a unique solution to this planning problem and has become an integral element of Seattle’s vision for the neighborhood to become an Urban Center - a compact, mixed-use neighborhood where people live and work. To this end, the plan recommends adopting an innovative market-rate pricing plan designed to ensure that on-street parking is available for business customers, residents and employees at all times. Pay station meter technology will be used to provide accurate, real-time parking data, allowing the City staff to adjust parking prices incrementally in accordance with demand, ensuring adequate parking is available on-street. A key strength of this strategy is the ability to manage both short- and long-term on-street parking demand in South Lake Union, through adjustable rate pricing and premium rates for designated block faces. This will be among the very first implementations of this approach in the United States. This dynamic pricing system is well suited to the diverse and rapidly changing built environment in the South Lake Union neighborhood. However, it also allows the city to charge market rates for a critical and limited product, on-street parking. The plan also creates important TDM benefits by encouraging parking price-sensitive employees to change their travel behavior and use other modes.
Honorable Mention Award- Citizen Involvement Plans
This project developed a detailed economic development strategy for the city at large and 4 planning districts in the City of Arlington for a joint Economic Development Task Force involving members of City Council, Planning Commission, Airport Board, School Board, Hospital, Downtown Association, and Chamber of Commerce. The planning process included an extensive public participation program involving: Interviews – with 50 stakeholders on economic problems, opportunities, and joint venture proposals. Charrette workshops – with 59 business and property owners, and residents on marketing, transportation, railroad and airport, wetland mitigation, land use, urban design, public facilities, and work force elements. Intercept surveys – of 52 Christmas event participants and 77 Downtown and Smokey Point retail customers about existing conditions, competitive facilities, and retail behaviors. Mail-back surveys - of 21 industrial and retail property owners, 94 business owners, and 208 employees about job opportunities, training requirements, market trends, opportunities, and expectations. Mail-back surveys – of 317 participants and tourists at the Airport’s annual Fly-In about tourist and recreational behavior, expenditures, existing conditions, and potential interests. Mail-out/phone-back survey – of 100 city registered voter households at the end of the process to determine final program and project priorities, funding and implementation preferences, and potential retail, housing, job, and other economic behavioral reactions of use to city officials in making final determinations about the plan’s proposals. The overall process provided elected officials and the various participating organizations a measurable public dialogue for determining and validating final action plan proposals and priorities. The process de-mystified the issue for city residents, and provided useful input to Council decision-makers. The Economic Development Plan was unanimously approved as a result of this approach.
REMINDER Last year the board approved a new chapter-only group membership opportunity. This membership is available to planning commissions, city councils and commissions, tribal councils, and board members of non-profit organizations and other professional associations. Up to 10 members may be included in a group membership. The group rate is $150 and is administered by the chapter office. To obtain a group membership form or learn more about the benefits of this membership, contact Anna Nelson, AICP, Membership Committee chair, at (206) 382-9540 or anelson@buckgordon.com.
MONTHLY NEWSLETTER Have a project you want to highlight for planners across the state? An issue you think more planners need information on? Planning Northwest is always looking to highlight projects and research of our members. If you are interested in having an article published feel free to contact the editor. The deadline for the newsletter is the first of every month, preceding the publication month. Please submit all newsletter articles to newsletter@washington-apa.org. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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