Council Schedule Highlights Week of March 5th, 2018
Monday, MARCH 5th, 2018
1:30pm Community Development Committee
Rick Talbert, Chair
Dan Roach, Vice Chair
Douglas G. Richardson
Derek Young
Jim McCune
This meeting will be broadcast live and replayed on channel 22 (Comcast and Click! Network) and on channel 20 (Rainier Connect). Electronic meeting material can be accessed at www.co.pierce.wa.us/index.aspx?NID=4414.Video archives are available at www.piercecountytv.org.
Presentation: Planning and Public Works “BPA” and Public Nuisance Report
Presenter: Melanie Halsan, Assistant Director of Planning and Public Works
BPA stands for Best Public Agency. It started as an initiative to create the Best Planning Agency and now, through consolidation with Public Works, has expanded. The idea is to create a model public agency that’s considered the gold standard across Washington. It’s led to more online processing of applications, the use of Skype for inspections, and red tape reduction.
The Public Nuisance portion of the presentation will likely be an update both on the new reporting website for code enforcement and perhaps implementation of our new Nuisance Property bill that passed last year.
Presentation: Pierce County Agricultural Program Overview: Transfer of Development Rights, Farm Tour
Presenter: Diane Marcus Jones, Planning and Public Works
TDRs are a market approach to protecting Pierce County farmland. It works by allowing farm owners to sell the rights to develop their property but maintain ownership. In turn, those rights are transferred into an urban area where a developer can purchase them for additional density on their project. In 2016 we sold the first of those rights to an apartment project in Stadium District.
We now have a much stronger market for the credits which will free up capital for additional farmland preservation, but I think the program needs some work. The formula we use is convoluted and we need other cities to step up to accept the credits. There may be greater incentive to do so if we created districts rather than a countywide approach. For example, the City of Puyallup probably has a stronger desire to protect farmland in the valley than Eatonville.
Tuesday, MARCH 6th, 2018
Proposal No. 2017-86, Semi-Trailers – Nonconforming Use An Ordinance of the Pierce County Council Terminating the Nonconforming Use of Semi-Trailers on Residential Property If These Uses Do Not Conform with Section 18A.37.080 of the Pierce County Code, “Termination of Type of Nonconforming Use”; Adopting Findings of Fact; Establishing a Reasonable Amortization Timetable Pursuant to Section 18A.70.110 of the Pierce County Code; and Setting an Effective Date.
Sponsored by: Councilmember Jim McCune
In some areas trailers (the sort pulled by semi-trucks) are being used in residential zones in ways that aren’t allowed in the code. Usually in land use nonconformity doesn’t need to be corrected until a new application is required, but in the case of a mobile container there is a desire to gain compliance in a more timely manner.
We had testimony in committee on the substantial impacts to some neighborhoods.
My Weekly Calendar
Last year we got a request for my forward looking calendar. Rather than have staff waste their time on public record requests, I decided to publish screenshots. If you have questions, feel free to call. Keep in mind, my schedule isn’t static. Things will get added, deleted, changed, etc. There are conflicts that I have to pick between. But if people want to see where I’m at and who I meet with, that’s fine by me.
