OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Land Use & Environment Committee Meeting - January 22, 2026

City Council & Commissions — Wednesday, January 28, 2026
BodyOlympia, Washington
SessionCity Council & Commissions
DateWednesday, January 28, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 1:19:18

Transcript — Verbatim
0:04

You won't hear the call.

0:07

We're good.

0:09

Are good?

0:10

Recording?

0:11

Yes.

0:11

Cool.

0:13

Hello, folks.

0:14

This is my first meeting chairing.

0:16

So give me a little bit of grace here.

0:18

So this is the uh Thursday, January 22nd, 2026, land use and environment committee meeting.

0:29

I'm here with my colleagues.

0:32

Can I get uh uh can get a roll call here?

0:39

Mark Gilman present Paul Barron present.

0:44

Cool.

0:46

I don't know if staff wants to we don't usually do that, but that's fine.

0:50

It's up to you.

0:52

But uh yeah, can I get approval of the agenda and a motion?

1:00

I would move to approve the agenda as published.

1:04

Cool.

1:07

Can I get a second?

1:10

Second.

1:11

Cool.

1:13

All uh all approve.

1:16

All right.

1:18

Cool.

1:18

We have an agenda.

1:21

Uh no public comments.

1:22

Uh I don't see we have a couple attendees, but uh it sounds like no one is signed up.

1:28

But if anyone uh wishes to public comment, even if they haven't signed up, just uh raise your hand if you're in attendance and then uh we'll uh move you over.

1:37

But uh if uh if we don't hear anything, that's we give it a minute, see if anyone is um all right.

1:50

Well we're gonna move on to the uh approval of the minutes.

1:56

Can I get a motion for the approval of the December 2018 2025 committee meeting minutes?

2:05

Um I'll move.

2:06

I uh because I wasn't there, I really am not a judge of whether they're accurate or not, but uh I'll also move it.

2:13

Cool.

2:13

Thank you, Paul.

2:16

You got a second from Clark, possibly.

2:19

Possibly.

2:20

Possibly.

2:21

Neither neither Paul or I were there.

2:24

Robert, do you generally think these meeting minutes uh track with the meeting that you experienced?

2:30

I think so.

2:31

I uh I will second it.

2:33

That's fine.

2:34

I just we need somebody who's gonna do it.

2:37

Yeah, I think so.

2:38

Uh unless there's something crazy in there I didn't notice.

2:41

I think we're good.

2:42

Uh all right.

2:44

All uh all in favor.

2:46

I cool.

2:48

All right, now we're at uh committee business discussion of the community planning and economic development 2026 work plan.

2:59

So uh good afternoon, Tim Smith.

3:01

I'm the director of community planning and economic development.

3:04

And so we're here to talk about our department's work plan.

3:07

I do want to clarify traditionally, this has been a work item we brought forward as a long-range planning work plan, and we've expanded it this year to include a number of the housing initiatives because there's a number of those going forward.

3:20

It is not all inclusive of everything the department does, and so I just want to acknowledge that a lot of our entire department's work plan that interfaces with city council is on the city work plan.

3:30

And so really the objective is to make sure that what we're working on here in the city plan are consistent and also to get your feedback on some of the planning and housing items because um in the case particularly of planning, but also housing, we have a lot a lot to do, and so we really need to prioritize where we spend our time this year.

3:46

And so I'm gonna and this is kind of a kind of a redo or uh from from December, knowing that there's two new members here, and so um I'm just gonna go through a few of the slides.

3:59

These are actually attachments that we included in your staff report.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Land Use Planning███████████████████████████████████████████43%
Affordable Housing███████████████15%
Procedural████████████12%
Sidewalk Maintenance████████8%
Public Engagement█████5%
Home Based Business Regulations███3%
Capital Facilities Planning███3%
Engineering And Infrastructure███3%
Community Engagement███3%
Summary of Proceedings

Land Use & Environment Committee Meeting - January 22, 2026

The Land Use and Environment Committee (LUEC) of Olympia, WA met on Thursday, January 22, 2026, at 4:00 PM in Room 112, online and via phone. The meeting was chaired by Robert Vanderpool, with committee members Clark Gilman and Paul Berendt present. Staff included City Manager Jay Burney, Community Planning & Economic Development Director Tim Smith, Economic Development Director Jennica Machado, and Housing Program Manager Jacinda Steltjes. The committee approved its December 18, 2025 meeting minutes and received presentations on the Community Planning and Economic Development (CPED) 2026 Work Plan and the LUEC 2026 Work Plan. The committee unanimously approved the LUEC work plan with amendments. An update on the West Bay Yard project was also provided.

Consent Calendar

  • Approval of the agenda was moved and seconded, passed unanimously.
  • Approval of the December 18, 2025 LUEC meeting minutes was moved and seconded, passed unanimously.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • No public comments were made.

Discussion Items

  • Community Planning and Economic Development (CPED) 2026 Work Plan (Item 6.A): Tim Smith presented the CPED work plan, highlighting staffing capacities (three planners for development review, two for long-range planning, and one retiring soon) and a tiered list of projects. The tiers included:

    • Tier 1 (carryover from 2025): Subdivision code update (including unit lot subdivisions and lot splits per state law), miscellaneous code amendments (e.g., removing downtown commercial parking standards), and critical areas ordinance periodic update (due early 2027).
    • Tier 2 (initiated in 2026): Elimination of minimum commercial parking standards citywide, conditional use permit process for small-scale commercial uses (including home occupation updates), raising SEPA categorical exemptions for residential projects (from 10 to potentially 30 or 60 units), and code amendments to implement the comprehensive plan.
    • Tier 3 (scoping): Southeast Annexation urban growth area (2.5 square miles, study session in March 2026) and Plum Street East Side Street Subarea Plan (potentially starting in 2027, pending funding).
    • Tier 4 (as time allows): Domestic pet code amendments, mobile food regulations, and Capital Mall Triangle follow-up.
    • Tim Smith noted that tier one and two are doable, but if one item from tier three is pursued, tier four will likely slip to 2027.
    • Housing Program Manager Jacinda Steltjes presented housing items: manufactured home communities preservation (returning in March 2026 for direction), rent-to-own and tenant opportunity to purchase/acquire (paired, seeking direction on which to prioritize), affordable housing development incentives (including an update on the emergency declaration and land banking strategy), and housing action plan implementation (including Black Home Initiative update).

  • Land Use and Environment Committee (LUEC) 2026 Work Plan (Item 6.B): Tim Smith presented the proposed LUEC meeting schedule for 2026. Key discussions included:

    • Sidewalk repair policy: Originally planned for full council study session in May, but after discussion (Clark Gilman expressed preference for committee review first; Robert Vanderpool noted the need to deliver on commitments; Jay Burney confirmed the sidewalk crew would work regardless), the committee decided to retain the discussion on the LUEC agenda for May.
    • Hearing examiner recruitment: A special meeting on February 19, 2026, for interviews (online likely acceptable; preference for in-person but flexibility for remote applicants). Formal recommendation to council on February 26.
    • Hybrid meetings: The committee agreed to maintain hybrid options for staff work-life balance.
    • Engineering Design Standards (EDS) update: Robert Vanderpool asked that the update align with BPAC review; Tim Smith agreed to adjust the schedule.
    • Land banking strategy: Vanderpool inquired about coordination with the school district and port; Jay Burney noted upcoming joint meetings in spring.
    • Downtown commercial vacancy study: Not yet scheduled; Tim Smith noted that a state bill (6026) on first-floor vacancies likely won't impact the study.
    • Food system plan: Jay Burney updated that Parks will lead; an RFP will be shaped by meeting with the referral makers, with a study session likely later in 2026.

  • Reports and Updates: Tim Smith reported that a Determination of Non-Significance (DNS) for the West Bay Yard project will be issued at the end of the week, leading to a comment and appeal period, followed by a public hearing before the hearing examiner later in the spring. The project does not require city council approval unless the developer seeks an amendment to the existing agreement.

Key Outcomes

  • The LUEC 2026 Work Plan was approved unanimously (3-0) with two amendments: retain the sidewalk repair policy discussion on the LUEC agenda for May, and adjust the Engineering Design Standards update to coincide with BPAC review.
  • The approved work plan will be forwarded to the February 3, 2026 City Council consent agenda for final approval.
  • The West Bay Yard DNS will be issued; a public hearing is anticipated in spring 2026 before the current hearing examiner (contract expires April 30).
  • Staff will prepare for hearing examiner interviews on February 19, 2026, with a recommendation to council on February 26.

Meeting Transcript

You won't hear the call. We're good. Are good? Recording? Yes. Cool. Hello, folks. This is my first meeting chairing. So give me a little bit of grace here. So this is the uh Thursday, January 22nd, 2026, land use and environment committee meeting. I'm here with my colleagues. Can I get uh uh can get a roll call here? Mark Gilman present Paul Barron present. Cool. I don't know if staff wants to we don't usually do that, but that's fine. It's up to you. But uh yeah, can I get approval of the agenda and a motion? I would move to approve the agenda as published. Cool. Can I get a second? Second. Cool. All uh all approve. All right. Cool. We have an agenda. Uh no public comments. Uh I don't see we have a couple attendees, but uh it sounds like no one is signed up. But if anyone uh wishes to public comment, even if they haven't signed up, just uh raise your hand if you're in attendance and then uh we'll uh move you over. But uh if uh if we don't hear anything, that's we give it a minute, see if anyone is um all right. Well we're gonna move on to the uh approval of the minutes. Can I get a motion for the approval of the December 2018 2025 committee meeting minutes? Um I'll move. I uh because I wasn't there, I really am not a judge of whether they're accurate or not, but uh I'll also move it. Cool. Thank you, Paul. You got a second from Clark, possibly. Possibly. Possibly. Neither neither Paul or I were there. Robert, do you generally think these meeting minutes uh track with the meeting that you experienced? I think so. I uh I will second it. That's fine. I just we need somebody who's gonna do it. Yeah, I think so. Uh unless there's something crazy in there I didn't notice. I think we're good. Uh all right. All uh all in favor.

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