Olympia Planning Commission Meeting - May 5, 2026

The Olympia Planning Commission met online on May 5, 2026 (the meeting record cites Monday, May 4, 2026, at 6:30 p.m.) and adjourned at 8:45 p.m. Chair Greg Quetin presided with Vice Chair Daniel Garcia and Commissioners Elle Burger, Zainab Nejati, and Aaron Sauerhoff present; four commissioners were excused. The commission received a briefing on developing a long-term sidewalk repair policy, heard public testimony, and agreed to prepare a letter to City Council.

Consent Calendar

• The agenda was approved by voice vote.
• The April 20, 2026 Planning Commission meeting minutes were approved by voice vote.

Public Comments & Testimony

• Jim Lazar spoke in support of using Transportation Benefit District (TBD) sales tax revenue for sidewalk repair. He noted that walking is the number one form of transportation and that 40% of people do not drive. He cited the TBD's approximately $3 million per year for active transportation and urged the city to hire three crews: one for major-street panel replacements, one for neighborhood streets, and one dedicated to grinding pavement irregularities under two inches. He said a grinding crew could fix 20 to 50 spots per day, called this the single most important TBD expenditure, and urged the Planning Commission to recommend hiring a dedicated sidewalk grinding crew as soon as possible.

Staff Announcements

• Staff reminded commissioners about a Department of Commerce short course on local planning scheduled for Wednesday, May 6, 2026, from 5:00 to 8:00 p.m. at Tumwater City Council Chambers and via Zoom. Staff requested 24 hours' notice for quorum purposes if five or more commissioners planned to attend.

Discussion Items

• Michelle Swanson, Principal Planner, and Max DeJarnatt, Associate Planner, presented the sidewalk repair policy briefing.
• Timeline: City Council's Land Use and Environment Committee requested research in 2022; staff returned with policy options in 2023; a full sidewalk inventory was conducted in 2024; final inventory results were shared in 2025; and City Council directed creation of a four-person sidewalk repair crew in 2025.
• Existing code makes adjacent property owners responsible for sidewalk maintenance, but enforcement has been difficult. The state Joint Transportation Committee's preliminary survey found that 72% of surveyed cities require adjacent property owners to fix sidewalks, more than half found that ineffective, and only 3% called it effective.
• The 2024 inventory covered 226 linear miles of sidewalks and identified almost 28,000 locations needing repair. Damage was classified as 57% panel uplifts, mostly from tree roots, and 38% cracking or spalling; these two categories accounted for 95% of damage.
• The Capital Sidewalk Repair Program is funded at $500,000 per year from TBD revenue. In 2025 the city repaired two block faces and plans to continue full block-face projects.
• The new four-person crew is funded at $681,000 per year plus a one-time $149,000 excavator purchase, and is expected to repair 20 to 25 sites per year. DeJarnatt cited earlier rough estimates of $36 million to $76 million for severe panel replacements and 102 to 129 years to complete them with one crew.
• A story map and online survey drew nearly 1,900 views and 363 responses. Among respondents, 49% supported prioritizing repairs near common pedestrian destinations, 21% preferred street tree corridors, and 29% offered another idea. When asked about requiring sidewalk repair on property sale, 45% supported it, 34% opposed it, and 21% were unsure. Staff noted the survey was not statistically valid; 83% of respondents identified as white, and no outreach was done to people without computer access. Commissioner Daniel Garcia questioned the representativeness and authority of percentages based on fewer than 1% of Olympia's population.
• Commissioners discussed who should pay for sidewalk repair. Zainab Nejati said property owners should not be responsible because sidewalks are part of the transportation network, and costs to duplex or apartment owners can be passed to residents. Aaron Sauerhoff said the city should be responsible for the public right-of-way and opposed creating different classes of property owners. Daniel Garcia noted that requiring large property owners to pay could still pass costs to renters. Commissioners also discussed maintaining and expanding tree canopy, improving street tree standards, and addressing vegetation from private property that damages sidewalks.
• On prioritization, commissioners supported focusing on pedestrian destinations such as schools, parks, bus stops, grocery stores, and public buildings, with attention to transit hotspots and visible downtown locations. Staff noted there is overlap between destination areas and street tree corridors, and that ADA considers any lift over one-quarter inch an accessibility barrier; the inventory recorded lifts of one-half inch or higher.
• Commissioners discussed funding trade-offs within the TBD's roughly $3 million annual active transportation revenue, including whether more should go to maintenance rather than new bike and pedestrian infrastructure. They also raised potential partnerships with Intercity Transit, the school district, neighborhood associations, and nonprofit or philanthropic sources, and asked about the feasibility of a dedicated grinding crew. Staff said the city has a grinder and would know more after the crew's first year of work.

Key Outcomes

• The commission received the briefing and will prepare a letter to City Council with topics to consider when developing a sidewalk repair policy.
• No formal motion was adopted. Chair Quetin and Vice Chair Garcia will prepare a draft letter, which can be shared with the Land Use and Environment Committee before its May 28, 2026 meeting and considered for formal adoption before the City Council study session scheduled for July 21, 2026.
• The May 18, 2026 Planning Commission meeting is cancelled; the next scheduled meeting is June 1, 2026.