Shoreline Planning Commission Public Hearing on Subdivision Vacation Amendments – June 17, 2021
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Shoreline Planning Commission Public Hearing on Subdivision Vacation Amendments – June 17, 2021
The Shoreline Planning Commission held a public hearing on June 17, 2021, to consider proposed development code amendments related to subdivision vacations. After a staff presentation and no public testimony, the commission unanimously approved a motion to forward the staff proposal to the City Council for approval. The meeting also included updates on the Point Wells litigation and a discussion about beach access.
Consent Calendar
- The agenda was approved without changes.
- The meeting minutes from June 3, 2021, were approved without changes.
Public Comments & Testimony
- No members of the public signed up for general public comment or to testify during the public hearing on subdivision vacations.
Discussion Items
- Subdivision Vacation Code Amendments: Senior Planner Kate Lee presented proposed amendments to the municipal code to establish regulations for subdivision vacations, consistent with state law (RCW). The process would be a Type C land use action, requiring a hearing examiner decision, with pre-application meetings, neighborhood meetings, and public notice. The proposal had been studied at the May 20, 2021, planning commission meeting.
- Point Wells Update: A commissioner reported that BSRE (an appellant) is appealing the denial of a preliminary plat application to King County Superior Court. A scheduling hearing is set for November 1, 2021, before Judge John McHale. The city of Shoreline will participate. The appeal focuses on whether the applications were appropriately denied on the merits.
- Beach Access Letter: Commissioner Mallett raised a letter from Fawn McCormick regarding safety at 27th Avenue Northwest beach access, particularly near railroad tracks. He expressed support and asked for guidance on how to formally consider the issue. Staff will coordinate with the Parks Department and Dan (likely Parks Director) to explore the possibility of acquiring property for improved beach access, potentially through the Comprehensive Plan update or Parks CIP.
Key Outcomes
- Motion to Forward Subdivision Vacation Amendments: Commissioner Mallett moved to accept the staff proposal and forward it to the City Council for approval. The motion was seconded and passed unanimously by voice vote (commissioners present voted aye). The public hearing was then closed.
- July 1st Meeting Canceled: The commission agreed to cancel the July 1, 2021, meeting due to lack of agenda items; the next meeting is scheduled for July 15, 2021.
- Next Step for Beach Access: Staff will talk with the Parks Department to gather information on the feasibility of improving beach access at 27th Avenue Northwest and report back to the commission.
Meeting Transcript
Alright, good evening. I'd like to call to order this public hearing for June 17th, 2021. The first item on the agenda is roll call. Ms. Holkesmer, will you do the honors? Thank you. Commissioner Callahan? President. Commissioner Balisco. Commissioner Nan. Yeah. Commissioner Malik. Here. Thank you. Chair Mark is absent with notice. I've not heard from Commissioner Wallace, so hopefully he'll join us for it. Thank you. Next item is approval of the agenda. Does anybody have any changes to the agenda? Okay, hearing none. Approval of minutes from the June 3rd, 2021 meeting. Does anybody have any changes they'd like to make to the minutes? Alright, this is the portion for general public comment. Is anybody signed up for general public comment? I have no public comment for this evening. Thank you. All right. Great. We are moving on to the public hearing. Tonight's public hearing is regarding the proposed development code amendments related to subdivision vacations. The purpose for the hearing is to obtain public testimony and for the commission to develop a recommendation to forward to the city council on this topic. The process for the public hearing is as follows. Individuals will be given an opportunity to testify. After all testimony has been received, the commission will begin deliberation and may ask questions of the staff. The commission will vote and then close the public hearing. I now wish to open the public hearing. And I believe we are ready for presentation. Great, thank you. So I'm Kate Lee, a senior planner with the city, and I'm here to give the presentation tonight on subdivision vacation regulations. So we've had a process in our municipal code for PLAT alterations since 2019. And flat alterations, that's when you just want to change one after one or more aspects of a PLAT, but overall we've leave it in place. And that was done consistent with the state regulations for that process. And this process is for a subdivision vacation, which there's also state regulations for, so we're proposing to adopt into our municipal code regulations for us to administer a subdivision vacation. And this was a planning commission study item on May 20th. So there are instances when a subdivision no longer serves any functions, so returning the land to its pre-subdivision state makes sense so it can be redeveloped under common zoning regulations. So this adds an additional process into our municipal code. So here's the RCW, the revised code of Washington reference for procedures for a vacation of a subdivision, and we're proposing our municipal code adopt regulations that are in line with those state regulations. It would be a type C land use action, which means it goes to the hearing examiner for a public hearing and a decision. And then leading up to that, there's a pre-application meeting that the applicant would have the city staff. And after that, a neighborhood meeting where the applicant is required to notice property owners within 500 feet.
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