COUNCIL

DATE 1/12/10
AGENDA ITEM 7B

CITY COUNCIL MEETING

Olympia, Washington
January 12, 2010

Ordinance Adopting Interim Commercial District Zoning Regulations

__________________________________________________________________
CITY MANAGER’S
RECOMMENDATION: Provide guidance to staff on the proposed interim rezone ordinance
and on the proposed date and location for the public hearing.

STAFF CONTACT: Tom Morrill, City Attorney, 753-8449

Keith Stahley, Director CP&D, 753-8227
Jan Weydemeyer, Senior Planner, 753-8592

ORIGINATED BY: Olympia City Council

PRESENTERS AND
OTHERS NOTIFIED: Tom Morrill, City Attorney
Keith Stahley, Director CP&D

ATTACHMENTS: 1. Proposed ordinance

BUDGET IMPACT/
SOURCE OF FUNDS: Unclear as to staff resources needed to implement the interim rezone,
a permanent rezone and any necessary changes to the Comprehensive
Plan.

PRIOR COUNCIL/
COMMITTEE REVIEW: January 5, 2010 City Council meeting

BACKGROUND: On January 5, 2010, the Olympia City Council directed staff to bring a
proposed ordinance for an interim rezone of certain properties located
on the isthmus between the southern end of Budd Inlet and Capitol
Lake. The direction for the interim rezone was to change the current
zoning on the affected properties back to the zoning that existed prior
to January 1, 2009. The proposed interim rezone is intended to remain
in effect until a permanent rezone and changes to the Comprehensive
Plan are in place at the end of 2010. Staff was also directed to bring
back a proposed date for a public hearing that is within forty-five days
of the date of adoption of the proposed interim rezone ordinance.
Finally, Council asked staff to provide a brief outline of the schedule of
events that will follow adoption of an interim rezone.

ANALYSIS AND OPTIONS: If Council wants to prevent the filing of any new development
applications under the existing zoning for certain properties on the
isthmus, Council will need to take some form of interim action,
because a final decision to rezone the properties cannot be reached in
a time frame that would ensure that no new development applications
are submitted under the present zoning. There are two main types of
interim actions that the Council can take: (1) a moratorium or (2) an
interim zoning ordinance. A moratorium is used primarily to prevent an
existing use for a specified period of time. An interim zoning ordinance
can be used to modify an existing zone to allow certain uses and
prohibit others for a specified period of time. Both a moratorium and
an interim zoning ordinance would provide the City sufficient time to
further evaluate the appropriate long term uses and allowed building
heights for the affected isthmus properties.

The proposed interim rezone is the most common type of interim

zoning ordinance. If adopted, it would revert the zoning on the
affected isthmus properties back to the zoning that was in place prior
to January 1, 2009. The previous zoning was Urban Waterfront (UW),
which allows for a variety of uses including commercial and residential,
see Table 6.01 in OMC 18.06.040. The UW zone also limits building
heights to thirty-five (35) feet.

Council could adopt the proposed rezone or could decide to rezone the
property on an interim basis to a different zone other than the previous
zoning. A review of Table 6.01 in OMC 18.06.040 illustrates that there
are a variety of land uses and zoning types that may be appropriate for
the affected isthmus parcels.

Another option the Council has through the use of an interim zoning
ordinance is an interim modification of existing development
regulations. This is sometimes referred to as a text rezone as
compared to a use rezone. Such an interim rezone would amend
existing city development regulations that control how an allowed use
can be developed in certain circumstances.

In summary, if the Council’s intent is to have a proposed action take

effect immediately, there are only a few types of actions that meet
that requirement: a moratorium or an interim zoning ordinance.
However, each type of action may have a variety of different possible
permutations. A complete discussion of the various possible different
permutations is beyond the scope of a staff report and could require
extensive legal analysis.

In addition to a brief discussion of options, Council also asked for a

brief outline of the schedule of events that would follow the adoption
of an interim rezone. After the initial adoption of an interim zoning
ordinance, the City Council must hold a public hearing within 60 days.
Following the public hearing, the City Council must promptly adopt
findings of fact justifying its adoption of the interim ordinance. The
interim ordinance is effective for six months, but may be effective up
to one year if the Council adopts a work plan for studies related to the
interim ordinance.

If an interim rezone is adopted, Council will need to consider adding an

item to its docket for an amendment to the Comprehensive Plan so that
final changes to the Official Zoning Map are consistent with the
Comprehensive Plan Map. The normal procedure for amending the
Comprehensive Plan and associated development regulations includes a
briefing before Planning Commission followed by a public hearing,
deliberation and a recommendation to the City Council. The current
Planning Commission calendar appears to be heavily booked through

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 July due to scheduled meetings for the Comprehensive Plan and
Shoreline Master Program updates. Without changes to that schedule,
the Planning Commission could not hold a public hearing on a
Comprehensive Plan amendment and zoning change until September/
October.

Once the Planning Commission holds a hearing, it forwards its

recommendation to the City Council for consideration. Although not
required, the City Council may hold its own hearing on the proposed
amendment and on other amendments to the Comprehensive Plan such
as the annual update of the Capital Facilities Plan. The final adoption
of all of the various amendments to the Comprehensive Plan is done at
the end of the year because the Comprehensive Plan can only be
amended once each year.

Finally, Council directed staff to propose a date for a public hearing

that is within 45 days of the adoption of the proposed ordinance. If
Council adopts the ordinance under its normal practice of two readings,
the final adoption would take place on the 19th of January, and thus for
a public hearing to take place within 45 days of that, the hearing would
need to be held by the first week of March. If Council suspends its
practice of having two readings, through a supermajority vote, and
passes the proposed ordinance on first and final reading on January
12th, the hearing would need to be held the last week of February.

If Council wants to hold the hearing in Council Chambers, the hearing

could be set for the regular meetings either of those weeks which
would be February 23rd or March 2nd. If Council wants to hold the
public hearing at a larger venue, staff will need to locate an adequate
facility and may not be able to find a facility that is available on a
Council meeting night. Staff will inquire as to the availability of other
facilities and will provide an oral report at the Council meeting on
alternative venues.

Option 1: Approve proposed ordinance adopting interim rezone of a portion of

the isthmus and select a date and location for the public hearing.

Implications
1. Adoption of the ordinance amends allowable building heights on
certain properties located on the isthmus for an interim period to
allow for a further review of the appropriate long term uses of the
certain properties on the isthmus.
2. Changes the zoning of the affected properties back to the zoning
that existed prior to January 1, 2009.
3. Sets the public hearing date and location.

Option 2: Change the wording of the ordinance.

Implications:
1. Additional clarification may be necessary as to Council’s intent.
2. Other options may be selected.

Option 3: Do not approve ordinance.

Implications:
1. Leaves current regulations in place.

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