At the Port Orchard city council’s first meeting of the year, councilmembers will discuss and vote on the city’s Comprehensive Plan.
At the Dec. 10 meeting, Development Director Nick Bond said the council could not take action on the Comprehensive Plan because it is under a 60-day review by the Department of Commerce.
City Attorney Greg Jacoby said he reviewed state law and that the Department of Commerce also advised him that the council can take action in January on the plan.
“The key is the council’s consideration and that it has received public testimony, its changes and everything associated with the Comprehensive Plan amendments other than voting to adopt the ordinance has to had happen in 2013,” Jacoby explained. “If the only action taken in 2014 is to adopt the ordinance — and that is what we are proposing — it is considered to rate back to the 2013 calendar year.”
He said the city would not be in violation of state law.
Jacoby said once the recommendation comes from the Planning Commission, it must be submitted to the Department of Commerce for a 60-day review and approval.
“The 60-day period did not expire until the last week of December,” Jacoby added.
Bond said part of the problem why action on the Comprehensive Plan was pushed to January is because the Planning Commission hearing was in September.
“We had problems getting a quorum and as a result the hearing could not be conducted until October and we drafted the resolution in November,” Bond said. “We were pushed back on our schedule.”
Bond presented the council with recommendation from the Planning Commission to approve four of five amendments to the Comprehensive Plan. The commission recommends approval of amendments for Gaudette, GEM1, Capital Facilities and Appendix G, while they recommended denial of the Annexation Area Rezone amendment.
Bond said the applicant for a sixth amendment — the Greenbelt amendment — withdrew before the meeting. The applicant — Gil Michael — was asking to rezone an area along Blackjack Creek from Bay Street to Lund Avenue from Greenbelt to Residential-Low/Medium Density.
Michael also serves on the Planning Commission.
