This month the City Council adopted a resolution naming the topics that will be examined for possible inclusion in the City’s Comprehensive Plan, as part of the annual amendment process. The topics include: a new marine container element required by state law; a measurable goal for reducing the amount of vehicle miles traveled in the city; revised shoreline policies as part of the mandated update of the City’s Shoreline Master Program; authorization for a new type of review for very large sites in urban centers; updated neighborhood plans for North Beacon Hill, North Rainier and Othello neighborhoods; expansion of the 23rd/Jackson urban village boundary.
DPD and other departments will analyze the proposed topics and forward recommendations about them to the City Council in November. After holding at least one public hearing, City Council will vote on our recommendations in March 2011.
This fall, DPD will also re-start the review and update of the Comprehensive Plan required by the state Growth Management Act. We expect that effort to take approximately two years, and there will be some overlap with the current annual amendment process described above. Look for announcements about public meetings and comment opportunities in future issues of dpdINFO and on the DPD website in the months ahead.