Monthly Meeting
Minutes
The monthly meeting of the
Interim Vice President,
The minutes of the last monthly meeting
(and the character of the organization) were questioned and discussed. The point of concern was the Hospitality
Committee plan to offer assistance to neighbors in emergency situations. It was established that this was included in
the original proposal and therefore correctly written in the minutes.
The Minutes of the January 6th
Monthly Meeting were approved as recorded.
Interim President, Sue Tercek brought up issues
about the present ENA website that is actually the property of Sandie
Koplowitz. She proposed ENA develop and
maintain a separate site that will contain just civic business of the
association (no links or advertising).
This format will reduce maintenance to allow time better spent on
important matters, and diminish liability concerns. It was suggested that Sandie could continue
to develop her website as a community information center with a one way link to
the new official site.
Motion by Sue Tercek that ENA separate the official business of ENA from the
At this time, Sandie Koplowitz expressed her
views in a letter read to the membership.
It stated that she developed the present website to connect Edgemoor
neighborhood and to provide residents with news and information about our local
community. This site contains several
links to outside websites and a neighborhood forum.
The motion on
the table was brought to a vote and approved 10 to 9.
Planning Director, Jorge Vega attempted to define
the Growth Management Act (GMA) which mandates planned, controlled growth in
the state of
Environmental Planner, Chris
Spens emphasized that the GMA is a statewide law that “has the potential to save us from
ourselves”. The Act addresses five
areas: land use, housing, capital facilities (public services), transportation,
and environment. He reiterated the
Neighborhood Plan is a guide that
allows the community to become alive by expressing what is treasured and
envisioned for the future. He characterized the Shoreline Master Plan as
insurance to protect marine tidelands and marine life. He also explained the State Environmental
Policy Act (SEPA) as a process to determine the significance of development on
the environment. He continued with brief
terminology that might aid in understanding the development process as follows:
·
Municipal Code is the rulebook that applies citywide. Code = law.
·
Zoning is the map of areas designated for a range of uses.
·
Variances are exceptions to the rule granted as relief from
hardship or to better an area.
·
Ordinances are implementation mechanisms or legal
instruments.
Our city managers inferred that people
make the codes and people could also execute change in plans and codes though
public process. It is a difficult course
to change the rulebook. It was strongly
suggested to address city official not only with the problem, but also with
alternative solutions. Phone calls and
letters could be helpful. Emphasis was
placed on getting involved from the beginning of a project. Check the city website www.cob.org
often and attend meetings.
Now the question is who do we
contact? Jorge Vega outlined the
key players and their role in planning and development as
follows:
·
State Legislature is the lawmakers.
·
State Agencies (ex: Dept. of Ecology) allocate funds. If the city is not in compliance they lose
funds.
·
The Mayor (Mark Asmundson) is the
chief executive city officer.
·
The Public Works Director (Dick McKinley) deals with the
transportation infrastructure.
·
The Planning Director (Jorge Vega) interprets ambiguity in
the codes.
·
The Planning Commission makes recommendations to City
Council.
·
The Hearing Examiner is the land use judge. Conditional use permits, height restriction
issues, etc… are arbitrated here.
·
City Council makes final decisions and controls the city
budget.
·
Ordinary Citizens get on advisory committees, neighborhood
committees, ABN, attend meetings, and do their best to influence final
decisions of all of the above.
·
The Courts handle appeals.
Dick McKinley, Public Works Director, reminded the
membership that individuals have the right to sell and develop property in
accordance with zoning. Zoning protects
communities and enforces developers to use land and build as designated. When questioned about a connector for the
“Chuckanut
Several other questions were posed in
an attempt to gain understanding of where citizens could effect
the process to positively influence growth and development. The presenters stressed getting involved early in the process. Check the city website often, attend
meetings, write letters, and contact city officials with concerns.
A reminder
that ENA meetings are held from
·
The next meeting is on
The meeting was adjourned by general
consent at
Thank you for attending.
These
minutes are subject to corrections and additions at the next ENA meeting.