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Planning commission reviews revised subarea and comprehensive-plan drafts, flags map and scope edits
Summary
Commissioners reviewed a revised subarea plan and related comprehensive-plan chapters, discussed removing areas from the study boundary, a housing estimate change from 62 to 74 units and implementation limits for property remediation; staff will return with updated maps and a final draft for commission action in March.
La Conner planning staff presented revisions to the subarea plan and related comprehensive-plan chapters and asked the Planning Commission to review the changes before the commission forwards a recommendation to town council.
Staff said several edits in the current draft remove the town parking lot and Maple Hall from the plan's study area and that some strikeouts in the draft are intended to re-align the document with the original subarea boundaries. A commissioner raised concern that strikeouts and edits appeared in unexpected places and requested clearer maps and footnotes; staff replied they will update graphics and the table of contents to match the revised plan.
Commissioners questioned a change in the plan's housing-capacity estimate, which rose from 62 to 74 units. Staff explained those figures came from “other population and housing estimates that we got from the state and county.” The revised housing total excludes development scenarios that had counted dwelling units over the town parking lot, staff said, because the parking lot has been removed from the study boundary.
A commissioner asked whether parking adjustments were related to the housing estimate; staff said the town could negotiate with developers about future parking options but that including the town parking lot in development is not part of the current plan. Staff also reported drafting a South Commercial Zone (a proposed zoning regulation covering the traditional commercial zone) and said that zoning text will be provided to the commission for review when ready.
Members raised implementation questions about properties in disrepair. Staff noted Washington state lacks a single statutory definition of “blight,” and that legal remedies such as condemnation or demolition require specific legal thresholds; the town attorney has been “reluctant to take that sort of actions,” staff said. Staff also referenced past conversations with the consultant Beckwith about potential timelines for more complex actions.
The commission did not take a final vote at the meeting. Staff said they will prepare a revised draft with corrected maps and graphics and return to the Planning Commission at its March 18 meeting; if the commission recommends it, the plan would then go to town council (staff noted a town-council meeting on March 25 as a likely opportunity for further review).
