City Advisory Committees' Decision Making/ Recommendation Process

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City Advisory Committees' Decision Making/ Recommendation Process

Submitted by Robert Whitlock on Mon, 07/07/2008 - 12:10pm.

Hi,

I am wondering about the process that the Planning Commission will use to make a recommendation(s?) to the city about the request to amend the urban waterfront zoning regulations on the "isthmus."

Does the Planning Commission's recommendation have to be consensual amongst all the members of the committee? Or can it be divided with differing pro/con opinions? How does the commission make the recommendation; will there be formal papers filed?

Maybe you know the answers to these questions; perhaps you can enlighten those of us who aren't in the know. There is a planning commission meeting tonight, but the topics are other than the isthmus rezone request.

bert

Robert Whitlock's blog
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Is this something you sent to the city?

Submitted by Rob Richards on Mon, 07/07/2008 - 12:38pm.

Because if not, you should. Who better to ask about a process than the ones who created it?

Asking the city

Submitted by Robert Whitlock on Mon, 07/07/2008 - 3:08pm.

You're so right, Rob. I should send this to the city: better yet, I should just give them a quick phone call to ask about it. Another option would be to attend tonight's planning commission meeting, and to observe the deliberations for the 6 (or so) other rezone/development proposals that the commission has on its table for consideration.

However, I should have made it more clear that I wanted to start up a discussion about this. And it would have helped if I would have done my homework beforehand. I was sort of hoping that someone who is familiar with the process would see it as an opportunity to jump in and offer up their own knowledge of how the process works.

I don't have time to call the city now - maybe I will tomorrow.

Also I can't attend the commission meeting tonight, though I would be very interested to hear about it in case anyone else decides to attend...

Peace, bert

More information about tonight's Planning Commission Meeting

Submitted by Robert Whitlock on Mon, 07/07/2008 - 4:03pm.

Here's the planning commission homepage: planning commission homepage

Here's some text from tonight's meeting agenda:

OLYMPIA PLANNING COMMISSION
Monday, July 7, 2008, 6:30 p.m.
Olympia City Council Chambers
900 Plum Street SE, Olympia, WA 98501
AGENDA
1. Call to Order 6:30 p.m.
A. Roll Call
B. Acceptance of Agenda
C. Announcements
D. Approval of Minutes (6/16/08)
2. Public Communications (for items not on the agenda) 6:35 p.m.
3. Comprehensive Plan Amendment Recommendations 7:15 p.m.
Friendly Village rezone
Chambers Basin rezone
Transportation Chapter amendments
4th Avenue rezone
Mud Bay Road rezone
Fairview Street rezone
4. Adjournment 10:15 p.m.

One thing I'm pretty sure I do know

Submitted by Thad Curtz on Mon, 07/07/2008 - 4:46pm.

The Urban-Waterfront Housing rezone application will be on the agenda for the next Planning Commission meeting - Monday, July 21. It's an open meeting, but they won't take any comments from the audience. I assume it will be at 6:30 in Council Chambers like this one, but that's just an assumption.

I don't know how they handle the decision making process.

Best,
Thad

Answer

Submitted by Matthew Green on Mon, 07/07/2008 - 7:23pm.

All the city advisory committees follow roughly the same process as the city council.

They discuss it for a while, then someone makes a motion, and they vote on the motion. They might vote on amendments, etc. That said, they usually are pretty loose with the Robert's Rules of Order.

They may informally try to reach consensus, but it is not required.

They may include a statement explaining their decision, or a minority statement, but that is not required either.

They keep formal minutes of the votes.

They will provide their recommendation to the city council whenever the council has this issue on their agenda next. It will be included in the staff report and, usually, a committee member will present it orally as well.

Matthew

Kicking the K-nowledge

Submitted by Robert Whitlock on Mon, 07/07/2008 - 8:09pm.

Thanks for answering, Matthew.

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