During discussion, Council member Cynthia Richardson said, "I don't want to pass this," adding that approving changes to the Comprehensive Plan would prevent any other changes to the plan this year. Under the state's Growth Management Act, cities can only make changes to a Comprehensive Plan once a year. By making a minor change early in the year, further changes would not be allowed until 2014.
City Planning Director Ryan Larsen explained that the current process has been followed for the five years he's been with the city. As he outlined the process, the city accepts proposed changes to the Comp Plan during the first three months of each year, the city spends the rest of the year studying the requested changes, holding public hearings and moving the changes through the Planning Commission. Then the changes which make it through the review process are acted upon by the Council early the following year.
Richardson said, "I'm annoyed this process is slopping over to the next year." She'd like to see the entire process completed in one year, with final action taken in the same year the process is started.
Council members Eric Johnson and Ryan Walters were also reluctant to approve the minor code changes.
Johnson wanted a change for the Council to review the public comments before approving the code changes. Walters didn't see any hurry in approving the changes and echoed Richardson's comments.
During the public hearing, Hal Rooks suggested that making even the code title and date changes sets in stone a conflict between the city's Comprehensive Plan and the Shoreline Management Program. He said the Shoreline plan would allow commercial or industrial development in certain areas along the Guemes Channel that would not be permitted under the Comprehensive Plan.
Mayor Dean Maxwell suggested the issue Rooks raised were well beyond the scope of the code changes under consideration Tuesday night. Some Council members agreed and urged quick approval of the changes before them.
The plan changes were approved on a four-to-three vote, with Council members Richardson, Johnson and Walters voting 'no.'