Public hearing set to discuss parking requirements

CASHMERE - A public hearing seeking citizens’ input regarding proposed changes to Cashmere’s parking requirements will be held on Dec. 4.

The hearing, which will be held at 6 p.m. at City Hall, was announced by the Cashmere Planning Commission at their Nov 6 meeting. Director of Operations Steve Croci and Council member Zak Steigmeyer reported that the proposed changes had been discussed with the City Council, who were supportive of the draft code revisions, but asked that the Commission also review the amount of parking required for studio apartments and restaurants. 

Based on that directive, in the proposed code a restaurant would need one off-street parking spot for every 300 square feet of the business (previously one for every 100 sq. ft.) and a studio apartment would be required to provide one parking spot per dwelling unit.

Significant additional changes to the current commercial parking code were included in the proposal, which Crosi described as very pro-business. These include;

• A city-owned parking lot can be included as 75% of a businesses’ parking requirement. Currently this is set at 25%.

• Three additional city parking lots would also be allowed to be included as part of a businesses’ off-site parking allotment.

• Businesses may be allowed to share parking spots, if the parking needs and times do not overlap.

• Changes to the types of business categories and the amount of parking required for each type of business.

• A business may request an exception to the parking requirement to demonstrate a reduction in the amount of required parking.

Cashmere is at a place where it needs new visioning and a lot of public involvement to plan for the anticipated growth and what the next 20 years will look like, explained Christina Wollman, a Contract Planner consultant with Perteet, Inc. She provided this advice to the Planning Commission as they began their next major planning task, discussing options and impacts of expanding, and/or changing Cashmere’s Urban Growth Area (UGA).

Wollman explained that making changes to the UGA requires the city to follow a specific and detailed process that begins with population growth estimates and allocations across the county. Croci said that city and county planners have been meeting to establish those allocations. 

According to Wollman, for Cashmere to change its UGA, analysis would need to be conducted to determine if the city has enough land within the city boundaries and in the UGA to house the anticipated increase in population and for supporting commercial and industrial businesses. To make changes, the city would need to provide evidence to the county, showing that there is not enough land for the expected growth.

The county would make the final decision for the size and location of Cashmere’s UGA. Wollman reiterated that the county has a detailed set of criteria for modifying the UGA, but that Cashmere does have circumstances that give it potential opportunity to have changes made to its current UGA. She highlighted specific examples including; within the city limits there is a limited amount of land that can be developed for residential or commercial use, and within the UGA there are areas which will be unlikely to ever be annexed into the city. 

Wollman added that the UGA is also based on water and sewer capacities. Croci added that the city does have plenty of capacity. Commission discussions centered on the chicken and egg effect of city water/sewer lines and development. Developers cannot afford to pay for the expansion of city utilities to a new development, and the city cannot afford to expand city lines in hopes a development will occur.

Commissioner John Torrence agreed with Wollman that a fresh look and new vision is necessary to manage growth and development in Cashmere. He felt it was necessary to get the City Council’s view on UGA boundaries and city growth before the Commission invested a lot of time on the issue. 

Steigmeyer expressed his view that he knows that the city needs growth, but some people don’t want more cars driving down the roads, and said that somehow the city needs to thread the needle between the two. He also recommended that the Commission talk with the Council about the issue of growth and the UGA at the next joint meeting and he agreed with Torrence that direction from the Council is needed.