Snohomish County Public Works Dave Somers 3000 Rockefeller Avenue M/S #604 County Executive Everett, WA 98201-4046 MEMORANDUM TO: Snohomish County Planning Commission Ikuno Masterson, Acting Planning Commission Secretary FROM: Aaron Lee, Transportation Senior Planner Jay Larson, AICP, Transportation Planning Coordinator DATE: April 10, 2017 SUBJECT: Briefing - GPP3 Transportation Element Amendments Introduction Snohomish County Public Works is providing this staff report to the Snohomish County Planning Commission for an April 25th, 2017, briefing on the proposed 2017 county-initiated GPP3 amendments to the Transportation Element (TE) of the Snohomish County Growth Management Act Comprehensive Plan (GMACP). This proposal was placed on a list of county-initiated comprehensive plan amendments by Amended Motion No. 16-316 and identified as GPP3 – Amendments to tables, text and maps to reflect the passage of Sound Transit’s ST3 initiative and to reflect changes in Community Transit’s updated transit development plan The proposed amendments would add and or amend the High Capacity Transit Map, and related text and charts in the TE as a result of the passage of Sound Transit 3 (ST3) initiative in November 2016. The proposed amendments would update the TE to reflect new planned projects and capital facilities for both Sound Transit (ST) and Community Transit (CT). This staff report provides the background and rationale for the proposed TE amendments (including the text of the proposed amendments). The proposed TE amendments are included in Attachment 1. 2017 County-Initiated Comprehensive Plan Amendment Process Under the Growth Management Act (GMA), amendments to the county’s comprehensive plan can be considered and adopted no more than once per year with limited exceptions. County-initiated amendments to the comprehensive plan and implementing development regulations are processed annually pursuant to the requirements of chapter 30.73 Snohomish County Code (SCC). At a public hearing on May 23, 2017, the Planning Commission will be asked to make a recommendation on the proposed GPP3 Transportation Element amendments, which will be packaged with other recommended 2017 county-initiated comprehensive plan proposals and transmitted to the Snohomish County Council for review and final action later this year. 1 Background GMA includes the following goal in RCW 36.70A.020 (3): Transportation. Encourage efficient multimodal transportation systems that are based on regional priorities and coordinated with county and city comprehensive plans. Pursuant to this goal, transportation policies and the identification of needed transportation facilities are contained in PSRC’s Transportation 2040, the Multicounty Planning Policies (MPPs) contained in Vision 2040, the Countywide Planning Policies (CPPs), the transportation and related policies in the Snohomish County General Policy Plan (GPP) and in the existing TE. No inconsistencies have been identified between the county’s existing transportation policies in the GPP and the TE compared to GMA, the MPPs, or the CPPs. The TE amendments proposed in GPP3 will support continued consistency with GMA goals, the MPPs, the CPPs, and county policies. The TE includes a section on Supportive Public Transportation Improvements. In this section is included a description of major planned transit improvements and a High Capacity Transit Map. The High Capacity Transit Map shows the planned high capacity transit network in Snohomish County including Sounder commuter rail, Sound Transit Link light rail, and Community Transit’s (CT) planned Swift bus rapid transit (BRT) system. Because the Sound Transit 3 proposal had not yet been developed, three possible alignments were shown on the map for light rail from Lynnwood to Everett. With the passage of Sound Transit 3 by voters in 2016, there have been many changes to ST’s long term planned transit projects and capital facilities. Since 2015, more specific plans for CT’s Swift system were released in the 2016-2021 Transit Development Plan. The proposed GPP3 Transportation Element amendments have been developed to update the TE with these significant changes to regional and local transit plans. GPP3 Proposal The GPP3 proposal includes text changes to chapter IV, sections E1a, E1c, E2a, Table 16, and Figure 8. The proposed E1a changes reflects updated changes to Community Transit’s 2016-2021 transit development plan. The proposed E1c changes reflect the recent passage of the ST3 initiative. The proposed E2a changes reflect updates to Capital Facility near-term projects in Snohomish County. The proposed Table 16 changes now reflect an updated list of High Capacity Transit improvements in Snohomish County. The proposed changes to Figure 8 – High Capacity Transit Map reflects the approved route alignment of light rail to Everett, BRT service on I-405, and bus stops along Community Transit’s SWIFT BRT Green Line. Proposed Amendment Reason for Amendment Update Supportive Public Transportation Reflects both Community Transit’s and Sound Improvements Section in the TE for Transit most current long-range plans Community Transit long range plans and the recent passage of ST3 initiative and Sound Transit Update Capital Facilities List Reflects the current list of near-term high- capacity transit projects Update Table 16 Transit Capital Reflects current high capacity transit as Improvements adopted by transit agencies. The projects in this table are no longer limited to those listed in PSRC’s Transportation 2040 Update Figure 8 High Capacity Transit Map Reflects updates to the light rail route to Everett, BRT service on I-405 to Lynnwood, and bus stops on the SWIFT green line. 2 GPP3 Evaluation The following evaluation criteria are taken from SCC 30.74.060(2), which are applicable to comprehensive plan amendment proposals submitted by individuals during the docket process, as guidance to determine how this county-initiated proposal is consistent with relevant state, regional, and county goals, objectives, policies, and other planning and code elements. Although county-initiated comprehensive plan amendments are not required to be evaluated according to these specified criteria in chapter 30.74 SCC, this analysis can be instructive. Consistent with SCC 30.74.060(2) (a) (b) (c) (d) (e) (f) Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Criterion “a”: The proposed amendment and any related proposals on the current final docket maintain consistency with other plan elements or development regulations. Yes. Proposed amendments are necessary to maintain consistency with the Sound Transit and Community Transit long-range and system plans. There are no other inconsistencies identified with other plan elements and development regulations. Criterion “b”: All applicable elements of the comprehensive plan, including but not limited to the capital plan and the transportation element, support the proposed amendment. Yes. All applicable elements of the GMA comprehensive plan, including the Capital Facilities Plan, the transportation policies from the General Policy Plan and the Transportation Element, support the GPP3 proposal. Criterion “c”: The proposed amendment more closely meets the goals, objectives and policies of the comprehensive plan than the relevant existing plan or code provision. Yes. The GPP3 proposal more closely meets the goals, objectives, and policies of the comprehensive plan than the existing plan or code provisions. In particular the GPP3 amendments enhance the following policies from the county’s General Policy Plan: Objective TR1.A: Prepare, in cooperation with the cities, the Washington State Department for Transportation (WSDOT) regional agencies, Sound Transit, Community Transit, Everett Transit, standards for public transportation services and facilities consistent with adopted road standards, the land use element, and the natural environment element of the county’s comprehensive plan. Objective TR2.D: The county cities, and transit agencies within the Southwest Urban Growth Area (UGA), will collaborate with Sound Transit to ensure planning and right-of- way preservation for a future phase of light-rail corridor development that will extend to the Everett Regional Growth Center as funding allows. Objective TR 2.3: In cooperation with transit agencies and cities, the county will identify the general locations of major planned transit facilities in the Transportation Element and enact transit-oriented policies and development standards for locations. Criterion “d”: The proposed amendment is consistent with the countywide planning policies (CPP). Yes. The TE GPP3 proposal is consistent with the CPP. Following are the most relevant CPP policies providing guidance for purposes of evaluating these proposed policy amendments: 3 TR-12 Each local jurisdiction served by transit should, in cooperation with transit agencies, map the general locations of planned major transit facilities in their comprehensive plans and shall enact appropriate transit-oriented policies and development standards for such locations. Where appropriate, transit-oriented development should encompass the following common elements: a. Be located to support the development of designated growth centers and existing or planned transit emphasis corridors; b. Include pedestrian-scale neighborhoods and activity centers to stimulate use of transit and ridesharing; c. Plan for appropriate intensity and mix of development – including both employment and housing options – that support transit service; d Provide safe, pleasant, and convenient