Marysville City Council gets update on specific plan
Mar. 20—The Marysville City Council on Tuesday night received an update to a specific plan currently in development that will help shape the future of the city.
Coinciding with the creation of a general plan, the city has been working with consultants such as Matthew Gerken, with AECOM, and Kathy Pease, a planning consultant with Management Advisory Services, to create a roadmap that will influence future decisions by the city and council in how Marysville should grow and make use of existing space.
Gerken previously said the purpose and focus for the general plan includes economic and fiscal sustainability, expanding options for transportation, expanding housing opportunities, state law compliance, streamlining future development, and the planning horizon.
According to the Institute for Local Government, a specific plan sets "planning policies for an area in the community." A general plan "establishes the overall framework for development" by providing a long-term vision for a community's growth — that vision can include goals, policies and maps to guide any given decision-making on zoning and specific projects. The Institute said general plans cover all land in a jurisdiction.
On Tuesday, Pease presented the latest draft of the specific plan for Marysville — which includes the Medical Arts district, E-Street, downtown, and Ellis Lake. The plan is needed to establish land use regulations, development standards, implementing measures, planned and needed public works projects to serve the area identified in the specific plan, and financing measures that would be necessary to implement the plan and its recommendations.
The purpose of the specific plan is to promote economic development, improve fiscal conditions in the city, encourage infill development in order to attract investment, improve public and private spaces, and streamline future reviews.
Several areas of the specific plan identify sections of the city that would be designated for specific purposes, such as commercial mixed use development and parks and open spaces.
According to "development assumptions" included in the draft plan, the consultants estimated that between 1,000 to 2,000 new residents could be added to the city over the coming years should elements of the plan be executed. Those assumptions also include about 735 to 1,020 new jobs in the city.
Improvements identified in the plan include improved "multi-modal transportation connectivity and access," establishing new land uses, public enhancements such as tree planting and traffic calming measures, and promotion of the city and its culture.
With regards to transportation, the plan will look to identify specific roadway improvements, bicycle and pedestrian improvements and consideration of parking changes, such as angled parking or additional street parking.
The draft plan acknowledges that no current financing for improvements exists, but funding could be provided through various contributions, improvement districts, grants and impact fees.
While no specific projects have been proposed currently for some of the areas in the plan, the idea of the plan is to help identify "potential underutilized sites" that could be used as a catalyst for showing development potential. The plan itself will look to streamline any future development — which also could encourage more interest in the city.
Pease stressed during Tuesday's meeting that none of the ideas proposed in the specific plan are set in stone and the council will have an opportunity to provide more input. However, because of a grant, the specific plan will need to be finalized by June of this year.
"We will go to the planning commission — get their input — but we still have quite a process to go," Pease said. "We need to complete the draft environmental impact report and when that is available, that has to go out to the public for 45 days and then we need to respond to comments. We have plenty of time to get input from the council on this."
