Monday August 15 Meet to Vote

 

Monday those who show up will vote whether and what to send to the County.

Please show up.  7:00 MacMurray Middle School.

Job Nursery

JOB NURSERY

The Vashon Town Plan Committee has identified the need to explore establishment of a local “Job Nursery” to promote a healthy, sustainable and thriving rural business community within, and beneficial to, Vashon Island as a whole. We recognize that the complementary interdependent nature between an effective “Job Nursery” and a productive local business community is critical to the solid Island economy necessary to provide all Island residents with quality basic industry services.   Efforts to enable the development of these components within the town plan are essential.

Exploration processes shall include active collaboration with local island commerce support groups such as Island GreenTech, local farmers‘ organizations and merchant groups and the Vashon-Maury Island Chamber of Commerce in determining the local business needs, resources and appropriate strategies to best promote healthy economic development for the island.  The collaborated findings shall assist the Committee in planning for compatible efficient island infrastructures, facilities and/or on-island port services, all preferably provided by other local tax-paying small businesses or non-profit entities to meet the needs of basic local business industries and promote development of a healthy overall island economy including, but not limited to:

Technical support for small and start-up businesses

Create capital resources for small businesses through grants,  lending and    investment.

Development and implementation of programs to nurture job creation.

Pursue adequate parking and pedestrian access in and between commercial hubs.

Promotion of “Shop Local First” with advertising and events.

Investigate rental spaces and limited support services for small business start-ups at low and/or reduced

Improve business operations and economic viability.

While this is proposed as a part of the Town Plan, its impacts will extend throughout Vashon and Maury Islands and include all Rural Business Clusters.  Rural Business Clusters on Vashon include: The Town of Vashon, the port facilities, i.e. the Airport and the Ferry docks, the Rural Commercial Neighborhood Centers (such as Dockton, Center, Burton), home-based businesses, small-scale forestry operations and agriculture including value-added products.

There are numerous models and types of enterprises that can be stand-alone organizations and/or partnerships with existing island entities, such as The Chamber of Commerce, the Vashon College and Island GreenTech.

Until the initial findings of the collaborated exploratory process are compiled and the economic goals and projects that need to be addressed on Vashon over the next three to five years are identified, discussion and approval of the type of enterprise/partnership best suited to deliver the services should be delayed.

This proposal is supported by the King County Comprehensive Plan (2008 Update) via the following policies:

ED-102  King County policies, programs, and strategies shall recognize the importance of, and place special emphasis on retaining and expanding home-grown firms in basic industries that bring income into the county and increase the standard of living of our residents.

·    ED-306  King County supports programs, strategies and partnerships to promote the development and growth of green jobs.  Green jobs – particularly in the Clean Technology cluster, but also across all industry clusters – are jobs that are linked to the preservation and sustainability of the natural environment, as well as those that involve the design, manufacture, installation, operation, and/or maintenance of renewable energy and energy efficiency technologies.

ED-201  King County supports programs and strategies to help create, retain and expand homegrown businesses in basic industries, particularly those industrial clusters offering the best opportunities for business growth and job creation as identified in the Regional Economic Strategy for urban areas and the Rural Economic Strategies for the Rural Area. ED-105  King County recognizes the environment as a key economic value that must be protected. ED-101  King County has a long-term commitment to sustainable economic development on a countywide basis.  Sustainable economic development shall mean economic development that does not exceed the ability of the natural or built environments to remain healthy while sustaining growth over the long term.

ED-108  Within the unincorporated area, King County should partner with local businesses, unincorporated area councils and others as appropriate, to develop and implement policies, programs and strategies that promote appropriate local economic development.

Recommendation Draft VII for Proposal to Town Plan Committee, VMICC, 2011 02 12

Historical

For 1996 text go to:

http://vashontownplan.com/toc/policy-recommendations/historic-preserv…

Proposed revision

King County Historic Preservation Program

Historic preservation requires governmental action to insure that resources important to all Island citizens,
embodying values of broad public benefit and interest, are maintained. Preservation of historic and
archaeological resources is one of the fundamental goals of local government planning under the State
Growth Management Act and is articulated in the King County Comprehensive Plan.

In King County, the identification, evaluation and protection of cultural resources is the responsibility of the
Historic Preservation Program. Currently, the Historic Preservation Program is working closely with Vashon Allied
Arts, the Vashon/Maury Island Heritage Association, and a Citizens Advisory Committee to identify and
encourage the local preservation of cultural resources important to future Island generations.

Historic preservation on Vashon has a mixed history. King County carried out an island-wide historic properties
survey between 1977 and 1979. Informational meetings with islanders were held in 1979 and 1980 to identify
and rank the sites for possible inclusion on the King County Historic Landmarks list. This ranked list of forty eight
potential landmark properties was included within the chapter “Historic Sites” in the 1985 Vashon Community
Plan Area Zoning.
(See Appendix B for the complete list ) This chapter contained policy statement V-41,of Appendix A that
noted:

“The preservation, restoration, and adaptive use of historic
sites on Vashon Island should be encouraged in order to maintain
the character of existing communities on the island and to
preserve tangible reminders of the island’s history.”

A P-suffix was added to the zoning plan as an identifier of potential historic preservation importance. The suffix
was to be used “until the sites are formally designated as County landmarks. Following the designation as
County landmarks, the guidelines will supplement the Landmarks Preservation Ordinance, providing a specific
interpretation for historic sites on Vashon Island.” The purpose of this Historic Sites chapter was to avoid further
losses of historic structures.

No regulatory enforcement tool, such as the historic preservation P-suffix noted earlier in the 1985 Vashon
Community Plan Area Zoning, was enacted as part of this policy paragraph. The backlash against any
additional County oversight was further demonstrated as Appendix A of the 1996 Vashon Town Plan specifically
rescinded the 1985 Vashon Community Plan Area Zoning policy statement V-41.
No buildings have been named as King County Landmarks since the adoption of the 1996 Vashon Town Plan.

The Historic Preservation Program initiated a survey in June of 1993 as a first step towards the identification and
evaluation of historic resources. Inventoried properties may be eligible for landmark designations. Cultural
resources within and adjacent to the Rural Town boundaries are listed in Appendix D.

The King County Historic Preservation Program currently designs reviews for State funded projects as well as
County permit reviews. This gives them, for example, a role in reviewing Vashon Allied Arts proposals. Another
King County organization, 4Culture, provides funding for Landmark Rehabilitation grants, as well as grants for
maintenance of other historic resources.

H-1 The preservation and sensitive restoration of historic or culturally significant sites in the Rural Town
shall be encouraged in order to maintain the Town’s character and to preserve tangible reminders of the
Town’s history. King County Historic Preservation Program

Parks page

Parks amendment:

 

The Vashon Maury Island Park District (VPD) was formed by a vote of

the public in 1983. The Park District has taxing authority as a Junior

Taxing District. The VPD owns 18 parks on Vashon-Maury Islands

comprising a total of 260 acres. Vashon Park District provides a

mixture of types of land and facilities – including wildlife habitat,

resource activities, trails, athletic fields, indoor community

centers, and special purpose meeting and interpretive centers in

accordance with district policies and objectives. The Park district

owns part of the lands and facilities used for its program. Other

facilities are provided through an inter-local agreement with Vashon

School District. And, some are managed in concert with the Vashon-

Maury Island Land Trust.

 

King County owns and operates three park properties: the swimming pool

located at the Vashon High School, Dockton Marine Park, and Maury

Island Marine Park. In addition, the Island has a number of private

recreation facilities, three public school sites, a senior center

(also managed by VPD), arts center (Vashon Allied Arts), Grange

Hall ,VFW Hall and the Open Space for Performing Arts.

 

The Park District’s annual operating budget is approximately

$1,400,000. This supports all of VPD’s programs and provides staff for

administration and maintenance. The district supports completely or

partially dozens of programs for all age groups that include sports,

art and theater projects, nature study and field trips, aquatic

activities, and other recreational programs.

 

Within the town of Vashon, the District owns/operates two parks:

Village Green – a downtown park which supports VIGA Market and has a

public bathroom; Ober Park – includes a building with meeting rooms,

and park office and a multipurpose room designed with a spring board

floor for teaching gymnastics, dance, yoga, etc. The five-acre park is

developed with rolling lawns, picnic tables, children’s play equipment

and a courtyard amphitheater. Adjacent to the amphitheater is a Viet

Nam War Memorial designed and built by local artist Al Bradley and

dedicated to local citizens who died in that war. Within the park in

the southeast corner is the King County Vashon Island Library.

Adjacent to the park on the north is a Metro Park-n-Ride lot. The park

is host to meetings, classes and the annual Strawberry Festival. VPD

also provides management services for the Senior Center located on

Bank Road.

 

Proposed pages

Motion 2011.02.__ To Amend Signage Section of the 1996 Town Plan

Signage
Signage for new and existing businesses shall maintain Vashon’s unique rural character and reflect its small town personality. In addition to existing King County Code Sections 21A.20.010 – 21A.20.190, which establish standards that regulate signs, the following additional sign regulations shall be instituted in the Town of Vashon for all permanent identification and advertising signs.
The Town of Vashon shall be a billboard free zone.
Free standing signs shall be limited to two sides and an area of 25 square feet per side.
Wall-mounted signs shall be limited to a total area of 25 square feet.
Freestanding externally lit signs are permitted to have one light per every 10 square feet.
Free standing or wall mounted signs shall not contain internally illuminated electronic changing message or picture displays.
Existing free-standing or wall-mounted advertising or identification signs which are internally lit by changing message or picture displays should be turned off when the business is closed.

Sandwich/A-frame Signs
One non-illuminated sandwich/A-frame sign per Vashon business shall be allowed in the Town with the following conditions. Sign cannot block or impede pedestrian, cycling, equestrian, and automotive or delivery traffic. Sign shall allow a 4’ wide clearance for pedestrian and handicapped traffic. The overall dimensions of the sign are not to exceed 7.5 square feet and not to exceed 3’ in width or 3’ in height. Sign must be removed when the business it represents is closed. All signs must be removed by 11pm. Creative sandwich board/A-
frame signs with a rural character are encouraged to reflect Vashon businesses’ unique personalities and styles.

*

Town Design

Design Context
Vashon’s “unplanned” small town character is expressed in architecture
developed over several eras. A fire in 1933 destroyed about half of the Town
Center (See Appendix C). A subsequent fire in 1975 destroyed much of the same
Southwest block area on Main Street. New construction since those times has
been a mix of styles and materials which has created Vashon’s eclectic feel. It is
our intent that this unplanned small town character be maintained when
remodeling existing building exteriors and creating new construction within the
Town. The Town’s architectural motif is early to mid 20th Century traditional
design with characteristics borrowed from, but not limited to, the following
architectural styles; Craftsman, Prairie/Four Square, Farmhouse, Victorian,
Frontier/Boomtown, Ranch, Colonial, Bungalow, Pacific Northwest and Art
Moderne. This architecture and our small town heritage are preserved by
businesses and owners that have cared for the Town’s historic buildings. Some
notable examples of this type of preservation are listed below. Two of these
examples are King County Landmarks: The Hardware Store Restaurant and the
Blue Heron Arts Center. Protecting the historic setting of these landmark
properties is an important part of preserving their character and the contribution
they make to the townscape. There shall be no Zoning Changes (including
increases in Density), to properties adjacent to both Landmark and other Historic
Structures (see Appendix D), without a 2/3 vote of approval by members of the VMICC.
Design of new construction adjacent to Landmark properties shall
consider impacts to the Landmark’s style and character. In review of proposed
new construction, consideration should be given to the following:
1. the physical characteristics, style and character of the proposed new structure and of the existing Landmark;

2. whether the proposed new construction complements the adjacent
Landmark’s designated style and character features; and

3. whether the proposed new construction draws from the existing designated
historical architectural design elements.

Examples of Preserved Buildings in the Town Planning Area

The Hardware Store Restaurant – Originally built in 1890 to serve as the island’s hardware store. The building was updated in 1935 to reflect the Art Moderne style with its streamlined asymmetrical appearance, accented with curving forms and horizontal lines. It now serves as a full service restaurant and art gallery. It is located at the south west corner of Vashon Highway and Bank Rd. This building is a King County Landmark and it is listed on the National Registry of Historic Places #00000971. The address is 17601 Vashon Hwy, SW.

Giraffe – Built in 1900 as a residence. Giraffe is now a fair trade retail
establishment on the first floor with a Bed and Breakfast upstairs. The Bungalow style is reflected with gently pitched broad gables, a front porch, a cobblestone chimney, wood shingles, and dormer and sash windows. It is located at 9905 SW 174th St.

The Little House – Built in 1910 as a residence in the Traditional style reflected in wood siding, sash windows, a gabled roof, and a covered front entry. The building currently houses a gift shop. It is located at 17636 100th Ave. SW.

La Boucherie – Built in 1966 in a Traditional Bungalow style featuring a street
facing gabled roof, wood siding, rafters, and sash windows. It served as the
island’s Malt shop 20 years. It now hosts a farm to table restaurant with a
butcher shop. The address is 17635 100th Ave.

Lake, Kennedy, McCulloch CPA Office – Built in 1924 by a dentist to serve as his dental office and residence. The Traditional/Craftsman style is reflected in wood siding, a central brick chimney, sash windows, and a raised covered entry. A  detached garage was built in 2008 to reflect the same style as the original structure. The address is 10007 SW Bank Rd.

The Blue Heron Arts Center – Built in 1912 by the Order of Odd Fellows to serve
as their hall. The Traditional/Frontier style has wood siding, a gabled roof, a wide
covered front porch, sash windows, and a front façade . It now serves as home
to Vashon Allied Arts. It is listed as a King County Landmark. The address is
19704 Vashon Highway SW.

The Vashon Island Coffee Roasterie and Minglement – Built in 1900 from old growth island fir trees, it is situated where the town of Vashon originated at the corner of Vashon Highway and Cemetery Road. This building reflects a Frontier/Boomtown style with clapboard siding, a façade front, and a wide covered front porch. It is home to Specialty Coffee and Fair Trade pioneer, Jim Stewart’s original coffee company, The Wet Whisker, which eventually became Seattle’s Best Coffee. It now serves as a coffee roasterie, organic health food store and coffee museum. The address is 19529 Vashon Highway SW.

New Construction

New construction (for both new and remodeled buildings) shall respect and
reinforce the existing mix of Vashon’s architectural styles. Architectural design shall complement the existing Vashon building character and relate directly to the character of neighboring historic buildings.

New construction within the defined Town Core boundaries shall follow P-Suffix Conditions. (Figure X). P-Suffix conditions shall maintain and promote the compact commercial development of the Town Core. Thus, the Town Core
maintains an intimate and human scale: walkable, safe and convenient, where
visits among places in the Town Core are not dependent on the automobile.

Vashon Cohousing is an example of new residential and multi-family construction and architectural design which reinforces Vashon’s rural character and commitment to ecological sustainability. Vashon Cohousing was built between 1992 and 2004 in a Traditional Farm style with gabled roofs, wood shingled siding and covered front porches. Homes are clustered to preserve surrounding woods and open space. The community’s design is pedestrian-oriented, with centralized parking and green space around the home sites.

Review Process
Every project shall include a public education and input component that will allow residents a reasonable opportunity to learn about the project and provide input in a transparent, open manner. Public input will be advisory and non-binding, and be considered, in good faith, by the property owner.

Sustainability
Both new and remodeled building should incorporate sustainable design features as much as is financially feasible, and within the owners design and schedule goals, including but not limited to active and passive solar collectors, water catchment, drought tolerant landscaping including but not limited to native and edible plants, rain gardens, passive shading devices for both sun control and cooling, and the use of sustainable materials, ideally harvested on Vashon.

Parking
Reduction of off-street parking requirements is an existing building incentive for parcels in the Parking Reduction Zone (Fig. 4). This incentive shall be granted to encourage new infill building construction and the retention of existing  businesses within existing buildings. This incentive shall not be granted where an existing historic structure (see Appendix D) is demolished to make way for new construction.

Water District 19 Facts and ? Map

Water

Water District 19 provides water to the Town Planning Area.  The water district
has over 1720 connections and a service area of 6.2 square miles in the east
central portion of the island.  The water district’s most recent revised
Comprehensive Plan was approved by the Washington State Department of
Health on April 22, 2010.  The historical maximum day water demand was 1.028
MGD in 1997. Due in large part to aggressive conservation initiatives, for the
period from 2005 through 2009, the maximum day demand was 0.79 MGD (in
2009).  The system is capable of producing 1.044 MGD from wells and streams
and can deplete a modest portion of tank storage to meet a higher demand
on a given day.

There are 322 water units requested on the current District waiting list, 216 of
which are within the current Town Planning Area.  As per capita demand
continues to fall, consideration will be given to reduce the number of units on
the waiting list.  There are no more water rights to be acquired for the
foreseeable future.

The system has five wells and three storage tanks near the Town Planning Area
In addition, surface water is treated at the District’s water treatment plant from
Beall and Ellis Creeks.

The Vashon/Maury Island Water Resources Study was prepared by J. R. Carr
Associates in 1983 and inventoried the available ground and surface water
resources on the island to determine the “limit” on population and land use.  The
study concluded that the water resource of Vashon/Maury Island (Principal
Aquifer) will support a maximum population of 11,000.  A Deep Aquifer at 100 –
300 feet below sea level is capable of yielding larger quantities of water, but its
recharge is apparently more limited than the Principal Aquifer.

The principal water main (16″) runs through the center of the Town Plan Area
and areas zoned or potentially zoned for manufacturing.  Most of the areas
zoned for higher density residential and commercial uses are served by 8″ or
larger mains.  Water lines can be extended to other areas at significant cost,
and all new water uses are subject to the availability of adequate water
resources.

Signage

Motion 2011.02.__ To Amend Signage Section of the 1996 Town Plan

Signage
Signage for new and existing businesses shall maintain Vashon’s unique rural character and reflect its small
town personality.  In addition to existing King County Code Sections 21A.20.010 – 21A.20.190, which establish
standards that regulate signs, the following additional sign regulations shall be instituted in the Town of Vashon
for all permanent identification and advertising signs.  The Town of Vashon shall be a billboard free zone.
Freestanding or wall-mounted signs shall be limited to a total of 25 square feet per side (limited to two sides),
shall not contain internally illuminated electronic changing message or picture displays.  Freestanding
externally lit signs are permitted to have one light per side.  Existing free-standing or wall-mounted advertising
or identification signs which are internally lit by changing message or picture displays should be turned off
when the business is closed.

Sandwich/A-frame Signs
One non-illuminated sandwich/A-frame sign per Vashon business shall be allowed in the Town with the
following conditions.    Sign cannot block or impede pedestrian, cycling, equestrian, and automotive or delivery
traffic.   Sign shall allow a 4’ wide clearance for pedestrian and handicapped traffic.   The overall dimensions of
the sign are not to exceed 7.5 square feet and not to exceed 3’ in width or 3’ in height.  Sign must be removed
when the business it represents is closed.  All signs must be removed by 11pm.  Creative sandwich board/A-
frame signs with a rural character are encouraged to reflect Vashon businesses’ unique personalities and styles.

1996 paragraph at

http://vashontownplan.com/toc/policy-recommendations/urban-design/signage/

Water

by Bob Powell

My hope for the 2010 Vashon Town Plan update is that it includes, among other things, a broad values statement that represents a community consensus for future land use and water policy. While it’s my understanding that Water District 19 would in no way be legally bound by any specific directives in the Town Plan, the Plan would provide useful guidance to the District, in particular in facilitating the District’s introduction of potentially controversial water conservation measures, and potential changes to water service unit allocation formulas based on mandatory conservation measures. Separately, I would also like to see the plan include a proposal for an intra-island transfer of development rights program, to shift some portion of future development from environmentally sensitive fringes, to near the town center, in an overall growth-neutral manner. And finally, a statement of values in support of affordable housing development near the town center.

PLEASE READ THE PLAN

The value of posting The Town Plan online is so everyone can read it and comment.

Updates on The Vashon Town Plan Website

For those of you interested in how the site is doing, I have posted a snapshot of our statistics, visits, etc.: Website Stats 11-18-2009, as well as the current results of the Tourism Poll: Tourism Poll Results 11-18-2009.  These are taken as of 2p on Wednesday, November 18th.  FWIW, we’ve had more than 600 visits.

We have also received many comments on various pages of the Plan, in the form of quick ratings of agreement as well as lengthly opinions.  I can’t link to all of them, but the Recent Comments section on the right, will get you to a few.  After that, you should just check the pages of the plan that you are interested in and see what people are saying…

At the urging of some visitors, we have dropped in some placeholder pages for some proposed sections to be added to the plan.  There are now pages where we can start discussing Bicycles, Electric Vehicles and Sustainability.  These are just open placeholders for people to start commenting on what they would like.

Message from Julia Larson, King County Planning

Below is a follow-up message from Julia Larson, from King County’s Planning group, after she addressed the Town Plan Committee meeting last week. She offers several very interesting suggestions about what might be missing from our current plan, how to prioritize, and more.  I found this part in particular very helpful in directing us to think broadly now:

“Do not worry about “who and how” while you write the plan…This Plan will be the implementation vehicle for several years. Then, based on the “policies written in support of the need”, a program can be developed to tackle the need over several years that identify the players and actions.”

1979 Beachcomber Opinion Piece on Vashon Vision

What’s below is scanned (without permission of the BC or the author) from the 1979 “Island Life” magazine put out by the Beachcomber. Thought folks might appreciate it.

…

Most of us have a private future vision. A dream around which to center our private lives. But in a metropolitan area, especially, you cannot sustain a private dream without participating in some kind of public vision of the common future.

There isn’t enough space left to withdraw behind property boundaries to do your thing. Everyone’s doing his thing and he needs space to do it in.

The moat reinforces Islanders’ need to develop a public vision of our future. It slows the pace somewhat from the pell mell rush around us. We have a chance.

In other ways it reminds us how delicate the situation is. The Island is small and perhaps not strong enough to resist pressures of urban, suburban, metropolitan entanglement beyond our shores.

There seem to be three main pressures confronting the Island.

VMICC Town Hall List of Issues

The VMICC Meeting of September 22 had attendees offer up and then rank the issues that were most important to our community. You can read the story about the meeting in the Beachcomber, but we’ve reproduced the full tally of the votes below. Tell us if this reflects your views? How do you see these priorities shaping the Town Plan?

Initial Rating	“Final Rating”	Issue and/or Interest
13	28	Environmental Sustainability (recycling containers in town, on-Island compost, urban farms/pea patch, food sustainability)
5	24	Increase Power of VMICC (work with other UACs)
6	27	Tourism
3	14	Transportation- ferry issues north and south ends
6	13	Public Safety (, bicycle safety/lanes, Metro/access alternative transportation, youth drug/alcohol issues, senior accessibility to outdoors and parking, signage, parking, and other traffic concerns-corner produce stand)
2	5	Obtain current Island demographics including economic impact
2	5	Vashon Allied Arts expansion and potential demolition of historic buildings
1	4	Affordable Housing
3	3	Communication by VMICC (beyond existing Island media)
3	3	King County and political representatives making decisions before community has vetted same
2	3	Library- ongoing issues
2	2	Water and Septic Solutions
2	2	Dockton Seawall Protect
2	2	Vashon Be Prepared
1	1	Growth Management Act (not Town Plan)
1	1	Domestic Livestock in Residential Neighborhoods
1	1	Otters
2	0	Parks and Reclamation
1	0	Comcast’s plan for Island infrastructure
1	0	Implementation of Town Plan
8	0	Keep Vashon Weird- stay local (this was folded into Environmental Sustainability in the final rating vote)
3	0	Parking in town including commuters parking, absence of convenient parking for seniors, insufficient handicapped parking (this was folded into Public Safety in the final rating vote)
2	0	Economic Development (jobs and families)
1	0	Newcomers Welcome
1	0	On Island transportation
1	0	Growth in community
1	0	Vashon fundraising under one consolidated umbrella

Sustainability Poll

We are going to be taking a variety of polls to get feedback on what should be added to the Town Plan. If you have other ideas, please send in your suggested additions.

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