Terminal Park neighborhood plan

Introduction - Terminal Park Plan

Terminal Park is one of Auburn's oldest neighborhoods. It is 90 years old, created in 1913 just 23 years after Auburn was incorporated. At one time, Auburn's "Main Street" ran through it. Even today Terminal Park is a major gateway to downtown Auburn.

The Terminal Park neighborhood is located just south of downtown Auburn. It extends south of Highway 18 to 17th Street SE and from A Street SE to Auburn Way S. It encompasses an area of approximately 350 acres and is home to 1,500 residents and over 60 business establishments. The neighborhood includes several churches, two elementary schools and Auburn's first dedicated park.

The Terminal Park neighborhood has historically contained a mix of competing land uses. Initially the neighborhood was developed to house employees of the railroad. The rail yard is located on the west boundary of the neighborhood. In 1913, the rail yard was one of Auburn's major employers. The developers of Terminal Park saw its location as within easy walking distance of the existing rail yard, schools and shopping. The initial Terminal Park subdivision contained Auburn's first dedicated park. From its very beginning, the Terminal Park neighborhood contained a mix of industrial, commercial, residential and public land uses.

Despite these competing land uses, Terminal Park is predominantly a residential neighborhood. The persistence of Terminal Park residents to remain in the area indicates that it is an attractive location to live and raise families. For this reason, it is an ideal candidate for a neighborhood planning process. For the purpose of a neighborhood plan is to create and maintain an attachment to a place that people find as an attractive place to live. Neighborhood plans help sustain the viability of the amenities that attract residents to this place now and for future generations.

In 2001, the City of Auburn selected Terminal Park as the subject for the development a neighborhood plan. It was selected for several reasons, chief among them include:

• Its historical and existing mix of competing, yet complimentary, land uses that requires careful planning and urban design in order to keep one land use from infringing upon another.
• Re-activation of the abandoned rail yard may cause impacts on nearby residential developments that are better measured and managed through a neighborhood planning process.
• A neighborhood plan may help improve and sustain the apparent and demonstrated viability of the Terminal Park Neighborhood.

Existing City Plans and Policies

Various City planning documents make reference to the Terminal Park neighborhood or contain policies that affect the neighborhood. The following is a list of the more relevant documents. Most of the policies in these other planning documents are broad in nature. In some cases, they might specifically mention Terminal Park. In such cases, the appropriate section of these plans that mention Terminal Park will be referenced in the appropriate section of this neighborhood plan.

Auburn Comprehensive Plan

The Auburn Comprehensive Plan has existed in one form or another since the 1940s. In 1995, the City of Auburn adopted its current Comprehensive Plan in compliance with the Washington State Growth Management Act (GMA). The Comprehensive Plan is a long-range, policy-planning document that guides decisions affecting the City’s physical development and future growth. Neighborhood plans are subordinate to the Comprehensive Plan. When the neighborhood plan and comprehensive plan present contrary policies or strategies, then one or the other will need to be revised. The Comprehensive Plan is revised through a formal amendment process in accordance with Ordinance Code 17.04 of the Auburn Municipal Code.

1997 Transportation Plan and Non-Motorized Plan

The 1997 Transportation Plan was completed as part of the City’s planning process for city-wide transportation improvements. The Non-Motorized Plan sets out design standards and routes for pedestrian pathways throughout the city – places for people on foot, on bicycles, and even on horseback to travel to, from, and within Auburn. Projects from the Non-Motorized Plan are combined with projects in the Transportation Plan and updated periodically as improvements through the six-year Transportation Improvement Program.

Transportation Improvement Program (TIP)

This is a six-year program of transportation projects and improvements – literally “where the rubber hits the road.” The city uses a public process to prioritize projects and gain support for funding applications for these projects. In addition to identifying projects and their estimated costs, the TIP also identifies anticipated revenue sources to fund these improvements. Projects range from striping bike lanes to multi-million dollar overpasses. Currently there are no projects in the TIP that are located in Terminal Park. Residents have an opportunity, through the neighborhood planning process or through public meetings, to suggest improvements in their neighborhoods.

Parks Plan

The City of Auburn Parks and Recreation Department developed a Parks Plan that was adopted by the City Council in December 1997. This plan shows the City’s publicly dedicated recreation areas —including Terminal Park — and the City’s plans for maintaining and improving these properties over time. The plan is updated annually with projects and priorities for the following year. Residents can suggest changes to the plan through the neighborhood planning process or through public hearings as part of the parks plan update.

City of Auburn Neighborhood Planning Process

The City of Auburn's Comprehensive Plan frequently refers to neighborhood quality and planning for residential areas. Goal 8, however, relates specifically to Neighborhood Quality. It states the City will "maintain and protect all viable and stable residential neighborhoods.” Auburn's Comprehensive Plan goes on to set the policy direction for neighborhood planning efforts. Housing Element Policy HO-31 states:

“The City will work with neighborhood groups to develop neighborhood plans for specific areas within the City. These areas will be determined based upon need, City Council direction and the availability of staff resources. These plans will address issues and concerns which include, but are not limited to, land use, projected growth/decline, neighborhood identity, safety, education, youth and recreational activities.”

Neighborhood planning is an opportunity for Auburn residents, business owners, City departments and community organizations to actively plan for the development of a particular neighborhood for which they have vested interest in one way or another. Neighborhood planning seeks to strengthen neighborhood attachment. It strives to improve the neighborhood and the overall image of the community.

Neighborhood planning also seeks to create more public involvement throughout the City. Through the planning process, City staff and residents identify key assets and opportunities. They prioritize needs and identify how the neighborhood is changing. Through enhanced communication amongst neighborhood residents and with the City, the neighborhood plan helps residents strengthen their community and their partnership with the City.

Neighborhood Policies and Strategies

A key feature of a neighborhood planning process is to address issues and concerns identified by the residents of a particular neighborhood or their representatives. The neighborhood-planning document typically contains a section for each major issue or concern. These sections include a narrative background, an in-depth analysis and pertinent findings about the particular issue or concern. Following the background discussion within each section are specific goals, policies and strategies intended to address the concerns raised by the neighborhood during the course of the neighborhood planning effort. Within the context of the neighborhood plan, these goals, policies and strategies should be construed as follows:

Goals: Goals are general and broad statements that describe the desired, long term and future results that the Plan aims to achieve.

Policies: Policies are guiding principles that influence both current and future decisions by legislative and administrative bodies of the City.

Strategies: Strategies represent a more specific methodology or approach intended to accomplish specific policies.

Combined, the goals, policies and strategies reflect the neighborhood's desired end and establish the means and techniques to reach the vision it set forth earlier in the plan.

Terminal Park Neighborhood Planning Process

The Terminal Park neighborhood planning process {Neighborhood Planning Process} was formally initiated by a city-sponsored neighborhood meeting with area residents, property owners, businesses and other interested parties on December 6, 2001. Approximately 40-50 individuals attended that meeting to meet with various city staff representing various city departments and provided comments and ideas about their neighborhood. A copy of their comments is available in the appendix.

Stakeholders and Key Issues

The Terminal Park neighborhood planning process was formally initiated by a city-sponsored neighborhood meeting with area residents, property owners, businesses and other interested parties on December 6, 2001. Approximately 40-50 individuals attended that meeting to meet with city staff representing various city departments and provided comments and ideas about their neighborhood. A copy of their comments is attached in the appendix.

From the December 6th neighborhood meeting, a core group of approximately 15 residents volunteered to create a Stakeholders' committee. They met roughlymonthly to guide the development of a draft neighborhood plan. Based on comments from the December 6th meeting, they identified several key issues that they thought the planning process should address. These key issues include the following {not in any order of priority} :

• Code enforcement
• Traffic
• Parks and open space
• Land use
• Public safety
• Commercial development

Stakeholder meetings were facilitated by detailed presentations from City staff. Together they established the planning area boundaries andthey developed policies and strategies to address key issues. They developed a vision statement along with a visionary design of a future Terminal Park neighborhood.

From the public comments gathered at the January 30th meeting, City staff develop a "Preliminary Draft" of the plan. This preliminary draft of the Terminal Park Neighborhood Plan will be circulated among City and non-City agencies for their review and comments. It will then be presented to the Planning Commission and the City Council's standing committee on Planning and Community Development.

Adoption of the Plan

At this point, the neighborhood plan is ready for its final adoption. The neighborhood plan will eventually become a designated "special planning area" in the City's Comprehensive Plan. Special Planning Areas appear as thatched areas on the color-coded Comprehensive Land Use Map. They are areas where future development is guided by individual elements of the Comprehensive Plan. In this case, these elements are the policies and strategies contained in the neighborhood plan. This designation provides more detail in determining appropriate or best land uses.

When an amendment to the Comprehensive Plan is under consideration, the Planning Commission holds at least one public hearing prior to making a recommendation to the City Council. Amendments to the Comprehensive Plan must be adopted by the City Council through an ordinance. The City Council may or may not conduct a public hearing. Both the Planning Commission and/or City Council have the ability to revise the amendment or, in this case, the neighborhood plan.

When the City Council passes the ordinance to amend the Comprehensive Plan by adding the designated neighborhood as a "special planning area,” then the planning process is finished. At this point, the implementation and regulatory process begins.