Ellensburg's Land Use Plan Update: Fostering Downtown Density

Ellensburg is moving forward with a periodic update to its land use plan that will encourage the redevelopment of underutilized plots in the downtown area. The main goal is to increase density so that the growth that is coming to the city won’t sprawl out and ensure that the new residents have to generate more traffic on the road. This increased density will be combined with better land use to make the downtown area more walkable.

Planning manager Stacy Henderson met with the planning commission on Thursday, July 9th, to discuss the updates to the final draft of the land use plan as part of the periodic updates to the comprehensive plan. The plan was updated as the city staff worked to consolidate land use designations that overlapped so to clear up the map and make it easier to understand while also simplifying the rezoning process. This is to make it so that there is more flexibility for builders as they look to redevelop underutilized lots around its historic downtown which is designated as an urban center.

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This push to add density will help prevent further sprawl out past the city limits, but still within its urban growth area. If the city can concentrate most of its residential, commercial, and job growth on existing roads, and around existing services, then it will make it easier for the new residents to not need a car which will reduce the growth of traffic in town. But if they don’t add density, and the housing continues to sprawl, then the new residents will need to use cars which will only increase traffic along with the wear and tear on the city’s roads.

Henderson and the planning commission members discussed how they were determined to mix uses so that offices and stores could be within walking distance of their homes. One of the concerns that was brought up was how while denser housing can lead to more affordable units, there are a lot times when the units that are built are higher end and are less likely to help reduce the affordable housing crunch.

But there is a cost savings in not having to use the car that is often lost in these conversations. It was pointed out how much money is saved when you just have to walk down the block to get your groceries instead of turning on the car and burning gas.

In order to induce the density the city would like to see, staff is working on zoning code updates that will reduce regulatory barriers that drive up cost. This should allow underutilized lots to be redeveloped to help activate downtown while also bringing more housing and employment opportunities. Because the city is prioritizing infill development, they’re working with the state to see if the can get said development exempted from the State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA) reviews that allow opponents to density use to snare projects in hopeless appeals until the development projects become too expensive to continue.

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One type of red tape that was brought up was the requirements for subdivision. The members of the planning commission that spoke were opposed to continuing to requiring them because only the really large developers can absorb the up front cost with the infrastructure requirements to build those out.

At the end of the meeting, a couple of members of the community spoke about the airport overlay for the Kittitas County Airport. The airport overlay does not account for the fact that one of the runways is not used because it’s still commissioned with the FAA. Because of that it’s stifling redevelopment projects around the airport which is inside the city’s growth management area. While the commission is interested in redefining the overlay to make it easier for redevelopment, the real hurdle is the FAA and the fact that the runway hasn’t been decommissioned yet.

City staff was directed to coordinate with the FAA, the Washington State Department of Transportation aviation division, and the county to discuss the next steps to see what can be done to make redevelopment easier near the airfield.