Oct. 15, 2020
Short Course on Local Planning
There is one upcoming short course. It is a web conference and will take place Thursday, Dec. 3, 6 - 8:30 p.m. This is a regular short course, hosted by Commerce.
To register send an email with your name, title, organization and the date of the short course you wish to attend to shortcourse@commerce.wa.gov. Please register at least one week in advance. To view recorded short courses, including some on special topics, click here.
Behavioral Health Model Ordinance project update
The Behavioral Health Model Ordinance is intended to support cities and counties, including planning staff and city and county officials, in their work to site community facilities that provide a broader continuum of behavioral health care to serve residents in local communities.
The Department of Commerce’s Community Capital Facilities Team hired BERK Consulting in August, and convened a broad-based advisory committee in September, to begin the work of developing model planning codes, regulatory guidance, and a communications toolkit for publication in summer 2021.
The model ordinance will be based on in-depth and collaborative research about the current state of siting behavioral health care projects in local communities, including how to leverage existing local planning codes and regulatory frameworks, alignment with recent changes in state law, and practical considerations and best practices informed by the experiences of local governments, behavioral health providers, and community and state partners.
For more information, visit the project webpage to access materials, meeting recordings, and sign-up for periodic project updates. Committee meetings will be held online through spring 2021.
If you have questions, please contact the Project Manager Amber Siefer at amber.siefer@commerce.wa.gov.
2020 APA WA/OAPA Joint (virtual) Conference on Oct. 14 - 16
The theme is "Growing Together." Virtually join with Oregon and Washington planners to share across borders. Get the schedule and registration information here.
13th Annual Cultural Resource Protection Summit Oct. 20 - 21
The theme is "Telling the Stories of Who We Are." Listen as a keynote panel representing Tribal, agency and consultant viewpoints reflects on the last 20+ years of cultural resource management. On the second day, join representatives of the five claimant Tribes as they share their reflections on the Ancient One, also known as Kennewick Man.
Also participate in guided plenary and small group discussion on "To curate or to rebury" - what can/should we do with our archaeological collections?
Back by popular demand, join some of our most dynamic speakers as they take on the challenge of presenting a fascinating topic via 20 slides, each shown for only 20 seconds! Visit www.theleadershipseries.info for adjusted rates and to register online. Student rates available!
E-mail Mary Rossi (mary@eppardvision.org) for information.
Planning for housing
The Housing Washington Conference was held on Oct. 6. All sessions were recorded and you can register here to view sessions cost-free for the next few weeks. AICP CM credits are offered for 12 of the sessions.
Smart Growth America is hosting a free webinar on Oct. 13 at 10 a.m. PST called "The Affordable City: Strategies for putting housing within reach (and keeping it there).
The Housing Consortium of King County is putting on Affordable Housing Week, Oct. 12 - 16 with a full week of virtual sessions.
Visit the event page to sign up for special events.
Department of Ecology updating Wetland Mitigation Guidance
The Washington Department of Ecology, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region 10 and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Seattle District are soliciting comments from interested parties on a draft update to the 2006 interagency guidance, Wetland Mitigation in Washington State, Part 1.
This guidance applies to activities affecting wetlands in Washington state. This update incorporates and provides consistency with rules, guidance documents and tools that have been developed since the original guidance was published in 2006.
Ecology will be accepting public comments on this proposed update on behalf of the state, EPA and the Corps through Nov. 30.
Due to continuing health and safety concerns related to the COVID-19 pandemic and to comply with Washington state's Safe Start Guidance, Ecology will not hold in-person public events. Instead Ecology will host a one-hour online question and answer session on Monday, Oct. 19 at 1:30 p.m. If you would like to participate please RSVP to dana.mock@ecy.wa.gov and patricia.johnson@ecy.wa.gov to receive the WebEx link for the event.
For more details see the Special Public Notice or visit Ecology's public comment webpage.
Planners’ forum
On Monday, Sept. 28, Commerce and the South Sound Section of APA-WA held an evening planners’ forum on “Integrating Equity in Planning”. Alex Brennan, Executive Director of Futurewise, and Charles Patton, Equity Manager at the Puget Sound Regional Council, provided information on how their organizations are addressing equity, and environmental justice into their planning work.
To watch the presentations, connect to our Regional Planners’ Forum webpage, scroll to the bottom of the page for the presentation slides and event recording, and check out our upcoming events.
Grants
A number of grants were recently made available, for eligibility requirements and information, follow these links to the programs’ websites:
Washington State Department of Natural Resources
Washington’s communities once again have an opportunity to restore, enhance and sustain forests in towns and cities through grants offered by the agency's Urban and Community Forestry program.
Community Development Block Grants for planning
View this document on Commerce's CDBG General Purpose webpage, for more information.
Planning-only activities:
Capital facility plans or non-routine infrastructure system plans.
Community development strategic plans and comprehensive plans.
Functional plans, in areas such as housing, land use, and economic development.
Individual project plans and feasibility studies.
Small area and neighborhood plans.
Capital improvement plans.
Environmental studies.
Disaster resilience plans.
U.S. Reclamation's FY2021 Drought Response Program: Drought Contingency Planning Grants
The FY 2021 WaterSMART Drought Response Program: Drought Contingency Planning Grants funding opportunity announcement is available at grants.gov
Applications are accepted through Wednesday Jan. 6, 2021 at 4 p.m. MST.