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DECEMBER 2003

ISSUE 29

City’s Comprehensive Plan is 10 Years Old

T

he Comprehensive Plan is the roadmap for the future growth of the City. It sets out the Vision for the future.

Close your eyes and imagine the City of Sumner 20 years from now. What do you see in 2023? How have things changed? What is your ideal? Ten years ago citizens were asking these questions as they drafted a “Vision Statement” for the year 2013, describing in detail the qualities and physical character of the City.

The Vision is to preserve the small town character and strong community identity of Sumner in the face of growth and change. In 2013 the City will have adequate parks, neatly kept yards, affordable housing, jobs, and good roads and utilities to serve future growth. The City will still be a quality place to grow up, raise a family, and retire.

This Vision Statement is the foundation of the Comprehensive Plan required by the state Growth Management Act. The goal is to maintain and enhance Sumner as a “walkable” community with new development designed to encourage more walking and less driving.

This is done by putting buildings on the street with interesting things to look at, places to congregate, and widening sidewalks. The easier it is to meet others in the community, the greater a sense of belonging.

The Plan becomes a reality through many different programs, regulations, and projects. Each new project, from a small building to a new park or freeway interchange, creates another piece of the Plan. Ultimately, as new development occurs under new design standards, buildings, neighborhoods and streets will begin to make the Vision and Plan a reality.

The Plan takes population and employment projections and other growth data and outlines where and how this new development will occur. Providing enough land for new businesses and housing is essential. Having adequate roads, utilities and facilities such as parks to serve new growth is critical to preserving the quality of life in Sumner.

Every city needs a solid tax base and a strong employment base. The area north of downtown has been planned for commercial and industrial growth since the 1960’s. The recent warehouse development is the result of that planning.

At the 10-year mark it is time to look at the Vision and see if we are getting what we have planned for and if not, what needs to be changed in the Plan. Are we on course? Please find enclosed a Community Survey where you can express your thoughts on how development has occurred in the past 10 years and where we should head in the future.

Share your ideas about Sumner’s future Enclosed with this edition of Community Connection is a Community Survey that will help shape the future of the City. How has your quality of life changed?

What things in your community could be better? What things are great? How should your taxes be spent?

Please take a few minutes to fill out the survey and drop it off or mail it to City Hall. Return your survey before the deadline of December 19 and you will be entered in a drawing for a free dinner at the Grand Central Steakhouse at 1202 Main Street.

For information about the Comprehensive Plan Update: Contact Ryan Windish, Plan Update Project Manager at 253-891-3301or visit the City’s website at www.ci.sumner.wa.us

See Inside: ■ Goals and Results of City’s Comprehensive Plan . . . . . . . . . . . .pg. 2 ■ Statistics on How Sumner Has Grown

. . . . . . . . . . .pg. 3

■ Crash Course on Growth Management . . . . . . . . . . . .pg 4

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Goals and Results

Road has just been completed with final design and construction to start in 2004.

■ The trails will run along the rivers A Comprehensive Plan does little good if with about 60% being built or being it isn’t put into action and provides tangi - designed. ble results. The following list highlights just a few of the results of the 1994 The City continues to collect impact fees Comprehensive Plan that have come to of $418 per new house for funding parks past in the last 10 years. and trails.

Community Character The Vision of the Comprehensive Plan is to preserve the small town character of Sumner embodied in the historic Main Street and the older neighborhoods. The City’s design requirements ensure that new development is compatible with this vision by requiring good pedestrian connections and having interesting building fronts on the street instead of parking lots. This makes for a more interesting place to walk, live, and work. New developments like Washington Court on the corner of Graham and Washington exemplify these qualities. The new Fred Meyer store also has attributes of the small town with the varied architecture and smaller buildings fronting directly on East Main Street.

Design standeards at work on East Main.

Parks and Open Space Parks, trails, and recreational open space are essential to providing a high quality of life. Parks are a place to recreate, exercise, and meet friends and neighbors.

Sumner has always been proud of the park system and expanding it is essential to keep up with growth. The plan is to have everyone in Sumner within a 10 minute walk of a park or trail.

■ Heritage Park was constructed in 1997 and has hosted the “Music Off Main” summer concerts and other civic events.

■ The Daffodil Sports Complex and skate park have been completed through generous community donations and provide more active recreational opportunities.

■ The design of the Eastside Park at the corner of Meade-McCumber and Parker

Preserving the Environment

DECEMBER 2003

Seafood and soon Fred Meyer. The Sumner School District is building a new administrative facility which keeps jobs in downtown.

Improving Transportation Transportation has a direct impact on everyone’s daily lives. A number of road and intersection improvements have been completed to ease the movement of truck and auto traffic through the City.

The City originally adopted environmental regulations in 1992 and is currently updating these. An experimental subdivision was approved for nine lots using techniques that are more environmentally friendly. This “low impact” subdivision has less hard surfaces, infiltrates ground water on site and uses roadside swales to contain and filter stormwater runoff.

Providing Housing Options One of the goals of the City is to provide for affordable housing so that people who grow-up here can live here. New subdivi sions are “neo- traditional” with smaller lots, alleys, and front porches similar to the older neighborhoods. This type of arrangement makes lots and houses more affordable and allows the City to reduce the number of new apartments.

In addition, with fewer garages on the street, there are more opportunities for front porch visits.

“Mixed use” describes buildings that have both residential and commercial spaces. The concept is similar to when shopkeepers lived above the store. There has been a limited amount of “mixed-use” building in Sumner, but the code promotes it. Living above and working below creates the opportunity for zero commute time. Close proximity to every day services can also reduce driving time for residents even if they don’t work there.

Economic Development Sumner doesn’t want to be just a bedroom community to Seattle and Tacoma.

The goal is to provide for jobs and a strong tax base. Over the last 10 years there has been approximately 3 million square feet of building space has been constructed in Sumner bringing in many new jobs. Many of the businesses that have come to town in the last 10 years include Costco, Swift Trucking, The Truss Company, Farwest Freight, Simmons Mattress, Shining Ocean

Traffic Avenue was widened.

■ Traffic Avenue widening and signal at State Street ■ Widening 142nd Avenue and putting in water and sewer.

■ Constructing the North Sumner interchange on SR 167.

■

Building Puyallup Street.

■ Constructing a new bridge over the White River has made it easier for traffic to move in and out of Sumner.

■ The commuter rail station serves about 720 passengers a day. The construction of new sidewalks in town has also aided in making it easier to get around.

Building Public Facilities New growth places new demands on City services and facilities. The City has responded with expansion or upgrades to nearly every major city facility including: ■ A $17 million expansion of the Sewer Treatment Plant (under construction) will improve water quality and expand capacity.

A 2 million gallon water tank was constructed in 1998 east of town for added water capacity.

■

■ New Public Works shops were completed in 2000 and City Hall was expanded substantially in 2001 creating more room for the police department and to serve the City’s needs for the next 20 years.

The Senior Center was expanded to serve the growing senior population.

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How Has Sumner Grown?

The past decade has seen a lot of change in the Puget Sound and Sumner is no exception. While the community can manage growth, they can’t stop it. Listed below is a sample of some of the signs of change in Sumner.

POPULATION 1994 2003

7,600 people 8,900 people

The population increase is the result of people moving here, new births, and annexations which bring people into the jurisdiction of the City.

HOUSING COSTS 1990 2003

MEDIAN HOUSE COST $81,100 $178,120

MEDIAN HOUSEHOLD INCOME 1990 $26,038 2000 $38,598 EMPLOYMENT (jobs in Sumner) 1990 3,500 2003 7,000 CITY AREA 1990 2003

4.1 square miles 7.6 square miles

DECEMBER 2003

GROWTH MANAGEMENT ACT GOALS State GMA goals encourage the following: 4 Development in areas where facilities and services exist.

4 The reduced conversion of undeveloped land into sprawling, low-density development.

4 Efficient multimodal transportation systems.

4 Affordable housing for all economic segments of the population.

4 Economic development, consistent with comprehensive plans.

4 Protection of private property rights.

4 Fair and timely permit processing.

4 Maintenance and enhancement of natural resource-based industries such as timber, agricultural, and fisheries.

4 Retention and improvement of open space, recreational, habitat, and parks facilities.

4 Protection of the environment and enhance the state's high quality of life.

4 Involvement of citizens in the planning process.

4 Public facilities and services shall be adequate to serve the development.

4 Preserve lands, sites, and structures, that have historical or archaeological significance.

Results of Sumner ’s Comprehhensive Plan can be seen around the com munity in new housing and commercial develop ments. Right, a newer sub division in Sumner has smaller lots, garages in the alley, and inviting front porches.

(Bonney Lake is 7.2 square miles, Edgewood 8.4 square miles, and Puyallup 12.4 square miles) NUMBER OF STREETS 1990 130 2003 208

Sumner’s plan encourages “mixed use” buildings such as the building lelft, where the shops and offices and on the street level and living units are upstairs.

MILES OF STREETS 1990 37.5 miles 2003 54.7 miles TRAFFIC ON HIGHWAY 410 1992 2550 trips (peak hour) 2001 3600 trips ACRES OF PARK 1990 5 acres 2003 18+ acres

How this continues to change and which numbers change in which way is up to you. Become a part of shaping the City’s future.

Condominiums save space but still provide the amen ties of the traditional family home.

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DECEMBER 2003

What exactly is the state Growth Management Act?

T

he state Growth Management Act, often called GMA, was adopted in 1990 in response to rapid and unplanned growth that had occurred earlier in Washington. During this time, farmlands were lost, strip malls sprung up along state highways and roads became clogged with traffic.

The two most fundamental elements of good growth management planning are defining urban and rural areas and provision of adequate public services. Washington’s growth management program was modeled after similar laws in Oregon and Florida.

The GMA requires that most of the counties in the State define Urban Growth Boundaries. Inside that boundary are urban areas which are supposed to be the focus of the region’s growth. In additional to places for people to live and work, urban areas are supposed to have parks, open spaces, and shopping in order to keep these areas vibrant, safe, and quality places. By directing growth toward urban areas, rural areas could be protected and allowed to continue to provide food, timber, and rural activities.

Planning for adequate public facilities is also essential to

good growth management. Growth is allowed to occur where there are sewers and water (that didn’t necessarily happen before GMA) and making sure that new development didn’t degrade the police, fire and other City services.

This doesn’t mean that growth won’t occur. Stopping growth isn’t an option. It does mean that if cities can’t afford to pay for all the new facilities, that development has to wait for the services or has to help pay for them. In Sumner new roads, expansion of City Hall and the sewer treatment plant and construction of parks has been a response to growth.

To be effective, planning shouldn’t occur in isolation, communication and coordination between cities and counties is essential. What happens in the county or another city can affect the economy, traffic, or environment in Sumner.

Meaningful public participation is also mandatory under the GMA. Citizens have a significant role in steering the future of their community within the constraints of good growth management.

GMA requires that all plans be substantially updated every 10 years. The City of Sumner adopted its Plan in 1994 and is now going through the update process.

CITY OF SUMNER

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