Board Minutes July 2025

South Capitol Neighborhood Association Board Meeting Minutes
Weds, July 9, 2025 6:30 – 8:30 pm
Lincoln Elementary School cafeteria

Note: On July 13, 2025, Blake Melancon made a motion to approve the July 9, 2025 board minutes via email vote. John Saunders seconded. Ten board members voted in favor, and the motion passed.

Introductions and Call Meeting to Order
Members of the South Capitol Neighborhood Association (SCNA) Board in attendance:
John Saunders, President
Gerry Apple, Vice President
Sue Hedrick, Secretary
Morgan Montes, Treasurer
Gordon White, Kelley Dolan, Nora Hawkins, Lorie Hewitt, Tyler Graber, Blake Melancon, At Large members

John called the meeting to order.

Approval of Today’s Draft Agenda
Gordon made a motion to approve the agenda as presented, Lorie seconded and the motion was approved unanimously.

Treasurer’s Report – Morgan Montes
Morgan went over the written report she previously sent to the board members, which is under Written Reports at the end of the minutes. Morgan noted the cost of the Google Suite increased on July 9th to $8.40 a month.

New Board Member Orientation, Open Roles and Committees – John Saunders
John said the South Capitol Neighborhood Association (SCNA) board has bylaws that we must follow, and he would send out a link to them to the members. In addition to the bylaws, we are continually updating a Board Member Handbook and have developed draft ground rules to help us work better as a team.

Board members can communicate with each using a google groups email distribution list. The board’s documents, such as minutes of the monthly board meetings and annual membership meeting, the bylaws, city grants, rosters, communications and events, are stored in our Google drive.

Also in it is a folder for all of the board’s current committees – Parking, Traffic, Legislative Campus Modernization, and Triad (an annual meeting of the state, city and neighborhood).

The SCNA is registered with the City of Olympia along with 29 other neighborhood and homeowner associations. We must register with the city each year and submit information such as: number of board members and their contact information, number of households represented in the neighborhood, and meeting dates and expected attendance for the year. The city has a webpage about recognized neighborhood associations (RNAs) and a section – Chapter 18.86 – in the city’s municipal code.

John said there are some benefits to being an RNA:

• Chapter 18.86 states that the city and neighborhood associations shall hold alternating quarterly forums each year to discuss items of interest. Each is responsible for hosting two of the four meetings. Whoever is hosting develops the agenda topics. The forums are coordinated through the city manager’s office.
• In addition, the city is required to provide recognized neighborhood associations with a current list of all city government agencies, department heads, and their phone numbers each year. He handed out this information at the meeting.

The SCNA also must register yearly with the Washington State Secretary of State’s Office as a non-profit corporation. The SCNA came into existence on March 30, 1971 with the filing of articles of incorporation.

The SCNA is a member of the Council of Neighborhood Associations (CNA), which meets once a month to discuss issues of interest to Olympia neighborhoods. Attendees of the monthly meeting include representatives of each neighborhood or homeowner association, city representatives (some staff and council members), and occasional guests. Minutes of the meetings are published on the CNA website.

Sue mentioned the SCNA board has a website created by a previous board during the pandemic. On it are posted minutes of the board’s meetings, information about the neighborhood, and blog articles about various issues of interest to the neighborhood.

The board uses the website to publicize events such as the neighborhood association annual meeting and the BBQ picnic social. There is also a Facebook page that Emily Tilger managed, but since she has left the board, someone with a Facebook account is needed to fill the role. Blake said she would consider doing it and would let John and Sue know.

John handed out an SCNA board roster with contact information for each member, and a list of the board’s workgroups and members. Board members are welcome to join any of the current committees or create a new one if there is a topic or issue they would like the board to take on.

Renaming Stevens Field – Morgan Montes
On May 26, 2025, Jeff Barehand sent an email to the board in support of the possibility of renaming Stevens Field.

Mr. Barehand’s letter is under Supplemental Information at the end of the minutes.

Morgan drafted a response to Mr. Barehand and emailed it to the board members for consideration. It was then agreed that the issue would be brought to the July board meeting for further discussion.

Morgan began the discussion by giving some background. A teacher and several students from Lincoln Elementary School attended the May 20, 2025 Olympia City Council meeting to ask the council to consider renaming Stevens Field in honor of Randy Edwards, a former Lincoln teacher and coach. Link to a video of the May 20th meeting (The students’ and teacher’s testimony begins at 24:40).

Board members discussed whether to send a letter in support of the proposal, and if so, to whom. There is some confusion as to who would be responsible for renaming the field since it is owned by the Olympia School District, but managed by the City of Olympia Parks Department.

If the City of Olympia is responsible for renaming Stevens Field, there is a policy and process spelled out in Article II of Chapter 12.62 of the Olympia Municipal Code.

Chapter 12.62 in its entirety is under Supplemental Information at the end of the minutes.

Considerable discussion ensued as to whether to support renaming the field in honor of Mr. Edwards, or support an open process to consider other possible names.

Morgan said she will revise her draft letter and send it out – along with Jeff Bearhand’s note – to the board members to review and vote on. If approved, the letter will most likely be sent to the city, school district and Mr. Bearhand.

Proposed Board Ground Rules – Kelley Dolan
A subcommittee consisting of Kelley, Sue, Gerry, Nora and Gordon met on Tues, June 3rd to brainstorm and refine some of the SCNA ground rules discussed at the May board meeting.

Kelley went over the new proposed ground rules. Three of the original proposed ground rules will be added to the Board Member Handbook. They are:

• Use a Parking Lot to capture future agenda items. Review the parking lot at the end of meetings to keep it current.
• Keep ground rules visible to reference during meetings.
• Debrief each meeting and summarize the key decisions made and next steps. Note parking lot items.

Sue asked if someone would take on the role of capturing the parking lot items at each meeting. Nora volunteered.

Gordon moved that the board adopt the ground rules as presented. Kelley seconded and the motion was approved unanimously.

Gerry asked where the ground rules will be located. It was agreed to add them to the board meeting agendas. The approved ground rules are also available on the SCNA website and in the board’s Google drive.

Gordon thanked John for bringing Peter Guttchen to facilitate creation of the ground rules at the board’s May meeting.

Olympia Comprehensive Plan and Middle Housing Code Amendments – Gordon White
Gordon said the city council and staff are struggling to hear our concerns about updates to the city’s comprehensive plan.

On May 15 and May 23, Gordon posted articles on the SCNA website, updating neighborhood residents about a proposal to allow businesses in neighborhoods.

On June 9th, Gordon sent a letter on behalf of the SCNA board to city staff, commenting on the comprehensive plan’s draft environmental impact statement.

In the letter, Gordon listed specific impacts of policies that need to be addressed such as:

• Allowing continued restricted home-based businesses without regulatory oversight
• The impact of expanded Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) per residential lot
• Other changes to the land use code that could magnify potential impacts to neighborhoods such as removing parking requirements for new apartments
• Allowing small-scale commercial uses to occur anywhere in any residential neighborhood.

On July 2, several SCNA board members and neighborhood residents attended an online public meeting designed to brief the community on the progress of updates to the Land Use and Urban Design Chapter of the comp plan. SCNA attendees, including John Saunders, Gordon White, Bruce Silverman and Courtney Nevitt, Holly Gadbaw, Sharon Case, Chuck Bolland and Greg Klein all made comments urging the city to include in the Comprehensive Plan policies to discourage conversion of homes to business use as has happened recently. Link to a recording of the meeting

Gordon said in the board meeting that our letters and actions have had an effect. The small-scale commercial idea came out of the city council’s Land Use & Environment Committee. After the board sent a letter to the three members of the committee, they added a conditional use process to it.

Tyler said that the city conducts inspections of rental properties under its current housing code and may be able to extend those inspections to owner-occupied homes.

John suggested we put together a workgroup to testify before the city council when needed. Gordon volunteered to lead it. We’ll need to decide on the timing, based on when the updates will go to the council members for their review.

The Planning Commission will conduct a virtual public hearing at or after 6:30 pm, Monday, July 21, 2025, to receive public comments prior to making a recommendation to the City Council on the Land Use and Urban Design chapter of the Olympia 2045 Comprehensive Plan. Link to register for the July 21st Planning Commission Meeting

Middle Housing
As a recognized neighborhood association, the SCNA board requested one of the quarterly forums we’re entitled to. John asked city staff to participate in a neighborhood forum on March 19th about proposed Middle Housing code changes. Joyce Phillips and Brittany Gillia attended the forum and Joyce presented information and answered questions about the changes.

Following the forum, Lorie sent an email on March 23rd to city staff with comments and questions about the Middle Housing proposal.

Lorie’s email is under Supplemental Information at the end of the minutes.

At the July board meeting, Lorie suggested creating a subcommittee to prepare a letter from the full board about this issue. Nora, Kelley and Sue volunteered to work with Lorie on it.

A public hearing is tentatively scheduled for August 18, 2025. A public hearing draft dated June 5, 2025 has been posted to the city’s website.

Update on Fall BBQ/Social – Gerry Apple
Gerry said the annual Fall Barbeque Social will be held on Sunday, Sept 7th from 2-5 pm at the Lincoln Elementary Playshed. Tyler, Eric, and Sue attended the first planning meeting on June 16th at Gerry’s house.

A second planning meeting will be held at Gerry’s house on Tues, Aug 5th at 6:30 pm. Gerry encouraged all who plan to volunteer to help at the barbeque social to attend.

He handed out a list and asked members to put their names on items they can bring or tasks they can do at the event.

Sue sent out a draft flyer to the board members for their review. A majority of the board approved it, so she’ll send it to Capitol City Press to get it ready for mailing a month before the event.

Motion to adjourn
Gordon moved to adjourn the meeting, Nora seconded, and the motion was approved unanimously. The meeting ended at 8:22 pm.

Next SCNA board meeting – Weds, Aug 13, 2025 6:30 pm, Lincoln Elementary School library

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Written Reports

June 2025 Treasurer’s Report
Period: 06/01/2025 – 06/30/2025

Business Priming Savings $25.00
Innovator Checking Ending Balance $955.15
Innovator Checking Beginning Balance $1,023.77
Difference $68.62

Recent Income:

• Membership Dues $155.00
• Paypal Transfer May $61.66
  Total $216.66

Recent Expenses:

• Google Suite $7.91
• Refreshments for Membership Meeting $177.37
• Vic’s Gift Card for Drawing $100.00
  Total $285.28

Transaction in Progress:
We received $155 in membership dues during the annual meeting. Initiated a transfer of $272.36 from our Paypal account in membership dues on 7/6 that we received electronically over the month.

I submitted reimbursements in the amount of $906.85 for the matching grant on 7/6, which included the cost of the flyer, refreshments and Vic’s gift card for the annual membership meeting.

We have also tracked 19.5 of the 138 volunteer hours needed. Don’t forget to track your hours and send them to me!

Effective for August, our Google suite subscription will be $8.40 rather than $7.91. This is set up as an automatic payment.

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Supplementary Information

May 26, 2025 e-mail from Jeff Barehand to the South Capitol Neighborhood Association Board

Dear SCNA,

As a small business owner of Sky Bear Media located in downtown Olympia, and employer of seven local Olympia residents, and several subcontractors (which includes some of your residents), I write this letter of support of the student movement to rename Stevens Field to honor the late Olympia educator Randall Edwards, provided a proper background check is made of Mr. Edwards.

As an indigenous person and CEO of Sky Bear Media, my company often works with our local tribes: Squaxin Island, Nisqually, and Chehalis Tribes.
We value their presence and contributions, both financial and historical, to our communities in supporting our businesses, nonprofits, and emergency services.

We value building upon our shared values and continue to be mindful of the land upon which we continually live and work, and from which we continue to benefit.

If I had my way, the name designating Stevens Field would honor Chief Leschi, the Nisqually war chief Stevens executed, or a lesser-known Indigenous war hero who fought to preserve their way of life, to continue to educate the public about the Coast Salish presence in our area since time immemorial.

However, it is possible to honor those who have supported the growth of our community in a positive manner, such as Mr. Edwards.
His record of forty years as an educator is honorable. His dedicated volunteerism after retirement is even more laudable, demonstrating his high moral character and community-minded values.

His decades of work with our children is important, and his influence, no doubt, substantial. I would be happy that his name continues to play an important role in our community in the way he left us, on the ball field that many may return and continue to play under the banner of volunteerism and sportsmanship, he lived.

Thank you,
Jeff Barehand, President/CEO
Sky Bear Media

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Chapter 12.62 Naming City-owned Public Buildings, Properties, Parks and Park Facilities

12.62.050 Naming of Parks and Park Facilities – Policy

• A. It is the policy of the City to follow this procedure to establish names for parks and other park facilities.
• B. A working name for the park or park facility will be assigned by the Olympia Parks, Arts and Recreation staff at the time of land purchase. Suggested names will be historical, geographical, or the name of a boundary street.
• C. A permanent name for the park or park facility will be assigned at the time of the approval of the Interim Use and Management Plan or final park development, whichever occurs first.
• D. In naming parks and other park facilities, consideration shall be given primarily to:
  • Neighborhood, boundary roads, or common usage identification;
  • A natural or geographic feature;
  • Significant historical events or cultural attributes;
  • A historical figure;
  • A name chosen by an individual (living or deceased) who has made a significant land and/or monetary contribution to the park system;
  • An individual who has contributed outstanding civic service to the City or has been instrumental in acquiring or developing parks properties and who has been deceased for a period of at least one year;
  • Organizations having contributed to and influenced the betterment of the City.
• E. Parks and park facilities shall not ordinarily be named for living persons unless they have stipulated the name as a condition of donation or unless the park or park facility is part of a regional facility that is named in conjunction with other governmental entities.

12.62.060 Naming of Parks and Park Facilities – Procedure

• A. Suggestions for names for parks or park facilities shall be solicited from organizations, neighborhood residents, individuals and the media. All suggestions, solicited or not, shall be acknowledged and recorded for consideration by the Parks, Arts and Recreation Department.
• B. The Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee shall host a public hearing to provide an opportunity for public comment on name recommendations.
• C. The Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee will review names and make recommendations for the Olympia Parks, Arts and Recreation Department to present to the City Council.
• D. The department shall wait at least one year between receipt of a name proposal related to a current event before final recommendation of that name.
• E. Facilities shall be identified by the established name, and signs shall be maintained as a source of identity and civic pride.

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March 23, 2025 e-mail from Lorie Hewitt to Joyce Phillips, Principal Planner, City of Olympia

Subject: Comments on Code Amendments for Middle Housing
Dear Ms Phillips and City of Olympia staff:

Thank you for your presentation last Wednesday March 19th for the South Capital Neighborhood (SCN). Based on your presentation, various Code Amendment and Design Review fact sheets, and FAQs, I have some comments and questions on the proposal. As you know the SCN is a National Historic neighborhood. Most of the following comments are related to preserving the historic heritage and character of our neighborhood, while allowing some proportional increased density needed for housing.

• Tier 1 versus Tier 2 city designation: The decision to draft these amendments for a Tier 1 city when Olympia is a Tier 2 city is problematic. Doing so increases the base unit density to 6 in areas near a “major transit stop”, a pretty drastic density leap. There is no guarantee that Olympia will actually be a Tier 1 city by 2030. I have lived here 40 years and seen many population projections come and go and not ever materialize. Moreover, the city appears to be using the Urban Growth Boundary, not the City limits, as the basis to estimate future population. I fail to see the benefit of “redefining “ the city limits this way to potentially reach a Tier 1 level of population. Why intentionally reduce the flexibility to design a program for a Tier 2 city and see how it works before jumping right into Tier 1 requirements from the State? Many regulations benefit from adjustments in a 5 year timeframe, which should not be overly onerous as far as staff time. Just review the regulations in 2030 and amend them, if needed.
• Major Transit Stop: Olympia has complete flexibility in this area of State requirements since we do not have any major transit stops. Yet the draft amendments box us in to untested densities and probably suspend some design requirements for projects within the 1/4 or 1/2 mile (whichever is chosen) of these non existent transit stops. If the city insists on using its own creation of “frequent transit routes” and allowing increased unit lot density to 6 units instead of 4, no matter whether it’s 1/4 or 1/2 mile from the transit route this will encompass our entire SCN. Has anyone actually looked at our neighborhood lots? Fitting 6 units on them will certainly not allow for design standards that respect the historic nature of our streets and houses. Not to mention parking issues on some heavily parked streets. The option to require off street parking should not be precluded by these amendments. In addition, where is the data that show that residents routinely walk 1/2 mile in the rain to the bus stop? Even 1/4 mile is probably stretching it.
• ADUs and Unit lot Density: The proposal includes ADUs in counting the maximum number of units allowed on a lot. Please keep this as written.
• Current Residential Design requirements: One of your fact sheets says “If applying Design Review for middle housing, only administrative design review can be required” What does this mean? Already the Design review process for SCN seems to be pretty non functional. Residents have repeatedly noted the recent ongoing construction of a huge house and garage on 17th Ave SW that covers virtually an entire lot (no trees on it—were any required?). Also, it is not set back to be consistent with the historic homes on the street. If design review happened, where is the enforcement of the standards? Unfortunately this is not the first time developers or lobbyists buying properties in the SCN have ignored the design standards with no apparent City of Olympia accountability. If only administrative design review is required for all these middle housing units, is this a further weakening of requirements that preserve the historic character of the SCN? Are lot coverages/permeability, appropriate setbacks, and minimum tree density still part of administrative design review? Please also include provisions for stringent enforcement of residential design standards on these new units.
• Selling individual units on a lot to other owners: If a development is approved on a parent lot, these amendments allow for the individual units to be sold independently of each other. What provisions are in place to make sure each of these units isn’t bought and used primarily for business purposes? Unfortunately, when that happens it’s likely they will frequently be left vacant due to absentee ownership. And when owners are present and properties are used for business purposes, parking can become an issue on congested SCN streets. The SCN already has a large share of houses whose owners are operating businesses and leave them vacant for most of the year. We don’t need more of these situations arising with extra units on our properties!
• Impact of increased density on current residents’ Solar Panels: I have raised concerns about structures potentially obstructing the many solar panels in our neighborhood previously during the adoption of the Missing Middle regulations. These new middle housing amendments compound the potential for solar panel problems. With more density there is a higher chance of units close to property lines. Where are protections for not obscuring the current residents’ solar panels on roofs close to the property line? A 24 foot or 35 foot tall unit will easily obscure solar panels. On our street alone two of us have panels on our carports near property lines. Any structure close to them will render them non functional!
• Question about new allowance for 3 stories in the 35 foot high units: What is the purpose of this allowance? If it’s just to increase the inside space of the allowed 4 units on a lot, I don’t see any problem with this. But if it’s to allow for an additional apartment in each of the allowed units, I am very opposed to this allowance. Doubling the number of resident families on a lot brings unaddressed parking congestion and possibly other issues.
• Diagram issue in FAQs document: Under “What is a unit lot subdivision?” there is a helpful diagram with 4 examples of lots with units on them. The 3rd one presents a design for townhouses. This one presents an issue regarding how the street facing townhouse would fit in with the design of many neighborhoods. It is unclear how the side of a townhouse would be designed to include windows and entries that fit in with surrounding houses. Obviously a bare wall facing the street should not be an option!
• Affordable Housing comment: I do not believe that these amendments address Olympia’s need for affordable housing. Rentals in the SCN typically are not affordable for lower income residents. It’s probably the city’s hope that rents for smaller units in SCN will be affordable. But I don’t see much in here that incentivizes affordable units.

Thank you for your work and your public outreach on these amendments. I look forward to, at some point, your response to these questions and comments.