South Capitol Neighborhood Association Board Meeting Minutes
Weds, Nov 12, 2025 6:30 – 8 pm
Lincoln Elementary School library
Note: On November 15, 2025, Lorie Hewitt made a motion to approve the November 12, 2025 board minutes via email vote. Tyler Graber seconded. Nine 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, Eric Seder, Nora Hawkins, Lorie Hewitt, Tyler Graber, Scott Freeman, Valerie Hammett, At Large members
John called the meeting to order.
Approval of Today’s Draft Agenda
John suggested moving the update on neighborhood engagement down the agenda. Scott moved to approve the agenda as amended, Gordon 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.
Gordon asked what the settlement payment was. Morgan said it was a Facebook Consumer Protection Settlement.
Update on Middle Housing Code Amendments – Lorie Hewitt
Lorie handed out a draft letter to the Olympia City Council from the board. She said she drafted it in response to a letter sent by the Olympia Planning Commission to the City Council, recommending changes to the Middle Housing Code Amendments.
Specifically, the planning commission asked the city council to increase maximum building heights in residential zones from 35 feet to 40 feet. And, under “Additional Considerations” near the end of the letter, the commission suggested the city evaluate the benefits and costs of design review requirements in some of the older neighborhoods, adding, “reducing uncertainty in, or further removing, the design review process could further reduce the cost and time of approving housing.”
The draft letter Lorie handed out points out that at the October 23, 2025 Land Use & Environment Committee meeting, city staff responded to questions from council members about the design review process, saying they did not have any concerns with it and it does not stifle development. Presentation and discussion of the Middle Housing recommendations begins at 12:38.
Nora said that, based on the neighborhood survey results, which had many different viewpoints, it might be better to go back to an earlier letter the board had sent to the city council on the Middle Housing Code Amendments. She cautioned board members to be careful what the current draft says unless the board is sure it represents the position of the neighborhood. She suggested that any letters sent out on behalf of the neighborhood be sent to neighborhood residents first, with a deadline for review and comment.
Tyler said he was split on whether to send the draft letter out to the neighborhood for review. He pointed out that the letter is the board’s position – it is not written on behalf of the neighborhood. He added that he didn’t feel anything in the letter would be contradictory to the neighborhood survey results.
Scott asked if there are other neighborhoods focused on this issue. John replied yes, other neighborhood associations have weighed in.
Nora suggested that, if the board decides to send a letter, it should reference the board’s August 14th letter and ask the City Council to respond to it.
It was agreed that Lorie will redraft the draft letter with additional information from board members and send it out for review and a vote. Lorie said it would be very helpful if members would send any suggested language to her; she will add it in and send it back to everyone for review. The city council will be deliberating on the Middle Housing Code Amendments at their Nov 18, 2025 meeting.
Valerie added that the board’s bylaws do not prevent board members from sending their own letters to the city council as well.
Update on Comprehensive Plan – John Saunders, Gordon White
John said that board members, along with some South Capitol residents, have been trying to get language added in the city’s Land Use Chapter about the challenges the neighborhood faces with homes being converted to businesses and left vacant.
Several board members attended the Nov 10, 2025 City Council meeting and were pleased to see the council adopt changes based on advocacy by neighborhood residents. John said that three council members agreed this is a problem and said they’re going to keep working on it. Discussion and approval of the Land Use Chapter begins at 1:23:12.
Councilmember Gilman quoted the new language now in the code:
PL19.2 Unless necessary for historic preservation, prohibit conversion of housing in residential areas to commercial use not designed to serve local residents; instead, support redevelopment and rehabilitation of older neighborhoods to bolster stability and allow home occupations that do not degrade neighborhood appearance or livability, nor create significant environmental impacts.
Gerry said that Councilmember Robert Vanderpool indicated he is dedicated to looking at vacancy on a work plan in the next year.
The Land Use Chapter was approved by voice vote. It and the other chapters that make up the Comprehensive Plan will come before the City Council for a final vote in December.
Update on Neighborhood Engagement Survey – Nora Hawkins, Tyler Graber, Morgan Montes
At the board’s meeting in September, attendees discussed how the board might reach out to neighborhood residents proactively to find out what they are interested in or concerned about. One idea was to do a survey, asking residents what things they would like the board to focus on.
A subcommittee, made up of board members Nora, Kelley, Morgan and Tyler, created a survey, which ran from Oct 15 through Oct 30th, and was then extended through Nov 7th. It was publicized via flyers on light poles and emails sent to the neighborhood distribution list.
Once the survey was closed, the subcommittee then analyzed the data and communicated the results to the board at this meeting. Nora thanked Morgan for preparing an analysis document for the board.
The survey began:
“The South Capitol Neighborhood Association (SCNA) exists to support our neighborhood. The SCNA board is looking for feedback from all residents on shared priorities for the upcoming year. We are seeking your input through this survey because we understand that not everyone can attend meetings. Survey responses are anonymous. All are welcome to attend monthly board meetings at Lincoln Elementary the second Wednesday of each month at 6:30 pm.
We will share results of this survey in the coming months via our SCNA website and in a future meeting. Additional input can always be submitted to info@southcapitolneighborhood.org.”
The survey consisted of eight questions, some yes/no and some open ended. The first question listed the items the board has spent time on over the past year, and asked responders, on a scale of 1 to 5, to indicate whether they agree or disagree with those actions.
A follow-up question asked if responders felt there was a top issue affecting the neighborhood. Additional questions included:
- Do you feel like you know how to bring issues or questions to the SCNA board?
- The SCNA board has been approached about hosting a candidate forum. If the SCNA board hosted candidate forums, would you attend? And, if you selected Maybe, please explain.
- Are there other events you like to see the SCNA board host?
- Is there anything else you’d like to share with the SCNA board?
Morgan said there were 81 responses to the survey. Of those, 77 indicated they are homeowners and three are renters. One homeowner also noted they are a business owner as well.
Morgan noted that not all eight questions were answered by each responder.
The South Capitol Neighborhood consists of 610 residences – single family homes and apartments – and businesses.
Morgan went over the individual results, and meeting attendees discussed what the responses might mean and what to do with the information. Some questions that were asked included where the board should focus its time and effort, how should it engage on issues where there are different and varying opinions, and how does the board express what the members believe are the neighborhood’s interests?
The subcommittee members volunteered to draft an article to be posted on our website and sent to our neighborhood distribution list. They will bring this agenda item to a future board meeting for further review and discussion.
The discussion sparked a suggestion to add items to the board’s Parking Lot for future discussion. Those include:
- Holiday party
- Grant funds for picnic – do it or not
- Candidate forum
- Invite city planners to a forum on middle housing
- How to move forward in engaging with the city or legislators on issues, if there are varying opinions on issues
- Low-flying aircraft
- Connect with Lincoln on the Winter Market or Flea Market
- Do things at the Coach House
- Develop a true dog park/off-leash area
- Host or organize community projects or community events
- Invite Fish & Wildlife to talk about urban wildlife (e.g. bird feeders, peanuts for squirrels)
- Olympia Airport expansion
Update on Capitol Way Improvements – Gerry Apple
Gerry said he sent a letter to Sophie Stimson, City of Olympia transportation director, thanking her and her staff for the improvements that have been made and encouraging them to finish the remaining items on the city’s Capitol Corridor Improvements List.
He said they also had a follow-up call on November 4th that he felt was pretty positive. He said that Sophie agreed: to investigate whether repainting of crosswalks has been accomplished this year, that a mid-street post pedestrian warning sign is needed at 18th Ave, and that a school zone near Lincoln School will be created. However, the new school zone is part of a city-wide review of school zones that will be completed in early 2026.
He asked why LED lights on two speed signs were removed and was told that a person had complained they were giving them migraines. He noted that the yellow flashing lights on the arrow signs at the curve before the freeway are still there.
As shared in a recent blog post on the SCNA website, the City of Olympia will be hosting a Capitol Way Corridor Improvements Open House on Thurs, Dec 4, 2025, from 5:30 p.m. to 7 pm at Olympia City Hall in Council Chambers. Everyone is invited to review and provide input to the city on different designs for the new Capitol Way. City staff has information on their website about the project as well.
Report on Nov 10th Council of Neighborhood Associations (CNA) meeting – Sue Hedrick
Sue said that John and Gerry are the SCNA’s representatives at the Council of Neighborhood Associations meetings, but both were attending the Olympia City Council’s meeting that evening, so Sue filled in for them.
The CNA meets monthly, online via Zoom, and is made up of representatives of recognized neighborhood associations and homeowner associations in Olympia.
Here are Sue’s notes from the meeting:
Neighborhood Reports
Each neighborhood gave a report on their activities.
Development Update
Tim Smith, Community Planning & Economic Development Deputy Director, gave a development update. He said the Briggs zoning code amendments will go to the full council in January or February. And the development agreement will go to the Land Use & Environment Committee in December.
Future development projects include a new Thurston County Courthouse complex on Plum St and 8th Ave (the five former state office buildings across from Old City Hall).
Developer Ken Brogan is renovating the Republic Building on the corner of Jefferson and Union to create 64 apartments. The project should be completed in 4-6 months.
Tim said the Land Use Chapter was being finalized by the City Council on Monday night, and the Housing Chapter should go to them on Nov 14th for finalizing.
The 2045 Comprehensive Plan will go to the City Council on Dec 9th for finalizing.
Presentation on Olympia Airport Master Plan Update
Ronda Larson Kramer gave a similar presentation to the one she gave at our October board meeting with one update – she said Krag Unsoeld won his race for Port Commissioner and Jerry Toompas is currently 32 votes behind his opponent. Ballots are still being counted in his race. She said volunteers are “curing” ballots – reaching out to those voters who have made minor errors on their ballots, so they can be corrected.
Chair Reports
Larry Dzieza talked about the Eastside Recycling Center at 10th Ave closing. He said that, at the April 8, 2025 City Council meeting, the city manager said that the $8.2 million sale of the Plum Street property would not cost the public any loss in services.
He told the City Council, “I am confident we will have a solid plan in place for relocation of all these programs and services within the 18-month leaseback period.”
The city is relocating all of the services except for the recycling center. It is also spending over $2 million of the $8.2 million from the sale to acquire land downtown for employee parking.
Larry commented at the Oct 21st city council meeting, saying he and others he spoke to were surprised and disappointed to learn the city would be terminating the Eastside recycling site. He said this is the opposite of the city’s stated values. It doesn’t align with the climate goals or its planning to reduce the amount of downtown land dedicated to parking. Larry said that driving to the county dump at Hawks Prairie is not relocating recycling services. He said the city should start looking to purchase or lease sites to continue these services.
In response, Councilmember Gilman said, “the conversation is not over yet.” Councilmember Cooper suggested the council might do a future study session on recycling and the mayor agreed it was a good idea.
Councilmember Vanderpool asked Mark Russell, Public Works director, about whether city staff had reached out to the county about moving the recycling site across Plum Street to where the new county courthouse will be. Russell said that the county hadn’t yet purchased the site at the time they were looking around. He said they certainly could continue to look around but said that, in the past, property owners were reluctant to sponsor a site because of not being able to staff it properly and having the possibility of illicit behavior happening there.
Russell said the alternative sites are the Waste & Recovery Center (former county dump at Hawks Prairie), and glass-only at Yauger Park and Concrete Recyclers on the Westside. He did not mention scrap metal.
Mayor Payne asked about the property owners that city staff had reached out to that had refused to sponsor a recycling site. Russell said that the Capital Mall was approached a number of years ago and had refused.
The mayor pointed out that this change will inconvenience businesses and residents at the same time they are going to see a tax increase, and he doesn’t think it’s timely at all. He said he’s very interested in having a deeper conversation with his colleagues about where they go from here because this is not ideal.
Multi-Family Tax Exemptions
Larry said that developers get 95% of $3 million worth of property tax exemptions and 5% goes into the Home Fund. This was clarified that, for developments on the westside, the Home Fund receives 25%, everywhere else still 5%.
Neighborhood Matching Grants Requirements
Larry said that Brittany Gilia created a survey about the grant program for neighborhoods to respond to. She also held a meeting on October 16th to discuss matching grants. Peter said the meeting was very well attended. He shared a list of improvements he had created and said he is working with others on recommendations for the city.
CNA Executive Committee Positions
Larry said that the executive committee positions will be voted on in January. They include Chair, Vice Chair, Communications and Events. He asked CNA members to reach out to him if they are interested in serving in any of these positions.
Motion to adjourn
Gordon moved to adjourn the meeting, Nora seconded, and the motion was approved unanimously. The meeting ended at 8:28 pm.
Next SCNA board meeting – Weds, Dec 10, 2025 6:30 pm, Lincoln Elementary School library
Written Reports
October 2025 Treasurer’s Report
Period: 10/01/25 – 10/31/25
Business Priming Savings $25.00
Innovator Checking Ending Balance $2,855.01
Innovator Checking Beginning Balance $2,516.37
Difference $338.64
Recent Income:
- Paypal Transfer (dues and settlement) $277.69
- Grant Reimbursement $70.18
Total $347.87
Recent Expenses: - Google Suite $9.23
Total $9.23
Difference $338.64
Transactions in Progress for October and Notes:
Our credit union has been assumed by Peak Credit Union.
Outstanding costs for picnic:
Janitor (estimate) $175.00 (I emailed on 9/8 & 9/30)
Scones Reimbursement Check #1584 $118.00
BBQ Supply Reimbursement Check #1585 $21.69
I will check in to see if anyone would like me to cancel the original reimbursement and issue a new check.
A grant reimbursement was received in the amount of $70.18 for BBQ supplies ($21.69) and propane ($49.89) on 10/31.
South Capitol Neighborhood Association 