Planning 2016-04-28 Item 5 - Public Hearing: Woodspring Suites - Attachment A - Applicant's Response to Design Criteria

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WoodSpring Suites Tukwila CPH Project No. 0128 -15 -002 Design Consistency and Project Narrative July 24, 2015 Page 2 of 4 BUILDING ARCHITECTURE DESIGN STANDARDS The general design guidelines for the proposed hotel building are governed by TMC 18.28.130, Corridor Regulations for the Commercial Corridor zone (Figure 25) and 18.28.200, Architectural Design Standards. Architectural renderings and elevations of the proposed building are included with this Design Review package. These illustrate the proposed use of durable materials such as hardie siding, EIFS panels, and brick in neutral colors such as cedar, bronze, and ash. The building has a combination of shed and gabled roof lines of varying heights. The average building height of 42'4" achieved with these lines is less than the maximum of 45 feet. Building articulation and modulation are provided in general accordance with the Commercial Corridor standards. The modulation of the building facade at a distance of no more than 50 feet along the building facade is achieved by staggering blocks of rooms at the exterior walls. The central portion of the building contains the lobby and associated entry features which have been designed to provide the major vertical modulation required at distances no more than 200 feet along the building facade. The building has been sited at the rear the site with an orientation predominantly directed toward the Green River. This is to optimize parking as well as to accommodate the narrow width of the site at West Valley Highway that results from the preservation of the historic home. This is in accordance with TMC 18.28.130 for the Commercial Corridor zone as it does not require building orientation toward the street. The required 15 -foot minimum front yard setback is achieved with the proposed site plan. ACCESS, PARKING, PEDESTRIANS AND OPEN SPACE The site is currently accessed from West Valley Highway from a small driveway approach near to the intersection of South Longacres Way. The project proposes to maintain this primary access from West Valley Highway, but also to relocate the existing commercial driveway north (away from the Longacres Way intersection) and convert it to a right -in /right -out access condition. A secondary driveway access is also planned from the shared access easement that exists on the adjacent property immediately south of the site. This secondary access has been located per the dimensional limitations of the existing ingress /egress easement. Onsite parking has been optimized to accommodate the required use of the hotel building along with constraints of the shoreline area, onsite wetland buffer, and preservation of the historic home site. The site plan provides 128 individual parking spaces for the 126 guest rooms proposed. This ratio conforms to the one stall per guest parking required by Tukwila Municipal Code (TMC) Chapter 18.28, Table 18 -5 for the proposed lodging use. Additionally, the parking is configured to conform with the standard stall dimensions provided by TMC 18.56.040 utilizing a 2 -foot vehicular overhang depth. The location and type of onsite parking also conform with the provisions of TMC 18.28.190 and Figure 25 of the Commercial Corridor regulations (TMC 18.28.130). Pedestrian facilities in the form of concrete sidewalks are provided throughout the site in accordance with TMC 18.28.250(E). These facilities connect the public right -of -way with the onsite parking lot and extend to the building entry. The centralized orientation of the primary sidewalk through the site provides for a convenient and direct route for guests /residents of the proposed hotel to the public transit facilities that exist or that are proposed in the vicinity of the site. Frontage improvements provide for a 6 -foot wide sidewalk in accordance with TMC1 8.28.150 for the Commercial Corridor. The planting strip proposed along the improved frontage is less than the 9 feet required by the Commercial Corridor standard. This variance is proposed to maintain consistency of the character of the existing sidewalk and planter area along the West Valley Highway frontage of the historic home site, which is not being redeveloped. The 15 -foot streetscape along this frontage that is required by TMC 18.28.130, Figure 25 is achieved, but with the landscape strip located at the rear of the new 6 -foot sidewalk. 30