Planning 2017-06-22 Item 4 - Foster High School Expansion and Birth to Kindergarten - Attachment J: Applicant Response to Variance Criteria

Browse Search

Ms. Lindsay Brown February 28, 2017 REVISED MAY 1, 2017 2160226.30 Page 2 of 8��1�➢ Birth to Kindergarten Center A new 53,000 square -foot, two -story, Birth -to- Kindergarten Center will be built on a vacant lot that is contiguous to the existing Showalter Middle School and Foster High School campus. The first phase of the project will be to house all kindergarten and pre - school from around the District. Subsequent phases will add the infant and toddler programs, the timing for which is not yet known. The total facility capacity will be 440 students and 28 classrooms, of which 290 students and 17 classrooms will be full day kindergarten; 90 preschoolers plus infant and toddler programs of 30 -40 children (in split half -day and full -day programs). Each age group will have separate areas within the building and outdoor play areas. A courtyard meant to serve students and the larger community will be provided at the north side of the building. Pedestrian and vehicular access to the site will be from South 142nd Street along an existing easement between the church property and the middle school. The existing asphalt driveway adjacent to the church will be improved with new asphalt overlay, sidewalk, and pedestrian scale lighting. A simple 4 -way intersection is proposed at the vehicular entrance to the site, The project includes pedestrian walkways that will lead to the entrance of the building, and a bus loop /parking area at the west side of the building. Approximately 80 parking spaces will be provided in a new parking lot on the south side of the school building. Description of Variances Requested Foster High School Height Variances Building Height - Foster High School is located in the LDR zoning district, which requires a maximum height of 30 feet. The maximum height of the proposed Foster High School additions is proposed to be 32 feet; therefore, a 2 -foot variance is requested. As shown on the elevations, Sheets A3.11 through A3.13, the existing high school building exceeds the 30 -foot height limit in several areas. At the main entrance, the top of the roof is 41 feet high. The barrel vault on the rooftop is 37 feet in height and several parapets are 31 feet. The Performing Arts Center building is 65 feet in height. The variance seeks to match the height of the parapet on the proposed addition to the height of the existing building. An additional 1 foot of height is requested to accommodate needed flexibility throughout the design process. 2. Stadium Flagpole Height - The existing flagpole located at the north end of Foster High School stadium is proposed to be relocated to the southwest corner adjacent to the scoreboard. The flagpole is proposed to be 50 feet in height. The flagpole is exempt from the maximum height requirements per Tukwila Municipal Code (TMC) 18.42.030, as it is installed in conjunction with a permitted recreational use within the Public Recreation Overlay (PRO) district, as described below: "... when the underlying district is the LDR (Low- Density Residential) District, structures may be granted a height bonus of one additional foot of height for every four feet of excess setback (i.e., setback over and above the LDR minimum standard), up to a maximum height of 50 feet. Ancillary facilities customarily installed in conjunction with a permitted recreational use, including light standards and safety netting, shall not be subject to the height restrictions of the underlying district." 202 0 ©=0