Planning 2012-03-22 Item 4 - Osterly Park Townhomes - Attachment C - Staff Report Dated 11/2/09

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In order to further reduce the appearance of paved area on the site and to accomplish screening within the shared garage access areas, the applicant is requesting approval to cluster trees and shrubs within the perimeter landscape area rather than spacing them evenly. Type 1 perimeter landscaping requires one tree for each 30 lineal feet of required perimeter, and one shrub for each 7 lineal feet of required perimeter. Curb cuts are excluded from the calculation. The following are the criteria from TMC section 18.52.020 (B) for approval of landscape perimeter averaging: 1. Plant material can be clustered to more of fectivel_v screen parking areas and blank building walls. 2. Perimeter averaging enables significant trees or existing milt features to be retained. 3. Perimeter averaging is used to reduce the number of drivewa_vs and curb cuts and allow joint use of parking facilities between neighboring businesses. 4. Width of the perimeter landscaping is not reduced to the point that activities on the site become a nuisance to neighbors. 5. Averaging does not diminish the duality of the site landscape as a whole. The perimeter areas of the site adjacent to S 144 Street and 34 Ave S meet the perimeter landscaping requirements, where at least one tree per 30 lineal feet and one shrub per 7 lineal feet are provided. Within the site, however, trees and shrubs are clustered so they can be seen at the ends of the shared garage access areas from the private access road. The total number of trees and shrubs in these clustered areas is the same as would be required if they were spaced evenly throughout the perimeter. Staff believes that approval of the request for landscape perimeter averaging is consistent with the criteria above for the following reasons: The resulting landscape pattern will add greenery at the end of the garage access areas, helping to minimize the extent of paved area by providing green focal points; The resulting landscape pattern will allow the spaces in between the buildings and the perimeter fence to remain clear of potential hiding spaces and will allow for private use of these areas as pea patches or other small -scale recreation that will be screened from view by the building; The resulting landscape pattern will not diminish the quality of the landscaping on the site as a whole. Protection of Existing Trees Existing trees on the site include Hemlock, Cedar, and Fir trees on the north portion of the site, and Cherry, Maple, Fir, Ash, and Locust trees on the southern portion of the site. Most of the existing trees are located in areas where the access drive, townhouse buildings, or utility lines are proposed. There is an opportunity to retain one 8" diameter Cedar located at the northwestern corner of the site, one 7" diameter Hemlock, and an Ash clump located in the southeastern comer of the site. As a condition of approval of the design review application, these trees shall be retained unless there are conflicts with the location of utility lines and fences. Outdoor .Space Design There are two outdoor recreation spaces proposed within this project. For the design and function of these spaces, the applicant consulted with the Tukwila Parks and Recreation Department staff. JR Pa Lc 14 of 26 11/05/2009 4 2 HADcsip RcvicwvOstcrly TownhomcsvLU8-076 L08 -079 Ostcrly Park Sub livision &DcsipRcvicw SR. loc