Planning 2012-01-26 Minutes - Code Amendments

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PC Hearing Minutes January 26, 2012 ACTION: Option 1 Staff was asked to provide the Commission with more information and clarification on what the role of the Commissioners is pertaining to giving, gathering, and sharing information in a public meeting, and whether option 1 will involve making a recommendation to the City Council by the Planning Commission. Single Familv Design Standards Entered into the record was a public comment letter by Sandra Kruzie, Tukwila resident, that was received on January 26, 2012, and it was handed out to the Commissioners at the public hearing., In 2004, the Zoning Code was amended requiring the same design standards for homes built on site and manufactured homes. In response to a citizen complaint staff briefed the Community Affairs and Parks Committee (CAP) in October 2011, regarding different options of regulating the bulls and size of single family dwelling units. This was in response to a complaint regarding houses being built that are too large in their neighborhood. The committee gave staff directions to amend the method of calculating building height on sloping lots. Recently, another Tukwila resident raised an issue with the City Council regarding the current design standards, which prevent the replacement of a single -wide manufactured home with a much better manufactured home, as it did not meet some design standards. The current standards require all homes to have a minimum roof pitch of 5:12 and the front door to face the street. After discussion on this issue, the PC approved Option 1: ACTION: Amend the Single Family Design Standards to allow the replacement of a single wide mobile home with a newer and larger manufactured home, a one -time allowance. Staff will draft some qualifying language addressing what the community is gaining from allowing this waiver. PUBLIC TESTIMONY: Gary Singh, Developer, expressed concern with changing the building height rules that have been in effect for a very long time. He said the City has slopes, which will dramatically change the size of the houses with the new method of calculating building heights. Mr. Singh asked if Attachment G could be looked into. He talked about building height comparisons of the surrounding cities: Kent, Renton, and Burien, stating they allow 35 ft. structure heights and Tukwila is 5 ft. lower than the other three cities. He said that he wonders why Tukwila wants to lower the building heights more. He said he thinks that the 30 ft. limit is great but if it is changed, it's going to create a lot of complications. Mr. Singh said if someone can build a bigger house, he wonders why it is not allowed. Staff noted that in 2007, the City Building Official looked at the referenced Attachment G, Explanation was given on Tukwila and the methods of calculating building height by surrounding cities. Commissioner Alford stated that Tukwila does have homes that are built out of scale, and that they distract from the community. She said efforts should be made to respond to the land and the surrounding community. Staff walked through the proposed changes listed in Attachment F and Attachment L The PC discussed and approved staff s proposed recommendations with the following changes: Page 2 of 4