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<br /> <br />City of Tukwila <br />ThomasMcLeod, Mayor <br />INFORMATIONAL MEMORANDUM <br />TO: Planning and Community Development Committee <br /> <br />FROM: Nora Gierloff, AICP, Community Development Director <br /> <br />BY: Neil Tabor, AICP, Senior Planner <br /> <br />CC: Thomas McLeod <br /> <br />DATE: December 3, 2024 <br /> <br />SUBJECT: Code Amendment to Remove Requirement for Phased Binding Site <br />Improvement Plans to include a Development Agreement <br /> <br />ISSUE <br />Staff has identified a requirement for phased binding site improvement plans (BSIPs) to <br />undertake a development agreement – in addition to the BSIP – which is believed to be a <br />redundant requirement. Staff is proposing to remove this requirement in a code amendment. <br />BACKGROUND <br />Binding Site Improvement Plans are plans used to provide flexibility for sale of property within a <br />larger development, which often rely on shared features within the larger site, such as parking, <br />access points, landscaping, utilities, refuse collection areas, etc. As an alternative to the <br />traditional subdivision process these plans are typically used for commercial or industrial sites <br />however, they can also be used for residential and mixed use developments, which may desire <br />to sell individual portions of land for building sites, while retaining shared common areas. BSIPs <br />can also provide flexibility when combined with creating condominium ownership or phased <br />development. <br /> <br />DISCUSSION <br />Codified in TMC 17.16, BSIPs proposing to develop in phases are required to enter into a <br />development agreement in addition to completing the BSIP. Staff believes this requirement is <br />redundant to the BSIP process and existing requirements. Development agreements add cost to <br />a project by adding several months of process time for review, analysis, legal consultants, <br />contracting, and scheduling of a public hearing before City Council. This equates to months of <br />unnecessary additional carrying costs for developers on what are generally large- scale <br />projects, in addition to increased permit fees. In addition to the staff and City Council time <br />exhausted, this process also creates uncertainty for the developer by changing the review from <br />being entirely administrative, based on municipal code standards, to a legislative process before <br />the City Council on a generally, technically complex topic. <br /> <br />Staff is proposing to create a code amendment to remove the requirement for phased BSIPs to <br />also complete development agreements. Development agreements would remain an option for <br />developers of phased BSIPs if circumstances of the development made them desirable. <br /> <br />RECOMMENDATION <br />Staff recommends that the topic be forwarded on to the Planning Commission for further review, <br />and a code amendment be returned to City Council at a later date. The code amendment will <br />likely be combined with other housekeeping code amendments. <br />1 <br />