HomeMy WebLinkAboutReg 2005-06-06 Item 7B - Zoning - Mastandrea Request to Continue Leasing Lot Without Setback Requirements �1ILA,
COUNCIL AGENDA SYNOPSIS
4 144 Initials ITEM NO.
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c) ITEM INFORMATION
CAS NUMBER: 05-084 I ORIGINAL AGENDA DATE: 6-6-05
AGENDA ITEM TITLE Mastandrea Zoning Change Request
CATEGORY Discussion Motion Resolution Ordinance Bid Award 1 1 Public Hearing Other
ll tg Date Mfg Date 1•Itg Date l ltg Date Mtg Date illtg Date 111g Date
'SPONSOR Council Mayyor• Adm Svcs ®DCD 1 1 Finance Fire Legal P611 1 1 Police n PTV
SPONSOR'S Mr. and Mrs. Mastandrea have requested that the Council amend the RC Zoning District to
SUMMARY allow them to continue leasing their lot at 14650 Military Road South for commercial
parking without meeting current setback requirements.
REVIEWED BY COW Mtg. Egl CA &P Cmte F &S Cmte Transportation Cmte
Utilities Cmte Arts Comm. Parks Comm. Planning Comm.
DA 1•E: 05 -2'-- 05 1 2.-05
RECOMMENDATIONS:
SPONSOR /ADMIN. Take no action
COMMITTEE No recommendation
COST IMPACT FUND SOURCE
EXPENDITURE REQUIRED AMOUNT BUDGETED APPROPRIATION REQUIRED
Fund Source:
Comments:
MTG. DATE RECORD OF COUNCIL ACTION 1
6 -6 -05 1
1
MTG. DATE ATTACHMENTS 1
6 -6 -05 Staff Memorandum dated 6/1/05
5 -24 -05 CAP Minutes
Letter from Mr. Hanken (Attorney for Xtra Car) dated 5 -23 -05
Letter from Mr. Mastandrea dated 5/4/05
Letter to Mr. Mastandrea dated 4/15/05
4/12/05 CAP Minutes
IV1 E M 0 RAN DUM
TO: Tub-vila City Council
Mayor Mullet
FROM: Steve Lancaster, DCD Director
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RE: Mastandrea Zoning Change Request
DATE: June 1, 2005
ISSUE
Mr. Dario Mastandrea has written a letter requesting that the City Council amend the RC
Zoning District to allow him to continue leasing his lot to a currently illegal airport
parking business, see attached. The CAP discussed the issue at their May 24th meeting
and decided to send it to the full Council for discussion with no recommendation.
BACKGROUND
Mr. Mastandrea previously met with the CAP about this issue on Aprillth. CAP
requested that staff write the Mastandreas a letter outlining their options and the costs for
corning into compliance with code requirements, see attached. The City has suspended
code enforcement action until June 15th to allow the Mastandreas to explore their options.
DISCUSSION
In order to accommodate the Mastandreas the City Council would have to amend the
following provision in the Zoning Code:
TMC 18.24.020 Permitted Uses
12. Commercial parking, provided it is:
a. located within a structure having substantial ground floor retail or commercial
activities and designed such that the pedestrian and commercial environments are not
negatively impacted by the parking use, or
b. located at least 175 feet from adjacent arterial streets and behind a building that,
combined with appropriate Type III landscaping, provides effective visual screening
from adjacent streets.
The request is to remove the 175 foot setback requirement, however the requirement that
the parking be located behind a building would also have to be removed. This would
open up additional lots throughout the RC Zone to commercial parking operations.
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In addition, Staff calculated that the cost of complying with landscaping, paving, striping
and storm drainage requirements would be approximately $35,000 to $40,000. The
above code change would not remove any of these requirements.
OPTIONS
The Council may:
1) Forward the proposal for a Zoning Code amendment to the Planning Commission
for a public hearing and recommendation;
2) Request additional information from staff or the Mastandreas; or
3) Decline to take any action.
RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends Option 3 listed above.
Allowing a proliferation of airport parking lots in the Tuhvila International Boulevard
corridor is contrary to the goals ofthe Comprehensive Plan. The RC Comprehensive
Plan designation is intended to be:
"characterized by commercial services, offices, lodging, entertainment, and retail
activities with associated warehousing and accessory light industrial uses, along a
transportation corridor and intended for high-intensity regional uses."
Stand-alone parking lots are low-intensity uses that do not contribute to the vitality of the
neighborhood. Staff recommends that Council not act on the requested Zoning Code
change.
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05'21,2005
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Community and Parks Committee
May 24, 2005
Present:
Joe Duffie, Chair; Joan Hernandez, Dennis Robertson
Steve Lancaster, Rhonda Berry, Evie Boykan, Derek Speck, Nora Gierloff, Lucy
Lauterbach; Eda and Dario .rvrastandreas, Jim Hankin-Extra Car; Steve
Detweiler, Matt Martel
*
1. Zonin2 Code Amendment The Mastandreas family has allowed their property to be used by
Extra Car to park cars of people who leave their car for longer periods. The property is zoned
Regional Commercial (RC), which d,oes not allow airport parking unless it is in a structure with
ground floor retail, or ifit's 175 feet behind a building. When the couple came to the City in
April, the Committee had directed DCD write a letter detailing the options the couple could take
to become legal. The letter was written, and a date of June 15 was set as the date by which the
issue must be resolved before code enforcement takes steps to close the lot. Mr. Mastandreas
then wrote the City asking the Council to amend the RC zoning designation to allow him to use
his property for Commercial Parking. Another option would be to apply for a zoning change to a
zone such as Light Industrial that would allow the parking lot.
Daria Matandreas said they have lived in the area for a long time, and the property was zoned
Business and Commercial. Steve noted it changed to RC in 1995. Mr. Hankin, Extra Car's
attorney, suggested that a conditional use or variance be allowed, as the parking does not affect
anyone negatively. Another suggestion was to' enlarge the park and ride definition to include
airport parking, and designate it a park and ride lot.
Dennis said the City had spent considerable effort and expense to upgrade Tukwila International
Boulevard in an effort to improve the highway. He said he did not support changing the zoning
code, and would prefer the "take no action" option, which would end their appeal. Joan said it
would be hard to justify Light Industrial zoning in this location. She appreciated the fact that the
Mastandreas property was well cared for, but agreed that the Council could not allow airport
parking in the RC zone without the current restrictions. She wanted the couple to know what
other options they had. Steve L said there is a large range of businesses allowed in RC, but the
couple said they didn't want to build a building for a business. Joe said rules are made to be
followed, and the Mastandreas property has rules also that must be followed. In the end, Joe and
Joan favored the option of sending the issue to the COW without a committee recommendation.
No committee recommendation; send to CO\V.
2. Sin2le Familv Nei2hborhood Housin2 Options The Committee had agreed to look at
different concepts for housing in low density areas of the City. There are currently no options
other than a standard house. Cottage-type housing, compact (i.e. small) houses, and duplexes or
triplexes are all options not currently allowed in Tukwila. Staff proposed a demonstration project
with criteria that would allow the city to observe how one of these developments could work.
Dennis expressed concern that manufactured houses could make up a cottage housing
development. Though the design standards might not disallow that, staff thought it not feasible.
LAW OFFICES OF
RECEIVED
JAlvIES C HANKEN
999 THIRD AVENUE, SUITE 3210
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON 98104
PHONE (206) 689-1205
FAX (206) 689-7999
jhanken@hankenlaw.biz
Tv:X/ ;2:3 2G05
COMMUNiTy
DEVELOPMENT
May 23, 2005
Tukwila City Council
c/o Steve Lancaster
6300 Southcenter Blvd.
Tukwila, "VA 98188
Re: RF A05-053
Dear Council Members:
This office has been asked to support and assist the applicant for the modification ofthe RC
zone to allow parking to continue as it is currently operates at 14650 Military Road South, Tukwila,
Washington. This is for a park and fly operation.
Dario Mastrandrea, who owns this property and lives next door, has sought modification of
the RC zone to allow this use. We support that and propose that the language for commercial
parking be the same in the RC zone as it is in the Light Industrial zone. Alternatively, the definition
of Mass Transit could be modified to include associated parking or parking for rapid transit, rail and
airline services as part ofthe mass transit definition. This would allow the property to be reviewed
and considered under the variance process. Or, alternatively, the definition of Park and Ride could
be expanded to include this use. This would allow the property to be reviewed and considered under
the conditional use process.
The purpose of the use is airport storage parking. It is not a commercial parking lot in the
sense that cars are brought there parked by the owners and then taken off at the end of the parking
period by the owners. It is in fact a storage area by a park and fly operation who uses this for parking
cars of air passengers who are in need of longer tenn storage. The cars are brought there with the
May 21,2005
Page 2
intent of storing them for some short period of time. The parking will be done by employees of the
business rather than the customers. It is more of a storage operation rather than a parking lot.
Alternatively, this office has been authorized to assist Mastandrea in an application for a re-
. -
zone of the property from the RC designation to a LI or other similar designation which would
authorize this type of use. At the pres~nt time they are seeking assistance and support of neighbors
to participate in a petition for this re-zone. We recognize that re-zones are a part of the
comprehensive plan amendment and re-zone process that is only before the City Council on an
annual basis. Therefore it will take additional and further time. However, this approach is only
desirable if there is no conditional use, variance or redefmition available to achieve the objectives of
the Mastandreas. We suggest and urge that the redefinition concept is in the best interests of all.
This approach would utilize the internal processes of the City of Tukwila to recognize this
current use as being appropriate and justifiable at this location. It is consistent with this
neighborhood in transition and provides the Mastandreas with economic return and assistance from
their investment. And this is an important consideration because they are entitled to the fruits oftheir
labors and entitled.to have the income from this property to support them in their retirement years.
We respectfully request your earnest consideration of this proposal. \Ve are prepared to meet
with Steve Lancaster and other members of the planning department to develop alternative
approaches to preserve for the applicants their investment and property value through this current
use. We urge the City Council to look favorably on the application of the Mastandreas.
Sincerely,
/""""'
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(JImes C. Hanken
May 4, 2005
Tukwila City Council
c/o Steve Lancaster
6300 Southcenter Blvd.
Tukwila, WA 98188
Re: RFA05-053
Dear City Council:
I am the owner of RC zoned property located at 14650 Military Road South. Currently
this property is used for airport storage parking. The cars there are not obtrusive,
noisy, or unsightly.
It has been brought to my attention that I am in violation of City Ordinance 1986. The
property does not have the proper drainage, surface, or landscape. In addition, the
parking is not set back 175 feet.
I am requesting that the City Council remove the requirement that commercial parking
in the RC zone be structured or set back 175 feet. I make this request for the following
reasons:
. My lot is only 200 feet deep. A set-back of 175 feet renders the area useless.
. The presence of non-offensive vehicles parked in this space is actually an
improvement to the neighborhood.
. My property is the only vacant lot in the area. The surrounding businesses are
'grandfathered in' so that their parking configurations are not in violation of
the ordinance. To allow me to have cars parked within the front 175 feet would
be consistent with the neighborhood.
. It appears that there is a great need for airport parking. To cooperate with the
city of Sea Tac in this endeavor would do much to promote service and good
will between the communities.
I am willing to comply with all codes for property improvements as soon as possible. In
the meantime, I ask the Council to extend the June 15th deadline and allow me to
continue parking cars until this issue is resolved.
Thank you for your attention to this matter.
Sincerely,
L)~ ?Jt Cl-J5I..~rrWt4t/
Dario Mastandrea
14654 Military Road South
Tukwila, WA 98168
206-242-1538
City of Tu/(1Nila
Steven M. Mullet} Mayor
Department of Community Development
Steve Lancaster, Director
April 15, 2005
Mr. and Mrs. Mastandrea
14650 Military Rd. S.
Tukwila, WA 98168
RE: RFA05-053
Dear Mr. and Mrs. Mastandrea,
At the Tukwila Community Affairs and Parks Committee meeting on April1ih I was
asked to outline the steps you would need to take to maintain the illegal park and fly use
at your property on Military Road. I understand that you purchased the property in late
1999 and immediately demolished the existing house and carport. No building permits or
business licenses have been issued for the site since, so I assume that it has been vacant
for most of the past five years.
On March 9th Tukwila's Code Enforcement Officer received a Request for Action
complaint about vehicles being parked on a gravel lot at 14650 Military Road South.
After investigation it was determined that the lot was being used for airport parking
without a business license and did not meet landscaping, screening or storm drainage
requirements. There was also in illegal cargo container on site, see pictures below.
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6300 Southcenter Boulevard, Suite #100 e Tukwila, Washington 98188 · Phone: 206-431-3670 · Fax: 206-431-3665
Page I
04/2712005
General Parking Lot Requirements
All parking areas in Tukwila are subject to the Zoning Code requirements listed at TMC
18.56.040:
7. Surface.
a. The surface of any required off-street parking or loading facility shall be paved with
asphalt, concrete or other similar approved material (s) and shall be graded and
drained as to dispose of all surface water, but not across sidewalks.
b. All traffic-control devices, such as parking stripes designating car stalls, directional
arrows or signs, bull rails, curbs and other developments shall be installed and
completed as shown on the approved plans.
c. Paved parking areas shall use paint or similar devices to delineate car stalls and
direction oftraffic.
d. Where pedestrian walks are used in parking lots for the use offoot traffic only, they
shall be curbed or raised six inches above the lot surface.
e. Wheel stops shall be required on the periphery of parking lots so cars will not protrude
into the public right-of-way, walkways, off the parking lot or strike buildings. Wheel
stops shall be two feet from the end of the stall of head-in parking.
Your approximately 17,000 square foot lot is gravel and is required to be paved, striped
and landscaped in order to be used as a parking area. Paving an area 5,000 square feet or
larger triggers compliance with the King County Surface Water Design Manual and
possible water quality, retention or detention requirements.
I have come up with a schematic design that would create 42 parking spaces on your lot.
A very rough estimate of the cost to construct the improvements required by code would
be $35,000 to $40,000, see attached.
General Landscaping Requirements
In the RC zone 10 feet of front yard landscaping and 5 feet of side yard landscaping is
required. In addition 15 square feet oflandscaping is required for each parking stall,
provided in landscape islands of at least 100 square feet.
Commercial Parking Lot Requirements
In December 2001 the City Council, reacting to a concern about the proliferation of
airport parking lots, passed Ordinance 1986 that imposed limitations on commercial
parking businesses. Commercial parking is only allowed in the RC, RCM, TUC, CILI,
LI, HI and TVS zones. Your lot is zoned Regional Commercial eRC). New lots in RC,
RCM, TUC, CILI are required to be:
a. located within a structure having substantial ground floor retail or commercial
activities and designed such that the pedestrian and commercial environments are not
negatively impacted by the parking use, or
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04/27/2005
b. located at least 175 feet from adjacent arterial streets and behind a building that,
combined with appropriate Type III landscaping, provides effective visual screening
from adjacent streets.
Under the current RC zoning commercial parking could only be established on the
Mastandrea property as part of a mixed use structure that 'would require design review,
landscape confonnance and stonn drainage. In the LI, HI and TVS zones commercial
parking is not required to meet the above screening requirements.
Options
1. Request that the City Col.incil remove the requirement that commercial parking in
the RC zone be structured or set back 175 feet. This would apply to all areas of
RC zoning in the City, see below. You would start by submitting a letter to the
Council Members stating the reasons why the requirement is inappropriate for
this entire area and hO\v the change would be consistent with the intent of the
zone and the Comprehensive Plan.
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Of course, the Council could decline to make the change. In that case your only
alternative would be to apply for a rezone.
2. File an application to rezone the property to a zone that does not require
commercial parking to be structured or set back such as LI, HI or TYS. This
zoning would have to have logical boundaries, covering more than just your
parcel. An application form is enclosed and would require payment of a $1,000
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fee and preparation of public notice materials, a development proposal and a
discussion of consistency with the criteria.
Under either of the two options listed above the standard paving, striping, landscaping
and storm drainage improvements would have to be constructed and the cargo container
would have to be removed.
The City will suspend code enforcement action for 60 days to allow you to decide on
your course of action. Please reply in writing to let us know your intent and by June 15th
submit either a letter to the Council per option 1, a complete rezone application or
evidence that the park and fly op~ration has stopped.
Sincerely,
.~~.
Steve Lancaster
DCD Director
Enclosures
CC: Community Affairs and Parks Committee
Pamela Linder, City Council President
Kathy Stetson, Code Enforcement Officer
Rhonda Berry, City Administrator
NO
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04114/2005
Cost Estimate for 42 Parking Spaces
11,500 sf
Community Affairs and Parks
April 12, 2005
Present:
Joe Duffie, Chair; Joan Hernandez, Dennis Robertson
Rhonda Beny, Steve Lancaster, Evie Boykan, Stacy Hansen, Kathy Stetson, Nora
Gierloff, Lucy Lauterbach; citizens Kathy Hogarty, Edna Morris, Dario and Edna
Mastandrea; Trappers Carl and Sylvia Jensen
1. CDBG Expenditures President Bush cut CDBG funding from his proposed budget, and
though there are some moves to replace it by Congress, the funding is threatened. Evie and Stacy
presented a spreadsheet from South:King County cities showing how their CDBG funds have
been spent. Over $4 million goes for programs such as home repair, senior nutrition, First Home
buying, and food bank services. Joan suggested a letter be signed by all the Council and sent to
support affordable housing and CDBG. Informatjon~ action recommended.
2. Coyotes in Tukwila Kathy Hogarty recounted several neighbors' experiences with coyotes
threatening them, coming into their yards in the day time, and onto a front porch. The last close
sightings were two weeks ago.
Carl and Sylvia Jensen tallced about their business of trapping. They can get nuisance pennits to
trap nuisance animals like coyotes, arid these are allowed under the 1-713 ban on traps. Traps
have advanced to be kinder to the trapped animal. Carl said trapped coyotes generally first try to
get out of a trap, but then lie down and try to hide with the trap on their leg. Traps are checked
every day, and animals caught are destroyed. Carl sai~ it cQuld be effective to catch the alpha
pair who lead packs, because ifthey were removed, the pack would scatter. He has already
removed several coyotes throughout the general area.
Attractive nuisances that attract coyotes are dog, cat and pet food left outside, and cats and small
dogs that are left outside. Rabbits, chickens, and squirrels are also coyote food. Dennis noted
that because cats can be a threat to birds, they should not be left out to roam. He said some
people do enjoy seeing coyotes, and object to them being destroyed. He thought it might be
viable for the trapper to try to trap the lead apha pair of coyotes if they're still in Tukwila. Joan
asked about the special permit Carl must get to trap coyotes in Tukwila. The state permit can
take two weeks, though sometimes it comes much faster. She raised concern about the liability
the city would take on if we did use a trapper. Lucy will check with some other cities that have
* used Carl's services to see how they handle liability. Research issue; reschedule.
3. Mastandrea Property Code Violation Mr. and Mrs. Mastandrea are facing code violations
for using their property for airport parking without a business license and without meeting the
requirements for commercial parking. To meet requirements for commercial parking they would
need to build a structure to contain the parking, as they do not meet setback requirements that
would have allowed screening. They tried to convince the committee the use of their property on
the edge of the city limits as an airport car park did not bother the neighbors, was not visible
ITom an arterial, and should be allowed. They have graveled the lot and enclosed it with a
cyclone fence. To be allowed in an area other than industrial zones, screening the parking by
Community and Parks
April 12, 2005
Page 2
(continued)
enclosing it in a building with ground floor retail or commercial uses, or being 175 feet from an
arterial and screening it from public view behind a building and with extensive landscaping and
other screens is required. If the area were paved, drains and other surface water appurtenances
would also need to be installed. Mr. and Mrs. Mastandreas continued to list reasons why they
should be allowed to continue their use. They said they cannot afford to put parking in a
building.
Dennis noted the Council could not change the zoning for only this property, as that would be
spot zoning that is not allowed. Another option would be to remove the requirements for meeting
setback and screening requirements or building a parking garage in the RC zone, but that would
affect property in many areas of the city, with wide implications for the highway uses. For the
property owner to change the zoning of his property to industrial zoning so that a garage is not
needed, it would need to go through a zoning code change.
The committee agreed that staff should prepare a letter outlining the steps needed for the
property to be legally used for parking. The Mastandreas would then have 60 days before code
enforcement action would be taken. If they agreed to pursue the change, the case will remain
open. Write letter with necessary requirements.
4. 2005 Countywide Planning Policy Amendment Ratification With Sea Tac's agreement to
withdraw their proposed annexation designation of the Tukwila Valley South(TVS) area, TVS
can now be added to Tukwila's Proposed Annexation Area. This is one change included in King
County's Planning Policy Amendments for 2005. Another proposed change was that Burien
wants to have their downtown be designated an Urban Center. The committee members
supported the King County ordinance adopting all t~e changes for 2005. Recommend
ordinance to COW.
Minutes by LL
~COmmittee chair approval