HomeMy WebLinkAboutSpecial 2014-04-03 SOUTHCENTER PLAN - MEMORANDUMCity of Tukwila
Jim Haggerton, Mayor
Department of Community Development Jack Pace, Director
TO: Tukwila City Council
FROM: Nora Gierloff, Deputy DCD Director
Lynn Miranda, Senior Planner
DATE: March 28, 2014
SUBJECT: Worksession on PC Recommended Southcenter Plan and Regulations
ISSUE
The work session will focus on reviewing a brief history of the Southcenter Planning effort and then
introduce the staff edited versions of the Planning Commission recommended Southcenter Plan,
Chapter 18.28 Tukwila Urban Center (TUC) District and the Southcenter Design Manual. The
Southcenter Plan documents the existing conditions in the area and sets the vision for change over the
next 20 years. The Zoning regulations, when adopted, will replace the existing TMC Chapter 18.28 and
be used to evaluate development proposals and improvement plans proposed on properties within the
Southcenter area (TUC District). The Southcenter Design Manual will provide additional design detail
for projects subject to design review.
BACKGROUND
This project has been underway since 2002 when Tukwila received a federal grant for Transit Oriented
Development planning in the Southcenter area. See the Project History tab for a timeline of the
process. The vision and the documents have evolved considerably over that time, see the Project
History tab for a set of links to the older documents and review process.
In 2009, the draft Tukwila Urban Center Subarea Plan forSouthcenterwas released for public review.
The Planning Commission held three work sessions and three public hearings before sending the Plan
back to staff for revisions. On March 14, 2011 the Council Committee of the Whole recommended that
staff reduce the scope of the Southcenter project and directed staff to revise the draft Plan to meet the
minimum requirements for accommodating growth and fulfilling regional policy goals. The Council
wanted a streamlined review process since the changes from the existing code would be reduced.
Consequently, no formal stakeholder group process was desired. Instead, public involvement would
consist of informal meetings between staff and key individual stakeholders, as needed, and by open
houses and future Planning Commission and City Council public hearings on the draft Plan.
While revising the Zoning regulations, Staff met informally with key stakeholders including
representatives from Westfield, Target, Sears and the Tukwila Fire and Public Works Departments to
resolve concerns. Staff also used individual comments that were received on the 2009 version of the
draft Southcenter Plan to make revisions. As directed by the City Council, revisions to Chapter 18.28
6300 Southcenter Boulevard, Suite #100 • Tukwila, Washington 98188 • Phone 206 - 431 -3670 • Fax 206 - 431 -3665
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made it less prescriptive, incentivized the forms of redevelopment envisioned by the community, and
assumed that redevelopment would be primarily market driven. One significant change from the 2009
version is that the majority of Architectural standards and guidelines are now located in separate
document titled Southcenter Design Manual.
In 2012 these revised documents were reviewed by the public and the Planning Commission at an
open house, public hearing and series of work sessions. The Commission approved their recommended
drafts of the three documents in October 2012.
DISCUSSION
Where We Are Now
During 2013 staff prepared a Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) to analyze the
impacts of buildout of the Southcenter area as envisioned under the Plan. We took advantage of a
relatively new SEPA process set forth in RCW 43.21C.420 that allows the City to comprehensively
consider area -wide, cumulative environmental impacts of the Southcenter Plan project and
appropriate mitigation over an extended time horizon, rather than evaluating impacts and mitigation
on a project -by- project basis. Future project- specific development proposals that are consistent with
the subarea plan, development regulations and SEIS will not require individual SEPA review and cannot
be challenged administratively or judicially pursuant to SEPA. As such, the nonproject SEIS provides
certainty and predictability for urban development proposals, by streamlining the environmental
review process within the subarea and encouraging the goals of SEPA and the State's Growth
Management Act.
While the SEIS was underway staff took the opportunity to review the proposed Zoning and Design
regulations for opportunities to streamline and make them more user friendly. We had a peer review
done by Makers Architecture and Urban Design consultants and tested the regulations against the
Washington Place and Odin Brewery proposals. This resulted in a considerable amount of
reorganization, deletion of redundant provisions and addition of new photos and diagrams. The
documents in this binder reflect these staff recommended changes to the PC recommended
documents. The strikeout /underline versions with comments about the changes are available
at http: / /www.tukwilawa.gov /dcd /urbancenterplan.html
Overview of Staff Proposed Changes
Southcenter Plan
Only minor edits were made to reflect current station names and existing conditions. The binder
version includes these strikeout /underlines.
TMC 18.28 TUC Zoning Regulations
1. The District and Corridor Maps, charts and tables were moved from the front of the document
to be next to the sections that contain their standards. The Corridor Charts were reformatted.
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2. Some standards were moved into the Zoning Code from the Design Manual and some
guidelines were moved into the Design Manual from the Zoning Code.
3. A new section 18.28.020 C Interpretation of the Development Code was added for clarity.
4. The design review section at 18.28.030 D was moved and clarified and a
new table added to identify what projects trigger which standards.
5. A new parcel was added to the TOD District. It has been purchased for
development by Olympus Spa and the project would not have been
permitted in the Workplace District.
6. An additional tier of height incentives (affordable housing and LEED) was
added to the TOD District in the standards chart and 18.28.070 D to
accommodate potential interest in taller development.
7. The side and rear setbacks and landscape requirements in the District
standards chart were streamlined so that they do not vary depending on
whether the facade contains windows or not.
8. The orientation of a future neighborhood corridor was changed from E -W
to N -S based on the site design of the Washington Place project and the
location of an existing through -block easement.
9. The building modulation standards were streamlined to only apply to
street facing facades and new diagrams were added for clarity. Much of this section was
moved to the Design Manual. The section that remains in the Zoning Code now covers
articulation, modulation and transparency.
10. The Shopfront standards were deleted as redundant to the other facade design standards and
guidelines.
11. Changes to 18.28.240 General Landscaping reflect Tree Committee recommendations that will
be applied to other areas of the City when the Landscape Chapter of the Zoning Code is
updated in 2015.
12. Based on review of the Washington Place project the Open Space Regulations at 18.28.250
have been reduced and made more flexible. The original proposal of 100 to 150 square feet per
residential unit was unfeasible in a high -rise building type. Pedestrian space requirements for
commercial uses have been modified to only apply to the building footprint to incentivize multi-
story development.
13. Some additional standards for pedestrian walkways through parking areas were added to
18.28.260 D 5 and 18.28.280 to improve safety and the quality of the pedestrian environment.
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Southcenter Design Manual
1. The Design Manual was extensively reorganized into two major sections, Site Design Elements
and Building Design. Some standards were moved into the Zoning Code from the Design
Manual and some guidelines were moved into the Design Manual from the Zoning Code. Many
of the criteria were rewritten for clarity and to read more consistently.
2. Walls and Fences — overly specific language was deleted and new examples added.
3. Open Space — a new section that contains guidelines moved from the Zoning Code to the
Design Manual.
4. Architectural Concept — removed language that overemphasized continuity, we want to
encourage a lively and organic appearance.
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5. Entrances and Doors and Building Facade Base and Top — streamlined by removing some overly
specific language and diagrams that remained from the earlier "form based code" approach.
6. Building Massing - replaces the original Building Modulation section and is consistent with the
proposed approach to Architectural Design standards in the Zoning Code.
7. Building Details and Elements — new section contains a specific menu of choices to create
interest, variety and human scale on building facades.
Next Steps
A public hearing is scheduled for April 14th. Council will determine whether review will take place
during Monday meetings or whether additional work sessions would be more efficient.
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