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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1990-01-15 Regular MinutesPROCLAMATION Amend Agenda OLD BUSINESS TUKWILA CITY COUNCIL MINUTES ci-// January 15, 1990 Tukwila City Hall 7:00 p.m. Council Chambers Regular Meeting CALL TO ORDER Mayor VanDusen called the Regular Meeting of the Tukwila City Council to order and led the audience in the Pledge of Allegiance. ROLL CALL JOE H. DUFFIE; DENNIS ROBERTSON, JOAN HERNANDEZ, Council President; CLARENCE MORIWAKI; ALLAN EKBERG, STEVE LAWRENCE, JOHN RANTS. OFFICIALS JOHN COLGROVE, City Attorney; MAXINE ANDERSON, City Clerk; RICK BEELER, Director, Department of Community Development; RON CAMERON, City Engineer; ROSS EARNST, Public Works Director; REBECCA FOX, Associate Planner; JOHN McFARLAND, City Administrator. Mayor VanDusen read a Proclamation of the City of Tukwila proclaiming Monday, January 15, as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Council President Hernandez thanked Lucy Lauterbach, Legislative Analyst, and Stephanie Brown, Personnel Secretary, for their parts in coordinating a very moving memorial service for Dr. King which was held at City Hall at 2 p.m. this afternoon. CONSENT AGENDA a. Approval of Minutes: 12/18/90, 1 /2 /90-- Regular Meetings b. Approval of Vouchers General Fund $116,891.31 City Street 116,439.54 Arterial Street 142,754.35 Fire Equipment Cum. Reserve(107) 194.56 Land Acq., Building, Dev. 98,416.59 Water Fund 23,860.88 Sewer Fund 8,232.91 Water /Sewer Construction 216,195.25 Foster Golf Course 12,580.55 Equipment Rental 5,845.95 Firemen's Pension 2,262.51 TOTAL $743,674.40 MOVED BY MORIWAKI, SECONDED BY HERNANDEZ, THAT THE CONSENT AGENDA BE APPROVED AS SUBMI TI ED. MOTION CARRIED. MOVED BY HERNANDEZ, SECONDED BY MORIWAKI, THAT THE AGENDA BE AMENDED TO MOVE HEM 7a AHEAD OF ITEM 6. MOTION CARRIED. Associate Planner Rebecca Fox and Craig Benton, Recycling Program Consultant for Sound Resource Management, gave an overview of the accomplishments to -date of the in -house recycling program and suggested steps to be taken in the future to ensure a successful program. Mr. Benton outlined the choices of programs available in establishing a residential solid waste recycling plan. He noted that a recycling survey dealing with questions on waste recycling, composting, and how the City should manage solid waste was sent to all businesses and residents in Tukwila. Results will be available to the Council in early February. MOVED BY DUFFIE, SECONDED BY ROBERTSON THAT THE RECYCLING ISSUE BY FORWARDED TO THE UTILITIES COMMTI'1'EE. MOTION CARRIED. Minutes Regular Meeting January 15, 1990 Page 2 PUBLIC MEETINGS Consideration of Four Petitions for Waiver to the Requirements of Ord. #1550 Establishing a Building Moratorium Request for Waiver Matt M. Mikami. Mayor VanDusen noted that this is the first time the Council will deal with appeals on the moratorium. He briefly outlined the parameters for the meeting: (1) Council will hear each appeal individually and separately; (2) Council may choose to issue a determination tonight to grant or deny a waiver, or forward the issue to allow more time for consideration; (3) Council will make their determination on each individual petition. MOVED BY ROBERTSON, SECONDED BY LAWRENCE, THAT COUNCIL POSTPONE ALL DELIBERATIONS AND DECISIONS ON THE PETITIONS UNTIL THE NEXT MEETING. Mayor VanDusen commented that Council can make the decision to make a determination or postpone the determination as each petition is heard tonight. *MOTION FAILED WITH DUFFIE, HERNANDEZ, EKBERG, RANTS, MORIWAKI, AND LAWRENCE VOTING NO. Mayor VanDusen opened the public meeting on the Mikami waiver appeal at 7:50 p.m. Rick Beeler, Director of the Department of Community Development reviewed the staff report. The Mikami property is located at 16813 Southcenter Parkway and will house two retail single story buildings. A four foot high retaining wall is proposed in the northwest corner of the site to retain the existing hillside and reduce the existing landfill grade to accommodate parking at the westerly building. The impact of the Sensitive Areas Ordinance on the applicant at this time may require the deletion of some parking at the far northwest corner of the property in order to comply with minimum grades. Although the final grades have not been established at this time, the applicant has indicated on the plans that a retaining wall may be necessary. The applicant has signed an agreement to abide by the approved SAO upon its adoption. Councilwoman Hernandez asked Mr. Beeler whether a retaining wall in the northwest corner would contribute to the stability of the slope or detract from it. Mr. Beeler replied that the plan shows a four foot rock retaining wall which is not a structural retaining wall. In his opinion, the retaining wall would not contribute substantially to the stability of the hillside. Bob Schofield and Akiko Shimatsu appeared on behalf of Matt Mikami Mr. Schofield clarified the position of the stakes on the property for Councilman Duffie and stated that he would not cut up into the hill. He also stated that they need to submit for a building permit by January 24 and that they have lost a 12,000 square foot lease due to the moratorium. They do not have money to pay the bills that are due, and unless they can get assurance that the project can be built, they will be unable to get financing. Councilman Moriwaki noted that the map in the packet showed an odd "jog" at the rear of the applicant's property and that there appeared to be a gradual elevation to the property at that point. Mr. Beeler indicated that this is the area where the parking stalls may have to be deleted. He noted that at the far west portion of the northwest corner the grade is slightly over 15 percent. Councilman Moriwaki asked Mr. Schofield to clarify his plans to cut into the toe of the slope. Mr. Schofield responded that the site is filled in accordance to an erosion control plan. What you see now is not the final grade. The slope that appears now will not be there when the final grade is completed. Mr. Schofield does not believe that any area will have to be removed because after the final grade there will not be any slope that exceeds 15 percent. The only area that exceeds 15 percent is west of the dumpster and that area is not being developed. Mr. Schofield noted that there is a rockery that in some places shows it as 125 feet long. Minutes Regular Meeting January 15, 1990 Page 3 Mikami Waiver Request (con't) Request for Waiver Floyd Hunt C'q/.5 If for some reason it is too steep in there and they are unable to put in just a simple rockery, which is not a retaining wall, then some of that driveway and some of that parking will have to be sacrificed. Mayor VanDusen closed the appeal meeting at 8:18 p.m. MOVED BY MORIWAKI, SECONDED BY DUFFIE, THAT COUNCIL HONOR THE WAIVER REQUEST SUBJECT TO THE AGREEMENT THAT THE APPLICANT CONFORM TO THE ADOPTED SENSITIVE AREAS ORDINANCE AND THE APPLICATIONS AT THE APPLICANT'S RISK AND EXPENSE WITH THE DELETION OF THE AREA THAT WOULD CUT INTO THE TOE OF THE SLOPE. Councilman Moriwaki was asked to clarify what he meant by "toe of the slope He stated that it was the area in the northwest corner that exceeds 15 percent. Councilman Duffle requested a condition that the applicant will not cut into the slope and will construct a bulkhead. Councilman Robertson questioned the condition for the following reasons: the rockery or bulkhead would be only four feet high with most of it located behind the building so that from a visual standpoint in a sensitive areas idea, we would be protecting something that can't be seen. Councilman Robertson felt this was unnecessary. He also felt that from an engineering standpoint, the impact was fairly minor as part of the cut had already done and it does not appear that there were any problems last week during the storm. The bulkhead or rock wall would be looked at closely when the applicant went through the permit process and would meet the required engineering standards. He doesn't feel that excluding the area would necessarily benefit the City. He feels that from a technical, engineering, and visual standpoint, the impact is very minor. Councilman Lawrence noted that the applicant must conform to the SAO which will require whatever rockery or bulkheading is necessary. Councilman Rants commented that the Mikami property appears to meet the four criteria established to review waiver requests. In his opinion it is within the intent of the moratorium because 98 percent of the property is not in the moratorium. Councilman Ekberg stated that the purpose of the ordinance in effect now is to protect the continuity of the hill or the slope. He added that he would like to see the waiver passed so that the building permit can be issued with the removal of the four stalls and the dumpster. *MOTION CARRIED. WAIVER IS GRANTED WITH CONDITIONS. Councilman Moriwaki clarified the conditions to be: (1) In the in the area of the northwest corner, the proposed bulkhead; (2) at the rear jog in the property which includes the proposed four parking stalls and the dumpster sight which would have to be relocated to avoid cutting into the toe of the slope. Mayor VanDusen opened the waiver request from Floyd Hunt at 8:27 p.m. Mr. Beeler told the Council that the proposal is to place 27,100 cubic yards of fill on the property which is located at approximately 13800 Macadam Road. The operation is to be conducted over approximately 6 years. Originally the application was in process through King County and due to the annexation, the applicant applied for the necessary permits through the City. The impact on the SAO is unknown relative to landfilling onto a fairly extensively sloped piece of ground. Mr. Beeler added that City engineers have looked at the site and a soils analysis has been done. Councilman Rants noted that the property is a very large ravine that handles most of the water that comes from the surrounding area. He stated that the water from the January 9 storm was still running over the road from the hills coming down from the other properties on Saturday (1/13) when he visited the site. Mr. Beeler told the Council that the DNS for the Environmental Checklist was in the process of appeal but was never awarded. The process was halted when annexation to Tukwila occurred. The requested waiver would allow the City to complete the SEPA review and, based on the results, approve the landfill. Councilman Lawrence commented that it would have to be determined whether any of the property was considered a sensitive area. Mr. Beeler noted that this question would be addressed by the environmental review process. Mrs. Doreen Hunt and John Newell, project engineer, P.O. Box 396, Renton, addressed the Council. Mr. Newell stated that when King County turned this project over to Tukwila, the applicants submitted their plans, the SEPA checklist, and the requested provisions to the City for a grade and fill permit. As requested by the City, the applicant had a more extensive soils analysis done on the property and revised the plans to show an interim and final grading plan. Mr. Hunt has a six year program he wishes to proceed with which involves approximately 27,000 yards of fill. He has spent a considerable amount of money in engineering fees for this project. Mr. Newell added that they understood they were very close to approval of the requested permit when the moratorium went into effect. Councilman Robertson questioned how a four month delay could financially impact Mr. Hunt's six year program. Mr. Newell stated that Mr. Hunt would like to be able to plan ahead and have the assurance from the City that he will get his permit. Councilwoman Hernandez commented that she could not see the urgency in granting the waiver when the appellant plans to fill the property over a six year period. Mayor VanDusen noted a letter received from Mr. Craig Hittle, an adjacent property owner, who objects to the granting of a waiver. It is Mr. Hittle's opinion that Mr. Hunt's proposal would violate a reasonable sensitive areas ordinance or moratorium. Mr. Hittle originally filed an appeal with King County. Diane DeAno, 4628 So. 138th Street, spoke against granting the waiver. Ms. DeAno, a resident of 13 years, owns the property above Mr. Hunt's property. She stated that she is against excavating the site and that she also had filed an appeal with King County. The subject property is a natural drainage area. She noted that another property owner in the area was granted a permit for excavating and had to secure the land to protect against hill slides. After the excavating was done the land did slide and moved three fences. Other neighbors also did some excavating of their hill and the hill slid down into a City street. Mrs. DeAno wonders who would be responsible for her land sliding if Mr. Hunt is allowed to excavate his property. She feels that the natural vegetation and trees on that land protect her house from sliding. During the storm on January 9 her basement flooded for the first time. Mr. Ray Vomencini, property owner on So. 138th Street, lives directly adjacent to Mr. Hunt's property. He stated that King County's file on Mr. Hunt's property indicates the property to be a sensitive area, a wetland, and a seismic area. Mayor VanDusen closed the public meeting at 9:08 p.m. Minutes Regular Meeting January 15, 1990 Page 5 RECESS A brief recess was called by Mayor VanDusen. The meeting was 9:10 9:20 p.m. resumed at 9:20 p.m. will Councilmembers present as listed above. Request for Waiver Wallace Enterprises, aka Whitco MOVED BY MORIWAKI, SECONDED BY LAWRENCE THAT COUNCIL DENY THE WAIVER REQUEST OF FLOYD HUNT.* Councilman Robertson stated that he supports the motion because in his opinion the applicant has failed to show any significant impact of the four month waiver. The Sensitive Areas Ordinance and the tentative Clearing and Grading Ordinance are intended to deal with property such as this. The plan to completely clear this property over six years would impact the esthetics of the property in that it is visible property and is on a sensitive area (hillside). Also, there are significant engineering questions regarding storm water runoff. *MOTION CARRIED. THE WAIVER REQUEST OF FLOYD HUNT IS DENIED. The public meeting to hear the waiver request of Wallace Enterprises, aka Whitco, was opened by Mayor VanDusen at 9:20 p.m. DCD Director Rick Beeler reported that the property is at the NW corner of So. 115th Street and the Seattle right -of -way which abuts East Marginal Way. The applicant has applied for a clearing and grading permit to cut an existing rock hillside approximately 70 feet high, remove 154,820 cubic yards of material, and install 8,800 cubic yards of landfill. The property is zoned M -1. The applicant wants to make the site available for future commercial development. The impact of the Sensitive Areas Ordinance as drafted at this time would be to not permit development of slopes over 40 percent. The slope on the hillside is now over 40 percent. The environmental review was close to being completed when the moratorium was imposed. The slope that would result from the proposal would be near vertical and the rock face would be exposed. The applicant would be willing to not develop the top of the hill. Mr. Beeler commented that normally his department would recommend that if the Council approved the waiver requirement, the applicant sign the agreement to conform to the adopted SAO and process the application at his own risk and expense. However, there may be some difficulty in restoring the near vertical rock face to conform to the pre grading slope. James White spoke on behalf of Wallace Enterprises. He reported that the property was purchased as M -2 with plans to build warehouses on the site. At this time they are applying for a grading permit only. The grade of the slide level of the warehouses is about 20 feet and the elevation at the top of the cut is 70 feet. It is Mr. White's opinion that this project would provide some improvement benefit to the general area. Bob O'Connell, 2009 Minor Ave. East, and Ralph Bieberman, geotechnical engineer residing at 400 No. 34th Street, represented the applicant. Mr. O'Connell clarified that the top of the rock elevation is approximately 136 feet and the top of the slope is approximately 90 feet. He explained that this proposal began in King County in May of 1988. The DNS process was close to being approved by King County at the time of annexation to Tukwila in March of 1989. They have been going through SEPA review and plan review with the City since April of last year. Mr. O'Connell believes the topography of over 60 percent of Mr. White's property will be within the SAO. He feels if they are unable to get relief from the ordinance, this property will be functionally undevelopable. Mr. O'Connell noted that extensive soils work has been done on this site, and in order to stabilize the slope, a good deal of material will have to be moved. Councilman Duffle asked what King County's primary concern was regarding the site development. Mr. O'Connell responded that the primary concern was blasting. He stated that they have removed blasting as a condition of doing the rock removal on the site. Minutes Regular Meeting January 15, 1990 Page 6 Wallace Enterprises Ralph Bieberman, 400 No. 34th St, project geotechnical engineer, Waiver Request (con't) concurred with Mr. O'Connell. Councilman Robertson questioned why the applicant was willing to continue if he felt that 60 percent of the development would fall under the SAO and that the SAO as presently constituted would prevent development of the property as currently planned. He added that if a waiver was granted, it would be subject to the applicant filing an agreement to conform to the adopted SAO and processing the application at the applicant's own risk and expense. Mr. O'Connell commented that he would like to propose an alternative to the waiver request that would be based upon the ordinance as written. The applicant feels that the City should approve the waiver to allow completion of the SEPA review for issuance of the grade and fill permit subject to special provisions and conditions for rock slopes stability. The original Sensitive Areas Ordinance did not differentiate between soils types and materials types in its slopes. Councilman Lawrence questioned how far into the base of the toe on the northwest side the applicant intended to cut. Mr. Bieberman produced maps to answer Councilman Lawrence's question. Councilman Lawrence commented that it appeared the applicant plans to move more rock than is necessary to stabilize the slope, thus creating a larger area to build on. Mr. O'Connell agreed that the lot does become bigger. Carol Watson, resident at 3906 So. 113th Street, spoke in support of the development. Warren Wing, 11850 42nd Ave. So., commented that he also supports the development but is opposed to truck traffic on So. 115th Street. Ralph Hatten, 3935 So. 113th Street, stated he was not against the development but he is against blasting in that area. Stan Hoffman, 3924 So. 114th Street, commented that he is against granting the waiver request. Dorothy DeRodas, 3910 So. 114th Street, voiced her concerns regarding blasting on the site. In response to Mrs. DeRodas' questions, Mr. O'Connell stated that they plan to use a big "CAT" with large rippers to remove the rock. Blasting will not be done. Mayor VanDusen closed the public meeting at 10:30 p.m. MOVED BY HERNANDEZ, SECONDED BY DUFFIE, THAT THE WALLACE ENTERPRISES WAIVER REQUEST BE CONTINUED FOR ONE WEEK* Councilman Robertson commented that he would like to view the site and look at it from the surrounding property and roads. Councilman Rants stated that he preferred to vote on the waiver this evening and have the applicant wait until the SAO is completed. Councilman Moriwaki noted that by the engineer's estimate the rocks on the site are thousands of years old and may have some geological and scientific significance. He suggests this should be considered when the rocks are cut. Councilman Lawrence agreed with the motion to continue. He suggested that the applicant mark the hillside at the point of the cut to be made. Minutes Regular Meeting January 15, 1990 Page 7 Request for Waiver Goldstar Acquisitions, Inc. NEW BUSINESS CY 7 *MOTION CARRIED. THE WAIVER REQUEST OF WALLACE ENTERPRISES IS CONTINUED FOR ONE WEEK. The public meeting was opened at 10:26 p.m. DCD Director Rick Beeler reported that the following corrections regarding the degree of slope on the property: The overall slope of the property is 19 percent; next to the road there is a horizontal area of about six feet where the property slopes approximately 30 percent. Mr. explained that the applicant proposes to re- locate an existing house onto an existing single family lot. He added that this area would not come under the SAO as it is now written. Ron Ewart, President of Goldstar Acquisitions, 340 Mt. McKinley Dr. S. W., reported that he must have the house on the site by January 31. Mayor VanDusen closed the public meeting at 10:47 p.m. MOVED BY HERNANDEZ, SECONDED BY ROBERTSON, THAT THE WAIVER REQUEST OF GOLDSTAR ACQUISITIONS, INC. BE GRANTED.* Councilman Robertson commented that the lot appears to be marginal in its impact of the SAO. He does not believe this property fits under the intent of the SAO or the moratorium. *MOTION CARRIED. THE WAIVER REQUEST OF GOLDSTAR ACQUISITIONS, INC. IS GRANTED. MOVED BY MORIWAKI, SECONDED BY DUFFLE, THAT THE PROPOSED RESOLUTION BE READ BY TITLE ONLY. MOTION CARRIED Attorney Colgrove read a Resolution of the City of Tukwila, Washington, declaring an emergency for various street repairs, caused by heavy rains, and authorizing emergency expenditures. MOVED BY MORIWAKI, SECONDED BY DUFFIE, THAT RESOLUTION NO.1129 BE APPROVED AS READ.* Mayor VanDusen praised City employees and City crews for the excellent job they did handling the emergencies caused by the excessive rains on January 9. *MOTION CARRIED. REPORTS Mayor VanDusen reported that he had accepted the resignation of Karen Robertson from the Parks Commission. Council President Hernandez reported that the BRB had set the boundary for the Cascade View annexation back to 128th but gave the City a border line of commercial property along Pacific Highway South. This will allow our Fire and Police Department to maintain control of both sides of Highway 99. Councilman Moriwaki commented that he had been asked to serve as a board member on the Childcare Resource and Referral Committee. Minutes Regular Meeting January 15, 1990 Page 8 ADJOURNMENT MOVED BY DUFFIE, SECONDED BY MORIWAKI, THAT THE MEETING BE ADJOURNED. MOTION CARRIED. 11:06 p.m. r Gary'L. Van Dusen, Mayor Jade,/Cantu, Deputy City Clerk