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HomeMy WebLinkAboutSEPA EPIC-ND-1 - KING COUNTY HOUSING AUTHORITYKCHA KING COUNTY HOUSING AUTHORITY EPIC -ND -1 THE HOUSING AUTHORITY OF THE COUNTY OF KING WASHINGTON , COMMISSIONERS: HAROLD G. BOOKER, Chairman C. ROY GUSTAVES, Vice - Chairman HOMER E. LOCKETT LeROY G. HORNBECK MRS. ROBERT CURRY OPPORTUNITY TUNITY 2112 — 3RD AVENUE SEATTLE, WASHINGTON 98121 May 4, 1973 Mr. Del. Moss_ Planning Director. Tukwila City Hall Tukwila, Washington 98188 Re: Central Office Environmental Assessment Statement Dear Mr. Moss: HAROLD Y. HOPKINS EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR MA 3 -4151 In reply, refer to: The following is submitted by the Housing Authority of the County of King-as its Environmental Assessment State- ment for development of property located on 65th Avenue South in Tukwila, Washington., . The Housing Authority of the-County of King, Washington, a municipal corporation operating under the Authority of R.C.W. 35.82, proposes to build a Central Office facility, consisting of a one story building, with partial basement, 30 uncovered parking spaces, and related site improvements and landscaping, on the following-property 'in Tukwila, Washington: (Legal description attached as Exhibit A) The building will be owned by the Housing Authority and will be the headquarters for its county -wide operation. Funds for the project come from the Department of Housing and Urban Development. The building will be constructed so that the Authority will not have to rent central office space,, and so that the costs of rental of such space can `be deleted from the operating budget of the Authority. The, operating funds' of the Authority, which come principally from tenant rents in the various housing developments, can thus be used for other purposes of operation related to•tenant'services and maintenance of housing stock. The project is currently,in the preliminary design phase, with construction comtempl,atec to begin in late summer, 1973. EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER Mr. Del Moss Page 2 Planning Director May 4, 1973 The Housing Authority has already requested, and has entered into a Cooperation-Agreement with the-City of Tukwila, permitting the-construction of such- a" building within the city limits. The Cooperation Agreement was executed in December, 1972, after public notice to the community, and after public hearing before the City Council. This Agreement permits-the Housing Authority to receive full municipal service financed from real property taxes without payment of such taxes. In addition, the Housing Authority has requested, and received, a Use Permit for this .building, on the site indicated. This Use Permit was granted after a public meeting of the City Planning Commission, a legal opinion of the City Attorney, and a public work meeting of the City Council in March, 1973. See Exhibit B attached. The Housing Authority acknowledges the requirement to submit the preliminary drawings and specifications to the Planning Commission for review and approval, and to submit the final working drawings and specifications to the City Building Department for review and approval prior to advertising for bid for the construction contract, which will be awarded to the lowest responsible bidder. The Planning Commission is scheduled to review the submittal on May 17, 1973. The building site is currently vacant land, covered with wild berry bushes, and some alder trees. It is sloping property, with an elevation of 49' at the south end and 74' at the north end. The property slopes some 25' in 312', or 8 %. Adjacent property to the south and west is vacant. The property to the north has a single family residence on it, which is situated at an elevation approximately 10 - 15' higher than the elevation of the subject property at the north property line. Property across the street to the east is owned by the city and set aside for urban park purposes. Utilities immediately available to the site include gas . and electricity, te lephone, water and sewer. All utility supplies are believed to be available in sufficient quantity so that the proposed building will not jeopardize quantities and services available to adjacent owners. • • wrr. Del moss Page 3 Pt finning Director May 4, 1973 The Housing Authority recognizes that this building will be located on a site which is between a residential area and a commercial /industrial area. The building itself will have no dwelling units, and will be visited during business hours by the public, governmental officials, and business and sales personnel with. whom the Housing Authority does business. Therefore, it is the intent of the Housing Authority to design a building with residential characteristics and to keep the scale of the structure compatible with the immediately surround- ing area. Preliminary site plans and building plans have already been submitted. The main floor will comprise approximately 7000 square feet, covering 15% ofthe site. The roof will be cedar shakes, and the exterior will be residential brick and wood. All utilities will be underground. The site will be professionally landscaped, paying particular attention to site grading and plant materials which will protect the natural slope. Surface water will be carried off the property into established storm drains by means of an on -site sub - surface drainage system, with sufficient catch basins, footing drains, and tight lines to carry surface water from roof areas of the building and paved parking surfaces. ;Landscaping will be designed and installed to minimize potential erosion from sloped areas. Rockeries will be installed, where required, to protect embankments. The first floor elevation will be 70', and the peak of the roof-will be at approximately 90'. Thus, the view from the property immediately•to the north will be protected, because the elevation of that site is more than 901. As required by Ordinance No. 759, City of Tukwila, the following statements are made in response to the impact assessment summary. (.a) The overall, cumulative impact of the action proposed and of further actions contemplated: No further actions are presently contemplated by the Housing Authority in the City of Tukwila. Further actions by the Housing Authority require the approval of the City Council through the execution of a Cooperation Agreement specifically permitting the construction of housing for Iowa- income families or the elderly. This site' will be fully developed with this action. • • Mr. Del Moss Page 4 Planning Director May 4, 1973 The overall impact of this action will be to construct one building in which no industrial activity wilt take place, no potentially significant air, water, or noise pollution will occur. Travel on Southcenter Boulevard will be increased by approximately 40 automobiles per day. It has already been mentioned that this office building will be exempt from the payment of real property taxes, in accordance with state law and the terms of the Cooperation Agreement. (b) The importance of the action in terms of precedent for action in much larger cases or for other similar actions individually limited but cumulatively significant: The design and construction of the building and site improvements on this site is most important to the City of Tukwila in terms of its potential consequences for other development along Southcenter Boulevard. Through a proper design and landscaping approach, the Housing Authority can set a precedent for other development to follow in this area. For example, the property immediately to the south is being considered for a re-zone to a business use, and the city can properly require the owners to►.construct a facility which is complementary or compatible to the Housing Authority's design and construction. Southcenter Boulevard is_a natural business and /or commercial area in the future, although-it is presently zoned multiple residential along the eastern portions. The scale of this building will be designed to blend with either a residential or a business /commercial environment. It is anticipated that this building will serve as a model for the city to, point to when directing the design and-planning efforts of other nearby sites when they are developed.` (c) The potential conflicts of the action with recognized . national, state, regional or local plans or policies: It is recognized that the property upon which this building will be situated ties within an area contemplated for use as parks in a park plan adopted by the City several years ago. However, this fact was brought out in the Housing Authority's application for a Use Permit on this site, and it was determined at that time that this building would not be in conflict with that plan, the reason being that the voters of the City of Tukwila had voted down ,a bond issue which would havepermitted the city to purchase all these lands for park purposes. So long as the city has not formally authorized such purposed, it cannot prevent private owners .- from . selling their property for developing • • Mr. Del Moss Page 5 Planning Director May 4, 1973 it in accordance- with the adopted zoning plan for the city. Additionally, there appears to be some question• as to whether the park plan was ever formally adopted through recognized procedures including public hearings on the plan. to any event, th-e Tukwila City Attorney has given an opinion that the building is not in conflict with duly authorized plans, and that a Use Permit could be issued for the purpose of constructing the building. Said Use Permit has been issued in the form of a letter which is attached hereto. (Exhibit B) There-are no other known policies with which this action could conflict. (d) The likelihood that the environmental impact of the action will be highly controversial among reasonably Well informed persons: The Housing Authority has already participated in public hearings for the execution of the Cooperation Agreement in December, 1972 and public hearings for the use permit for the building on this site. At that time, there were no objections raised by reasonably well informed persons, other than questions concerning design of the building, protection of the view, residential character, and assurances that an office building and no dwelling units would be constructed on the site, all of which have been previously addressed in thisstatement. The Housing Authority does not believe that theaonstruction of this building will create an environmental impact which is likely to be controversial. (e) The possibility of alternatives to the action that would have less adverse environmental impact. The least environmental impact on the site would be to leave it in its present state. Obviously, the most Likely alternate possibility would be to construct this office building on a different site. The Housing Authority is looking for a property which will be conveniently located to freeways and public transit routes. An-exami•nation of the geography of the county revealed that the southern intersection of interstate 5 and 405 was the most suitable to the Housing Authority's purposes. This site was one of two known to be for sale in the area, the other site being located immediately adjacent to the south. The other site was unavailable because of the price of the property. Add- itional property was considered to the west of Interstate 5 r • • Mr. Del Moss Page 6 Planning Director t*ay4, 1973 and further south in the county, but was not deemed to be.in as desireable a location as this property. Con- sequently, this property was acquired, The Housing Authority does not know of any alternatives to this action which would result in both the construction of this office building and a development with less environmental impact than this one has. We have already mentioned the attention to slope on the property, the provision of underground utilities, the absence of industrial pollution to be emitted from this building, consideration for the view from properties to the north and attention to quality and architectural design. If we may answer further questions, do not hesitate to contact our office. DKG :nv Enclosures Sincerely yours, THE HOUSING AUTHORITY OF THE COUNTY OF KING, WASHINGTON HAROLD Y. HOPKINS Exec lye Director By: DIANA K. GOODWIN Acting Executive Director E x h--i b i t A. • That portion of the Wm. H. Gilliam Donation Claim No. 40, in Township 23 North, Range 4 East, W. M., in King County,' Washington, described as follows: Beginning at a point on the center line of the Renton -Three Tree Point Road Number 2649 at its intersection with the Vest line of Section 23, Township 23 North, Range 4 East, Wo M., said point being engineer's station 135'f 29.92 from which the Southwest corner of said Section 23 bears South 0 °11'42 " East 2044;06 feet; thence South 84° 51'48 "' East 1647.244 feet; thence on a curve to the right having a radius of 955.33 feet, 360.00 feet; thence South 63 °15'48" East 359.18 feet; thence on a curve to the left, having a radius of 5729.65 feet, 370,00 feet; thence South 66 °57'48" East 1162.53 feet; thence on a curve to the left having a radius of 716..34 feet, 442.40 feet; thence North 77 °38142'' East 201.68 feet; thence leaving said center line of said road and running North 0°14100" East 272.03 feet to the true point of beginning; thence South 0°14'00" West 96,21 feet, more or less to the Northwesterly margin of the Macadam Road; thence South 49 °00'00 ". West along said Northwesterly road margin 106,38 feet;. thence North 0 °14400" East 322.00,feet, more or less, to the South line of Lot 17, of the Interurban Addition to Seattle, accordingto plat thereof re- corded in Volume 10 of Plats, Page 55, records of said County; thence South 89 °09'00 "' East along said South line of said Lot 17, 225.00 feet, more or less, to a point on the Southwesterly margin of 65th Avenue South as conveyed to the City of Tukwila by Deed recorded under Audi - tor's: File No. 7105100426;: thence Southeasterly along said road margin. 100.00 feet, more or less, to a point from which the true point of beginning bears. South 69 °59'00" West; thence - South 69`'59'00" West 175.52 feet, more or less, to the true point of beginning;. TOGETHER WITH vacated Macadam Road adjoining. B Frank Todd, Mayor IL 14475 - 59TH AVENUE SOUTH TUKWILA, WASHINGTON 98067 12 March 1973 King County Housing Authority ATTN: Mrs. Diane Goodwin 2112 - 3rd Avenue Seattle, Washington 98121 Dear Mrs. Goodwin:, PLANNING DEPARTMENT RECEIVE°, • ►:IAr 1 3 1973 KING COUNTY HOUSING AUTHORITY, The Tukwila Planning Commission, at its regular monthly meeting of 15 February 1973, held a Public Hearing to . consider the request of King County Housing Authority to construct an office building within an R -4 zone under the provisions of Chapter 18.18 of the Tukwila Municipal Code. A Comprehensive Park Plan, adopted. by City Ordinance in 19699 designated a land area which included your parcel for future public facilities. Whereas it appeared to the Commission that the Park Plan was of a general study nature and should not be construed to bar orderly dev- elopment of the area, the Commission felt the request was consistent with permitted uses within R -4 zoning, as well as Chapter 18.18 of the Tukwila Municipal Code and the majority of the Commission carried a motion to grant said use permit; however, granting of the use permit was to be dependent upon the opinion of the City Attorney as to the legal status of the Comprehensive Park Plan as it relates to land use. This opinion was received 9 March 1973 and a copy is enclosed;-,.. Also -. enclosed for your perusal is a copy of the minutes of the meeting at which the Public Hearing was held.• An informal public meeting of the City Council held . last evening led to the concurrence, with the opinion of the Commission and City Attorney, by the Councilmen present that allowable uses within existing zoning should dominate ° land . use :.:rath.,er. ' than the Park Plan. Page 2 King County Housing Authority 12 March 1973 Further, due to concern regarding the residential prop - erties in close proximity of the proposal site, an . Environmental Assessment Summary must be submitted to this office in accordance with City of Tukwila Ordinance #759, enclosed. The official motion of the Commission included the condition of detailed review and approval of preliminary and final development plans by the Commission. This letter constitutes said use permit in accordance with Chapter 18.18 Tukwila Municipal Code and should not be construed to relieve. the King County Housing Authority from complying with all other applicable Federal, State and local regulations in regard to this project. Any questions regarding this matter should be directed to this office at 244 -6290. GC Encl: as cc: Churn, Ping Comm. Dir Pub Wks Bldg Off City Atty Sincerely, Delbert F. Moss Planning Coordinator