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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1978-03-20 Regular MinutesMarch 20, 1978 7:00 P.M. FLAG SALUTE AND CALL TO ORDER ROLL CALL OF COUNCIL MEMBERS OFFICIALS IN ATTENDANCE MINUTE APPROVAL VOUCHER APPROVAL Claim for Damages: Beulah Swope Announcement concerning hearing on operation of the massage parlor Letter from Ch.ristensen- l1acDonald, Inc.: property located east of Interurban, south of 149th TUKWILA CITY COUNCIL 0208' REGULAR MEETING M I N U T E S Mayor Bauch, presiding, led the Pledge of Allegiance and called the Regular Meeting of the Tukwila City Council to order. Tukwila City Hall Council Chambers LIONEL C. BOHRER, MABEL J. HARRIS, GEORGE D. HILL, J. REID JOHANSON, DANIEL J. SAUL, DWAYNE D. TRAYNOR, GARY L. VAN DUSEN, Council President. D. WILLIAM TOONE, Deputy City Attorney; JOHN MCFARLAND, Administrative Assistant; KJELL STOKNES, OCD Director; MAXINE ANDERSON, City Clerk. MOVED BY VAN DUSEN, SECONDED BY HILL, THAT THE MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING OF MARCH 6, 1978, BE APPROVED AS PUBLISHED. MOTION CARRIED. MOVED BY VAN DUSEN, SECONDED BY HARRIS, THAT THE VOUCHERS BE ACCEPTED AND WARRANTS BE DRAWN IN THEIR RESPECTIVE AMOUNTS. Current Fund Street Fund Fed. Shared Rev. City Hall Constr. Water Fund Sewer Fund LID 27 C 43 $448.38 LID 27 R 14 $448.38 Voucher No. 5329 4577 5329 5441 5442 5450 5451 5454 5455 5457 5458 5466 5467 5477 25,700.15 871.71 905.36 193,531.32 3,681.13 9,639.92 234,329.59 Councilman Traynor stated he was unable to get the information he wanted concerning Voucher No. 5340 prior to the meeting. MOVED BY TRAYNOR, SECONDED BY SAUL, THAT VOUCHER NO. 5340 BE WITHDRAWN FROM PAYMENT. MOTION CARRIED. MOTION CARRIED AS AMENDED PETITIONS, COMMUNICATIONS, APPEALS, AND SIMILAR MATTERS John McFarland, Administrative Assistant, explained that the City received a claim for damages from Mrs. Beulah Swope in the amount of $175.62. The claim arises from a minor collision involving a City -owned vehicle and Ms. Swope's automobile. Review of the accident report indicates clear liability on the part of the City. This matter has been referred to the insurance carrier for adjustment. The City will be required to reimburse the insurance carrier because the amount claimed is under the deductible limits of the City's liability policy. Mr. McFarland asked Council concurrence on this action. MOVED BY VAN DUSEN, SECONDED BY SAUL, THAT COUNCIL CONCUR WITH THE RECOMMENDATION AND PAY THE CLAIM. MOTION CARRIED. Mayor Bauch referred to the memorandum from Gary Van Dusen, Council President, noting that the hearing on the operation of the massage parlor will be held Thursday, March 30, 1978, at 7:00 p.m. He called for an executive session at the close of this meeting to discuss with the City Attorney the procedure to be followed during the hearing. Council President Van Dusen noted that the agenda was short so he approved the inclusion of the letter from Christensen MacDonald Inc. The letter, written by James Volheim, Project Manager, states that they are the general contractor for Portland Electric Plumbing Co., who is the conditional purchaser of a parcel of land located east of Interurban Avenue just south of 149th Street. They have commenced engineering work with regard to the development and have consulted the Building. Department with regard to permits and procedures. The proposed development does not conflict with the current zoning classification. However, the TUKWILA CITY COUNCIL REGULAR MEETING March 20, 1978 Page 2 PETITIONS, COMMUNICATIONS, APPEALS, AND SIMILAR MATTERS Cont. Letter from Christensen MacDonald, Inc.: property located east of Interurban, south of 149th Cnnt. c:g0 8,3 Office of Community Development has advised them that, while the property is zoned M -1, it is shown on the Comprehensive Plan as being "commercial" and, therefore, under the conditions of Ordinance No. 1035 a.. waiver is required. Mr. Volheim stated that they believe the procedure for requesting such a waiver is unreasonable, costly, time taking, and burdensome. The property is currently zoned M -1 and the intended use for the property is a distribution warehouse. A memorandum from Kjell Stoknes, OCD Director, to Gary Van Dusen states that Ordinance No. 1035, while burdensome to a developer, has established procedures and criteria for which to use in review of waivers. This development should be subject to those procedures and criteria prior to a decision being made by the Council. He suggests that this letter be treated as a complaint against Ordinance No. 1035, not as a request for a waiver. Council President Van Dusen asked what the requirements are prior to requesting a waiver. Mr. Stoknes explained that developers have to apply for a building permit, pay the plan check fees, go through the environmental review and fill in th e application form to go before the City Council. Christensen MacDonald has done none of these. Councilman Hill asked if "commercial" is higher or lower than M -1 and was told "commercial" is a less intense use than M -1. Councilman Hill stated that, since Interurban goes right through the City, it was Council's intention to have this area develop similar to Andover Park. It looks like the waiver isn't required due to the type of business that goes in there but due to the type of building. As we have always discussed, we want that highway to some day be a boulevard with a divider down the middle, and we want the buildings set back from the property lines. Councilman Traynor stated that Council has just completed the Comprehen- sive Land Use Plan after two years of study. On the land use map, this area is determined "commercial." M -1 is not considered commercial, and under our current ordinance, a warehouse is considered in the M -1 zone. Traynor stated that he was not in favor of giving a wide -open waiver to the ordinance without seeing what the development is going to look like. The building may be acceptable but the Council needs to see it first. Councilman Hill asked Mr. Stoknes if the developer has submitted any plans and was told no. Mr. James Volheim, Project Manager with Christensen MacDonald Inc., explained that they feel it is a very costly thing for them to have to submit all the drawings, engineering, and permit fees when they have no idea whether Council will even consider the waiver. Mr. Crutchfield, Planning Department, told them the chances are very slight that the waiver willm:be given. This is why the letter was written -.to see if the procedure can be reversed and get an indication that a waiver would be available after review of preliminary drawings. All code requirements would be met. The required procedure is very expensive to find out at the end that Council will not grant the waiver. He stated that they are looking for a simpler method to accomplish the same end. Councilman Van Dusen stated that Council could give a consensus but could still turn it down at the end of the application period. This could end in a lawsuit because it looked in th e beginning like we were going to grant it. Van Dusen stated that he realized our method is costly and burdensome on applicants but we may already have the simplest method. He would like to pursue this further. Councilman: -firer stated that Council passed an ordinance and of them voted "Tor it and now we are trying to find a way to do something that is really contrary to that ordinance. He stated that until someone presents rationale as to why and how, he did not see any reason to continuE the discussion. TUKWILA CITY COUNCIL REGULAR MEETING March 20, 1978 Page 3 PETITIONS, COMMUNICATIONS, APPEALS, AND SIMILAR MATTERS Cont. Letter from Christensen MacDonald, Inc.: property located east of Interurban, south of 149th Cont. Councilman Traynor stated that he agrees with Mr. Bohrer. He wants to see something that is going to blend with the Village Green, and he doesn't believe a standard warehouse is going to do this. Mayor Bauch explained he had spoken with two other developers interested in building office buildings in the City, but, as in this case, the Comprehensive Plan Map is inconsistent with their proposal. They do not want to fight a rezone action or justify a large expense to find that the City will not allow their development. There are two courses of action that can be followed under the present ordinance: 1) submit an application to amend the Comprehensive Plan, or -2) apply for a waiver. The way the ordinance is written you can not apply for a waiver until you apply for a building permit. These developers are asking if there is some way of having a preliminary or consensus hearing prior to spending a great deal of money. This is a problem. There is a lot of interest in building in the City of Tukwila and we need some way of letting these people know whether to proceed or not. Councilman Harris stated that we need to proceed slowly on Interurban particularly. We are having a corridor study and should not allow development of the total area before the study is even completed. If we don't follow the Comprehensive Plan we are defeating the purpose it was intended for. Councilman Johanson stated that one of the major problems in the past has been inconsistency and we are now getting close to having guide- lines to follow. He stated he will follow Staff's recommendations and accept the fact that the Ordinance is in effect; until we have altered it, he stated he would abide by it. We need consistency. Councilman Van Dusen reminded Council that, during the discussions on the Comprehensive Plan, this area was a controversial area. Council went back and forth and weren't sure what classification should be there. We need to look at this. We can't be locked in on every thing we do. Councilman Hill stated he would like to see the developer have a chance to bring a preliminary drawing back to Council for review. The proposed buildings need to blend into the area. Mr. Volheim asked Council if they would consider looking at preliminary drawings that would meet all the Tukwila codes. He again stated they did not want to go to the expense of engineering when they might be turned down. Councilman Bohrer stated he also did not like an applicant to be put in this position but wondered how Council can render a consensus opinion now and come back at a later time and still be totally impartial on the issue. And, this is what they are asking. Mayor Bauch reminded Council that on plats, a preliminary is always approved prior to approval of the final plat to save money for the developer. And, this is what we are talkinn about on waivers. Council would have two chances to review the proposal. William Toone, Deputy City Attorney in the absence of Attorney Hard, cautioned Council in not putting themselves in the position of being committed. They should go on record that any action can be taken at the final review. Kjell Stoknes quoted Section 4 of Ordinance #1035 and said that is what Council is really talking about. This is your limiting factor. If it is too strict look at some alternatives. Councilman Van Dusen suggested trying another process to see if it will work. TUKWILA CITY COUNCIL REGULAR MEETING March 20, 1978 Page 4 PETITIONS, COMMUNICATIONS, APPEALS, AND SIMILAR MATTERS Cont. Letter from Christensen MacDonald, Inc.; Property located east of Interurban, So. of 149th RECESS: 7:55 PM 8:00 PM NEW BUSINESS Discussion on Landscaping at new City Hall RESOLUTIONS Resolution #621 Authorizing the Mayor to execute an animal control service agreement Resolution #622 Authorizing continued partic- ipation in the King County Law and Justice Planning Program Councilman Bohrer stated that if the Ordinance is the problem then the approach should be to change the Ordinance. Mayor Bauch referred to Section 4 of Ordinance #1035 and noted that deleting this Section would put requirements back the way they were under Resolution #489. MOVED BY VAN DUSEN, SECONDED BY HILL, THAT THIS ITEM BE PLACED IN THE COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE OF MARCH 27, 1978 AND LOOK AT DELETING SECTION 4 AND TRYING SOME OTHER ALTERNATIVE. MOTION CARRIED WITH TRAYNOR AND SAUL VOTING NO. Mayor Bauch notified the developers that they will not discuss their particular development at this meeting but would be reviewing the Ordinance. MOVED BY SAUL, SECONDED BY VAN DUSEN, THAT COUNCIL RECESS FOR FIVE MINUTES. MOTION CARRIED. Mayor Bauch called the meeting back to order with Council Members present as previously reported. Council President Van Dusen stated that the question has been raised if citizens can donate particular trees or shrubs for the landscaping at new city hall in memory or honor of designated individuals. He said he felt it a good idea but the procedure on how it could be done should be discussed. Councilman Harris expressed approval of the plan but felt it should be done through the Landscape Architect so it will all blend together. Councilman Saul suggested maybe it could be coordinated through a local nursery. MOVED BY VAN DUSEN, SECONDED BY SAUL, THAT COUNCIL AUTHORIZE THE MAYOR TO DISCUSS THIS WITH THE LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT AND COME UP WITH A PLAN TO ALLOW INDIVIDUALS TO PARTICIPATE IN THE LANDSCAPING AT CITY HALL. MOTION CARRIED. MOVED BY VAN DUSEN, SECONDED BY HILL, THAT THE PROPOSED RESOLUTION BE READ BY TITLE ONLY. MOTION CARRIED. Deputy City Attorney Toone read a resolution of the City of Tukwila, Washington, authorizing the Mayor to execute an Animal Control Service Agreement with King County, Washington MOVED BY VAN DUSEN, SECONDED BY HARRIS, THAT RESOLUTION NO. 621 BE ADOPTED AS READ. MOTION CARRIED. Mayor Bauch introduced a resolution of the City of Tukwila authorizing continued participation by the City of Tukwila in the King County Law and Justice Planning Program. MOVED BY VAN DUSEN, SECONDED BY HARRIS, THAT RESOLUTION NO. 622 BE ADOPTED AS READ BY THE MAYOR. Mayor Bauch reported on the grant which is for $31,000. This is the last year as these funds are only available for three years. This will allow Mr. Lowery time to write and publish his procedures report. MOTION CARRIED. MOVED BY VAN DUSEN, SECONDED BY SAUL, THAT THE AGENDA BE AMENDED TO INCLUDE A RESOLUTION ON FLOOD CONTROL. MOTION CARRIED TUKWILA CITY COUNCIL REGULAR MEETING March 20, 1978 Page 5 RESOLUTIONS Resolution #623 Authorizing the Mayor to enter into an agreement regarding Flooding related programs c,2 og4 Kjell Stoknes, OCD Director, distributed to Council a study, which he fel is a ten year program on how to accomplish temporary and permanent solutions to storm drainage in the Valley. He guessed that the Valley Cities will share the cost of approximately $75,000 per year. He stated that this is an attempt to put the whole problem into one basket and go at the solution in a logical and systematic way. Councilman Saul asked if the Corp of Engineers isn't doing this now and was told that the Corp of Engineers has a special interest and that is levies and dams. The Soil Conservation Service is interested in the P -1 Channel and channels to hold excess storm water that can't get into the river. Councilman Saul asked who would have the main responsibility and Mr. Stoknes said it would lie with five elected people one from each of the four Valley Cities and one from the County. These are the people who will make the recommendations back to the Cities. Councilman Traynor expressed concern that this is just forming another governmental agency. Mayor Bauch stated this is just a Committee to keep the program moving. MOVED BY VAN DUSEN, SECONDED BY HILL, THAT THE PROPPOSED RESOLUTION BE READ. MOTION CARRIED WITH TRAYNOR AND SAUL VOTING NO. Deputy City Attorney Toone authorizing the Mayor to enter into an agreement with King County and the Valley Cities regarding flooding and related programs in the Green River Valley. MOVED BY VAN DUSEN, SECONDED BY HILL, THAT RESOLUTION NO. 623 BE ADOPTED AS READ. Councilman Harris asked what the $75,000 is to be used for. Mr. Stoknes explained it is to accomplish the tasks identified on Page 43 of the study he had distributed to Council. This is an attempt to take a look at all of the studies done in the past and pull them together into one and attempt to implementing those that are still relevant. Councilman Harris asked where the Corp of Engineers enters into this. Mr. Stoknes stated they are still responsible for any levy work or the operation of Howard Hanson Dam. Councilman Johanson asked if this is an extension of the agreement for the Green River Basin Study. Mayor Bauch said that basically it is. Mayor Bauch explained that last year, after a meeting with the Corp of Engineers, it was determined that, because of the capacity of the lower Green River from P -17 to the Sound, the started projects could not be continued until something was done about the levies. The Attorney General ruled that any one dumping water into the river that causes flooding down stream is liable for the damage. The Soil Conservation Service stopped their project because there was no place for the water to go until the Corp takes care of the levies. Mayor Bauch stated that this Resolution takes care of three particular items: 1. Floodways. 2. Drainage. 3. Designated floodways and surface water runoff. Councilman Saul, reviewing the study, questioned the 43 designated positions necessary to complete the listed tasks. Mr. Stoknes stated he felt this wasn't accurate but there will have to be a dollar committment if Council follows through beyond this interlocal agreement. Councilman Johanson reminded Council that one day there will be a storm and there is a substantial investment to protect and "if we stand alone today we're going to be standing alone that day." TUKWILA CITY COUNCIL REGULAR MEETING March 20, 1978 Page 6 RESOLUTIONS Continued Resolution #623 Authorizing the Mayor to enter into an agreement regarding Flooding related programs DEPARTMENT REPORTS Mayor's Report EXECUTIVE SESSION: 8:55 PM 9:24 PM ADJOURNMENT: 9:25 PM Councilman Traynor expressed concern that this is forever going to be a burden on the taxpayer. Mayor Bauch assured Council that, as long as he is Mayor, there will never be a request from him for additional staff because of this. MOTION CARRIED. Mayor Bauch reported that he mailed a letter to all of the Tukwila Business Community requesting business letterheads or business cards to place in the time capsule. Finance Director's Councilman Harris read the investment report submitted by Ron Swanson, Investment Finance Director. Interest income for the month of February 1978 Report amounted to $34,167.77. Investments sold $3,295,000 and Investments purchased $3,200,000. MISCELLANEOUS AND FURTHER AUDIENCE COMMENTS MOVED BY VAN DUSEN, SECONDED BY HARRIS, THAT COUNCIL GO INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION. MOTION CARRIED. Council met in Executive Session to discuss the procedure to be followed during the closed hearing on revocation of the sauna and massage operators licenses. MOVED BY SAUL, SECONDED BY HARRIS, THAT THE EXECUTIVE SESSION BE CLOSED. MOTION CARRIED. MOVED BY VAN DUSEN, SECONDED BY HILL, THAT THE REGULAR MEETING OF THE TUKWILA CITY COUNCIL ADJOURN. MOTION CARRIED. ,00 Mayor V 77 6 ty C 1 E rk