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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1978-07-24 Committee of the Whole MinutesJuly 24, 1978 TUKWILA CITY COUNCIL 7:00 P.M. CALL TO ORDER ROLL CALL OF COUNCIL MEMBERS APPROVAL OF MINUTES CALL FOR BIDS Const. of approx. 450 sq. yds. rockery variable in ht. DISCUSSION Location of the foundation for the Schneider Apt. Complex on 65th Ave. So. City Hall 2235 COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE MEETING Council Chambers MINUTES Council President Van Dusen called the Tukwila City Council Committee of the Whole Meeting to order at 7:20 P.M. BOHRER, HILL, JOHANSON, SAUL, TRAYNOR, VAN DUSEN. MOVED BY HILL, SECONDED BY SAUL, THAT THE MINUTES OF THE COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE MEETING HELD JULY 10, 1978 BE APPROVED AS PUBLISHED. CARRIED. MOVED BY HILL, SECONDED BY TRAYNOR, THAT THE MINUTES OF THE COMMUNITY MEETING WITH SCHOOL DISTRICT HELD JULY 13, 1978 BE APPROVED AS PUBLISHED. CARRIED. Terry Monaghan, Director of Public Works, said this was the rockery that was not done on 57th and 58th Streets, it was pulled out of the work that was tabled and they would like to do it separately. MOVED BY TRAYNOR, SECONDED BY SAUL, THAT THE CALL FOR BIDS BE RECEIVED IN THE OFFICE OF THE CITY CLERK AT THE TUKWILA CITY HALL UNTIL 10:00 A.M. ON THE 14TH DAY OF AUGUST, 1978. CARRIED. Councilman Bohrer said he asked for this item to be on the agenda. It has been discussed before the Council several times in June and July 1977. He said they were trying to decide what the appropriate set back should be from the slope, and what authority the Council has to enforce it. He said as he recalled this came before the Council because the Staff had told the applicant that if he located his buildings too close to the top of the slope it would require a waiver from Resolution 489 initially and later Ordinance 1035, and though he did set back the building somewhat they were initially set down over the slope, over the crest, they still did not move back as far as they had requested at that time so it was brought to the Council as a waiver from the resolution. There was quite a discussior at that time, over slope and definition. A week ago, he said, he wens down there and looked at the building again and the foundation is in and it was his impression in looking at it that the current location of the building is no farther back than the revised plan that the applicant brought in to us which we were unable as a body to accept as it was too close to the slope. He said his recollection was that there were a number of considerations, one of the prime ones in his own mind was that in the case you had to have access out the east side of the building on the steep part of the slope there was no way of getting out of that side of the building in an emergency situation without dropping ten to fifteen feet over the hillside be- cause it is quite steep there. He said it was for this consideration that he had asked for it to be on the agenda. About the last action that was taken after coming to the Council about February 6 was to ask for a soil report, because another consideration was the stability of the hillside. That was done and he said it was his understanding that after that happened the buildings were to be set back 10 feet from the hillside. He said it was his own feeling that in a number of cases that criteria was not met. Kjell Stoknes, OCD Director, said this matter came before the Council and was referred to Staff for determination as to whether or not Resolution 489 was affected. Ordinance 1035 came before the Council, the attorneys argued and the waiver was not granted, it was referred back to Staff. It was the Mayor's and his feeling there should be a soils report and that was as good as they could do as far as coming to terms as to what was right. They submitted a soils report with the recommendation that the buildings be set back 10 feet from the top of the slope and the footings not have a maximum pressure of more than 2500 pounds per square foot. They have gone a step beyond that. They have vertical boards as well 10 feet down. He said Mr. Pieper, Building Official, was on the site with the soils consultant and he has a written report from him. He said he thought the key is the intent of the set back. TUKWILA CITY COUNCIL COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE MEETING July 24, 1978 Page 2 DISCUSSION Contd. Location of the foundation for the Schneider Apt. Complex on 65th Ave. So. contd. RECESS 7:40 8:10 P.M. 220( Al Pieper, Building Official, said he had some pictures he had taken. From the soils point of view the reason they wanted the set back 10 feet was because of the soil bearing, they did not want the weight of the building sluffing the bank off. They said in order to be safe they have to set back 10 feet and then also they wanted a 5 foot deep footing. The reason the contractor investigated how he could avoid digging down 5 feet was because this would dig away the bank to get down there to set a form for the concrete, and back fill it. That is why they came along with this piling 20 inches in diameter and 12 foot deep. This is the report from the soils man and some pictures that can be sent around. Councilman Johanson said it seems the purpose of the set back was to facilitate leaving the building in an emergency. Mr. Pieper said that is right. He said the first thing that came to his mind when he saw a site plan showing the buildings out over the cliff was that it was a violation of code requiring a safety exit from bedroom win- dows. The soils report does not allude to that, the soils report deals only with the safety of the building so we have two separate items. The soils report basically says that the building as it is presently installed is safe, it poses no hazard to the bank. That is not related in any way to the safety thing that was mentioned about getting people out of the building. That is a building code item that has to be treated separately. Mr. Stoknes said that is normal building code that will be enforced, Mr. Pieper is working on it now. At the time this waiver was before the Council there was some discussion as to how much should be required for an exit 5', 6', 10' he said he did not know that they ever came to any conclu- sion as to how much should be required for an exit, so we wound up with an agreed set back to make it safe. The soils report said to make it safe, and that was done. The stick that is seen in the pic- ture is 10 feet 1 inch long, which pretty well illustrates the building is set back the 10 feet. There is one picture there that might be questionable,so he had the fellow holding the stick hold it vertical. Councilman Hill said the building plans submitted did not designate whether there would be patios or what behind the building. Mr. Pieper said normally they have choices that can be made whether it be patio or lawn. It can be either way. On the building plan it shows on the upstairs floors it is balcony, on the bottom floor it shows just a walkway and the sliding doors and lawn areas. The building plan is somewhat ambiguous because you have the crown of the bank in the rough state before any excavations are done and the line tends to roam and wander, until it actually has its final dressing. He said Mr. Satterstrom and himself felt strongly that they did not want the bank disturbed. There is heavy vegetation along the crown of the bank and over the bank and they wanted an agreement that it would not be disturbed. They have covered over some of the flat surfaces and they will be required to dress that are He said he would rather see it in lawn or patio than wild brush. The firemen could then get back there. He said because the dirt is sluffed up back there they will likely bring in some fill because the patio doors are going to be up somewhat from the existing grade. The area will be dressed off. Beyond the 10 feet they will have to leave it in the natural state. Council President Van Dusen said it looked like there would be a couple of trees that would have to go. Mr. Pieper said the trees would not pose a hazard. MOVED BY HILL, SECONDED BY TRAYNOR, THAT THE COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE MEETING RECESS FOR THIRTY MINUTES WHILE THE COUNCIL AND STAFF PRESENT MAKE A TOUR OF THE SITE. CARRIED. The Committee of the Whole Meeting was called back to order by Counci President Van Dusen with Council Members present as previously listed. TUKWILA CITY COUNCIL COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE MEETING July 24, 1978 Page 3 DISCUSSION Contd. Location of the foundation for Schnider Apt. Complex on 65th Ave. So. contd. 7207 Kjell Stoknes, OCD Director, said Schneider applied for a building permit on June 30, 1977. He was told then we could not process the application without a waiver. He did not apply for a waiver and time went by. Ordinance 1035 was adopted. We called Mr. Hard, Deputy City Attorney, and he said he was of the opinion that it came under Ordinance 1035, although he has reversed himself on that now. Ordinance 1035 came before the Council. The Council's action was to refer it to the Planning Commission for density recommendation. The Commission considered it in December and they recommended 36 units. Then it came back to the Council in January and February at which point the Council ruled Ordinance 1035 was not applicable and it was referred to Staff to make a determination whether or not it would come under Resolution 489. We then required a soils report and after getting it back a letter was sent to Mr. Wilson, Schneider's attorney, telling him that a waiver to Resolution 489 would not be required as long as certain items were satisfactorily done: that the development be inspected pursuant to the soils investigation made by the City of Tukwila; that it be inspected periodically, that it be piped into the City's storm water system, and that Schneider intends to redesign the building so there will be no disruption 10 feet from the slope on the eastern side of the property, and the development will be done consistent with the soils report. Under these conditions the building permit will be processed. The building permit was pro- cessed and they accepted it. In the area 10 feet from the slope they did not comply with the letter. The Council really has not been involved in this. This has been handled by Staff and we are now in the process of solving it. The burden right now is on Mr. Schneider to come up with a solution. They have violated a literal requirement. He said Staff will follow up and get something there that will meet the emergency escape requirements. He said that is where they are right now. If the Council has some new feelings about this then an ordinance should be passed to this effect. Mr. Pieper, Building Official, said prior to the start of the action mentioned when the developer came in with a set of plans, if at that time his set of plans had indicated the buildings not overhang the bluff the item would not have come to Council. It would have been processed through Staff. He said they detected the building would overhang the bluff and therefore come under Resolution 489. We said if they are going to build out over the bluff you will have to go to the Council and get a waiver. Council President Van Dusen said there was a lot of discussion on that because the Council thought it had to meet Ordinance 1035. Mr. Stoknes said if you take his letter to the developer they have violated the condition of not disrupting the area closer than 10 feet from the edge. Under that term they should come before the Council for a waiver now, but under the recent court case the permit has been issued and we have to allow them to construct. He said he thought the Council has the jurisdic- tion to tell Staff to have them stop. We are in a liability situatior Councilman Johanson said Maplecrest and Canyon Estates were used as specific examples when this was discussed and right now this is a worst condition than either one of them. Council President Van Dusen said there was a lot of discussion, they even got into the building materials. Mayor Bauch said during the discussion they were not in for a rezone. Under Resolution 489 it was the clause on the environ- mentally sensitive hill. That was the only clause. The soils report that they had done allowed them to go over the bluff, if they went down deep enough. The item was sent back to Staff and he said he personnaly ordered the soils report done for the City. The soils report that came back showed they were moving the foundation line about 15 feet from the original soils report, which put it back 10 feet from the bluff line. Councilman Bohrer called him on Monday or Tuesday after looking at the construction site and he went down on Wednesday or Thursday and saw it. Mr. Pieper had his rule and he stretched out the rule and while the sticks were in the ground at the time before they started any foundation work Mr. Pieper okayed it. He said he thought if he had been the inspector he probably would have said no, go back in, but he was not the inspector. He went over it, it was not a situation, it was a judgment matter. He said he would likely disagree with the judgment as he disagreed with Staff Quite often. He said he thought Mr. Hard spoke out that he thought TUKWILA CITY COUNCIL COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE MEETING July 24. 1978 Paae 4 DISCUSSION Contd. Schneider Apts. contd. *Sentence stricken per Minutes of Committee of the Whole Meeting held 8- 14 -78. Prop. Ord. relating to noise control the Council did not have the right as far as making the decisions for the building official. He said he was not here enough to review every decision the Department Heads make in the City. He said he was unhappy that they built it there. He said the Fire Department and Police Department would have to look at it. Councilman Bohrer said he would like to go through the sequence that the applicant asked for the building official to inspect. Mr. Pieper said once the permit is issued the work commences. They took out a couple of trees and did some minor grading work prior to the permit being issued. A permit for this was not required and was not issued. They staked out the building and Fred Satterstrom and Mr. Pieper went down and made an inspection. The building, as staked out, appeared to meet all of the requirements of the 10 foot set back. The next time they asked for inspection was when they had the holes bored. They called and asked if it would be okay since they had an agreement with the soils testing people and an engineering design. After reviewing the information available I said I would so they dug and poured the concrete and called for inspection. Councilman Bohrer said there was grading then before the permit was issued. Mr. Pieper said the grading consisted of taking the trees out. The final grading was done prior to the holes for the footing. Mr. Pieper said Mr. May, president or vice presidence of the company making the soils report for the City, said this was acceptable. Councilman Bohrer said in the span of the building and in the southerly part the soil has been pushed out to give a 10 foot set back. The dirt goes down about six feet before you get to the natural soil. Over much of the other area you can see ferns and vegetation and it is clear they have pushed soil over the crest of the hill. It is questionable where the original crest is. Mr. Pieper said it is questionable as to what constitutes "bluff." Mr. Stoknes put a transparency overlay over the original drawing. *Thc transpa+cA.cy shows thc building sct back 10 fcct from thc -eke-. Councilman Bohrer said his conclusion is that the building has not been set back at all or maybe 3 feet on the south end, maybe at the center it has been set back farther than that. Mr. Pieper said the crest line was reestablished several times. Councilman Hill asked if the Fire Inspector had gone over this. Mr. Pieper said he goes over the fire safety. The only code item in Chapter 13 states that every bedroom below the fourth floor shall have two means of exit. He said there are balconies on the second and third floors. Councilman Johanson said there is an apparent lack of communication between the Council and Staff. He said he is concerned for someone who has to jump out of one of the windows expecting to land in soft ground and finds him- self on a 45 degree angle. Councilman Bohrer said there are two alternatives, to either stop the construction and ask the applicant to move the building back or allow them to go down over the hillside. He said neither alternative is palatable. He said it was his thought that after the soils report was made they must set the building back 10 feet. Councilman Traynor said he was afraid there was nothing that could be done now. Mr. Stoknes said he understood the Council did not like the way it has been done, but there is the necessary exit there. Councilman Bohrer said the plan that is on the board is unacceptable and what they have on the building plan is essentially the same. It was not acceptable before and it is not now. Mayor Bauch said we went by the soils report and it appears we do not have a choice now. Councilman Saul said Mr. Stoknes's letter says they must do that. Mr. Stoknes read from the February 6, 1978 Minutes of the Council Meeting where the matter was referred back to Staff upon the advice of the Deputy City Attorney. Mr. Pieper said he can assure Council there will hp adeniiate safety exit neat of the hack wi ndnws Councilman Bohrer said he was awaiting correspondece from the Depart- ment of Ecology on the draft of the noise ordinance. The response has not been received at this time, so he did not know what changes would be required in the ordinance. They will likely be minor changes. He said they had deleted reference to noise from practice firing ranges. There are other changes the Committee can likely TUKWILA CITY COUNCIL COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE MEETING July 24, 1978 Page 5 DISCUSSION Contd. Prop. Ord. relating to noise control contd. Prop. Ord. providing for interfund loan between Sewer Fund LID 28 Const. Fund Prop. Ord. relating to transfers within budget providing for authority to contract or purchase goods services and repealing Ords. 431 950 Report on janitorial services for City buildings 7207 make and bring back to the Council. Councilman Bohrer said the ordi- nance is mainly the work of the noise analyst, Dave Hickok. Council President Van Dusen asked what would happen if he complained about a noisy automobile. Councilman Bohrer said there would be a ticket or citation issued, the person would be asked to go to a testing station and see if his auto is noisy, if it is he will have to have it fixed and no fine would be issued; if he does not do this a fine will be affixed. Council President Van Dusen said he was looking at the time mentioned on page 5, paragraph 3.03 and he wondered if the time should be changed for winter and summer months. Councilman Johanson said when he drove to the City Hall site the other night the bulldozer was just being shut down at 8 p.m. Councilman Bohrer said it was likely there would be an adjustment made in the hours. Councilman Traynor said he thought law mower noise should be permitted a little later than 7 or 8 p.m. as many people do not get home until after 6 p.m., they eat and then cut the grass, which would make it later. Councilman Bohrer said when the draft comes back from the State it can be redrafted and these changes can be made. Councilman Saul said it is unusual for the bulldozer to work after 8 p.m. Councilman Traynor recalled when Southcenter was being devel- oped the bulldozers worked around the clock. Council President Van Dusen said the item would be tabled until the draft comes back from the State. Mayor Bauch said the proposed ordinance would extend the loan from a different fund. MOVED BY TRAYNOR, SECONDED BY SAUL, THAT THE PROPOSED ORDINANCE PROVIDING FOR AN INTERFUND LOAN BETWEEN THE SEWER FUND AND THE LID #28 CONSTRUCTION FUND BE ON THE AGENDA OF THE AUGUST 7, 1978 REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING. CARRIED. Mayor Bauch said the proposed ordinance is part of the clean -up of the T.M.C. in order to keep from having to write ordinances and publishing them all of the time. All transfers will be made by Council Motion. He explained Section 3 provides the Mayor is authorized to call for bids on public works projects or procure goods or professional services when the project or procurement does not exceed $25,000 when it is provided in the budget. MOVED BY TRAYNOR, SECONDED BY SAUL, THAT THE PROPOSED ORDINANCE RELATING TO TRANSFERS WITHIN THE ANNU AL BUDGET, PROVIDE FOR AUTHORITY TO CONTRACT OR PURCHASE GOODS AND SERVICES, AND REPEAL ORDINANCE NO. 431 AND 950 BE ON THE AGENDA OF THE AUGUST 7, 1978 REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING. CARRIED. Mayor Bauch said Terry Monaghan, Public Works Director, had written a letter and made a recap of the preliminary proposals submitted by various firms specializing in janitorial service. The proposals are for maintaining the new City Hall, the City Shops, and Southgate School. The disparity in costs must be tied to the level and quality of service. These are only preliminary proposals and were made after cursory inspection of the facilities, they are meant to indicate the range of costs which might be expected. The estimate for City personnel to perform the same service is based upon two men working nights with the City purchasing all of the cleaning supplies and contracting out for window cleaning. The estimate of the mid -range proposal of $24,036 compares favorably to the estimate of $30,000 using City personnel. He said the next step is to decide if the use of outside services is to be pursued further and, if so, to prepared detailed bid documents specifying the tasks by facility and to call for formal quotes. Al Pieper, Building Official, said he thought the janitorial service was the best idea, although we lost a certain amount of privacy and security because things could not be left on desks while an individual was away from the desk this could be a problem. Council President Van Dusen said he would like to see the proposals. Mayor Bauch said Staff would draw up the specifications and have a call for bids. TUKWILA CITY COUNCIL COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE MEETING July 24, 1978 Page 6 COMMITTEE REPORTS Computer Committee Public Safety Health Committee OTHER Tenting facilities Drinking in the park Diesel car for Fire Dept. Southgate School ADJOURNMENT 9:40 P.M. al Council President Van Dusen said he had bids from nine firms on the computers. The Committee will evaluate them and come back to the Council, probably by the next Committee of the Whole Meeting. Councilman Bohrer said the Committee would meet on Wednesday and consider the proposed ordinance on drinking. Councilman Traynor said he wondered if there were federal funds available to develop tenting facilities. He said on a recent trip he was unable to find adequate tenting facilities. Al Pieper, Building Official, said he was at Fort Dent attending a softball game and there appeared to be heavy beer consumption in the audience. He said he was neither for or against it, this was just information. Mayor Bauch said the Diesel Oldsmobile authorized by the budget for the Fire Department has not come and they have shut down the line. He said he had authorized the Fire Chief to order one for next year's production. He said he did not know what the situation is going to be as far as the Police are concerned. Maybe we can get by without getting the replacement car. We have not put on as many miles as had been expected. Mayor Bauch said Dr. Fotheringham came in and said the sales figures for the Southgate School will be considered at the School Board meeting on Tuesday night and it will be announced in the press on Wednesday morning. The bonded debt was a little higher than reported to the Council, but he said he felt it is reasonable. He said he did not know whether or not the School Board Meeting would be a closed meeting. MOVED BY SAUL, SECONDED BY TRAYNOR, THAT THE COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE MEETING ADJOURN. CARRIED. Gary Van Dusen, Council President y Norma Booher, Recording Secretary