Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout2011-07-25 Committee of the Whole MinutesTukwila City Count_ i_l Committee of the Whole Meeting City Hall Council Chambers July 25, 2011 7:00 P.M. MINUTES EXECUTIVE SESSION Start: 6:00 p.m. Council President Ekberg announced the purpose of the Executive Session is to discuss a Personnel Issue Pursuant to RCW 42.30.110(1)(g). It will last no more than 60 minutes, and no decisions will be made during the Executive Session. Attendees: Jim Haggerton, Mayor; Steve Lancaster, City Administrator; Stephanie Brown, Human Resources Director; Cabot Dow, Labor Consultant; Shawn Hunstock, Finance Director; Kimberly Matej, Council Analyst Tukwila City Councilmembers Joe Duffie, Joan Hernandez, Dennis Robertson, Allan Ekberg, Kathy Hougardy, De'Sean Quinn. Councilmember Seal was not present. End: 7:02 p.m. COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE MEETING CALL TO ORDERIPLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE Council President Ekberg called the Tukwila City Council meeting to order at 7:14 p.m. and led the audience in the Pledge of Allegiance. OFFICIALS Present were Allan Ekberg, Council President, Councilmembers Joe Duffie, Joan Hernandez, Dennis Robertson, Kathy Hougardy, De'Sean Quinn. Councilmember Seal was not present. CITY OFFICIALS Jim Haggerton, Mayor Steve Lancaster, City Administrator; Shelley Kerslake, City Attorney; Bob Sterbank, Kenyon Disend; Bob Giberson, Public Works Director Shawn Hunstock, Finance Director; Jack Pace, Community Development Director Nora Gierloff, Community Development Deputy Director; Carol Lumb, Senior Planner; Eric Drever, Police Commander; Mary Miotke, Information Technology Director; Kimberly Matej, Council Analyst; Melissa Hart, Deputy City Clerk. CITIZEN COMMENTS There were no citizen comments. PUBLIC HEARING a. An ordinance adopting the Development Agreement between the City of Tukwila and Duane A. Wells and Gertrude A. Wells and Larry Magone, Executor of the Estate of Val Bain, regarding the development of a vacant parcel of land located at the intersection of Fort Dent Way and Interurban Avenue South. 7:15 p.m. Council President Ekberg opened the Public Hearing Tukwila City Council Committee of the Whole Minutes July 25, 2011 Page 2 of 7 Shelley Kerslake, City Attorney, explained the development agreement before the Council for consideration is for property located at 6700 Fort Dent Way. On May 2, 2011, the Council authorized the Mayor to settle a Superior Court lawsuit filed by Mr. Wells against the City. The lawsuit alleged that the City breached the 1977 deed in lieu of condemnation by restricting access to the subject property. The development agreement preserves the access rights established via the deed for a period of 10 years. The Council is being asked to conduct a public hearing and consider and approve the ordinance authorizing execution of the agreement. Council President Ekberg called for public comments. There were no public comments. 7:16 p.m. Council President Ekberg closed the Public Hearing. b. Shoreline Master Program (SMP) public hearing continued from June 27, 2011. Council President Ekberg reconvened the public hearing from June 27, 2011. Carol Lumb, Senior Planner, explained the City Council opened the public hearing on June 27, 2011 on four draft ordinances that would incorporate the Department of Ecology (DOE) required and recommended changes. The required and recommended changes are the same changes that were reflected in the materials the Council received for the May 11, 2011 work session. At the June 27, 2011 public hearing, the City received one letter for the record and three individuals testified. Staff has prepared an issues summary, included in the Council agenda packet, pages 31 through 39, that identifies the concerns and provides a staff response to the June 27, 2011 public testimony. The public hearing was continued to the July 25, 2011 Committee of the Whole meeting, and staff has received two additional written comments, which are included in the Council packet. Ms. Lumb stated there have been two questions raised that she would like to address. The first issue relates to the types of changes made to the Shoreline Master Program that would trigger another review by DOE. The type of review and length of the review conducted by DOE y would depend on the type of changes the City makes to the SMP. Typographical errors might move very quickly, while substantive changes might require a more extensive review. The second question relates to the cities of Auburn's and Seattle's Shoreline Master Programs being used as a reference by several speakers during the public hearing. She explained the City of Auburn's program allows a property owner to ask for a 35% buffer reduction if there is no adverse effect on the shoreline. She stated the Auburn shoreline environment is not comparable to Tukwila's, specifically in that most of the Auburn shoreline is publicly owned and open space or residential development. The typical development within their shoreline is residential, and Auburn does not allow any commercial or industrial uses within the shoreline environment. The Auburn SMP has been approved by Ecology, and they have had one request for a buffer reduction relating to a residential development. That property owner was granted the request with the caveat that removal of invasive species and re- vegetation of the shoreline with native plants occur. Ms. Lumb relayed that the City of Seattle's Shoreline Master Program is a draft and has not been approved by the City Council or reviewed and commented on by DOE. Councilmember Hougardy asked staff for clarification on the City of Auburn's 35% buffer reduction policy within their Shoreline Master Program. She also asked if there were any existing industrial uses within the shoreline environment in the City of Auburn. Ms. Lumb clarified the City of Auburn has 3 shoreline environments. Two of those are Residential and Urban Conservancy, and the buffer for both of those environments is 100 feet. The third shoreline environment is the Natural designation, and the buffer is 200 feet. She stated there is one industrial use within the shoreline environment in the City of Auburn. The buffer widths being proposed by Seattle are 35 feet for most of the shoreline environments, and 35% of the property must be kept as a view corridor with public access. Councilmember Quinn asked staff for clarification relating to the parking issues listed on page 35 of the agenda packet and the staff response. He also requested clarification on the time extension (amendment Tukwila City Council Committee of the Whole Minutes July 25, 2011 Page 3 of 7 to 24 months) for obtaining a permit to reconstruct a non conforming structure as identified on page 44 of the agenda packet. Ms. Lumb explained that some property owners had interpreted the definition to include the off loading of new vehicles waiting for delivery to a dealership. The definition listed in the Shoreline Use Matrix applies to parking required for a permitted use, such as the required number of parking stalls for an office building. Clarifying the definition could be considered a housekeeping item. Relating to the time extension to 24 months for permitting, this item was first discussed by the Council in 2009, and the decision was to allow a property owner 12 months to obtain a building permit. Staff proposes adding a provision to the SMP where an applicant requiring longer than 12 months to obtain a building permit for a structure that was destroyed can ask for an extension, with the provision that they make improvements to the buffer area. The individual submitting this comment has specifically requested a definite 24 -month period outlined within the SMP, rather than requiring the applicant to ask for an extension to 24 months. If the Council concurs with the staff recommendation, staff can add this item to the housekeeping list for a future amendment. Council President Ekberg requested staff describe the type of information a property owner would need to provide to obtain a permit. Jack Pace, Community Development Director, explained if the applicant is making changes or proposing new development, they could need a Shoreline Permit or any land use approvals. For the building permit, an applicant needs to provide a site plan and elevation plan, engineering plans, and possibly structural review. Councilmember Robertson explained he supports the staff recommendation of adding the 24 -month extension to the housekeeping list. He feels the buffer improvement caveat would be very beneficial to the property owners and the City. Councilmember Hernandez asked staff if the technical corrections identified on page 51 of the agenda packet have been incorporated within the draft ordinances. Ms. Lumb stated the housekeeping changes have not been included in the draft ordinances currently before the Council for consideration. She explained that staff is seeking Council direction on how to best incorporate the staff identified changes. As addressed in the July 20, 2011 Informational Memorandum, staff proposes tracking issues raised during the first year of the SMP implementation and returning to Council with the proposed housekeeping changes. Those changes would then be forwarded to the DOE for review prior to the City's implementation. Councilmember Robertson stated he agrees with the staff recommendation relating to the housekeeping changes. Council President Ekberg called for public comments. Joe Desimone, 5609 SW Manning Street, Seattle, thanked the Councilmembers who took time to meet with his family due to the concerns they have about the City's proposed Shoreline Master Program. In his opinion, the language incorporated within the Shoreline Master Program greatly matters to the property owners, financial institutions, prospective buyers and the businesses. He feels the buffer width and other restrictions will cause the community to suffer by businesses leaving the City, and the area losing the good family wage jobs that currently exist within the community. Mr. Desimone explained his family has provided amendments to the draft SMP because they feel it is the best way for the City to compete for the family wage jobs, enhance tax revenue for the City without raising taxes, enhance the shoreline and reduce pollution to the river. He indicated that by working with the property owners the City will achieve the buffer improvements within the shoreline environment. He urged the Council to review and consider their proposals. The SMP will be in place for the next 20 years, and he emphasized the importance of adopting a good program from the start. Tukwila City Council Committee of the Whole Minutes July 25, 2011 Page 4 of 7 Richard Desimone, 7902 Eastside Drive ME, Browns Point, feels the City's economic future depends on local jobs. It is his opinion that the area's retail market has struggled, while the manufacturing has increased. He feels Tukwila is unique in that the City can gain jobs and increases associated with manufacturing and industrial activity. The employees of The Boeing Company have a substantial development within the Manufacturing Industrial Center (MIC) and other manufacturing and industrial companies within the area create the good jobs that allow employees to purchase homes within the community and that, in turn, increase the revenue for the City. The area businesses need the features that Tukwila can offer, such as the ease of access to state highways, air and sea ports and the undeveloped 40 acres within the MIC, the oxbow property. The proposed SMP process for the City of Seattle allows the Planning Director to make the decision relating to buffer reduction and habitat restoration. He explained this type of decision making was approved for the City of Auburn, and he feels it will also be approved for the City of Seattle. Tukwila's SMP identifies a variance process, with a Hearing Examiner decision that can take up to 1 year for a decision on a possible buffer reduction. He feels this delay will deter future development within the MIC. Mr. Desimone stated the Council has a choice whether to keep the current process or approve their proposed amendments that move the buffer reduction from the Hearing Examiner to the Director level. By allowing the Planning Director to make those decisions, the timeline associated with development would shorten, and the City could receive the desired shoreline habitat restoration. Martin J. Durkan, 330 SW 43 Street, Suite K, Renton, thanked the Community Development staff for meeting with him to answer his questions relating to the City's Shoreline Master Program. On Page 45 of the agenda packet are the most recent amendments to the SMP that he submitted July 19, 2011 for consideration. He feels a 75% agreement has been reached with staff on the amendments. Mr. Durkan explained the first amendment relates to a modification of water oriented use preference for commercial /industrial properties within the MIC and north of 126 Street. He explained the MIC area is a high use area and, according to the Growth Management Act, we do not want uses within the MIC that would conflict with manufacturing and industrial. The proposed amendment would clarify that water oriented uses, like a park as an example, would not be feasible for a property owner to rebuild after a catastrophic incident within the MIC area. The second amendment relates to the buffer width and buffer reductions for narrow properties and moving from a variance process to an administrative decision. He feels approval of the administrative decision process would lessen the expense associated with permitting. He urged the Council to consider the proposed amendments and include them in the SMP revisions. Laura Fowler, 5795 South 130 th Place, explained that she represents Baker Commodities. She would like to address the proposed buffer widths and the impacts they would have on narrow properties. Ms. Fowler distributed written comments to the Council with a surveyor map that depicts the impacts on the Baker Commodities .property as defined by the different buffer widths. She explained the City has existing land owners that will be severely impacted by adoption of the proposed SMP. She encouraged the Council to consider the proposed amendments and the effect the changes will have on the owners of narrow properties. Martin J. Durkan, 330 SW 43 Street, Suite K, Renton, indicated that in addition to his previous comments, he feels the proposed amendment relating to the definitions of accessory uses and parking should be addressed and updated within the Tukwila Municipal Code. He also requested the Council approve the proposed amendment relating to the change for a buffer reduction from the current variance process to an administrative approval for buffer reductions for properties in the north end of the City. He urged the City to approve the proposed amendments relating to the clarified definitions, administrative buffer reduction and the permitting extension from 12 months to 24 months. Councilmember Hougardy asked Mr. Durkan for clarification on his statement relating to the proposed permit extension amendment. Mr. Durkan clarified the amendment would grant a property owner the right to additional time in obtaining the building permit, either by specifying 24 months or adding additional language that offers an extension to the 12 month timeframe. Tukwila City Council Committee of the Whole Minutes July 25, 2011 Page 5 of 7 Council President Ekberg announced that a representative from the Washington State Department of Ecology was in attendance, and he asked for a DOE clarification on some of the proposed language amendments. Dave Radabaugh, Shoreline Planner, 3190 160 Avenue SE, Bellevue, is from the Department of Ecology. He explained the City could submit the housekeeping items listed on pages 51 -53 of the agenda packet, and if they are outside the required changes identified by DOE, those changes could reopen discussions already concluded relating to the City's Shoreline Master Program. He commended staff on the list of proposed changes for a future shoreline amendment. He feels the correction of typos and clarifying language of the definitions could be quickly reviewed. He conveyed that amending the buffer width and including the other proposed amendments within the City's SMP, which are outside the DOE required changes, would take considerable time for DOE to review. This is a concern as it would delay implementation of the SMP. Council President Ekberg inquired about DOE's shoreline amendment process. Mr. Radabaugh explained amendments to the City's Shoreline Master Program require a public hearing at the City level and then a public hearing and a comment period under the Department of Ecology's review process. If the amendments the City were proposing were new amendments and not specifically addressing changes previously requested or required by DOE, this would trigger a new review of the entire Shoreline Master Program by DOE to ensure the amendments achieve a shoreline no net -loss. Councilmember Quinn feels the staff recommended changes relating to the definition of accessory use and parking, and the change in the administrative review process would be acceptable revisions. He asked if those changes would trigger another review by DOE. Mr. Radabaugh clarified that the word smithing of the definitions could be reviewed and approved quickly with the caveat that the DOE Director must sign and approve the changes. He is not authorized to make those approvals this evening. Councilmember Quinn indicated that he agrees with the staff recommendation identified in the July 20, 2011 Informational Memorandum. Council President Ekberg asked whether it would be considered a housekeeping item if the Council chose to modify the permitting term from 12 months to 24 months. Mr. Radabaugh stated the permitting change as proposed would open the door for another DOE review. He suggested those changes be included in a shoreline amendment submittal to DOE in the future, if the City would like to make the permitting change. Councilmember Hernandez stated because the City has already submitted the SMP for comment and review, there is a concern the technical changes would trigger another DOE review. She asked if addressing the technical changes identified within the staff report could be considered housekeeping changes and, if so, whether they would trigger another review by DOE. Mr. Radabaugh explained that he would need to review the specific changes being discussed. He agrees that correcting typos and word smithing changes are minor and would not trigger an extensive review. He asked the Council to focus on the DOE required changes. He suggested the change in the decision process (Hearing Examiner to administrative director) be included in a future amendment to the SMP. Councilmember Hougardy asked if the technical changes would trigger another DOE review of the City's SMP. Mr. Radabaugh responded in the affirmative, and stated the review could become long and complicated. Councilmember Hougardy asked if the first proposed amendment relating to water oriented uses would be considered a minor change or if it should wait for a future shoreline amendment. Tukwila City Council Committee of the Whole Minutes July 25, 2011 Page 6 of 7 Mr. Radabaugh emphasized that the Council should focus on the DOE required changes. He reiterated that any changes to the Shoreline Master Program in areas other than the minor change to note 8 (clarification of the definitions) not be addressed at this time. The minor changes by way of correcting typos /word smithing are what would be acceptable. 8:26 p.m. Council President Ekberg closed the Public Hearing. SPECIAL ISSUES a. Acceptance of Washington State Department of Transportation Regional Mobility Grant for the Tukwila Transit Center. Councilmember Hernandez indicated this item was discussed at the Transportation Committee meeting on July 18, 2011. The committee members were unanimous in recommending approval. Bob Giberson, Public Works Director, explained the City was awarded the Washington State Department of Transportation's Regional Mobility Grant for the right -of -way acquisition and construction of the Tukwila Urban Center Transit Center. This grant requires a local match of at least 20 which can include the Transit Oriented Development (TOD) Grant, mitigation funds from Westfield Southcenter Mall, and City funds. The Council is being asked to formally accept the State's Regional Mobility Grant for $4,735,000.00. COUNCIL CONSENSUS EXISTED TO FORWARD THIS ITEM TO THE NEXT REGULAR MEETING. b. An ordinance adopting the Development Agreement between the City of Tukwila and Duane A. Wells and Gertrude A. Wells and Larry Magone, Executor of the Estate of Val Bain, regarding the development of a vacant parcel of land located at the intersection of Fort Dent Way and Interurban Avenue South. (6700 Fort Dent Way) In 2009 Duane Wells, et al. filed suit against the City alleging that certain access rights conferred by deed in 1977 had been abrogated by the City and that compensation for the infringement was due. The parties mediated this dispute and proposed to resolve the matter, in part, through the adoption of this development agreement, which would vest the property to certain regulations, thereby preserving the access required by the 1977 deed for a specific period of time. There is no budget related to this proposal. The Council is being asked to adopt the ordinance authorizing the Mayor to enter into the development agreement. COUNCIL CONSENSUS EXISTED TO FORWARD THIS ITEM TO THE NEXT REGULAR MEETING. c. Shoreline Master Program Ordinances. Council President Ekberg indicated there is an opportunity for staff to work with the Department of Ecology on the proposed housekeeping changes specifically related to the required and recommended changes identified by DOE. He suggested staff add an additional column to the housekeeping matrix and identify the changes DOE agrees are clarifying and that could be reviewed quickly by DOE. The Councilmembers asked clarifying questions of staff and exchanged comments to include: moving forward with the minor housekeeping items that would not trigger an extensive DOE review, continuing with the staff recommended process identified in the agenda packet, and including 3 of the 6 proposed amendments presented during the public hearing testimony in the draft ordinances. COUNCIL CONSENSUS EXISTED TO FORWARD THE 4 SHORELINE MASTER PROGRAM ORDINANCES TO THE AUGUST 8, 2011 COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE MEETING. Tukwila City Council Committee of the Whole Minutes July 25, 2011 Page 7 of 7 REPORTS a. Mayor Mayor Haggerton acknowledged Steve Lancaster, retiring City Administrator, and thanked him for his service to the City. On July 25, 2011 the Mayor participated in the City's Washington State Audit exit interview with Council President Ekberg and Councilmember Hougardy. b. City Council Councilmember Hernandez attended the July 19, 2011 South County Area Transportation Board (SCATBd) meeting. On July 21, 2011 she attended the Tukwila Historical Society Meeting. Councilmember Hougardy attended the July 25, 2011 Washington State Audit exit interview. Councilmember Quinn thanked Mr. Lancaster for his service to the City of Tukwila. Council President Ekberg attended the July 25, 2011 Washington State Audit exit interview. c. Staff Steve Lancaster, City Administrator, relayed that over the last 31 years, he has attended 800+ City Council meetings, and he commended the Council for their work on the difficult issues that have been brought before them. He also acknowledged the work of the tremendous staff in the City of Tukwila. d. City Attorney The City Attorney's presence is not required at Committee of the Whole meetings. e. Intergovernmental Kimberly Matej, Council Analyst, indicated the Council will receive the draft audit documents on July 26, 2011. She reminded the Council of the August 1, 2011 special work session relating to Ethics, Open Public Meetings Act, and Appearance of Fairness Doctrine beginning at 5:30 in the Council Chambers. ADJOURNMENT 8:48 p.m. COUNCIL PRESIDENT EKBERG DECLARED THE COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE MEETING ADJOURNED. ,u eiTTresident Melissa Hart, Deputy City Clerk APPROVED AND SIGNED BY THE COUNCIL PRESIDENT ON 8115/2011 AVAILABLE ON THE CITY'S WEBSITE 08/16/2011