Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutPlanning 2019-08-22 Item 3 - Adoption of 6/27/19 MinutesCity of Tukwila Planning Commission PLANNING COMMISSION (PC) PUBLIC MEETING MINUTES Date: June 27, 2019 Time: 5:30 PM Location: Council Chambers Present: Chair Dennis Martinez; Vice Chair Heidi Watters; Commissioners Mike Hansen, Louise Strander, Karen Simmons and Dixie Stark Commissioner Sharon Mann — arrived at 6:20 PM Staff: Department of Community Development (DCD) Planning Supervisor Minnie Dhaliwal, Environmentalist, Andrea Cummins and Planning Commission Secretary Wynetta Bivens Adopt Commissioner Mann made a motion to adopt the May 23, 2019 minutes. Minutes: Commissioner Hansen seconded the motion. Motion passed. Chair Dennis Martinez opened the public meeting: PLANNING COMMISSION DELIBERATION CASE NUMBER: L18-0056 APPLICANT: City of Tukwila REQUEST: Critical Areas Code update. Planning Commission held a public hearing on this issue on April 11, 2019. Since then the Planning Commission started deliberations on May 23, 2019 and will continue deliberating at this meeting to finalize their recommendation to the City Council. LOCATION: City Wide Minnie Dhaliwal, Planning Supervisor, DCD, provided an overview. She noted that the following three items from the May 23, 2019 deliberations were scheduled to come back to the PC: 1) Consistency for the vegetation management for Shoreline, Critical Areas, the Tree Code and the Landscaping Code. The purpose is to provide clarity on each of the sections. There will be an applicability section added, clarification for topping and pruning, addition of the tree protection, as well as planting of shrubs and willow states to be counted for tree replacement to improve the buffer function on the river bank. She said the only substantive changes are in the Tree Code which apply to single-family homes and are as follows: Tree removal shall be regulated based on tree size and not on canopy as homeowners find it hard to determine the species of the tree or determine whether it is large/medium/small canopy. It is easier for them to measure the diameter of the tree. She then walked the Commission through the four different chapters. Andrea Cummins, DCD, Urban Environmentalist answered questions. Page 2 Public Meeting Minutes June 27, 2019 Commissioner Watters was interested in having examples on how to interpret the replacement ratios table in the code. Commissioner Hansen agreed with the recommendation to have examples in the code and suggested directing individuals to worksheets. Staff agreed to include worksheets and examples in the tree permit application. Commissioner Simmons suggested adding a time period as a point of reference for the 36-months in the footnote, staff agreed. MOTIONS: Attachment C-1 Commissioner Hansen moved to amend TMC 18.44 to read as shown in Attachment C-1 and forward it to City Council. Commissioner Stark seconded the motion. Motion passed. Attachment C-2 Commissioner Hansen moved to amend TMC 18.45 to read as shown in Attachment C-2 and forward it to City Council. Commissioner Watters seconded the motion. Motion passed. Attachment C-3 Commissioner Hansen moved to amend TMC 18.52 to read as shown in Attachment C-3 and forward it to City Council. Commissioner Stark seconded the motion. Motion passed. Attachment C-4 REVISION: Commissioner Hansen moved to approve TMC 18.54 in Attachment C-4 with the additional language to TMC 18.54.080, Table A, footnote, 1) add the phrase, "in a 36-month period"; 2) add a new sentence to read, "See tree permit application for additional details." 3) the table is amended in row three to read, "...greater than 18" tree with number one, and no other trees." as amended by the PC and forward it to City Council. Commissioner Stark seconded the motion. Motion passed. CRITICAL AREAS SECTION, 18.45.090 Commissioner Hansen moved to amend TMC 18.45.090 to read, as noted on page 9, "Wetland creation for restoration projects may only be approved if the applicant can show either, 1) that the adjoining property owners are agreeable to having wetland buffers extend onto or across their Page 3 Public Meeting Minutes June 27, 2019 property, or 2) that the on -site wetland buffer are sufficient to protect the functions and values of the wetland and the project as a whole resulting in net environmental benefit." Commissioner Watters seconded the motion. Motion passed. VESTING PROVISIONS, CRITICAL AREAS MASTER PLAN There was extensive discussion on the vesting provisions in the proposed Critical Areas Code and how it relates to Tukwila South Development Agreement. The PC had numerous concerns. Commissioner Hansen asked the PC chair to take a vote of the PC for deferring the decision to the City Council without a recommendation. The consensus of the PC with a unanimous vote was to move it on to the City Council without a recommendation, and forward a list of their concerns, such as: - The PC does not know what all is in the development agreement. - Uncomfortable not having full knowledge and casting a vote. - Best to have the developer work with staff. - Prefer to a legal opinion by the City Attorney. - Since the Development Agreement was negotiated through the City Council process the decision on vesting should be made by the City Council - The developer put a lot of work and money into the deal, but the PC were not there when the deal was made. MOTION: The PC decided not to make a formal ruling to forward a recommendation to the City Council, but deferred the decision making to the City Council. The PC requested that staff return with a bullet point summary of their concerns, which staff agreed to return with at the next PC meeting for their approval to forward to the City Council. Adjourned: 7:00 PM Submitted by Wynetta Bivens Planning Commission Secretary 5 6 City of Tukwila Planning Commission BOARD OF ARCHITECTURAL REVIEW (BAR) MINUTES Date: June 27, 2019 Time: 7:00 PM Location: Council Chambers Present: Chair Dennis Martinez; Commissioners Mike Hansen, Louise Strander, Karen Simmons, Dixie Stark and Sharon Mann Recusal: Vice Chair Heidi Walters Staff: Department of Community Development (DCD) Planning Supervisor Minnie Dhaliwal, Environmentalist Andrea Cummins and Planning Commission Secretary Wynetta Bivens Adopt Commissioner Mann made a motion to adopt the May 23, 2019 minutes. Minutes: Commissioner Hansen seconded the motion. Motion passed. Chair Dennis Martinez opened the public hearing at 7:00 PM: CASE NUMBERS: L19-0032, Conditional Use Permit L19-0033, Design Review APPLICANT: City of Tukwila REQUEST: Design Review approval for construction of Fire Station 52. Project to include three -bay fire apparatus garage, overnight quarters for on -duty personnel, and administrative offices. LOCATION: Parcel 3597000320 Max Baker, Assistant Planner, City of Tukwila asked the appearance of fairness questions. There were no objections to the Commissioners hearing the project. Then he gave the presentation, he provided information on the Conditional Use and Design Review process, background, and site information. As well as the criteria for both. It was noted the site is in the office district, and fire stations are allowed in the office district as a Conditional Use, which is why this is before the Commission. Further, commercial structures over 1,500 sq. ft. within the office district require Design Review. An overview of the proposed project was provided. Noted: • There was a comment letter from a neighbor regarding sirens from fire trucks leaving the site, and the trucks entering the fire station. Page 2 Public Meeting Minutes June 27, 2019 o There was a noise study provided as part of the application, which looked at the consistent noise throughout the day. o The applicant assured the neighbor that the sirens will not be employed until the fire trucks hit 65th Avenue South. RECOMMENDATIONS: • Staff recommends approval of the Conditional Use Permit with no conditions. • Staff recommends approval of the Design Review application with two conditions, and two informational items that will need to be addressed prior to issuance of the development permit, as listed in the staff report dated June 14, 2019. Emma Nowinski, Project Manager, Weinstein A+U, for the applicant gave the presentation. She said the City commissioned a professional response time study that determined once Fire Station 51 moved southward to its new location on Southcenter Parkway that Fire Station 52 also needed to move south in order to continue to provide good service both north and south of I-405. She said of the potential sites one of the reasons the current site was chosen was because it was the only one that exited directly onto 65th, which is relatively quiet opposed to the very busy Southcenter Blvd. She pointed out several qualities of the site and provided a detailed overview of the building design, access, parking, etc. She noted the update change to concrete for the perimeter retaining wall. There was extensive discussion regarding safety issues at 65th and Southcenter Boulevard. Following are some of the issues raised: Commissioner Simmons expressed concern with the amount of foot traffic up 65th street with a wall obscuring the visibility from exiting fire trucks, and not having a lot of time to get out of the way. She suggested notification for foot traffic. Commissioner Strander asked if caution signage would be erected, and if pedestrians would be alerted of exiting fire trucks. She also asked if there will be a traffic indicator at the stop sign at 65th Avenue South and Southcenter Boulevard to quickly stop traffic for fire trucks. The applicant said not at this time. Jason Konieczka, Tukwila Fire Fighter, said 65th did not meet the traffic study criteria for a traffic light. He said maybe another study could be completed. Hari Ponnekanti, City Engineer, Public Works, explained there was a traffic study conducted as part of the project. He said as it stands currently without Fire Station 52 the existing conditions do warrant a signal at 65th Avenue South, adding the fire station is not trigging the need for a signal. However, the City will monitor 65th Avenue South and Southcenter Boulevard, take traffic counts, and closely observe these figures to determine if further action is necessary for safety. At the driveway at 65th there will be a fire signal that will be activated when fire trucks are exiting. Page 3 Public Meeting Minutes June 27, 2019 Commissioner Mann said because the traffic conflicts are so hazardous at the intersection of 65th Avenue South and Southcenter Boulevard maybe the Rapid Ride bus stop to the east of the intersection should be moved. Rachell Bianchi, Deputy City Administrator, Safety Plan Program Manager, said for the record, the traffic study says that once the Courts and Police are moved out of the buildings and once the Fire Station opens that an additional traffic study will be warranted at that time. Commissioner Strander said she would highly encourage some sort of light at 65th street. If the Fire Department is going to be on the campus it really needs to be addressed. Shawn Stankewich, Landscape Architect, for the applicant, wrapped up the presentation with an overview of the site and landscaping design concept. He said the design is based on trying to provide a flexible space where there is opportunity in the future for art or memorial installation in the area. He also went over site sections and plantings. Commissioner Martinez asked if the landscaping could be started on the north side of the property to provide a buffer for the residence. Emma Nowinski, for the applicant, said a lot of digging needs to take place for the retaining wall and the sewer and the landscaping will be done last to provide the safest environment for the investment of the trees. However, there will be on -going discussion between the residents and contractor during construction, and any issues that may occur can be addressed. Commissioner Stark said the building needed to be married to the landscaping, especially tight to the building. Mr. Stankewich said you don't pick up on it as much in the renderings but there is a focus on landscaping design. PUBLIC TESTIMONY: Chair Martinez swore in those wishing to testify. John Richards, resident, pointed out that the elevation on the north side of Fire Station 52 is going to be nearly as high as his house. He said it is going to be six inches below the top of his window on his upper floor. He said the rendering does not accurately show the location of trees within the setback area along the northern property line. Mr. Richards is also concerned with the maintenance of these trees as the tree limbs will encroach on his property and drop branches and leaves into his yard. He requested that the trees are eliminated along his property line because he does not want to keep up maintenance or see the wall be ruined by landscaping brushing against the building. Jason Konieczka, Tukwila Fire Fighter addressed a question regarding the design of the building and whether it has proper flow for the fire department. He said they are very pleased. Page 4 Public Meeting Minutes June 27, 2019 Commissioner Mann inquired on the screening for the rooftop mechanical equipment adjacent to Mr. Richard's house and whether the type of plantings are appropriate for locating close to his property line. She asked staff what could be done differently with the trees while still meeting the requirements of the landscaping ordinance. There was no further testimony. Chair Martinez closed the public hearing. DELIBERATION: Commissioner Hansen suggested that the landscape architect work with the property owner(s) to determine the type of plantings along the retaining wall. Staff said if there is consensus among the Commissioners to add flexibility to the site design they can add language as part of the building permit that the landscaping along the north side shall be reviewed by staff with guidance to accomplish some level of screening while not negatively impacting the adjacent property owner. Commissioner Strander said she would like to see some flexibility along the property line adjacent to the property owners. She also requested that they revisit the possibility of installing a signal at the intersection at 65th Avenue South and Southcenter Boulevard. She said she wants it to be a priority for continued monitoring because she thinks it's important. Commissioner Stark agreed. Commissioner Mann said the argument is not the traffic coming off the hill, but the increased traffic on Southcenter Boulevard and the obscured view. Staff noted that the issue must pertain to adverse impact related to the project, not general traffic increases in the neighborhood. Staff explained that the City looks at traffic citywide, and as new development occurs they pay traffic mitigation fees and traffic concurrency fees and there is a model done throughout the City to look at all the intersections to determine what level of service is provided and then makes a recommendation. She said if the Commissioners are in consensus, they can add a condition requiring the City to complete a traffic count at the intersection. Commissioner Hansen said he would like to approve the project, and he will support traffic monitoring language. MOTIONS: Commissioner Hansen moved to approve Conditional Use Permit L19-0032 based on staff's findings and conclusions contained in the staff report and add a condition to read, 'The City shall monitor traffic at the intersection of 65th Ave. South and Southcenter Boulevard. The Planning Commission recommends that City Council consider this intersection as a high priority in their capital improvement program.' Commissioner Mann seconded the motion. Motion passed. G: Page 5 Public Meeting Minutes June 27, 2019 Commissioner Hansen moved to approve Design Review L19-0033 based on staff's findings and conclusions contained in the staff report, with an amendment to eliminate condition number one and add the following language: 'The applicant shall revise the landscape plan and staff shall approve the revised landscape plan as part of the building permit. The revision shall replace the larger trees along the north property line adjacent to the residential home with alternate landscaping.' Condition number two shall be approved as presented by staff. Commissioner Strander seconded the motion. Motion Passed DIRECTOR'S REPORT: • Staff provided a memo from the DCD Planners on the status of Tukwila International Boulevard planning process, which is on -going. Staff is trying to schedule a joint City Council and Planning Commission field trip. Suggested locations are; Pacific Ridge in Des Moines, Lake City Way and downtown Bothell. Staff is requesting that if the PC is available to attend please let Lynn Miranda know, also let her know if you would like to recommend other locations. • There are no agenda items for July, so there will not be a meeting. Adjourned: 9:40 PM Submitted by: Wynetta Bivens Planning Commission Secretary