HomeMy WebLinkAbout1981-07-14 Committee of the Whole MinutesJuly 14, 1981 TUKWILA CITY COUNCIL
7:00 P.M. COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE MEETING
FLAG SALUTE AND CALL
TO ORDER
REPORTS
Council Budget Message
Acceptance of sewer
deed.
Funds for Project
Planner.
M I N U T E S
City Hall
Council Chambers
Council President Van Dusen led the City Council and audience
in the Pledge of Allegiance and called the Committee of the
Whole Meeting to order at 7:06 P.M.
ROLL CALL OF L. C. BOHRER, GEORGE D. HILL, J. REID JOHANSON, DORIS C. PHELPS,
COUNCIL MEMBERS Council President GARY L. VAN DUSEN.
Council President Van Dusen said he was writing a budget
message for the 1982 budget for Council approval. He requested
Council members to submit anything they might want included in
the message.
Council President Van Dusen said he wanted to have the City
Attorney talk about the need of a motion to accept a sewer
quit claim deed which deals with the sanitary sewer line. There
has been a question as to whether we need a motion or a resolu-
tion. Larry Hard, City Attorney, has said that all that is
needed is a motion. With the approval of the Council, he said
he would bring it forward to the Regular Meeting of the Council
on July 21, 1981.
Councilman Bohrer said it was his understanding that last
Thursday the Finance and Personnel Committee considered a budget
transfer within the Planning Department to extend the financing
for the Project Planner. He said the budget would provide
for services through the month of September. It was his feeling
during the budget hearings last fall that it was expected to
fund this position through the zoning ordinance discussions.
He said it was hoped Council would support continued
funding of the position through the completion of the zoning
ordinance. September is getting close, excluding the legal
review that will be required.
Council President Van Dusen said he discussed this matter with
the Planner and the Finance Director. The position is funded
through the Department and there is no need for a budget motion
transfer. Since specific arrangements were made for a specific
period of time, the Council should be aware of it. There will
be a cost overrun on it. It was funded for six months.
Councilman Phelps said the funding for the extended period
for the Planning Technician will come from excess funds that are
in the Planning Director's salary.
Brad Collins, Director of Planning, said because it is within
the budget he felt it was appropriate to do this without asking
for additional funds. The monies are there and this would be
an appropriate use of the funds.
Councilman Bohrer said if there is Council concurrence on this
it will not be necessary to bring it forward to the next meeting.
Presentation by represen- Brad Collins, Director of Planning, introduced Mary Bundy,
tative from King County representative from King County Planning Divsion who is head of
Planning Division on the Growth Management Program for King County Planning Division.
the 2nd draft of the
King Co. General Dev. Mary Bundy said this is an important time for King County. They
Guide. are in the process of revising the Comprehensive Plan and it
will have a lot of impact on all of the cities and unincorporated
areas in King County. When adopted it will be the basis for
land use and spending decisions in King County for a long time.
Her office is taking this time to go out and meet cities
and organizations about the document. It is a draf document
and there is still a lot of time to make changes to it.
There is currently a Comprehensive Plan which was adopted in
1964. It is basically a good plan. It has won some national
awards. It is called a policy plan; basically a set of policies
that guide land use decisions and a map illustrates it. Many
things have happened since 1964 and this revision is the result.
TUKWILA CITY COUNCIL COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE MEETING
July 14, 1981
Page 2
REPORTS Contd.
Presentation by repre-
sentative from King Co.
Planning Div. on 2nd
draft of King Co.
General Dev. Guide
contd.
3
The 1964 plan has been amended about 30 times. When you come in
to use the plan you get a neat document, but there are many
other things that go with it and they are not written in the same
format and do not integrate together. It has been a housekeeping
concern as to how to get the planning in order so the documents
can be used and be consistent.
Some things have happened since 1964; changes in the country and
in this part of the country. The whole energy issue was not
foreseen in 1964. The existing plan does not relate land use
to energy. In doing an analysis it was found that 40% of the
energy that is used in all of King County is for travel, for
transportation. Eight -four percent of that is for personal travel.
If our land use plan could address that issue we could be part
of not using as much energy. Another thing that has happened is
that the County's inability to provide public services along with
plan for growth. A good example is in the Soos Creek planning
area where a commitment for urban type development was made
and it was not coordinated for providing adequate facilities and
services. We have some severe road problems. The concern is
that our existing plan does not relate all of these things.
Another concern is the relationship to the city. Our existing
plan does not call out for King County would relate to each
of the cities within King County. How can we plan together
towards a plan for all of King County.
We have started doing a number of community plans; functional
plans we are calling them, such as trails plan or sewer plan.
How do those 13 community plans we develop in King County add up
to a total? We are often challenged on this. We started doing
the community plans in the early 70's. Those were not foreseen
by the existing plan.
Meanwhile, the County is growing. All of King County had about
one million people in 1960; by 1980 it was 1.2 million. Within
the next 20 years within the unincorporated portion of King
County alone we expect to have 185,000 additional people. That
would be 22 Bellevues or 6 Rentons. A lot of people are forecast.
The shift of population has been from the City of Seattle to the
smaller suburban cities and to the unincorporated areas. For
these reasons we are getting our house in order, addressing some
issues from changes and circumstances.
Because of our concern about accommodating growth, we have started
revising the Comprehensive Plan. We started three years ago,
came out with some background studies of information. Last year
we came out with the General Development Guide. It is a term
for the Comprehensive Plan. It is a revision to the existing
Comprehensive Plan. The first draft came out last year and went
to the County Council for their review. They were concerned
about getting a chance to see it before it was done. We went
through meetings with the Growth Management Committee of the
Council on the concept of the plan. We received direction from
the Council and went back to work on it and came out with the
second draft of the General Development Guide in May. We are
now in process of reviewing that document. It is a draft, and
we are solicitating your opinions about the document and what
can be changed about it to make it a better one.
Ms. Bundy said she would like to go through three important
things about the the document that set the stage for more speci-
fics. It has all of the road standards and how many units per
acre, where and how you treat a wetland, what you do about streams.
and what kind of roads go where, how you treat historic sites.
There are overall things about it which establish the framework
for the more specific things.
One, it does define the relationship to the cities, how the
cities in unincorporated King County can work together towards
a plan for all of King County. It relies on a plan for a place
for the cities of King County to work out together what type of
growth, what type of area they are going to be in the future.
TUKWILA CITY COUNCIL COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE MEETING
July 14, 1981
Page 3
REPORTS Contd.
Presentation by repre-
sentative from King Co.
Planning Div. on 2nd
draft of King Co.
General Dev. Guide
contd.
Each of the cities in King County has still not done the modifying
or amending of the King Subregional Plan. That would be the way
that we could all work together to come to some agreement on
what type of development would be occurring where. It then
calls for a second step of interlocal agreements. She said she
was given Tukwila's spheres of influence which is compatible
with what they have asked for. Spheres of influence agreements
between King County and each of the cities for the areas adjacent
to them is what they want. Obviously one of the first steps is
for the cities to define what is their spheres of influence.
What portions of unincorporated King County are they concerned
about the annexation of the area or land use. It would set
out a procedure for doing planning between King County and each
of the cities and the adjacent areas. It would have a procedure
for development permits that come through to review, and hopefully
there would be a way to resolve conflicts. If there were a
conflict or disagreement there would be a procedure for resolving
the conflict. The emphasis of the Guide is to work out a way
that the cities in the County can cooperatively work on these
adjacent areas. That is one of the important things that it does.
Another thing it does, on the second page of the handout, it
puts the house in order. It tells how the different parts of
planning relate to each other. The diagram shows that the General
Development Guide, if adopted, would be the overall policy docu-
ment for King County. It would set the overall policies for
land use physical planning. Those would be implemented in the
more specific type of documents such as the community plans and
the functional plans. This has been a concern that the community
plans in King County be consistent with the overall plans.
As we work on community plans we hope to find things that we have
not worked on or adequately addressed in the past. Some of the
best things we have done have been through the community plans.
The mixed -use development came out of the community plans, sensi-
tive areas, ordinances, the whole idea of how you would phase
growth. This would be the relationship. The Guide has policies
to this effect.
The third thing is the concept of the Guide and what it is trying
to do. The concept has a land use pattern, what the document
would be achieving, what it is setting out to do; and how you
would go about doing it.
The land use pattern is similar to the existing Comprehensive
Plan. The existing Plan has a development concept that is called
the Urban Center Development Concept. The land use pattern that
is being proposed by the document is fairly similar. It is on
the map on the wall. It has three parts. It has urban /suburban
communities, it has rural areas, and it has open space. This
would be if the County were fully developed so the ultimate land
use pattern would happen fifty to one hundred years in the future.
This is type of development pattern that would happen. The
purpose of the development pattern is to encourage growth in such
a way so as to control public cost by using existing facilities
and services; by encouraging some higher density levels in some
portions of the County, to help provide affordable housing, to
conserve energy so that jobs, services, and housing are closer
together, protect the environment and natural resources of the
County.
On the handout there is a bubble diagram that shows the first
part of the urban /suburban communities on page 3. These would
vary depending on where you were in the County and depending on
what type of development and natural features you have. These
communities would be the portion of the County in the western
part of the County where residential and employment growth would
be encouraged in King County. They have three basic parts.
They have urban centers; they have residential areas; and
neighborhood centers. The urban centers, whether they are incorp-
orated or unincorporated would be the parts of the County that
would be the focal point of the community where the employment
services, high density housing would be encouraged to occur.
TUKWILA CITY COUNCIL COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE MEETING
July 14, 1981
Page 4
REPORTS Contd.
Presentation by repre-
sentative from King Co.
Planning Div. on 2nd
draft of King Co.
General Dev. Guide
contd.
33 c
Residential areas around those would have a variety of densities
and types, but there would be an emphasis on higher densities
than we have had in the past in King County. We still would
because of the existing development pattern or the environmental
issues; we would have some of the larger lots (one -half to acre
lots); and we would have apartments. There is a concern about
the whole range and need calls for some smaller lots, single
family, and some townhouse development because of the energy
problem and cost of housing problem. Within the residential
areas would be the neighborhood centers similar to what our
existing plan is calling for; convenient shopping, some services
located within the residential area. This is a similar plan
to the existing Comprehensive Plan. If the County were to
develop under this land use pattern we would have a series
or urban /suburban communities, differing depending upon the
circumstances throughout the western half of the County.
There is also open space as a second part of the land use pattern.
Its function would be to provide separation between these
communities and smaller open spaces within. The diagram on
page 3 illustrates this. Instead of having a slur of urban
development suburban development across the County the Guide
would be encouraging some buffers and separations to give
some distinct identity to communities.
The Guide takes a crack at defining open space. It is a hard
issue and everyone has a different idea as to what open space
is. It takes the different elements that are within the open
space system from the resource land, wildlife habitats, steep
slopes, wetlands, and calls them out. That is the brown on the
map. The important thing it treats them as the type of land that
they are. Your open space does not mean that you cannot put any
development on it. It means that you would be addressed by the
specific policies within the document that addressed that type
of land.
The third part of the rural areas, the purpose of that is to
encourage a long term operation of resource based industries
and provide for rural life style. The diagram on page 5 shows
the type of land within that area; rural towns, resource land
and rural residential areas. Rural towns would be the counterpart
of the urban centers. The places where convenience goods and
services would be located, some of the smaller lots for single
family housing and maybe some apartments. Resource lands would
be the main purpose of these areas, a way to manage wisely our
resources within King County. In some rural residential areas
there would be small farms. There was a concern of the County
Council that some people would prefer to live in these parts of
the County. They would not be commuting into the cities and they
should be provided for.
If the document is adopted and it were fully implemented by the
Council within the next 50 to 100 years you would expect to see
a series of urban /suburban communities; you would have open space
providing some separation between and some open space within and
a rural area for the resources that they contain.
The second part of the planned concept is how you go about doing
this. This has been the weakness in the existing Comprehensive
Plan. The first draft of the Development Guide that came out
a year ago recognized the problem of our inability to implement
the existing plan well enough. We came up with a complicated
strategy on how you would implement it, but we did not call out
what it was we were implementing. When we went to the Council
last summer they said the issues seemed to have been worked out
but they wondered what the development pattern was that the
document was trying to address. We hope we have come up with
a document that takes both what it is we are trying to achieve
and a process for getting there. The overall premise of the
strategy, and this has been a County policy for some time, is
that we accommodate the growth that is forecast within the
County. The residential and employment growth that is forecast
TUKWILA CITY COUNCIL COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE MEETING
July 14, 1981
Page 5
REPORTS Contd.
Presentation by repre-
sentative from King Co.
Planning Div. on 2nd
draft of King Co.
General Dev. Guide
contd.
within the unincorporated portions of the County, there is a
commitment to accommodate that. We are not encouraging growth
but we want to insure that those who do come that there is room
for them.
The first draft talked about planning ahead for 10 years. The
County Council felt there should be a longer time horizon. We
needed to be able to be service providers over a long period
of time and growth; also to insure that we are not part of
driving up the housing costs by just planning for 10 years.
This document calls for planning ahead for 20 years and it would
accommodate the growth that is forecast to occur within that
period. We want to be sure that land is ready from the County
side. We cannot assue that it is for sale, but to insure from
the actions the County takes that the land is appropriately zoned
within the local service area so sewers can be provided; it is
vacant and environmentally unconstrained.
We would have an annual growth report. We currently have a
land development information system that is able to show where
growth is occurring, where building permits, short plats, sub-
divisions are occurring in King County. On an annual basis
we would change the format a little; we would be able to show
where we stand related to the most recent forecasts for growth.
Do we have 20 years of land vacant that is planned for residen-
tial growth? It is an ongoing check that we have enough land
available for growth. The map on the left has designated
urban /suburban communities; it has a growth reserve which is
always a controversial part; it has rural areas. The designated
urban /suburban communities on the map is the area within King
County where currently the decisions for urban /suburban growth
had been made through the community planned process. The
County designated those lands for urban /suburban areas. The
North Shore plan up in the north corner has been approved and
the next time the map is printed it will be shown that the area
is for urban /suburban development. It is a status report for
community planning.
Ms. Bundy said the County is having trouble coming up with enough
money to carry the project. They are looking for options that
are available. The document talks about in some instances where
the developer is not able to provide the facilities and the County
does not have the capacity or ability at the time, for an interim
period some subdivisions may need to be turned down. We do not
want to cram people in. We want roads that can be used and a
good quality of life.
The growth reserve, as shown on the map, is a portion of the
County which ultimately would be developed in the urban /suburban
land use pattern. The question is not what would be expected to
occur in the future but when. It is a time issue. In the past
there has not been a commitment as to what you would expect of the
reserve. This makes a commitment. The annual growth report would
be monitoring the supply and as it was found we were short, we
needed more land, to meet this 20 year target we would be giving
direction to community plans in those areas. The guide establishes
criteria for community plans to look at so it can be standardized.
We have to look at the adequacy of the sewers, the transportation
facilities, the water, the schools, the parks within that portion
of the County. If growth is encouraged can those services facili-
tate them. Also, are people travelling long distances to employ-
ment in that part of the County, and thus it would be a more
difficult place for more residential.
Ms. Bundy said she was sure Tukwila was interested in how King
County would work with the City. A good example to use is Issa-
quah. On the map you will note that the line goes to Issaquah
and then halts. This is partly due to fear of making a decision
for Issaquah. They are going through a great deliberation of
whether they are going to be an urban center or a rural town.
We did not make that decision for them and we are looking for them
this summer to make that decision as part of their Comprehensive
Plan. Then they will be adopting the King Subregional Plan,
TUKWILA CITY COUNCIL COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE MEETING
July 14, 1981
Page 6
REPORTS Contd.
Presentation by repre-
sentative from King Co.
Planning Div. on 2nd
draft of King Co.
General Dev. Guide
contd.
amending it or adopting it as it now stands. If Issaquah decides
to become a major urban center our annual monitoring would
reflect where growth is forecast there would be a great deal of
land planned for that type of development. If Issaquah decided
to be a small little town, there were people travelling long
distances, there was a need for more employment growth, Bellevue
did not see accommodating that, we have policies in the guide
for designating new areas in unincorporated King County. The
policies first rely on looking to existing centers for that type
of growth. If those centers were fully developed then we would
be looking to those portions of unincorporated King County where
there could be development. It would be similar with all of the
cities.
This is a draft and we are interested in specific comments. The
end of the week we will be sending out a letter asking for comments
by September 30, 1981. We would be interested if you have some
preliminary comments in options or language changes. We hope
you will put them in writing so they will be for everyone to see.
Public hearings are being held throughout the County, also they
have asked to meet with special purpose districts. We want to
be able to determine the adequacy of facilities and services.
An environmental impact statement will be out in August and
comments on that will be due the end of September. There will
be a series of public hearings during September. It is expected
to take all of the comments and summarize them. We want to take
all of the bugs out of it now and make the changes and then
submit it to the County Council.
Councilman Bohrer said we have an area of town where the City has
a Comprehensive Plan, there is the Highline Community Plan, the
King County General Development, what sort of hierarchy would
they have in the County's mind?
Ms. Bundy said this document, if adopted, would have the hierarchy.
It would be the overall policy document for King County. As it
relates to Highline Community Plan, anything that is inconsistent
with the document we would recommend an amendment to it.
That is the controversy that is caused. We are saying for a
full range of density, some acre and half -acre lots for apartments,
but also some of the 5,000 square foot lots and there is not that
much vacant land. On a case by case basis within the Highline
planning area these missing categories would be considered. The
Highline Plan would have to be consistent. The second part would
be to work out a way for Tukwila, a formal agreement between
Tukwila and the County, for the adjacent area and to work on
agreeing to the land uses and then to reviewing the development
permits that come through.
Councilman Bohrer said then we would make the Community Plan
agree with the County Plan. Ms. Bundy said it was hoped that
everyone could come to an agreement as to the use of the adjacent
areas and then a mechanism through an interlocal agreement to
insure that if subdivisions or rezones are coming through that
we would have a way to look at them and resolve any differences.
Councilman Bohrer said from the population figures given the
County grew 36% from 1960 to 1980. You are projecting 24% growth
from 1980 to year 2,000. Ms. Bundy said one was for all of King
County and one was for unincorporated King County. It was not a
good comparison. Councilman Bohrer suggested that both census
figures be put in the Development Guide.
Councilman Bohrer asked how often the County expected to revise
the Guide? It has been 16 years since the last one. P1s. Bundy
said Comprehensive Plans are long range plans. If there is no
change of circumstances it may never need to be done again. We
did not foresee the energy situation. Amendments can go directly
into the document. It will be kept up to date.
Councilman Bohrer said the City has a consultant who advises us
on transportation policy and he usually tells us we should be
realistic about transit and growth in the City of Tukwila. Could
TUKWILA CITY COUNCIL COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE MEETING
July 14, 1981
Page 7
REPORTS Contd.
Presentation by repre-
sentative from King Co.
Planning Div. on 2nd
draft of King Co.
General Dev. Guide
cotd.
RECESS
8:10 8:25 P.M.
33 .3
you be realistic about transit and tell us what we ought to expect
here? Ms. Bundy said they have relied on Metro's bus system
and following where the growth is. It is in dense development
that transit begins to pay for itself. The Guide relies or uses
the transit system as part of getting people to work and services.
From meeting with Metro they see this as a realistic way of
proceeding. We want to encourage development in such a way that
the bus system can be the major way of transit.
Councilman Bohrer said at the present time the City has no
residential developments in the downtown area. To put in high
density in that area would be very much compatible with your
plans. Lis. Bundy said that decision is very much the decision of
the City of Tukwila. You will be the ones making that decision.
The Guide is encouraging that mix of uses. Councilman Bohrer
said that is at the discretion of the developer, it is not up
to the City at this point.
Councilman Bohrer said he noted reference to pedestrian traffic
and bicyle traffic. Do you really expect to have people ride
bikes to work? Ms. Bundy said they are talking about urban
centers as a whole mix of uses so people can get from one place
to another. It is less auto oriented in that sense. In the
emphasis of trying to not use cars quite as much, to have office
uses adjacent to retail, the attempt is to facilitate so people
can actually walk if they are interested. Maybe they will never
walk from one place to another, but if it is not provided or made
possible they never will walk.
Brad Collins, Director of Planning, asked how the General Develop-
ment Guide addresses the question of annexation to incorporated
areas. Does it address it directly? Would it provide incentive
for areas to annex? Ms. Bundy said it is a State statute that
affects that and the County is not proposing a change. It has
been the policy in the past for King County not to stop annexation.
The concern would be if we felt people were getting away from
something we felt was important. We might make some strong
language to 3oundary Review Board about this. Generally the
Guide does not make a difference whether they are within that
City or incorporated as an additional City. It is not looking at
the revenue loss. Annexation is covered on Page 51 of the Guide.
Councilman Bohrer said he would recommend that Staff look at the
accuracy of the document and work with it. He said he noted
several discrepancies. I'ls. Bundy said the map was not meant to
be site specific.
Mayor Todd asked for the source of the maps that designate certain
areas as land slide areas. Ms. Bundy said they are from the
King County sensitive areas portfolio. An analysis was done about
3 years go. There is debate about the criteria.
Caroline Berry, Planner, asked what kind of feedback the County
has received on the Guide. Ns. Bundy said they have received
quite a lot of negative feedback. The environmental groups
feel it is too weak. Some feel it is over regulated. Some have
problems with the language. The response has been that they have
tried to be professional. She said she would look
forward to specific comments from the City.
Councilman Bohrer said the City has just gone through a similar
analysis by going through the Comprehensive Plan and he felt sure
the City would have comments to make.
MOVED BY HILL, SECONDED BY JOHANSON, THAT THE TUKWILA CITY COUNCIL
RECESS FOR FIVE MINUTES. MOTION CARRIED.
The Tukwila City Council Committee of the Whole Meeting was
called back to order by Council President Van Dusen, with Council
Members present as previously listed.
TUKWILA CITY COUNCIL COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE MEETING
July 14, 1981
Page 8
OLD BUSINESS
Approval of Minutes:
June 15, 1931 Zoning Ord.
Review
June 22, 1981 Zoning Ord.
Review
June 23, 1981 Committee
of the Whole Mtg.
NEW BUSINESS
Prop. Ord. prohibiting
weapons capable of prod-
ucing bodily harm on
premises where alcoholic
beverages are dispensed
by drink imposing
penalty for violation.
Claim for Damages:
Hugh H. Henderson.
Approve call for bids
for consultant's propo-
sals for engineering
services to establish
final profile grade and
alignment of Interurban.
*MOTION CARRIED.
33
MOVED BY HILL, SECONDED BY PHELPS, THAT THE MINUTES OF THE JUNE
15 AND JUNE 22, 1981 ZONING ORDINANCE REVIEW MEETING AND THE
JUNE 23, 1981 COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE MEETING BE APPROVED AS
PUBLISHED. MOTION CARRIED.
Police Chief Lowery said the cases they have received are about
one -half of the instances that have taken place. Two people
have to respond to a call regarding a weapon. In some cases the
person will not take offense, but sometimes they do if they have
been drinking. It opens up an area of liability. By passing
the proposed ordinance it will give the Police Department more
ammunition. Chief Lowery said some of the surrounding cities
have similar ordinances.
MOVED BY HILL, SECONDED BY PHELPS, THAT THE PROPOSED ORDINANCE
BE ON THE AGENDA OF THE JULY 21, 1981 REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING.
Councilman Bohrer said he thought the word "whereas" as an
introduction to the Sections would strengthen the document. He
said he noted that language in Section 3, tenth line, does not
agee with the sign to be posted. Chief Lowery said it is a
typographical error and will be corrected in the ordinance.
Ted Uomoto, Director of Public Works, said the Public Works review
of the claim indicates that the chuck hole that caused damage
to Mr. Henderson's vehicle was located within the legal boundaries
of the City. The City had previously denied his claim as it was
felt the location of the hole was in King County and not Tukwila.
King County made a closer review of the legal description of the
boundary of the two entities and field surveyed the boundary
and concluded the boundary location is located in Tukwila.
Council President Van Dusen said he thought Council should develop
a policy about the claims. People have to drive carefully on
a street that is not smooth. Councilman Bohrer asked for the
depth of the hole. Mr. Uomoto said it was about 11' wide and
6" deep. The car was a sports model and at first it was thought
damage had not been caused, but it developed that it was thrown
out of line. If it had been a large car there would not have
been damage.
Mayor Todd said he thought it was a surveyor's hole. It seems
they are not repairing the damage they are doing. Mr. Uomoto
said the Public Works Department did not know about the hole or
they would have filled it in.
MOVED BY BOHRER, SECONDED BY JOHANSON, THAT THE CLAIM FOR DAMAGES
BY HUGH H. HENDERSON BY ON THE AGENDA OF THE JULY 21, 1981 REGULAR
COUNCIL MEETING. MOTION CARRIED.
Ted Uomoto, Director of Public Works, said the Public Works Commit-
tee recommended Council approve the request to publish notice to
seek engineering proposals to establish future final grade and
location of Interurban Avenue and its sidewalk between I -405 and
I -5.
Councilman Hill asked if the proposal will establish the right -of-
way and where all of the access and egress should be. Mr. Uomoto
said he was not sure about establishing the boundary lines. This
will be based on what money will be available. This would be more
expensive. Councilman Hill asked if we could ask for specific
things and thereby get the most for the money. If you bring a
line from Kent and one from Georgetown all of a sudden there will
be a 10' difference right in the middle of town. Where will the
survey start from? Mr. Uomoto said in establishing boundaries
a company would have to make research and find the monuments that
TUKWILA CITY COUNCIL COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE MEETING
July 14, 1981
Page 9
NEW BUSINESS Contd.
Approve call for bids
for consultant's propo-
sals for engineering
services to establish
final profile grade
alignment of Interurban.
contd.
show discrepancy. By doing it that way and having it recorded
they would be in a better position in a court decision. Mayor
Todd said flcDuffy established a lot of the monuments in Tukwila.
Councilman Bohrer said he would like to see it broken down so
we have something to bid on. He said this seems a lower level of
study than what we are looking for.
Ted Uomoto, Director of Public Works, said for $20,000 you cannot
get a final design. He said he felt the City engineering Depart-
ment will have to do some more work to establish elevation. It
is likely the work will have to be done on the City's own time.
This proposal will give the City information to work on. We are
not trying to tell the consultant how to do the work. We will
receive quite a number of proposals.
Councilman Hill asked if it would be better to have all of the
information needed, including right -of -way, so we can go and find
where the right -of -way is if it is staked. Would it be better
to get three fourths of the street complete the way we want it
or would it be better to get the whole thing done and get about
two thirds of what we need.
Mr. Uomoto said he would prefer the latter because the City can
ask a developer to provide sidewalk elevation. We could tell
them where the monuments are located. The burden of increased
inspection would be up to the developer. The benchmark could
last for years.
Councilman Bohrer referred to the third paragraph of "Study
Considerations," fifth line, where it says, "consideration can
be given to waiver for Council decision. He said he would like
to delete "to waiver." There is another alternative. An alterna-
tive would be to consider acquiring the land. He said he would
prefer saying we are going to have information for Council
decision rather than implying we are going to have a waiver.
MOVED BY BOHRER, SECONDED BY HILL, THAT THE CALL FOR BIDS FOR
CONSULTANT'S PROPOSAL FOR ENGINEERING SERVICES TO ESTABLISH FINAL
PROFILE GRADE AND ALIGNMENT OF INTERURBAN AVENUE BE ON THE AGENDA
OF THE JULY 21, 1981 REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING, WITH THE CHANGE
SUGGESTED BY COUNCILMAN BOHRER IN THE THIRD PARAGRAPH OF THE
"STUDY CONSIDERATIONS." MOTION CARRIED.
(1) Deletion of the oil Ted Uomoto, Director of Public Works, said the oil rejuvenation
Rejuvenation Program for program for the streets last year was evaluated and, based on
City Streets. the evaluation, it was conclued that the program is not as effec-
(2) Ditch cleaning tive as anticipated. Placement of oil requires ideal conditions
along Interurban. which are difficult to meet, such as hot weather at the time of
application and restricted traffic for at least one day. Also,
the remaining streets not oiled are in a deteriorated condition
that indicates it is too late for this type of treatment. The
rejuvenation program was budgeted for $15,000.
Mr. Uomoto said the Public Works Committee has recommended
Council approval to delete the oil rejuvenation program and
divert the budgeted funds toward the high priority ditch cleaning
along Interurban Avenue. Debris build -up in ditches covers
the outlet of the storm drain pipes which receive run -off from
Interurban Avenue. The ditch work could be accomplished by
Public Works staff with rental equipment. The cost impact would
be $10,000. He said a budget transfer is not necessary as funds
are within the City Street Maintenance budget.
MOVED BY HILL, SECONDED BY JOHANSON, THAT COUNCIL ACCEPT THE
DELETION OF THIS BUDGET ITEM AND IT BE ON THE AGENDA OF THE
JULY 21, 1981 REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING. MOTION CARRIED.
Councilman Phelps said it will be a narrative change in the
budget.
TUKWILA CITY COUNCIL COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE MEETING
July 14, 1981
Page 10
NEW BUSINESS Contd.
McAllister Condo Waiver
to build 48 units on
property lying east of
Tukwila Park.
3a
Brad Collins, Director of Planning, said the McAllister application
was reviewed by the Council in January and was found to be incom-
plete. The Council requested the applicant to revise the layout
to address the following topics of concern: adequacy of fire
access, built -form intensity, adequacy of on -site recreation space.
The applicant has responded to the concerns and they have worked
with Planning, Fire, and Recreation Department staff members.
Staff feels that plan represents a substantial improvement of
the previous design concept and appears to resolve Council's
concerns about the original proposal.
Councilman Phelps said there had been a dispute on the property
line between the City Park and the developer's property. Mr.
Collins said this has been resolved.
Councilman Bohrer asked if the road slopes have been reviewed
and if they are feasible. Mr. Collins said this had been a
concern and they had worked with Jim Hoel of the Fire Department
on this matter.
Mr. Stapper, architect representing McAllister, said there was
a 142% slope throughout the property. During the course of the
redesign they met with the Fire Department and others and reques-
ted of them a criteria. They indicated in writing that they
would be satisfied with the plan where the slopes exceed 122
Originally, all of the buildings were located on the steep slopes.
In the new plan we have a fair portion of the building sites
located on relatively gentle slopes, some less than 5 The
maximum slope of roadways on the side is 122 He said it is
his understanding that will meet the Fire Department requirements.
This was one of their prime efforts. The redesign was to reduce
the slopes from what they had.
Councilman Bohrer said he did not understand how they could do
that from what the slopes were orignally. From a 142% slope
you have gone all of the way down a long hill. Now you say you
have made that 122
Mr. Stapper said they are now entering the site from a different
location from the original plan. Originally they were coming
right off the entry road onto the site and they have now moved
the entry location down. We were being penalized in the design
just by the configuration we were working with. By coming
in at the new location it allows them to access the units to the
north at a much lower elevation than they were before. This
works to their advantage all of the way down.
Councilman Bohrer said it would have to be explained better than
that. Starting with the old plan it said the slopes from the
entry road to the end is 142 Moving the entry way is not going
to change getting to the end of the street which is 153rd.
Mfr. Stapper said if you study the contours on the site there have
been a lot of revising in locating the roads. They are not
coming down as much as they were in the original plan. If you
were to scale these off you would find they were 122 He said
they are looking at a different plan now than the original one.
They are not coming down to 140th as they were in the other plan.
The effort was to try to keep the level up. They are taking advan-
tage of a portion of the slope to get into the site. In order
to make the units fit on the site they had to keep a road up.
Councilman Phelps said in looking at the map that the new roadway
configuration is more westerly than the original driveway access
to the property where the contour lines on the map show it a
little wider than where the roadway was originally placed.
They are narrower in the original proposal. This is the south end.
Mr. Stapper, said one of the big concerns expressed was the
Fire Department access to the structures and particularly to the
downhill slope. They met on several occasions with Fire Department
personnel and their effort to do that combined with another one
of the comments which was the thought that the density of the
TUKWILA CITY COUNCIL COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE MEETING
July 14, 1981
Page 11
NEW BUSINESS Contd.
McAllister Condo Waiver
to build 48 units on
property lying east
of Tukwila Park contd.
33
project looked a little high. In taking staff guidance and
trying to explore some other approaches to the site they looked
at what would happen if they reduced the density. They reduced
the density of the site by 10 units, which is significant. In
doing that there is a bench area,which you may recall when you
walked the site earlier in the year, which works along the
mid -level of the site. Our efforts were to achieve a fire access
lane that would somehow get access to the lower units. This was
discussed with the Fire Department and they felt that would be
a valid approach to that problem. We have proposed a gravel road
which would also start to work a bit into the recreational aspect
of the development, trying to develop a road that will serve
the requirements of the Fire Department access and yet may
gently work around the existing trees or terrain as much as
possible. At the base of that we would create a 70' turn around
which would allow the Fire Department to get out. There are
two means of turn around for the Fire Department; there is one
at the base of the last units and if they have to achieve access
through the fire line there is a 70' turn around at the other end.
This concept has been reviewed by the Fire Department and they
have given their indication it is a workable solution. The
buildings remain completely sprinklered and we continue to have
fire hydrants at the appropriate intervals.
Mr. Stapper said another comment on the original plan, they had
some fairly long units put together and there was concern about
getting access between those units. They have endeavored, in
reducing the density, to group the buildings in smaller units
to help mitigate that problem.
Mr. Stapper said basically the three things that they saw that
were the concerns that Council had were the slopes of the roadway
grades which have been reduced; the Fire Department access that
has been addressed adequately; and the density that has been
reduced approximately 20 Another item that was not specifically
addressed but which they felt was important to resolve at this
time was the recreation provided on the site. It had not been
addressed in specific terms. They met with the Recreation
Director and, in conjunction with them, developed this approach
for this particular site, recognizing it a steep slope and
trying to develop recreation within the constraints of the site
that would be adequate. They have basically given their concur-
rence with this approach.
Councilman Bohrer asked if there is a grading plan that goes
with the plan? Mr. Loveland said the grades that have been
developed are shown on the plan. Councilman Bohrer asked if
there is anything that indicates their cut? Mr. Stapper said
it could be derived from the plan. With the new configuration
there is less cut and fill than on the original drawings. They
have pulled the main roadway back toward the park side and by
doing that they were able to work around a fairly large rock out-
cropping rather than cutting right through the middle as the
original plan had done.
Council President Van Dusen asked if the parking will be under the
units? Mr. Loveland said yes, for each unit there is one covered
stall and one open stall.
Councilman Bohrer said when you look at where the buildings on
the old plan were sited, and he did not think the new ones were
in a significantly different location, what you found was the
slopes under those buildings range from 40 to 60% down the hill.
One of the policies of the King County Development Guide says
you should leave slopes over 40% undeveloped. We have not done
that here, but the thing that will happen in this development is
that you will absolutely clear it of any vegetation and there will
be not a single foot of ungraded area on the entire site. You
will clear it all and then reconstruct it.
TUKWILA CITY COUNCIL COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE MEETING
July 14, 1981
Page 12
NEW BUSINESS Contd.
Mcallister Condo Waiver
to build 48 units on
property lying east
of Tukwila Park contd.
Mr. Stapper said that was not totally true. He said they will
be grading a substantial portion. They have endeavored in
developing this piece of property to hold the units as far up the
hill as possible so they can keep as much vegetation as possible
on the lower portion of the property, which is what is going to
screen those units from the highway. He said he thought there
would be a fairly good screen on that level. He said he did not
concur that the entire property would be stripped of vegetation.
Councilman Bohrer said he was not very hopeful that they would
be able to do better than was done on the property behind the
City Hall, when their slopes are four or five times as great
as that site.
Mr. Loveland said the buildings set into the hillside to minimize
the gradings. As much as possible will be left in its native state
Councilman Bohrer said he thought by the time the buildings were
located they will grade at least 80% of the site. Mr. Stapper
he thought there were ways to achieve their design without
clearing the hillside. Councilman Bohrer said he would like to
hear how they are going to do it because no one else has been
able to achieve it. Mr. said this is a different
situation than behind the City Hall. Councilman Bohrer said he
would like to see a discussion on the percentage of the site
to be graded and how they propose to save more than one tree on
the site. Council President Van Dusen asked that Mr. Stapper
be prepared to discuss this subject next week. Mr. Stapper
said he would be prepared.
Councilman Phelps said we do have a diferent designation for zoning
under Draft 4 and she was not sure how the development fits into
the draft recommendation of the Planning Commission. She
felt the R -4 designation is more appropriate than the R -3.
Brad Collins, Director of Planning, said this question was raised
in the staff report and because of the designation in effect
on the northeast part is R -1 and the designation on the southwest
part is R -3 and trying to determine that line and running it
through the property and calculating space, as near as they could
figure it may end up a few units short as far as the designation
of those units at this point. This was brought to the attention
of the applicant. The other things that gets sticky is in the
draft ordinance it talks about a nonconforming structure and it
talks about existing structures. His presumption is that the
ordinance will probably be passed before the structures are
existing, or at least completed. He felt it was his responsibility
to point out to the applicant that there is a potential of ending
up with some sort of nonconforming density or structure. It
could not be calculated what that was very easily.
Councilman Phelps said there are about 10 development units per
gross acres on the site with 48 units, but how do you determine
net acres? Now that they have been redesigned what would be the
number of development units per net acre? Mr. Collins said the
net acreage figure for the development is 4.68 as he recalled.
In trying to make a calculation as to how much is R -3 and how much
is R -1 we determined there was a possiblity of coming up with
somewhere between 42 and 46 units. That is using a PRD type
of bonus clustering concept as well. The other notion is that
the R -1 area is zoned R -1- 20,000. As you calculate that into
the area you lose another unit or two because of the lot size
in that area being consistent. The other question we have is that
the area to the north and west is proposed for R -3 also and it is
his understanding that those units are at R -4 or greater density.
The question that staff intended to raise under unresolved
issues sometime this month was is that the appropriate designation
for those areas. What is the purpose that is served by making
all of those units nonconforming.
Councilman Bohrer asked how many acres are on the portion of the
site that you plan to develop and how many are on the site that
you plan to leave untouched? Mr. Stapper said he had not.calcu-
lated that exactly at this time. Councilman Bohrer asked that
TUKWILA CITY COUNCIL COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE MEETING
July 14, 1981
Page 13
NEW BUSINESS Contd.
McAllister Condo Waiver
to build 48 units on
property lying east
of Tukwila Park contd.
P &L Co. Comprehensive
Plan Amendment request
to redesignate 3.1 ac.
no. of adjacent to
Xerox bldg. on South
center Blvd. from
medium density resi-
dential" and "low den-
sity residential" to
"office" use.
Prop. Ord. amending the
1981 Budget to approp.
unanticipated revenue.
Report on Public Mtg.
on East Side Green River
Watershed Project held
July 8, 1981.
this be addressed at the next meeting.
33c2
Councilman Phelps asked if with the recreation spaces that are
provided for in the revised plan would they serve as a mitigating
factor to the extra units on the site or could it? Mr. Collins
said he would assume that is part of the notion of doing it that
way.
Councilman Bohrer asked Staff to tell him if there is any site
in the City where there is multi family that is steeper than
this slope. He asked that this information be supplied at the
next regular meeting. Councilman Phelps said the Terrace Apart-
ments are on a steep slope, they might be a similar comparison
Councilman Johanson asked about the water system. Mr. Stapper
said they had not determined how they are going to handle all
of the utilities, they have been busy with density and slope.
Mr. Collins said the Fire Department has determined the water
flow and they are aware of it.
Mr. Stapper said it is their feeling in looking at the present
zoning that the owner of the property is being penalized by the
designation of R -1 on a portion of the property which he is
unable to develop in the R -1- 20,000 because of the steepness.
It was mentioned by the Council that multi- family was the proper
usage for that site. The Council has put a zoning on that
property that makes it undevelopable.
MOVED BY HILL, SECONDED BY PHELPS, THAT THE MCALLISTER CONDOMINIUM
WAIVER TO BUILD 48 UNITS ON PROPERTY LYING EAST OF TUKWILA PARK
BE ON THE AGENDA OF THE JULY 21, 1981 REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING.
MOTION CARRIED.
Brad Collins, Directof of Planning, said the applicant would
like to continue the discussion on the P &L Co. Comprehensive Plan
Amendment to the Committee of the Whole Meeting on July 28, 1981.
MOVED BY HILL, SECONDED BY JOHANSON, THAT THE P &L CO. COMPREHENSIVE
PLAN AMENDMENT REQUEST BE ON THE AGENDA OF THE JULY 28, 1981
COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE MEETING. MOTION CARRIED.
Councilman Phelps said the purpose of the proposed ordinance
is to place into the 1981 budget Block Grant Funds that are
available but not included in the budget.
MOVED BY BOHRER, SECONDED BY HILL, THAT THE PROPOSED ORDINANCE
BE ON THE AGENDA OF THE JULY 21, 1981 REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING.
MOTION CARRIED.
Ted Uomoto, Director of Public Works, reported there were 200 to
250 people in attendance at the meeting. There were comments
by the local residents. The comments were pros and cons and he
felt there were more people not favoring the various aspects of
the program, including the method of assessment. The only major
land owner who attended and made comment was The Boeing Company.
They made reference to their concern about the 18 million dollars
they would be assessed. They must have made their own calculation.
Many of the local people were not too clear as to what the
project was about and how it would serve the area. The people
seemed to be confusing Howard Hanson Dam control in the Green
River and what the East Side Green River Watershed Project
provided.
Before Howard Hanson Dam was built the river was uncontrolled and
flows exceeded 12,000 on a regular 12,000 CFS basis. The existing
levees were not capable of containing the flow so consequently the
water overflowed its bank. After Howard Hanson Dam was built,
one of the requirements was to control the flows at Auburn at
12,000 which was supposed to contain the water within the levee.
TUKWILA CITY COUNCIL COPIMITTEE OF THE WHOLE MEETING
July 14, 1981
Page 14
NEW BUSINESS Contd.
Report on Public Mtg.
on East Side Green River
Watershed Project held
July 8, 1981 contd.
MISCELLANEOUS
Checking of Fire Hyd-
rants F. D. or PWD
,33 30
Once this was achieved there was a secondary problem of
local inflow that could not flow into the Green River.
The East Side Green River Watershed Project would then pump
the water into the Green River. After Howard Hanson Dam
was built the development continued which increased the
local inflows in that area. Soil Conservation Services
design allows for a local inflow that will receive a 100
year possibility. This is the reason they have to have a
large holding pond to store that 100 year flow that is
possible. Questions were raised and King County is giving
a little more thought to it at this time. Boeing statement
is that maybe a little more water around might not cause
that much damage 18 million dollars of damage. Some of
the things there were no answers to questions of this nature.
Studies were not that far into the project.
Mr. Uomoto said he attended the meeting last night in the
Renton City City Council. In hearing the Renton City
Council comments they were divided in their opinion.
Some felt that the project was an oversize project. Others
felt perhaps they should go to the local people and con-
struct an LID drainage program. Others felt a building
moratorium should be imposed until they have a better idea
as to what to do. Renton City Council deferred decision
until there could be further discussion in the next
Committee of the Whole Meeting.
In talking to one of the attendees at the Kent meeting,
they came to about the same decision as Renton. In talking
with King County, they sense the project may not fly so
they are trying to look at another alternative. This
other alternative is what would happen, what area would
actually flood if the pumping plant was not constructed.
What would be the actual damages to the many property owners
around this area with the new development in this basin?
King County has recently received the valley topography
plan from the Corps of Engineers. Their topo draing of
the valley is a scale of 1" for 50' which is one of the
most detailed drawings he has seen of the valley. This
is the best information that is available that shows the
ground contour lines existing features. King County is
anticipating further delay to the project. They may
possibly recommend that if they can obtain these holding
pond areas at no cost, which they believe they will be able
to get through donations, this may keep the project alive.
This is what they are working towards.
Councilman Phelps said one of the holding ponds was about
70 acres in the northeast corner of the Renton valley along
the freeway. It is marshy and cattails. That was identifiec
as an area that could serve as storage.
Two political impressions that she came away with was that
one of the major property owners protested on the basis that
the assessments as proposed in the preliminary would show
on the basis of a per acre factor that he would be paying
about two million dollars over the term of the project in
assessments. He was not sure that he would sustain two
million dollars worth of damage to his property should it
flood and no project were built. That was tought to answer.
Councilman Bohrer said he was frustrated or amused, without
understanding the magnitude of some of the assessments.
The whole project will cost about 40 million dollars and
Boeing says they are going to pay 18 million dollars.
Another says he is going to pay 5% of the cost. Does he
have 5% of the property? Councilman Phelps said these
were public audience comments and were made without explan-
ation. People were allowed comment.
Council President Van Dusen said there is a question as to
TUKWILA CITY COUNCIL COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE MEETING
July 14, 1981
Page 15
MISCELLANEOUS Contd.
Checking of Fire
Hydrants Fire
Dept. or Public
Works Dept.?
contd.
for the six years she
was employed in the
City the policy has
Professional Office
allows the related
commercial uses not
to exceed 50% of the
d evelome zzt t
erox ui ing
retail use.
ADJOURNMENT
10:20 P.M.
3 3 3/
whom should check the fire hydrants the Fire Department or
Public Works Department.
Councilman Phelps said it should be up to the Fire Department
to check the fire hydrants. Council President Van Dusen said
the Fire Department should check them and if there was no water
they should go to the Public Works Department. Councilman Phelps
said this matter was discussed in the Finance Committee and it
was determined there that the Fire Department should take over
the checking of the fire hydrants.
Councilman Hill said in the Public Works Committee they checked
with five cities and it was found in a number of them the Fire
Department does the checking. Council President Van Dusen said
,the Police Department checks their police cars before they go out
on patrol. Councilman Phelps said the- pe4ey- fer -s- years -bas
been that the Fire Department check the fire hydrants. If they
are broken or need to be elevated, etc., it is referred to the
Public Works Department
Councilman Phelps said an ad she read placed the Xerox building
as a retail outlet. That- w4- 14- be- ge}eg -aga4n st- the- gen4ng.
MOVED BY BOHRER, SECONDED BY HILL, THAT THE TUKWILA CITY COUNCIL
COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE PFET-4NCADJOURN. MOTION CARRIED.
45Iek-/1.01
Norft Booher, Recording Secretary
7-
i
Gary L.' Tan Di'sen," Council President