HomeMy WebLinkAboutPlanning 2021-06-10 ITEM 4 - STAFF REPORT- TUKWILA SOUTH OVERLAY DISTRICT RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENT GUIDELINESCity of Tukwila
Allan Ekberg, Mayor
Department of Community Development - Nora Gierl o ff, Al CP, Director
STAFF REPORT TO THE PLANNING COMMISSION
Prepared June 1, 2021
FILE NUMBER: L19-0115 Comprehensive Plan/Zoning Code Amendment
ASSOCIATED FILES: E19-0011 SEPA Checklist
REQUEST: Zoning Code amendments to TMC 18.41 and new design guidelines for
multifamily development in the Tukwila South Overlay (TSO) district.
Planning Commission (PC) will hold a future public hearing on the proposed
amendments and make recommendations to the City Council for review and
adoption.
PUBLIC HEARING: The June 10, 2021, meeting is a continuation of the public hearing that
commenced on March 18, 2021.
Lands within the Tukwila South Overlay district.
Max Baker, Senior Planner
LOCATION:
STAFF:
ATTACHMENTS:
A. 4.22.2021 PC Meeting Staff Report — Applicant Comments Provided 4.22.2021 +
Staff Responses
B. Draft Design Guidelines — Provided at 4.22.2021 PC Meeting
BACKGROUND
Segale Properties LLC, the applicant, requests amendments to Title 18, Zoning Code of the Tukwila
Municipal Code (TMC) to set development standards and design guidelines for residential uses. The
proposed amendments are to adopt development standards and guidelines for all residential uses on
parcels within the Tukwila South Overlay district (TSO). These standards and guidelines would apply to
all lands and underlying zoning within the TSO district, and would replace those standards adopted in
2018 for the underlying Low Density Residential (LDR) zone.
Per 18.80.050, the Tukwila City Council will consider proposed amendments to the Tukwila Zoning Code
and take action. Prior to deliberating on an amendment, the Council may forward the proposed
amendments to the City Planning Commission for review and a recommendation. The City Planning
Commission began review of the proposed amendment at a work session on February 25, 2021, and
opened a public hearing at the March 18, 2021, Planning Commission meeting; this meeting is a
continuation of that public hearing.
At the time of the April 22, 2021, PC meeting the applicant provided comments on the proposed
development standards (Attachment A). The Planning Commission voted to hold a follow-up meeting
Tukwila City Hall • 6200 Southcenter Boulevard • Tukwila, WA 98188 • 206-433-1800 • Website: TukwilaWA.gov
5
Planning Commission 6.10.2021 2 of 5
Staff Report: TSO Code Amendments
and reopen the public hearing to allow City staff time to review the applicant's comments and to
provide responses. The subsequent public hearing date was later set for June 10, 2021.
Staff provided their review and recommendations to the applicant on May 21, 2021. The applicant was
invited to submit a formal response to be included in the June 10th PC meeting packet. No response was
received from the applicant prior to finalization of the packet.
The primary focus of this staff report and the June 10th Planning Commission meeting is to address the
applicant's April 22"d comments and City staff's responses/recommendations.
DISCUSSION OF PROPOSED CHANGES
Planning Commission Review of the Proposed Development Standards and Design Guidelines
At the April 22, 2021, Planning Commission meeting, the applicant provided comments regarding the
staff report, including revisions to the proposed development standards. This staff report along with the
applicant's revisions/comments and responses provided by City staff is included as Attachment A.
Revisions to the language within the April 22nd staff report provided by the applicant are indicated by
red and green strikeout/underline. Unless otherwise indicated by staff, proposed applicant revisions are
considered acceptable. Any additional revisions provided by City staff are indicated in blue
strikeout/underline.
Applicant Comments and Staff Response
The following comments were provided by the applicant as reflected in Attachment A, staff
responses follow.
• Pg.3
o Applicant: The existing TSO rec space requirements were established for a hillside
project that was primarily in Seatac and the recreation standards adopted at that time
were mirroring Seatac's requirements. Should not be used for rest of Tukwila South.
o Staff Response: Staff agrees with this comment and has presented this information as
part of their presentation at the 4/22/2021 PC meeting.
• Pg.4
o Applicant: Senior citizens recreation space to be onsite or offsite? I would suggest all
onsite with 50% indoor and 50% outdoor breakdown.
o Staff: Staff agrees, see tracked change for new language. Staff recommended 40-60%
for indoor/outdoor ratio to provide some flexibility in locating senior citizen recreation
areas onsite, a strict 50/50 requirement would be too difficult to enforce.
• Pg.4
o Applicant: Segale does not support the last sentence of note #4. We don't understand
why the city would want to make it harder to provide more recreation area closer to
the residential units.
6
Planning Commission 6.10.2021 3 of 5
Staff Report: TSO Code Amendments
o Staff: Staff accepts the change. It should be noted that the Director is still the decision -
maker regarding the approval of off-site space on-site; their decision as part of
administrative design review is final and subject to the appeal standards set forth in
TMC 18.116: Appeal Processes.
• Pg.4
o Applicant: Segale request that the point of measurement for the 1/4 to 'A mile offsite
recreation area determination be changed from the "majority of the residential units"
to the "closest perimeter of the residential project, which we believe will be easier to
identify and measure."
o Staff: Staff recommends that language be revised to the following: "Off-site recreation
areas must be accessible within 1/4 mile for a children's play area replacing the onsite
requirement. to 1/2 mile for all other offsite recreation area as measured from the closet
structure containing residential units; accessory buildings such as fitness centers,
parking garages, utility structures, etc. will not qualify."
• Pg.5
o Applicant: Moved this section here to avoid confusion associated with acreage
limitations.
o Staff: Staff finds this revision acceptable.
• Pg. 5:
o Applicant: Segale request changing the 2.5 acres to 2.0 acres to better correspond to
actual planned park areas after the highlighted areas below are removed from our
park/recreation project site.
o Staff: The recommendation for a 2.5 acre standard for a larger offsite recreation area
was provided following consultation with the City of Tukwila Parks and Recreation
Department and the staff's consultant, NBBJ.
2.5 acres has been found to accommodate the activities and structures that typically
provide for a successful and well -used community park. For comparison, Cascade View
Park in the Tukwila International Boulevard neighborhood is of a similar size at 2.4
acres. Additionally, the City of Tukwila's 10 local parks average 4.8 acres in size, well
above the 2.5 acre recommended offsite recreation area.
There are currently no residential projects or offsite recreation areas in the TSO district
which will allow for more opportunity to provide an offsite recreation area of this size.
Additionally, the option to create a larger, consolidated recreation area does not
preclude an applicant's ability to develop a smaller offsite recreation instead, the only
difference would be that an unconsolidated recreation area less than 2.5 acres would
need to be constructed at the time of development rather than be banked for an
indefinite period.
Staff recommends the 2.5 acre standard remain.
7
Planning Commission 6.10.2021 4 of 5
Staff Report: TSO Code Amendments
• Pg. 5:
o Applicant: Not sure what constitutes a steep slope? What if we put a soft rail through
the hillside open space which is allowed? What is measured as offsite recreation
space?
o Staff: Staff has provided clarifying language. Additionally, Section E. provides the
following clarification for recreation areas within sensitive area tracts that would
qualify as recreation space: "Only the areas of improvement within a sensitive area
tract would count towards the recreation space requirement, not the entire tract."
• Pg. 6:
o Applicant: The 1/4 mile measurement is for a child's play area, which wouldn't be
satisfied by this specific type of recreation space in a sensitive area.
o Staff: Staff concurs.
• Pg. 6:
o Applicant: Segale suggests this redlined language may be easier to measure as the
perimeter is easy to find, as opposed to 50% of the proposed units.
o Staff: Staff recommends using suggested language for proximity to recreation areas:
"The closet structure containing residential units (not including accessory buildings
such as fitness centers, parking garages, utility structures, etc. must be located within
mile..."
• Pg. 6:
o Applicant: Unless I am mistaken, the connectivity and circulation language is a
guideline and not a standard. Given that, should the opening sentence read "in
addition to the development standards revisions discussed above, staff recommends
additional guidelines to aid in ensuring residential connectivity is provided through the
residential component of the project.
o Staff: This language is intended to act as guidance for language that would be
incorporated in TMC 18.41- Tukwila South Overlay District Development Standards.
Regulations for connectivity are typically located within the Tukwila Municipal Code.
For example, the Tukwila Urban Center chapter contains multiple sections that set
forth requirements for connectivity: TMC 18.28.080, Maximum Block Length: TMC
18.28.130, Corridor Regulations; TMC 18.28.140, New Streets, etc.
As these connectivity requirements are similar to other development standards, such
as height and setbacks, it is recommended that they be incorporated as part of TMC
18.41.
• Pg. 8:
o Applicant: Segale is concerned about this requirement being too restrictive and at odds
with other design standards and guidelines. Envision that the north/south street in the
diagram Southcenter Parkway and the east/west street is 200th. The river is on the
8
Planning Commission 6.10.2021 5 of 5
Staff Report: TSO Code Amendments
right hand side. It is approximately 700 feet from Southcenter Parkway to the river
until the river bulges out in the oxbow further north.
With the 700 foot block face on either side of the block, a sidewalk/bicycle path
interval in this example would be a minimum of every 200 feet to meet the 1,800 linear
feet requirement. That's a very dense network of bike/pedestrian facilities that is way
in excess of the 8 public trails the Tukwila South Development Agreement stipulates
Segale must provide to connect from Southcenter Parkway to the future trail on the
river levy to be constructed by the city.
Strict adherence to this pedestrian bike path interval effectively limits the size of a
north/south oriented building in this example to no more than 160-170 feet when
street pavement, planters and sidewalks are accommodated. This is in conflict with the
residential design standards that provide for buildings up to 200 feet long. This 200
foot interval for sidewalks is also in conflict with the 300 foot guideline limit in the
Section 2.2 of the residential design guidelines
A potential solution to this issue is to maintain the current language but increase the
maximum block perimeter from 1800 feet to 2000 feet, which would provide for a
pedestrian/bicycle connection every 300 feet instead of 200 feet, which is consistent
with Section 2.2 of the Residential Design Guidelines (Pedestrian Circulation) and also
allow for development of a 200 -foot -long building within the block example shown
here. This change, along with the Director's Modification in G. of the connectivity and
circulation language, should provide enough flexibility to respond to unexpected
development scenarios.
o Staff: Maximum block lengths are meant to provide a mechanism to ensure that travel
distances for non -vehicular traffic are not too great, helping to ensure a more pleasant
public realm. The recommendation for an 1,800 foot block perimeter was provided
following numerous meetings between the City staff, consultants, and the applicant,
the last of which took place on April 2nd, ahead of the 4.22.2021 PC Meeting. The
block perimeter standard was considered as one of the less burdensome connectivity
options suggested and will provide projects with flexibility to meet connectivity
requirements. The standard also allows for up to two pedestrian/bicycle paths to count
towards the perimeter block face in place of vehicular streets, providing additional
flexibility. Increasing this measurement from 1,800' to 2,000' would increase block
perimeters 10+% overall.
Staff recommends the maximum block perimeter of 1,800 feet remain.
REQUESTED ACTION
Recommend to the Planning Commission that, upon completion of the Public Hearing, they review the
proposed development standards and design guidelines and forward a recommendation to the Tukwila
City Council that they approve amendment of Chapter 18.41 of the Tukwila Zoning Code.
9