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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOW 2012-03-26 Item 4A - Informational MemorandumCity of Tukwila TO: FROM: DATE: SUBJECT ISSUE Jim Haggerton, Mayor INFORMATIONAL MEMORANDUM Mayor Haggerton Committee of the Whole Brandon J. Miles, Senior Planner March 20, 2012 Riverton Development Agreement -12909 East Marginal Way South Revised Followina March 12. 2012 CAP Meetina Should the City of Tukwila enter into a Development Agreement with Riverton LLC for the construction of a mixed use building at 12909 East Marginal Way South? BACKGROUND On March 14, 2011, the Committee of the Whole was briefed about entering into a Development Agreement "DA with Riverton LLC "Developer") for the construction of a Leadership in Energy Environmental Design "LEED certified, mixed use building at 12909 East Marginal Way South. At that meeting the City Council expressed general support for the project, but had some concern with the impacts the project could have on street parking in the area. After the meeting, DCD staff and the Developer worked together to revise the proposal to address the Council's concerns regarding parking. On February 13, 2012 and March 12, 2012, Community Affairs and Parks "CAP was briefed on the revised project and the terms of the proposed development agreement. The following outlines the various issues with the proposed project. Parking The property owner is proposing a three story, mixed use building. The ground floor along East Marginal Way will have commercial tenants, which will include a small restaurant. Residential dwelling units (mixture of one and two bedrooms) will be included on the first, second and third floors. The applicant has reduced the number of apartment units for the project from 28 to 23 which will reduce the total parking demand. The following is the parking breakdown for the proposed project: Proposed Land Use 23 residential units 1,000 square feet of cafe space, only 800 sf usable 2,000 square feet of office Total: Zoning Code Requirement 2 stalls for every one unit 1 per 100 square feet of usable floor area 3 per 1,000 square feet of usable floor area Total Parking per Code 46 stalls 8 stalls 6 stalls 160 stalls 3 INFORMATIONAL MEMO Page 2 The Developer is proposing to install 39 parking stalls on site and will create an additional 12 stalls along East Marginal Way South. Thus, the total number of parking stalls proposed for the development is 51. This creates a deficiency of nine parking stalls. In order to construct the on- street parking the applicant will be required to complete full frontage improvements along development property and the adjacent school district (bus parking) property. Typically, the City would use the parking variance process to address the parking deficiency for the project. However, City code prohibits the issuance of a parking variance when the project is within 300 feet of a single family zone. It's unclear if this 300 feet requirement is based on path of travel or simply by distance. How the Development Aareement Will Address Parking: The Development agreement will address parking on the site by allowing the property owner to have a required parking ratio of 1.5 stalls for every one residential unit in lieu of the standard code requirement of 2 stalls per unit. When Council was briefed on the proposed parking reduction in March some concern was expressed with not having enough parking onsite for the residential units. This issue has been resolved by reducing the number of residential units. The required parking for the commercial operations will be located on East Marginal Way. Additionally, the commercial units could use the onsite parking during the daytime hours. The Developer has provided the City with a Parking Demand Analysis "Parking Analysis which is included as Attachment H. The Parking Analysis concludes that at peak time, the proposed use will need a total of 34 spaces (p. 4). The 34 space recommendation is based on a more traditional "urban" environment, like central parts of the City of Seattle. Given that Tukwila is more suburban, staff asked that the Parking Analysis include a parking demand calculation for a suburban land use pattern. The suburban Parking Analysis indicates that the proposed project would require 45 parking stalls (Appendix, p. 3). Regardless of which parking count is used, the proposed project will be installing more parking than is forecasted in the Parking Analysis. To further address parking on the property, the applicant has proposed a document (Attachment G) which will be recorded against the property that outlines how parking will be assigned and how the property owner will manage the parking. Split Zoning A parcel that is part of this development has split zoning, Low Density Residential "LDR and Neighborhood Commercial Center "NCC Tukwila Municipal Code (TMC) 18.08.040 provides an avenue for addressing this type of situation. "Where a district boundary line divides a lot which was in single ownership at the time of passage of this Title, the Hearing Examiner may permit, as a special exception, the extension of the regulations for either portion of the lot not to exceed 50 feet beyond the district line into the remaining portion of the lot'. The property owner petitioned and the Hearing Examiner approved extending the NCC zoning onto the LDR zoned portion. However, that approval has expired. The property owner could request that the Hearing Examiner reapprove the project; however this would add cost and time to the project. 4 ZADCD n Clerk's \Brandon \Riverton WCOW, 2012.03.26 \COW Memo.doc INFORMATIONAL MEMO Page 3 How the Development Agreement Addresses SD/it Zoning: Under the DA, the City Council will approve extending the NCC zoning onto the LDR zoned portion of the property. When Council was briefed in March of 2011 there did not seem to be any concern with this approach. Streamlined Land Use Approval When the City Council was initially briefed on the proposed development project, DCD discussed the various public hearings that would be required for the project. Not only would the project be required to complete a public hearing before the City Council acts on the DA, but a public hearing would also be required before the Board of Architectural Review. The City Council supported the idea of allowing the applicant to instead proceed with the proposed project by having only one public hearing which would be before the City Council. If the City Council approves the DA, they would also be approving the proposed elevations and conceptual site plan (Attachment D and F). How Development Agreement Addresses Streamlined Land Use Approval: The DA will waive the requirement that the developer obtain design review approval for the proposed project. All other land use reviews and construction permits are required. First Floor Usage The NCC zone allows mixed use buildings; however the code is unclear if the first floor may have residential units. TMC 18.22.050 (13) states that multi family units are allowed above office and retail uses. The applicant has proposed to have retail uses fronting along East Marginal Way, but would have first floor residential units facing the interior of the lot. At this location it would not seem feasible to require retail and /or office in the back part of the property without a street presence. How the Development Agreement Addresses First Floor Usage: The DA will allow the developer to have first floor residential units behind the commercial spaces that will front directly on East Marginal Way South. This approach did not cause any concerns when Council was initially briefed. Consideration Provided by the Applicant to the City In consideration of the City granting the DA, the developer has agreed to seek LEED certification for the proposed building and construct frontage improvements along East Marginal Way South. Staff briefed the Council about the consideration being provided at the March 2011 COW meeting. LEED Certification and LID Standards LEED certification is an environmental certification for new and existing buildings. Approval of LEED certifications is done by the US Green Building Council. There are varying degrees of certification ranging from simply, "LEED" Certified to "Platinum Status The developer will seek "silver' certification. The TMC does not allow the City to mandate LEED or other green construction certifications. It is only through the DA that the City can mandate that the proposed building be LEED certified. ZADCD n Clerk's \Brandon \Riverton WCOW, 2012.03.26 \COW Memo.doc 5 INFORMATIONAL MEMO Page 4 How the Development Aareement Addresses LEED Certification: The DA will be structured to have the developer provide the city a financial guarantee of $10,000. This financial guarantee will be returned to the developer once LEED certification is achieved. In the event that the developer is unable to achieve LEED certification the financial guarantee will be forfeited and the City will credit the $10,000 to the City's Stream Team Fund. Frontage Improvements along East Marginal Way South Much of the right of way of East Marginal Way is deficient and does not meet City code. The developer has agreed to construct full frontage improvements, including installing on- street parking along approximately 300 feet of East Marginal Way (Attachment D and E). The ROW that will be improved will also include that part of East Marginal Way that borders the adjacent bus parking lot for the Tukwila School District. How the Development Aareement Addresses Frontage Improvements: The DA will specify that the developer will install full frontage improvements along East Marginal Way South. Without the DA, the City would not be able to require that the applicant install the frontage improvements along the School District property. If the applicant pursued a project that did not utilize a DA, the City could only require frontage improvements along the portion of East Marginal Way that bordered the project site. As is typical practice, the frontage improvements must be installed before the City will issue the final certification of occupancy for the new building. Other Issues In order to create a unique building the property owner had originally requested some deviations from the required front setbacks along East Marginal Way; however since that time modifications to the TMC that resolve the issues with setbacks have been adopted. Staff would like to highlight some other points of the DA that were not included in the March 2011 COW briefing: 1. Identification of Proiect: The DA specifies that the developer must market and advertise the project as being located in the City of Tukwila. 2. Pavment of Fees: In order to compensate the City for City staff time and legal fees in working on the DA, the developer is required to pay the City $5,000. All other development fees (building and land use) are required at the time the applicable application is submitted to the City. DISCUSSION The proposed development highlights some issues with the current Zoning Code regulations and these issues should be ultimately addressed with amendments to the TMC, which would clarify the City Council's intent. Yet, the time it takes to process the code amendments would impact a developer who is ready to build, thus the need for a Development Agreement. The DA attempts to address some of the parking concerns that Council had at the March 2011 COW meeting. There is sufficient on -site parking to accommodate the residential units at a ratio of 1.5 parking stalls per unit. Unless specifically addressed in the DA, the developer shall comply with all the City's Development regulations, including building, fire, public works, land use and signage 6 ZADCD n Clerk's \Brandon \Riverton WCOW, 2012.03.26 \COW Memo.doc INFORMATIONAL MEMO Page 5 regulations. With the exception of design review, the developer shall obtain all required permits and land use approvals. RECOMMENDATION Staff recommends that the proposed Ordinance which will authorize the Mayor to sign the Development Agreement be forwarded to the April 2, 2012 Regular meeting for possible action. NOTIFICATION As required by State Law a public hearing has been scheduled for this evening's meeting. Notification for tonight's public hearing was provided as follows: 1. Legal Notice in the Seattle Times; 2. Postcard Notice to all property owners and tenants within 500 feet of the project site; 3. Notices were sent to the Tukwila Reporter, Tukwila Blog, Tukwila Talk, and Daily Journal of Commerce; 4. Posted Notice, with site map and elevations on the Property; 5. Notice to the Chamber of Commerce and Tukwila International Boulevard Action Committee; and 6. Notifications to the property managers for Sabey and Group Health Cooperative. ATTACHMENTS A. Ordinance in Final Form with Proposed Development Agreement B. Aerial Photo of Site C. Legal Description of Subject Property D. Site Plan showing proposed development and conceptual Plan showing proposed right of way improvements E. Conceptual Elevations showing proposed design of building F. Parking Demand Analysis G. Parking Agreement for Subject Property H. Minutes from the Community Affairs and Parks meeting from March 12, 2012 I. Community Affairs and Parks Memo dated February 7, 2012 (no attachments) J. Minutes from the Community Affairs and Parks meeting from February 13, 2012 ZADCD n Clerk's \Brandon \Riverton WCOW, 2012.03.26 \COW Memo.doc 7