HomeMy WebLinkAboutPlanning 2012-05-24 Minutes - Work Session - Development Agreement Procedures / Book 2 of Draft Southcenter PlanCity of Tukwila
Planning Commission
Planning Commission Worksession (PC) Minutes
Date: May 24, 2012
Time: 6:30 PM
Location: City Hall Council Chambers
Present: Brooke Alford, Chair; Vice Chair, Thomas McLeod; Commissioners, Louise Strander, Mike
Hansen, Aaron Hundtofte, and Jeri Frangello- Anderson
Commissioner David Shumate arrived at 7:00 PM
Staff: Nora Gierloff, Deputy DCD Director, Lynn Miranda, Senior Planner, and Wynetta Bivens,
Planning Commission Secretary
Chair Alford called the worksession to order at 6:30 PM.
Minutes: Commissioner McLeod made a motion to adopt the April 26, 2012 Planning Commission
minutes. Commissioner Hansen seconded the motion. The motion was unanimously approved.
Request: An Ordinance establishing procedures for Development Agreements
Nora Gierloff, Deputy Director, Department of Community Development, gave an overview of the Draft
Ordinance for Development Agreement Procedures that was referred by the City Council. The Planning
Commission will forward their recommendation back to the City Council; the City Council will hold a public
hearing and make a final decision. A Development Agreement is a legislative item, which is voluntary on the
part of the City. This is a process the City is authorized to do under state law but which has not been codified
in the City's regulations. This ordinance is a way to formalize the development agreement process and
expectations in the City's Zoning Code. The RCW allows this process so that Cities can make agreements
with private property owners on complex or unusual projects. The only reason the City would enter into a
Development Agreement is because they may feel there's a public benefit that they could not otherwise
secure. Both parties entering into the development agreement would benefit, for instance, flexibility in
standards is allowed in exchange for benefits to the public. Most regulations will continue to apply, except for
those few that are called out to allow flexibility, for which parameters will be set.
Commissioner Strander inquired about there not being specific language in the Development Agreement
pertaining to Police and Fire codes. Staff stated that the code is for making changes to the zoning standards in
the Zoning Code, which would not affect Police or Fire related codes. But there could be certain editions of
other codes vested, for example a certain edition of the building code. If there are life safety reasons to be
held to a newer standard of the code it is allowed and would override a Development Agreement.
Commissioner Alford inquired if there have been any concerns on the part of the Fire Department on the
Ordinance. Staff said that they have not heard any concerns expressed from Fire.
Commissioner Hansen stated that using the language "person" in the ordinance does not seem appropriate,
and expressed an interest in changing the word. Staff suggested that the word "person" could be changed to
"entity
There were no additional comments on the proposed ordinance.
Commissioner Hansen made a motion to amend references in the Development Agreement Ordinance from
"person" or "persons" to "the entity" where staff thinks it makes sense. The Planning Commission is
forwarding their recommendation for approval of the Development Agreement Ordinance as amended to the
City Council for their approval. Commissioner Hundtofte seconded the motion. All were in favor.
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PC Worksession Minutes
May 24, 2012
Topic: Review Revised Book 2 of the Draft Southcenter Plan
Lynn Miranda, Senior Planner, Department of Community Development, provided some
background on the revised Plan. She gave a recap on Book 1, and the three basic parts. Books 1, 2,
and 3 have been reorganized. Book 1 the long range vision, and Book 3 the recommended City
implementation actions have been combined into one, which is now called the Southcenter Sub -area
Plan Background Report. Book 2 the Development Regulations has been changed and is called the
Draft TMC Chapter 18.28, which will replace the existing Tukwila Urban Center Zoning chapter.
The Architectural Guidelines that were formally part of Book 2 will be separated out, and called the
Southcenter Architectural Design Manual, which will only have guidelines and recommendations for
building structures. Staff said that ninety percent of the codes for the TUC will reside in one chapter
now.
The previous draft code was more of a traditional form based code that was very prescriptive. In response,
the stakeholders and the City Council expressed an interest in providing more incentives for change and a lot
more flexibility in how the regulations are applied to new development. This new draft code reflects that
direction.
Staff has met intensively with key stakeholders (Westfield Mall, Target Representatives, and Sears
Representatives) to develop the type of regulatory language that will help city staff, and the stakeholders. The
current revisions to date have been reviewed and accepted by the key stakeholders.
Staff has prepared a matrix of the stakeholder's comments, staff's responses, and shows how the plan has
changed or how comments were addressed. This document is available for review on the City's website.
CHANGE:
Design Review Process:
Because the following areas are more pedestrian oriented a lot of changes were made on how Design Review
will occur in the Regional Center, the TOD, the Pond, and the Commercial Corridor Districts.
REVISIONS:
Projects that will be reviewed by the BAR type 4 decisions:
New non residential structures that are greater than 25,000 sq. ft. in size
New residential containing greater than 20 dwelling units, including mixed used residential
Exterior expansions greater than 25,000 sq. ft.
During design review, the new standards and guidelines in Chapter 18.28 (Book 2) will be used, and the
Southcenter Architectural Design Manual, which will provide more guidance.
The Work Place District was separated out, the current design regulations will have minimum changes
New residential, including mixed use greater than 20 dwellings in the work place district will be
evaluated by the BAR- using the new Southcenter Architectural Design Manual, as well as the new
zoning code.
New construction or new exterior expansions greater than 25,000 sq. ft. will use the new zoning code
standards and guidelines, with the existing design criteria currently in the code (TMC 18.60.050).
What's new in the Draft 18.28?
Street scape standards, site design, and building modulation, and transparency requirements. Regulations are
organized by district and corridor, and there are also regulations that apply to all properties that are not district
or corridor based.
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PC Worksession Minutes
May 24, 2012
In addition to the noted changes, instead of reviewing the code page by page, staff walked through examples
of development scenarios from start to finish of how an applicant would figure out what they would need to
do on a specific site to meet the code requirements. Examples were provided on the vacant Circuit City site,
and the Macy's warehouse site.
Commissioner Strander commented that she would be comfortable reviewing the code page by page. Staff
asked the other Commissioners their preference. The Commissioners elected to hear staff's examples.
Staff addressed several questions. Following are some of the issues raised:
Commissioner Hundtofte commented on the importance of code clarity for the developers.
There was extensive discussion on when a project would trigger the code requiring putting in a new street.
Commissioner Strander inquired whether a traffic study was completed on the level of service on the
existing streets, and asked that she receives a copy of the report. Staff said they would get one to her.
Commissioner Hundtofte noted that there would be a lot of empty balconies in private spaces for mixed use,
which may be visually unappealing. He commented that they want development sites that are consistently
uniform across the areas and appealing. He was also concerned about the added cost for developers. Some
commissioners noted that they would like a balcony if they lived there. Staff indicated that the balconies are
an option for meeting the private open space requirements, and that current open space standards for
residential developments require a larger amount of space than the proposed standards.
Commissioner Standers made inquiry on corridor types.
There were no additional questions or comments.
Commissioner Alford suggested discussing the timeframe for completing review and to hold the public
hearing on the Southcenter Plan.
Staff noted that the Commission has not seen/reviewed the Southcenter Architectural Design Manual which
they intend on providing to the Commission in June. There will be a worksession in June followed by a
public hearing in July. It was decided that the public hearing will be scheduled for July 19` leaving July 26
available to continue the public hearing for any additional testimony that can't be heard on July 19` Staff
will also schedule an open house prior to the public hearing, so questions can be asked in a less formal
environment. In August, staff will provide the Commission with a matrix of all changes from the
Commissioners suggestions, suggestions from the public comments, and staff's recommendations. After
review, the Planning Commission will forward their recommendations to the City Council.
Commissioner Hansen provided an update on the opportunity for student participation. Due to schedules, it
was decided that he and the school will meet in the fall when school resumes.
Adjourned: 8:15 PM
Submitted By: Wynetta Bivens
Planning Commission Secretary
Adopted: 6/28/12
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