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Home My WebLink AboutOrd 2149 - Moratorium on Lots Not Meeting Minimum Lot AreaCity of Tukwila Washington Ordinance No. c f AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF TUKWILA, WASHINGTON, RELATING TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF LOTS THAT DO NOT MEET THE CITY'S MINIMUM LOT AREA; ADOPTING FINDINGS OF FACT TO JUSTIFY THE MORATORIUM ADOPTED BY ORDINANCE NO. 2142; PROVIDING FOR SEVERABILITY; AND ESTABLISHING AN EFFECTIVE DATE. WHEREAS, on November 20, 2006, the Tukwila City Council passed Ordinance No. 2142, which declared an emergency necessitating the immediate imposition of a moratorium on the development of lots not meeting the City's minimum lot area; and WHEREAS, pursuant to RCW 35.63.200, RCW 35A.63.220, and RCW 36.70A.390, the City is required to hold a public hearing within 60 days of adoption of the moratorium and adopt Findings of Fact; and WHEREAS, the City Council conducted a public hearing regarding the moratorium on January 16, 2007; and WHEREAS, the City has adopted a Comprehensive Plan which complies with Washington State's Growth Management requirements, and has amended its Zoning Code to implement the goals and policies of the Comprehensive Plan; and WHEREAS, the City's Zoning Code establishes the basic development standards for the development of lots, including the establishment of a minimum lot area requirement; and WHEREAS, within the City there are numerous lots that do not meet Tukwila's minimum lot area requirement, many of which were created prior to the enactment of Washington State's subdivision statutes and the City's subdivision regulations; and WHEREAS, after its Phase One completion of the Allentown sewer extension project, the City received an influx of building permit applications to locate homes on lots that do not meet the City's minimum lot area requirements, and a continuation of this trend would substantially increase the density of the neighborhood above the level envisioned in the Comprehensive Plan and implemented by the Zoning Code; and WHEREAS, the City is currently completing Phase II of the Allentown sewer extension project; and WHEREAS, the concerns raised by the development of lots that do not meet the City's minimum lot area are not isolated to the Allentown neighborhood, but are indicative of the issues that the Tukwila is facing with all areas of the City where lots not meeting the City's minimum lot area exist, the development of which are inconsistent with the Tukwila's Zoning Code and Comprehensive Plan relating to noise, density, environmental degradations, traffic and fire safety; and C: \Documents and Settings\All Users\ Desktop \Kelly \MSDATA \Ordinances \Moratorium Minimum Lot Size.doc BM:ksn 1/11/2007 Page 1 of 2 WHEREAS, pursuant to RCW 35A.63.220, the City adopted Ordinance 2142 creating a six -month moratorium to allow the City adequate time for studying this issue and adopting Zoning Code amendments that would regulate these lots to be consistent with the City's Comprehensive Plan; and WHEREAS, the City Council's Community Affairs and Parks Committee was briefed on draft Zoning Code amendments and staff's work plan at its January 9, 2007 Regular Meeting, and the draft amendments are tentatively scheduled to go before the City Council's Committee of the Whole on January 22, 2007, and a Public Hearing before the Planning Commission has been scheduled for January 25, 2007, and final City Council action is scheduled to occur before the expiration of the moratorium on May 20, 2007; and WHEREAS, the City Council has considered the foregoing facts, materials and testimony; NOW, THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF TUKWILA, WASHINGTON, DO ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS: Section 1. Adoption of Findings of Fact. The "Whereas" clauses above shall constitute Findings of Fact to justify the moratorium adopted by Ordinance No. 2142, attached hereto as Exhibit A. Section 2. Severability. Should any section, paragraph, sentence, clause or phrase of this Ordinance, or its application to any person or circumstance, be declared unconstitutional or otherwise invalid for any reason, or should any portion of this Ordinance be pre empted by state or federal law or regulation, such decision or pre- emption shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions of this Ordinance or its application to other persons or circumstances. Section 3. Effective Date. This Ordinance shall be published in the official newspaper of the City, and shall take effect and be in full force five days after the date of publication. PASSED BY THE CITY COUNCI QF CITY O UKWILA, WASHINGTON, at a Regular Meeting thereof this day of 2007. v p N tZSL3.-j% Steven M. Mullet, Mayor ATTEST/ AUTHENTICATED: 6 sec arc Jar(E. Cantu, CMC, City Clerk APPROVED AS TO FORM BY: Office of the City Attorney Attachment: Ordinance No. 2142 Filed with the City Clerk: CJ' Passed by the City Council: /6 D 7 Published: Effective Date: 7 07 Ordinance Number: `f q C: \Documents and Settings\All Users\ Desktop \Kelly \MSDATA \Ordinances \Moratorium Minimum Lot Size.doc BM:ksn 1/11/2007 Page 2 of 2 EXHIBIT A of Tukwila Washington Ordinance No. t 3 AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF TUKWILA, WASHINGTON, ESTABLISHING A MORATORIUM ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF LOTS THAT DO NOT MEET THE CITY'S MINIMUM LOT AREA; PROVIDING FOR SEVERABILITY; AND DECLARING AN EMERGENCY. WHEREAS, there are lots within the City that do not meet the City's minimum lot area; and WHEREAS, many of these lots were created prior to the enactment of Washington State's subdivision statutes and the City's subdivision regulations; and WHEREAS, the City has received and will continue to receive development applications for the development of these lots; and WHEREAS, the City needs to study the best method for regulating the development of these substandard lots; and WHEREAS, uncertain regulation has and will result in the development of lots that are inconsistent with the City's Zoning Code and Comprehensive Plan, which will impact noise, density, environmental degradation, traffic, and fire safety within the City; and WHEREAS, pursuant to RCW 35.63.200, RCW 35A.63.220 and RCW 36.70A.390, the City may adopt a moratorium for a period of up to six months, provided that a public hearing on the moratorium is held within 60 days after its adoption; and WHEREAS, RCW 35A.12.130 authorizes an ordinance to take effect immediately if a majority plus one of the Council members deem the ordinance necessary for the protection of public health, public safety, public property, or the public peace; and WHEREAS, without an immediate effective date, applications for development of these lots could establish vested rights to develop lots in neighborhoods and places that are inconsistent with the City's Zoning Code and Comprehensive Plan, and enable legal challenges to the City's ability to regulate these lots; NOW, THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF TUKWILA, WASHINGTON, DO ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS: Section 1. Findings of Fact. The "Whereas" clauses above are hereby adopted by reference as the City Council's finding of fact as if fully set forth herein. Section 2. Purpose. The purpose of this moratorium is to allow the City adequate time to adopt regulations for lots that do not meet the City's minimum lot area. The Mayor is authorized to allocate the necessary resources to prepare a work program to address the land use planning issues identified in this ordinance, and the City shall implement such a work program. 1 C: \Documents and Settings \All Users\ Desktop \Kelly \MSDATA \Ordinances \Substandard Lot Moratorlum.doc /K/11/17/06 Section 3. Moratorium Imposed. The City Council hereby imposes a moratorium on the development of lots that do not meet the City's minimum lot area. However, this moratorium shall not be construed to prevent the issuance of building, mechanical or plumbing permits for repair or maintenance of existing structures. Additionally, this moratorium shall not prohibit the construction of new accessory buildings or additions to existing structures, development that is vested prior to the enactment of this moratorium, or development approved by the City through its variance process within the 365 days preceding the enactment of this moratorium. Section 4. Effective Period of Moratorium. The moratorium shall become effective as set forth in Section 8 below, and shall continue in effect for six months thereafter unless repealed, renewed, or modified by the City Council after a subsequent public hearing and entry of findings of fact. Section 5. Public Hearing to be Held. A public hearing on the issue of the moratorium shall be held no later than 60 days after the date of adoption herein. Section 6. Severability. If any section, subsection, paragraph, sentence, clause or phrase of this ordinance or its application to any person or situation should be held to be invalid or unconstitutional for any reason by a court of competent jurisdiction, such invalidity or unconstitutionality shall not affect the validity or constitutionality of the remaining portions of this ordinance or its application to any other person or situation. Section 8. Effective Date. This ordinance, as a public emergency ordinance necessary for the protection of the public health, public safety, public property or public peace, shall take effect and be in full force immediately upon its adoption. Pursuant to Matson v. Clark County Board of Commissioners, 79 Wn.App. 641, 904 P.2d 317 (1995), underlying facts necessary to support this emergency declaration are included in the "WHEREAS" clauses above, all of which are adopted by reference in Section 1 as findings of fact, as if fully set forth herein. PASSED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF TUKWILA, WASHINGTON, at a Regular Meeting thereof this c1 z''` day of "7 .Le' .1' 6:-÷ 2006. ATTEST/ AUTHHENTIICATED: 2r--4 Ja e E. Cantu, CMC, City Clerk APPROVE S F9RM BY: Office of the C tiorney 2 EXHIBIT A Steven M. Mullet, Mayor Filed with the City Clerk. 71 /1 Passed by the City council. /e Published 2 a Effective Date: /L K 514 a zzi) Ordinance Numb r• I C: \Documents and Settings\AII Users\ Desktop \Kelly \MSDATA \Ordinances \Substandard Lot Moratorlum.doc /K /11/17/06 SUMMARY OF ORDINANCE No. 2149 City of Tukwila, Washington On January 16, 2007, the City Council of the City of Tukwila, Washington, adopted Ordinance No. 2149, the main points of which are summarized by its title as follows: An ordinance of the City Council of the City of Tukwila, Washington, relating to the development of lots that do not meet the City's minimum lot area; adopting Findings of Fact to justify the moratorium adopted by Ordinance No. 2142; providing for severability; and establishing an effective date. The full text of this ordinance will be mailed upon request. Approved by the City Council at a Regular Meeting on January 16, 2007. Cantu, G`MC, City Clerk Published Seattle Times: January 22, 2007