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HomeMy WebLinkAboutOrd 2183 - Comprehensive Land Use Plan Transportation ElementCity of Tukwila Washington Ordinance No. 2183 AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF TUKWILA, WASHINGTON, AMENDING THE CITY OF TUKWILA'S COMPREHENSIVE LAND USE PLAN TRANSPORTATION ELEMENT; PROVIDING FOR SEVERABILITY; AND ESTABLISHING AN EFFECTIVE DATE. WHEREAS, in 1995 the City of Tukwila adopted the Comprehensive Land Use Plan and Map based on consideration of existing conditions and long -term community goals, which may be reviewed and updated as appropriate, pursuant to RCW 36.70; and WHEREAS, the City Council held public meetings on March 5, 2007, and September 17, 2007 regarding proposed changes to the Transportation Element of Tukwila's Comprehensive Land Use Plan; and WHEREAS, on March 15, 2007, and October 17, 2007 amendments to the Comprehensive Land Use Plan were determined to have no significant environmental effects; and WHEREAS, the City of Tukwila Planning Commission held a Public Hearing on March 22, 2007, and October 25, 2007 and, after having received and studied staff analysis and comments from the public, recommended the adoption of an amendment to the Transportation Element, and made and entered Findings and Conclusions thereon in support of that recommendation; and WHEREAS, notices of Public Hearings for October 25, 2007, and December 3, 2007 were published in The Seattle Times and mailed to surrounding properties; and WHEREAS, Tukwila City staff held a supplemental informational meeting on November 29, 2007; and WHEREAS, the vision for the Tukwila Urban Center encompasses a vibrant, high density area with regional employment, high quality housing, and excellent retail and recreational opportunities; and WHEREAS, high quality transit and pedestrian facilities are parts of this vision; and WHEREAS, a future Tukwila Transit Center would be a facility that could accommodate current and future passenger demands, promote transit ridership, and improve passenger and business safety and security; and WHEREAS, expanding the area that can be considered for the future Transit Center will provide greater flexibility in selecting a location that will meet the needs of the community and implement the future that is envisioned for the Tukwila Urban Center; and C: \Documents and Settings \A11 Users\ Desktop \Kelly \MSDATA \Ordinances \Transit Center.doc GL:ksn 11/29/2007 Page 1 of 2 WHEREAS, the City Council, after due consideration and after taking testimony at a Public Hearing held on December 3, 2007, believes that certain amendments to the City's Comprehensive Land Use Plan are necessary; NOW, THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF TUKWILA, WASHINGTON, DO ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS: Section 1. The City Council hereby adopts the Findings and Conclusions of the Tukwila Planning Commission, attached hereto as Exhibit 1, and incorporated by this reference as if fully set forth herein. Section 2. Policy 13.4.8 of the Transportation Element of the Tukwila Comprehensive Plan is hereby amended to read as follows: "Support forming a partnership with Metropolitan King County, in the area north of Strander Boulevard in the Tukwila Urban Center, in order to locate a pedestrian- friendly Transit Center and related amenities." Section 3. 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 4. Effective Date. This ordinance or a summary thereof shall be published in the official newspaper of the City, and shall take effect and be in full force five days after passage and publication as provided by law. PASSED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF TUKWILA, WASHINGTON, at a Regular Meeting thereof this 3RD DAY OF DECEMBER, 2007. ATTEST/ AUTHENTICATED: JANE E. Cantu, tMC, City Clerk APPROVE 'Oflice of the Steven M. Mullet, Mayor Filed with the City Clerk: l I 2 e- U 7 Passed by the City Council: 12 -U 3 -07 Published: G' e7 Effective Date: /02 —1/— 7 Ordinance Number: c l Attachment: xhibit 1- Planning Commission Staff Report, March 16, 2007 Findings and Conclusions C: \Documents and Settings \A11 Users Desktop Kelly MSDATA Ordinances Transit Center.doc GL:ksn 12/4/2007 Page 2 of 2 The existing policy wording is as follows: The proposed wording is as follows: Exhibit 1 Planning Commission Staff Report March 15, 2007 FINDINGS AND CONCLUSIONS PROTECT DESCRIPTION: The City of Tukwila proposes to update the wording of existing Transportation Element Policy 13.4.8 in order to better reflect transit system and Transit Center analysis, and to expand options for siting a Transit Center (Attachment A). 13.4.8. "Support forming a partnership with Metropolitan King County, Westfield Mall at Southcenter, and surrounding businesses to locate a pedestrian friendly transit center on Andover Park West, between Baker Boulevard and Strander Boulevard." 13.4.8. Support forming a partnership with Metropolitan King County, Westfield Mall at Southcenter, and surrounding businesses to locate a pedestrian friendly transit center and related amenities on or near Andover Park West. This policy change is proposed in order to provide greater flexibility in selecting a location for the Transit Center. This change will enable the analysis contained in the Tukwila Transit Plan (4/ 05), and issues raised by property owners, Metro Transit and the City of Tukwila to be more fully addressed in a siting decision. BACKGROUND: Project History The vision for the Tukwila Urban Center foresees a vibrant high- density area with regional employment, areas of high quality housing, excellent retail and recreational opportunities for business people, residents and shoppers. High quality transit and pedestrian facilities are a vital part of this vision. The Tukwila Transit Center would replace existing, inadequate bus stops that serve the area in the general vicinity of the Westfield Southcenter Mall along Andover Park West. (Attachment B) The Tukwila Transit Center will be a facility that can accommodate current and future passenger demands, promote transit ridership, provide expanded capacity for transit service (King County Metro and future Sound Transit Express or Bus Rapid Transit) and improve passenger and business safety and security. Rf 1 C: \Documents and Settings\A11 Users \Desktop\Kelly \MSDATA \Ordinances \Transit Center Exhibit 1.doc 11/28/2007 It will be a first step towards implementing the future that is envisioned for the Tukwila Urban Center. It is intended to set the standard for quality redevelopment and serve as a catalyst for the implementation of the larger vision. The Tukwila Transit Plan (4/05) analyzes the future Transit Center and possible locations. The Tukwila City Council was briefed on this proposal on February 12, 2007, and held a public meeting on March 5, 2007. At that meeting, the proposal was forwarded to the Planning Commission for a hearing and recommendation. Vicinity /Site Information: Land uses immediately adjacent to possible Transit Center locations in the vicinity of Andover Park West are: North Commercial/ Retail South Commercial/ Retail/ Warehouse East Westfield Southcenter Mall West Commercial/ Retail/ Office/ Warehouse 1) REVIEW CRITERIA Describe how the issue is addressed in the Comprehensive Plan. If the issue is not adequately addressed, is there a need for it? Through several policies and their implementation strategies, Tukwila's Comprehensive Plan addresses the need for good transit service and, by extension, the Transit Center in the Tukwila Urban Center Element. These include: Tukwila Urban Center Policv 10.1.1: Recognize the Tukwila Urban Center as a regional commercial/ industrial area, with opportunities for residential development served by a balance of auto, pedestrian and transit facilities. Implementation Strategy: Coordinate land use with City facility improvements, for transportation facilities such as transit facilities and structured parking easily accessed by service streets and from freeways. Tukwila Urban Center Goal 10.3 Transportation and Circulation: A balanced transportation network that complements the Tukwila Urban Center land use and design policies and provides access for all transportation modes, to, from, and within the center. Tukwila Urban Center Policy 10.3.1. Regional Access: Promote transportation and transit services and facilities, as well as traffic management systems that increase and improve access to and from the Tukwila Urban Center for all transportation modes; encourage a range of solutions, including but not limited to local circulator systems, Rf 2 C:\Documents and Settings\All Users \Desktop \Kelly\MSDATA \Ordinances \Transit Center Exhibit 1.doc 11/28/2007 regional- serving park -n -ride sites, connections to regional rail alignments, and regional and local high- occupancy vehicle systems. Implementation Strategy: Develop transit facilities and routes in the Tukwila Urban Center, in conjunction with appropriate transit providers. Transportation Policy 13.4.8 addresses developing and locating a transit center as follows: "Support forming a partnership with Metropolitan King County, Westfield Mall at Southcenter, and surrounding businesses to locate a pedestrian- friendly transit center on Andover Park West, between Baker Boulevard and Strander Boulevard." The Tukwila Transit Center will be integrated with the future redevelopment of the Tukwila Urban Center Core, to the east, and is a necessary component of meeting travel demand management requirements for the Tukwila Urban Center as a whole. The proposed change is needed since the current wording is unnecessarily restricts the location and choice of potential sites for the future Transit Center. The Tukwila Transit Plan (4/ 05) was adopted as part of the update to the Comprehensive Plan Transportation Element in 2005. It analyzes Tukwila's transit system's existing conditions and future needs. It recognizes that development of a Transit Center is is central to the transit system, and evaluates several possible sites within the Tukwila Urban Center core. 2) IMPACTS The proposed amendment expands the geographic range of possible locations for the future Transit Center. Per the proposed amendment, the future Transit Center could be located in the Tukwila Urban Center in the general vicinity of Westfield Southcenter Mall, rather than being specifically limited to the area between Baker Boulevard and Strander Boulevard on Andover Park East. This means that any impacts associated with constructing the Transit Center, and the resulting bus and pedestrian travel and traffic might be felt in a slightly different location in the TUC. Building an improved Transit Center would address the deficiencies of the existing transit stops and provide improved service to the Tukwila Urban Center, including the Westfield Southcenter Mall. 3) Is the proposed change the best means for meeting the identified public need? What other options are there for meeting the identified public need? The proposed change broadens the geographic range of locations for consideration as sites for the future Transit Center, and clarifies the intent of the Tukwila Transit Plan (4/ 05). It would also allow a fuller discussion of issues that are being raised by the City of Tukwila, property owners and Metro Transit. Rf 3 C: \Documents and Settings\All Users\Desktop \Kelly\MSDATA \Ordinances \Transit Center Exhibit 1.doc 11/28/2007 Other possible options would be to: extend the siting options to include an even broader geographic range, such as the northern portion of the Tukwila Urban Center broaden the discussion to refer to all pedestrian friendly transit facilities, rather than exclusively the Transit Center leave the wording unchanged. 4) Will the proposed change result in a net benefit to the community? If not, what result can be expected and why? The proposed change will benefit the community by allowing a fuller discussion of potential sites, with the likely result that a better site will be chosen. The Tukwila Transit Center is critical to the future growth and urban development in the Tukwila Urban Center, and offers the community significant benefits. Replacing the existing, inadequate transit stops by siting an expanded, high quality Transit Center will: 1. help create a long -term solution to the need for high- quality, high capacity transit facilities as a part of a more balanced multimodal transportation system; 2. offer access to jobs and increased mobility for all transit patrons, including minority, low- income, transit dependent and "choice" riders; 3. substantially improve pedestrian safety by providing crossing improvements and reconfiguring the stop locations to reduce the incentives to jaywalk; 4. reduce crime and fear of crime through improved lighting and other measures; 5. encourage transit riders and others to make trips by foot and by bicycle; 6. protect and enhance property by providing an attractive community amenity. CONCLUSIONS: 1. By allowing greater flexibility in locating the future Tukwila Transit Center, the proposal supports improved transit service and acknowledges the importance of the Transit Center in redeveloping the Tukwila Urban Center; 2. The proposal expands the geographic range of possible locations for the future Transit Center in the general vicinity of Westfield Southcenter Mall and Andover Park West; 3. The current policy overly limits the geographic area that can be considered as a site for the future Transit Center. 4. The proposed change benefits the community by allowing fuller discussion of potential sites for the Transit Center, with the likely result that a better site will be chosen. Rf 4 C: \Documents and Settings \All Users\ Desktop \Kelly\MSDATA \Ordinances \Transit Center Exhibit 1.doc 11/28/2007 SUMMARY OF ORDINANCE No. 2183 City of Tukwila, Washington On December 3, 2007, the City Council of the City of Tukwila, Washington, adopted Ordinance No. 2183, the main points of which are summarized by its title as follows: AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF TUKWILA, WASHINGTON, AMENDING THE CITY OF TUKWILA'S COMPREHENSIVE LAND USE PLAN TRANSPORTATION ELEMENT; 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 November 19, 2007. .Y. a E. Cantu, CMC, City Clerk Published Seattle Times: December 6, 2007