No preview available
HomeMy WebLinkAbout03-26-2007* 7k CITY OE ~'' .- x. ~~ ~ WASHINGTON PLANNING & COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE March 26, 2007 MINUTES I. CALL TO ORDER - 5:00 PM, COUNCIL CHAMBERS Chair Lynn Norman called the meeting to order at 5:00 p.m. in the Council Chambers located on the first floor of Auburn City Hall, 25 West Main Street, Auburn, WA. Committee members present were: Chair Lynn Norman, Member Backus and Member Wagner. Also present were Planning, Building and Community Director Michael Davolio, .Community Development Administrator David Osaki, Development Services Coordinator Steve Pitcher, Building Division Manager Jim Tinner, Fire Marshal Jeff Stottlemyre, Senior Planner AI Hicks, CDBG Planner Michael Hursh, Parks, Arts and Recreation Director Daryl Faber, Parks Planning and Development Manager Dan Scamporlina, Mayor Pete Lewis and Planning Secretary Kirsten Reynolds. Audience Members included: Brianna Holan and Darby Watson from LMN Architects II. APPROVAL OF MINUTES A. March 12, 2007 Correction to the February 26, 2007 minutes to be made: During discussion with the developers Mayor Pro-Tem Singer stated she had a "problem wifh the low income aspect of the project. Aubum already has way more than they can be supported. The City is trying to go the other direction. " Mayor Pro-Tem Singer noted that if it was market rate housing then it would be more readable to this proposal and that she wants to encourage market rate housing. Mayor Pro-Tem Singer added that if the proposal were only market rate senior housing then that could be used. Member Backus moved to approve the minutes from the March 12, 2007 meeting with discussed change, seconded by Member Wagner Minutes approved unanimously 3-0. III. ACTION - A. Resolution No. 4170 -Pea Patch Agreement Parks Director Daryl Faber asked the PCD Committee for acceptance of this year's pea patch agreement. Discussion took place around insurance provisions. The Committee wanted clarification on who will be covered, i.e. volunteers. The liabilities and worker compensation allowances needed to be evaluated to protect the best interests of the City. Member Bac~CUS moved to forward Res. No. 4170 onto Council with discussed change; seconded by Member Wagner. Page 1 Planning and Community Development Committee Minutes March 26, 2007 Motion was approved unanimously 3-0. B. GSA Ball Field Listings Final Pay Estimate (Project C317D) Parks Planning and Development Manager Dan Scamporlina asked the Committee for acceptance of this lighting Project No. C317D. Dan Scamporlina presented pictures showing the current condition of the fields which emphasized why the upgrade is needed. The new lights purposed would be able to monitor and who uses the facility. Member Backus moved to forward Project No. C317D on to Council; seconded by Member Wagner. Motion was approved unanimously 3-0. C. Game Farm Park Soccer Field Renovation (Project CP0608) Parks Planning and Development Manager Dan Scamporlina asked for permission to advertise and solicit bids for Project No. CP0608, which would renovate the sand soccer field. The existing lights would be kept. The goal is to get construction started within the next two to three months. A few grants were received by Parks but a portion of the funding is still needed. The Parks Department needs a construction bid before determining exactly how much funding is still needed to do the job. The Committee discussed other soccer fields and the ideal set up for year round soccer. Member Backus moved to forward Project No. CP0608 on to Council; seconded by Member Wagner. Motion was approved unanimously 3-0. IV. DISCUSSION A. Downtown Sidewalk Design LMN Architects representatives, Brianna Holan and Darby Watson presented their work based upon the Redmond Town Center as what could be incorporated in our Downtown area. Darby Watson suggested the City consider requiring new development to set back an additional 3 feet at the ground floor level to provide for additional "store front" area, thus adding to the width of the sidewalk. These areas would be designated as "Amenity Areas", where the store owners could have benches and/or tables. Their recommendations also include the use of stamped concrete along store frontages and decorative hand laid brick pavers at the corner areas. Street trees would have wide, heavy duty circular tree grates that are ADA compliant and could thus be incorporated as part of the walking portion of the sidewalk< Other key features are pedestrian lighting, crosswalks and the need for continuous canopies for protection from weather. Members of the Committee gave positive feedback on the round heavy duty tree grates and the crosswalks with the incorporated stamped and colored concrete. The width of Page 2 Planning and Community Development Committee Minutes March 26, 2007 the sidewalks was discussed as both negative and positive components; as a negative, if owners were required to setback an additional three feet at ground level that could take away from the buildable area for a storefront. The positive opportunity would be to have an open feel and look for the streetscape in the long run. Members expressed an agreement to incorporate somewhere between 12 and 13 ft. wide sidewalks. This transition will be very important as the downtown continues to grow. The ultimate decision will need to be approved by the Public Works Committee, but more feedback will be anticipated from PCDC. B. B Street Plaza Community Development Administrator David Osaki discussed the Council's Vision and mentioned that the "B Street Plaza" is encompassed in the Vision. Debbie Luce, the Downtown Association President will be invited to the next meeting to discuss the details. The Committee suggested any purposed features should be tested to ensure the right use from local clientele. Discussion focused on downtown facilities, such as restrooms and benches. Having these amenities would create a more walkable and livable city. The Committee also discussed looking for sponsors for amenities provided in the plaza. C. 2007 CDBG Program Senior Planner AI Hicks and CDBG Planner Michael Hursh discussed the status of the CDBG funding and program. The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) informed staff that Auburn will be awarded $412,000 which is approximately $3,000 more than in previous years. The Human Services Committee suggested that the City distribute 15% of the increase, or slightly more than $400, towards supporting the Domestic Violence Victim Support Team program. The Human Services Committee recommended the capital portion of the money should be used to help purchase a dwelling to be used for temporary emergency shelter. The Committee also recommended- that money earmarked for housing repair in the East Main neighborhood be reprogrammed and combined with the capital portion of the additional allocation to purchase a unit. The City had a vacant house in mind when the Human Services Committee recommendation was made; however, the possibility.of acquiring the house fell through. The Human Services Committee strongly felt that acquiring a unit for use as temporary emergency shelter was the most appropriate use of the funds. Discussion took place around the large responsibility in purchasing a house. If a house is purchased with the HUD dollars it would serve a variety of clientele such as homeless and/or domestic violence victims, ensuring there is no life threatening abuse to be followed. South County Outreach, aNon-Profit currently rents three houses to this type of clientele and has been successful. There were a few concerns but overall general support from the PCD Committee Members. In addition, staff informed the Committee of a new evaluation report being prepared. The report is called the Consolidated Annual Performance and Evaluation Report Page 3 Planning and Community Development Committee Minutes March 26, 2007 (CAPER); it evaluates the City's management of CDBG funds. HUD will require a 15 day review period of the document. After the review period, staff is planning to bring the document back to the PCD Committee. D. Five Story Wood Frame Construction Building Official Jim Tinner and Fire Marshal Jeff Stottlemyre have received inquires from developers asking if they would be allowed to build a five story wood frame building. These inquiries triggered staff to investigate the possibilities to allow for this type of construction. They hired a consultant to do a safety analysis. The analysis showed that other cities who have implemented this new rule of development such as Seattle, implemented it because they have the firefighter staff to do so. Shoreline implemented it because Seattle did. Bellevue and Tacoma implemented it by increasing the added requirements for fire prevention systems. Staff has been aware of an alternate design process known as Performance Based Design. With this alternate design method the proponent demonstrates that they can meet all of the structural and safety requirements that a prescriptively designed building would meet. If such equivalency could be demonstrated a five story wood framed building may be approved. This design quantifies what the issues are, such as: can people get out in time if a fire occurred or will firefighters be able to put out a fire adequately. Staff reported that allowing this type of construction would not require any code changes. The cost of building a five story wood building versus concrete and steel is significantly cheaper, even when required to increase fire safety systems. If the City allows for proposals to be entertained, the builders would still have to prove their structure is safe. Currently, a typical proposal encompasses a one story or two story concrete parking garages with an additional four stories of wood construction. This new proposal would allow for one additional wood built floor. The Committee was clear about not lowering the building standards or fire safety standards for the City of Auburn. Discussion took place around allowing a developer to go ahead and submit a project so staff could extensively review all the safety issues as discussed. E. Lakeland Addressing Building Official Jim Tinner updated the Committee on the re-addressing of some Lakeland Hills properties. A letter inviting affected building owners was send to 136 residents. The letter invited these property owners to a public meeting, chaired by Mayor Lewis on March 13, 2007. There were 14 owners in attendance. The next step will be to have the City Council review the proposed address changes in April. The public will need to be notified a second time when the Council is ready to review. Discussion took-place on having temporary dual signage for the streets being changed; i.e., listing the old name and new name of that street together. Page 4 Planning and Community Development Committee Minutes March 26. 2007 V. INFORMATION PCDC Status Matrix Chair Norman put together a list of items the Committee needs to have reflected on the Matrix, this list included but is not limited to the following: • Private business participation in Wayfinding Signage (policy, who qualifies, costs, regulations) • Information center kiosks at transit center • Sidewalk design finalized • Green Zone: conceptual plans, acquiring area to enhance, incentives and partnerships for clustering (Clean Technology Clustering) • Condo development near transit station (West C Street) • Parks and Recreation: soccer fields, community buildings, half-court basketball activities • Auburn Way /Auburn Way Triangle -gateway sites • Building Community: Joye and Benita • Activity Centers and transportation for kids (north end and south end areas) • "Complete Streets" -bike lanes VI. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business to come before the Planning and Community Development Committee, Chair Norman adjourned the meeting at 7:12 p.m. APPROVED THE ~~ DAY OF Y~ .a Page 5