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HomeMy WebLinkAbout07-22-2002 MINUTES OF PLANNING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE JULY 22, 200? The regular meeting of the Planning and Community Development Committee was held July 22, 2002 in Conference Room 1. Those members in attendance were as follows: MEMBERS PRESENT: Sue Singer, Jeanne Barber and Stacey Brothers STAFF PRESENT: David Osaki, Sean Martin, Aaron Nix, Bill Mandeville, Jack Locke, Brian Petty and Patti Zook ALSO PRESENT: Mayor Lewis; Richard Warren, Transystems; John Ostrowski, consultant, J. Tayloe Washburn, Foster Pepper Sheffelman; Scott Sherrow, W&H Pacific The meeting was called to order by Acting Committee Chair Singer at 5:00 p.m. ACTION; 1. Approval of Minutes of July 8, 2002 Meetin.q Councilmember Singer asked for an explanation of the sixth paragraph on page 2 related to stormwatar connection fee and transportation fees and Planner Martin provided explanation that Safeway's proposed traffic impact fee is essentially zero based on Boeing's existing trip generation rate. Councilmember Singer pointed that out clarification is needed to the last paragraph on page 2. The Committee agreed to the changes and approved the minutes. 2. Appeal of Business Re.qistrat on Application No. BUS20439 - 412 8th Street SW Planner Martin summarized the staff position as stated in the agenda bill and letters to the applicant. No additional information was received from applicant prior to the July 22'~ meeting. Mike Penney, applicant, reviewed portions of letters received from Planning staff. He believes that heavy industrial uses are not appropriate for the building. In 2000, tenants were doing various uses there such as costumes, plumbing, car detailer, car repair, etc. He does not believe his business interferes with the other uses or precludes other heavy industrial from being at the location. His business will not have any impact on adjoining uses. His two criteria for rental building were roll up doors to provide security of the equipment stored and no glass storefront. He does weddings off-site, walk-in traffic is zero, and mostly equipment storage. There is a van there now and the unit is used mostly as a warehouse. Ninety (90) percent of space is for warehouse of files, equipment and vehicle. The building fits his security criteria. Some on-site photography is done for ad agencies. Wedding photography is done off-site and arranged by a sales rep in Edmonds. Planner Martin remarked that no information was received from the applicant to determine if his use is different from staff's initial impression. In the description of business activity, applicant outlined appropriate criteria for his business, but it was not clear exactly what the activity entrails. The applicant cannot pick and choose what provisions apply versus determining what the business activity really is. In response to questions from Councilmember Barber, Planner Martin said that as the Planning Department signs off on business registrations, a Zoning Code provision must be assigned to the business activity. This could possibly be considered as contractor trade sen/ices. Staff did not have a clear understanding of the business to be conducted at the site. Mr. Penney said that 33 percent of business contracts to magazines and newspapers, 33 percent from the sales rep in PAGE I MINUTES OF PLANNING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE JULY 22, 200? Edmonds for weddings, and 33 percent from customer who needs commercial pictures. He does not have any walk-in customers; only person on-site would be person supervising his photo shoot. Discussion occurred as to how to classify the business and allow Mr. Penney to receive the required business registration. Councilmember Brothers suggested that Planning staff meet with Mr. Penney and request in writing specifics as what Mr. Penney's intention is tO operate and hopefully the business will be in compliance with heavy indus~al zoning. He understands Mr. Penney's percentages as mentioned, but is not sure exactly what will transpire at the location. The City can proceed and issue the business registration in a manner consistent with how the City needs to operate. Mayor asked if staff has enough information to determine the appropriate subsection and Planner Martin replied he has enough information that the property complies with at least two provisions of the M2 zone and is consistent with the applicant's verbal testimony. Mayor instructed staff to move fo~vard with approval of the business registration. Councilmember Singer confirmed that no action is necessary by the Committee per the Mayor's directive. 3. Safeway Development A.qreement Planner Martin reminded Committee that this concept was discussed at the last meeting and that particular language was still being reviewed and revisions incorporated in the draft agreement dated July 22~. No appeal of the environmental determination was filed. J. Tayloe Washburn introduced others related to the Safeway project and again presented an overview. They received required Permit from Puget Sound Clean Air Agency. The agreement proscribes what will be built and allows clear predictability and time table for the City and developer. He pointed out Section 4 and Section 5 of the agreement. He summarized what the document Ps providing Auburn and the adjacent cities. The conditions are satisfactory to address the proposal's impacts. The Public Works Committee has reviewed the attachment that depicts conceptual drawing of C Street SW. Scott Sherrow spoke about requirement of City engineers for an additional northbound lane. There will be two lanes north, two lanes south and turn lanes for truck movement. They will offer right of way land to Auburn for the additional northbound lane as part of the agreement. In response to questions from Councilmember Brothers, Mr. Washburn said that the Public Works Committee did not have any other concerns. Agreement has specific language for Public Works Director to give credits for certain things such as connection fees. The credit takes into account no impact on the system. Councilmember Singer commended staff for their great job in reviewing the project. 4. Surplus Items from Senior Center Recreation Manager Petty reviewed the reasons for the needed surplus. Councilmember Brothers made a motion, seconded by Councilmember Barber, to approve the surplus. Councilmember Singer concurred. 5. Resolution 3503 - Lease A,qreement with White River Valley Historical Society This was removed from the agenda. PAGE 2 MINUTES OF PLANNING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE JULY 22, 200~, DISCUSSION: 1. Transit Station Communities Project Parkin,q Mana,qement Study Community Development Administrator Osaki provided background on the grant from Puget Sound Regional Council. This presentation will be given to the Public Works Committee on August 12. Dick Warren, Transystems, mentioned the 1996 parking study. Parking is cdtical to the downtown's success and provides an opportunity for redevelopment. The parking garage was alluded to in the 1996 study and now the garage is open; however there are not nearly enough stalls in the City's 180 stalls to offset the coming need. The question is how to achieve the best results and solve the parking problems, and who to manage parking. Rather than create a new hieramhy, the City should manage parking for the area. The City will have to be a partner with acquiring land or providing long term finance or agreements with development for parking or a component of public parking. They recommend that Auburn create a position within community development for parking management. The position could also be a project manager and focal point for parking issues, including the enforcement side, provision of new facilities, negotiating deals with Sound Transit and Metro, and act as key interface with the medical center. He spoke about acquiring the block north of City Hall, when construction of medical center addition is complete. The City should think about relocating court and police and converting the site to a pedestrian fdendly parking facility which will take pressure off parking situation. A major parking facility in conjunction with the hospital would relieve parking congestion and would be a safe and attractive lot. This would free up other lots for customer parking. Employees and visitors to City Hall and hospital could use the new facility. The City could also lease parking rights for redevelopment of buildings along Main Street because they could pay for parking and this would be a source of revenue. He spoke of the need for more parking on the west side of the railroad tracks because the 15~ Street park and ride lot will be phased out. This parking should be accommodated by South Transit and Metro. The City does not want to run out of parking in the garage without a new parking facility being available. Coordinated development provides a good opportunity and demands a focus. John Ostrowski spoke about Vancouver, WA situation, in which they recognized the need for parking downtown and the expense involved in providing the required parking and cut deals with developers. There are lots of examples in Vancouver as to how to structure such deals such as having permanent lease holders and selling to them. Partnerships are very important and City should have capability of establishing such partnerships. Mr. Warren said there is not much opportunity for fee parking which gives Auburn an advantage over other cities. Developing a parking facility on the north parking lot would be in an investment in downtown redevelopment. Over time such a facility becomes more valuable. There are residences about retail in downtown and a permit system should be worked out for these residents so that they can park in the lots dudng weekends and evenings. Mr. Ostrowski stressed the need to have a shadow budget for determining the actual cost of parking facility. In response to questions from Councilmember Brothers, Mr. Warren said the hospital is aware of the need for more parking. Hospital owns two or three small lots on the northeast comer for additional parking. However, it makes more sense to develop one larger area with attractive lighting that works for the City and hospital. There are considerable parking problems experienced by employees of the City and hospital. They met with Pat Bailey and her staff. He cautioned that the surface parking lots are now full, and the parking garage will become full when more trains run. PAGE 3 l l~ I 1 ~ 'lnl ' MINUTES OF PLANNING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT COMMI'I-I'EE JULY 22, 200;, Project Engineer Locke spoke about the inadequate parking for employees of the City and hospital. In response to questions from Councilmember Singer, Planner Martin told about the City's commute trip reduction program. Mr. Ostrowski, stressed the importance of having someone in charge of parking. Once parking garage is close to capacity, there will be need for enforcement. He suggested that staff contact Vancouver, WA for information on how they structured development deals. He mentioned that Pierce Transit charges for parking for special events and runs.a shuttle service. Councilmember Brothers does not want to devote downtown to 'alien' parking. Councilmember Singer is concerned about tearing down the police/court building and if thera is discussion of purchasing Mel's next to the railroad tracks it might be better option for parking, She wondered about the possibility of using Mel's parking lot. Mr. Warren said the lot with the police/court building is attractive because the lot is mostly parking now, is close to the hospital and City Hall and other employers. Mel's parking would be too tar away; one block distance can make a big difference in the use ora parking lot. Project Engineer Locke said this study was illustrative versus site specific and is not a siting study and did not provide an in-depth analysis of specific locations. Councilmember Brothers wondered about the idea of sharing parking facility with store front retail. Mr. Warren commented that he is not sure the block is amenable to share use and the study was not that kind of detailed study of parking demand, The parking facility would be one floor with probability of two floors in the future with 300 spaces on the surface and 500 spaces on the second floor. The high school area was not specifically addressed because it is outside the study area. If the City has a parking management position, that person could monitor the high school and Sound Transit boardings. Mayor remarked that if the City has 'ground' or facility that all desire, the City can put restrictions on it because the desirability of the 'ground' makes all the difference. Mr. Warren advised that Portland bought a portion of an area for redevelopment, put out proposals, increased the tax base, and provided tax increment financing. Auburn only has a few blocks and these should be encouraged strongly with incentives to develop. Mr. Ostrowski said that Vancouver has seen big changes in the last couple years and purchased brewery properties and developed park and dictated what the city wanted. The changes to the area are dramatic with downtown retail, downtown residential and parking garages. Mr. Warren spoke about having street impact fee and parking impact fee. Councilmember Singer thanked Mr. Warren and Mr. Ostrowski for conducting the study. 2. AmeriCorps Grant PI.anner Mandeville provided background of the grant for its sixth and final year. There are three minor changes to the grant from previous years which were reviewed. The City was informed today that the contract from Washington Service Corps has a return date of August 5 so this grant approval will be on the next Council agenda if possible, The ordinance will be the same as in previous years except for different amounts. · In response to questions from Councilmember Singer, Planner Mandeville mentioned that WSC was told about the changes. Because of the changes, there is actually a zero sum impact to the general fund. In response to questions from Councilmember Brothers, Planner Mandeville said th.at Auburn is the only city that has AmeriCorps. Most of the activities are school based such as crime prevention, organize school patrols, youth crime watch and the school district benefits the most. PAGE 4 MINUTES OF PLANNING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT COMMrCr'EE JULY 22, 200;, Councilmember Brothem made a motion, seconded by Councilmember Barber, to recommend approval of the grant renewal. !NFORMATION: 1. Comprehensive Stream and Wetland Plan Environmental Compliance Manager Nix was assigned this task and provided an update. He has been looking at properties owned by the City and consen/ation easements. He needed to establish exactly what properties Auburn owns and determine where the storm drainage is. The City does not have an inventory of streams. Auburn received a GMA grant to update the wetland map inventory and will have updated wetland maps and streams listed also. He spoke about field work to be done. He will Come back to the Committee with a plan that identifies major fish streams and wetlands in Auburn. He will also have a ranking system with priorities and established criteda within a year. In response to questions from Councilmember Brothers, Environmental Compliance Manager Nix spoke about the possibility for Cooperative efforts with Green River Community College and University of Washington. This has been done in the past with water quality. He spoke of this as the active component to education. He spoke of the importance of his work in relation to the storm water utility and linkage to Storm Drainage Engineer Carlaw's work. Water quantity and water quality are direct impact on how to respond to ESA. The City is responding to NPDES also as well as unfunded mandates. Auburn will need a permit from DOE to allow the discharge of surface waters to major water bodies. There is system of six we guidelines and need to show how Auburn is improving water quality in the City. Auburn has done a progressive job of laying the groundwork for this process and big emphasis is on maintaining areas such as sweeping the streets more often and cleaning catch basins. He reminded Committee that grants are available. Mayor appreciates the work being done by Environmental Compliance Manager Nix. ADJOURNMENT With no further items to come before the Committee, the meeting was adjourned at 7:00 pm. Submitted by Patricia Zook, Planning Secretary. Approved by the Planning and Community Development Committee on August 12, 2002. PCDC~I~7~2~2 PAGE5