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HomeMy WebLinkAbout05-11-2007PLANNING & COMMUNITY ~~]~~~ DEVELOPMENT WASH[NGTON COMMITTEE May 11, 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 Interim Planning, Building and Community Director David Osaki, Development Services Coordinator Steve Pitcher, Planner Stacey Borland, Environmental Protection Manager Aaron Nix, Senior Planner AI Hicks, Senior Planner Jeff Dixon, Parks Planning & Development Manager Dan Scamporlina, City Engineer/Assistant PW Director Dennis Selle, Economic Development Manager Dave Baron and Planning Secretary Kirsten Reynolds. Audience Members included: Debbie Luce, Jay Thorp, Katherine Hansen, Frank Lee and Nancy Colson II. APPROVAL OF MINUTES April 23, 2007 Chair Norman asked for an amendment to the April 9, 2007 minutes: Under the information section for point A, Chair Norman recommended. "the City should hire someone to develop a Green Zone Plan". Member Backus moved to approve the minutes from the April 23, 2007 meeting with the one amendment, seconded by Member Wagner. Minutes approved with amendment unanimously 3-0. III. ACTION A. Resolution No. 4181 -Environmental Protection Manager Aaron Nix introduced Resolution No. 4181 to accept a $20,000.00 grant from the King County Conservation District. The area covers from the base of Peasley Cannon to the mouth of the Green River in Kent. There is an opportunity to partner with the Army Corps of Engineers to design some projects in efforts to get permitting done so if funds come in the projects are ready to go. If the partnership and projects are implemented the Army Corps of Engineers will cover 75% of the design costs and the City of Auburn would need to cover 25%. If implemented the construction costs would be 35% covered by the Army Corps of Engineers and 65% covered by the City. Councilmember Wagner suggested rewriting the beneficiary wording in the document. This project will benefit the City, the residents of Auburn and surrounding communities. Page 1 Planning and Community Development Committee Minutes May 11, 2007 Aaron Nix will check if the current wording and agreement constitute as a vesting agreement. Member Backus moved to forward Resolution No. 4181 on to full Council for approval; seconded by Member Wagner. Motion was approved unanimously 3-0. B. Game Farm Park Soccer Field Renovation Earthwork project CPO-608A ,Contract No. 07-04 C. Game Farm Park Soccer Field Renovation Synthetic Turf project CPO-608 B, Contract No. 07-05 Parks Planning & Development Manager Dan Scamporlina asked for the presented bid packages to be accepted by the PCD Committee. The bids were received at $473,715. for project CPO-608A, Contract No. 07-04 and $746,751. for project CPO-608 6, Contract No. 07-05. The costs are significantly low because the lighting on both sites is being retained, along with existing parking and other amenities. The Committee decided to hear and accept the two contracts as one item. Member Wagner discussed the turf material; he wanted to make sure there would not be additional needs/cost for youth to play/purchase equipment for the fields. Member Backus moved to forward CPO-608A, Contract No. 07-04 and CPO-608 B. Contract No. 07-05 on to full Council for approval; seconded by Member Wagner. Motion was approved unanimously 3-0. IV. DISCUSSION A. B Street Plaza Update -Debbie Luce, the Downtown Association Executive Director and Dan Scamporlina, Parks Planning & Development Manager, discussed benches and tables for the B Street Plaza. All the items discussed had ability to be anchored on site and could be moved for the Santa House, once a year. An illustration was passed out with placement of tables and benches. The plaza does need more lighting. Further review will need to be done to determine the electrical needs. Solar bollards were priced over $900 a piece. Other items discussed included: benches, tree well uplights, picnic tables, kiosks and trash cans with the City's logo. The Committee discussed the improvements and a rough cost estimate of $50,000. All costs presented were presented as raw numbers, no installation costs included. Page 2 Planning and Community Development Committee Minutes May 11, 2007 Member Backus stated the focus for this area needs to be directed towards safety and aesthetics. Member Wagner would like to see a couple of trash cans with city logos added to the request list. Dan Scamporlina will get clarification whether or not this plaza is considered a city owned park in efforts to eventually enforce a no smoking regulation on the premises. The Committee discussed paring down certain items and felt that improvements could be made at a cost of about $30,000. B. Wayfinding Update -Senior Planner AI Hicks presented some sign mock ups; all signs will be made using in-house materials and printing. The signs will have two metal posts holding them up for stability. AI Hicks asked for the Committee for feedback on the design i.e. thickness of lettering and directional arrows. Consensus from the Members was for the first letter to be capitalized and the rest of the words in lower case. There should be the same spacing between the individual signs (when more than one per a sign). The lettering and arrows should be thinner in size. The words should be readable from one block away, possibly with 3 x 3 size letters. The Committee would like to see a 3 x 3 mock up with the above recommendations. Chair Norman asked for staff to get back to the committee on the "universal signage." C. Scope of Work for Environmental Park District Consultant -Environmental Protection Manager Aaron Nix and Planner Stacey Borland discussed an RFP for hiring a consultant to evaluate and develop redevelopment opportunities and strategies in the City's recently adopted Environmental Park District (EPD) located in and around Phase 1 of the Auburn Environmental Park. The product will help City Staff and elected officials express the vision of the Environmental Park District. The timeline of September 1St seemed too quick to Member Wagner; he asked to have more time to allow for completion of the work, possibly November 1St The Committee discussed changes to the RFP and would like to see. They were also interested in having technology measurements included in the RFP. The consultant will need to verify the variables of measurements. Interim Director David Osaki asked the PCD Members to give feedback on the proposal section within the next week. Discussion took place around the purpose of having a professional consultant. D. Shoreline Master Program Update -Environmental Protection Manager Aaron Nix reported that some comments on the draft SMP were received from the Muckleshoot Indian Tribe and the Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife. The State's comments were on the Characterization Report. Senior Planner Jeff Dixon affirmed Page 3 Planning and Community Development Committee Minutes May 11, 2007 there was a prior agreement with the Tribe for the Coal Creek Springs area to have a fish hatchery; the City hasn't been asked to provide land for the hatchery. The concern was that Fish hatcheries were prohibited under the draft SMP. Staff's recommendation was to allow hatcheries as a conditional use for purposes of consistency. This particular area is under the "Natural" shoreline designation and includes fishery resources and in-stream structure uses. Member Wagner asked staff if the SMP on page 11 referenced the 50% rule as contained in ACC 18.52. Staff acknowledged that it did reference this. Aaron pointed out that on page 20 of the document under policies some of the wording was changed at the committee's request from "discouraged" to "prohibited". The Committee was Ok but wanted some additional wording added. This issue was brought forward to ensure wording interpretations were all hammered out to ensure this process goes smoothly. Next steps, Aaron Nix will talk to the Muckleshoot Indian Tribe representatives and determine whether the Tribe's concerns have been addressed by the committee's changes to the Shoreline Master Program. E. Downtown Sidewalk Design -Development Services Coordinator Steve Pitcher and City Engineer/Assistant PW Director Dennis Selle gave a staff recommendation to use the 2` x 2' concrete square pattern with a light broom finish for the major body of the sidewalks. The Committee asked for the spaces in-between the concrete squares to be of minimal depth ensuring the maintenance is low and the surfaces are kept clean, free of trash. Staff recommended corner bulbs to be integrated on all corners, with the exact application dependent on the adjacent street geometry. The Committee agreed these are good to implement for pedestrian safety. Staff's recommendation for corner treatments was stamped colored concrete in a radial pattern; the Public Works Committee also recommended the use of concrete in lieu of sand-set brick pavers. Dennis Selle reported after researching the costs, which the stamped concrete and brick pavers ended up being about the same. The Committee was in agreement that the stamped concrete would be better. Staff's recommendation for crosswalks was to use Dura Therm markings on asphalt, except at the concrete plaza of Main and Division. Dennis Selle reported there are a limited number of contractors that do this type of work and the cost is high. The Committee discussed the visual quality of the clear, crisp lines as a good aspect. Staff was asked to do a site visit to an area where Dura Therm markings have been implemented, take photographs, and be prepared to discuss this recommendation further. Page 4 Planning and Community Development Committee Minutes May 11, 2007 Staffs recommendation for the promenade is to use concrete street pavement on Division from 3rd Street S.W. through the Main and Division intersection. This section will also have a different sidewalk standard that will be integrated with the remainder of downtown. Staff's recommendation for the plaza design is to use bulbs at all four corners of the intersection of Main and Division. The Committee would like to see a few variations on this theme to ensure the old and new construction are tied in. Staff will have a visual presentation put together as part of the plaza/promenade design process. Debbie Luce reported feedback from the Main Street business owners regarding the issue of street trees. She reported that they really like having greenery and more importantly, trees along the street. The group would like to ensure that the trees are compact and clean i.e. trees that do not produce a lot of tree waste (sap and leaves). The Committee reviewed the current lighting standards and discussed the height. Dennis Selle affirmed that the lower the light fixtures are, the more fixtures would be needed to adequately light up the street. The Committee agreed that 16 foot poles would be best for future installs. Staff will incorporate the Committees' feedback and bring it back as an action item. F. Sunndalen Development Agreement -Development Services Coordinator Steve Pitcher talked about the draft development agreement that was included in the Committee's packet. Some of the concerns being heard from the public include high speed traffic and sight visibility on 104th. The site plan depicts maintaining a sight triangle easement, widening of the street and shoulder and enhanced street lighting. The speed analysis conducted was based upon a travel speed average of 41 MPH. A sight distance analysis was also conducted. Some public comments have also expressed some concerns regarding the loss of vegetation and wildlife habitat. Other concerns have been expressed regarding the increased density that is not consistent with surrounding properties. The Committee asked staff to clarify the forestry complaint received from the community at the next committee meeting on May 29tH Discussion among the Committee took place regarding Development Agreement process and whether two committees need to be involved in their review. Development Agreements are used to ensure the process is dependable. Consensus was it is good for the agreements to be reviewed by both the Public Works and PCD Committees. Page 5 Planning and Community Development Committee Minutes May 11.2007 V. INFORMATION A. Matrix Review: • The Arts Commission should be invited and added to the Matrix in the fall to attend a PCD meeting. Interim Director David Osaki updated PCD on the Planning Commissions' Public Hearing on Electronic Message Boards. The 11-12 people who testified included: sign manufacturers, car dealers and residents. The general nature of testimony was these signs are necessary to allow businesses to compete and there is no compelling reason to place regulations on them. Testimony affirmed the signs are becoming less expensive. VII. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business to come before the Planning and Community Development Committee, Chair Norman adjourned the meeting at 6:11 p.m. APPROVED THE ~ DAY OF ~- '~' e T "' t I~r J b f ~ J '. r'-~ I L Kir~ten Reyno ds' Secretary Page 6