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HomeMy WebLinkAbout08-10-2009 CITY OF * PLANNING & COMMUNITY UBUJ•N DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE * WASHINGTON August 10, 2009 MINUTES I. CALL TO ORDER 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, Vice Chair Nancy Backus and Member Rich Wagner. Staff inembers present included: Mayor Pete Lewis, Assistant Planning Director Kevin Snyder, City Attorney Dan Heid, Principal Planner Elizabeth Chamberlain, Principal Planner Jeff Dixon, Senior Planner Chris Andersen, Communications Manager Dana Hinman, Assistant City Engineer Ingrid Gaub, Information Services Director Lorrie Rempher, Assistant Police Chief Larry Miller, Deputy Police Chief Bob Lee, and Planning Secretary Renee Tobias. Audience members included: Virginia Haugen, H. Stuart Elway, Wayne Osborne, Nicole Petrino-Salter, John Partridge, Rudy Terry, Joyce Terry and Karen L. Campbell. II. ANNOUNCES AND AGENDA MODIFICATIONS Agenda modification included addition of August 4, 2009 Minutes under Item III.B. of these minutes. 111. CONSENT AGENDA A. Minutes - July 27, 2009 Item V.E. Population Targets Councilmember Wagner raised a question about the first sentence in the third paragraph of Item V.E. Population Targets. While the Committee agreed that the statement was said, they also agreed that it was not a correct statement. The minutes will be amended to read: Per Director Baker, Public Works staff has indicated that current infrastructure for storm, water, and sewer systems could meet the population target; however, the infrastructure for roads would not. Councilmember Wagner, Chair of Public Works Committee, responded that the current plans, if implemented, would support; but the current infrastructure as of today will not. Item V.F. Signage Councilmember Wagner asked about the outcome of Item V.F. Signage. Assistant Director Snyder responded that Committee directed staff to take the item to Planning Commission which was done on August 4, 2009. Based on the Planning Commission's comments, staff is working on the code language to bring back to Planning and Community Development Committee Minutes August 10, 2009 Committee for additional input. Mayor Lewis asked that it be brought back to the August 24, 2009 meeting. The following will be added to the minutes: Staff will take the signage to the Planning Commission on August 4, 2009 and return to Committee with recommendations. Member Backus moved and Member Wagner seconded to approve the July 27, 2009 minutes as amended. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY 3-0 B. Minutes - August 4, 2009 Member Wagner moved and Chair Norman concurred to approve the July 27, 2009 minutes as amended. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY 2-0 IV. ACTION A. Ordinance No. 6253 - Amendments to Chapter 18.04 - Definitions and Chapter 18.26 - C-1 Light Commercial District Staff distributed a Development Status C1 Light Commercial District map to the Committee. This map identifies developed, redevelopable, and vacant parcels inside the C1 zone. Assistant Director Snyder presented the Committee with information regarding the proposed amendment to Chapters 18.04 and 18.26 of the Auburn City Code. The Auburn City Council passed Resolution No. 4357 on May 19, 2008 establishing an initial six-month moratorium on the filing of applications for conditional use permits (CUPs) for multi-family development in the previously adopted R-2 Single Family District, previously adopted R-3 Two Family (Duplex) District and currently adopted C-1 Light Commercial District. Mr. Snyder reported that substantial effort has been made by the Committee, Planning Commission, staff and interested parties to find resolution to the current moratorium that expires on October 20, 2009. Ordinance No. 6253 addresses C-1 Light Commercial District only and addresses the issue of when and where a multi-family development would be allowed within the zone. The Planning Commission held a public hearing on August 4, 2009 and unanimously recommended approval of the text amendments to the City Council with minor modifications to Section 18.26.020.LL.2. The Planning Commission recommended establishment of a new definition for Section 18.04.625, Mixed Use Development. This would pertain to two possible formats - vertically oriented mixed-use development with commercial uses on the ground floor and residential uses on the upper floors, and horizontal (geographically spaced) oriented mixed-use development where both commercial and residential uses are integrated together across the site. The horizontal development would be an optional approach to mixed-use development that could be used to address unique market situations and opportunities. Page 2 Planning and Community Development Committee Minutes August 10, 2009 Committee asked staff for additional information and whether the amendments include a minimum area requirement for commercial uses in a horizontally-oriented mixed-use development. Mr. Snyder responded that while the draft definition provides for both forms of mixed use development, the proposed amendments do not include a minimum percent for nonresidential space in either form. It was noted that 18.26.020.JJ relates to the North Auburn Business Area (Resolution 2283) which requires at least 50 percent of the gross floor area in a multi-story building. Mr. Snyder stated that staff and the Planning Commission both believed that not specifying a minimum requirement for non-residential floor space for mixed-use development would provide for an appropriate degree of flexibility in the development of mixed-use projects, which would allow developers and property owners to be better able to respond to market forces and factors. Senior Planner Chris Andersen clarified that, per the draft definition, a geographically distributed mixed-use development would need to demonstrate that the individual uses comprise a single, unified development. The draft definition of mixed-use provides example of features that would demonstrate this, i.e., shared access driveways, pedestrian connections between uses/buildings, common architecture, common parking areas, etc. The City's Mixed-Use Design Standards would be used to determine if development meets this requirement as the Standards focus on the aesthetics of the development and site layout. Additionally, under the proposed definition, the project could be phased such that the multiple family residential portion could be developed subsequent to the construction of a non-residential portion of the project if the applicant demonstrates that it is a unified development. Committee and staff agreed that a relatively small land area in the City is zoned C1, and the City needs to ensure that the commercial zones do not become overly committed to residential uses as this could preclude having sufficient lands available in the City for commercial development in the future. Committee expressed concern that if a minimum percentage of commercial space is not specified, a developer could develop a small commercial section with the remainder residential. Staff responded that the ordinance is written so that multi-family development is only allowed as part of a mixed use development not as a stand alone. A developer could not build a multi-family development as a stand alone. Mayor Lewis asked the Committee to keep in mind that the significance of the ordinance is C1 Light Commercial in all area of Auburn, such as Auburn Way, Auburn Avenue, and A Street SE, and not just the Lea Hill area. Mayor Lewis stated that the residential uses should not constitute a major portion of the ground floor of a building in the C1 zone. Committee discussed at length the percentage of floor area that should be required for commercial uses for both vertical and horizontal development in the commercial zones. Committee directed staff to add a new item under Section 18.26.020.LL, specifying that the ground floor of a vertical mixed-use development shall be dedicated to commercial uses. Portions of the ground floor may be used for ancillary supportive uses for the building. For horizontal mixed-use development, a minimum of 50% of the cumulative ground floor square footage of all buildings across the site shall be dedicated to commercial. Page 3 Planning and Community Development Committee Minutes August 10, 2009 Staff will bring the amended draft ordinance to Public Works and Finance Committee on August 17, 2009 for discussion. A Public Hearing will be held at the August 17, 2009 City Council meeting. Vice Chair Backus moved and Member Wagner seconded to forward Ordinance No. 6253 with amendments as discussed to full Council for consideration. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY 3-0 B. Resolution No. 4509 - Cooperation with City of Tacoma through Williams Factory Incubator The City has established a 245-acre Environmental Park District, Auburn's Innovator for Energy, Environment and Economy, to attract businesses that are engaged in sustainable (green) activities. The City is working with the Washington State University Institute for Sustainable Design to conduct studies and research within the Environmental Park District which is intended to generate start-up green businesses. Further, City Council members have been exploring regional partnership opportunities for this District. Resolution No. 4509 expresses the City's interest and intent to cooperate with the City of Tacoma to jointly seek funding sources and prepare grant applications for the District that would include the Auburn Scientific Center for Emerging New Technologies (ASCENT) facility. It also specifies an interest in having this facility be managed by Tacoma's William Factory Incubator under contract with the City of Auburn. The resolution does not obligate the City to enter into a facility management contract; bur rather confirms an interest in working cooperatively to seek funding sources. Staff distributed a revision of the resolution (Revision 1) which was drafted by Councilmember Wagner and Deputy Mayor Singer. Committee agreed that the term E3 would be removed from the resolution before it is forwarded to Council. Vice Chair Backus moved and Member Wagner seconded to forward Resolution No. 4509, Revision 1, to full Council for consideration. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY 3-0 V. DISCUSSION A. Results of Citizen Survey Consultant H. Stuart Elway and Communications Manager Dana Hinman presented the results of the 2009 citizen survey which was conducted in May and completed in June. Mr. Elway related that survey calls were made during weekday evenings and weekend days to 500 adult heads of household. Up to four attempts were made to contact a head of household at each number in the sample before a substitute number was called. A number of the questions were open-ended, allowing the respondent to express answers in their own words. Further, responses to these Page 4 Planning and Community Development Committee Minutes August 10, 2009 items were recorded as close to verbatim as possible, then categorized and coded for analysis. Mr. Elway informed the Committee that the data were statistically weighted to more closely reflect the proportion of renters in the City's population (59% owners vs. 39% renters). It was noted that renters are typically more difficult to interview by telephone and the findings presented were based on this. In response to Committee's question, Mr. Elway estimated that 80% of the surveys were homeowners, thus the reason to weight the data to keep a statistically valid sample of the population. Committee asked Mr. Elway to identify on the charts how the data weighting was applied, which he did. The survey findings indicated that respondents' evaluation of City services was equal or slightly better than last year's survey. Other key findings indicated that respondents like living in Auburn and the natural environment still rated highest aspect of quality of life. The greatest quality of life improvements were in transportation. Reviews of city government were generally positive, along with police, parks and water being the "star" services. Street conditions and maintenance scored as "imperatives" with arterial street repair was the funding option with the highest proportion of support. Mayor Lewis asked staff to include the verbatim transcripts in one final report for Council's review. B. Ordinance No. 6254 - Public Safety Radio Booster Ordinance Deputy Police chief Bob Lee, Assistant Police Chief Larry Miller and Information Services Director Lorrie Rempher presented the ordinance to the Committee. The primary objective of this Ordinance is to ensure effective and reliable Regional Public Radio System coverage within buildings for police and fire emergency services. The Ordinance would exempt single family residential buildings, buildings with less than 5,000 square feet and renovations to existing structures where the renovation value does not exceed 50 percent of the City's currently adopted Table 1- A(Building Valuation Data). Modern construction methods have resulted in public safety radios becoming less effective inside certain structures. Staff noted that there are radio reception issues in Auburn, including the Super Mall, Auburn Regional Medical Center, the jail and basement of City Hall. Director Rempher reported that all of the valley cities are looking at this and it has been discussed at the Valley Com Board meetings. A bi-annual system testing would be required with certification submitted to the City's Building Official. All testing will be conducted by private parties who will be required to have code specified licenses and certifications. If initial testing found that the public safety radio system did not work in the building, a radio booster system would be required per the ordinance. System costs have been estimated to range from $.025 to $1.25 per square foot. The current version of the Ordinance specifies the City of Auburn Building Official will be responsible for insuring compliance to the regulation; however, City staff will not be directly involved in any testing or inspection activities. There will be some administrative costs associated with staff's processing of initial and bi-annual documentation. Committee discussed the amount for a processing fee and asked staff to report back with the estimate of actual service costs. Page 5 Planning and Community Development Committee Minutes August 10, 2009 C. Code Revisions to Chapters 13.32 (Underground Wiring) and 13.36 (CATV Systems) of the Auburn City Code Assistant City Engineer Ingrid Gaub distributed the proposed revisions to ACC 13.36 CATV which had been inadvertently left out of the packet. At previous Public Works Committee meetings, staff provided revisions to portions of the undergrounding code, Auburn City Code (ACC) 13.32. The proposed revisions were to address specific concerns with the requirements for undergrounding both utility distribution facilities and services related to small development. In addition, the Committee requested the addition of language to the code to allow for a deferral process. Since the previous reviews by the Public Works Committee, staff has identified other areas of the code that they want to clarify for both staff and applicants. Therefore, staff is proposing to replace the existing chapter with a new chapter. In addition, revisions to ACC 13.36, Cable Television are proposed to correct references between chapters related to design and construction standards and the undergrounding requirements and remove the potential for conflicting code requirements. Committee asked about potential flooding and the effect on underground utilities. Ms. Gaub responded that the update is for power, cable television, telephone systems and most of the companies take this into account when building their facilities that it could be under water at times. Committee had no further questions for Ms. Gaub. D. Multi-Family Property Tax Abatement The City originally adopted Ordinance No. 5779 creating Auburn City Code (ACC) Chapter 3.94, Multi-Family Property Tax Exemption. This chapter allowed a property tax exemption for ten years for projects that created 30 or more permanent occupancy units, with an investment of at least $200,000. In 2007, the State Legislature amended RCW Chapter 84.14, which permits cities to enact this type of legislation, to incorporate affordable housing. If a project included a certain percentage of affordable housing, then the property tax exemption could be realized for twelve years. With no affordable housing in the project, then only eight years of exemption can be obtained. The draft ordinance, presented by Principal Planner Elizabeth Chamberlain, amends various sections of ACC Chapter 3.94 to address changes to RCW 84.14. The significant change is the difference in how long the property exemption applies to a project. Committee raised the question if State law allowed the City to specify a$200,000 minimum investment requirement. Ms. Chamberlain will discuss this with the City Attorney before the ordinance moves forward to the Finance Committee and full Council. Page 6 Planning and Community Development Committee Minutes August 10, 2009 Vice Chair Backus moved and Member Wagner seconded to forward the Multi- Family Property Tax Abatement ordinance to full Council for consideration. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY 3-0 E. Population Targets At their July 27, 2009 meeting, the Committee asked staff to work with Public Works to confirm that the data used for the Comprehensive Water Plan is consistent with the work being done on Population Targets. Principal Planner Elizabeth Chamberlain and Principal Planner Jeff Dixon presented a handout illustrating the comparison noting that the data is for the King County portion only of the City. Staff noted that the Water Service Area Comprehensive Water Plan map, included in the Committee's packet, outlines the City limits and compares this against the water service area which is not the same. Ms. Chamberlain reviewed the comparison analysis with the Committee. The Water Comprehensive Plan estimates the City's King County population, in 2031, to be 74,168. The population residing within King County, but not within the Water Service Area, totals 7,129. Combining the two gives a grand total of 81,297. The estimated 2031 Population/Housing target is estimated at 85,507. The difference between the two totals 4,210 people (81,297 vs. 85,507). Since the Water Comprehensive Plan is being developed before the GMA population targets are confirmed, staff has included language in the Plan that the City would revisit the numbers should the population targets be dramatically different. The valley cities planning directors will meet on August 14, 2009 to finalize their recommendation for population targets before the September 16, 2009 Growth Management Planning Council meeting. VI. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business to come before the Planning and Community Development Committee, Chair Norman adjourned the meeting at 7:32 p.m. APPROVED THIS ~ DAY OF AUGUST 2009. ~ Lyn man, Chair nee S. Tobias, Planning Secretary Page 7