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HomeMy WebLinkAbout03-07-2000' MINUTES OF THE PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING MARCH 7, 2000 The regular meeting of the Planning Commission was held on March 7, 2000 at 7:00 p.m. in the Council Chambers of the Auburn City Hall. Those in attendance were as follows: MEMBERS: Garna Jones, Dave Peace, Karen Ekrem, Bill Taylor, Peter DiTuri, Dan Rollins STAFF: Paul Krauss, Lynn Rued, Jeff Dixon and Patti Zook The following members were absent: Fred Helser The meeting was called to order by Chairman Dave Peace. APPROVAL OF MINUTES: It was concurred by the Planning Commission that the minutes of the February 8, 2000 meeting be approved as mailed. PUBLIC HEARING: Case No. ZOA0003-00 - Amendments to the City of Auburn Zoninq Code by adding a new Chapter 18.78, Terrace View (TV) Zoning District; and an amendment to the comprehensive zoning map Assistant Planning Director Rued presented the staff report and showed a map which depicted Terrace View in purple and pointed out East Valley Highway, City limits, Pierce County, and the recent Lakeland Hills South annexed area. The green line is the Potential Annexation Area (PAA) in unincorporated Pierce County area. Terrace View applied to the City to receive water and sewer for their development. The City can provide water and sewer to projects outside the City. The proposed preannexation agreement is in the agenda packet. The City Council will make a decision regarding the water and sewer after a public hearing in front of the Planning and Community Development Committee. He then mentioned some requirements in the agreement. The City has power of attorney to initiate the annexation. The Terrace View project is planned for 600+ multi family units on a reclaimed mining site. The site's upper benches are for the multi- family portion of the project and the bottom bench is for the commercial site of 70,000+ square feet. The City's Zoning Ordinance does not have a zoning district that works well for this project; therefore, a new zoning category is proposed. Two years ago, the City changed the Comprehensive Plan map designation on the property to heavy commercial. The map change is not effective until the annexation agreement is in place. The reason is so that no heavy commercial designation appears on the map until an agreement limiting uses on the site is in place. Pierce County has the project zoned for mixed use development which allows for multi- story multi-family. Terrace View could not use the City's multi-family zoning because they want to increase the height of buildings. Also, the City Zoning Ordinance requires spaces for recreational vehicles on site. Therefore, a new zoning district needs to be adopted and when the property is annexed, our map will have Terrace View on it for the new district. The Terrace View zoning district will be exclusive to Terrace View and was patterned after the existing C-3 zone which allows commercial and allows multi-family with a conditional use permit. The new district allows multi-family to be permitted outright. 'Staff recommends that site plan become part of the approval so that future development becomes consistent with this site plan. Assistant Planning Director Rued reminded the Commission that a question was raised at the last meeting regarding traffic impact and mitigation. Pierce County has a very large project, the Lake Tapps Parkway, and the location of its overpass is over East Valley Highway. An ElS was done years ago. Since the background traffic has increased on "A" Street, the City the recently changed the Comprehensive Plan policies regarding "A" and Ellingson to recognize the LOS here and that the situation cannot be fixed. Further south at Lakeland Hills Way and "A" in Pacific a -1- MINUTES OF THE PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING MARCH 7, 2000 traffic signal is needed. The intersection will require a traffic mitigation agreement. Staff will recommend to Council a similar condition that Terrace View pay their pre rata share of the traffic signal. Chairman Peace referred to the agreement to provide water and sewer service because the project is outside the City; however, if the property is annexed first, would this agreement be necessary. He wondered about the order of the process. Assistant Planning Director Rued replied that the process has a lot to do with what Terrace View had approved in Pierce County. Terrace View had approvals in Pierce County and wanted to make sure that the City would accept these approvals before Terrace View would agree to annexation. Chairman Peace mentioned that the C-3 zoning allows for high density residential with a conditional use permit, but does the R-4 allow for heavy commercial. Assistant Planning Director Rued replied no. Chairman Peace referred to the improvements and construction of the parkway, and wondered if these had to be in place before the units are ready. Assistant Planning Director Rued indicated he would defer to the applicant on this. There is an agreement with Pierce County for mitigation. Commissioner Rollins wondered about potential access to Lakeland Hills. Assistant Planning Director Rued indicated this will not be possible because the terrain is too steep. John Cheetham, 21102 Snag Island Drive East, Sumner, is one of the Terrace View owners along with Greg O'Farrell. He thanked the Planning Commission for allowing Terrace View to present their project. He considers himself an Auburn resident. The project began in 1984 and the history given. They have gone through many hoops over the years in Pierce County's processes. Three cities were vying for this area when the project began. The ElS stated that two cities could provide services and Terrace View worked with the cities to resolve that Auburn will service water and sewer. He is excited about their aesthetically pleasing project which will be an upper end project. Terrace View has done a through job of analyzing all the impacts. He introduced Terrace View's professional team: Marni Heffron, transportation engineer; Mary Urbach, legal counsel; Rick Tompkins, engineer; Carol Simpson, architect. Marni Heffron, President of Heffron Transportation, provided background on her expertise. She conducted extensive traffic analysis for the site even before the ElS was done. A supplemental analysis was also done. The document talked about how to get a mitigation agreement. They looked at Terrace View's proportionate share of six off-site improvements and mentioned which ones. Terrace View worked with Pierce County in putting together their design plans. Terrace View development is to build one portion of parkway and this mitigation is being carried forward. Terrace View's mitigation commitment has not changed. The major component is to construct the ramp on their property to be access point which is $800,000 improvement. They are also constructing frontage improvements on East Valley Highway. Their mitigation package exceeds what a development of this size usually does or is required to do. The commercial portion of the project will be small retail versus destination retail. The commercial will probably accommodate a small grocery store, dry cleaners, video rental, etc. The retail will help keep traffic from going further north. Commissioner DiTuri commented regarding increased traffic over last few years and dealing with issues and backups on Valley Highway and putting additional traffic on the road. The rail station in downtown means the traffic light at Lakeland will be significant. Has Terrace View taken into consideration the station's traffic impact and what is being done in the community that might impact traffic patterns. Ms. Heffron replied the ElS is based on 1993 and 1995 information. They cannot constantly provide an update. The studies in Lakeland were updated because this relates specifically to Terrace View. The traffic mitigation in the original analysis looked at 20 year horizon and she is confident that information on Lakeland and additional through traffic is correct. -2- MINUTES OF THE PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING MARCH 7, 2000 Chairman Peace referred to improvements of Valley Highway and 8th Street, and wondered if they included road widening. Ms. Heffron spoke about the required half-street improvements and deferred to Terrace View's civil engineer to answer. Chairman Peace asked about the timing of the parkway and Terrace View construction. Ms. Heffron said that the ramp construction will begin this year and part of Lakeland Hills Blvd. construction. The overpass is last. Terrace View could have residential development on site before roadway is completed. Commissioner Rollins commented that the drawings presented tonight are the best drawings he has seen of the flyover. He asked about the service crossing on 8th Street. Ms. Heffron understands that there is a desire is to lose the railroad crossing. She then spoke of the Fast Corridor. Mary Urbach, corporate counsel for Terrace View, briefly discussed wl~y they are not annexing first. Since 1991, Terrace View has done significant investments in getting approvals in Pierce County. The SEPA process is complete and an ElS was done. An addendum to the ElS was recently done by Pierce County. The ElS addressed traffic issues. Auburn responded to the environmental documents. Terrace View obtained a zoning change to mixed use on the property to allow the project to be permitted outright. Terrace View already has site development permits for grading. Terrace View connector will help to alleviate traffic because the access ramp is a vital corridor. Pierce County wanted assurances that parkway would move forward after annexation to Auburn. Auburn is to recognize permits issued by Pierce County. The project has been thoroughly reviewed by Pierce County and Auburn. The design standards is an exhibit to the preannexation agreement. The preannexation agreement document will be recorded. There will be covenants to the zoning district to prevent parking of recreational vehicles. Through the agreement, Terrace View will meet most of Auburn's standards such as trees, road standards, etc. Auburn's staff recommends adoption of the Terrace View zoning district. Commissioner Rollins asked about ownership of the ramp. Planning Director Krauss remarked that upon annexation and completion of the required improvements, Auburn assumes ownership and maintenance responsibilities. Rick Tompkins, Pacific Engineering, has assisted in creating a site plan that fits with constraints of the site which is a reclaimed gravel pit with two benched areas. He has worked with the Fire Marshall to create an access roadway that meets fire access needs and requirements. He pointed out the access roadway and described the roadway. This roadway was reviewed by the Fire Marshall and is acceptable to him. The roadway meets turning radius required by Fire Department. The buildings will be sprinklered. Approximately 24 acres were converted to development and cleared benches. He described the storm system and its route. Pierce County will construct ponds by this summer. He described the drainage system in detail. Terrace View has already obtained site development permits in Pierce County for site preparation work. Significant slope analysis was done to define the developable portions of this site. It was determined the site can be safely developed as proposed. Commissioner Taylor wanted to confirm that there is no risk of landslides. Mr. Tompkins said this is correct. The site will be reinforced as part of its development and balance of site is stable. Chairman Peace wondered about the wetlands on either side of East Valley Highway. Mr. Tompkins mentioned Pierce County projects related to drainage and construction of two new culverts on East Valley Highway. He then described the purposes of the two culverts. Chairman Peace referred to the residential areas, and asked if there is a requirement that two entrances are needed. Mr. Tompkins said this was not an unusual requirement. Their plan meets the access needs and they are working with the Fire Department to accommodate their needs. He described the roadway. Dual access for subdivisions are usually required for projects not sprinklered. Commissioner Rollins asked if the road widening will be two lanes north bound and if -3- MINUTES OF THE PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING MARCH 7, 2000 the upper plateaus will be level. Mr. Tompkins replied that the benches will be level with about six percent grading in each direction. A 12 percent grade was incorporated into the roadway design. Ms. Urbach wanted to clarify that Pierce County made commitment to five lanes expansion on East Valley Highway. She mentioned a letter to Planning Director Krauss from Tom Ballard, Pierce County engineer, that says Pierce County will contractually commit to an interlocal agreement to continue project improvements. Carol Simpson, architect with John Barund Design Group said the scale of the project is 430 units in 13 buildings. She described the appearance of the apartments in detail. Four story buildings will be on the view side due to topography of the site. There will be a mix of different stories on the two levels. She stressed that the apartments will be upscale with amenities. There will be green belts between buildings and play areas. The retail portion of the project is service oriented and will not generate extra traffic. It will be a nice development and sensitive to the environmental. Commissioner Rollins referred to the commercial, and asked about a QFC store. Ms. Simpson remarked that because of the site's size and access, it would be a very tight fit and not likely. Commissioner Rollins referred to the buildings that have four stories on one side and three stories on other. Ms. Simpson said there will be entrance from the front, steps to lower unit which is a Fire Department requirement. Each unit is on one level. Commissioner Jones asked what Msl Simpson means by an upscale development. Ms. Simpson said there are laundry facilities in each units, more than one bathroom in each unit, decks and patios. Commissioner Jones asked again what is meant by upper end apartments. Mr. Cheetham replied that the rents will be upper average for the area. Their property is very expensive due to the layout of the site. The project will have views of valley and golf course which will demand higher rents. Commissioner Jones wondered who will consider the apartments upper end, the valley or Seattle. Mr. Cheetham said the Auburn area will consider the apartments upper end. They did marketing research that is now a few years old and which looked at 12 projects from Renton to Spanaway. They are targeting upper 20 percent of what the 12 projects would have rented for. He then spoke about the original zoning in Pierce County and the parking requirement, slope stability, grades on road, and ways to get density they wanted. Terrace View paid mitigation fee based on 600 units and less than that now. The ElS process took a number of years. He spoke about Pierce County delays and traffic from Bonney Lake. Commissioner Jones asked if anything is proposed in the future on the open space beyond what is seen now for the site. Mr. Cheetham said no; the drawing is to scale. He described the buffers and 2:1 slopes that preclude anything being constructed behind. Commissioner Jones referred to the illustration which shows lots of tress, and asked what area will be revegetated. Mr. Cheetham said that each bench will have vegetation and trees planted. The only area to be disturbed are the benches. He then mentioned the trails and their voluntary contribution for park. He described the pedestrian access between benches. Commissioner DiTuri referred to the noise impacts evaluated in the ElS and what measures will be taken for those living on the west side. Mr. Cheetham acknowledged that the residents will hear trains, but they have done everything possible to mitigate train noise. There will be a buffer between units and the parkway and the site's topography will also help to dissipate sounds. Ms. Simpson offered that, if necessary, sound studies would be done and recommendation presented if there is adverse impact. She commented that people will put up with a lot. Chairman Peace wanted to know what will happen in the big picture relating to traffic problems. Ms. Heffron said that the overpass will be a huge improvement to the traffic on Valley Highway. The traffic signal at 8th will be eliminated and train delays will be eliminated. Pierce County has ignored this intersection for years. She spoke about the widening of 8th Street to provide -4- MINUTES OF THE PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING MARCH 7, 2000 additional east/west corridor and frontage improvements. Commissioner Rollins spoke about the needed state improvements on Highway 167. Commissioner Ekrem expressed confusion about the number of units for the project. Ms. Urbach remarked that the ElS was required to look at alternatives, not what is going to be built necessarily. They were required by SEPA to look at hypothetical alternatives. Terrace View is vested and they received approvals for 625 units and 70,000+ commercial. The mitigation is based on maximum number of units. Commissioner Ekrem said that Terrace View staff spoke about 430 units. Mr. Cheetham confirmed that 430 units is now the figure. Chairman Peace closed the public hearing. Commissioner Jones commented that during the presentation, she heard that all or almost all of Auburn's standards are being met. Assistant Planning Director Rued remarked that the recreational vehicle parking and building height limitation are the only clear exceptions. Terrace View is meeting all utility standards and storm drainage standards. Chairman Peace referred to when the LOS at Ellingson and 41"t were changed and if the Terrace View development was discussed. Planning Director Krauss replied that the issue at Ellingson and 41st came about because of increased traffic over last years and the failure of Highway 167. Terrace View was mentioned because it was a project in the pipeline as well as some other projects. Commissioner Rollins asked for a 30 second description of LOS which Planning Director Krauss provided. Commissioner Rollins made a motion, seconded by Commissioner Jones, to recommend approval of the Terrace View Zoning District. The motion passed. Chairman Peace then called for a five minute recess at 8:35 p.m. Case No. ZOA0004-00- Amendments to the City of Auburn Zoninq Code Chapter 18.76, Planned Unit Development (PUD) District-Lakeland Hills South Special Plan Area includin.q Attachment A Assistant Planning Director Rued presented the staff report and mentioned that Lakeland Hills South in Pierce County is now going ahead. Henderson Homes lost their financing and Evergreen Tucci is now the developer. Two years ago, Lakeland Hills South had special PUD ordinance adopted for this project which was rushed because of time constraints. The PUD ordinance is now in use and fairly minor amendments need to be made. He pointed out a minor change on page 10 relating to lot width. Using a site plan, he showed where single family construction is occurring. There are various zoning standards for each district in Lakeland South. On page 11, item 3e waS an oversight. He pointed out the minor change on page 12. Item E on page 12 was not put in the original ordinance. On page 14, item E, was an oversight and provisions for fences should have been in the original ordinance. Assistant Planning Director Rued explained that Exhibit A to the Lakeland PUD ordinance brings forth conditions of approval from the Pierce County Hearing Examiner. On page 6 of this Exhibit, under reclamation, for mining that has occurred on site and the reclaimed area, requires a certain number of trees, but no direction as to the size or type of tree. Staff is recommending the reclaimed areas remain permanent open space, hydroseed with seedling trees and require a mix of trees. The number, 456, should be struck. The trees should be planted in September or October so the seedlings have a better change of survival. Commissioner Rollins referred to item 50, which talks about Puget Power, and the utility name should be changed to Puget Sound Energy. Assistant Planning Director Rued then referred to -5- 'MINUTES OF THE PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING MARCH 7, 2000 page 9, item 75, which talks about hours of operation and the necessary change to make the hours of operation consistent with City standards. All of the changes are basically housekeeping type changes. Chris Huss, corporate counsel for Tucci and Sons, said the amendments are the product of working with City staff. He affirmed that the changes are housekeeping type and need to be done before they proceed full speed ahead. They might come back with more minor changes, but these should take care of any immediate problems. Commissioner Rollins wanted to know what kind of house can be constructed on a 2,700 square foot lot. Mr. Huss did not have a picture to show, but said it would be on two levels. He has seen architectural designs that are creative for first and second floor plans and careful use of window design. Their only proposed rental project is now in an area south of area 19. Commissioner Rollins asked about estate lots. Mr. Huss said this was a slight possibility and then spoke about the proposed clubhouse. Commissioner Rollins made a motion, seconded by Commissioner Jones, to recommend appro.val, with the editorial changes mentioned. Case No. ZOA0002-00- Amendments to the City of Auburn Zonin.q Code Section 18.04.018 and 18.48.120 to allow accessory dwellin,q units Commissioner Jones suggested that discussion on these proposed amendments not occur tonight due to the late hour. She has many questions regarding this proposal and will be unable to attend the April meeting. She suggested that the public hearing on the proposed amendments be continued to the May meeting. Assistant Planning Director Rued confirmed that this can be continued to the May meeting. Commissioner Jones made a motion, seconded by Commissioner Rollins, to continue the public hearing until May. DISCUSSION: 1. Sensitive Areas Ordinance (SAO) Assistant Planning Director Rued mentioned that Planner II Dixon was going to provide a brief presentation on the SAO. Planner II Dixon began by saying why the SAO is needed and provided background information. The GMA mandated that cities adopt development regulations that protect five critical areas. He distributed the issue papers. He related areas to be addressed in addition to those required by the GMA. The SAO is an identified goal in the Planning Department and in the Comprehensive Plan. SAOs have become common in many cities and the City can build upon other jurisdictions' experiences. There needs to be a process to formalize what the City does now to protect resources. He mentioned the SEPA process. The SAO would result in changes to the City Code. The City would develop incentives for protection of sensitive areas. Implementation of the SAO would reduce reliance on SEPA which the City relies heavily on now. The SAO would standardize regulations and conditions and provide greater defensibility of City decisions. He spoke about the best available scientific methods. SAO would provide predictability to developers and citizens regarding cost and requirements of projects. The Federal government has listed certain species under the Endangered Species Act. The SAO would provide an opportunity for Auburn to anticipate regulations from the Federal government and be proactive to protect endangered species. Planner II Dixon referred to the issue papers he distributed and informed the Commission that they should retain these papers for future reference. Staff is working with the consultant regarding the public participation process. Staff anticipates having Planning Commission workshops on the SAO. Work on developing the SAO should take approximately six months. -6- ' MINUTES OF THE PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING MARCH 7, 2000 Commissioner DiTuri mentioned that a lot of issues regarding stream beds could be related to other jurisdictions and utilities, and asked if the City will work with other jurisdictions in compiling its ordinance. Planner II Dixon acknowledged that the Green/White rivers will have an influence. He spoke about the Shoreline Management Plan which regulates development within 200 feet of shoreline. The SAO will address smaller water bodies not addressed by Shoreline Management Plan. Staff will look at how other jurisdictions regulate their SAO. Commissioner DiTuri asked how much of the work is applicable to work being done now and the possibility of saving the City money. Planner II Dixon mentioned that staff has studied and come up with a classification of streams based on flow and support of fish habit and staff would consider getting information from other cities, and the possibility of adopting some of their classifications for streams. Assistant Planning Director Rued cautioned that a lot more information on the SAO is to follow. The Planning Commission will be a sounding board for the community. There will be broader community workshops in the future. Commissioner Jones wanted to receive a copy of the current ordinances. Planner II Dixon offered that the City uses the policies contained in Chapter 9 of the Comprehensive Plan. ADJOURNMENT: With no further items to come before the Commission the meeting was adjourned at 9:30 p.m. PCffvllN\03-2000 -?-