City of Burien
BURIEN PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING
August 12, 2003
7:00 p.m.
City Council Chambers
MINUTES
Planning Commission Members Present: Robert Simpson-Clark, Chair; Jon Newton; Rebecca McInteer, Douglas Rahn, Barbara Williams
Absent: Bonnie Isenberg, Janet Shull
Others Present: David Johanson, senior planner; Pat Smith, planner; David Cline, senior management analyst; Teresa Vanderburg, Adolfson Associates
Chair Simpson-Clark called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. Upon the call of the roll all commissioners were present with the exception of Commissioners Isenberg and Shull.
Agenda Confirmation
Motion to approve the agenda as printed was made by Commissioner Williams. Second was by Commissioner Newton and the motion carried unanimously.
Approval of Minutes
A. July 22, 2003
Chair Simpson-Clark noted that following the action to elect new officers as indicated in the minutes, all references to “Interim Chair Simpson-Clark” should simply read “Chair Simpson-Clark.”
Motion to approve the minutes as amended was made by Commissioner Newton. Second was by Commissioner McInteer and the motion carried unanimously.
Public Comment – None
Old Business
A. Public Hearing on Proposed Comprehensive Plan and Zoning Map Amendments
David Johanson, senior planner, briefly explained the process by which amendments are put on the docket for review, and then he reviewed the seven proposed Comprehensive Plan and Zoning Map amendments.
Mr. Johanson said Amendment 2001-1.a involves four parcels of land located on 132nd Street. The request is to change the Comprehensive Plan designation from High Density Multi-Family Neighborhood to Moderate Density Residential Neighborhood (single-family), and then change the zoning from RM-24 to RS-7200. The four parcels have been zoned single family since before incorporation. Each is developed for single-family residential. The recommendation of staff was to approve the request.
Amendment 2001-1.d is for a parcel located at Des Moines Memorial Drive South and South 176th Street. The request is to change the Comprehensive Plan designation from Moderate Density Residential Neighborhood (single-family) to High Density Multi-Family, and to rezone the property from RS-7200 to RM-24. The site is impacted by noise from the airport located just to the east and from Des Moines Memorial Drive South. There are site constraints involving wetlands on the parcel across the street and streams located on the north side of the property. If the rezone is approved, the transition requirements of the Comprehensive Plan will kick in. The recommendation of staff was to deny the request.
Amendment 2001-1.f involves a parcel on 1st Avenue South. The request is to change the Comprehensive Plan designation from Community Commercial to Moderate Density Residential Neighborhood (single-family), and the zoning from CC-2 to RS-7200. The site is constrained to some degree by steep slopes and Miller Creek; a single-family development would have less impact on the environment. The recommendation of staff was to approve the request.
The Manhattan/Woodside schools site, Amendment 2001-3, seeks a Comprehensive Plan designation change from Moderate Density Residential (single-family) and Industrial to Public Parks/Schools/Recreation/Open Space. The amendment is necessary to correct an apparent error made when the Comprehensive Plan was last amended. The recommendation of staff was to approve the request.
Amendment 2002-1 involves a parcel on 1st Avenue South. The request is to change the designation from Office to Regional Commercial, and the zoning from Office to Regional Commercial. The area is designated primarily an auto-oriented retail area and the proposal will help to create a logical transition to the zoning to the south. The recommendation of staff was to approve the request.
Amendment 2002-2 focuses on a parcel located on Southwest 143rd Street. The request is to change the Comprehensive Plan designation from Moderate Density Residential Neighborhood (single-family) to Office, and the zoning from RS-7200 to Office. The recommendation of staff was to deny the request.
Amendment 2002-3 is a site located across the street from the site of Amendment 2002-2. The proposal seeks a change in the designation from Moderate Density Residential Neighborhood (single-family) to Community Commercial, and a change in the zoning from RS-7200 to CC-1. The recommendation of staff was to deny the request.
Chair Simpson-Clark declared the public hearing open.
Mr. Brian Cassin, 245 172nd Place South, voiced his opposition to Amendment 2001-1.d because of the wetlands, streams, and airport traffic.
Ms. Bev Devine, 17102 Ambaum South, also objected to changing the Comprehensive Plan and zoning as proposed by Amendment 2001-1.d. She said the change would be detrimental to the single-family character of the neighborhood. The extra density would also place added strain on City services.
Mr. Gary Reed, 249 South 172nd Place, spoke opposed to Amendment 2001-1.d. He said he purchased his home 16 years ago and has resided there ever since. He said the subject property borders his property and six others. The proposal would have a very negative impact on local property values, and would result in a significant loss of privacy. Noise in the neighborhood would increase due to an increase in the number of neighborhood residents, and there would be some concerns regarding security and safety.
Mr. Jim Cloutier, 252 South 173rd Place, also objected to changing the Comprehensive Plan as proposed by Amendment 2001-1.d. He said the change would negatively affect property values, would increase security problems, and would increase noise and traffic.
Ms. Merrilee Awabdy, 253 South 173rd Place, asked the Commission not to approve Amendment 2001-1.d. She said her property values are already suffering because of the reality of multi-family residents in the area. Privacy and security issues will be raised.
Mr. Gerald Robison, 648 South 152nd #7, spoke regarding Amendments 2002-2 and 2002-3. He said a large part of the concern raised has to do with an incursion into the residential area and an orderly development of the city. The two houses are in fact extending into the commercial area. The location is not suitable for a single-family home. Changing the Amendment 2002-2 site from Moderate Density Residential Neighborhood to Office would match the adjacent property and create a unified block of office development without intruding into the residential neighborhood. With regard to Amendment 2002-3, the site is located behind the shopping center next to the driveway, north of a parking lot. The homes on the two sites are not suitable for single-family dwellings, and the lots will likely not be redeveloped as single-family in the future given the surrounding uses. If the sites remain as single-family, they will in time become run down and undesirable. The better choice would be to allow the area to convert to offices with new buildings; that would offer a better fit for both the residential and commercial neighbors. Small lots zoned for office will not take anything away from the downtown area, which is intended to have a much different office environment. Office uses on the two sites would not bother the residential uses, nor would the residential uses impact the office uses. Redevelopment of the two sites for office uses would serve the drainage issues much better than leaving them as single-family properties.
Mr. Louis Strohmann, 17211 Des Moines Memorial Drive, spoke in opposition to Amendment 2001-1.d. He said the change would directly impact his property, and would negatively affect the salmon stream running through the property.
Mr. Don Moody, 1220 Boren Avenue, #1201, spoke representing the Hoffman property, Amendment 2001-1.d. He said he would be willing to talk with the neighbors to see if something could be worked out. The current vision for the site is for townhouses, not apartments. The height and density will not take full advantage of what the requested zone allows. It will be essential to design the development so as to protect the abutting single family properties from higher densities. The Hoffman property includes some 17 acres of wetlands that will be protected as open space.
Mr. Richard Schroeter, 846 SW 143rd Street, spoke as the owner of the properties that are the subject of Amendments 2002-2 and 2002-3. Because there is no such thing as transition zoning in Burien, the requested Office and Community Commercial zones are appropriate for the two sites. Under the old King County zoning, the 2002-2 site could have been converted to a duplex. He said he had his business located at the site for several years and there were never any complaints. The Dairy Queen across the street has traditionally created a lot of noise that keeps the neighbors awake at night. The two sites will work very well as professional office; there would be activity there only during the day. Unless the two sites are allowed to transition to a higher use, they will both just go downhill.
Mr. Brian Seeley, 821 SW 143rd, argued that the area near the 2002-2 and 2002-3 sites are not in fact turning into slums. There are many families with children living in those homes. The proposed amendments will do nothing to improve the neighborhood.
Ms. Janet Moe, 253 SW 72nd Place, spoke regarding Amendment 2001-1.d. She said there are a lot of people who during the middle of the night come through the back of the lot. Often the cops chase drug dealers through the area. The site should be left as single-family both for privacy and state of mind.
Mr. Randy Sheets, 830 SW 143rd, also opposed the notion that the neighborhood near the 2002-2 and 2002-3 amendment sites are sliding into substandard slum condition. If the houses on the subject properties are in disrepair, that is the responsibility of the property owner. The concern of the neighborhood is increased traffic and property values. There is plenty of office space in the downtown that remains vacant, so more is not needed.
Mr. Juan Garcia, a resident on SW 143rd, noted that even the old houses in the neighborhood are lived in or rented out; they are serving a useful service.
Mr. Jerry Robison, 648 South 152nd #7, said he had not intended to imply that the neighborhood along 143rd is a slum. The two sites in question are in a location where it is not desirable for single-family dwellings. No one is going to make the investment necessary to fix up the houses.
Ms. Rose Sheets, 830 SW 143rd, said residents of the neighborhood are indeed concerned about the quality of the neighborhood. Over the past few years new young families with young children have moved in, and the result has been revitalization. There are strong concerns with the area going commercial or being developed with condos or office space. The current single-family zoning should be retained.
Mr. Richard Schroeter, 846 SW 143rd, invited his neighbors to meet with him at their convenience to discuss how to approach cleaning up the property adjacent to his.
Mr. Johanson indicated that the written public comments received will be packaged and provided to the commissioners and to anyone wishing to see them.
Mr. An Pham, 13048 Ambaum Boulevard SW, suggested that the issue of traffic in the city should be given a full discussion. He said he requested more than a year and a half ago different lighting on Ambaum Boulevard to reduce the number of accidents; to date nothing has been done.
Chair Simpson-Clark declared the public hearing closed.
B. Public Hearing on Zoning Standards for Northeast Redevelopment Area (SPA-4)
Pat Smith, planner, noted that the City Council in March 2003 adopted a new Comprehensive Plan designation and policies for the SPA-4 area. The next step toward redevelopment of the area will be adoption of the zoning requirements and design guidelines.
Mr. Smith said the issue was brought before the Business and Economic Development Partnership on August 8. A memo outlining the partnership’s comments was distributed to the commissioners.
The commissioners were informed that staff was recommending a change to Section 19.15.070.1.A.iv by eliminating “construction storage areas” from the paragraph. Mr. Smith also called attention to Section 19.25.040-1 of the design standards where two options for landscaping were listed. He said the first option would be to allow reduction of the landscaping width by 25 percent if a berm with a maximum height of five feet is incorporated. Under the second option the landscaping width could be reduced by 50 percent provided a berm and fencing are used.
Mr. Smith said the Business and Economic Development Partnership has asked to be allowed to review the issue again; that will cause the review dates by the City Council to be moved back to October and November.
Chair Simpson-Clark declared the public hearing open.
Ms. Barbara Rudge, senior aviation planner for the Port of Seattle, said the Port received the standards on August 11 and has not had ample opportunity to review them. She requested continuation of the public hearing for written comments. The 75 percent lot coverage is consistent with the standards of neighboring jurisdictions and is supportable. The recommended buffer widths are also acceptable, along with the landscape reduction options. The regulations, however, fail to implement the Comprehensive Plan amendments in that they do not address the kinds of uses, activities, structures and objects that could be a hazard to aviation. The Port is also concerned with several proposed new land uses that would be incompatible; the uses were not in the list of Comprehensive Plan uses adopted by the City Council in March and they are in direct conflict with Policy SE-1.5. According to the staff report, the new uses were added because they were in the industrial zone at the south end; the area, however, is not an industrial zone nor is it intended to be, so it does not need to permit the same uses, some of which are incompatible with aviation. The Port is also concerned about the public benefit section, 19.15.070.1.g; the requirement will inevitably pose a significant obstacle to the goal of encouraging economic redevelopment of the area.
There was consensus to continue the public hearing to August 17 for the purpose of receiving written comments.
C. Public Hearing on all Critical Area Zoning Code Amendments and Tree Retention
Mr. Smith said the critical areas ordinance covers the critical aquifer recharge areas, wetlands, streams, and fish and wildlife habitat areas. He said the recommendation of staff is to continue the public hearing to August 26 to consider additional changes to be made to the documents over the next few weeks.
Mr. Smith took a moment to answer some of the questions raised previously by the commission, the first of which had to do with how nonconforming uses impact the stream regulations. He said nonconforming uses located within a critical area or critical area buffer are allowed to exist, but any expansion of the use will trigger compliance with all applicable regulations. Uses on a property that contains a wetland or buffer can expand without bringing the wetland or stream into conformance with the critical areas ordinance.
Mr. Smith suggested that the recommendation of the commission to always coordinate stream regulations with surrounding jurisdictions should be a Comprehensive Plan amendment rather than a zoning regulation. He said the City is working with King County, the Port of Seattle, Des Moines, Normandy Park and the Washington State Department of Transportation on the Miller, Walker and Salmon Creek Basin Plan.
With regard to the classification of streams, Mr. Smith informed the commissioners that very few streams in Burien have been classified. Salmon Creek is a Class 2 stream with salmonids. Two sections of Miller Creek are classified Class 2 without salmonids. The section of stream that connects Lake Burien with Miller Creek is a Class 2 stream with salmonids. Walker Creek is Class 2 with salmonids. All other streams in the city remain unclassified.
Chair Simpson-Clark declared the public hearing open.
Mr. Ed Dacy, PO Box 937, Seahurst, noted that the agenda indicated the public hearing covered all critical area zoning code amendments and tree retention. He said he found nothing in the packet materials regarding tree retention. He asked to have the public hearing left open to accept additional written comments on the subject.
Mr. Smith allowed that the tree retention portion of the proposed action has been postponed until Public Works completes its work with the Tree Board and forwards a recommendation.
Teresa Vanderburg, Adolfson Associates, provided the commission with an introduction to the fish and wildlife habitat conservation portion of the critical areas ordinance update. She noted that the codes of many jurisdictions in the past have not included fish and wildlife habitat conservation areas; the update is being made to bring Burien’s code into compliance with the best available science. She noted that the streams and development standards for streams sections are not in the fish and wildlife habitat conservation areas section; they will be housed in a separate section. Adolfson Associates has assisted the City in developing the standards based preliminarily on the model ordinance put together by the state Office of Community Development, tailored to the actual fish and wildlife conservation areas in Burien.
Ms. Vanderburg shared with the commissioners the priority habitat and species map put out by the state. The designated areas Seahurst Park, steep slopes along Puget Sound, the designated bald eagle nest, and a documented heron rookery were highlighted. Along Miller Creek there are pileated woodpeckers, a state-listed species, and various runs of coho and cutthroat trout. The most likely fish and habitat conservation areas include all species listed by the state or federal governments as being endangered, threatened or sensitive; public and private tidelands suitable for shellfish harvest; kelp and eel grass beds along Puget Sound; any spawning areas for herring and smelt; ponds under 20 acres; bald eagle habitat; and heron rookeries or active nests.
Answering a question asked by Commissioner Newton, Ms. Vanderburg said any body of water listed on the 303(d) may or may not provide fish and wildlife habitat.
From the audience, Mr. Tom McLeod, 13823 9th Place South, said he regularly sees herons and pileated woodpeckers on the property between 138th and 140th on the east side of 8th Avenue South. He noted Miller Creek runs through that property as well.
Chair Simpson-Clark explained that the mapped areas are not being specifically called out as wetlands, rather areas that might be wetlands and which will need to be looked at further. Mr. Johanson said when development proposals come forward areas that should be but are not on the critical areas map are highlighted. Where there is some question, the developer is required to conduct an analysis to determine if an area is a wetland or not, and if it is, what class wetland.
Commissioner Rahn asked what happens to the streams that are not classified and if they are covered under any regulations. Ms. Vanderburg said such streams are either picked up when an inventory is made, or they are classified piece by piece as development occurs. Lack of a classification on the map does not mean the streams are unprotected.
There was consensus to continue the public hearing to August 26.
New Business
Senior Management Analyst David Cline said when the new census data came out there was a concern regarding what had changed in the city over the past decade. In November 2002 the City Council adopted a demographic project to dig up some of that information. There are three phases to the process: data collection, obtain community feedback, and implement a plan. The first phase is just being completed and it is yielding a profile of the community.
Continuing, Mr. Cline noted that Burien has not grown much over the past 10 years. In large part that is because the city is built out; the primary method of growth is through annexation. If all of the Northeast Special Planning Area is bought out by the Port of Seattle, the impact will be a loss of some 500 to 1000 residents.
The population of the community is older and more stable, and that denotes a demand for certain types of services, such as transportation and health care. Most of the newer residents in the community have moved in from other parts of King County.
Burien is becoming increasingly diverse. In 1990 only 11 percent of the population was minorities; by 2000 that figure had grown to 26 percent. The Hispanic population has shown the most growth. Some 19 percent of Burien residents speak a language other than English in their homes; half of those do not speak English well at all. There has been an increase in the enrollments for English language training courses.
The median income for Burien residents did not keep pace with Seattle and King County over the past decade. Where the median income of the region increased 50 percent between 1990 and 2000, the median income for Burien residents grew only 29 percent. Median income in Burien in 2000 was 22 percent below the regional average.
Mr. Cline said the diversity of a community is often more pronounced in the student population. Between 2000 and 2002 half the student population of the Highline School District was minorities. There also has been an increase in the amount of poverty in the schools: four of the six elementary schools in the district have more than 50 percent of the student population participate in the free and reduced lunch program. One out of every six children under the age of five live in poverty.
The perception of many is that Burien has a higher percentage of multi-family units than other jurisdictions, but according to the census data the percentages are the same as in other jurisdictions. What Burien has, however, is more large multi-family complexes of 20 units or more. Another perception is that Burien has more renters than other communities, but again the census data showed the percentage to be about average. Burien is one of the few places in King County with a stock of affordable housing, but because incomes in Burien are lower residents spend on average a higher percentage of their incomes for housing than the area average.
The Highline School District students have test scores that are often below the state and county averages. The district has one of the lowest high school completion rates in the Puget Sound area, and it produces fewer college graduates. On the other hand, Burien has a much higher percentage of students enrolled in private education.
Mr. Cline said the City Council will be updated regarding Phase 2, the community involvement part of the study, on August 18. Staff will be proposing a two-pronged community involvement approach. The first phase will involve an outreach task force focused on organizations actively involved in the Burien community. The primary focus will be what can be done to improve access and services. The second phase will seek input specifically from the Latino community.
Commissioner Newton pointed out that the Highline School District has students that live outside of Burien and he asked if the poverty data has been adjusted to show only Burien residents. Mr. Cline said the report does not make the distinction.
Director’s Report
Mr. Smith said the November 11 meeting of the commission has been rescheduled to November 18.
Adjournment
Motion to adjourn was made by Commissioner Newton. Second was by Commissioner Williams and the motion carried unanimously.
Chair Simpson-Clark adjourned the meeting at 9:13 p.m.
Approved
/s/ Robert Simpson-Clark, chair
Planning Commission
/s/ Scott Greenberg, director
Community Development Department