City of Burien
BURIEN PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING
June 8, 2004
7:00 p.m.
City Council Chambers
MINUTES
Planning Commission Members Present: Robert Simpson-Clark, chair; Jim Clingan, Jon Newton, Janet Shull, and Michael Sumner
Absent: Rebecca McInteer, Barbara Williams
Others Present: David Johanson, senior planner; David Cline, assistant to the city manager; Gerry Lindsay, minutes taker
Chair Simpson-Clark called the meeting to order at 7:05 p.m. Upon the call of the roll all commissioners were present with the exception of Commissioners McInteer and Williams.
Agenda Confirmation
Senior Planner David Johanson reported that Finance and Administrative Services Director Linda Gorton had a scheduling conflict that will necessitate rescheduling the 2005 Capital Improvement Program introduction.
Motion to approve the agenda as amended was made by Commissioner Newton. Second was by Commissioner Shull and the motion carried unanimously.
Public Comment – None
Approval of Minutes – None
Old Business
A. 2004 Comprehensive Plan Docket Public Testimony/Input and Discussion
Mr. Johanson said the Zoning Code allows for the opportunity for the public to address the Planning Commission regarding the preliminary Comprehensive Plan docket and to suggest revisions and additions. The docket is a list of proposed amendments about which the Planning Commission must make a recommendation to the City Council. Once adopted by the council, the docket will be used as a work program for reviewing and studying the proposed amendments.
The commissioners were provided with copies of a written response mailed in by Brian and Crystal Shaw.
Chair Simpson-Clark opened the floor to comments from the public.
Mr. Richard Salogga, Northwest Architectural Company, 2201 6th Avenue, Suite 1405, Seattle, spoke on behalf and in support of Highline Community Hospital. He provided the commissioners with copies of a letter from Diane Munroe containing supplemental information about the request of the hospital.
Ms. Carol Hallen, Highline Community Hospital, 16251 Sylvester Road SW, indicated support for the notion of establishing a hospital zone for the area on which the hospital is located. Over the years the local zoning has changed, and each time the hospital has had to adjust. The hospital is an important resource for the community, and development of the hospital campus in the appropriate way benefits everyone. Having a hospital zone would be beneficial to the entire community.
Ms. Diane Munroe, Facilities Manager for Highline Community Hospital, 16251 Sylvester Road SW, noted that in the mid-‘80s the hospital site was zoned R-7200. After a number of years, the hospital was finally able to achieve a RM-900(P) zoning, which meant that the hospital was a permitted use within the zone. When Burien incorporated, the zoning was changed again to RM-48, a zoning which pushed the hospital use toward conditional use status, and which raised questions regarding height limits. In 1999 the site was rezoned again, that time to Office, an action that limited height to 45 feet. Communities lucky enough to have hospitals often have a hospital zone providing for the maximum level of flexibility. Highline Community Hospital would like a hospital zone established that will provide for some certainty in planning for future expansion.
Commissioner Newton asked if the hospital has a master plan with specific goals that could be achieved better with a hospital zone. Mr. Salogga said the hospital went through a master planning process largely because of the conditional use status brought about by the current zoning classification. The conditional use status subjects the hospital to numerous reviews every time something is changed. The Office zoning has a height limit of 45 feet, which means some parts of the existing hospital could not be built under the current regime. The zoning changes over the years have in essence taken away development rights from the hospital. The campus slopes between 8th Avenue Southwest and Sylvester Road. The master plan includes the development of a parking structure built into the hillside below the level of 8th Avenue. There also are requirements in the current zoning for transitioning to adjacent residential properties; the landscape buffer along 8th Avenue that would be created as a transition requirement would actually block the views of the residences uphill from it. Highline Community Hospital needs flexibility in order to better meet the changing needs of both the healthcare industry and local residents in the coming years. Creation of a hospital zone would allow for the development of regulations appropriate and friendly to a medical facility.
Commissioner Newton asked if the hospital has been seismically retrofitted. Mr. Salogga allowed that it has been. Hospitals have always had to comply with the highest levels of seismic design.
Commissioner Clingan asked how many of the current buildings on the hospital campus could not be constructed under the current zoning. Mr. Salogga said the five-story building constructed in 1982, the four-story Cedar Wing, the parking garage and the medical office building would not fit within the height envelope established by the current zoning.
Mr. Salogga noted that the Zoning Code includes certain criteria for the methodology for calculating building height. He encouraged the city to reevaluate that methodology; it is quite different from what other jurisdictions use, and it is overly restrictive. Chair Simpson-Clark allowed that the matter of height calculation is on the commission’s plate for later in the year.
Mr. Brian Shaw, 16233 21st Avenue SW, said the issues involved in his request for a Comprehensive Plan amendment were outlined in his letter to the commission. He said the property in question has been vacant since it was short platted in 1976. Originally the site was zoned RS-7200; it is currently RS-12,000. The site is less than 12,000 square feet and as such is nonconforming. He said he is seeking a change to RS-7200 to allow for more flexibility in developing the site, adding that he has no plan to subdivide it.
Mr. Jerry Robison, 1228 SW 119th, referred to proposed docket item 2004-1 and noted that he had previously forwarded to staff a complete analysis of the proposal. He said he was approached by the property owner who desires to rezone the site in order to construct a mini storage facility. There is a trailer park currently located on the site which is at the corner of Ambaum Boulevard Southwest and Southwest 120th Street. Under the Burien Zoning Code, mini storage uses are only allowed in the Industrial zone. However, those who use storage facilities most often are those who live in apartments; in some non-industrial zone areas there are storage uses that have been grandfathered in and are otherwise nonconforming. In order to accommodate a mini storage use outside the industrial zone, a change to the Comprehensive Plan and the Zoning Code will be necessary. The property in question is perfectly situated for a storage facility. The mobile home park has a mix of older homes, and under the current zoning there is absolutely no incentive to change the use.
With regard to 2004-6, Mr. Robison said the owners of properties in SPA-4 with single family properties large enough to be subdivided have been told by the city that the properties cannot be subdivided, nor can any additions to current structures be allowed. The Comprehensive Plan specifically exempts additions to existing single family homes in the SPA-4 area. Local SPA-4 property owners from the start have been concerned about their ability to either continue using their homes or to sell them as residential uses. One of the assurances the city was supposed to pass along to them was that the changes would not affect single family uses until an actual request for a rezone is filed; until that time none of the existing rules are to change. The implementation, however, has essentially robbed people of the value of their single family zoning. The city needs to either have a clear policy saying there will be absolutely no new single family development in the area, or a clear policy allowing single family lots to be short platted.
Mr. Johanson said staff will prepare a recommendation for the commission to consider on June 22. At that meeting the commission will discuss each item and make a recommendation to the council.
Commissioner Newton thought it would be helpful to have some additional information about hospital zones in other jurisdictions.
6. New Business
A. 2005 Capital Improvement Program (CIP) Introduction
This item will be rescheduled.
B. Town Square Public Space Design Update and Advisory Group Member Selection
Mr. Cline said Town Square has been a vision for the city for the last 10 years. The process under way is aimed at achieving that vision. A development agreement should be in place by the end of September following the library bond vote.
Mr. Cline said one key element of the Town Square development will be the public space. The planning process has included a great deal of public input. In May the council acted to adopt a scope of work, and the council is in the process of deliberating with regard to which consultant firm should be selected to assist in the pre-design phase focused on the public space. What they are seeking is a consultant with expertise in involving the community and creating successful public spaces. The scope of work for the consultant will include working with the Town Square Development Team. The council has set the contract amount at $50,000.
The recommendation of staff is Barbara Swift of Swift & Company, Landscape Architects. Ms. Swift has, over the past 20 years, worked as a landscape architect in the Puget Sound area. She has worked on both the Seattle Civic Center and Ballard Civic Center projects, as well as the Maple Valley Legacy Project, the Discovery Park Habitat Improvement project, the University of Washington Southwest Campus project, and on projects at Woodland Park Zoo. Ms. Swift has shown she is capable of working with both public and private interests in coming up with successful designs.
Mr. Cline said the contract will run from June to December. The public meetings will begin in either late July or early August and wrap up in September. The public space plan will be presented to the council for finalization in December. Of course, the public space design schedule will need to mesh with the overall Town Square design process. As envisioned, City Hall and the public spaces will be constructed first. Staff intends to return to the commission at various times during the process to provide updates.
Mr. Cline said an advisory group will be formed to work with the consultant in developing a preliminary design for the Town Square public space. He suggested that the group should include a representative from the commission who is willing to be available to attend five or six work group meetings and be involved in the public process; the commissioner can also provide regular reports to the full commission as the process moves forward.
Mr. Johanson indicated that the commission as a body will not have a formal role in the development of the public space at Town Square. However, by having a commissioner on the work group the commission will have a presence. Representatives of other city boards and commissions also will be asked to participate. There will be a total of 10 to 12 members of the work group.
Chair Simpson-Clark indicated a willingness to serve on the committee, but added that his comments would tend to lean toward business interests.
Commissioner Shull said she is very interested in the process but added that she would be very happy to have the commission represented by Chair Simpson-Clark.
Commissioner Newton said he would also be interested in serving on the work group. He asked if it would be enough to commit to simply having a commissioner present for each meeting. The response of Mr. Cline was that for purposes of continuity it will be better to have one main representative from the commission. He allowed that it would be acceptable to have a designated alternate.
Mr. Johanson noted that continuity is very important when it comes to design groups because ideas tend to evolve as the process moves forward.
There was consensus to make contact with Commissioners McInteer and Williams before making the committee appointment. There was agreement that should neither of those commissioners wish to participate, the designees will be Commissioners Newton and Shull.
Director’s Report
Mr. Johanson said more details regarding the upcoming joint meeting with the SeaTac Planning Commission will be forthcoming very soon.
Adjournment
Chair Simpson-Clark adjourned the meeting at 8:15 p.m.
Approved:
/s/ Robert Simpson-Clark, chair
Planning Commission
/s/ Scott Greenberg, director
Community Development Department