City of Burien
BURIEN PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING
December 14, 2004
7:00 p.m.
City Council Chambers
MINUTES
Planning Commission Members Present: Robert Simpson-Clark, Jim Clingan, Rebecca McInteer, Jon Newton, Janet Shull and Michael Sumner
Absent: Barbara Williams
Others Present: Scott Greenberg, Community Development director; David Johanson, senior planner; Gerry Lindsay, minutes taker
Chair Simpson-Clark called the meeting to order at 7:01 p.m. Upon the call of the roll all commissioners were present with the exception of Commissioner McInteer, who arrived at 7:15 p.m., and Commissioner Williams.
Agenda Confirmation
Motion to approve the agenda as printed was made by Commissioner Clingan. Second was by Commissioner Newton and the motion carried unanimously.
It was agreed that future agendas should not include a Town Square public space report.
Public Comment – None
Approval of Minutes
A. November 9, 2004
Motion to approve the minutes as submitted was made by Commissioner Shull. Second was by Commissioner Clingan and the motion carried unanimously.
B. November 23, 2004
Motion to approve the minutes as submitted was made by Commissioner Sumner. Second was by Chair Simpson-Clark and the motion carried unanimously.
Public Hearing
A. Comprehensive Plan Amendments: Pedestrian and Bicycle Facilities Plan
David Johanson, senior planner, said the staff recommendations for possible amendments to the Comprehensive Plan were included in the packet materials. The amendments are necessary in order to follow up on and implement the recommendations of the Pedestrian and Bicycle Facilities Plan. A number of policies that were fulfilled by the adoption of the plan need to be eliminated or modified.
The recommendation of the Planning Commission will be before the City Council in early January.
Chair Simpson-Clark opened the public hearing.
There was no one present to address the commission.
Chair Simpson-Clark closed the public hearing.
Old Business
A. Annexation Study Presentation No. 3: Draft Study
Community Development Director Scott Greenberg reminded the commissioners of the three annexation alternatives included in the study: full, partial and none.
One of the elements looked at for the annexation study is human services. Mr. Greenberg said the good news is that even if the North Highline area is annexed, King County expects to continue providing some $8 million in regional funding for human services. There is about $150,000, however, in local service programs that would be discontinued under any annexation scenario, and the study assumes the city will not pick up the responsibility for those programs and their costs. About half of the $150,000 would likely not need to be replaced, including the $38,000 cost of operating the North Highline Unincorporated Area Council. The $46,000 King County currently gives to support the Burien Highline Senior Center would have to be replaced and included in the overall cost of operations for Burien.
Answering a question asked by Commissioner Sumner, Mr. Greenberg said the $8 million is only part of the pot of funds provided by King County for regional human services. From year to year the county must find the revenues needed to support such services, and it cannot be said for certain if the funding would continue uninterrupted into the future.
The commissioners were informed that there are 114 acres of park and open space land and four recreational facilities in the annexation area. At $557,955, the budget for the full-annexation alternative would be just less than Burien’s current parks budget; the bulk of that amount would go for parks maintenance activities. With full annexation the city would be spending more for recreation activities than currently is being spent in Burien, because of the community center, the swimming pool, the stadium and the playfields in the area. Full annexation would have little impact on the current senior center beyond a slight increase in services and staffing.
Mr. Greenberg explained that the CIP is split into three areas: transportation, surface water management, and parks and general government. He said the numbers in the report are based primarily on two sources: CIP information provided by King County, and the extension of current Burien programs into the North Highline area. Under the full-annexation alternative, the six-year CIP for the area would total some $31.6 million. The major transportation capital improvements in the package are upgrading and rebuilding 1st Avenue South; street overlays; internal streets and surface water management projects in the Greenbridge development; residential drainage improvement program; park upgrades, including irrigation and structures; and the Salmon Creek bypass replacement, for which there is yet no accurate cost.
With regard to fire services, Mr. Greenberg explained that Fire District #2 collects the property taxes for the Shorewood and Northeast Burien areas, then turns around and gives those collected tax revenues to Fire District #11 in exchange for Fire District #11 providing services in those areas. The two districts work very well together and are currently discussing a merger. Under the arrangement, there are four fire stations available to serve Burien and Normandy Park: two in the unincorporated area and two in incorporated Burien. Under the full annexation scenario, all four stations would be annexed into Burien and the revenues would be short of expenses by about $300,000.
Under the partial annexation scenario, all four stations would be in Burien, but the assessed value in Area F would be lost. The result would be the need to close Station #18 and Station #19 in the North Highline area and build a new station near South 128th Street and 1st Avenue South at a cost of some $3 million. Because the number of stations overall would be reduced by one, the partial annexation alternative yields a positive operating number.
The no-annexation alternative would see the transfer of Station #18 and Station #19 to Seattle. There still would be a need to construct a new station, assessed valuation would be lost, and the operational costs would exceed the revenues by some $1.5 million. Some have asked why Seattle could not just agree to provide services to the North Highline area from Station #18 and Station #19. Historically, Seattle has not entered into service agreements with adjacent cities, and the annexation study assumes the historical position will continue, though there are ongoing discussions with the Seattle mayor’s office.
Mr. Greenberg said comments on the draft annexation study report are due by March 1. The report will be widely distributed in Burien and the North Highline area; it also will be posted on the web. The draft includes no recommendations and is intended to generate public comment. By April staff will present to the council a series of recommendations.
The ultimate annexation decision will involve fiscal issues, political considerations, policy issues, and social considerations.
Under every annexation scenario, the General Fund operating costs exceed the available revenues. The net impact ranges from a shortfall of just greater than $1 million under the partial-annexation alternative to a shortfall of nearly $2.7 million under full annexation. Under the no-annexation alternative there still could be a hit of $2.4 million. The full-annexation number is the largest, but it would be spread over the largest land area and assessed valuation.
Commissioner Newton observed that the per capita impact under the full-annexation alternative would be $42.78. Under the partial-annexation alternative, the per capita impact would be $21.00, and under the no-annexation alternative the per capita impact would be $78.11.
With the exception of the partial-annexation alternative, fire service operating costs exceed available revenues. Mr. Greenberg explained that if Fire District #2 were to raise property taxes in an amount sufficient to erase the deficit, the amount would be 35 cents per $1000 in assessed valuation, or roughly $70 annually on a $200,000 home.
Burien currently collects $124 annually per capita in property taxes. The North Highline area collects only $86 annually per capita in property taxes. If the same amount of property taxes per capita that is collected in Burien were to be collected in the North Highline area, the increase would be $1.2 million annually. The per capita collected sales tax in Burien is $120; in North Highline the amount is only $37. If the figures for both areas were the same, the additional revenues that could be collected annually would total $2.6 million. The “lost revenues” could help to eliminate the operations gaps.
Burien stands to gain sales tax revenues under the streamlined sales tax options being discussed in Olympia. Of course, there is no guarantee that changes will be made to the sales tax system.
Mr. Greenberg said the fact that there is inadequate capital funding serves as a major impediment to annexation, though the issue may be open to negotiation with King County for the dollars set aside to encourage cities to annex. The identified need for the six-year CIP is $32 million, or $5 million to $6 million per year. The revenues are sufficient to support only about $3 million annually, not counting the Salmon Creek bypass.
The annual tax burden for North Highline homeowners will increase under the two annexation scenarios, from a low of one percent or $36 if Burien annexes the area, to a high of nine percent or $233 if Seattle annexes the area; the latter is due primarily to the monorail assessment.
Annexation by Seattle could create a loss of public safety depth for the North Highline area. Currently, police services in the area are provided by the King County sheriff’s office and there are some economies of scale resulting from cross dispatching and the like. About 20 percent of Burien’s calls are handled by officers assigned to the North Highline area. That ability would be lost if the Seattle Police Department took over the area, unless a service agreement were signed between the two jurisdictions.
Mr. Greenberg said the annexation report includes some rather detailed demographic information. The North Highline area is developed more densely than Burien, both in terms of population per square mile and people per household. The North Highline area population is slightly younger and more diverse. There is a lower percentage of multifamily residences in the annexation area, though the same multifamily vacancy rate exists there. The median house values, monthly rents and median incomes are all lower in North Highline than they are in Burien.
A community meeting is planned for the North Highline area for January 20. There will be continued discussions of the report through the end of February. The final report, including the recommendations of staff, will be released in the March/April timeframe. Additional discussions will be had with the community once the final report is out. An incorporation study funded by King County is set to be completed by July 2005.
Commissioner Newton asked how much say the residents of the North Highline area will have in determining what ultimately should be done. Mr. Greenberg said there are five approaches to annexation, some of which involve an election. In annexing an area as large as North Highline, it is highly likely that an approach involving an election will be initiated.
Chair Simpson-Clark pointed out that the voting takes place in the area to be annexed. The citizens of Burien will not have any electoral vote in whether or not to annex. Mr. Greenberg said the City Council cannot in fact delegate its power regarding annexation to the voters. However, if a bond issue or property tax increase by either Burien or the fire district is necessary in order for annexation to go forward, Burien voters essentially will have a vote on the annexation.
Mr. Greenberg said Burien, Seattle and King County have been working very well together in terms of sharing information. Seattle passed a resolution containing seven specifics under which it would take up the annexation study; it is in no rush to annex any part of the area.
Chair Simpson-Clark said he met with staff to review the assumptions leading to the development of the numbers in the draft annexation report. He said he found assurance that the methodologies used are appropriate.
Chair Simpson-Clark observed that even after any annexation, King County will be involved with the police, road maintenance, surface water management, judicial services, property tax assessments, and human services. He asked what it is about urban government that King County wants to get out of. Mr. Greenberg explained that King County needs to find certain efficiencies in its service delivery. County governments are better equipped to provide rural and regional services.
Mr. Greenberg allowed that there may be some legislative solutions to the issue of annexing the unincorporated urban islands in King County. The answer could be some form of revenue shifting or additional revenues. Whether the Legislature will lend a sympathetic ear or not is not yet known.
The commissioners were provided with copies of the draft annexation study.
Town Square Public Space Report – None
Director’s Report
Mr. Greenberg reported that staff is working to develop the 2005 work program for council review. The council currently is slated to discuss the issue on January 10.
Mr. Greenberg also noted that a two-lot short plat has been approved for the Elks Lodge. A SEPA review for 99 units of senior housing previously was approved for a site near 1st Avenue South and South 140th Street. Staff would have preferred to see the project developed in the downtown, but if it proves successful another investor may look at the downtown.
Adjournment
Motion to adjourn was made by Commissioner Newton. Second was by Commissioner Shull and the motion carried unanimously.
Chair Simpson-Clark adjourned the meeting at 8:13 p.m.
Approved:
/s/ Robert Simpson-Clark, chair
Planning Commission
/s/ Scott Greenberg, director
Community Development Department