City of Burien
BURIEN PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING
June 14, 2005
7:00 p.m.
City Council Chambers
MINUTES
Planning Commission Members Present:
Robert Simpson-Clark, Jim Clingan, Rebecca McInteer, Jon Newton, Janet Shull, Michael Sumner, Barbara Williams
Absent:
None
Others Present:
David Johanson, planner; Stephanie Jewett, contract planner; Linda Gorton, Finance and Administrative Services Director
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 Commissioner McInteer, who arrived at 7:06 p.m.
Agenda Confirmation
There was agreement to add to the agenda a short discussion of the commission’s summer schedule.
Motion to approve the agenda as amended was made by Commissioner Newton. Second was by Commissioner Williams and the motion carried unanimously.
Public Comment – None
Approval of Minutes
A. March 22, 2005
Motion to approve the minutes as submitted was made by Commissioner Newton. Second was by Commissioner Clingan and the motion carried unanimously.
Old Business – None
New Business
A. Comprehensive Plan Docket Introduction and Discussion
– Public Comment on Preliminary Comprehensive Plan Docket
Senior Planner David Johanson introduced contract planner Stephanie Jewett who has been hired by the City to help with a couple of projects.
Mr. Johanson said the docketing process is intended to allow the public opportunity to comment on the submittals for Comprehensive Plan amendments received prior to the June 1, 2005 deadline, and to permit the Planning Commission to add items to the list as deemed appropriate. The docket serves only as a list of items that merit additional study. Generally speaking, the Comprehensive Plan can be amended only once each year.
The commissioners were informed that staff will be taking the docket to the council for review on June 20. At the commission meeting on June 28, there could be additional items on the list at the direction of the council. The commission will be asked to make a recommendation at the June 28 meeting.
Mr. Johanson said proposed amendment 2004-6 seeks to allow for new single family residential development in the SPA-4 area, now known as the Northeast Redevelopment Area. The proposal was made in 2004 and the city has been working on the issue in the interim. There is not, however, any resolution to the issue as yet. The council is leaning toward issuing an RFP for real estate and consulting services to work with the owners of properties that may not be acquired by the Port of Seattle.
Commissioner Newton held that the issue should remain on the docket given the amount of ongoing work related to the Northeast Redevelopment Area. The other commissioners concurred.
Proposed amendment 2004-7 was brought to the table by staff and involves a Potential Annexation Area policy. Mr. Johanson said a number of incorporation studies are currently ongoing by Burien and other jurisdictions. The City wants to keep open all its options for dealing with the unincorporated area to the north of the current city limits. The issue will need to be on the docket in order to be acted on.
Proposed amendment 2004-8 also was raised by staff and involves the Town Square project and the downtown area. Facilitation of the Town Square project may require amendments to the Comprehensive Plan, so the issue needs to be on the docket.
Proposed amendment 2004-9 involves the Pedestrian and Bicycle Facilities Plan that has been completed but regarding which the council has not yet taken action.
Proposed amendment 2004-10 involves the review and amendment of policies related to Phase 2 Zoning Code issues. Mr. Johanson explained that the proposal will serve as a placeholder to allow the city to act on any inconsistencies uncovered in updating the Zoning Code.
From the audience, Gerald Robison said he submitted 2004-6 because of concerned property owners in the Northeast Redevelopment Area. One of the assurances in adopting the overlay was that people would not be restricted on their current zoning and use. However, one person with two houses on a single lot has been told she cannot divide the lot into two in order to sell one of the houses separately, and others have been told they cannot add onto their homes or add an accessory dwelling unit to their lots. Those actions are permitted in single family zones and should not be restricted in the Northeast Redevelopment Area.
Chair Simpson-Clark concurred that the issue merits at least a full discussion. Mr. Johanson said staff recognizes that as well. He clarified that remodels and additions are allowed under the current Northeast Redevelopment Area rules, but short plats are not.
Commissioner Clingan noted that while there is some industrial, multifamily and intersection commercial zoning in the Northeast Redevelopment Area, for the most part the zoning is residential. The City adopted the notion of contract rezones that involves accumulating a minimum of two acres of property, which conflicts with the actual zoning and the ability to do anything with property zoned for single-family residential regardless of size.
There was agreement on the part of the commission that proposals 2004-6, 2004-7, 2004-8, 2004-9 and 2004-10 should all be included on the docket.
Ms. Jewett said proposed amendment 2005-1 is a request for a Comprehensive Plan Map amendment and rezone for the property located at 15657 Ambaum Boulevard SW. She said the request is to change from Community Commercial to High Density Multifamily Neighborhood, and a rezone from CC-2 to RM-24. The site is adjacent to existing land zoned RM-24. Ms. Jewett recommended to the commission inclusion of the proposal on the docket for further study.
Chair Simpson-Clark voiced support for including the proposal on the docket. He commented that many of the boundary lines were drawn fairly arbitrarily.
From the audience, Mr. LeRoy Spomer, the owner of the property that is the subject of 2005-1, said the materials included in the packet lay out the issues involved. Answering a question asked by Commissioner Williams, Mr. Spomer said the only difference between CC-2 and RM-24 is that under the former 25 percent of the building area must contain retail space. With the way the street is currently laid out, there is no parking available to support retail uses. A townhouse development would have parking on site, though an access would need to be obtained from a neighboring property.
There was agreement to include 2005-1 on the docket.
Ms. Jewett said proposed amendment 2005-2 involves a request for a Comprehensive Plan Map amendment and subsequent rezone for the irregularly shaped lot located at the northwest corner of Ambaum Boulevard Southwest and Southwest 120th Street. The proposal is to go from Low Density Multifamily to Neighborhood Center, with a rezone from RM-12 to CN.
Ms. Jewett said the majority of the surrounding properties are in single-family use. One of the criteria for designating a site as a Neighborhood Center is that the area be adjacent to existing business services. Staff is recommending that the proposal not be included on the docket because it could be seen as a spot zone. The criteria of the Comprehensive Plan are clearly not met by the proposal.
From the audience, Mr. Robison said the proposal for the site submitted in 2004 was focused on going to Community Commercial. The response from the City Council was that a scaled down proposal would be more acceptable, which Neighborhood Commercial certainly is. He used a map to point out two adjacent homes that are in poor condition and a large and active daycare center. Across the street there is a religious facility that has no windows and a parking lot that fronts the street. Next to that is a small engine repair business. There is a multi-unit building close by that was developed in the past few years out of which a windshield repair business operates. The Schick-Shadel treatment center is close by as well. The subject property is hardly in the middle of a thriving single-family zone. The site is currently home to a very old mobile home park for which there is no economic incentive under the current zoning to change. Absent a zoning change, the general area is highly unlikely to upgrade in the foreseeable future.
Continuing, Mr. Robison pointed out that several driveways currently are accessed from Ambaum Boulevard and Southwest 119th Street. Redevelopment with a commercial use would likely involve ingress and egress from the arterials and not from Ambaum, which should enhance general safety and the single-family area across Southwest 119th Street.
Commissioner Newton observed that driving north on Ambaum from St. Bernadette School one encounters apartments on one side of the road, while on the other side of the road there is a Shell station, a new park coming in the fall, an Exxon station, more apartments, a small computer repair shop and a doctor’s office, then more apartments before coming to the hospital and even more apartments. The proposal would not significantly change the flavor of the drive along Ambaum, and the businesses located along the boulevard could be considered to be adjacent. The development of the subject property is in fact a poor use of the space, and its redevelopment would be appropriate.
Mr. Johanson said the term “adjacent” can be interpreted to mean not only adjoining but across the street. A use a lot or two down the road is not generally interpreted as being adjacent.
Chair Simpson-Clark said the adjacency issue could be addressed by rezoning several parcels in the neighborhood of the subject property.
Mr. Johanson said staff’s reading of the criteria is that the proposal is fatally flawed. He allowed, however, that if the Planning Commission so desired, the issue could be put on the docket for additional study.
Commissioner Newton asked if there have been discussions with the owners of the adjacent properties, and Mr. Robison allowed that while there have been, none have committed to being included in the study.
Commissioner Shull asked how large the subject property is. Mr. Robison said it is roughly half an acre. Commissioner Shull agreed with staff relative to the fatal flaw associated with the criteria, but suggested that there could be an internal inconsistency in that Neighborhood Center is defined as serving the needs of surrounding single-family neighborhoods or providing employment opportunities while protecting the desired neighborhood character. That would seem to indicate that Neighborhood Commercial is the appropriate zoning, but the designation criteria says the area must be adjacent to currently developed or partially developed business, service or commercial uses. The criteria language could serve to exclude Neighborhood Commercial in all areas of the city except where there are existing nonconforming uses, or an existing commercial zoned area.
Commissioner Shull suggested that the issue should be included on the roster, if for no other reason than to review the Comprehensive Plan language.
Commissioner Williams said she would like to hear from the owners of the surrounding properties. She pointed out that there are only two other areas of the city that have the CN designation, one in the north end of Burien on Ambaum Boulevard, and along 152nd in Old Burien.
Mr. Robison allowed that comprehensive plans are not generally the repository of hard and fast rules. They provide policy direction, but the nuts and bolts are contained in zoning codes. How the adjacency issue is addressed will have much to do with how it should be viewed, by policy or by hard and fast rule. He said his interpretation of how the Comprehensive Plan reads is that Neighborhood Center zoning should be limited to areas like the one in question where there is more of a business feel than a residential feel. The alternative, RM-12, could yield eight housing units on the subject property, but that would not be in keeping with the existing single-family neighborhood.
Mr. Johanson reminded the commissioners that the only issue on the table is whether or not the proposal merits additional study. If there is additional study, there will eventually be notice given to all surrounding property owners, and that may generate some interest in having their properties redesignated and rezoned as well. He agreed that it would be useful to know up front what some of the other property owners are thinking about the idea.
There was consensus to recommend including 2005-2 on the docket.
Chair Simpson-Clark asked if the hospital intends to continue pushing for development of a hospital zone. Mr. Johanson said he has had some conversations with the hospital on the topic. Additional talks are scheduled to help identify the specific issues. There is currently no plan to include the creation of a hospital zone on the docket.
Proposed amendment 2005-3 involves updating the rationale for the Low-Density Residential Neighborhood land use designation and was proposed by staff. Ms. Jewett said the City received a letter from the Puget Sound Regional Council, the body responsible for reviewing the City’s Comprehensive Plan for consistency with the Growth Management Act. Its letter to the City requests a review of the Low-Density Residential Neighborhood designation. Under the bright line rule, densities within urban growth boundaries must be four dwelling units per acre or greater, and there is some question on the part of the Puget Sound Regional Council as to whether or not the zone is in compliance with that rule. Ms. Jewett allowed that there are some exceptions for the four units per acre minimum density, and staff is recommending that the Comprehensive Plan address those exceptions.
There was consensus to include 2005-3 on the docket.
Motion to recommend inclusion of proposed amendments 2004-6, 2004-7, 2004-8, 2004-9, 2004-10, 2005-1, 2005-2 and 2005-3 on the docket was made by Commissioner Williams. Second was by Commissioner Clingan and the motion carried unanimously.
Mr. Johanson reiterated that the council could at its meeting on June 20 elect to add items to the docket. The commission will be kept informed of any council action.
B. Capital Improvement Program Introduction and Study Session
Finance and Administrative Services Director Linda Gorton said the forecast for the operating funds and Capital Improvement Program (CIP) was presented to the council on June 6. She said the CIP totals $68.5 million, of which $28 million is associated with the Town Square development, including a new City Hall, the public space, and the street infrastructure. Parks and General Government at $22 million is the next largest portion of the overall CIP; a large portion of the category is for a proposed new senior/community activity center in the old library building. The funding sources for the Parks and General Government CIP include the issuance of voted bonds for the new senior/community activity center; if those bonds are not approved, the project will go away.
The funding sources for the Town Square project include non-voted bonds backed by real estate excise taxes, increased revenues from the Town Square development, and the city’s portion of the increased gas tax. Local dollars will be used to some degree, as will the proceeds from land sales for the private development portion of the project.
Ms. Gorton noted that a large portion of the transportation CIP dollars come from grants, though $5 million in local money is included as a funding source.
The council will continue its review of the operating fund forecasts during the month of June. The actual CIP will be on the council’s table for discussion in July.
The commissioners were shown that the senior/activity center in last year’s CIP totaled $11.3 million. That figure has increased to $16.3 million. Ms. Gorton noted that the supporting documentation explains the reason for the increase in that project total as well as the changes for all other projects.
Commissioner Newton observed that Phase II of the Clean Water Act and the National Pollution Discharge Elimination System is just coming on board. Many of the required implementation strategies for Small Municipal Sewer Management Systems apply to Burien. He noted that a conference on the draft for the actual Phase II permit will be held on June 23 in Tacoma. To come into compliance with all applicable sections of the act will require dollars, and he asked if the proposed CIP includes money for that. Ms. Gorton said she would have to have Public Works Director Stephen Clark answer that question. She noted that the city is still waiting for the Miller/Walker Creek Basin Plan to come from King County; until that document is agreed on by all jurisdictions, the city will continue to sit on funding earmarked for implementation of the plan.
Mr. Johanson invited the commissioners to e-mail him with any questions concerning the CIP. He agreed to ask Mr. Clark to attend the June 28 meeting to answer questions relative to sections of the CIP under his department.
Director’s Report
Mr. Johanson informed the commission that the City Council has adopted the design and development agreement for the Town Square project. The council also agreed to move ahead with the purchase and sale agreement to acquire the Puget Sound Educational Service District property.
Mr. Johanson said work has begun on the process to develop design standards for the Old Burien area. The meeting was fairly well attended, given the size of the area, with a good mix of citizens and interests. A parking inventory for the land use in the downtown area is under way as well.
The commissioners were informed that staff is considering moving forward with the housing pilot project that has been on the radar screen for a while. Two approaches are under consideration, the first of which is to research pilot project codes from other jurisdictions and adapt one for use in Burien. The second approach is to start from scratch with a study to fully understand the unique issues facing the city and craft a Burien-specific code. The first option could be accomplished sooner; if the second approach is selected, it may not be possible to start right away.
Commissioner Newton allowed that the commission and the department have a lot on their plates currently. The first option offers the best approach for getting something on the books sooner rather than later.
Answering a question asked by Commissioner Sumner, Mr. Johanson said the housing project is predicated on a Comprehensive Plan policy that is somewhat geared toward the affordable housing question. The focus is on finding non-traditional ways to create and provide housing to varying income levels. The approach could involve cottage housing, a different home ownership option that involves separate dwelling units clustered on a site with common areas.
Chair Simpson-Clark said something other than a strict adherence to the basic concept of developing single-family homes and apartments may be appropriate in sensitive areas. In such areas it might be appropriate to cluster housing, determined on a project-by-project basis. It may also be appropriate to consider alternative development options to achieve multifamily densities in designs that are akin to single family houses on undersized lots. The purpose of the pilot program is to allow for innovative thinking on a case-by-case basis.
Commissioner Williams concurred with Commissioner Newton’s suggestion to see what has already been done in other jurisdictions that could be adapted to meet the needs in Burien.
Commissioner Shull asked if live/work development options fall into the innovative housing category or if that is something completely different. Mr. Johanson allowed that it could be included depending on the zone.
There was consensus to move ahead with researching pilot project codes from other jurisdictions and adapting one for use in Burien.
Turning to the summer meeting schedule for the Commission, Chair Simpson-Clark suggested placing a priority on the first meeting of each month and assuming that the second meeting will not be held unless necessary. Mr. Johanson said he will take the suggestion to the department and work on crafting a schedule that will be productive for all involved.
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 8:27 p.m.
Approved:
/s/ Robert Simpson-Clark, chair
Planning Commission
/s/ Scott Greenberg, director
Community Development Department