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Home My WebLink AboutLUTC MINS 02-05-2007G:\LUTC\LUTC Agendas and Summaries 2007\02-05-07 LUTC Minutes.doc City of Federal Way City Council Land Use/Transportation Committee February 5, 2007 City Hall 5:30 pm City Council Chambers MEETING MINUTES In attendance: Committee Chair Jack Dovey and Committee Member Dean McColgan, Committee Member Eric Faison was excused; Council Member Linda Kochmar and Council Member Jeanne Burbidge; City Manager Neal Beats; Public Works Director Cary Roe; Public Works Deputy Director Ken Miller; Surface Water Manager Paul Bucich; Solid Water/Recycling Coordinator Rob Van Orsow; Economic Development Director Patrick Doherty; Community Development Director Kathy McClung; Senior Planner Margaret Clark; City Attorney Patricia Richardson; Administrative Assistant II Tina Piety 1. CALL TO ORDER Chairman Dovey called the meeting to order at 5:32 p.m. 2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES The January 22, 2007, minutes were approved. Moved: McColgan Seconded: Dovey Passed: Unanimously 3. PUBLIC COMMENT None 4. BUSINESS ITEMS A. South 373rd Street Bridge Replacement and Stream Restoration Project – Bid Results & Request to Move Forward with WSDOT Paul Bucich provided the background information on this item. Council Member Kochmar asked why there was a better bid. Mr. Bucich replied that he is not sure, but it is not a street project, which are more expensive. Moved: McColgan Seconded: Dovey Passed: Unanimously Committee PASSED Option 1 on to the February 20, 2007, City Council Consent Agenda for approval. B. Regional Solid Waste Planning – Governance Issues Ron Van Orsow provided the background information on this item. The report presents four primary issues and recommendations to help guide regional solid waste planning and policy. One issue is to determine how best to maintain an interlocal forum for providing policy input and ensuring city participation and input in the regional solid waste system early in the planning stages. The report recommends replacing the existing Solid Waste Interlocal Forum with the Metropolitan Solid Waste Management Advisory Committee (MSWMAC). A second issue is that no formal method for resolving disputes between one or more cities and the county is currently provided for. The report outlines several dispute resolution options. The third issue is that the 2001 Comprehensive Solid Waste Management Plan contains eight very broad financial policies. The report recommends four areas where more focused financial policies need to be developed. The fourth issue concerned the positive and negative impacts to cities that host transfer stations. The report recommends continuing King County’s mitigation efforts at host city transfer stations, while developing mitigation policies, and considering a host city fee. There was no discussion. Chairman Dovey is a member of the MSWMAC and questions, comments, and recommendations may be sent to him and/or Mr. Van Orsow. Staff will continue to provide updates on this issue. Land Use/Transportation Committee Page 2 February 5, 2007 G:\LUTC\LUTC Agendas and Summaries 2007\02-05-07 LUTC Minutes.doc C. Amendment to the Sound Transit Agreement Patrick Doherty provided the background information on this item. This issue had been tabled at the last LUTC meeting (January 22, 2007). Ms. Faaluaina Pritchard, Executive Director of the Koran Women’s Association (KWA), Ms. Shirley Bekins, Senior Housing Developer at Common Ground, and Mr. Roger Tucker, Architect at Environmental Works, were on hand to give the Committee more information on the project as had been requested. They provided the Committee with a handout and delivered a presentation. KWA is over three decades old and is located in nine counties, with 600 employees. They have served Federal Way over 15 years (serving over 2000 people a month) and are currently renting office space in Federal Way. This project would give them owned office space, in addition to the planned senior citizen housing and child day care. The project will be primarily funding by HUD. Funding is competitive and the grant may be applied for once a year. They are seeking an amendment in order to provide ample time to obtain this grant. Ms. Pritchard commented that Sound Transit had expressed concerns over the timeline and asked KWA to seek this amendment from the city. They are currently in the feasibility stage and hope to have the funding by the end of this year. If the funding is secured, they will start construction next summer. Mr. Tucker commented that he sought review and input from Sound Transit and Patrick Doherty on the design. Parking will be semi-underground and will provide parking for the offices, day care, and residents. The current plan is four floors of senior housing with all except the manager’s being one bedroom. Council Member McColgan stated if the timeline states the project will be completed in 2009, why are you asking for two more years? Ms. Pritchard replied that because it is competitive, there is no guarantee they will receive the grant and Sound Transit suggested they ask the city for the amendment. Given their reputation, KWA thinks they will be given the grant. Council Member McColgan stated if KWA does not receive the grant this year, how often will you reapply? Ms. Bekins replied that if they do not receive the grant, they can obtain the score from HUD that will give them an idea of any problems with the application and if they can be addressed. If they can address any problems, they will try a second time, but will not apply more than twice. Council Member McColgan commented that if the grant is not received until 2008, there is still time to compete the project under the current contract, so why amend it? Ms. Pritchard replied that Sound Transit researched this issue and taking into account that KWA is a non-profit organization, they want to give KWA as much time as possible to succeed. Council Member Kochmar asked wouldn’t waiting until next year give KWA a better idea about whether you need an amendment or not. Ms. Pritchard commented that Sound Transit is asking this of them. Council Member Kochmar asked, are you saying Sound Transit is saying the city must accept the amendment in order for Sound Transit to accept the project? What happens if the city does not approve the amendment? Ms. Bekins replied that Sound Transit is concerned over the public funding nature of the project and the timeline and they want to ensure KWA has sufficient time to obtain the funding. Chairman Dovey asked, are you saying if the city doesn’t agree to the amendment, Sound Transit will not approve the project? Ms. Pritchard replied that she does not know for sure. Ms. Bekins commented that they are still in negotiations with Sound Transit; it is not a done deal. Chairman Dovey commented that the city needs to know what the real deal is before making a decision. Council Member McColgan agrees. Ms. Pritchard commented that if the city approves this amendment, it would show KWA that the city supports the organization and the project. Chairman Dovey asked where the operating capital will come from. Ms. Pritchard replied that HUD will supply operating capital for 40 years. Council Member McColgan commented that tonight is the first time the city has heard that Sound Transit will not approve the project if the amendment is not approved, and the city needs to know if this is true or not before we can make a decision. Chairman Dovey commented that the decision on the amendment does not have anything to do with the city’s support or lack of support for KWA. This is a contractual decision that goes back to before the KWA project and the decision should not be based on emotions. Council Member McColgan commented that he does not feel the extra time is needed, but if Sound Transit has made approval of the amendment a condition of accepting the project, he needs to know if this is true before making a decision on the amendment. The Committee asked staff to ask Sound Transit if approval of the amendment is a contingency for approval of the project. It was decided to table this discussion to a future LUTC meeting, to be announced. Land Use/Transportation Committee Page 3 February 5, 2007 G:\LUTC\LUTC Agendas and Summaries 2007\02-05-07 LUTC Minutes.doc D. Planning Commission Work Program Kathy McClung provided the background information on this item. She provided the Committee with a revised staff report. Some items were added to the revised report. She suggested that staff return with a prioritized list and the Committee agreed. She informed the Committee that a number of the projects on the current Work Plan will be going to the Planning Commission in March. She also informed the Committee that the city has received three proposals for cottage housing and preliminary public meetings have been held on all three. The next step is for the applicants to revise their proposals based on comments at these meetings. Norma L. Blanchard, 31039 7th Avenue SW – She commented that the junk cars ordinance is well written and works, but other regulations about junk should be rewritten, specifically concerning visual blight. The regulation should be stronger and people should be fined if they do not clean up their visual blight. She is also concerned with blackberry and ivy bushes that encroach from neighboring residents. She also gave the Committee a hard copy of her comments. Council Member McColgan agreed there are grey areas in the code related to junk that should be tightened up and asked how this issue would fit in the work plan. Chairman Dovey also agrees. This is a quality of life issue that should be addressed. He commented that not everyone defines junk the same way. He suggested the city research Tacoma’s program. Council Member McColgan suggested that increasing the height of buildings in the Neighborhood Business zone be added to the work plan. Chairman Dovey would add increasing the height in the City Center beyond 200 feet. Ms. McClung responded that she will return with what is reasonable for the department to accomplish. Chairman Dovey asked about the staffing for the department. Ms. McClung replied that staffing is a concern. The city has 1½ employees for long range planning. Council Member Burbidge asked if the retention of vegetation will include permanent and replacement trees. Ms. McClung replied that it will address all aspects. Council Member Burbidge expressed concern about the effect on surface water management by the lot coverage in residential zones of non-permeable surfaces such as sports courts, large homes, and garages. Is this issue addressed in the code? Ms. McClung replied that she will add this issue to the list. 5. FUTURE MEETING The next meeting will be announced. 6. ADJOURN The meeting adjourned at 6:51 p.m.