00-105246 November 3, 2000
Mr. Mark Tolas
Tolas Homes, LLC
4807 North 19th Street •
Tacoma,WA 98406
RE: Permit#00-105246-000-00-SM; LANZA
2"d Avenue SW; Right of Way Modification
Dear Mr. Tolas:
This letter responds to your request to modify the required street improvements along SW 296th
Street associated with your proposed development.
After evaluating the existing conditions along SW 296th Street, review of Federal Way City Code
(FWCC)provisions (Sections 22-1477, 22-1524 and 22-1496), and the direction provided by the City
Council, the Public Works Department hereby grants your request to modify the requirements for
street improvements applicable to your permit application, as discussed below.
FWCC Section 22-1477, Modification of Improvements Along Property Frontage: This code section
allows the Public Works Director to grant a request to modify, defer, or waive the required street
improvements only after consideration of four specific reasons. The reasons most applicable here are
as follows:
(1) The improvements as required would not be harmonious with existing street
improvements; and
(2) Unusual topographic or physical conditions preclude the construction of the
improvements as required.
FWCC Sections 22-1496 through 22-1500, Vehicular Access Easements Improvements:
"If access to the subject property is over a vehicular access easement or tract, the applicant
shall...install improvements within the easement or tract consistent with the requirements
for rights of way, as established in Article XVI... At a minimum the vehicle access
easement or tract must have a concrete or asphalt surface at least 20 feet in width... The
paved surface of a vehicular access easement or tract must be set back at least five feet from
any adjacent property which does not receive access from that vehicular access easement or
tract."
r I
Required improvements would conform to Cross-Sectio "Y" including 24 feet of pavement, curb,
gutter, and a five-foot-wide sidewalk. Full application o he required street improvements would
result in an improved roadway section that is not harmonious with existing street improvements. The
existing road improvements range from the undeveloped portion, consisting of a twelve-foot-wide
gravel driveway, to recently improved sections that are twenty feet wide and paved. There is no
sidewalk in the area. Topography steepens in the undeveloped portion and would require substantial
cut and fill to accomplish the full street section.
As a result, the required street improvements are modified to include widening of SW 296th Street to
20 feet of asphalt with a five-foot-wide gravel shoulder and a drainage system capable of conveying
a 25-year storm. These improvements shall extend from the end of the existing paved road, which is
the north property line of parcel 119600-3800, to the east property line of the subject property, parcel
119600-3903. Because this is a dead-end road that is greater than 150 linear feet long, a turn-around
will be required on or near the applicant's property line. Storm water runoff from this road and
residence will need to be treated using the Basic Water Quality Menu, and detained per Level 1
detention requirements outlined in the 1998 King County Surface Water Design Manual
(KCSWDM) and the Federal Way Addendum to the KCSWDM. A Technical Information Report
and plans for the roadway and storm water treatment/detention design must be prepared by a civil
engineer licensed to practice in the State of Washington.
The conditions of this right of way modification will be applicable for one year from the date of this
letter. If a building permit is not issued within the one-year time limit, the right of way modification
will be void and a new request for modification must be submitted.
If you have any questions, call Ann Dower, Engineering Plans Reviewer, at(253) 661-4125.
Sincerely,
KEN MILLER, P.E.
Deputy Public Works Director
KM/AD:jlf
cc Trent Ward,Development Services Manager
Project File(AD)
Day File
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