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14-102950CITY OF Federal July 7, 2014 Philip Waldner Kempwald Enterprises LLC 1313 34 h Avenue Tacoma, WA 98424 Way FILE CITY HALL 33325 8th Avenue South Federal Way, WA 98003-6325 (253) 835-7000 www. cityoffederalway. com RE: Permit #14-102950-00-AD; ADMINISTRATIVE DECISION Zoning Change of Use for Northwest Towing, 2025 South 341" Place, Federal Way Dear Mr. Waldner: The City is in receipt of your request letter dated June 18, 2014, for "change of use at a developed site" in accordance with Federal Way Revised Code (FWRC) 19.15.025. The request is to locate Northwest Towing Inc. on the site located at 2025 South 341s` Place (King County parcel #2121049048), which is zoned CE (Commercial Enterprise). Zoning Compliance Review FWRC 19.15.025 addresses a change of use at a developed site as follows: 19.15.025 Zoning and use review process for new tenants — Change of use at a developed site. The purpose of this section is to review and determine compliance with applicable zoning and development code requirements when a new use is proposed to occupy an existing building or site. When a land use changes from one use category in the zoning charts to another use category, a zoning compliance review shall be performed as part of the use process review, when required, or in conjunction with the required business registration and/or building permit review. Each paragraph in a zoning chart is a use category. If the new use is in the same use category as any previous legal use of the site, no zoning compliance review is required. A new use is proposed to occupy an existing building. Tow lots are a permitted use per FWRC 19.240.050. The site was previously used by Skyline Mail Carriers for office and parking, which is a permitted use per FWRC 19.240.080. The two uses are not located within the same zoning chart use category; therefore, a zoning compliance review is required as indicated above. (1) Any new use shall comply with only those standards of the use zoning charts that are directly related to the new use as determined by the director. Examples include parking, use -specific setbacks, use - specific special regulations and notes, and nonconforming surface water quality improvements -identified in FWRC 19.30.120. Other nonconforming aspects of the site which are not made nonconforming as a result of the change of use are not required to be brought into conformance as a result of this subsection. Parking is the only relevant zoning issue that falls under this review. Parking for a tow lot is assessed on a case by case basis per FWRC 19.240.050. The request letter indicates a minimal need for parking, with one proposed employee at the site and 1-3 customers per day. +�� � Mr. Waldner July 7, 2014 Page 2 Even with the area to be fenced off for impound vehicle storage, there is adequate paved parking for the proposed use of the site. Therefore, your zoning change of use is considered to be in compliance with relevant zoning requirements and is hereby approved. Creation of Outdoor Storage Area You indicated that you will be creating a fenced storage area for impounded vehicles. FWRC 19.125.170 requires approval of a Process I application to make such improvements. Please submit a completed Process I application (application form and informational handout enclosed) along with the submittal items identified in FWRC 19.125.170(2). The fee due at time of submittal is $84, which covers one hour of review time. Each additional hour of review time is billed at $64 and due at the time of approval. I would estimate approximately 3 to 4 hours of review time for a project like this. The following development regulations apply to outdoor storage areas. Please demonstrate how these regulations are addressed in your subsequent application submittal. a) Outdoor storage provisions are contained within FWRC 19.125.170(3), which requires: (b) A minimum six -foot -high solid screening fence, wall, or other appropriate architectural screening, surrounded by five feet of Type I landscaping as defined by FWRC 19.125.050(1), or combination of architectural and landscape features, approved by the director of community development services is required around the outside edges of the area devoted to the outdoor use, activity or storage area, unless determined by the director that such screening is not necessary because the use or stored materials are not visually obtrusive. Proposed architectural and landscape screening methods shall be consistent with Chapter 19.115 FWRC, Community Design Guidelines, and Article I of this chapter (Landscaping). b) For reference, Type 1 (Solid Screen) landscaping provisions are contained within FWRC 19.125.050.1, which requires: (b) Description. Type I landscaping shall consist of evergreen trees, large shrubs and groundcover, which will provide a 100 percent sight -obscuring screen within three years from the time ofplanting; or a combination of approximately 75 percent evergreen and 25 percent deciduous trees, with an allowable five percent variance, with large shrubs, and groundcover backed by a 100 percent sight -obscuring fence. Tree, shrub, and groundcover spacing shall be appropriate for the species type, and consistent with the intent of this section. c) You also requested to install a 6' high chain link fence with an additional 2' of barbed wire. The fence would be located in the back portion of the property, which is paved. The fence would secure your impound storage facility for approximately 10-12 cars. Barbed wire is permitted only atop a fence or a wall at least six feet in height (FWRC 19.125.120). A building permit is required for any fence over 7' in height. Chain link fencing in the CE zone must comply with the following (F)ATRC 19.115.090.2.f): Chain -Zink fences visible from public rights -of -way or adjacent properties, and not screened by Type I landscaping as defined in Chapter 19.125 FWRC, shall utilize vinyl -coated mesh, powder- 14-102950 Doe. I.D. 66023 Mr. Waldner July 7, 2014 Page 3 coated poles, dark color(s), and architectural element(s) such as pole caps and/or decorative grid pattern (so depending what you propose with regard to landscaping/screening, the chain link fence may or may not need to meet this requirement). In summary, the proposed zoning change of use for this developed site is acceptable. Screening of the outdoor impounded vehicles requires review and approval of a Process I application and the fence requires a building permit. Also, as a reminder you will need to obtain a City business license through the City Clerk's office. If you have any questions regarding this letter, please contact me at stack.welshacityofFederalway.com or 253-853-2634. Sincerely, Stacey Welsh, AICP Associate Planner enc: Submittal Requirements for Process I Master Land Use Application Business registration form A Kalchik Realty LLC, PO Box 880608, San Diego, CA 92168 14-102950 Doc. I.D. 66023 2-i 2,1 OM, qO4 01 t4-- 107&1.50-00 A> June 18, 2014 Mr. Isaac Conlen Planning Manager Community and Economic Development Department City of Federal Way Dear Mr. Conlen: I am the president of Northwest Towing, Inc. and we currently have an office and storage facility located at 32610 Pacific Highway So., Federal Way. We have been located here since February 2005. Prior to this location we have been located within the city limits of Federal Way since December 1996, near the current development on 348t" and Enchanted Parkway, around the truck stop area. Our parent corporation, located in Fife is celebrating over 65 years of being in business and we take pride in our accomplishments as well as our facilities. On June 12, 2014 KempWald Enterprises, LLC, our property management entity, entered into a Purchase Sale Agreement with Skyline Mail Carriers, to acquire the property located at 2025 South 3415t Place. I spoke to Janet Shull today and indicated to her that we would like to move to a more permanent facility we could call our own, and we think that this property suits our needs well. She indicated to me that I would need to request a "Change of use at a developed site for new tenants". The specific ordinance number is 19.15.025. The last use of the property is office facilities and parking for Skyline Mail Carriers, a federal mail carrier contractor. We intend to only fence the back portion of the property which is paved and curbed as our storage facility, and utilize an existing office in the back entrance to the building for our staff of one. We will require no exterior remodeling or modifications to the building. Parking for our personnel would require only one space, for we only have one employee working in our current office. Traffic to our facility is very minimal, with maybe 1-3 custoIVED JUN 19 Z014 CITY OF FEDERAL WAY CDS ' per day, on a busy day. The impound facility requires only to hold a maximum of 10-12 cars at any given time, we have auctions once a month which keeps the number of vehicle on hand to a minimum. We would be required by RCW 46.55 to fence the paved area in the southeast corner of the property. It is my estimation that this is about 25% of the property, and would only be the current paved area in the back. I am including pictures and an aerial phone for your consideration. I understand that any fence over 6 feet tall would require special consideration, however the State of Washington requires us to have a 6 foot fence with 3 strands of barbed wire above it, which increased the overall height to 8 feet. We would also proposed that the fence be screened and would be in a position to do that, we have complied with that request previously. It is our opinion that the use is equal to or less than the previous use, and as such should be allowed, we take pride in not only now being the owner of property in the City of Federal Way, but that we could also add to the business like, professional appearance of the property. If you have any questions please don't hesitate to contact me, we look forward to moving forward with this project and hearing from you. Sincerely, qPhili4pWal er President Northwest Towing, Inc. 253.517.2333 Managing Partner KempWald Enterprises, LLC Air —ff6 la A —71, N� IA P— .,.I vm� VIP V, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Lk, 1�1---z � \ � s � 9 � y w