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Exhibit T (Added). Applicant Letter to Hearing ExaminerATTORNEYS CSD AT LAW October 5, 2023 VIA EMAIL AND REGULAR U.S. MAIL planning@ cityoffederalway. com Office of the Hearing Examiner C/o Community Development Department City of Federal Way 33325 81h Ave. South Federal Way. WA 98003 Re: WinCo Foods CZA Amendment; File #21-103294-UP / 21-103298-SE Jon Sitkin Attorney jsitkin@csdlaw com d. 360.306 3007 Project Site: WinCo Foods Store #43 Located at 160 SW Campus Drive, Federal Way, Washington, King County Tax Parcel 415920-0710 Honorable Federal Way Hearing Examiner: This letter is submitted on behalf of WinCo Foods, LLC (-WinCo") in support of the request for the Concomitant Zoning Agreement ("CZA") amendment. We have had the opportunity to review the City's Staff Report dated September 29, 2023 (the "Staff Report") and fully support the analysis, findings, conclusions, and recommendations therein.' At the risk of being repetitive of the Staff Report, we offer the following in summary: WinCo Foods is proposing to build an addition to its existing grocery store at the Project Site. This project would involve the demolition of the existing 8,760 square foot auxiliary/retail lease space connected to the west wall of the existing WinCo Foods store to accommodate an addition to the WinCo Foods store for an additional 15,483 square feet and a total expanded footprint of both the new and existing building of 81,591 square feet. This square footage is 6,723 square feet greater than the existing WinCo Foods store and adjacent attached retail space. This scope would also include painting the exterior of the building, interior remodeling, associated site/utility improvements to accommodate the building addition, updated accessible parking/routing per current accessibility standards, and street frontage improvements. 1 This letter incorporates by reference the Staff Report. including all of the Exhibits thereto. 1500 Railroad Avenue, Bellingham, WA 98225 1 360.671.1796 1 vvww.csdlaw.com CSD ATTORNEYS AT LAW This property is zoned Community Business (BC) with a Concomitant Zoning Agreement (CZA). The CZA, with the First Amendment and the adopting ordinance, are attached to the Staff Report as Exhibits B-D. A grocery store use is permitted in the BC zoning district and the CZA. Currently the existing WinCo Foods building utilizes the total grocery store (45,OOOsf) and drug store (22,OOOsf) maximum gross leasable square footage as outlined in the CZA, Section 2B. See Staff Report Exhibits B-D. To allow for the proposed WinCo Foods addition, an amendment to the CZA will be required that removes the Project Site from the CZA. This request has been filed with the City by the Owner, WinCo. See Staff Report, Exhibit A. The CZA Amendment is to be processed under the Process V — Quasi -Judicial Rezone application with SEPA. An amendment to the CZA, per Section 3, is allowed by the City or the Owner by filing an application, which shall be considered and heard in the same manner as a City -initiated quasi-judicial rezone of the property. In addition to an amendment to the CZA, the building addition will require subsequent project approval, demolition and building permit approvals. Considering this, WinCo submitted a combined SEPA Checklist for the WinCo Foods Expansion demolition and building permit and for the CZA Amendment. See Staff Report Exhibit E. The SEPA DNS was issued for these actions. See Staff Report Exhibit F. The SEPA Determination was not appealed. See Staff Report, Sections V at pages 6 and 7, and Section VI at page 7. In addition to the analysis in the Staff Report, the following is offered in relation to the criteria for a non - project -related quasi-judicial rezone - the CZA amendment approval: • The proposed rezone is in the best interest of the residents of the city. The proposed CZA amendment would permit the expansion of the existing WinCo Foods store to be consistent with their optimal store size, which benefits the patrons by providing expanded diversity of product and goods types and quantities, for example. The CZA amendment is also consistent with the business land use classification of the City's Comprehensive Plan and zoning designations of Community Business (BC). The CZA amendment would add an exception to allow for a limited building addition while maintaining the other concomitants that the CZA outlines for fagade modulation, location of parking, buffers, open space, park development fees and surface water improvements which are not proposed to be amended and are addressed in the original site development of the subject property. • The proposed rezone is appropriate because either: a. Conditions in the immediate vicinity of the subject property have so significantly changed since the property was given its present zoning classification and that, under those changed conditions, a rezone is within the public interest; or b. The rezone will correct a zone classification or zone boundary that was inappropriate when established. Page 2 CSD ATTORNEYS AT LAW The proposed CZA amendment is appropriate because it corrects a zone classification that was inappropriate when established, which limited the maximum building size of allowable uses and which is not consistent with either the Community Business (BC) zoning district development standards at the time or as currently regulated in which the buildable area is to be determined by other site development requirements; i.e., required buffers, parking lot landscaping, surface water facilities, etc. • It is consistent with the Comprehensive Plan. The subject property is currently designated as a Commercial Business Land Use classification by the Comprehensive Plan. Commercial Business allows a broad mix of uses, including general, specialty, and service retail; commercial, office, commercial/residential mixed use, and supportive uses. The Comprehensive Plan does not put limits of building size on its intended uses. It is consistent with all applicable provisions of the title, including those adopted by reference from the Comprehensive Plan. The proposed CZA amendment is consistent with all applicable provisions of the title and other codes adopted by reference from the Comprehensive Plan. The Community Business (BC) zoning district lists groceries as an allowable use and has no maximum lot coverage established, but instead, as noted, the buildable area is determined by other site development requirements; i.e., required buffers, parking lot landscaping, surface water facilities, etc. With the CZA amendment, the 16,000 square foot building addition would be allowed. • It is consistent with the public health, safety, and welfare. The proposed CZA amendment is consistent with the public health, safety, and welfare and does not change the subject property or adjoining properties' currently developed interconnections, connections to public ways, vehicular traffic access and flow, transit circulation, quality of site and building design, amenities, etc. Improvements to street frontage and accessible parking/routing that would be associated with this proposed expansion would improve public health, safety, and welfare. We ask the Hearing Examiner to recommend approval of the amendment to the Concomitant Zoning Agreement. Respectfully Submitted, CSD ATTORNEYS AT LAW P.S. on itkin Cc Via Email: Chaney Skadsen, Senior Planner, City of Federal Way (Chaney. skadsen(G-)cityoffederalway.com) Nate Coombs, (Nate C(uDpsarch.com) Client Page 3