21-104125-Open Space Fee-in-Lieu Request-9-28-22
Western Washington Division Eastern Washington Division
165 NE Juniper St., Ste 201, Issaquah, WA 98027 407 Swiftwater Blvd, Cle Elum, WA 98922
Phone: (425) 392-0250 Phone: (509) 674 -7433
www.EncompassES.net
September 21, 2022
Mr. John Hutton
Parks Director
Parks Department
City of Federal Way
33325 8th Avenue South
Federal Way, WA 98003
Re: VSM Plat – 2625 & 2641 S 298th Street (File #21-102004-PC) – Request for partial fee-in-
lieu for the Open Space requirement
Request
The applicant requests that Tract D, which is 10,649 SF, be accepted as “conservation open
space” and account for 6% of the 15% open space area required per FWRC 18.55.060(2). A fee
in-lieu payment will be made to the City for the remaining 16,019 SF (9%) of required open
space and will be calculated based on the most recent assessed value of the property and
approved by the City of Federal Way.
Please find below a discussion of the pertinent code and project facts in support of this request.
Project Stats
The project site is comprised on two existing parcels, which together make an irregular shape.
The western half of the site is encumbered by a stream, three wetlands, and their buffers. The
western most portion of the project site is buildable, however no access is available due to the
orientation of the critical areas compared to the existing subdivision on the other side of this
westernmost buildable area. See the inset map at the end of this section.
PROJECT SITE AREA 177,789 SF
ZONING RS 7.2
PROPOSED 11 LOT SUBDIVISION
MIN. LOT SIZE 7,200 SF
TOTAL AREA IN LOTS 1-11 84,106 SF
ACCESS ROAD (TRACT A) 21,670 SF
STORM POND (TRACT B) 11,201 SF
WETLAND/STREAM (TRACT C) 50,130 SF
OPEN SPACE (TRACT D) 10,649 SF
VSM Plat
Partial Fee-in-Lieu for Open Space Requirement Request
09-21-2022
Page 2 of 3
The building lots vary in size from 7,200 sf to 9,870 sf to account for the pipestem
configurations needed to assure each lot has street frontage. The proposed access road is
comprised of a 28’ road with curb, landscape strip, and sidewalk for a total width of 52 feet of
ROW. The road ends in a 90-foot-wide cul-de-sac. The configurations of the lots, access road,
storm tract and wetland buffers leave no feasible/usable open space.
VSM Plat
Partial Fee-in-Lieu for Open Space Requirement Request
09-21-2022
Page 3 of 3
Code requirements
• FWRC 18.55.060(2) requires open space at a rate of 15% of gross subdivision land
• Open space requirement = 177,789 sf x .015 = 26,668 sf
OPEN SPACE REQ’D (15%) 26,668 SF
CONSERVATION OPEN SPACE TRACT
(6%)
10,649 SF
DEFECIT OPEN SPACE/FEE IN-LIEU (9%) 16,019 SF * AV
BALANCE 0 SF
Constraints
The western half of the site is encumbered by wetlands, a stream, and their buffers.
However, there is also a long, slender triangle of land that would be buildable if it were
accessible. This area is along the western most extent of the site, and makes up the
proposed Open Space as Tract D. This triangle is cut off from road access by the diagonal
trajectory of the stream and wetlands, and bounding on its other side by an established
subdivision that is fully built out. While not accessible , this area serves the community by
providing an additional break between existing homes and the adjacent critical areas. The
landscaping plan provides details for the replanting of this proposed open space.
A review of the site to determine whether there were any other areas that could serve as
open space to satisfy the 15% requirement led to an examination of the largest lots. Lots 8
and 9 both exceed the minimum lot size (7,200sf) at 8,377sf and 9,870sf respectively. If the
lots were reduced to 7,200sf by putting area at the rear of the lots into another open space
tract, it would not provide the 16,000sf of needed open space. At only 45 feet of lot width,
there is not room to provide an access to the tract for use or maintenance. Area at the
front of the lots cannot be set aside as this area is needed for required access to the homes.
Proposal before director
• Proposed conservation open space tract = 10,649sf (6%)
• Fee in lieu based on assessed value = 16,019sf (9%)
Thank you for your consideration of this fee-in-lieu request.
Sincerely,
Encompass Engineering & Surveying, Inc. on behalf of VSM (Sikander Sekhon).
Costa Philippides, PE
Project Engineer