Res 08-518
RESOLUTION NO. 08-518
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
FEDERAL WAY, WASHINGTON, APPROVING NORTH LAKE
POINTE PRELIMINARY PLAT, FEDERAL WAY FILE NO. 06-
106495-00 SUo
WHEREAS, the owner, Russel Millard, applied to the City of Federal Way for preliminary plat
approval to subdivide certain real property known as North Lake Pointe, and consisting of 3.7 acres into
twelve (12) single-family residential lots located at 32214 38th Avenue South; and
WHEREAS, on August 22, 2007, an Environmental Determination of Nonsignificance (DNS) was
issued by the Director of Federal Way's Department of Community Development Services pursuant to the
State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA), Chapter 43.21C; RCW, and
WHEREAS, the Federal Way Hearing Examiner on November 14, 2007, held a public hearing
concerning North Lake Pointe preliminary plat; and
WHEREAS, following the conclusion of said hearing, on November 26, 2007, the Federal Way
Hearing Examiner issued a written Report and Recommendation containing findings and conclusions, and
recommending approval of North Lake Pointe preliminary plat subject to conditions set forth therein; and
WHEREAS, the Federal Way City Council has jurisdiction and authority pursuant to Section 20-
127 of the Federal Way City Code to approve, deny, or modify a preliminary plat and/or its conditions;
and
WHEREAS, on December 17, 2007, the City Council Land Use and Transportation Committee
considered the record and the Hearing Examiner recommendation on North Lake Pointe preliminary plat,
pursuant to Chapter 20 of Federal Way City Code, Chapter 58.17 RCW, and all other applicable City
codes, and voted to forward a recommendation for approval of the proposed North Lake Pointe
preliminary plat to the full City Council, with no changes to the Hearing Examiner recommendation; and
Res. #08-518, Page 1
WHEREAS, on January 7,2008, the City Council considered the record and the Hearing Examiner
recommendation on North Lake Pointe preliminary plat, pursuant to Chapter 20 of Federal Way City
Code, Chapter 58.17 RCW, and all other applicable City codes.
Now THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FEDERAL WAY, WASHINGTON, DOES
HEREBY RESOLVE AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. Adoption of Findings of Fact and Conclusions.
1. The findings of fact and conclusions of the Hearing Examiner's November 26, 2007
Report and Recommendation, attached hereto as Exhibit A and incorporated by this reference, are hereby
adopted as the findings and conclusions of the Federal Way City Council. Any finding deemed to be a
conclusion, and any conclusion deemed to be a finding, shall be treated as such.
2. Based on, inter alia, the analysis and conclusions in the Staff Report and Hearing
Examiner's recommendation, and conditions of approval as established therein, the proposed subdivision
makes appropriate provisions for the public health, safety, and general welfare, and for such open spaces,
drainage ways, streets or roads, alleys, other public ways, transit stops, potable water supplies, sanitary
waste, parks and recreation, play grounds, schools and schools grounds, and all other relevant facts as are
required by City code and state law, and provides for sidewalks and other planning features to assure safe
walking conditions for students who walk to and from school.
3. The public use and interest will be served by the preliminary plat approval granted
herein.
Section 2. Application Approval. Based upon the recommendation of the Federal Way Hearing
Examiner and findings and conclusions contained therein as adopted by the City Council immediately
above, North Lake Pointe preliminary plat, Federal Way File No. 06-106495-00 SU, is hereby approved,
subject to conditions as contained in the November 26,2007, Report and Recommendation ofthe Federal
Way Hearing Examiner (Exhibit A).
Res. #08-518, Page 2
Section 3. Conditions of Approval Integral. The conditions of approval of the preliminary plat are
all integral to each other with respect to the City Council finding that the public use and interest will be
served by the platting or subdivision of the subject property. Should any court having jurisdiction over the
subject matter declare any of the conditions invalid, then, in said event, the proposed preliminary plat
approval granted in this resolution shall be deemed void, and the preliminary plat shall be remanded to the
City of Federal Way Hearing Examiner to review the impacts of the invalidation of any condition or
conditions and conduct such additional proceedings as are necessary to assure that the proposed plat
makes appropriate provisions for the public health, safety, and general welfare and other factors as
required by RCW Chapter 58.17 and applicable City ordinances, rules, and regulations, and forward such
recommendation to the City Council for further action.
Section 4. Severability. If any section, sentence, clause, or phrase ofthis resolution should be held
to be invalid or unconstitutional by a court of competent jurisdiction, such invalidity or
unconstitutionality shall not affect the validity or constitutionality of any other section, sentence, clause,
or phrase of this resolution.
Section 5. Corrections. The City Clerk and the codifiers of this ordinance are authorized to make
necessary corrections to this ordinance including, but not limited to, the correction of scrivener/clerical
errors, references, ordinance numbering, section/subsection numbers and any references thereto.
Section 6. Ratification. Any act consistent with the authority and prior to the effective date of the
resolution is hereby ratified and affirmed.
Section 7. Effective Date. This resolution shall be effective immediately upon passage by the
Federal Way City Council.
Res. #08-518, Page 3
RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FEDERAL WAY, WASHINGTON, THIS 15TH
DAY OF JANURARY, 2008.
CITY OF FEDERAL WAY
ATTEST:
APPROVED As To FORM:
~~J(. ~
CITY ATTORNEY, PATRICIA A. RICHARDSON
FILED WITH THE CITY CLERK:
PASSED BY THE CITY COUNCIL:
RESOLUTION No.
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Res. #08-518, Page 4
BEFORE THE HEARING EXAMINER FOR THE CITY OF FEDERAL WAY
Phil Olbrechts, Hearing Examiner
RE: North Lake Pointe Preliminary Plat
06-106495-00-SU
FINDINGS OF FACT, CONCLUSIONS OF
LA W AND RECOMMENDATION
INTRODUCTION
The applicant requests approval of a preliminary plat to subdivide a 3.7 acres into 12 residential,
single-family lots. The Examiner recommends approval subject to conditions recommended by
staff.
ORAL TESTIMONY
David Lee, Associate Planner for Federal Way, summarized the application. A staff member
from the Public Works Department answered questions regarding the use of a private tract for
access to some of the lots.
EXHIBITS
See list of exhibits at page 11 of the October 1, 2007, staff report prepared by David Lee. In
addition, a hard copy of the PowerPoint presentation presented by David Lee was introduced as
Exhibit 13. Mr. Lee also submitted a revised staff report as Exhibit 14.
FINDINGS OF FACT
Procedural:
1. Applicant. The applicant is Russ Millard.
2. Hearing. The Hearing Examiner conducted a hearing on the application at 10:00 a.m. at
Federal Way City Hall on November 14, 2007.
Substantive:
3. Site/Proposal Description. The proposal includes a subdivision of 3.7 acres into 12
residential, single-family lots. One existing single-family dwelling will be demolished and
another existing single-family dwelling will be preserved. Street improvements, water, sewer,
utilities, storm drainage control improvements and other related infrastructure improvements will
be installed to service the plat. The preliminary plat map was introduced into the record as
Exhibit 1.
4. Characteristics of the Area. The subject property is bordered on the north, east and west
with single-family residential development and to the south with open space.
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I1gdings,--Conclusions and Recommendation
5. Adverse Impacts. There are no adverse impacts of significance associated with the
proposal. There were no comments received from any concerned members of the public at the
hearing or through any written comment. As noted in the staff report, the subject land is not in a
problem area relative to landslide, seismic hazard, erosion, steep slope hazards or a hundred-year
floodplain. There are no wetlands on site or within 200 feet of the property. Further, there are
no wildlife species recognized as priority species by Federal Way regulations.
6. Adequacy of Infrastructure and Public Services. As mitigated by staff, adequate
infrastructure will serve development as follows:
· Transportation: The Public Works Department and South King Fire & Rescue have
approved preliminary roadway design and curve radii as proposed. Lots 3, 4, 5 and 6
will be accessed by a private access tract. South 332nd Place, which connects the plat
to 38th A venue South, shall only be constructed to half-street improvements with a
20-foot paved roadway and frontage improvements on the north side of the proposed
road. The rest of the road that traverses the subdivision (South 332nd Place' and 39th
Place South) will be constructed to the "U" Roadway Section Standards, which
involves a 32-foot paved roadway along with sidewalks on both sides, as well as curb,
gutter, and planter strips. No off-site traffic mitigation was found to be required
under State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA) review.
· Open Space: The applicant will not be dedicating any open space. In lieu of the
dedication of open space, the applicant has chosen to pay a fee in lieu of open space
as authorized by FWCC Section 20-125. Fee in lieu of open space shall be calculated
on 15% of the most recent assessed or appraised value of the subject property.
· Drainage: Storm drainage facilities are being designed in accordance with the 1998
King County Surface Water Design Manual and the City's Amendments to the
Manual. The applicant's December 2006 Preliminary Conceptual Storm Drainage
Analysis (Exhibit No. 13) by Rykels Engineering Group, Inc., was reviewed by the
City's Public Works Department. The preliminary design proposes to collect and
convey stormwater runoff through a series of pipes and catch basins into a private
stormwater detention and water quality treatment facility located near the southeast
portion of the North Lake Pointe site. The stormwater detention and water quality
treatment facility will be located in a separate tract that will be dedicated to the City
at final plat review.
· Water: The applicant proposes to serve the subdivision with a public water supply
and distribution system managed by the Lakehaven Utility District. A July 21, 2006,
signed Certificate of Water Availability (Exhibit No. 12) indicates Lakehaven's
capacity to serve the proposed development.
· Sewage: The applicant proposes to serve the proposed plat by a public sewer system
managed by Lakehaven Utility District. A July 21, 2006, signed Certificate of Sewer
Availability (Exhibit No. 11) indicates the District's capacity to serve the proposed
development through a developer extension agreement between the applicant and the
District.
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· Schools: The applicant shall be required to pay school impact fees, at the rate of
$3,169 per single-family housing unit, at the time of building permit issuance. Staff
forwarded th~ application to the Federal Way School District for comments. No
written comments from the School District were submitted into the record, although
the staff report indicates that the School District commented that the project would be
served by Lake Dolloff Elementary School, Sequoyah Middle School, and Todd
Beamer High School. School bus transportation is provided for all three schools.
Staff also determined that the subdivision will provide safe pedestrian access to the
nearest bus stops for these three schools. Staff also found safe pedestrian access to
the schools themselves, although the distance to the schools makes it unlikely that any
students would actually. walk to school. Exhibit No.9, a school access analysis,
identifies the pathways that would be used by students to walk to school bus stops or
to the schools themselves.
· Fire Protection: As noted in the staff report, the Certificate of Water Availability
from the Lakehaven Utility District indicates that water will be available to the site in
sufficient quantity to satisfy fire flow standards for the proposed development. South
King County Fire & Rescue requires that a fire hydrant be located within 350 feet of
each lot. Using this standard, the number and location of fire hydrants will be
reviewed and approved by South King County Fire & Rescue as a condition of
preliminary plat approval.
CONCLUSIONS OF LA W
Procedural:
1. Authority of Hearing Examiner: FWCC 20-110 (4) and (5) provide the Examiner with
the authority to conduct a hearing and make a recommendation to the City Council on
preliminary plat applications.
Substantive:
2. Zoning Designation: RS-9.6.
3. Review Criteria and Application. FWCC 20-126(c) governs the criteria for preliminary
plat approval. Those criteria are quoted in italics below and applied to the application under
corresponding Conclusions of Law.
FWCC 20-126(c): Decisional Criteria. A Hearing Examiner shall use the following criteria in
reviewing the preliminary plat and may recommend approval of the plat to the City Council if:
( 1) It is consistent with the comprehensive plan;
4. The 2003 Federal Way Comprehensive Plan designates the property as Single Family-
High Density. The proposed land use is consistent with the density allowances and policies
applicable to this land use as established in the Comprehensive Plan.
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FWCC 20-126(c)(2): It is consistent with all applicable provisions of the Chapter, including
those adopted by reference from the comprehensive plan:
5. The "Chapter" reference in the criterion above appears to be Division VI (Preliminary
Plat) of Title 20 of the FWCC. As noted in detail in the staff report, the application has complied
with aU the procedural requirements for preliminary plat review. Further, as required by FWCC
~ 20-115, the environmental review process required under the State Environmental Policy Act
has also been completed on August 22, 2007, through the issuance of a determination of non-
significance, which was not appealed. The proposal is also in conformance with the City's
Zoning Code as required by FWCC 20-112, as proposed use and densities for the property are
consistent with its RS-9.6 zoning designation.
FWCC 20-126(c)(3): It is consistent with public health, safety, and welfare.
6. As identified in the Findings of Fact, as conditioned there are no material or significant
adverse impacts associated with the project and there will be adequate infrastructure to serve it.
For these reasons, the plat is consistent with public health, safety, and welfare.
FWCC 20-126(c)(4): It is consistent with the design criteria listed in FWCC 20-2:
FWCC 20-2: This chapter is adopted in furtherance of the comprehensive plan of the City. It is
hereby declared that the regulations contained in this chapter are necessary to:
( 1) Promote the health, safety and general welfare in accordance with the standards
established by the state and the city;
7. As noted in the Washington State Growth Management Act, the Washington State
Legislature has found it to be in the public interest to prevent urban sprawl and to promote the
efficient use of infrastructure. The infill development proposed by the applicant at urban
densities meets these objectives. Also, as previously discussed, the project, as mitigated, creates
no material or significant adverse impacts and there is adequate infrastructure to meet the needs
of the new development. For these reasons, the project promotes the health, safety, and general
welfare in accordance with the standards established by the state and the city.
FWCC 20-2(2): Promote effective use of land by preventing the overcrowding or scattered
development which would injury health, safety or the general welfare due to lack of water
supplies, sanitary sewer, drainage, transportation or other public services, or excessive
expenditure of public funds for such services:
8. As previously noted, the project constitutes infill development in an area that is already
characterized and developed by residential development. Also as previously discussed, the
project is served (or as conditioned will be served) by adequate infrastructure. The density of the
proposal, as noted in the staff report, is consistent with the surrounding densities as well. For
these reasons, the above criterion is satisfied.
FWCC 20-2(4): Provide for adequate light and air.
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9. The density of the project meets the density requirements for the RS-9.6 district. The
applicant will have to comply with the dimensional requirements of the zoning code for any
structures it builds in order to get through building permit review. The dimensional standards of
the City's Zoning Code sets the standard for adequacy of light and air and for these reasons the
above criterion is satisfied.
FWCC 20-2(5): Provide for water, sewage, drainage, parks and recreational areas, sites for
schools and school grounds and other public requirements:
10. As noted in the Findings of Fact, the project is served by adequate infrastructure.
FWCC 20-2(6): Provide for proper ingress and egress:
11. Access to aU lots complies with City design standards.
FWCC 20-2(7): Provide for housing and commercial needs of the community:
12. The project provides for infill development and urban densities and therefore satisfies the
above criteria.
FWCC 20-2(8): Require unifonn monumenting of land divisions and conveyance of accurate
legal descriptions:
13. FWCC 20-111(b) requires that the survey of the proposed subdivision must be made by
or under the supervision of a registered land surveyor who shall certify that it is a true and
correct representation of the land surveyed. This and other requirements like it help ensure that
the objective of uniform monumenting of land divisions and accurate legal descriptions are
satisfied. .
FWCC 20-2(9): Protect environmentally sensitive areas:
14. As noted previously, the project has gone through a review under the State
Environmental Policy Act, which ensures that all environmentally sensitive areas are protected
and mitigated. As noted in the staff report, there are no recognized environmentaUy sensitive
areas on the subject property.
FWCC 20-2(10): Provide for flexibility and site design to accommodate view enhancement
protection, protection of streams and wetlands, protection of steep slopes and other
environmental significant or sensitive areas.
15. There are no environmentally sensitive areas in need of protection at this site and there is
no evidence of any view impairment.
FWCC 20-125(c)(5): It is consistent with the development standards listed in FWCC 20-151
through 20-157. and 20-178 through 20-187.
16. As discussed in the staff report, the project complies with the standards listed in FWCC
20-151 through 20-157 and FWCC 20-178 through 20-187. These standards govern adequacy of
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infrastructure, dimensional density standards, street improvements, landscaping, and retention of
vegetation. The only issue that is of some concern is FWCC 20-152(d), which provides that
"[i]n general, all lots should be accessed by public street right of way....". It is clear from the
plat map (Exhibit 1) that the lots served by Tract B could not be reasonably configured to
accommodate the greater amount of area required for a public right of way. Given state and
local policies favoring urban densities within cities, the use of private access tracts is a
reasonable accommodation. Given the recent Abby Lane decision, however, it does appear that
private access tracts are often used to circumvent the more onerous dimensional standards for
development of public right of way.
RECOMMENDA TION
The Examiner recommends that the City Council approve the preliminary plat subject to the
conditions recommended by staff in the revised October 1, 2007 Staff Report (Exhibit No. 14).
Any requirements identified by staff in Section XI of the Staff Report, Findings of Fact, are also
adopted as recommended Conditions of ApprovaL The following is also added as a Condition of
Approval::
1. Fire hydrants shall be located within 350 feet of each proposed lot. The exact number
and location of fire hydrants shall be reviewed and approved by South King County Fire
& Rescue prior to final plat approvaL
Dated this 26th day of November, 2007.
~ ~---~----
Hearing Examiner
City of Federal Way
DECLARATION OF SERVICE
I hereby declare that I sent a copy of the document Oil
which this declaration appears via ./mail/n,uunSIf
service to ~ ~
I declare under penalty of perjury of the laws of the
State of Washington that the foregoin is true and correct.
Executed at Seattle, W on II ~b ?
Signed by:
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