Planning Comm MINS 07-18-2001
City of Federal Way
PLANNING COMMISSION
Regular Meeting
July 18, 2001 City Hall
7:00 p.m. Council Chambers
MEETING SUMMARY
Commissioners present: John Caulfield, Hope Elder, Sophia McNeil, Bill Drake, Nesbia Lopes, Dini
Duclos, and Dave Osaki. Commissioners absent (excused): None. Staff present: Community Development
Services Director Kathy McClung, Senior Planner Margaret Clark, Contract Senior Planner David Graves,
Traffic Engineer Richard Perez, and Administrative Assistant E. Tina Piety.
Chairman Caulfield called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
The June 20, 2001, meeting summary was approved as presented.
AUDIENCE COMMENT
None.
ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT
None.
COMMISSION BUSINESS
DISCUSSION – Amendments to FWCC Section 22-338, “Special Provisions for Residential Uses”
David Graves gave the staff presentation. Staff has prepared a draft code change.
Roger Hyppa (Applicant requesting the code change.) – Mr. Hyppa commented that he thought
the commission would be discussing the Market Analysis and whether there is enough BP land
in the city or not. [An overview of the Market Analysis is scheduled for later in the meeting.] He
has reviewed the proposed draft code change. He commented that his residence was placed in a
BP zoned district when the city incorporated, thereby making his residence nonconforming and
placing restrictions upon it. He would like to see the word ‘nonconforming’ dropped. He would
like to see the 47 nonconforming residences (discussed at the last Planning Commission
meeting) grand fathered and declared conforming.
Much of the commission felt that homeowners should not be penalized for becoming nonconforming due
to the city changing the zoning. After much discussion, it was m/s/c (no nays) to request the staff to
proceed with the code amendment process, using the amendment as written.
Planning Commission Summary Page 2 July 18, 2001
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PUBLIC HEARING – 2001 Comprehensive Plan Update
Chairman Caulfield opened that Public Hearing at 7:40 p.m. Margaret Clark gave the staff report. Federal
Way updates the comprehensive plan annually. This year, the city is only looking at site-specific requests.
Next year will be the Five-Year update, which will be a major review of all chapters of the comprehensive
plan. This evening, the Planning Commission will consider site-specific requests numbers 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, and
8. Requests 4 and 6 will be considered on August 15, 2001. Ms. Clark went on to describe the requests.
Ms. Clark stated that there are special circumstances for site-specific request #3, Jackson Annexation. The
city has received the 10 percent annexation petition; however, restoration work is required on the site. The
staff recommends approval of the request, on the condition that the restoration work is completed,
inspected, and approved by King County prior to the City Council’s action on the 2001 Comprehensive
Plan update. Ms. Clark received a call from King County stating that the permit for the restoration work
had expired, and the work had not been completed. Due to the timing of the comprehensive plan process, it
is unlikely they will meet the city’s condition.
The Public Testimony was opened at 8:15 p.m.
Mike Tibbets – Regarding site-specific request #8, Richard Hanson. Mr. Tibbets lives along 9th
Avenue SW and is speaking against the request. He stated that there are many $400,000 homes
in the area and he is against allowing less expensive homes in the area, thereby driving down
property values. A 1991 decision by the Federal Way Hearing Examiner for the proposed Forest
Ridge subdivision (which was proposed for this area) stated that an Environmental Impact
Statement should be done for the area in order to study the impacts on wetlands, traffic, open
space, and wildlife. Mr. Tibbets believes this site-specific request would cause significant impact
and this EIS should be done before proceeding.
De-En Lang – He represents Richard Hanson. He agrees with the staff report. The Silverwood
subdivision (which is nearby) is currently under construction. This means water and sewer will
be available soon. (Water is currently available along 9th Avenue SW.) As to the change from
RS 15.0 to RS 9.6, much of the area is already RS 9.6. The comprehensive plan states that the
reason this area is not already RS 9.6 is due to the lack of sewer availability, a lack that is soon
to be remedied. He went on to comment that this area is urban, and urban areas have neighbors.
The developer plans to work with the neighbors to ease the pain of transition. As to the price of
the homes, that will be driven by what happens to the north (Silverwood). He noted that this
development would provide a north/south road connection for this area.
Darlene VanMeerten – Regarding site-specific request #8, Richard Hanson. She lives on 9th
Avenue SW. She commented that this proposal upsets her. There is already terrible traffic in the
area. She is concerned that taxes would be raised in order to pay for the additional schools that
would be needed. SW 368th Street is barely wide enough for two-way traffic and 9th Avenue
South is only wide enough for one-way traffic. Opening up the roads would give people a short
cut; they will drive this way in order to avoid the stop light. She commented that she thought the
city would listen to the residents, but feels it is not. We already have Silverwood and Rosewood
and she doesn’t see the need for additional homes in the area.
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Susie Horan – Regarding site-specific request #3, Jackson Annexation. She represents Jerry
Jackson. She remarked that it appears the annexation will not happen this year. She said that
Jackson has obtained an extension on the permit and is working to restore the property. She
stated that they had originally had requested zoning that would allow them to place a grocery
store on the property because there is no store in the area and a store here would help alleviate
traffic on the other side of I-5.
Patty Murphy – Regarding site-specific request #3, Jackson Annexation. Her property is part of
this request, but she is not in favor of the annexation. She has had dealings with the applicant
over a decade and has seen him do inappropriate things. She applauds the city’s stance not to go
forward until everything is resolved. She stated it has been a positive experience dealing with
Federal Way. As far as the annexation goes, she is not in favor, but accepts that the change will
occur eventually.
The Public Testimony was closed at 8:37 p.m.
It was m/s/c (no nays) to accept the staff recommendation to approve site-specific request #1, Goodwin
Dental Clinic. It was m/s/c (no nays) to accept the staff recommendation to approve site-specific request
#2, John Nguyen.
For site-specific request #3, Jackson Annexation, it was noted that King County has issued a permit to
restore the site. The commission asked if they would be granted access to South 320th? Richard Perez
replied that they might be allowed right-in, right-out access; however, they may need approval from the
state due to the proximity to I-5. It was m/s/c (one nay) to accept the staff recommendation to approve site-
specific request #3, Jackson Annexation with the staff’s condition.
It was m/s/c (no nays) to table site-specific request #5, Chong Nam Yi, to August 15, 2001. On August 15,
the commission will be discussing site-specific request #4, Kitts Corner, which is very similar to request
#5. The commission was concerned with making a consistent recommendation for these similar requests.
Commissioner McNeil excused herself from the discussion of site-specific request #7, John Smith, due to a
possible conflict of interest. It was m/s/c (no nays) to accept the staff recommendation to approve site-
specific request #7, John Smith.
Regarding site-specific request #8, Richard Hanson, the commission inquired if it would be appropriate to
request an EIS for this site as suggested by Mr. Tibbets. Ms. Clark replied that the EIS was required under
the old King County standards. Staff feels the current City of Federal Way standards are higher and would
address any concerns and an EIS is not needed. In regards to the traffic issues raised by public testimony,
Mr. Perez informed the commission that this is a relatively small development (probably less than 23 lots)
and as such, requiring a Traffic Impact Analysis would be debatable. Traffic in this case is more a
subdivision issue rather than a comprehensive plan issue. It was m/s/c (one nay) accept the staff
recommendation to approve site-specific request #8, Richard Hanson.
It was m/s/c to continue the Public Hearing to August 15, 2001, at 7:00 p.m. in the City Hall Council
Chambers to discuss site-specific requests #4, Kitts Corner, and #6, Christian Faith Center, and to continue
the discussion of site-specific request #5, Chong Nam Yi.
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OVERVIEW – July 2000 City of Federal Way Market Analysis
Ms. Clark presented the overview. The purpose of the market analysis was to describe how markets for real
estate products (for example, office space and single family residential) are likely to evolve over the 2000-
2020 planning period. The city will use this information: 1) to assist in determining whether the city
presently has a 20-year supply of adequately zoned land to meet anticipated needs; 2) as a basis for the
EMME/2 Travel Demand Model that will be used to help decide the location of future transportation
improvements; and 3) to update the economic development and city center chapters of the comprehensive
plan. The analysis covers the city limits and the Transportation Analysis Zones (TAZ), which correlate
very closely with the boundaries of the city’s Potential Annexation Area.
The analysis is based on the Puget Sound Regional Council (PSRC) forecasts. Federal Way’s allocation of
PSRC population growth is 27,400 persons. The analysis concludes that this forecast is too high as a “most
likely” forecast for the Federal Way city limits. It maintains that population growth within the Federal Way
city limits is likely to be about 20,000 persons. The PSRC population forecast for the TAZ study area and
the employment forecasts for both the city limits and TAZ study area is reasonable. Discussion was held on
housing targets. The commission requested a copy of the memo recently sent to the Land
Use/Transportation Committee on housing targets.
The analysis concluded that the city has enough capacity for commercial uses to accommodate the 20-year
employment forecast. According to the analysis, there will be a demand for 11 to 13 percent of Business
Park (BP) zoned land from 2000 to 2020. However, in the year since the data was collected, the city has
experienced a higher than normal interest in developing property within the BP zone. Future development
trends, and thus the absorption rate of BP land, are difficult to predict given the current economic climate.
This is relevant because the three site-specific requests to be discussed on August 15, 2001, are requesting
a change from BP to either Community Business or Multifamily.
Ms. Clark also presented the commission with a table of Recent Development in Commercial Districts that
looked at total acres of each zone, vacant acres, acres used, acres in pending projects, and land remaining
vacant. The commission requested a copy of Ms. Clark’s presentation.
ADDITIONAL BUSINESS
On August 1, 2001, the commission will have a workshop on the 25 percent nonconformance trigger.
Chairman Caulfield will not be available either August 1, or 15.
AUDIENCE COMMENT
None.
ADJOURN
The meeting was adjourned at 9:55 p.m.