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LUTC MINS 11-15-2004 MEETING MINUTES In attendance: Committee Members Jack Dovey, Chair, Eric Faison and Michael Park; Mayor Dean McColgan, Deputy Mayor Linda Kochmar, Council Member Jeanne Burbidge, Council Member Jim Ferrell; City Manager David Moseley; Deputy City Attorney Karen Kirkpatrick; Public Works Director Cary Roe; Deputy Public Works Director Ken Miller; City Traffic Engineer Rick Perez; Street Systems Manager Marwan Salloum; Surface Water Manager Paul Bucich; Senior Traffic Engineer Maryanne Zukowski; Community Development Services Director Kathy McClung; Senior Planner Margaret Clark; and Administrative Assistant Krystal Kelsey. 1. CALL TO ORDER Chair Dovey called the meeting to order at 5:30 pm. 2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES The summary minutes of the October 18, 2004 meeting were approved as presented. 3. PUBLIC COMMENT None. 4. BUSINESS ITEMS – Chair Dovey changed the order of the agenda presentations as follows: B. 2005 Street Sweeping Services Contract – Bid Award – The Committee m/s/c to place the staff recommendation on the December 7, 2004 Council Consent Agenda. C. 2005 Right of Way Landscaping Maintenance - Bid Award The Committee m/s/c to place the staff recommendation on the December 7, 2004 Council Consent Agenda. D. East Branch Lakota Creek Restoration - 85% Design Status Report – Mr. Bucich gave the staff report. The Committee m/s/c to place the staff recommendation on the December 7, 2004 Council Consent Agenda. F. Resolution to Document Compliance with the Growth Management Act – Ms. Clark presented the staff report. A resolution was presented to the Committee documenting the progress the City has made to date on the Growth Management Act (GMA). The City still needs to adopt a concurrency ordinance and look at density in the City. The Committee inquired about the impacts to grants since the City may not be in compliance with the Act. However, adoption of the resolution shows that the City has made a good faith effort; having met the major aspects of the GMA and they intend to continue with the update. The Committee also inquired about whether or not the PAA should be included in the update. Ms. Clark answered that she believed so, but would be checking with the state for a firm answer to this question. In regards to incentives, do those for the downtown areas count and could the City direct all 650 units downtown? Yes, those incentives do count, but a capacity analysis of the downtown area would need to be conducted (and is underway) to identify vacant properties and properties that could be redeveloped. The City could also look at cluster housing as an alternative The Committee m/s/c to place the staff recommendation on the December 7, 2004 Council Consent Agenda. A. Sound Transit Phase II – Joni Earl from Sound Transit addressed the Committee on the status and future of Sound Transit projects throughout the region and in Federal Way. The following are excerpts from her presentation: A mass transit system is good for the region’s economy, by providing alternatives to congestion and helping the movement of freight on highways and by trains through our rail corridors. Sound Transit is building that regional mass transit system. And much of it is already in place. So far we’re moving about 35,000 people every day, a number that continues to climb as we improve our service. In just five years, we’ve carried more than 34 million people. That’s enough to fill Safeco Field more than 600 times. Our Sounder trains run about 73 miles between Tacoma, Seattle and Everett and they carry City of Federal Way City Council Land Use & Transportation Committee November 15, 2004 City Hall 5:30 p.m. Council Chambers G:\LUTC\LUTC Agendas and Summaries 2004\November 15, 2004 LUTC Minutes.doc more than 3,400 passengers every weekday. Our limited stop ST Express regional buses have already logged more than 42 million miles on 19 new routes, linking Pierce County with Seattle, Bellevue, Everett and other regional employment and population centers. Our buses carry about 30,000 people every weekday. Tacoma Link carries more than 2,300 people a day. In our first year, about three quarters of a million people took our trains and we’re very close to carrying our 1 millionth rider. Another measure of our success is bricks and mortar. You’ve probably noticed the major construction work going on near I-5 in Federal Way, Lynnwood and Bellevue. Those, and many other Sound Transit projects, are springing up around the region. In just five years, we’ve invested nearly $1 billion in transit centers, park and ride lots, direct access ramps, train stations and track improvements. We’ve built or helped build beautiful new Sounder train stations that have become downtown showpieces in Tacoma, Puyallup, Sumner, Auburn, Kent, Seattle and Everett. Sound Transit paying for improvements to signals, tracks, stations and grade crossings from Everett to Lakewood past Tacoma. These improvements don’t just benefit our Sounder commuter trains. Our trains run on BNSF mainline tracks, so once the tracks are improved, the overall capacity in the corridor for freight and for Amtrak trains has been improved, as well. If you want to see how transit can vitalize a community, go to Tacoma and see our Tacoma Link light rail line, which we built for $80 million. We’ve also added 10,000 parking spaces to the region – which is roughly equivalent to a 33-story parking garage. While many of our projects are completed, others are right around the corner. For example about a billion dollars in construction is under way now on the Central Link light rail line. With the local community’s help, we’re building first class projects that are revitalizing downtowns all around the region. Our capital projects are becoming an important part of the community’s fabric by spurring economic growth and a new sense of pride. We’re also at work connecting Federal Way to Tacoma and the rest of the region. One of the most important projects we have going is the Federal Way Transit Center and HOV access ramps to and from I-5. This is a major transit hub for Federal Way and all of South King County with parking for up to 1,200 vehicles and easy access to several hundred buses a day. The good news is that construction is going very well and the transit center and HOV access lanes will open next year. Once it’s open you can park your car for free at the transit center, catch a bus and leave the congestion behind as your bus moves directly into the HOV lanes to wherever your destination is around the region. Sound Transit worked closely with the City of Federal Way on the Transit Center and it now includes a public rest room and security patrols around-the-clock 7 days a week. One million in Sound Transit dollars is going toward local street improvements and new traffic signals, improvements to congested intersections in downtown Federal Way and a contribution to the City’s asphalt pavement overlay program. The Federal Way Transit Center is a major project for Sound Transit, but we’re also aware that there are other big regional transportation projects in Federal Way. For example, Sound Transit is also helping pay for a new Redondo Heights park-and-ride lot near the southeast corner of the intersection of Pacific Highway South and South 272nd Street in Federal Way. King County is developing this very important project along with the City of Federal Way. However, Sound Transit will not be providing bus service from this park and ride. The state Department of Transportation is evaluating six alternatives to the I-5, SR 161 and the SR 18 Triangle. Sound Transit is also aware of the ongoing structural and aesthetic improvements that have been made and are under way on Highway 99, the major link through Federal Way and to I-5. Another 1.2 million people are expected to be living in this region in the next 20 years. Imagine a city the size of Portland squeezing into our region and using our already jammed transportation system. Mass transit is no panacea, but it’s a big part of the solution. Mass transit is how we can absorb growth of that magnitude without sacrificing our quality of life. Putting it off won’t make it any cheaper – in fact ask those who were here in the early 1970s and turned down building a comprehensive mass transit system for billions less than we’re paying today. The longer we wait the more costly it becomes. Keeping our current momentum going makes sense. A timeline is in place for building the next piece of our region’s mass transit system. We’re calling that next piece ST 2. The timeline we’re working under shows that: G:\LUTC\LUTC Agendas and Summaries 2004\November 15, 2004 LUTC Minutes.doc Draft SEIS environmental studies will be released at the end of this month. We’re also updating our The Long Range plans from 1995 to see how different transit options mesh with the region’s latest growth projectionss, land use plans and travel patterns. The Long Range Plan update will be finished in May of 2005. With the help of cities and the public, the actual ST 2 projects that will fulfill the region’s vision for the future will be selected in early 2006 A possible ballot measure for ST 2 could be before the region’s voters in the fall of 2006. This is Federal Way’s mass transit system and there will be many opportunities for you to participate in planning for ST 2, the next piece of the regional mass transit system. Once the draft SEIS is released this month, we’ll be meeting with the community and the city to hear your comments and suggestions. In fact, we’ve already begun meetings with officials in the City of Federal Way and other cities throughout the region to discuss how our services will look and feel in each community. Public meetings on the SEIS are scheduled throughout the region in January. The Long Range Plan update will be finished in May of 2005. Open meetings on the Plan Update are scheduled for soon thereafter. Sound Transit II Projects will be selected in early 2006. Open meetings on Sound Transit 2 will be in 2006. A possible ballot measure could be ready for a public vote in the fall of 2006. Because of the importance of this issue to the region, we will have one of the most extensive public outreach plans in the region. Finally, you can call us, write your comments, or log onto our Web site, www.soundtransit.org to participate. I’ve covered a lot about our future, but I wanted to end with a thought or two about regional transit in general. Whether or not you use transit, it’s benefiting you – perhaps in ways you never considered. Some say that mass transit only moves four percent of the people. What they don’t tell you is that it moves more than 40 percent of the people into downtown Seattle during rush hours – when we really need it. Interstate 405 and Interstate 90 carry something like three percent of all trips in the region, and yet we wouldn’t consider minimizing their impacts as transportation options. One proof of the effectiveness of rail transit is that many cities that have rail lines are expanding their systems; including Portland, Denver, Salt Lake, Dallas, Vancouver, B.C. The Committee raised the following questions: Raised by Deputy Mayor Kochmar, answered by Joni Earl: Q: Are there any plans for link light rail stations in the Federal Way area? A: We are linking at Link Light Rail along the whole I-5 corridor. Some discussions on whether we start in Tacoma and come north to Federal Way or come south to Federal Way from Seattle, realizing that we can’t build the entire project at once. There have been discussions about Federal Way having a light rail station, but not at that level of detail right now. Q: With the Federal Way City Council and community as a whole have input on that decision/process? A: Yes, absolutely. Q: When will the draft EIS be distributed and will it be sent to all Council members? A: If that is what the City would like, Sound Transit will provide each Council member with a copy. Also, a series of open houses in January throughout the region will be held to get public input. Q: Can you describe what a light rail station would look like? A: The only examples would be those planned in the Seattle area. These have been developed based on local zoning regulations on how they should fit into each community. Each one is quite different from the others without a specific prototype. The Federal Way City Council would be involved quite extensively in the planning. Q: How large are the light rail stations? A: ST train platforms for light rail assume four car trains and are about 400 feet long. Q: What do you think might happen with the Federal Way TOD? A: Really can’t say at this point. Current process is to put a project team together. Scott Kirkpatrick is the current TOD manager and is working on an RFP and action plan so that they can sit down with the City before they are out doing anything publicly so that it can be a partnership to find a viable G:\LUTC\LUTC Agendas and Summaries 2004\November 15, 2004 LUTC Minutes.doc developer for both the east and west property. While right now it is in ST hands, this is Federal Way’s City, and they want the City at the table with them as a partner. Q: At what point will most of this planning for Phase II be finalized, prior to the 2006 vote? A: Have all the planning work done by 2006. The planning must be done before it goes to the voters. Furthermore, state legislature mandates an independent expert review panel appointed jointly by the Governor’s office, the DOT secretary, and the chair of the legislative transportation committee. They are in the process of deciding who will be appointed to that. Q: Will the stations be identified prior to going for a vote? A: Station locations would probably be identified, but they would be at zero to five percent engineering. Q: Is the current plan to have link light rail going all the way along SR 99 from SeaTac to Tacoma? A: (Eric Chips, Office of Policy and Planning spoke to this question.) Alignment could be along I-5 or SR 99, but no firm plans are in place. This is an area the City would certainly want to actively influence. Raised by Mayor McColgan, answered by Joni Earl: Q: Do you prioritize specific projects (from Lakewood to Federal Way to Airport) that would be of a better benefit regarding more added bus service or better link light rail? A: There are 200 – 300 project ideas that are going through the screening criteria and be whittled down from there. The public needs to be engaged in that process. Q: What do you look for in a partnership with a City Council? A: Trust on both sides to focus on the issues that need to be focused on. Finding the balance between the right investment of ST funds and leveraging what cities are trying to achieve. Right of way sharing, and doing a better job of collectively looking at ways to bring values for both sides to the public to effectively use public tax dollars. Good communication. Raised by Committee Member Park, answered by Joni Earl: Q: Is Federal Way one of the nine locations for the public hearings scheduled in January? A: Ms. Earl did not bring a list with her of the meeting locations, but if the Council desires, the Federal Way could be added to the list if they are not already scheduled. Committee Member Park confirmed that the City would like Sound Transit to hold an open house in our City, and asked that we be notified as soon as the date, time and location are known so that press releases can be issued, notifying the public in advance of the dates. Ms. Earl agreed to do so, but cautioned that these would be informal open houses, not public hearings. Maps and additional information will be available for the public to review. Raised by Committee Chair Dovey, answered by Joni Earl: Q: How many other lines would the south end be competing with in, as in the Eastside and Everett, in 2006? A: Sound Transit has subarea equity [i.e. funds generated in a subarea must be spent in that same subarea]. The importance of subarea equity means regardless of where else in the region Sound Transit is building (like Bellevue, Everett, etc.), Federal Way would only compete with other projects in the South King area as identified by the voters and the ST board. There aren’t other light rail projects in South King. Federal Way would be more likely to compete against projects such as east west connects, additional Sounder service, additional transit centers, and added bus service in the South King area, but not light rail. Q: Is there hope for a link from Tacoma to the airport? A: There is a lot of energy within the South Sound Delegation to have a connection to Federal Way. However, such a connection would need to be funded jointly between South King and Pierce County since the line would be coming out of downtown Tacoma and heading north. G:\LUTC\LUTC Agendas and Summaries 2004\November 15, 2004 LUTC Minutes.doc Raised by Deputy Mayor Kochmar, answered by Joni Earl: Q: Would it be possible to have regular briefings from Sound Transit, perhaps on a quarterly basis? A: Yes, Sound Transit would be happy to provide quarterly briefings. Committee Chair Dovey concluded the presentation by thanking Ms. Earl and her staff for their time and for the information they shared. F. City Center Access Study Briefing No. 4 – Screening Level 2 Results & Options to Move Forward to Screening Level 3– Ms. Zukowski delivered the briefing/staff report to the Committee. Included in Ms. Zukowski’s presentation was a PowerPoint presentation depicting the options analyzed in Screening Level 2 and identified as those that staff felt should be moved forward to Screening Level 3. Dave Kaplan, a Stakeholder Team Member, addressed the Committee with his concerns regarding impacts to the 312th/Steel Lake area. Mr. Kaplan wanted to highlight what he feels are two additional negative impacts of either the bridge or freeway exit. Because the City did not vacate the right of way between 28th and I-5, two buildings of Steel Lake Court Apartments are on the right of way with 16 apartments. Secondly, the Public Works and Parks Maintenance yards would need to be relocated. The Committee inquired about why the Council should move forward options H4 and J5 if the one-way ring road was not popular amongst members and was stated as not working as well. This option is one of the local options, and was the highest scoring local option. The City is required to prove that it cannot fix its local problems first. This is the only remaining local option left. The Committee further inquired about the one-way couplet option, how it would work, and the levels of service impacts. Ms. Zukowski answered that once it moves forward to the next screening stage significantly more analysis will be conducted on this option, including economic impacts. Travel models will show the length of travel time from different points within the City. The Committee m/s/c to place the staff recommendation on the December 7, 2004 Council Consent Agenda. 5. FUTURE MEETING/AGENDA ITEMS 6. ADJOURN The meeting adjourned at 6:56 p.m.