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LUTC MINS 03-21-2005G:\LUTC\LUTC Agendas and Summaries 2005\03-21-05 LUTC Minutes.doc City of Federal Way City Council Land Use/Transportation Committee March 21, 2005 City Hall 5:30 pm Council Chambers MEETING MINUTES In attendance: Committee members Jack Dovey, Chair, and Council Member Michael Park (Council Member Eric Faison was absent); Mayor Dean McColgan and Deputy Mayor Linda Kochmar; Council Member Jeanne Burbidge; Planning Commissioners La wson Bronson and Dini Duclos; City Manager David Moseley; Assistant City Attorney Karen Kirkpatrick; Community Development Services Director Kathy McClung; Public Works Director Cary Roe; Public Works Deputy Director Ken Miller; Senior Planner Traffic Engineer Rick Perez; Senior Traffic Engineer Maryanne Zukowski; and Administrative Assistant E. Tina Piety. 1. CALL TO ORDER Chair Dovey called the meeting to order at 5:30 pm. 2. APPROVAL OF MEETING MINUTES The minutes of February 28, 2005, and March 7, 2005, were approved. 3. PUBLIC COMMENT Nancy L. Evans – She is representing the residents and management of Belmor Mobile Home Park. She read the Committee a letter and gave them a copy. The letter is about the City Center Access Study and states that they are opposed to the I-5 exit proposed for South 324th Street and outlines their reasons why. They are concerned about the traffic on South 324th Street and how it is already dangerous to cross. They feel that the elimination of the blind curve from 23rd Avenue South will lead to faster speeds on South 324th, making it even more dangerous to cross. They feel the traffic will become worse with the addition of the multi-plex at The Commons. Additional traffic onto 324th will be bottle-necked at the already-crowded Pacific Highway South and will lead to more people using Celebration Park as an alternative. Finally, an exit at South 312th Street or South 336th or 348th would better serve business in those areas, which are just as important as the businesses located in the city center. 4. BUSINESS ITEMS A. City Center Access Study – Feasibility Study Completion – Ms. Zukowski went over the background on this project. The Feasibility Study is now complete and the decision needs to be made as to whether to approve moving the two options forward for further, more specific study (environmental review, preliminary engineering, and an Access Point Decision Report [APDR]). H. David Kaplan – He is a member of the Stakeholder Team. He commented that we need to realize that coming as far as this point is a victory. He urges the Committee to move the two options forward for further study. He stated that less than one tenth of one percent of the citizens of Federal Way attended the open houses on this issue. Further study would allow further opportunities for public comment. He asked the Committee to consider some sort of improvements on South 324th Street as soon as possible to help the residents of Belmor Mobile Home Park. Land Use/Transportation Committee Page 2 March 21, 2005 G:\LUTC\LUTC Agendas and Summaries 2005\03-21-05 LUTC Minutes.doc Bob Griebenow – He is a member of the Stakeholder Team. He commented that the City has a problem, but there is no easy solution. These are two good options that should be studied further. They can be altered as needed. The Committee discussed funding for the project. Staff has a rough estimate of three million dollars for the next phase of the project. The City has $200,000 budgeted to use to match a grant, which is actively being sought. It is estimated that the next step will take about two years. In regards to the Belmor Mobile Home Park traffic issues, staff is working with them and may have a proposal for the Committee in a few months. It was m/s/c to recommend approval of moving the Mod. 1 Option (South 320th/South 312th Braided CD option) and Mod. 2 Option (South 324th/South 320th Full Access option) forward for further study and to place this issue on the April 5, 2005, City Council Consent Agenda. B. On-Street Parking of Commercial Vehicles in Residential Zones – Staff has brought this issue back to the Committee in order to present the results of research the Committee requested. One question the Committee had was if parking was not allowed in residential zones, where could owners park their vehicles? Mr. Perez presented the Committee with maps showing the areas where parking would be allowed. He commented that this would leave approximately three miles for parking. In regards to researching covenants for their requirements, Mr. Perez stated that it would take approximately 160 hours of staff time to perform this research. Chair Dovey replied that he has discussed this research with Public Works Director Cary Roe and decided it was not worth the amount of time it would take to do the research. Finally, the Committee has asked what kind of effort has been made to inform those in newly annexed areas about this proposed code amendment. Mr. Perez replied that he is not aware of any effort made in the past to inform newly annexed residents about the differences in codes, but staff can do that if so directed. Wally Aikala – He showed the Committee a Power Point presentation of commercial vehicles in residential areas. His presentation stated that people are parking commercial vehicles on the street on a regular basis causing: 1) traffic hazards; 2) danger to children; and 3) reducing property values. In addition, they are unsightly and the existing code is difficult to enforce due to time limits. His presentation included pictures of commercial vehicles parked on residential streets. In response to a comment made at the last meeting regarding the possibility of commercial vehicles parking in front of City Hall because they cannot park in residential zones, Mr. Aikala stated that if it is wrong for commercial vehicles to park in front of City Hall, it is really wrong for them to park in residential neighborhoods. Marie Scicqua – She supports the staff recommendation. She feels the traffic code should support the zoning code, which was recently changed to restrict parking of commercial vehicles on private property. She spoke to Code Compliance Officer Martin Nordby who said that if a home occupation application states they have a commercial vehicle, that application is denied. This leads her to believe that many of these commercial vehicles belong to unregistered home occupations. She had refined Mr. Perez’s matrix and gave the Committee copies of her matrix. She also had pictures of commercial vehicles parked in residential neighborhoods. Jean Atwell – The question had come up at the last meeting as to whether this is a large problem, or a small one affecting just one or two houses. She went around the City and found many examples of commercial vehicles parked in residential neighborhoods (and showed pictures of them). As far as where they will park, she has a friend who drives a truck for a living and he is able to park his vehicle where he works, so surely this is a possibility for other commercial vehicles. Richard Keltner – He commented that the slides should make the point that this is not an isolated problem. He imagines that a potential buyer would be put off by a commercial vehicle parked close by the home they are considering. Something needs to be done so that these commercial vehicles are not parking in neighborhoods. Planning Commissioner Lawson Bronson – He stated that while he understands the arguments against it, he feels that people should be able to park their commercial vehicles anywhere on their property or the public street so long as it is not a danger to others. Owners of commercial vehicles have rights as well. Another problem he sees is where will this stop? Will the City next restrict parking of recreational vehicles? Chairman Dovey commented that he wanted to clear up a misconception. He had made the comment at the last meeting about the possibility of commercial vehicles parking in front of City Hall in order to emphasis the concern over where would they be able to park, not because he was worried about how it would look. Land Use/Transportation Committee Page 3 March 21, 2005 G:\LUTC\LUTC Agendas and Summaries 2005\03-21-05 LUTC Minutes.doc When asked if there was any way other than restricting the parking to resolve this issue, Mr. Roe commented that the police are willing to perform emphasis patrols of any area that may be a problem. If a commercial vehicle is parked in a residential neighborhood after midnight, the police will first give a warning and if it happens again, will ticket them. The Committee has not come to a clear conclusion on this matter, but considering the amount of time spent on it, feel that it should be resolved. It was m/s/c to move this issue forward to the April 5, 2005, City Council Business Agenda for First Reading so that a decision can be made on whether to prohibit on-street parking of commercial vehicles in residential zones, increase the hours of restriction of such parking, or to take no action. C. Signs in Sports Fields Code Amendment – It was m/s/c to recommend that the full Council adopt an ordinance approving the proposed code amendments allowing signs in sports fields as recommended by the Planning Commission, and to place this item on the April 5, 2005, City Council Agenda for First Reading. D. Countrywide Planning Policies – The City has received a request from King County to review and ratify amendments to the King County Countywide Planning Policies (CPPs). The proposed amendments do not impact the City of Federal Way. It was m/s/c to recommend that the full Council adopt the amendments to the King County CPPs as recommended by staff, and to place the item on the April 5, 2005, City Council Consent Agenda. E. Signs in the PAA Follow-Up – At their last meeting, the Committee had requested staff research some issues (including a sign incentive program) in regards to signs in the Potential Annexation Areas and return with a report. It was m/s to delay a decision to create a sign incentive program and to fully abate the signs in the recently annexed areas until the sign inventory is completed. It was m/s/c to amend the motion to state that the sign inventory will be completed within six months. It was m/s/c to delay a decision to create a sign incentive program and to fully abate the signs in the recently annexed areas until the sign inventory is completed, as amended. 5. FUTURE MEETINGS The next scheduled meeting will be April 4, 2005, when the issue regarding opening up 376th Street will be discussed. 6. ADJOURN The meeting adjourned at 7:00 p.m.