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Planning Comm MINS 03-07-2007 K:\Planning Commission\2007\Meeting Summary 03-07-07.doc CITY OF FEDERAL WAY PLANNING COMMISSION March 7, 2007 City Hall 7:00 p.m. Council Chambers MEETING MINUTES Commissioners present: Hope Elder, Bill Drake, Merle Pfeifer, Lawson Bronson, and Wayne Carlson. Commissioners absent: Dave Osaki and Dini Duclos (excused). Alternate Commissioners present: Kevin King and Caleb Allen. Alternate Commissioners absent: Richard Agnew (excused). Staff present: Community Development Services Director Kathy McClung, Senior Planner Margaret Clark, Contract Planner Janet Shull, Public Works Deputy Director Ken Miller, Assistant City Attorney Amy Jo Pearsall, and Administrative Assistant E. Tina Piety. Chairwoman Elder called the meeting to order at 7:02 p.m. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Commissioner Bronson moved and it was seconded to adopt the February 14, 2007, minutes with a change to two places where Commissioner Bronson’s name was incorrect on page two. The motion carried. Commissioner Bronson moved and it was seconded to adopt the February 21, 2007, minutes. The motion carried. AUDIENCE COMMENT None ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT None COMMISSION BUSINESS PUBLIC MEETING – Zero Lot Line Townhouses and Small Lot Detached Development Code Amendments Ms. Shull delivered the staff report. It was noted that this is a public meeting as opposed to a public hearing (the public hearing will be March 14th) and therefore, no public testimony will be taken. In addition to amendments for Zero Lot Line (ZLL) Townhouses and Small Lot Detached Development, these amendments include various proposed miscellaneous amendments for “housekeeping.” The miscellaneous housekeeping amendments include increasing the number of lots for short plats from four to nine and a corresponding change to exempt up to nine lots from SEPA review; change the submittal requirements for plats, etc. to help with data collection for Buildable Lands; and add language to address problems with mass grading (this issue is intended to be followed by a more in-depth code amendment as part of the 2007 Planning Commission Work Program). The proposed amendments started as two requests by citizens. Wally Costello (Quadrant Corporation) requested that small lot detached development be allowed on 2400 square foot lots in the Multifamily Residential 2400 (RM 2400) zone. Jon Potter (Stateside Investments) requested that ZLL townhouse development be allowed on individual lots in the RM 2400 zone. Jim Sprott (Quadrant) and Mr. Potter were in attendance to answer any questions. Mr. Potter requested that the lot size in the RM 2400 zone be reduced to 1,500 square feet, as opposed to the staff recommended 1,800 square feet. Ms. Shull stated that as long as all other development standards are met, staff has no objection to this request. Planning Commission Minutes Page 2 March 7, 2007 K:\Planning Commission\2007\Meeting Summary 03-07-07.doc Staff recommends that since small lot detached development will be located in a multi-family zone, but will not look like multi-family housing, a demonstration project be done similar to what is being done for cottage housing. ZLL’s and small lot detached developments will be processed through the subdivision process. Two setback options are proposed because garages may be placed in front or behind the building. The alley and roadway standards (Exhibit 16 of the staff report) are not a code amendment; they are an amendment to the Public Works Development Standards. The alley and private street standards will only apply to ZLL’s, small lot detached, and cottage housing developments. Mr. Miller commented that the road standards depend on the number of lots and the staff worked with the fire department to develop these standards. Under certain circumstances, South King Fire and Rescue will require the alley and/or private street to be striped for no parking in order to ensure access for fire department vehicles. Commissioner Drake asked who will be responsible for this striping. Mr. Miller replied it will be the homeowners association. Commissioner Carlson asked if there will be a vertical separation between the road and pedestrian walkway (i.e. a step up to a sidewalk). Mr. Miller responded that a vertical separation is depicted in the standards, but it may not always be feasible. Commissioner Drake asked if the fire department approves of the setback between the buildings. Mr. Miller replied they approved it, but may require that buildings have sprinklers. Commissioner Bronson asked who owns the open space and can a setback be used as open space. Ms. Shull replied that the homeowners association will own the open space and a setback can be used as open space as long as it is usable space (i.e., not a driveway). Commissioner Bronson expressed his concern that the Public Works Development Standards can be changed without public notice. Ms. Clark commented that it is the Public Works Director who is the decision maker for the Public Works Development Standards. Commissioner Pfeifer asked Mr. Potter to explain why they want the lot size changed to 1500 square feet. Mr. Potter replied that with everything that must be included with the buildings (such as roads) the number of actual lots was too small to make developing the property they are considering feasible. Having smaller sized lots would give them enough lots to make developing feasible. Commissioner Drake asked who would be responsible for maintenance. If there is a maintenance problem, can the city deal with it? What if there is a problem with the sewer system? Ms. Clark replied that staff will follow-up on these issues. Commissioner Carlson asked if there will residential design standards (he’s thinking of such things as the size of garage doors). Ms. Shull responded that the plan for small lot detached developments is to have demonstration project(s) similar to those for cottage housing. A separate ordinance would be prepared that outlines how the demonstration project(s) would work. This ordinance would include design standards. If the demonstration project is not well received, than there may not be any other small lot detached developments allowed. ADDITIONAL BUSINESS None AUDIENCE COMMENT None ADJOURN The meeting was adjourned at 8:06 p.m.