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LUTC MINS 04-17-2017City of Federal Way City Council Land Use /Transportation Committee April 17, 2017 City Hall 5:00 P.M. Council Chambers MEETING SUMMARY Committee Members in Attendance: Committee Chair Bob Celski and Committee members Lydia Assefa- Dawson and Mark Koppang. Council members in attendance: Deputy Mayor Burbidge and Councilmember Honda. Staff in Attendance: Deputy City Attorney Mark Orthmann, Public Works Director Marwan Salloum, Deputy Public Works Director /PAEC Project Director EJ Walsh, Deputy Public Works Director /Street Systems Manager Desiree Winkler, Community Development Director Brian Davis, City Traffic Engineer Rick Perez, SWR Coordinator Rob Van Orsow, SWM Project Engineer Fei Tang, Economic Development Director Tim Johnson, Principal Planner Margaret Clark, Street Systems Project Engineer Naveen Chandra, Administrative Assistant Mercedes Tenuta, and Administrative Assistant II Shawna Upton. CALL TO ORDER Chair Celski called the meeting to order at 5:02 PM 2. PUBLIC COMMENT (3 minutes) lamas G. William is the Vice President of Development for Merlone Geier Partners and in general spoke against the pending multi - family code amendments. They recently acquired the Commons at Federal Way and they also own Sunset Square. He stated that one of the important aspects of their investment here in Federal Way is the future Sound Transit Light Rail Station and with that context in view, and recently learning about the pending multi - family housing zoning code amendments, he wanted to emphasize their desire for the City of Federal Way to consider making allowances for City Center Core and Frame District TOD (Transit Oriented Development) that is on a different path than multi - family development most likely in other parts of the city. He feels in doing so, the comprehensive plans mandate to encourage development in the designated downtown core areas can be furthered and make use of the tremendous amount of public investment in the light rail. He continued to outline specific concerns. Alex Kim indicated he's previously spoken with staff about this issue and in general, is against the proposed multi - family code amendment. He indicated he has owned approximately six acres in the BC zone for several years now. He stated that there have been several code amendments over the last few years and shared concerns about height restrictions in zoning areas that are next to residential zones. He feels there should be amendments made to some of those zones to make it more equitable. Monte Powell is a resident in Federal Way and he's been developing senior housing in this area for several years. He expressed gratitude to staff and Council for working on this subject and feels they've done a great job but noted there are a few small issues that need to be reconciled as there are some issues, surveillance cameras for example, that are in violation of the State Code. He feels that overall this is a very good effort at bringing the code into compliance with what he thinks the Federal Way population will accept and look forward to. Committee Members City Staff Bob Celski, Chair Marwan Salloum, P. E., Public Works Director Lydia Assefa- Dawson, Member Shawna Upton, Administrative Assistant II Mark Koppano, Member 253 - 635 -2703 3. COMMITTEE BUSINESS Forward to Council Topic Title/ Description A. Approval of Minutes: March 6, 2017 N/A Committee approved the March 6, 2017 LUTC minutes as presented. Moved: Koppang Seconded: Assefa- Dawson Passed: 3 -0 B. Citywide Flashing Yellow Arrow Retrofits Project — Final Acceptance May 2, 2017 Consent Mr. Chandra explained this project installed flashing yellow arrow signal indications at 17 intersections and one overhead lane use signs at two locations on SR 161 and SR 18. Prior to release of performance /payment bonds on a Public Works construction project, the City Council must accept the work as complete to meet State Department of Revenue and State Department of Labor and Industries requirements. A brief discussion continued regarding the potential to install flashing yellow arrows at any other locations and if there have been any increased accidents in locations that had the signals installed. Committee forwarded Option #1 as presented. Moved: Assefa- Dawson Seconded: Koppang Passed: 3 -0 C. Submittal of Transportation Grant Application May 2, 2017 Consent Mr. Perez stated WSDOT issued a call for projects for a federally- funded Accelerated Innovation Deployment Program. The program is intended to include proven innovative practices or technologies which the applicant intends to implement and adopt as a significant improvement to their conventional practice. Staff is proposing to expand implementation of variable lane use controls to optimize lane utilization at an intersection as it varies by time -of -day. As part of the SR 99 Phase V project, one of these signs will be constructed at northbound SR 99 at S 348th Street. Mr. Perez illustrated images that are similar to what they would look like. He indicated that they can be used at pre - programmed times of day or by real -time traffic conditions. He further discussed the Federal Highways Administration summary of impacts for this type of operation and noted that there are several technical issues that would need to be worked out before implementation. A list of tentative locations and changes to the current traffic movements at each location was explained. Discussion continued regarding potential for driver confusion, unintended consequences and public outreach. Committee forwarded Option #1 as presented. Moved: Koppang Seconded: Assefa- Dawson Passed: 3 -0 Committee Members City Staff Bob Celski, Chair Marwan Salloum, P. E., Public Works Director Lydia Assefa- Dawson, Member Shawna Upton, Administrative Assistant II Mark Koppang, Member 253- 835 -2703 D. Authorization to Apply for the King County Flood Control District Flood Reduction Grant Mr. Tang indicated the King County Flood Control District Flood Reduction Grant is an annual grant and this year there is approximately $3 million in available funding. Typically awards have ranged from $10k- $400k per project, noting that in 2016 the City was awarded $350k for the Marine Hills Stormwater Conveyance System Repair Project Phase II. The grant is available for small to medium flood reduction projects which includes repair of failing stormwater systems that are causing flooding. The project must meet the standard for extended benefits such as maintaining safe roads and public access to residences and provide a clear economic benefit that extends beyond the applicant to the broader public good. If staff is authorized to apply, they plan to use the funding for the Lakota Berm and Pipe Repair project. In 2015, the water within the wetland overtopped the berm and flooded the fields, track and a portion of 21St Avenue SW. The flooding was caused primarily by the localized settlement of the berm and blockage at the control structure. Upon investigation of the facility, staff found 100 feet of outlet pipe had deteriorated and is in need of repair. He provided maps that illustrated where the flooding occurred and outlined the repairs that would be made, estimated expenditures and available funding. A brief discussion was held regarding the potential timing of the project. Committee forwarded Option #1 as presented. Moved: Assefa- Dawson Seconded: Koppang Passed: 3 -0 E. ORDINANCE: Adopt Code Amendments Related to Multi - Family Dwelling Units, Senior Housing, and Special Needs Housing Mr. Davis explained the reasons the moratorium is in place are for improved quality of multi - family developments, to improve the safety of the residents nearby multi - family developments and to improve the compatibility with neighbors as it relates to setbacks and open space. Staff received 17 suggestions for changes to the proposed amendments and worked with those suggestions to come up with ideas on how to address them. He outlined the moratorium timeline as it has progressed since December of 2016 noting that the Planning Commission had two briefings on this item and chose to forward the matter to Committee without a recommendation. Mr. Davis provided an overview of the recommended changes to the Ordinance. Staff received several suggestions to improve parking. Staff recommends developments that propose at least 100 units have a minimum of 25% of the parking underground or on the first floor. In the city center core zone, the parking could be accounted for in a multi -level garage. For developments over 25 units, a mix of first -floor commercial uses was suggested. In this case, it would not be required of all of them but for a certain number of them, 50% of the first floor to be commercial use if building fronts an arterial. There were no recommended changes for mixed number of bedrooms per unit in same complex, shared living and social gathering or maintenance plan and inspection programs. Private open space was a concern for some. Staff recommends a minimum of 48 square feet, per unit, of open space be made available to the tenants within their units to congregate so those activities don't overflow into the right -of -way. There was also a desire to expand on our required recycling program so changes have been made to address space and location requirements for solid waste and recycling. Reducing bulk and mass of the buildings was also desired so it is addressed as a guideline, not as a requirement so this is optional. Several May 2, 2017 Consent May 2, 2017 Consent Committee Members City Staff Bob Celski, Chair Marwan Salloum, P.E., Public Works Director Lydia Assefa- Dawson, Member Shawna Upton, Administrative Assistant II Mark Koppang, Member 253 - 835 -2703 suggestions were received to increase compatibility with surrounding uses by increasing setbacks for buildings on property adjacent to non - multifamily zones. Safety goals were proposed that would incorporate various safety measures into the building design or tenant agreements that would be optional for developers such as a safety plan or security cameras. A suggestion was made to develop a system or program that would collect Police Impact Fees. This item is being deferred to a later date as there are some legal challenges with this and significant data analysis is required for an equitable proposal. Another recommended change is related to parking standards that are in the books but not necessarily enforced. Parking standards can be reduced based on the actual need. An example of this would be senior housing which doesn't require the normal amount of parking that a multi - family development would because there are fewer drivers. Staff has received comments that recent developments don't have enough parking so what staff has done is increase parking requirements creating a higher starting point when reductions are considered which should help alleviate public frustration. He used Uptown Apartments on Pacific Hwy and S 320th Street as an example of what the code amendments would look like if implemented by stating Uptown Apartments would need an additional 47 parking stalls than what they have now. Mr. Davis provided a handout to the Committee which includes public comments that were received noting that they clearly illustrate the division between what the public wants and what developers want and summarized indicating the citizens want less flexibility and developers want more flexibility. He discussed the comments that were received from the citizens and developers and briefly expanded on a comment that was received from lamas William from the Commons Mall property that stated Transit Oriented Development (TOD) standards should be incorporated into the city center core and indicated staff agrees. Developing a TOD type plan or Ordinance would take a significant amount of outreach and process. Sound Transit and the City are working together on this issue and Sound Transit indicated their planning efforts may even provide some funding for the City to take advantage of. Chair Celski shared he has not had enough time to review the information and is not ready to make a decision. He asked Mr. Davis for input as to why the Planning Commission forwarded the issue without a recommendation. Mr. Davis stated the Planning Commission met on three separate occasions and were provided the same information that Committee received tonight. He shared his perspective that the Planning Commission felt they could not make an informed recommendation and may have needed more time to process the information. Councilmember Koppang commented his impression of the last Planning Commission meeting was they didn't think the scope of the presentation fully matched expectations Council had for the moratorium. He mentioned TOD is an important next step for the city, expanding there is a potential for code changes, and asked if there are any other proposed amendments on the horizon that Council should be aware of. Mr. Davis mentioned the main changes have already been discussed and that the proposed amendments are a good starting point. He views TOD as a comprehensive zone change that will redesign the downtown area. Councilmember Honda commented that when the first SHAG housing was built, there was not enough parking for residents and expanded residents in the second building are parking on the street and in the park. She's concerned that seniors need more parking. Deputy Mayor Burbidge asked what the current requirement is for senior parking. Mr. Davis indicated the current requirement is 0.5 per unit. A brief discussion was held regarding mixed room units and market rate development. Councilmember Koppang noted he was happy to see new requirements for solid waste and recycling because he sees value for the residents. Additionally he asked for information about Police Impact Fees stating an initial increase for response was Committee Members City Staff Bob Celski, Chair Marwan Salloum, P.E., Public Works Director Lydia Assefa- Dawson, Member Shawna Upton, Administrative Assistant II Mark Koppanq Member 253 - 835 -2703 seen at the apartment complexes, possibly due in part to the screening process, but would like to see developers take a responsible path for implementation. Mr. Davis stated he has seen the service call numbers and believes that although the number seems high, the density is a factor in the number of service calls. Deputy Attorney Orthmann explained that impact fees are constrained by state statue and case law and essentially any mitigation that the city requires must be reasonably necessary as a direct result of the proposed development. Furthermore, the City would have to show that the required mitigation is due to some harm or issue that's caused directly by the development. He also noted that no other jurisdictions were found to have had a similar type of fee and it would require significant study. Chair Celski asked staff for a broad explanation of what resources were referred to when deciding staff recommendations. Mr. Davis indicated staff referenced best practices, planning code, questioned surrounding jurisdictions to see what was and was not working for them, and attempted to incorporate Council suggestions. Chair Celski brought attention to the letter from Merlone Geier Partners, pointing out one of the ideas in the letter was to exclude the city center core and the city center frame from the multi - family housing amendments to further study options in relation to TOD and wondered what the impact would be if Council moved forward with exclusion of the CC -C and CC -F. Mr. Davis indicated staff fully supports working with core property owners and Sound Transit on a Transit Oriented Development code. In the meantime, staff believes this is a reasonable interim code to work under that addresses several of the concerns staff received. As far as the impacts with exclusion of the CC -C and CC -F zones, it is difficult to answer as it depends on the developers but he doesn't feel what staff is proposing will have much of an impact on overall development. Further discussion was held regarding vacancy rates compared to neighboring jurisdictions, process timelines, and the likelihood of additional changes to the code. Councilmember Honda discussed the desire for school district involvement and asked about Committee options if more time is needed to review the information. Staff and Committee discussed the available options further and the Committee expressed a need for an additional meeting for this topic. Motion to hold a supplemental Land Use and Transportation Committee meeting on Monday, April 24, 2017 at 6:30 p.m. Moved: Koppang Seconded: Assefa- Dawson Passed: 3 -0 4. OTHER 5. FUTURE MEETINGS /AGENDA ITEMS: A Special LUTC meeting will be on Monday, April 24, 2017 at 6:00 p.m. in the City Hall Council Chambers. The next LUTC meeting will be Monday, May 1, 2017 at 5:00 p.m. in City Hall Council Chambers. 6. ADJOURN The meeting adjourned at 7:00 PM. Attest: Sha�a� Upton Administrative Assistant II Approved by Committee: Committee Members City Staff Bob Celski, Chair Marwan Salloum, P. E, Public Works Director LydiaAssefa- Dawson, Member Shawna Upton, Administrative Assistant 11 Mark Koppang, Member 253 -835 -2703