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Planning Commission MINS 03-21-2018CITY OF FEDERAL WAY PLANNING COMMISSION March 21, 2018 City Hall 6:30 p.m. City Council Chambers MEETING MINUTES Commissioners present: Wayne Carlson, Lawson Bronson, Tom Medhurst, Hope Elder, Dawn Meader McCausland, Tim O'Neil, Anthony Murrietta, and Dale Couture. Commissioners absent: Diana Noble- Gulliford (ex). City Staff present: Planning Manager Robert "Doc" Hansen, Principal Planner Margaret Clark, Senior Planner Dave Van De Weghe, Deputy City Attorney Mark Orthmann, and Administrative Assistant Tina Piety. CALL TO ORDER Chair Carlson called the meeting to order at 6:30 P.m. APPROVAL OF MINUTES The minutes of March 7, 2018, were approved as presented. AUDIENCE COMMENT None ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT Planning Manager Hansen delivered an update on Sound Transit. He commented that a decision has been made to not have a pedestrian bridge over 320`x' Street. There was some discussion on this issue. He also commented that Sound Transit will have (and will maintain) restrooms in the station. He announced that Sound Transit will hold an Open House on the Tacoma Dome link at Todd Beamer High School on April 18, 2018, starting at 6:00 p.m. The Planning Commission meeting scheduled for that date will be canceled to allow staff and Commissioners to attend this Open House. COMMISSION BUSINESS Self -Storage Moratorium and Beginning Efforts to Address Council Requests Senior Planner Van De Weghe delivered the staff presentation. This is for informational purposes. City Council and staff wondered why Federal Way was receiving a large number of self -storage applications. The Council inacted the moratorium and directed staff to determine why the increase in applications and whether they are compatible with other uses within the zone. Senior Planner Van De Weghe is asking for the Commissioners feedback and direction. He commented that staff has met with industry representatives on this issue. One thing he learned from Federal Way self -storage facility owners is that about 20 to 30 percent of their facilities are being rented by retail outlets for overflow storage. He also discovered that the number of self -storage applications have increased throughout the region. Due to incompatibility reasons, KAPIanning Commission\2016Weeting Summary 03-21-18.doc Planning Commission Minutes Page 2 March 21, 2018 staff is recommending that self -storage facilities not be allowed in Neighborhood Business (BN) zone. He went over the design standards staff is considering. He noted that developers want black and white regulations so there is more certainty and they know what they can and cannot do. Staff recommends that if the Commission want to allow facilities in the BN zone, that the regulations be made more rigorous by moving from the current process II%III (administrative) review to a process IV (hearing examiner) review. Commissioner Couture stated that he is the architect for a currently approved self -storage project. Chair Carlson stated that he is the owner of an engineering firm that is working with the developer of a vested self -storage project. Commissioners agreed that they do not have to recuse themselves. Discussion was held on how much storage space is needed within the city. Commissioner Medhurst commented that he would like to know the usage percentage for single-family housing to help us understand what a "reasonable" level of storage is. He expressed concern over the design standards staff is considering. Will other retail businesses be subject to the same design standards? Senior Planner Van De Weghe replied that the design standards would apply only to self -storage facilities. Staff feels they are unique and warrant specific design standards. Vice -Chair Bronson commented that he is concerned on a safety basis about having multi-levels and not allowing a view inside the buildings. He also feels they should not have separate design standards. Planning Manager Hansen commented that the standards have come from several sources; one of which is people within the industry. Many of these design standards are ones they are already doing, or have said they have no objection to. Those in the industry want to be compatible with other uses in the zone. Commissioner O'Neil feels the city is trying to regulate the market. The industry has indicated that Federal Way has not reached the saturation point, but the city wants to regulate how many self -storage facilities can locate here. Planning Manager Hansen commented that the city does not want to eliminate self -storage facilities, but make sure they meet what our community wants to see. Commissioner Elder commented that she has a storage unit for the non-profit she works with and doesn't feel the facility looks too large and overwhelming. She feels the design standards are too much regulation. Commissioner Meader McCausland asked how different the recent applications are from the suggested design standards. Senior Planner Van De Weghe replied that they are multi -story and utilize the many of the design standards staff is suggesting. Commissioner Meader McCausland would like to see the current design standards. She also asked if any have space to accommodate large vehicles, such as boats and RVs. Senior Planner Van De Weghe responded that some of the current facilities accommodate large vehicles, but the newer applications do not seem to plan to include vehicles. Commissioner Meader McCausland expressed concern that the suggested design standards could eliminate the ability of future proposals to offer storage for large vehicles. Vice -Chair Bronson commented that the existing facility on Dash Point Road in the BN zone is well camouflaged. He doesn't see a reason to eliminate self -storage from the BN zone if they are well camouflaged. Chair Carlson commented that in today's world, retailers are working to deliver packages faster and faster (Amazon's next -day delivery). In light of this, they need inventory as close as possible and self -storage facilities could work for them. Being in a BN zone could make them much closer to their delivery point. He went on to state that aesthetics are important and we want high quality design, but what is most important is the view from the right-of-way. He feels the staff presentation is a bit misleading because it focuses on views from the air and does not reflect the views from the right-of-way. He feels views from the right-of- way will show the facilities are more hidden from view then the views from the air depict. If items such as the garage doors are out of this view, he sees no problem with leaving them as is. He has no problem with making the land use approval more rigorous for facilities in the BN zone, but they should be allowed. KAPlanning Commission\2016Wee[ing Summary 03-21-18.doc Planning Commission Minutes Page 3 March 21, 2018 Continued Discussion on the Docket Process Planning Manager Hansen stated we will have the public hearing in two weeks on April 4, 2018. Principal Planner Clark delivered the staff presentation. She went over the existing and proposed docket processes. Staff recommends that the proposed timeline (during the first quarter) be removed. This way staff will be able to shift the timeline due to circumstances. The intent will be to have the selection happen in the first quarter, but having no defined timeline will give staff the flexibility to change the timing; for example, if there are a large number of proposals. Vice -Chair Bronson expressed concern about having no stated timeline. How will citizens know when to expect the start of the deliberations for the docket process projects if there is no stated timeline? Planning Manager Hansen commented that there will be a notice in the paper. Chair Carlson opened the meeting to public testimony. Jeff Carpenter — He lives in Mukilteo and is one of the applicants for a self -storage project that just missed being grandfathered. He commented that they have spent much money on preliminary work. He stated he appreciates the Commissioners's feedback regarding self -storage facilities, and feels much of it is spot on. He would not waste his money on a bad investment and an additional self -storage facility in Federal Way would not be a bad investment He asked that self -storage facilities be allowed in the BN zone. He stated that the BN zone is actually a perfect area for us because it is close to our market. They can be nicely designed to fit within the neighborhood. ADDITIONAL BUSINESS None ADJOURN The meeting adjourned at 8:06 P.M. KAPlanning Commission\2016\Meeting Summary 03-21-18.doc