LUTC MINS 03-25-2019 City of Federal Way
City Council
Special Meeting of the
Land Use & Transportation Committee
with the Planning Commission
March 25, 2019 City Hall
5:00 p.m. Council Chambers
MEETING SUMMARY
Committee Members in Attendance: Committee Chair Mark Koppang, Committee member Jesse Johnson, and
Committee member Hoang Tran.
Councilmembers in Attendance: Deputy Mayor Susan Honda (via phone) and Councilmember Lydia Assefa-Dawson.
Planning Commissioners in Attendance: Wayne Carlson, Lawson Bronson, Diana Noble-Gulliford, Hope Elder, Tim
O'Neil, Dawn Meader McCausland, Tom Medhurst, and Dale Couture.
Staff in Attendance: Public Works Director EJ Walsh, Community Development Director Brian Davis, Economic
Development Director Tim Johnson, Deputy Public Works Director Desiree Winkler, Deputy City Attorney Mark Orthmann, IT
Manager Thomas Fichtner, City Traffic Engineer Rick Perez, Capital Projects Engineering Manager Sarah Hamel, Principal
Planner Margaret Clark, and Administrative Assistant II Mercedes Tenuta.
1. CALL TO ORDER: Chair Koppang called the meeting to order at 5:00 p.m.
Chair Koppang made an opening statement that the purpose of the meeting is to have a conversation with the Planning
Commission and discuss how they reached their conclusion of a 7-0 vote in support of the proposed amendment.
2. PUBLIC COMMENT:
i�ichard Pierson voiced his opinion in opposition to the impacts of the proposed amendment including perceived increases in
traffic congestion, safety, travel time, and economic development. He expressed concern that the amendment does not
address long-term implications and urged the committee to reject what is being proposed and to seek an alternative.
Suzanne Vargo expressed opposition to the proposed amendment. She voiced concerns regarding the wetlands, retention
pond, and natural water features potentially being disturbed or moved and how it falls in line with the concomitant
agreement.
3. COMMITTEE BUSINESS:
Topic Title/Description
A. Discussion with Planning Commissioners relating to the 2018 Amendments to the Federal Way
Comprehensive Plan and Comprehensive Plan Map to Realign the Future Extension of South
324th Street Further South to Connect with Weyerhaeuser Way South
Councllmem&er Comments:
Chair-Koppang expressed his understanding of the hurdles that DaVita has had to go through to come to a
conclusion that would work.
Committee Members City Staff
Mark Koppang, Chair E7 Walsh,P.E.,Public Works Director
Hoang V. Tran,Member Nei cedes Tenuta,Administrative Assistant II
Jesse E.Johnson,Member (153)835-7701
Councilmember Johnson and City Traffic Engineer Rick Perez held a clarifying discussion about when updated
traffic volUrne projections would be available, how 32nd Ave S is affected in both the existing plan and the
proposed alignment,the relocation of the DaVita jobs from Tacoma to Federal Way,and the desire of DaVita to
have a business park environment which allows employees walk between buildings without any intervening
traffic.
Councilmembe-_r Tran expressed concern about the possibility that some commissioners felt pressure to vote a
certain way and he requested this meeting to get a chance to talk directly to the Planning Commission in a public
setting.
Councilmember Assefa-Dawson voiced her support for having the meeting to be more informed. She expressed
concern regarding the traffic impacts to Weyerhaeuser Way.
Deputy Mayor, Honda, Chair Koppang, and Mr. Perez held a clarifying discussion regarding the importance of
getting the most updated traffic count forecasts. Mr. Perez stated this is not data that is normally obtained as
part of the comprehensive plan process and that updated data will be available during City Center Access
Project. Before building the road, a more complete study will be performed which would most likely be looking
at projections potentially as far as the year 2050.
Planning Commi:�aner Comments:
Con-mi :,ioner Flrjue Elder stated she felt no pressure to vote but after studying the proposal further, the
detriment outweighs the benefits and suggests the City explore other alternatives.
Councilmembers and Community Development Director Brian Davis held a discussion about the
perception that Da Vita put pressure on the City to get what they want.
Mr, Davis explained that the City works with businesses for reasonable accommodations without
compromising policies or budgetary restraints. In this proposal, it was discovered that the
acconamodation for Da Vita ends up being less money for the City.
Commissioner Lawson Bronson stated he felt no pressure to vote a certain way but as an engineer expressed
concerns about the Federal Government allowing the crossing over Interstate 5.
Chair Koppang, City Trac Engineer Rick Perez, Community Development Director Brian Davis, and
Public Works Director EJ Walsh held a clarifying discussion.
Mr. Davis stated that the comp plan has been vetted with WSDOTand they have been involved in the
development.
Mr. Perez explained the Feder al Go vernment is concerned about the impacts to the interstate by adding
or reconfiguring the ramps With City CenterAccess, adding additional access w111 help distribute traffic
away from 320th.
Mr. Walsh stated that the City has permission to cross I-5 at the comp plan level but as engineering
progresses, there will be additional permits and approvals that will need to be obtained. fie hurdle with
this project isn't about crossing I-5 but more about funding. The project being over 130 million would
warrant it to become a part of a State package because the City is not able to undertake it on its own
financial capacity.
Commissioner Wayne Carlson stated he was not pressured into supporting this amendment and is in favor of it
based on looking at it from different perspectives. Mr. Carlson shared his thoughts that the current placement of
the roundabout is very impactful to a single piece of property whereas the realignment is less impactful. He
addressed the concerns that were brought up about the potential to run through wetlands and clarified that the
City has authorization over buffers but not over wetlands. The City may be the applicant for the road but
agencies such as the US Army Corp of Engineers and the Department of Ecology has criteria for evaluation. Mr.
Carlson explained that an environmental benefit could be that due to the stormwater infrastructure being old,
the development may end up improving the water quality.
Committee Members City Staff
Mark Kopp ung, Chair E7 Walsh,P.E.,Public Works Director
Hoang V. Tran,Member Mercedes Tenuta,Admimstrative Assistant 11
Jesse E.Johnson, Member (253)835-1701
Commissioner Diana Noble-Gulliford voiced that she values the public's input and is not against DaVita but would
like to see more companies come to the City. Her concerns are how the City will grow without more long-term
planning, traffic impacts with the numerous redevelopments that are underway, and how the City will plan out
the 400 acres.
Commissioner Dale Couture expressed his thoughts that the roundabout takes up too much land and is in
support of the amendment.
Commissioner Tim O'Neil shared his initial concerns about traffic impacts and whether or not DaVita and IRG
would want access to the realignment. Based on conversations with City Traffic Engineer Rick Perez about when
the S S 324th extension would occur and the fact that DaVita desiring an assurance that once they build their
building that the City would not disrupt their campus in the future, Mr. O'Neil is in support of the amendment.
Commissioner Tom Medhurst stated that he did not feel any pressure with regard to his vote and that he shared
the same traffic impact concerns about where it connects to Weyerhaeuser Way. He stated that after all is
considered, he is still in support of the amendment.
Commissioner Dawn Meader McCausland expressed her initial overall support based on the minimal adverse
impacts and positive economic development for the City. Due to the timeline and lack of substantial negative
impacts, she chose to support it however now has increasing concerns and questions about decisions being
made without fulling analyzing future connectivity.
Deputy City Attorney, Mark Orthmann, clarified that based on the general nature of the comp plan and
its amendments, the level of specificity that was included in this amendment is not the standard.
Questions that are being brought up are valid however are not addressed until the projects are
developed.
Public Works Director,EJ Walsh, further concurred with Mr. Orthmann,stating that the questions, while
valid, are the types of questions answered during the 3096 design of a project.
Mr. Walsh, City Traffic Engineer Rick Perez,and Ms. Meader McCausland held a discussion regarding this
comp plan amendment traffic analysis and impacts and how it relates to the City Center Access project.
Councilmembers, Community Development Director Brian Davis, and Public Works Director EJ Walsh, held a
closing discussion about mitigating the wetlands.
Councilmembers thanked the Planning Commissioners for attending.
4. OTHER
5. FUTURE MEETINGS/AGENDA ITEMS:
The next LUTC meeting will be held on April 1, 2019 at 5:00 p.m. in City Hall Council Chambers.
6. ADJOURNMENT: The meeting was adjourned at 6:52 p.m.
Attest: Approved by Committee:
5/(e /2� 01
Mercedes Tenuta, Administrative Assistant II
Committee Members City staff
Mark Koppang, Chair EJ Walsh,P.E.,Public Works Director
Hoang V. Tran,Member Mercedes Tenuta,Administrative Assistant 11
Jesse E.Johnson,Member (153)835-1701