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Findings, Conclusions, and Decision Kennewick Hearing Examiner Olympia Estates Preliminary Plat, PP15-05 page 1 of 8 BEFORE THE HEARING EXAMINER FOR THE CITY OF KENNEWICK In the Matter of the Application of ) PP 15-05/PLN-2015-03626 ) Dan Swanson ) Olympia Estates ) ) ) For Preliminary Plat ) FINDINGS, CONCLUSIONS, AND ) DECISION SUMMARY OF DECISION The requested preliminary plat to subdivide 12.75 acres into 47 single-family residential lots is APPROVED subject to conditions. SUMMARY OF RECORD Dan Swanson (Applicant) requested approval of a preliminary plat subdividing 12.75 acres into 47 single-family residential lots. The subject property is located at 3124 South Olympia Street in Kennewick, Washington. Request On January 11, 2016, the City of Kennewick Hearing Examiner conducted an open record public hearing on the request. Hearing Date At the open record hearing, the following individuals presented testimony under oath: Testimony Steve Donovan, City of Kennewick, Planner Wes Romine, Planner John Deskins, City of Kennewick Transportation Engineer Caleb Stromstad, KDS Engineering, Applicant Representative Jason McShane, Kennewick Irrigation District At the open record hearing, the following exhibits were offered in evidence: Exhibits Upon consideration of the testimony and exhibits submitted, the Hearing Examiner enters the following findings and conclusions in support of the decision: 1. Staff Report 2. Application 3. Notice of Public Hearing, 300-ft. mailing list and mailing affidavit ---PAGE BREAK--- Findings, Conclusions, and Decision Kennewick Hearing Examiner Olympia Estates Preliminary Plat, PP15-05 page 2 of 8 4. Vicinity Map 5. Preliminary Plat 6. SEPA Determination 7. Memorandum from Joe Terpenning, City of Kennewick Deputy Fire Marshal, dated November 23, 2015 8. Memorandum from John Deskins, City of Kennewick Traffic Engineer, dated November 23, 2015 9. Email from John Deskins, City of Kennewick Traffic Engineer, dated October 29, 2015 10. Memorandum from John Deskins, City of Kennewick Traffic Engineer, dated June 26, 2015 11. Memorandum from Fernando Garcia, City of Kennewick Utility Coordinator, dated November 18, 2015 12. Email from Ken Klander, Benton PUD Distribution Design Tech 1, dated November 9, 2015 13. Letter from Jason McShane, P.E. Kennewick Irrigation District Engineering/Operations Manager, dated December 14, 2015 14. Letter from Doug Carl, Kennewick School District Capital Projects Director, dated December 3, 2015 15. Plat map showing City of Kennewick GIS Department comments 16. Olympia Estates Trip Generation and Distribution Letter, John Manix, P.E. HDJ Design Group, PLLC, dated September 4, 2015 17. Memorandum from Thomas Woods, City of Kennewick Plans Examiner, dated November 19, 2015 18. Letter from the Bonneville Power Administration, Joseph E. Cottrell II, Field Realty Specialist, dated November 20, 2015 19. Letter from the State of Washington Department of Ecology, Gwen Clear, Environmental Review Coordinator, dated November 20, 2015 20. Email from Ray Latham, Stormwater Inspector, State of Washington Department of Ecology, dated November 20, 2015 21. Email from Greg Duffy, City of Kennewick Facilities & Grounds Supervisor, dated November 23, 2015 22. Planning Staff's PowerPoint presentation / / / / ---PAGE BREAK--- Findings, Conclusions, and Decision Kennewick Hearing Examiner Olympia Estates Preliminary Plat, PP15-05 page 3 of 8 FINDINGS 1. The Applicant requested approval of a preliminary plat subdividing 12.75 acres into 47 single-family residential lots. The subject property, comprised of two tax parcels, is located at 3124 South Olympia Street, Kennewick, Washington.1 Each parcel contains a residence; one residence would be retained and the other removed. Exhibits 1 and 2. 2. The site is generally flat; undeveloped portions have been historically used as pasture land. There are no critical areas on-site. Exhibits 1 and 22; Donovan Testimony. 3. All surrounding properties are zoned Residential Low Density (RL). To the west/southwest and northeast, parcels have been developed to RL densities. To the north, southeast, and south, larger lots contain single-family residences. Exhibits 1, 4, and 22. 4. The site has a Comprehensive Plan Land-Use Designation of Low Density Residential and a Residential Low Density (RL) zoning designation. Exhibit 1. The purpose of the RL zoning district is to establish areas for low density, single-family, residential buildings, to stabilize and protect residential districts, and to promote and encourage a suitable environment for family life in an urban setting. Kennewick Municipal Code (KMC) 18.03.040(2). The RL zone does not have a minimum or maximum density requirement, but it does require a minimum lot size of 7,500 square feet. The City’s Comprehensive Plan allows up to four units per acre in RL zoned property. Kennewick Municipal Code (KMC) 18.12.010 A.2; Exhibit 1. 5. Forty-six of the proposed lots range in size from 7,500 square feet to 10,678 square feet. Proposed lot 47 would be 80,094 square feet in the northwest corner of the site, and the existing residence and appurtenances within that lot would be retained. The plat would be developed in at least two phases; Phase 1 would comprise proposed Lots 21 through 31 and Lot 46. Completion of future phases would be timed to satisfy market demand. In the future proposed Lot 47 would be capable of further subdivision, as the project has not proposed maximum density allowed pursuant to the Comprehensive Plan (which would be 51 lots). Any future further development would be subject to the appropriate subdivision process. Exhibits 5 and 16; Donovan Testimony. 6. Development standards for the RL zone require a minimum lot width of 60 feet, a minimum front and rear residence setback of 15 feet, minimum front garage setback of 20 feet, and minimum side setbacks of five feet. Maximum allowed building height is 30 feet. KMC 18.12.010.A.2. Planning Staff submitted that as proposed the plat is capable of complying with applicable bulk development standards. Exhibit 1; Donovan Testimony. 7. The plat would provide two access points onto S. Olympia Street. The northern access would be at the intersection of S. Olympia Street and S. Highland Drive; the southern 1 The legal description of the subject property is Lot 1 and 2, except the south 10 feet of Lot 1, SHORT PLAT No. 1928 according to the survey thereof recorded under Auditor’s File No. 93-18970, records of Benton County Washington. Also known as tax parcels 1-1489-1011-928-002 and 1-1489-1011-928-001. Exhibit 1. ---PAGE BREAK--- Findings, Conclusions, and Decision Kennewick Hearing Examiner Olympia Estates Preliminary Plat, PP15-05 page 4 of 8 access would be approximately 315 feet south of that intersection. Half street improvements are required along the site's frontage on S. Olympia Street. The Applicant or its agent would be required to build public roads, sidewalks, streetlights, and storm drainage, and to dedicate utility easements, in conformance with current City of Kennewick standards. Exhibits 6 and 16. 8. The Applicant submitted a professionally prepared Trip Generation and Distribution Letter, dated September 4, 2015. The 45 net new lots are projected to generate 438 new weekday average daily trips, including 34 AM and 45 PM peak hour trips. The letter projected distribution of the new trips through area intersections but did not assess impacts that would result from the new traffic, as presently only 12 lots are slated for development in Phase 1. Traffic impact fees at a rate of $900 per lot would be collected at the time of building permit issuance; alternatively, the builder can defer the fees until closing of the home sale if a Covenant of Payment Obligation is recorded against the property prior to issuing the building permit. Exhibits 1 and 16; Deskins Testimony. 9. The City's Transportation Engineer accepted the Trip Generation and Distribution Letter in satisfaction of the City's traffic review requirements, and suggested minor revisions to the project's proposed signage and street lighting locations. Exhibits 1, 9, and 10; Deskins Testimony. 10. Stormwater runoff from all new impervious surfaces is proposed to be retained and infiltrated on-site. An existing informal/natural swale is the central portion of the site would be graded, together with all developed portions of the site, to ensure stormwater runoff would travel to its intended on-site locations. City of Kennewick stormwater standards require residential subdivisions to be designed to retain and dispose of a 25- year, 24 hour event for the developed state and the 24-hour event for the natural pre- developed state. A comprehensive storm drainage plan would be required prior to approval of construction plans for any phase of work. Prior to final plat approval the Applicant would be required to submit detailed civil engineering drawings for review and approval to the Public Works Department, including a stormwater plan consistent with City standards. The Applicant's engineers are aware of the requirements. Exhibits 1 and 11; Stromstad Testimony. 11. All proposed lots would be required to connect to municipal water and sewer utilities; the Applicant would be required to extend the mains to and through the plat, with a stub to each lot. Comprehensive water and sewer plans must be approved by the City for the entire plat prior to approval of Phase 1 construction plans. The comprehensive utility plans are reviewed after land use approval during the civil plan review process. Exhibits 1 and 11. 12. The subject property is located within the 5E – Twin Rivers park zone. Because the amount of land required to be dedicated by the City’s Comprehensive Park Plan would be too small to be developed as a park, the City has requested park fees in lieu of dedication of park land. Park impact fees in the amount of $15,619.76 would be required to be paid prior to signing the final plat mylar. Exhibits 1 and 6. ---PAGE BREAK--- Findings, Conclusions, and Decision Kennewick Hearing Examiner Olympia Estates Preliminary Plat, PP15-05 page 5 of 8 13. The plat is located within the boundaries of the Kennewick School District and would be served by Canyon View Elementary, Horse Heaven Hills Middle, and Kennewick High Schools. According to correspondence dated December 3, 2015 from the Kennewick School District, the District has capacity to add students at all levels and at the three affected schools. Due to the distance from the plat to these schools, students living in the proposed subdivision would be bused to the high school; however, the plat is within District-recognized walking distance from the elementary and middle schools. All new streets within the plat would be developed with five-foot wide sidewalks. Outside the proposed plat, the walking route to the elementary school is comprised of continuous sidewalk. The route to the middle school contains areas of sidewalk and other areas of wide graveled shoulders that the City regards as adequate to provide a safe means for students to walk safely to and from schools. Planning Staff recommended that no off-site walk route improvements be required. Exhibits 1 and 14; Donovan Testimony. 14. The Kennewick Fire Department reviewed the proposal and submitted comments indicating fire hydrants at specified spacing would be required and that phased development resulting in dead end streets would require emergency vehicle access provisions, including hammerhead turnarounds or similar improvements. Exhibit 7. 15. There is an area southwest of the subject property shown on City mapping to contain standing water. An Applicant representative testified that the area has historically served as a runoff wasteway collecting City stormwater. Since the irrigation canal has been in place, no water has flowed from the subject property to this wasteway; development of the property would not impact this off-site drainage feature. Stromstad Testimony. 16. Staff indicated that the proposed plat generally conforms to the City’s Comprehensive Plan and would implement the following goals and policies: Urban Area Policy 3: Promote new growth consistent with the Comprehensive Land Use Map, the Capital Facilities Plan and the Capital Improvement Plan. Residential Goal 1: Guide the design of new residential developments to be compatible with adjacent residential areas. Residential Goal 3: Promote a variety of residential densities with a minimum density target of 3 units per acre as averaged throughout the urban area. Residential Goal 4: Encourage residential development only in urban areas where services can be provided. Residential Policy 3: Incorporate residential design standards into new residential developments. Residential Policy 5: Provide provisions for parks, schools, drainage, transit, water, sanitation, infrastructure, pedestrian, and aesthetic considerations in new residential developments. ---PAGE BREAK--- Findings, Conclusions, and Decision Kennewick Hearing Examiner Olympia Estates Preliminary Plat, PP15-05 page 6 of 8 Critical Areas and Shoreline Goal 3: Regulate or mitigate activities in or adjacent to critical areas or the shoreline to avoid adverse environmental impacts. Exhibit 1. 17. The City of Kennewick acted as lead agency in reviewing the proposal for compliance with the requirements of the State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA). After evaluating the complete application materials and the environmental checklist, the City's Responsible Official issued a mitigated determination of non-significance (MDNS) on November 23, 2015 requiring mitigation of park impacts through the payment of fees (discussed in finding 12 above). The MDNS was not appealed. Exhibit 6; Donovan Testimony. 18. The application was submitted November 3, 2015 and determined to be complete the same day. Notice of application was mailed to surrounding property owners on November 5, 2015 and posted on-site on December 22, 2015. Exhibits 1 and 3. 19. Washington State Department of Ecology submitted comments on the application, noting that construction may trigger the requirement for a Construction stormwater General permit, which would necessitate a stormwater pollution prevention plan to address potential erosion control during site clearing, grading, and construction. Exhibits 19 and 20. 20. Notice of public hearing was mailed to surrounding property owners on December 22, 2015 and published on December 27, 2015. Exhibit 1. 21. A representative of the Kennewick Irrigation District (KID) attended the hearing to answer questions and speak in support of KID's recommended conditions of approval. The representative noted that the off-site drainage feature to the southwest does capture stormwater and some irrigation seepage from the canal; however, the canal has been in place between the subject property and the off-site feature for more than 50 years. He noted that an artificial wetland associated with the drainage feature southwest of the site is not a regulated critical area. McShane Testimony; Exhibit 13. 22. Upon complete review, and considering evidence offered at hearing, Planning Staff submitted the position that the proposed plat would be harmonious with the surrounding properties and would comply with all applicable development standards and Comprehensive Plan policies. Staff recommended approval with conditions. The Applicant waived objection to the recommended conditions of approval. Exhibit 1; Donovan Testimony; Stromstad Testimony. ---PAGE BREAK--- Findings, Conclusions, and Decision Kennewick Hearing Examiner Olympia Estates Preliminary Plat, PP15-05 page 7 of 8 CONCLUSIONS The Hearing Examiner has jurisdiction to hear and decide applications for preliminary plat pursuant to KMC 4.02.080(b) and 17.10.080. Jurisdiction Pursuant to KMC 17.10.080(1), an application for preliminary plat may be approved only when the record demonstrates conformance with the Comprehensive Plan, comprehensive water plan, Preliminary Plat Criteria for Review utilities plan, the Comprehensive Park and Recreation Plan, and when the record demonstrates that appropriate provisions will be made for the public health, safety, and general welfare, for open spaces, drainage ways, streets or roads, alleys, public sidewalks, utility easements and other public ways, transit stops, potable water supplies, sanitary wastes, parks and recreation areas, playgrounds, schools and school grounds, and shall consider all other relevant facts and other planning features that assure safe walking conditions for students who only walk to and from school. 1. As conditioned, the plat would be consistent with applicable goals and policies of the City of Kennewick Comprehensive Plan. The subject property is sparsely developed RL land in the middle of existing, more dense RL development. The proposal would constitute infill development consistent with the City's vision for the vicinity and would complement existing surrounding development. City water and sewer are available; the Applicant would be required to extend utilities to each lot. Conditions of approval would ensure that development is consistent with all applicable City utility, road, stormwater, and fire standards and that the project's park impacts are mitigated. Findings 3, 4, 5, 7, 10, 11, 12, 14, 16, and 22. Conclusions Based on Findings 2. As conditioned, all necessary findings for public health, safety, and general welfare are shown to be satisfied. Single-family residential development is permitted in the RL zone, and the proposed density comports with that promoted on RL designated land. The proposal was reviewed by the City's Traffic Engineer, who recommended approval subject to conditions that would ensure compliance with applicable standards. A stormwater plan demonstrating compliance with the City's stormwater standards would be required at the time of civil engineering review. The Kennewick School District has capacity at all levels to serve new schools aged residents of the plat; sidewalks built on- site would connect to adequate safe walk routes existing off-site to connect to the elementary and middle schools serving the plat. Provisions for parks and recreation would be made through payment of park impact fees in lieu of dedication. The proposal was reviewed for compliance with the requirements of SEPA and the issued MDNS was not appealed. Findings 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 17, and 22. / / / / ---PAGE BREAK--- Findings, Conclusions, and Decision Kennewick Hearing Examiner Olympia Estates Preliminary Plat, PP15-05 page 8 of 8 DECISION Based on the preceding findings and conclusions, the requested approval of a preliminary plat subdividing 12.75 acres in Kennewick, Washington into 47 single-family residential lots is GRANTED subject to the following conditions: 1. Development of the plat shall comply with City of Kennewick regulatory controls, policies and codes, including the Single-Family Residential Design Standards. 2. All fees required by the City shall be paid prior to the approval of the final plat. 3. The final plat map shall delineate Phases 1 and 2 more clearly. The proposed access to Lot 47 shall be at least 30 feet wide in order to meet frontage requirements. Development shall be in conformance with the plat drawing (Exhibit 5) as amended by these conditions. 4. Development of the plat shall comply with Traffic Engineer memorandum, dated October 8, 2015 (Exhibit 5. Development of the plat shall comply with Public Works memorandum, dated November 18, 2015 (Exhibit 11). 6. Development of the plat shall comply with applicable requirements of the Kennewick Irrigation District letter, dated December 14, 2015 (Exhibit13). 7. The developer shall provide dust control method(s) such as hydro seeding for all areas of the site that are disturbed. 8. In lieu of dedication of park land park fees are required in the amount of $15,619.76 for impacts to Park Planning Zone 5E-Twin Rivers. Park fees will be collected prior to signing the final plat mylar. 9. The Preliminary Plat (PP 15-05) expires five years from the approval date. The City may grant an extension, but an extension application must be submitted before the approved preliminary plat expires. DECIDED January 26, 2016. By: Sharon A. Rice City of Kennewick Hearing Examiner