HomeMy WebLinkAbout1-12-2023 - HEX Decision - Sounders transcript
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Appendix A
January 10, 2023 Hearing Transcript
Sounders -- LUA22-000357
Note: This is a computer-generated transcript provided for informational purposes only. The
reader should not take this document as 100% accurate or take offense at errors created by the
limitations of the programming in transcribing speech. A recording of the hearing is available
from the City should anyone need an accurate rendition of the hearing testimony.
Phil Olbrechts:
Okay, for the record, it is January 10th, 2023, 11:00 AM. I'm Phil Olbrechts, hearing examiner for the city
of Renton. This morning, we are considering a conditional use permit site plan and street modification
for Sounders FC Center at Longacres. That's file number LUA22-000357. The hearing format will be, we'll
start off with a presentation from staff. That'll be Ms. Ding who'll give us a summary of the proposal.
Once she's done, then we'll move on to the applicant to make a presentation if they want.
And once they're done, we'll move on to public comments and I'll get into more detail when we get to
that point in the hearing as to how members of the public can participate. And once we're done getting
all those comments, we'll go back to staff for Ms. Ding to be able to answer any questions that were
asked and provided any necessary rebuttal evidence. Then applicant gets final word and I get 10
business days, a couple weeks to issue a final decision. Now by state law, I'm only allowed to consider
evidence that's put into the record today. That way everyone knows exactly what information was being
considered for the final decision, and Ms. Cisneros usually has the exhibit list there to put on the screen
to show exactly what I've got in advance of the hearing. And I'll give her a chance just to post that up
there.
Ms. Cisneros Cisneros:
Okay.
Phil Olbrechts:
All right, there we go. So we've got 38 total exhibits. The first 19, or actually appended to the
Environmental Review Committee Report. That was the report put together to do the environmental
review, the SEPA, State Environmental Policy Act review for the project. And on top of that we have
the... Oh, let's see. It just changed. Can you go back to what you had?
Ms. Cisneros Cisneros:
The [inaudible 00:02:43] report exhibits.
Phil Olbrechts:
Oh, okay. All right. Yeah. So we have a pretty long list there all the way down to 19. And then let's get to
the second part there. And then on top of that, there was a request for reconsideration on the
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environmental review and a decision made on that. Then we have the staff report that was given to me.
We got the public comments and city responses, conceptual landscape plan and so forth. Are there any
objections out there for entry of Exhibits one through 28?
These are all available on the city's website. If anyone needs to look at those right now, we can tell you
how to look those up. But at this point, just need to know if you have any objections over their entry. If
you do raise the virtual hand at the bottom of your screen, that's the little yellow hand or raise hand
icon, you can just press on that or just unmute yourself and say, "I object." And I am not seeing any
objections. So I'll go ahead and admit Exhibits one through 28. And Ms. Cisneros, actually, I saw the staff
PowerPoint was added in there somewhere. Was there usual core maps and that kind of stuff?
Ms. Cisneros Cisneros:
There is another exhibit sheet where-
Phil Olbrechts:
Oh, okay, here we go. We have more. Okay.
Ms. Cisneros Cisneros:
Yes.
Phil Olbrechts:
So beyond 28.
Ms. Cisneros Cisneros:
Yes, and there was a couple other exhibits added yesterday, so we added those to this list as well.
Phil Olbrechts:
Okay. So I see here we have that staff usually gets in the staff PowerPoint is 29. The city of written maps,
which is located there at the WebLink, is 30. That's essentially photographs of the project sites and
critical area maps, if there are any steep slopes, that kind of thing. That would show up on the maps. We
also have Google Earth, which gives us aerial views of the project site. Then 32's a vicinity map and so
forth. And finally 33 is resumes of the applicant's consultants I see there. So any objections over 29
through 33? Okay. Hearing none, those are admitted as well. All right, let's move on to Ms Ding. And Ms.
Ding, let me swear you in. Just raise your right hand. Do you swear or affirm tell the truth, nothing but
the truth in this proceeding?
Jill Ding:
I do.
Phil Olbrechts:
Okay, great. Go ahead.
Jill Ding:
Thank you, Mr. Examiner. I will go ahead and share my screen. Okay. Are you seeing my PowerPoint?
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Phil Olbrechts:
Yes.
Jill Ding:
Yes? Excellent. Okay, well happy New Year everyone. We are here today for the public hearing for the
Sounders FC Center at Longacres. My name is Jill Ding. I'm a senior planner here with the city of Renton
and the project manager for this project. So just to kind of go over a brief description of this project, the
applicant has submitted a request for a hearing examiner conditional use permit, a site plan review,
environmental SEPA review, as well as a street standards modification for this project. The project site is
located within the commercial office zoning designation. There are wetlands, a seismic hazard area, and
a flood hazard area mapped on and around the project site. And the existing development includes a
five-story office building and a surface parking lot, which you can see in the vicinity map below.
The proposal includes the reuse of a portion of the existing office building for Sounders FC office space
and indoor training facilities and associated activities. As well as outdoor recreation facilities including
five full-size soccer fields, a goalkeepers field, and accessory structures. Reconfiguration of a portion of
an existing surface parking lot, and the proposal would utilize existing curb cuts for access to the project
site. A 14-day public comment period was start started on October 13th, 2022. We had to reissue that
re-notice that the new public comment period began on October 18th, 2022. The public comment
period ended on November 21st. We received five comments during the public comment period and we
received one comment from the Washington State Department of Ecology after the conclusion of the
comment period. So as part of my review, it was determined that the proposal would be consistent with
all relevant comprehensive plan land use policies. The proposal is compliant with all relevant zoning and
critical areas regulations if all conditions of approval are complied with.
The proposal is compliant with the conditional use permit and site plan review criteria if all conditions of
approval are complied with. And the requested street standards modification is consistent with the
modification criteria if all conditions of approval are complied with. We routed this proposal for review
internally for comment from other city departments. Police and fire prevention staff indicate that
sufficient resources exist to furnish services to the proposed development. Water and sewer services
provided by the city. Water and sewer improvements will be required within the project site. A drainage
report was submitted by Coughlin Porter Lundeen. The proposed project would provide a water quality
facility as well as utilizing the existing onsite storm water system. The project would be required to
comply with the city of Renton surface water design manual for storm stormwater. So in conclusion,
staff is recommending approval of the Sounders FC Center at Longacres as depicted in Exhibit two,
subject to 12 conditions of approval. Do you have any questions for me?
Phil Olbrechts:
Oh, just a few. Couple related to the DOE objections over, I think it was Feature G, has the applicant's
response been shared with DOE and did they have any further comment after that?
Jill Ding:
So I don't know if the applicant has responded directly to DOE. The city had our environmental
consultant Otak look at the response and they provided a memo that was shared to DOE and that was
made an exhibit, let's see... I'm not sure which exhibit that is off the top of my head. Exhibit 28.
Phil Olbrechts:
Oh, okay.
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Jill Ding:
His staff's response to DOE and I haven't heard anything back.
Phil Olbrechts:
Okay. Yeah, I just wasn't sure if that had been shared with DOE. I didn't see that Otak had reviewed. So
Otak was okay with the applicant's response to the DOE concern and staff's good with that then?
Jill Ding:
Well, Otak did not agree with DOE's concern and so they provided a rebuttal memo that we then
provided to DOE. In my response to DOE, I invited them to the hearing today and let them know that
they could attend and testify if they wanted to discuss the matter further. They have not reached out to
me directly and I don't know if they are here.
Phil Olbrechts:
Oh, okay.
Jill Ding:
Or not.
Phil Olbrechts:
Gotcha. All right. Also, I was kind of curious, it's kind of a minor point, but I noticed that the project was
conditioned to comply with refuse and recycling standards, but when it came to the loading and delivery
area, the staff report response was that, "Well that's already been built so they don't need to address
that again." So I'm kind of curious why that same reasoning wasn't applied to the recycling
requirements.
Jill Ding:
Basically, I just need to make sure that they're not in violation of our refuse and recycling regulations.
We do have code compliance, so if there's trash all over the site, if they're not adequately providing
refuse and recycling areas on site, then I need to be able to verify that. So I need to be able to verify that
they're not in violation of our code and subject to code compliance, which I'm sure they're not. I don't
anticipate that they are going to be. I believe that they probably have existing facilities that it's
adequate. I just need them to verify that, so we can kind of check that box and move on.
Phil Olbrechts:
Okay. And then another provision that's always kind of been a problem area for me is that I think one of
the site plan regulations provides that any undeveloped areas must be landscaped and or be in a critical
area. And I think there's some areas in the south of the project area that aren't critical areas that are
undeveloped. Are those all being landscaped then? I mean, how do we deal with that standard? It just
seems to be kind of difficult to enforce at times.
Jill Ding:
It is a little bit difficult. I will say I have been out to the site, there is existing vegetation out there so they
can use existing vegetation to satisfy that requirement.
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Phil Olbrechts:
Oh, I see.
Jill Ding:
They are providing some landscaping. We also anticipate that this is going to be a future development
on and around the site too as Longacres develops in the future. So I would say right now, the existing
vegetation meets that requirement.
Phil Olbrechts:
Okay. All right. And then, there's another standard that requires that there be adequate transit. And
legally we can't really require the applicant to mitigate for transit usually, but we're stuck with that
criteria. I mean, I don't think the staff report address transit. Is there a transit stop nearby or something
where I can just say that there's a transit stop two blocks away?
Jill Ding:
I don't know that off the top of my head. Hopefully the applicant can answer that. I do know I received
comments from King County Metro, they called me as well. Their main concern was just making sure
that the project wasn't going to impact any of their existing transit stops, which it's not because there's
no frontage improvements that are proposed right now. Oh it looks like I've got... Vanessa said, sorry.
Vanessa mentioned to me that there is a Sounder station in the vicinity of the project site.
Phil Olbrechts:
Okay. Great. And then finally I need to make a finding that the circulation and transportation facilities
are safe and efficient. I was just hoping maybe someone from Public Works could say they reviewed the
existing circulation system and find it safe and efficient. That way I can note it in my decision.
Jill Ding:
Yeah, we do have staff here from development engineering. Nate Janders is here. I don't know if you
want him to pop in now.
Phil Olbrechts:
Yeah, why don't we have... Mr. Janders, let me swear you in real quick, just raise your right hand. Do you
swear or affirm to tell the truth nothing but the truth in this proceeding?
Nate Janders:
I do.
Phil Olbrechts:
And yeah, I just need confirmation because it's not on the record that Public Works has reviewed the
existing circulation system and finds it safe and efficient.
Nate Janders:
We do.
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Phil Olbrechts:
Okay, great. Thanks. That's all I got. That's all I needed. Okay, fantastic. All right, well let's move on to
the applicant team at this point. Who wanted to start off on the applicant team?
Jeremy Eckert:
All right, thank you very much here, examiner Olbrechts. My name is Jeremy Eckert from Tharsis Law. I
am counsel for Unico and Unico is the owner of Longacres. Let me stop here. Can you hear me okay?
Phil Olbrechts:
Yeah. And sorry, you're the legal counsel? Is that what you're-
Jeremy Eckert:
Correct.
Phil Olbrechts:
Okay, so I won't swear you in then.
Jeremy Eckert:
Legal counsel for Unico.
Phil Olbrechts:
Okay. All right. So you're not going to provide testimony, right? You're just going to be,
Jeremy Eckert:
That's usually not how it goes. So no, I don't think we'll do that today.
Phil Olbrechts:
Yeah. Okay, great. All right. And how do you spell your last name for the record?
Jeremy Eckert:
E-C-K-E-R-T as in Tango.
Phil Olbrechts:
Okay, great. All right, go ahead. Thank you.
Jeremy Eckert:
And I'm joined here with Ann Giggi from HCNP off to my right. She is legal counsel for Sounders FC. And
Unico and Sounders FC are the co-applicants before you today. I'll be taking the lead on behalf of the
applicants of today's hearing. And I also wanted to mention that Ann and I are joined by 11 of our
project team members. Consultants ranging from transportation engineers to civil landscape project
managers. We do not plan on calling 11 people, but we wanted to let you know that they are available if
you have any questions. And their resumes are in that exhibit that was submitted and admitted earlier
today.
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Our thoughts for a quick presentation today, and we can adjust if you like, wanted to provide a quick
project overview where we'll have the project architect Tom, walk you around the site just so you can
see how it works. Then have brief comments from the vice president of Unico, talk about Longacres and
the vision for this site. Followed by brief comments from Sounders FC COO, discussing their vision for
this site. Following that, what we'd like to do is to propose one amendment to the condition. We talked
with city staff about this proposal yesterday and I believe that it's a friendly amendment the city will
agree to. And that is our plan. But before we jump in, I just want to ask, does this seem like a good plan
of attack for you? And are there any questions that you would like us to address?
Phil Olbrechts:
No, that sounds fine. Yeah, just a couple questions, but I'll do that when you're done.
Jeremy Eckert:
Great. Okay, well with that, I'm going to ask Tom Proebstle to join us, who's coming in virtually from
Kansas City.
Tom Proebstle:
Hi everybody, can you hear me?
Phil Olbrechts:
Yes. Great. And let me swear you in, sir, do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, nothing but the truth in
this proceeding?
Tom Proebstle:
I do.
Phil Olbrechts:
And then just for the transcript, your last name is spelled P-R-O-E-B-S-T-L-E, is that correct?
Tom Proebstle:
That's correct.
Phil Olbrechts:
Okay, great. Go ahead.
Jeremy Eckert:
Okay, Tom, we've already heard your name for the record, could you please tell us your title?
Tom Proebstle:
Yeah, I'm partner in charge of this project.
Jeremy Eckert:
And could you please state your professional qualifications?
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Tom Proebstle:
Yeah, sure. So I've been fortunate to work in sports for a long time, sports and entertainment, for about
30 years. And I do want to point out a couple things. One, it's good to be back in Renton. I was a project
designer for the Virginia Mason Athletics Center up to north, just a little bit, a few years ago. And then
I'll show my age a little bit. So back in the day, my current business partner and I were young designers
on what is now Lumen Field for the Seattle Seahawks.
Then most recently, we just helped complete the Kraken training center up at Northgate and helping on
that project. And then obviously we're down here back in Renton, coming full circle, I guess, with the
Seattle Sounders, which we're really excited about. So long-standing work in sports, in every sport you
can imagine, both nationally and internationally, having the opportunity to work on not only marketing
facilities like Lumen Field over to the renovation of Lambeau Field, to Fenway Park and everything in
between. So really excited to work with stellar organization like the Seattle Sounders, and of course glad
to be working with the Renton team again.
Jeremy Eckert:
Thank you, Tom. And if I could ask Ms. Cisneros or the clerk to bring up what I believe is now listed as
Exhibit 32, the vicinity map? What we'd like to do is have Tom talk to a handful of these slides.
Ms. Cisneros Cisneros:
Sure, I can do that.
Jeremy Eckert:
Thank you, Ms. Cisneros. And if you don't mind, maybe you could be the... We'll say beep, and you could
help us out a little bit if you don't mind.
Ms. Cisneros Cisneros:
No problem.
Jeremy Eckert:
Thank you.
Tom Proebstle:
Yeah, and Ms. Cisneros, just for clarification, are you able to move your cursor around and point by
chance or not? It's fine, if you can't.
Ms. Cisneros Cisneros:
Maybe, I'm not quite sure, but I can try and just see if that works.
Tom Proebstle:
I think most people are familiar with the site, but we wanted to take a few minutes and just orient
everybody, walk you through, Mr. Examiner, through the project. Talk about a day in the life of the
different users and you're welcome to jump in at any point and ask questions.
Phil Olbrechts:
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Okay.
Jeremy Eckert:
And Ms. Cisneros, let us know when you have it up. We'll pause for a moment. Thank you.
Ms. Cisneros Cisneros:
Okay.
Jeremy Eckert:
Yes, thank you.
Ms. Cisneros Cisneros:
You're welcome.
Jeremy Eckert:
All right. So Tom, could you please describe the vicinity where this proposal is located?
Tom Proebstle:
You bet. So in this exhibit, this plan is north at the top of the page. And again, I think you're all familiar
with the site. At the top of the page is 405, I'm going to go counterclockwise onto the west side of the
overall site is a Tukwila Train Station, which Mr. Examiner, I believe addresses your question about mass
transit and availability of transit. And that is one of the key reasons why the Sounders chose this site. As
we move around to the south side, the two existing buildings at the south end of the site are the current
Kaiser Permanente buildings. As we move around to the east side, as we all know, that is Oakesdale.
And the primary entry point day in, day out, for users under this site. There are several buildings on this
campus. Our building is the one that is out in the middle of the site.
It's a little hard to see here, but it's about where you see Oakesdale Avenue, the southwest part. If you
could point to that. Again, it's a little bit difficult to see, but right at the edge, just go south a little bit
and then back up. You're circling it. There you go. So that's the existing five-story building. It's about
300,000 square feet. There's an existing parking lot to the south of that building. And we'll talk about
this in further detail, what's going on with that. Two more things I'd like to point out, if you will. There
are three sort of north south sections to that parking lot. There's the eastern side along Oakesdale,
there's a middle part and then there's a small western existing parking, that will go away in this
proposal. We'll talk about that further. And then finally west of there and north, is a key consideration,
Wetland A.
So that is the open water that you see in this plan now, which again is Wetland A in the various exhibits.
I do want to add a couple more things about this location. The opportunity to work with a sports
franchise like the Sounders is a wonderful opportunity for all of us and the opportunity to be involved
with sports and the impact of that. I'll tell you, we looked around quite a bit at sites around Puget
Sound. Boy, it might have been a dozen sites by the end of the day. This one stood up far and above all
the other site opportunities and for a couple different reasons that I wanted to point out to you today.
We mentioned the train station and access to mass transit, that's really important and to build upon
that, that was a big factor.
Another part or another key factor is that Boeing and you think about the legacy and the arc of history
on this site, more modern times of course, or more recent modern times. Of course, there was the old
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racetrack, which you can see a little bit of the remnants of it on this site plan for the old racetrack. When
Boeing took this over and master planned this site for a denser future, the buildings that they've built,
and what we've discovered over time, and it probably doesn't surprise anybody, but they're well built.
And so it's a really unique opportunity to be able to go into an existing building that's well built, which
means that we don't have to build a new building at the end of the day, which helps us from a
sustainability standpoint. So that's a great feature that attracted the Sounders to this.
And then of course, Boeing abandoned the site over time and Unico and Sounders in finding a
relationship to move this thing forward and to build upon the legacy of the site is truly incredible. Then
on top of it, the final part, and not all the factors, but one of the final big components to it that made
this site impressive for ownership, was the fact that there is flat land here, relatively flat land that we
can work with to put the various pitches that are required for the site. And then finally the network of
trails that Boeing established that starts over the Tukwila Station and sort of circulates around the site.
We're really excited about that, promoting outdoor activity and fitness. And so that's just more icing to
the cake. So I think I hit on all the key parts, Jeremy.
Jeremy Eckert:
Perfect. Thank you, Tom. Now if we go to the next slide please. Thank you. All right. So Tom, we've
zoomed in a bit here. Could you please describe the proposal, now that we've zoomed in?
Tom Proebstle:
You bet. So if you bear with me, we've elected to turn the site plan, so north is now to the right, okay?
We did that so it's a little bit easier to zoom in. So what that means is that Oakesdale is at the bottom of
the page. 4 5 would be to the right. As we circulate around, then Wetland A is up at the upper right
corner.
Tom Proebstle:
A is up at the upper right corner, is Wetland A. And then the Kaiser Permanente Building would be to the
left on the left side of the page, just outside of this site plan. So what I wanted to point out-
Jeremy Eckert:
If I just pause one quick second, I want to make sure we understand where Wetland A is located. So if
we could take the cursor and move it to the far upper right hand corner, a little bit more to the right,
just a little bit where the text box is to the right just a little bit more. Keep going to the right. There, right
there. Tom, is that where Wetland A is located?
Tom Proebstle:
That is correct.
Jeremy Eckert:
Thank you. Thank you, Ms. Cisneros. Appreciate that. So, please go ahead.
Tom Proebstle:
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Yeah, you bet. And if you could back out just for a second, sorry, Ms. Cisneros. The existing building is
hatched, and it's the dark gray building there. Then I think we're all familiar with the curved atrium
element, which is up in this case in the upper right corner of that building.
That's the large five-story atrium. So what I want to take a minute and talk about, the reasoning for this
pitch layout, I think it's important to discuss that and take a couple minutes to do so. As I mentioned on
the previous slide, there is a small area of parking that we need to remove to fit the five pitches here as
you see. And I wanted to just mention that in removing those parking spots, we still are in excess of the
parking requirements for this building and the proposed project.
So in spite of the elimination of those parking spots, we are still in excess of, and I think we're at 766
current parking spots in this diagram, in what we propose for you. So why this layout? So there are a
couple factors. One of the key factors is that with an MLS facility and NFL, but in this case MLS, a really
critical factor is adjacency of what we call Pitch 1, which is the pitch that's immediately adjacent to the
west side of the building, or in this case, on the top side of the building there and it's labeled Lot 11.
Those are the legal points. But the Lot 11 is what we call Pitch 1. And that has immediate access from
the building. So that team one of the Sounders can easily get onto the site. That pitch and the pitch...
The sump there, and what's noted as Lot 13, Pitch 1 and 2 are grass, are natural grass. The three
remaining pitches are artificial turf. And then in between there, so south or to the left of Pitch 2, there's
a 4,000-square-foot maintenance building in that location.
Of course, these pitches need to be maintained. There's a variety of equipment that's required, and
material that is housed in that building. The pitches themselves, why are they this size? So they're 75
yards by 116 yards. And that is what is at Lumen Field. So when the Sounders play and when they train,
ideally we try to recreate the conditions of Lumen Field, which creates home field advantage for the
organization.
So that is why the pitches are that size. Now, I'll point out that the five pitches help support the
programming for this project, which I just want to take a second and discuss. So what's really unique
about this for an MLS team is that, and this is the first time for the Sounders as well, is that their entire
organization is going to be under one roof, at this complex. Really amazing, wonderful opportunity for
Sounders Nation, and all this is happening here.
So what does that mean? So in the roughly 50,000 square feet that the Sounders are going to lease in
the building, on the ground floor and in the second floor, the ground floor is primarily team one. So it's
their locker room training area, various activities related to that media, your entry as you arrive through
the public or press, and then in addition to that, again under one roof, which is a great opportunity, is
that defiance in academy.
So the Sounders Youth Triangle that builds all the way up to Team 1 is all housed here. A really
incredible thing. So that is what drives the five pitches at the end of the day, is that we're going to have
a variety of soccer-related activities occurring here, not only with Team 1, the Sounders as we know it,
but also their youth programs that will be based here as well.
So pretty amazing thing. A couple other things I want to point out before we go onto the next page, the
fields themselves, so there's a couple factors here. There is a fence. We're proposing a 10-foot fence.
And the reason for that is that, and this is a privacy fence, so it has a screening on it. The reason for that
is that as it turns out, a team like the Sounders and any MLS team for that matter, they actually work on
plays specific to the opposing team that is coming to town or that they're training for.
So as you can imagine, there are people that are interested in what those plays are. So we need a level
of privacy on the site and around the pitches that prevents people from easily taking photos. Anything's
possible, but the de facto standard in the MLS is that there's a 10-foot privacy fence that
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circumnavigates the site. And then within that, there are a couple additional net areas that prevent
errant balls from launching out into different places, into the parking lot and so on.
So we've got a couple areas, as an example, right behind the nets where we would have larger netting
that's more open. We don't need privacy in that case, but there's a few of those nets that happen to
prevent errant balls around the site. Couple other additional points here, the triangular flat area which is
directly above Pitch 1, so there's a little triangulated space there. If you could point that out? Yeah. And
then go right. Yeah, right there.
So that space is for goalkeeper training, for the most part. So this is an ancillary area that allows
goalkeepers to move aside and do what they need to do without impacting the other pitches where the
rest of the team might be training. So we use that for a variety of different reasons. Primarily it is for
goalkeepers to train there and other stretching, and so on.
The last thing I'd like to point out is that on this diagram, you'll see the network of trails that happen
around the site, outside of our boundary. So those will remain intact and in fact, we're going to add a
little bit to them and bring it over to our building on the north side of the site. So we're excited to
continue to improve the site circulation from the pedestrian standpoint around the beautiful wetland.
Sorry, I said the last thing.
There's one other point I want to make. So between those pedestrian paths and our site fencing, you'll
see what looks like a hatched area and that is our landscape restoration area. So as we build these
pitches, as you can expect, there's a little more area that the existing landscape will be disturbed to
some degree. So that area that's hatched is a fairly significant transitional area that allows us to restore
native vegetation onto this site, which is a very important thing for us. Jeremy, I think I covered
everything.
Jeremy Eckert:
Tom, I love it. Thank you. Now, if we could go to the next slide, Examiner, one of the things that Tom
and I talked about is that we both really wish that we were professional athletes, but this is as close as
we're ever going to get. So what we're hoping to do today is show how the site works by talking about
the life in the day of a professional soccer player, a Sounder FC player.
So Tom, could you please describe how this site works for players, coaches, front of the house office,
press, would you mind just describing how this works?
Tom Proebstle:
Yeah, thanks, Jeremy. As I mentioned at the start, what seems like a fairly easy office project, in fact it's
quite complicated. There's a lot of different user types that are involved with this and very exciting. I just
want to take a second and point out a couple things.
Again, Oaksdale's at the bottom of the page. And you can just see a part of the pitches at the top, the
one to the right is Pitch 1, and the one to the left is Pitch 2. These are both natural grass, at the top of
the page. I do want to point out that there's a little transitional area between Pitch 1 and the existing
building that's shaded light green. So we'll talk about that for just a second. Then after this slide, we'll go
to the pretty pictures and show you how it all comes together.
So that light green area is a generally flat area that is transitioned from the existing building to the pitch.
So this is where the players and coaches are going to assemble, in a flat area. They'll be stretching and
that sort of thing. So it's a small tarmac if you will, that is artificial turf, that allow the players to go
directly from their training and their locker room out to Pitch 1. So that convenience, again, it was a very
compelling reason to choose this site, that we could have that.
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So this area is also fenced in. Right to the south of that, right where the cursor is, is the secured player
and coaches parking lot. So there's a zone that's 59 parking spaces that is dedicated to the players and
coaches, in a secure zone. And I'll talk more about that pathway here in a second. So what happens? If
I'm a player, I will arrive via Oaksdale as will all public and staff with the Sounders.
So the players and coaches, in essence, pick the same line. So that's the green color and the blue color
that arrive onto site to the existing curb cut head west or towards the top of the page, then they go
around and this line isn't quite perfect, but you go up to the Pitch 2. You take a left, sorry, take a right.
Then you head into the secure parking area. There will be a card pass that allows players and coaches
into that area, they're now secure. So unfortunately-
Jeremy Eckert:
A question if I could interrupt real quick for a second, why is secure parking important?
Tom Proebstle:
It's important because unfortunately in this era of fandom and excessive fandom and other things that
can happen to professional athletes and high profile individuals, it's a requirement to have a secure
parking area now with MLS, and not just MLS, but every major sport.
Jeremy Eckert:
Thank you. Please proceed.
Tom Proebstle:
Yeah, you bet. So if I'm a player, once I'm into this parking lot parked, then I'm going to head north or to
the right out of that parking lot into that light green area. So that's the area again, I arrive, I go through a
gate, again through a card pass, and I arrive into that area and I can go directly into the locker room and
get changed.
What's interesting about this, and we'll show this in the renderings, it's hard to see here, but there's a
little outline there, a little rectangle that is an elevated viewing platform. So the players in fact will be
undercover when they get to this location. So if it's inclement weather, they can wait until they
absolutely have to go out onto the pitch and deal with rain and inclement weather.
So we'll show what that looks like here in a couple seconds. Coaches, similar pathway, they have a
different entrance than the players, which is just over there as you can see. With that separate entry
then Defiance and Academy, the youth programs will also go through that gate and then into the
building separately from Team 1. So they have a different path into the building than Team 1. So that's
why they're entering into the building. Again, there's a bunch of different technical reasons to do that,
but basically we want to separate all users from Team 1 for a variety of reasons.
And it also, it's important to protect the youth in these programs to make sure that there's very little
interface when they're under the control of the Sounders with the public. So they will have a separate
entrance from the main entry of the building. The front office and the rest of the building tenants to be
determined will arrive and park in the south parking lot as shown by the red line. Again, a little further
south there. So most people will park in the south day-in, day-out.
So this is the administration for the Seattle Sounders. They'll come in the main entryway, the existing
entry into the building, then go up the stairs to the elevator onto the second floor space that they're
going to occupy, which overlooks the pitches. If we go to the north side of the building, then there's a
couple different user groups.
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There are occasions when there's activities going on on the site related to Team 1 where Defiance and
Academy may need to come through the five-story atrium. So we've accommodated that in the site
plan. In those rare cases, that would allow them to come in, be dropped off usually by their family
members in a convenient way. I think you're all familiar that on the north side of the site, there's an
existing porte cochere. Really beautiful, so there's parking there that's existing and then there's also a
roundabout as well, again at the north end or to the right there.
Yeah, there's a roundabout there that allows vehicles to come around. So in addition to the alternative
entry for Defiance and Academy, if I'm the delivery, the mail, UPS, so on and so forth, they will arrive
there at that porte cochere, drop off the mail, that sort of thing. General public will also come to the
spot and enter and be greeted by administration there on the ground floor of that atrium space.
Finally, I mentioned how complicated this is. Day-in, day-out press that will come in and interview
coaches and players, we're asking that they will also, in that yellow line there, that they will come up
and park in the existing parking lot and then enter into the building, check in, and then go to where they
need to go to support the various press-related activities that are occurring. I think that's it here.
Jeremy, did I miss anything?
Jeremy Eckert:
No, that's great, Tom. Thank you. Let's just move on and show what this looks like and walk us around
the site with your beautiful renderings. So you can go to the next slide, please.
Tom Proebstle:
And Mr. Examiner, I promise I'll tighten it up and we'll get this wrapped up for you and allow you to ask
any questions. I think you've seen all these images, but I just want to take a minute and talk about them
and what's going on here. So we're hovering above Pitch 1, and we're looking northeast towards the
existing building. I had mentioned over to the right side, you'll see there's privacy fencing, that's clear
parking, they'll walk north.
There's an existing covered parking area that is partially maintained. The players will walk underneath
that, and you can see that as lit underneath there. So then there's a player and coach gate that allows
them to go into the transitional area between Pitch 1 and the existing building. That's the area they're
going to stretch and so on. Right above that is the viewing platform.
That viewing platform aligns with level two, which is the Sounders administration. We'll show what that
looks like here in a second. As we keep going north or to the left, then it's the beautiful existing five-
story atrium, which again is day-in, day-out, the public that might be visiting, they may be picking up a
signed jersey, mail, deliveries, that sort of thing, press all go through that front lobby as we see it. Next
slide.
All right, so now we've come over and we're actually hovering above the viewing balcony. So we are
actually looking southwest, so way beyond in the distance, you can't really see it here, but the Kaiser
Permanente Buildings would be off in the distance there. So this is on level two for Sounders
administration. The purpose of this viewing balcony is there's multiple things that will be happening out
here. Obviously, it's a great amenity for the employees of the Sounders to go out and enjoy lunch and
those sorts of things, have outdoor meetings.
The other component to this is that the Sounders do have fairly routine meetings with potential
sponsors, existing sponsors, marketing efforts, ticket sales, so on and so forth, various events where this
viewing deck would allow that to happen, perhaps in coordination at the end of a training session with
Team 1 down below. Those sorts of things can happen.
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The viewing platform itself is 1,600 square feet and we're allocating a maximum occupancy of 100
people on this viewing platform. So we could fit more, but there's going to be various furniture and
railings and so on and so forth that will limit it to 100 people. If inclement weather were to come in
while an activity is happening on this deck, you're allowed to go right back into the level two where
there is a fairly large lunch. It's a multi-use space for the Sounders administration on a second level. So
you can retreat inside if inclement weather comes in. Onto the next slide.
Again, we've seen these images. So we're looking southeast, you can see we're near in the distance. So
this is the beautiful five-story atrium, the porte cochere in the foreground. Also the connection from the
existing building with a new path over to the existing path for pedestrians that ties this all together. And
again, this porte cochere day-in, day-out will be deliveries, press, and those various activities that I
mentioned before. You see the viewing deck there over underneath Mount Rainier, that's the viewing
deck. And then of course, Pitch 1. And then finally as we zoom out is one final image.
You could go to the next slide. We're hovering over the Kaiser Permanente Building looking northeast.
So this shows the entire development. And I'd like to point out a couple things. If we move from left to
right, so over to the left, we're probably a little aggressive with the amount of water we're showing
there, but right where the cursor is, go up. Yeah, right there, that's Wetland A. So I want to take a
minute.
We've purposefully only put Pitch 1 at the very northern end. We've oriented it in that way to minimize
the impact to our one wetland that we have, that Wetland A up there. As we move south towards
where the camera is here, then with the land as it opens up, that allows us to build the side-by-side
pitches as we move south towards where this camera is.
So we purposefully worked to lay out these pitches in a way that reduces the impact to Wetland A that
maintains the existing pedestrian trails on the site. And then again, as we head south here, we've got
the multiple pitches as they line up. Further to the right then, you'll see the existing or the maintenance
building, not the existing maintenance building, but proposed maintenance building right there. And
again, that's going to house the various materials and equipment required to maintain the site.
And then the parking lot, the existing parking lot is beyond that, just south of the building and then in
this case, to the right of our existing pages. So Jeremy, I think that concludes what I wanted to say and
I'm certainly happy to address any other questions, comments, concerns?
Jeremy Eckert:
Examiner, do you have any questions for the architect?
Examiner:
Oh, no, not at this point. Thank you.
Tom Proebstle:
All right, thank you.
Jeremy Eckert:
All right, Tom, thank you very much for your time. Just two more short witnesses and then we will be
done with our presentation. Our next witness will be Unico's Vice President, Alec Nelson. He's shuffling
from one conference room into the room with me right now. He'll be here in just one second.
Examiner:
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Okay.
Jeremy Eckert:
All right. This is amazing technology. All right, so Examiner, should we swear in Alec Nelson?
Examiner:
Yeah. Yeah. Mr. Nelson, raise your right hand. Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, nothing but the
truth in this proceeding?
Alec Nelson:
I do.
Examiner:
Okay, great. Go ahead.
Jeremy Eckert:
Right. Thanks, Alec. Alec, could you please state and spell your name for the record?
Alec Nelson:
Yeah, my name's Alec Nelson. A-L-E-C N-E-L-S-O-N.
Jeremy Eckert:
Okay. And what's your title?
Alec Nelson:
Vice President of Investments and Development at Unico.
Jeremy Eckert:
How many years of real estate experience do you have?
Alec Nelson:
11.
Jeremy Eckert:
And what's your role in this proposal?
Alec Nelson:
So I worked on the acquisition of the property, and then my role in this proposal is I'm lead on the Unico
side on executing on the vision for the campus.
Jeremy Eckert:
Okay. And could you please provide some background on Unico and its acquisition of Longacres?
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Alec Nelson:
Sure. So Unico's a 70-year-old Seattle-based owner and operator. We're a leader in the Puget Sound real
estate community. We own over six million square feet in the region, across over 50 buildings. But we
have deep ties to Renton. We've owned numerous properties over our history down in Renton.
Jeremy Eckert:
And what's Unico's long-term vision for the Sounders FC Center at Longacres?
Alec Nelson:
Yeah, so we bought this property last December. We purchased it from Boeing after they had
abandoned the campus. We knew the property being local as the former horse racing track. And then
more recently, as this vacated Boeing campus.
But really our interest in the property was piqued when we had our initial conversations with the
Sounders, about making them an [inaudible 00:49:44] in the campus. And then that interest turned into
excitement as we learned more about the site, and then through conversations with Chip Vincent and
Vanessa Dolby and Mayor Pavone learned about the history of the site and how important it is to the
city and to the town. And then the Sounders FC Center is-
Jeremy Eckert:
Okay. And then the Sounders FC Center is just a small portion of Longacres. Could you talk about Unico's
vision for the remainder of Longacres?
Alec Nelson:
Yeah. Yes. It's a huge campus and obviously, this is just one piece. It's the first piece of it and it's a critical
piece, but we have big plans for the entirety of the Longacres campus, and really, our goal is to restore
Longacres. It was formerly a horse racing track that brought a lot of energy to the campus, and our goal
is to restore it to that and make it one of the most exciting developments in Puget Sound.
Jeremy Eckert:
Okay. Is the Sounders FC proposal a standalone proposal?
Alec Nelson:
Yes. While it's one piece of a bigger project and a critical one, it doesn't rely upon anything else to
happen or anything in the master plan.
Jeremy Eckert:
Examiner, do you have any questions for Alex?
Phil Olbrechts:
No, I do not. Thank you, sir, for your testimony.
Jeremy Eckert:
All right, thank you. We're down to our last one. Thank you, Owen. All right. The final witness we're
going to have is Maya Mendoza-Exstrom, and if you wouldn't mind, Examiner, swear in.
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Phil Olbrechts:
Okay. I have to swear you in there. Do you swear and affirm to tell the truth and nothing but the truth in
this proceeding?
Maya Mendoza-Exstrom:
I do.
Phil Olbrechts:
Ma'am, could you spell your last name for the record transcript?
Maya Mendoza-Exstrom:
Sure. It's Mendoza, M-E-N-D-O-Z-A, hyphen Exstrom, E-X-S-T-R-O-M.
Phil Olbrechts:
Great, thank you.
Jeremy Eckert:
Thanks, Maya. Thanks for being here.
Maya Mendoza-Exstrom:
Yeah, no problem.
Jeremy Eckert:
Maya, what's your title?
Maya Mendoza-Exstrom:
I'm the Chief Operating Officer for the Seattle Sounders.
Jeremy Eckert:
How many years have you worked for the Sounders?
Maya Mendoza-Exstrom:
I'm entering my 10th season. That's how we measure things in sports is by season. This is my 10th
season with the Sounders.
Jeremy Eckert:
Okay. Thank you. What's your role in this proposal?
Maya Mendoza-Exstrom:
I've been working as one of the leads on this process of getting us to this point in partnership with the
architects and the designers and all of the consultants to ensure that we answer questions in a timely
manner, get applicant information in a timely manner, and can proceed with the fun stuff, which is
construction.
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Jeremy Eckert:
This wasn't a question that we talked about before, but why is a timely manner so important here?
Maya Mendoza-Exstrom:
It isn't, but I guess it is, too. 2024 marks our 50th anniversary as an organization. Believe it or not, we've
been around since 1974. It is not a surprise that we're hoping to open this facility in our 50th year as
really putting down our roots for the next phase of our club. More importantly than that, maybe for me,
one of the projects that I've been working on behalf of the Sounders and behalf of the state of
Washington, really, is to bring the World Cup here in 2026. This facility has been a key component of the
bid, especially in the last several years, and will be a training site for that particular event, and as a
result, needs to be operational and reviewed by FIFA in a really short order, and 2024 is that same
horizon line. Good that it's all the same date, I guess, but it is coming very quickly.
Jeremy Eckert:
Thank you. Could you describe the Sounders FC and its process to secure a new headquarters?
Maya Mendoza-Exstrom:
Tom mentioned it, so I won't go back so far. We had our architect design 12 sites, but really, the process
started in earnest in 2016, 2017 to evaluate our future. When we came into the league and MLS, even
though we're 50 years old, when we came into the league in 2009, Starfire was a perfect and state-of-
the-art facility in the league. We had one team, as Tom mentioned. By 2016, we had two professional
teams, so our first team and Defiance as well as, as Tom mentioned, four and sometimes five youth
academy teams, professional youth academy teams, training four nights a week year round. As a result,
we've outgrown the facility and the available resources that are at Starfire. In 2016, 2017, we started
looking in earnest about what the future would hold for us knowing that we weren't going to shrink
back down.
And then in 2018, evaluated about a hundred sites across the metro Seattle, Puget Sound, south King
County region. We needed sites that were between 12 and 20 acres, because we also wanted to
facilitate bringing our business office and our technical office together. Tom mentioned that as well. But
it was critical for us to be under one roof and you know what? We're committed to do things at the best
in class standards of excellence and to set the bar in the league. Tukwila and Starfire was at that level in
2009. The league has changed, our operations have changed, and we needed a bigger footprint.
Jeremy Eckert:
Thank you. What does the future look like for the Sounders at this facility in Renton?
Maya Mendoza-Exstrom:
I think this is the part that gets me the most excited. It's all of the things Tom just walked you through.
It's the ability for us to not only meet the needs of our first team players, our second team players, our
academy players, but the needs of our coaches to have state-of-the-art film rooms to put us on par with
clubs in Europe and in Asia and in South America to continue to try to win continental titles like the CCL
Champions League. Our club will travel to Morocco and be the first MLS team to play in a FIFA Club
World Cup here in a few weeks.
Hopefully, you all will find those matches and tune in, but more opportunities for us to compete on that
global stage. It meets those needs. But it also is an opportunity for us to think about what it means for
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the community and how we use every aspect of the convening power of soccer and sport to make our
community more equitable? How do we win trophies and build a more equitable community? We can
do that by having all of our resources, all of our people under one roof, working together day in and day
out.
Jeremy Eckert:
Last question for you here. Tell me about the Sounders commitment to the Renton community.
Maya Mendoza-Exstrom:
Yeah. I think it goes back to our mission, and maybe it's one of those things we don't talk about all the
time. I know Adrian, our owner, does all the time, so I will parrot him here. But our mission as an
organization is to create moments, enrich lives, and unify through soccer. As cool as the World Cup will
be coming here in 2026 and uniting the world, we endeavor to do that every day through everything
that we do. This facility allows us to live our values in a different way, to intentionally plan. You heard
Tom talk about the ways we're thinking about sustainability onsite. That's not just in building and
repurposing really good infrastructure ensuring we're reusing things that are there. That's also, and how
do we make sure that our facilities could be a learning lab, that we could utilize some of the natural
environment and water features on this site as part of our regular programs?
That soccer has the power to convene kids around sustainability. We're committed to make Washington
state the safest and most inclusive place to play soccer. We do that work in large part through our
partnership with the Rave Foundation and our effort to build mini pitches that are dedicated for free
play in and around the region. Our first Renton mini pitch in partnership with Renton Public Schools is at
Highland Park Elementary. We are working with Renton Parks to work on Tiffany Park, which is coming
online and are already planning for the third. I think even more than that, how do we use our facility?
It's a platform for us to think differently about how we partner with local small businesses. We have a
robust partnership with the intentional netwo and use our match day to bring small businesses to the
north lot, and give them the opportunity to sell to a different group of people than maybe in their
communities.
How do we do that with Renton businesses using that atrium, using our site, bringing those forces
together, and ultimately, how do we make sure we ensure accessibility? Because that's one of the
hallmarks of our franchise. I think one of the things at Starfire we've done so well is players and coaches
interact and mingle with the community, the youth players that are coming there. While yes, we have
sincere needs and part of my job, I think a lot about risk management and access to players from a
safety perspective, we don't want to lose that character of our franchise because it is so a part of who
we are. How do we make sure that that platform you can see is accessible, that our trainings are
accessible, that we're really a benefit to the community, and that we don't lose that accessibility? We
just shift it across the freeway to our new site.
Jeremy Eckert:
Thanks Anything else you'd like to add?
Maya Mendoza-Exstrom:
I'm just really excited to continue to partner with the city of Renton. I think that is something that we'd
like to get through this process and want to continue working with you all to use soccer to make the
world a better place.
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Jeremy Eckert:
Any questions, Examiner, for Maya?
Phil Olbrechts:
Nope. Thank you. Thank you for your testimony.
Jeremy Eckert:
Thank you, Maya. Examiner [inaudible 00:59:05], those are the three witnesses that we had planned for
our presentation. Before we move into public comment, with your permission, what I would like to do is
just identify two items in the staff report before you, and some minor modifications that we would
[inaudible 00:59:21].
Phil Olbrechts:
But before we do that, I did have some questions, technical ones. You mentioned you'd have 11 people
there. I take it those are going to be some of your technical experts, then. Is your critical areas
consultant with you today?
Jeremy Eckert:
Yes, he is.
Phil Olbrechts:
Okay. Yeah. Just one quick question and my question is going to be very technical and boring compared
to the level of testimony that's been presented so far. I apologize for that, but that's what I have to
focus on. I noticed in the geotechnical report, it talked about the fact that the groundwater level gets up
actually, is very shallow, and actually, during major rain events actually gets up to the surface level at
times. I know that there is concerns raised about the synthetic fields and also fertilizers used for the
natural fields. Springbrook Creek is about 1100 feet away, and it's got protected ESA fish in there. I
recognize probably that the surface waters are adequately treated and contamination of the river isn't
an issue. But what about the groundwater? Isn't the groundwater connected to Springbrook Creek? And
then couldn't the fertilizers affect the river that way? I was curious if your consultants had looked into
that.
Jeremy Eckert:
That's a good question, and I would think the correct person to address that issue while we have the
team standing by hearing your question, my thinking is that CPL might be the correct person to discuss
the stormwater treatment and what's happening with hydrology at the site. We have CPL standing by to
answer those questions.
Phil Olbrechts:
Okay. Let me see.
Jeremy Eckert:
Are there any other questions? Just so our setup here, we have the 11 consultant sitting in a different
room. What other questions do you have so they can start preparing responses for you?
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Phil Olbrechts:
Another one was cultural resources. I might be asking that of Ms. Ding rather than yourself. Do you have
anyone on cultural resources with you there today?
Jeremy Eckert:
Not today. Our project manager, Julia Reed, has been working on the cultural resources front so she
could speak to what's been done on that front and how we'll comply with the condition.
Phil Olbrechts:
Okay. And then another one just dealt with the lighting. A lot of times, when I see new lighting for sports
fields, there's usually some kind of a, I'm probably not using the correct term terminology, but a lumen
analysis that identifies light spillage and how bright it is. I was curious, and maybe this is more for Ms.
Ding, while that wasn't done for this project, whether there's any chance that glare would affect people
driving up and down nearby 405, that kind of thing.
Jeremy Eckert:
Oh my God. Yes. There are a couple items on the lighting front. One is there is a lighting exhibit, which is
in your plans, Exhibit 14, which shows the spillage.
Phil Olbrechts:
Oh, it does. Oh, okay. I misread that, then. Yeah.
Jeremy Eckert:
That's quite a ways away. We also have Tom from generator who can speak to the advancements in
lighting over the past 20 years, 30 years of his career.
Tom Proebstle:
Just as CPL or Eric are coming on the screen here, I'll just take a second and say that the advancements
in lighting has been astounding over the last few years, as you know, with LEDs. Also, the technology
allows us to directly focus the lighting to only where it needs to be. It's almost shocking how exact it is
now, and when you see it on TV, if the Sounders are on TV or the football team, it's very focused on the
field itself, and it minimizes spillage both up and then horizontally into adjacent properties. We don't
anticipate any issues of glare or spillage.
Phil Olbrechts:
Oh, okay. Yeah, and I just need to reevaluate that lighting plan. I just missed that readings had been
done there. And then finally, just on traffic, and I suspect this is just totally a non-issue, but I was curious
about if the use of the reviewing stands would have any traffic impacts. I've recalled Mr. [inaudible
01:03:14]'s testimony that they only accommodates up to a hundred people, so I would imagine that's
not going to have any AM or PM traffic impacts, but I don't recall that being addressed in the traffic
report. Maybe it's just someone to confirm that's not going to be an issue.
Jeremy Eckert:
Yeah. We have Amy Wasserman from 10W standing by to answer traffic-related questions.
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Phil Olbrechts:
Okay. All right. Yeah, and I think those are all the questions I had for the applicant at this point.
Jeremy Eckert:
Well, Examiner, if you would like, what I would propose to do is let's just shuffle through the consultants
who we have available. You can pose the questions and we'll have a conversation and get to the bottom
of things. The first witness I believe would be helpful is Tim Brockway from CPL. Tim, if you could sit
down here and we'll sign you in.
Phil Olbrechts:
Okay, Mr. Brockway, let me swear you in. Do you swear and affirm to tell the truth and nothing but the
truth in this proceeding?
Tim Brockway:
I do.
Phil Olbrechts:
How do you spell your last name for the record?
Tim Brockway:
B as in boy, R-O-C-K-W-A-Y.
Phil Olbrechts:
Okay, great. All right. Yeah, you heard my question. I was just concerned about the connectivity of the
groundwater to Springbrook Creek and whether any contaminants used on the fields could get there
and affect the protected fish, that kind of thing.
Tim Brockway:
Yeah, we're going to, I think, have a geotech address the specificity of the groundwater. I think there is
some nuance to what you read about at the ground surface. I don't believe there's actually, we'll let
them clarify that part of their statement for the report. Storm water wise, the system that's underneath
the fields will capture and convey that water to our treatment system that's on the site as part of this
development. From there, the water will discharge to the ponds that exist on the campus right now.
Those ponds then drain down to Springbrook Creek, ultimately, as was originally designed with the
Boeing master plan that those ponds are part of.
Jeremy Eckert:
Excuse me. If you don't mind, maybe we should just back up a bit. We've talked a lot about how
stormwater works at Longacres, but maybe we should talk about water going from the fields to some
somewhere else, to pond B, to wetland A, and then out. Maybe just describe how that works.
Tim Brockway:
Yeah. In our specific case, as I said, the fields are designed with a collection system beneath them. The
synthetic turf fields actually have a liner beneath them in this project. That would not let the water get
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down to the groundwater or the groundwater theoretically push up to that without a large amount of
hydrostatic pressure, which I don't think the geotech, we'll let them answer that part, but that part is
not a concern as far as I understand it. With those drains under the fields, they capture the water,
convey it through the pipes we're building with this development, and take them to the treatment
system that sits next to pond B. The treatment system is the one that's addressing the concerns on
water quality per code. It basically filters and holds the water for a little bit before it discharges it to
pond B.
Pond B, in turn, has a control [inaudible 01:06:25]. This is the Boeing design that we're draining into.
Pond B flows into pond A, which is wetland A as well. It's a combination detention pond and wetland per
the original design. That then flows through a system of swales and culverts to Springbrook Creek and
maybe say it like that. That's the way a droplet of water will hit the field, go to our treatment system, go
to pond B, pond A, wetland A, and then eventually out to Springbrook Creek. That's the life cycle of the
water droplet on this project.
Jeremy Eckert:
And then Ken, who owns the stormwater system?
Tim Brockway:
The stormwater system onsite is privately owned and maintained. It becomes public only for the culvert
that crosses beneath Oaksdale Avenue.
Jeremy Eckert:
Examiner, Tim knows quite a bit about stormwater here. I've always been amazed at how much
background he has here. Do you have any additional stormwater or infrastructure related questions for
Tim? I want to make sure we're answering your question.
Phil Olbrechts:
Yeah. My thing was mainly about the groundwater and the connection to the river, if there was one,
even.
Tim Brockway:
I think the geotechnical engineer will be able to answer any specific questions about groundwater and
its function. But again, from a stormwater conveyance capture treatment perspective, we believe that it
has been sequestered and conveyed to match the surface runoff from the rest of the campus via the
ponds and the treatment system.
Phil Olbrechts:
Okay. Now, is your expertise in wetlands as well? Is that correct?
Tim Brockway:
I'm not a wetland biologist. I didn't vet my credentials, but I've been a consultant in stormwater for civil
engineering for years.
Phil Olbrechts:
Okay. Just that. Gotcha.
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Tim Brockway:
[inaudible 01:08:05] for 25 years. Most of my projects have in some way or shape either been directly or
downstream, connected through wetland systems like that.
Phil Olbrechts:
Oh, okay. That's great. Thank you. Thanks for your testimony.
Tim Brockway:
Sure.
Jeremy Eckert:
Thank you, Tim. Well, we have Matt Smith virtually here with us, who is the geoengineer. We could
bring Matt on to answer your questions [inaudible 01:08:26] then answer any questions.
Phil Olbrechts:
Yeah. Mr. Smith, I'll have to swear you in. Do you swear and affirm to tell the truth and nothing but the
truth in this proceeding?
Speaker 5:
I do.
Phil Olbrechts:
Okay, great. Yeah. Like I said, my just concern was any contaminants on the field, fertilizers or the
synthetic turf getting into groundwater, getting into Springbrook, is that a route that could take this
bypassing the whole stormwater system that was just discussed?
Speaker 5:
Do you want me to respond now? Okay. All right. The soils that are present at this site in the near
surface consist of a combination of silt fill and silt alluvium, so they're finer grained soils that are not
particularly permeable. They have a low infiltration capacity. We're not expecting a lot of surface water
infiltration to occur here, just given that near surface soil condition.
Phil Olbrechts:
Oh, okay. That's all I needed. Thank you. All right.
Jeremy Eckert:
Examiner, what should we hit next? What do you think?
Phil Olbrechts:
Oh, well, I think the only other one I had was a knockoff, just the traffic. I just want to confirm that that
reviewing stand doesn't materially add to the traffic impacts. Like I said, I don't recall that the potential
for spectators being invited over in a group or something was addressed in the traffic report. I want to
make sure that was de minimis, in a sense, or maybe it was addressed and I didn't see it.
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Jeremy Eckert:
Sounds good. We'll have Amy Wasserman from [inaudible 01:10:09] W step in here.
Speaker 4:
Good morning or afternoon. I'm not sure what time it is.
Phil Olbrechts:
All right. Ms. Wasserman, let me swear you in. Do you swear and affirm to tell the truth and nothing but
the truth in this proceeding?
Speaker 4:
I do.
Phil Olbrechts:
How do you spell your last name for the record?
Speaker 4:
W-A-S-S-E-R-M-A-N.
Phil Olbrechts:
Okay, great. You heard my question. It was just about the reviewing stands and Mr. [inaudible 01:10:33]
had testified you're just going to have a hundred people there at most at a time. If there is some event
where people are invited to come over during AM or PM peak hour, is that going to affect your traffic
analysis at all?
Speaker 4:
No, that would not. Based on information received from the Saunders, that hundred capacity would be a
rare occasion and it's been accounted for on the traffic analysis that's included in Exhibit 16.
Phil Olbrechts:
Oh, is it? Okay, great. Okay, thanks. Yeah, that's all I had on that. Thank you. Okay. Yeah, are my
significant questions. I wanted to go back to Ms. Sting, if I could, at this point then. Ms. Ding, I forgot to
ask you about this one. For life of me, I can't find the Duwamish comment letter anymore. I had read
that a couple weeks ago, and they had expressed that since this site is near Lake Washington and so
forth, that this was a high-risk area for cultural resources. The SEPA checklist just said there are no
known cultural resources anywhere near here. I read somewhere else that the DEIS had assessed this
issue, but that's not in the record. Could you clarify what kind of analysis was done in the DEIS and why
the Duwamish concerns weren't found to be something that required further mitigation here?
Jill Ding:
I did receive comments from the Duwamish. I believe they're in Exhibit 15, and then they might have
been included again under Exhibit 23. Their concerns were archeological in nature. I know that the SEPA
checklist talked about the DEIS, but in my conversations with the applicant, they looked at the DEIS. I
didn't look at it as part of my review, but they didn't find that any archeological studies were actually
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done as part of the DEIS. I'll have Jeremy confirm that, but I believe that was what I heard when I talked
about that with them. They were going to do a separate study, a separate analysis that they were going
to submit to us evaluating that. That was the reasoning behind the mitigation measure that we
implemented through CPA.
Phil Olbrechts:
Oh, I see. You're not addressing it through the DEIS, it's really through this mitigation measure. What
was that mitigation measure again?
Jill Ding:
Let's see here.
Jeremy Eckert:
If I may jump in, Jill and Examiner, I believe we're looking at condition 1G. What that discusses is having
an inadvertent discoveries plan prepared by a qualified professional. We would not be preparing a
report or going out and doing pits, but we would be having the inadvertent discoveries plan. We have
Julia Reebe here to discuss the consultant who we've identified to help with that work, if that'd be
helpful.
Phil Olbrechts:
Oh, actually yeah, that would, since the Duwamish did raise some pretty specific issues about that. If we
could just kind of clarify, because I know that the inadvertent discovery plan is an intermediate response
to the issue of cultural resources, and I'm sure the Duwamish tribe usually wants to have a full cultural
resources assessment done. I'm curious why that wasn't found necessary in this case, given the
Duwamish comments. Ma'am, let me swear you in, if I could real quick. Just raise your right hand. Do
you swear and affirm to tell the truth and nothing but the truth in this proceeding? And then let us know
how to spell your last name.
Julia Reebe:
I do. Julia Reebe. R-E-E-B-E.
Phil Olbrechts:
Okay, great. Go ahead.
Julia Reebe:
We have hired Dave Iverson from ASM Affiliates to prepare the IDP, which would be in compliance with
any ethical regulations and the DAHP requirements. That's our proposed path forward on this item.
Obviously, we would monitor the site closely and work to the best we can to accommodate anything we
see on the site.
Phil Olbrechts:
Under what circumstances is a more intense review required? Like I said, my recollection isn't entirely
clear, but is it a cultural resources assessment that's the next level of assessment for a project site if
there's a higher risk of artifacts?
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Julia Reebe:
That's my understanding.
Phil Olbrechts:
Why didn't it rise to that level in this case? I just need clarification for the record.
Julia Reebe:
Based on the knowledge we have of the history of the site, it was once a farm in the late 1880's, I
believe, if my history is correct. Then it became the Longacres Racetrack, and then Boeing developed the
site. There's been so much manipulation of the landscape and a lot of artificial development happened
there. To the best of my knowledge, we don't believe that there's a lot of untouched surface. There's
been a lot of fill and adaptation of that landscape.
Phil Olbrechts:
Just kind of further clarification, then, based on your professional judgment as an expert in cultural
resources, you didn't see that because of these circumstances, that a cultural resources report was
necessary or assessment I mean. Is that correct?
Julia Reebe:
Yeah, I apologize. I would like to clarify. I am not a cultural resources expert. I work for Unico Properties.
I am the project manager.
Phil Olbrechts:
Okay.
Julia Reebe:
We have done some internet research and dug into what we can find about historical data of the site. At
one point, they did try to preserve and put under the historical registry the properties at Longacres. It
was determined that there was not enough left to actually have that be implemented. That is what
much of what my knowledge is based off is that document and research.
Phil Olbrechts:
Okay, great. Thank you. That's really helpful. Okay.
Ms. Cisneros Cisneros:
Mr. [inaudible 01:16:40], I'd like to add that Nancy Sackman had her hand up and she is with Duwamish
Tribe. She's their Cultural Preservation Officer.
Phil Olbrechts:
Yeah, when we get to the public comments we'll allow them to make their comments at that point.
Ms. Cisneros Cisneros:
All right.
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Phil Olbrechts:
All right. Let me get back to Ms. Ding, just another quick question. Where's the nearest residence to this
whole project, it looks like it's pretty far away, right?
Ms. Cisneros:
I think it's pretty far away yeah. The immediate area, this is all in our employment area valley. I don't
know specifically how close the nearest residence is, but most of the nearby properties are zoned either
commercial office or industrial.
Phil Olbrechts:
Then finally, are there any mapped aquifer recharge areas in the area? I don't think that was addressed
in the staff report.
Jill Ding:
It's not mapped within our aquifer, no.
Phil Olbrechts:
Okay, all right, perfect. All right. Let me get back to the applicants. Any final comments before we open
it up to public?
Jeremy Eckert:
Yes, just the two quick cleanup items that we talked about with the staff report. The first one involves
bicycle parking, specifically in section J of the staff report recommended condition number five. It calls
for 73 bicycle parking stalls. As background here, the code requires that 10% of the number of required
off-street vehicle parking spaces, you have 10% be bicycle parking. So in this case, if we have 732
required parking stalls, the city came to a figure of 73 bicycle parking stalls.
In talking with the city yesterday, we determined that only 16 stalls should be required under code. The
existing office building is exactly that. It's an existing office building. We don't need to bring that up to
code. But we do have a new use, which is a outdoor recreation facility use.
The 10-W report in Exhibit 25 identifies 164 parking stalls associated with this outdoor recreational
facility use. The city and the applicant agreed that the 73 stalls should be reduced to 16 bicycle parking
stalls.
What we would propose is we would revise condition five to say that there would be 16 stalls provided
and that we could submit a modification request so we could address timing issues with the city in
providing those stalls while allowing the fields to move forward.
Phil Olbrechts:
Okay. Ms. Ding is that staff is okay with that?
Jill Ding:
Correct.
Phil Olbrechts:
Okay. All right. Great. Okay, sir, go ahead.
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Jeremy Eckert:
On the last item, we entirely agree with the condition related to protecting the environment and related
to fields, which is condition 1C. We spent a lot of time working with staff on that front. We're happy
with how that ended. I think everybody is.
What we want to do is just clean up in the staff report on page 16, it discusses a condition which is
labeled number one. That portion, page 16 of the staff report is the old [inaudible 01:20:03] condition
related to fields. What we would just propose is strike that condition in the staff report and just keep
the language as is in the conditions found on page 32.
Phil Olbrechts:
Okay.
Jeremy Eckert:
That's all we have.
Phil Olbrechts:
Actually, I did have one remaining question. I don't know if you're prepared to answer it. This has to do
with the DOE disagreement on feature G. Kind of a legal argument on what wetlands are exempt. Like I
said, I don't know if you're prepared to address it, I can just figure it out on my own. But if you'll recall, I
think OTAC's position was that it didn't qualify as a wetland because it was unintentionally created as a
result of road construction. They decided that road construction that had occurred after 1990.
But I'm assuming road construction is only a small part of the Longacres development project, right?
Most of the storm water generated by that construction work would've been for the buildings and the
impervious surface created by them.
Again, I'm just making assumptions here, maybe I'm incorrect. Maybe most of the storm water was
generated by the road construction, but if it's the case that is generated by the buildings, is that really an
appropriate exemption to use in this case?
Jeremy Eckert:
We've spoken quite a bit. Our consultant team and the city consultant team have discussed Ecology's
letter and our consultants in the city's consultant degree that this feature is not a regulated wetland.
There's actually a handful of reasons why it isn't.
One, we agree with OTAC's analysis, but there's also supplemental information as well. What we've
prepared and what we'd be willing to submit today is a letter prepared by our consultant that provides
the additional information to inform your analysis.
Phil Olbrechts:
Oh, that would be great.
Jeremy Eckert:
So we can provide that, I sent it to Jill earlier today, so we could submit that as an Exhibit. In addition,
we have historical photos and as-built stormwater records that Julia prepared for us, and we could
submit that as well.
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I think between Otac's consultant or the city's consultant, Otac, our consultant Talasea, the nearly 1000
page existing conditions report, the mitigation report, Otac's letter, and now Talasea Supplemental
Information plus the aerial photos. There's legal and technical reasons why feature G is not a regulated
[inaudible 01:22:40].
Phil Olbrechts:
Ms. Cisneros, what Exhibit number are we at right now? I don't have the...
Ms. Cisneros:
Let me check here real quick.
Phil Olbrechts:
Yeah,
Ms. Cisneros:
33.
Jeremy Eckert:
What I would-
Phil Olbrechts:
Okay.
Jeremy Eckert:
I suppose examiner, what I would propose is that I believe we're on number 33 now. So number 34
would be the supplemental Talisea [inaudible 01:23:08] report, which I sent to the city earlier this
morning.
Ms. Cisneros:
I just forwarded it to you, Ms. Cisneros, in an email.
Ms. Cisneros:
Thank you.
Phil Olbrechts:
This would be number 33. Could we maybe post that up on the screen? I'll just ask if there are any
objections to entry of this after I see it.
Ms. Cisneros:
You want me to [inaudible 01:23:30] the document?
Phil Olbrechts:
Pardon?
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Ms. Cisneros:
What was the name of the document?
Jeremy Eckert:
It was titled... Just a second here. It's titled C Talasea Supplemental Report and Analysis 1.9.23.
Ms. Cisneros:
Thank you.
Ms. Cisneros:
Mr. Hearing Examiner, would you like me to bring up the document?
Phil Olbrechts:
Yeah, yeah, if you could.
Ms. Cisneros:
Okay.
Phil Olbrechts:
We have a document that's being presented by the applicant stated, my vision is not too great here,
January, what's the, oh, there we go. Yeah. January. Is that eighth? Yeah. 2023.
Ms. Cisneros:
Yes.
Phil Olbrechts:
Regarding the feature G issue, anyone need to see that at this point or object to its entry of the record?
If so, raise your virtual hand. Let's click on the hand button at the bottom of your screen or unmute
yourself and say, "I object", or "I need to see this document." Not seeing any takers. I'll admit it as
Exhibit 33 then.
You said there were other things, your Honor, to present as well as beyond this, or does this happen?
Speaker 8:
That's correct, examiner. I believe to get our numbering correct, I might be mistaken, but I believe
Exhibit 32 is our vicinity site plans and renderings.
Phil Olbrechts:
Yeah, I recall that's the case, right?
Speaker 8:
Exhibit 33 is our project team resume, so I believe what was just submitted should be Exhibit 34.
Phil Olbrechts:
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Okay. I'll correct that to 34 then. Thank you.
Speaker 8:
You're welcome.
Jeremy Eckert:
Then the other item we'd like to submit, which will be item number 35 I sent to the city, and it's titled D,
Supplemental Aerial Photos and Storm Water Plans.
Phil Olbrechts:
Okay. Have you sent that to Mrs. Snares as well?
Ms. Cisneros:
I did.
Phil Olbrechts:
Okay. Let's post that real quick. Ms. Cisneros, if you can.
Ms. Cisneros:
Yes, I'll pull that up. Unfortunately, I'm having trouble with my email. It's not letting me pull that up. Just
a second.
Ms. Ding:
I can pull it up as well too. Ms. Cisneros?
Ms. Cisneros:
Yes, please. Yeah, it doesn't let me open up the tab.
Ms. Cisneros:
This is the supplemental aerial photos. There, you see that?
Phil Olbrechts:
Yeah, yeah. Quick, could you scroll through real quick or...
Ms. Ding:
Here's historical Longacres photos.
Ms. Ding:
The 1998 King County Aerial. 2000 King County aerial. 2005 King County aerial.
Phil Olbrechts:
All right, perfect.
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Ms. Ding:
This is an as built of the facility, I believe.
Phil Olbrechts:
Okay. This was, I believe 35. Right? Any objections over this Exhibit 35 coming in? Okay, hearing none.
Then we'll admit the aerial photographs in as-built as Exhibit 35. Anything else?
Jeremy Eckert:
That's all we have.
Phil Olbrechts:
Okay. I guess finally we get to the public comments. Why don't we allow the Duwamish Tribe to speak
first then I suppose. Let me see who that... Who was that? Mrs. Cisneros, do you recall?
Ms. Cisneros:
Yes. Nancy Sackman.
Phil Olbrechts:
Okay. let's see here.
Ms. Cisneros:
I've allowed her to talk if she wants.
Phil Olbrechts:
Okay, Ms. Sackman, go ahead. At this point, I'll have to swear you in. Just raise your right hand. Do you
swear affirm to tell the truth, nothing but the truth in this proceeding?
Nancy Sackman:
Yes, I do.
Phil Olbrechts:
Your last name is spelled S-A-C-K-M-A-N, is that correct?
Nancy Sackman:
Yes. That's correct.
Phil Olbrechts:
Just for your information, we don't have video of you right now. I don't know if you were intended yet.
Nancy Sackman:
Oh.
Phil Olbrechts:
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We don't need it. You don't have to have video on.
Nancy Sackman:
Sorry.
Phil Olbrechts:
We just have your voice and that's just fine. So go ahead.
Nancy Sackman:
Okay. Yeah. My name is Nancy Sackman. I'm of the Duwamish Tribe. I'm from the Sackman family, and
I'm our tribe's Cultural Preservation Officer. I wanted to thank you for the opportunity to attend this
webinar and hearing to talk about three things that we had mentioned in our previous comment.
One, has to do with cultural resources. This is an area you are near some of our sacred sites along near
the Black River and the Green River that eventually come into the Duwamish River. We do realize that
this area has been developed. We would accept an IDP for cultural resource monitoring, particularly if
excavation cuts below fill, so into the alluvium.
The second thing that we would like to discuss or to ensure is that any of the artificial turf is as
environmentally friendly as possible to the surrounding waters and hydrology of the area.
Then finally, we definitely and strongly recommend that native vegetation only be used for landscaping,
any proposed landscaping.
Phil Olbrechts:
Thank you, Ms. Sackman, appreciate your comments. Okay, move on now to anyone else who wants to
speak at this time. Just click on the virtual hand at the bottom of your screen and we'll let you chime in
or unmute yourself. Not seeing any takers.
Ms. Cisneros:
I do have instructions, Mr. Examiner, if you'd like me to put them up.
Phil Olbrechts:
Oh yeah. Put them up. Yeah, let's do that.
Ms. Cisneros:
There's a raise hand at the bottom of the page if anybody would like to comment. It looks like there are
two participants that have raised their hand, Mr. Hearing Examiner.
Phil Olbrechts:
Oh, okay. Great. Let me see here. All right, let's start-
Ms. Cisneros:
Marina McVicker and Cultures United.
Phil Olbrechts:
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Let's start off with Ms. MacVicar then. Is she unmuted?
Ms. Cisneros:
Yes, she is.
Phil Olbrechts:
Okay. Ms. MacVicar, let me swear in real quick. Do you swear and affirm to tell the truth, nothing but
the truth in this proceedings?
Ms. MacVicar:
I do.
Phil Olbrechts:
Okay. And for the record, is your name spelled M-A-C-V-I-C-A-R, is that correct?
Ms. MacVicar:
Yes.
Phil Olbrechts:
Okay. Also like the last speaker, we don't have video of you. That's not a problem at all, but just don't do
that.
Ms. MacVicar:
That's okay.
Phil Olbrechts:
All right, go ahead.
Ms. MacVicar:
My name is Marina MacVicar and I am 43 years old. I've been a resident in Renton my entire life and my
parents as well. My family has been here for over 70 years. My family and I live in one of the first homes
in Renton up the hill where there was literally nothing. We're on the historical hill. There was nothing on
the east of us moving upwards. We're truly in a pioneer home here in Renton.
I am an athlete. I've played soccer my whole life as well as my father. I remember going to Starfire Fort
Den area before there was even a Starfire or that building. They would call it Fort Den. But I have seen
so many new transformations in Renton my entire life being here. It's amazing. I am direct proof that the
Sounders and the Ray Foundation is nothing but a benefit to the community and has touched so many
lives through growth and through development like this.
I am the women's head coach for Cultures United, and thanks to the Ray Foundation and Sounders FC, I
am a direct leader in the community and am able to touch other people's lives through soccer and
through growth and development. I'm just so happy to be here. I'm so happy to be part of the team.
I can only see that with this growth, we will be able to touch the community even more so. For that, I'm
excited and I'm just thankful for this opportunity to be here and have a chance to speak to you and let
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you know how this does actually affect everyone in the soccer community and the kids most
importantly. So, thank you.
Phil Olbrechts:
Okay. Thank you for your testimony. All right, moving on. Is there anyone else who wanted to speak at
this point? I don't see any raised hands anymore. Ms. Cisneros-
Ms. MacVicar:
I'm not sure if Culture-
Ms. Cisneros:
Oh, there we go. Is a different applicant or I mean a different,
Phil Olbrechts:
Yeah, they just raised their hand again, so let's get them in there. Somebody for Cultures United. Who
do we have here on behalf of Cultures United?
Sebastian Diaz:
Yeah, I was trying to figure out how to change my name real fast. My name is Sebastian Diaz. I'm the
Executive Director of Cultures United.
Phil Olbrechts:
Sir, how do you spell your last name?
Ms. MacVicar:
D-I-A-Z.
Phil Olbrechts:
Okay. Let me swear you in. Raise your right hand. Do you swear affirm to tell the truth, nothing but the
truth in this proceeding?
Sebastian Diaz:
I do.
Phil Olbrechts:
Okay, great. Like the other speakers, we don't have video of you, but we can certainly hear you. So go
ahead.
Sebastian Diaz:
First of all, I'm really thankful to be the opportunity to be here and listen more into details of this new
project. I'm personally really, really excited about the advancements that the soccer community is
making here in the Seattle area. We've always been a soccer city, not just because of the trophies, but
also because of the community that we create, that we have around the sport. Our fans say it louder
than anybody else in the states.
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I'm a first generation immigrant founder of Cultures United Football Club, a local non-profit serving
youth and young adults through the sport of soccer. We are partners with the Ray Foundation and the
Sounders. We are really thankful for the resources that they brought towards us so that we are
successful in the things that we do. They sponsor our women's team and our efforts to generate equal
access to sport, not just racially, but through gender as well.
I'd like to just say that it is really important for us as a whole to make these kinds of advancements in the
field because we have a really big important event coming up in a few years, four years. That's the
workup. To be honest with you, that's the dream of so many people. So many people to just be part of
it, to just witness it, and we got to get ready. I believe this is one of the steps that will allow us to be
there.
Aside from that, just empowering our local community to have facilities that are up to standards with
the worldwide of the sport. Like Maya was saying, we'll be outside next to big things in the world, so our
kids that watch TV, watch the Sounders to be able to go and connect and potentially just see this team
grow and one day dream to be part of it. That's huge. Once again, thank you for having me here and
listening and learning more about this project.
Phil Olbrechts:
Okay, thank you Mr. Diaz. Really appreciate your testimony. All right. Is there anyone else who wanted
to speak at this point? Doesn't look like it. We go back to Ms. Ding. Any cleanup comments at this point
for rebuttal?
Ms. Cisneros:
No, I don't think so.
Phil Olbrechts:
Okay. Then the applicant, final word?
Jeremy Eckert:
No, nothing at all.
Phil Olbrechts:
Okay. I think, we've all probably talked enough today. Just for the soccer fans out there who sat through
this whole hearing, thank you so much for doing that. I mean, I know, this is obviously a very exciting
project, a great addition to the Renton community. I mean, I've lived in the Renton area a couple miles
up since I was five years old and to see the community grow like this with projects like this, that's really
exciting and transforming.
They get the Seahawks, they get the Sounders. That's really something. it looks like a fantastic project. I
don't see any obstacles to approval. I think that the most complicated thing I've just got to look at is that
whole feature G thing, and I really appreciate the applicant providing additional information that'll make
it easier to assess that issue.
Beyond that, I don't see any problems at all with this project. It's been very well designed. I've read all
the reports already and it seems like everything has been thoroughly addressed and mitigated. Again, a
great project. Congratulations to you all for putting it together. We're adjourned for today. Have a great
day. Thanks. Bye-bye.