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April 27, 2023
Project No. 17020
Nathan Janders
City of Renton
1055 S Grady Way
Renton, Washington 98057
Re: Maple Highlands, C19004791
Dear Mr. Janders:
This letter is provided to formally request modification from RMC 4-6-060.F.2. Specifically, the
planting strip width of 8-feet between curb and sidewalk.
Background
The Project is a 13 lot plat with half-street frontage improvements along 162nd Avenue SE and
164th Avenue SE. There is an internal full street road (Road A) that has been constructed for
the plat.
Waiver Requested
RMC 4-6-060, Street Standards, F. Public Street Right-Of-Way Design Standards: The minimum
planting strip width is required to be 8-feet. The applicant is proposing to reduce the planting
strip width to a minimum of 6.5-feet in order to construct a wall/grade within the public right-of-
way and not encroach on private property.
In order to approve a Modification request, reasonable justification shall be provided but not be
limited to the following:
a. Substantially implements the policy direction of the policies and objectives of the
Comprehensive Plan Land Use Element and the Community Design Element and the
proposed modification is the minimum adjustment necessary to implement these policies
and objectives;
b. Will meet the objectives and safety, function, appearance, environmental protection and
maintainability intended by the Code requirements, based upon sound engineering
judgement;
c. Will not be injurious to other property(ies) in the vicinity;
d. Conforms to the intent and purpose of the Code;
e. Can be shown to be justified and required for the use and situation intended; and
f. Will not create adverse impacts to other property(ies) in the vicinity.
Nathan Janders
April 27, 2023
Page 2 of 3
Justification
The modification request is being requested due to the need for a landscape retaining wall along
the south side of Road A between stations 20+60 to 21+82. The required retaining wall behind
the sidewalk is required due to the grade difference between the adjacent property (parcel
number 145750026) and Road A. There is an existing carport/property line agreement
easement that is within 8-inches of the proposed right-of-way line.
There were several factors that went into the grading/design of the Maple Highlands plat. First,
162nd Avenue SE had a fixed tie in elevation. The Maple Highlands plat had to tie into the
Skyhorse plat along the north side of 164th Avenue SE. In addition, since parcel number
1457500026 (16206 SE 134th Street) was not included in the plat, the existing driveway entrance
grade had to be maintained to the maximum extent feasible. In order to prevent this modification
request, the internal road would have had to be raised by approximately 3-feet across the
northern side of parcel number 1457500026. This would have resulted in approximately 3-feet
of fill at the intersection of Road A and 162nd Avenue SE. The required road grades, vertical
curves, and existing site topography would have made eliminating the entire landscape wall
infeasible. The modification request is for the landscape strip width to be slightly reduced in
order to construct all of the improvements within the right-of-way and not on private property that
is not controlled by the project. The wall will be constructed to maximize the planter strip width
to the maximum extent possible.
The project is requesting the minimum necessary reduction to the planter strip width in order to
construct the necessary landscape retaining wall. The provided 6.5-foot planter strip width still
provides enough room for street lights, landscaping, and a buffer between pedestrians walking
along the sidewalk and the roadway. A 5-foot planter strip width is typically the required width
in most jurisdictions. As discussed, the safety of the pedestrians as well as the neighbor will be
maintained if this modification is approved. The function, appearance, etc. will be maintained
since the landscaping, street lights, etc. will be maintained. This modification requests allows
for the adjacent property owner to maintain their carport and legal rights to the property line
agreement area. The code does allow for the reduction in planting strip width if right-of-way
acquisition is problematic. Although it is not a right-of-way width issue, it is a grading limitation
within the right-of-way width that is causing the issue. Therefore, this modification request
conforms to the intent of the code where it would be applied given the proximity to the
neighboring property. Again, this is only justified since parcel number 145750026 is not a part
of the Maple Highlands plat and has frontage along both Road A and 162nd Avenue SE. The
modification will not create adverse impacts to the adjacent property. The grading design
minimized the amount of grading required along the frontage of 162nd Avenue SE in order to
maintain the driveway entrance and flat front yard.
Nathan Janders
April 27, 2023
Page 3 of 3
Thank you for your time and consideration in this matter. Should you have any questions or
request any clarifications, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Sincerely yours,
D. R. STRONG Consulting Engineers
Yoshio L. Piediscalzi, P.E.
Director of Engineering
YLP/dle
Enclosure
Enclosure(s)
cc:
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