HomeMy WebLinkAboutPN_Project_Narrative_240614_v1.pdf 1 November 2, 2022 May 31st, 2024 City of Renton Renton City Hall, 6th Floor 1055 South Grady Way Renton, WA 98057 PROJECT NARRATIVE Regarding: Site Plan Review – Sunset Highlands Medical Office Shell – Project Narrative The name of the proposed project is Sunset Highlands, located at 4409 NE Sunset Blvd., Renton, WA 98059.
The site is a 35,593 square-foot parcel currently zoned Commercial Arterial (CA) and located in the Commercial Mixed-Use district of the City of Renton Comprehensive Plan, and the Highlands Community Planning Area. The adjacent properties to the east, west, and south are all CA. The property across Sunset Blvd (to the north) is RM-F.
Our site (4409 NE Sunset Blvd) is currently vacant. The Land Use Permit required for the proposed project is a Site Plan Review that will include a SEPA review. The proposed medical office shell building will offer 5,200 SF for separate future medical office tenant improvements. The building will be less than 30 feet tall. Some vegetation will be removed in preparation for construction. A portion of Honey Dew Creek is located near the SE corner of the site. Our team had extensive discussions with City staff in mid/late 2023 related to the stream type determination for Honey Dew Creek. We believe this stream is appropriately classified on City and DNR maps as a Type Ns stream because the on-site habitat is highly degraded and the upstream and downstream stream segments are piped in culverts located under significant infrastructure that cannot reasonably accommodate fish passage, now or in the future. We did not reach agreement with the City on stream type, but staff did agree to support a Reasonable Use Variance (per RMC 4-9-250) to reduce the buffer to 40’ (with a 15’ building setback) to accommodate a reasonable economic use of the site. During our design process, we examined multiple use types (one of which was a fast-food establishment, which caused more negative impacts than our proposed Medical Office Building) in an effort to minimize negative impacts to Honey Dew Creek, which was reclassified as a Type F stream. After deliberation, we concluded that the best use that limited negative impacts on the stream and its buffer zone was a medical office shell building. The medical office building footprint currently sits outside the 115-foot buffer and structure setback of an additional 15 feet beyond that buffer required for t he Type F Stream (per RMC 4-3-050G). However, it is not possible to create on-grade parking for the building (which requires 26 stalls per RMC 4-4-080) that respects the 1 15-foot buffer. Because of this, our team has sought the Reasonable Use Variance mentioned prior. Please see stream delineation and soils report addressing stream location, soil type, and drainage conditions for further information on our Reasonable Use Variance. There is no evidence that wetlands soils were found on the site. Sunset Highlands is proposed to provide 5,200 SF of medical office shell space. The hardscape coverage will be approximately 52.8% of the property after Right of Way dedication. A total of 26 parking stalls are proposed on the surface parking lot. Three bicycle parking stalls are located near the southwest corner of the building. There are no new plats proposed. Ingress and egress to the site would be provided off of NE Sunset Blvd via one new 30-foot-wide curb cut. There is two-way circulation throughout the project site via the single entrance with drive aisle widths of a minimum of 24 feet. The total estimated cost for bui lding construction is $835,245 (per ICC Building Valuation Data – February 2024). The estimated cost of site work (exclud ing the building) is $500,000.
2 November 2, 2022 Off-site improvements would be to replace driveways with curbs and gutters and install a new city standard driveway approach. Improvements will also include an 8-foot-wide landscape planter and an 8-foot-wide sidewalk. A Right of Way (ROW) dedication would be provided to maintain a 2-foot clear space behind the sidewalk. A main will be extended within the ROW to serve an onsite fire hydrant. Two trees are proposed to be removed: a 21” diameter fir & a 24” fir. The developed footprint will be stripped of topsoil which will be exported to an approved location. Not accounting for surfacing, there is approximately 1500 CY of fill proposed for the project. All imported material should be structural fill provided per Geotech recommendations. There are no proposed job shacks, model homes or sales trailers. Modification requests to deviate from principal arterial street standards and Honey Creek buffer in relation to parking will be submitted. Thank you, Tyler Graff | Assistant Project Manager JON GRAVES ARCHITECTS