Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutHEX Decision - Appendix A - Fountain of Hope Appendix A - Fountain of Hope 7 (Completed 07/08/25) Transcript by Rev.com Page 1 of 5 Appendix A July 8, 2025, Hearing Transcript Fountain Hope Ministries International Church Conditional Use Permit File No. – LUA25-000077 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. Speaker 1 (00:00): Recorder is going Speaker 2 (00:06): Recording in progress. Speaker 1 (00:07): There we go. Yeah, that comes in nice and loud. Alright. Good morning everybody. It's July 8th, 2025, 11:00 AM I'm alb Break the hearing examiner for the City of Renton holding a hearing this morning on a conditional use permit application for the Fountain of Hope Ministries International Church. They'll be taking up the space of an existing building. This is PR 25 dash 0 0 0 0 2 3. The hearing format today is we'll have a presentation from staff and it looks like that's Ms. Dingus. It will give us an overview of the project once she's finished, then we'll move on to applicant comments. Anyone on the applicant team who wants to speak in favor of their project, they'll have that chance. After that, then we'll move on to public comments and that'll be anybody else who wants to speak and that would include if there are attending members of the church or something that want to say something, that'd be your chance. After all that, we'll go back to Ms. Sting to answer any questions people had and to present any rebuttal evidence she finds necessary. Then applicant gets final word, they get final chance to present rebuttal evidence and make final comments. And after that I get a couple weeks, 10 business days to issue a final decision. So by state law I'm only allowed to consider evidence that's put into the record. And I'm going to share my screen real quick too. (01:26): Pardon? Speaker 2 (01:27): I have them ready. Speaker 1 (01:28): Oh, okay. You go ahead then. Sure. Alright, so there we go. We got a total of 11 documents. The first, is it the environmental review committee report? That was to determine whether an environmental impact statement was necessary for the project or any environmental impacts had to be mitigated and we have plans for the design of the remodel, that kind of thing. Utilities, we have the environmental review determination, which was no environmental impact statement was necessary. We have Appendix A - Fountain of Hope 7 (Completed 07/08/25) Transcript by Rev.com Page 2 of 5 comment letters from the Duwamish tribe and the city response comment letter from the wastewater treatment division of King County Transportation Analysis and City Responses to the King County Wastewater Treatment Division. So total of 11 documents at this point. Just need to ask if anyone needs to see any of these documents or has any objection to their entry. No, we got a few more there. The staff report that determination, nons significance, that's the determination. (02:23): No environmental impact statement is necessary. And we have a project narrative that goes over what the project is about. Title reports, how the criteria for conditional use are met and then some hearing notices. Alright. And then do you still have more Ms Cisneros? The other three? Yeah, there we go. The staff PowerPoint, the City of Renton Maps, which is available at the website for the project site and then Google Earth as well, which gives us aerial maps. So all that, that's all the information Ms. Sting found necessary to support her recommendation and for me to review. Does anyone need to see any of those documents or have any objections to their entry in the record? If you do, just click on the raise hand button at the bottom of your screen and let's see if there are any takers there. I'm not seeing any objections or request to see, which is pretty standard. So we'll go ahead and admit exhibits one through 18, Ms. Thing, I'll swear you in at this point. Just raise your right hand. Do you swear affirm to tell the truth, nothing but the truth in this proceeding? I Speaker 3 (03:17): Do. Speaker 1 (03:17): Okay, great. Go ahead. Speaker 3 (03:20): Thank you Mr. Examiner. See I'll, okay, hopefully you all are seeing my PowerPoint presentation. Please speak up if you are not, it's not, what is it coming up as? Speaker 2 (03:58): All right, let me try again. Let's try this. Speaker 1 (04:18): There you go. Great. Speaker 3 (04:20): Is that working now? Speaker 1 (04:21): Yes. Speaker 3 (04:22): Okay, excellent. So good morning everyone. My name is Jill Ding. I am a senior planner here with the city of Renton and I am here to present the staff recommendation for the Fountain of Hope Ministries International Church. That is file number LU a 25 dash 0 0 0 7 7. Just to start off with a brief description Appendix A - Fountain of Hope 7 (Completed 07/08/25) Transcript by Rev.com Page 3 of 5 of the proposal, the applicant is requesting a hearing examiner conditional use permit to establish a religious institution in downtown Renton at 3 0 3 South third Street. The project site is currently zoned center downtown or cd. It is about 0.64 acres in area and is comprised of a total of two parcels, high seismic hazard areas and a downtown wellhead protection area. Zone two are mapped on site. (05:25): The proposal would include the reuse of an existing 7,005 square foot former funeral home. The retention of an existing 23 surface stall parking lot, the conversion of an existing garage into a community outreach support space and access would remain via existing curb cuts off of Shaddock Avenue South as well as South third Street. A 14 day public comment period began on April 8th, 2025 and ended on April 22nd, 2025. We received comments from the Duwamish tribe as well as the King County Wastewater treatment Division. The Environmental Review Committee issued a CPA determination of non-significant on June 2nd, 2025. Staff has reviewed the request and found that the proposal would be consistent with the relevant comprehensive plan land use policies. It would compliant with all relevant zoning regulations if all conditions of approval are complied with and the proposal would be compliant with the CUP criteria if all conditions of approval are complied with availability of public services. The application was routed. Police and fire prevention staff indicate that sufficient resources exist to furnish services to the proposed development. Water service is provided by the city of Renton Sewer services also provided by the city of Renton. There are no land disturbing activities proposed as all the work proposed is generally internal to the site. So it would not be subject to surface water regulations. The project fronts on South Third Street and Shaddock Avenue South. However, interior remodels not involving building additions are exempt from street carnage improvements. (07:34): So that concludes my presentation. Staff is recommending approval of the Fountain of Hope Ministries International Church as depicted in Exhibits two and four, subject to three recommended conditions of approval. Speaker 1 (07:49): Okay, sounds good. Just a couple questions. I think that your staff report mentioned they'll have Friday night services and there's a restaurant located close by. I mean, did Public Works kind of consider the traffic impacts there? It sounds like maybe if it's that evening that would be a busy time for the restaurant as well. I mean, would that create an accumulation of the traffic that might be a problem? Speaker 3 (08:13): So got we win here with our developed engineering group, who should be able to answer that question? Speaker 1 (08:23): Okay, a letter answer the question. Let's see. I you swear you in there, sir. Do you just raise your hand, do you swear affirm him to tell the truth, nothing but the truth in this proceeding? Speaker 2 (08:33): I do. Speaker 1 (08:33): Appendix A - Fountain of Hope 7 (Completed 07/08/25) Transcript by Rev.com Page 4 of 5 Okay, great. Go ahead. Yeah, I just was curious if you had looked into that or if you would under normal circumstances because it looks like kind of peak times for both uses at the same time. Speaker 4 (08:45): Yeah, yeah. So development engineering actually did an analysis of that for our IT manual and found that that was with the proposed change of views, the new use would generate one trip. Speaker 1 (09:01): Oh, okay. And you didn't find that significant, it was consistent with the city's level of service standards? Speaker 2 (09:07): Yes. Speaker 1 (09:07): Okay, perfect. Alright, thanks sir for your testimony. Much appreciated. And then Ms. Dig, just the other one, your staff report mentions that social services are allowed at that site, but not homeless support services. Was there any concern about within their use description that there could be a conflict there or is that something that's been addressed with the applicant? Speaker 3 (09:31): I believe it is something that has been addressed with the applicant. We just wanted to clarify that some of the uses, which could kind of lead from social services into homeless services, we wanted to make it really clear that it could not be a homeless services facility. Okay. It can meet the definition of a social service organization, but it can't lead into a shelter or other uses that are limited to that homeless services Speaker 1 (10:03): Definition. Okay. Got it. Great. Okay, thank you. Alright, well let's move on to the applicant's then. Does anyone want to speak on behalf of the applicants at this point? You don't have to, but now is your opportunity if you want to take it. Any takers there, just click on the virtual hand at the bottom of your screen. Let's see if we got any takers out there. Nope, nobody on the applicant team, which is perfectly fine. Let's move on to then general public comments. If you're a member of the public right now, you want to say something, now is the time to be heard. Click on the virtual hand at the bottom of your screen. Pretty straightforward note takers there either. Okay, well if any of you're confused and can't figure out how to be heard, you can't find that raise hand button. Go ahead and email Ms. (10:45): Cisneros before 5:00 PM tomorrow with your comments. Explain that you couldn't figure out how to be recognized today. And if that's the case, I'll let your comments come in and I'll let the applicant and city respond to that comment as well. And Mrs. SROs has her email address on video there behind her. It's Jason sros@rewa.gov. So with that, I guess I can go ahead then and close the hearing. It's pretty straightforward and oftentimes when you're just replacing a use in a building, it's usually not a huge deal and it isn't in this case really. So should be an easy approval. We'll get that out and the next couple of weeks. So thanks all for participating and have a great day. We're adjourned Speaker 2 (11:26): Appendix A - Fountain of Hope 7 (Completed 07/08/25) Transcript by Rev.com Page 5 of 5 Recording.