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HomeMy WebLinkAboutLUA25-000376 WSDOT Noise Variance Appendix A LUA25-000376 WSDOT Noise Variance Page 1 of 4 Appendix A WSDOT Noise Variance LUA25-000376 December 16, 2025 Hearing Transcript 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. For those in need of an accurate rendition of the hearing testimony, a hearing recording can be acquired from the City of Renton. Examiner (00:00): Hello, everyone. This is our second hearing of the day. For those of you who just joined us, we will be hearing project NWR South 23 through 25 Payment Repair Project XL6747. Always the coziest names for these. This is a noise variance so that WSDOT can make improvements to SR 167 and SR515. Curious to see how much extra improvements the rain has provided for us. It is approximately noon on the 16th of December, 2025. My name is Emily Terrell and I am your hearing examiner for today. The order of operations past this bit is the entering of exhibits into the record and then a presentation by the staff and then responses by the applicant and any opportunity for the public if someone shows up, if they happen to show up. Everyone will get sworn in today so that we are legal. And let me begin by entering exhibits one through seven on page 10 of the staff report. I expect there's probably three, possibly more. Yep. That PowerPoint is eight. City of Renton maps are nine and Google is 10. Planner Wragge (01:23): Yep. Examiner (01:24): Thank You. I understand how this works in Renton. Been here a few times. Okay. Which member of the staff, I'm expecting it might be Ashley, will want to speak today. Planner Wragge (01:39): Yes, it will be me. Examiner (01:41): Okay. Ashley, do you swear and affirm that your testimony today is the truth? Planner Wragge (01:46): I do. Examiner (01:47): LUA25-000376 WSDOT Noise Variance Page 2 of 4 All Right. Take it away. Thanks. Planner Wragge (01:49): Thank you. I have a presentation, so let me get that pulled up real quick. Examiner (01:56): Great. Exhibit eight. Planner Wragge (02:14): Okay. Looks good. Okay. Thank you. So my presentation today is the NWR South 23 through 25 Pavement Repair Project, XL 6747. I like to just call it Wash Dot Pavement Repair Noise Variance. And the file number down below for reference is there. And so the project is a hearing examiner noise variance from WSDOT for approximately 15 non-consecutive nights of work. The work, since it is not being proposed to be done consecutively, is to occur sometime between March of 2026 to December of 2026. To the right, I have a visual depiction of the two sections that are in Renton that are being proposed for work. Section 12 is 0.23 linear miles from here, if you can see my mouse, up to the 405 underpass. And this is Benson Drive. And the other section is at the four-leaf clover on 405 interchange, and that extends up the Rainier Avenue. (03:44): And the project is to provide crack ceiling and asphalt patching, and this is being requested to be done at night due to traffic impact concerns since lane closures will be a part of the repair. And through the noticing, no public or agency comments were received. (04:09): And here is a better depiction of the project site. So here's the four-leaf clover interchange at 405 where it starts and then it'll extend up along Rainier and then end just past sunset. And then in this plan, you can see the purple depiction that is commercial areas. And then the yellow depiction for the buffer from the project is the residential areas. And for the second section, slightly more residential. And this one starts at that triangle on Benson Drive and goes to the underpass of 405, and then a couple more commercial areas on this one as well, but a bit more residential for this. And this section is 0.23 linear miles. Examiner (05:11): That was an excellent splice, by the way, of the prior slide. I'm never very good at lining those up. Planner Wragge (05:19): And so the variance being requested is due to equipment noise from the roadwork. And I have here listed some of the different equipment that is going to be utilized. And the noise range for the equipment listed is between 61 to 97 DBA at 50 feet from the source. And then that ranges to 45 to 81 DBA at 300 feet from the source. And the nighttime noise is not to be expected to be concentrated at LUA25-000376 WSDOT Noise Variance Page 3 of 4 any one location for more than a few days at a time since this is kind of a repair and then move along the different sections. (06:16): And so the variance would allow for a temporary exceedance of noise level limits during the nighttime hours, and the nighttime hours are listed to be 10:00 PM to 7:00 AM. And that would allow the project to be completed without potentially exacerbating any existing traffic conditions since both of the streets that both of the roads that are to be impacted are very high traffic areas within the city. So switching it to night would greatly reduce the amount of vehicles on the road that would be impacted by a closure, and so delays wouldn't be as excessive. Nighttime work also minimizes the danger posed to workers due to less cars being on the road and less detours, traffic delays, and less disruptions to the public as a whole. The proposed noise variance meets the seven criteria listed to the right to be considered on the decision if all the conditions of approval are met. (07:24): And so there to the right, that's just code text for what to be considered for our variance. But on the next slide, I have the conditions of approval that we have added for the recommendation. The first one is that the applicant shall not conduct nighttime work during the World Cup dates from June 8th, 2026 to July 13th, 2026. Renton is one of the cities that has gone in on an agreement to not conduct roadwork at this time since there's expected to be such an influx of traffic. And so for public benefit and safety, we have agreed to not do that. And since the proposed work timelines is from March to December, this does fall within that. So we are adding that as a recommendation. And then the applicant in Exhibit seven in their variance application responses and mitigation memo, they list mitigation measures, and we have agreed to them as we agree that they should be implemented and that any summary of any noise-related complaints received and the responses provided shall be provided to the city's project manager, myself, within one week of receiving the complaint. (09:01): And then the third one, we want WSDOT to have information on their website for residents and other people to see if they have any additional questions and want information on the project. And then as the fourth condition, the applicant shall provide hotel vouchers if earplugs and white noise machines are not sufficient as requested by affected residents, either prior to the noise, nighttime work or within 24 hours of receiving a complaint. And that's it. Those are my conditions. Examiner (09:41): That's fine. These are a fairly standard set of conditions. I personally have lost count of how many times I've approved washed out and noise variances in Renton in this particular area, and I'll bet you so residents. So I'm not surprised that they're not here at the moment. That's pretty normal. So I don't actually have any questions. I'm used to this one very well, and I appreciate it. You did a good job. Amy, would you like to provide wash dots? And if so, you'll have to unmute, or you could just go nah, either one. Planner Wragge (10:19): LUA25-000376 WSDOT Noise Variance Page 4 of 4 I think Ashley did a really great job. I don't think I have anything to add. Examiner (10:24): Okay. Then there's no need to swear you in for that. I expected that that would be the case. I've read your WSDOT’s mitigation measures many, many times. I know what they are by heart. Okay. So Jenny, are there any members of the public here? Planner Wragge (10:43): There are. Examiner (10:44): There are. Yes. When any members of the public like to speak, you need to raise your hand. There's a button for that and anyone who does wish to speak will need to be sworn in and I'll need to have your name spelled because well, our AI is creative at best. Any takers? Doesn't look like It. Okay. In that case, I know this one's short, especially compared to the hour that the last one took, but it's a much simpler project. I have 10 business days in which to render a decision, and that usually means 14 real days. I can't rule from the bench, but I don't see anything in particular on this one that stands out as being any different from or any other noise variances that is needed in order to keep our roadway system working. So that's all I have. I hope that you all stay safe and keep your feet dry and we'll get these decisions out as soon as I can. I want to thank everyone for coming today. I appreciate your time. Hi, Clark. I haven't seen you in a while. I see you're here though, and I'll close the hearing now. Thank you all. It's always a pleasure to be in Renton.