HomeMy WebLinkAboutEx_30_Staff Response to Becker Comment.pdf1
Alex Morganroth
From:Alex Morganroth
Sent:Wednesday, December 10, 2025 3:23 PM
To:'sarah becker'
Subject:RE: RHS Expansion & Replacement Public Comment for hearing 12/9
Hi Sarah –
Thank you for your email and for your interest in this project. While we aim to keep the “tentative” date
listed in the initial Notice of Application, it is not uncommon for hearing dates to shift based on project
complexity, staff workload, or the need for additional information from the applicant. In this case, we
intentionally moved the hearing to January 13, 2026 to ensure the public had additional time to review
the materials and submit comments during the busy holiday season.
The updated hearing date is reflected in several ways:
1. City Project Page: The main project site, found here, is updated to include the current hearing
date and the project manager’s contact information.
2. Legal Notice: Approximately two weeks before the hearing, a legal notice will be published in the
Seattle Times with the final date, time, and participation information.
3. Parties of Record Notification: Parties of Record (including you) will receive a direct notice of the
hearing approximately two weeks beforehand via email or certified mail, depending on
preference. Since I do not have a mailing address for you, your notice will be sent by email. If
you’d prefer a hardcopy, please let me know what your mailing address is and we can send it that
way.
Please see responses to your specific questions below:
1. Public comment deadline: Yes, written comments will be accepted until the public hearing on
January 13, 2026. At the conclusion of the hearing, the Hearing Examiner will close the public
record, and no additional comments may be submitted after that point.
2. Why the street vacation is listed: We include all land-use actions associated with a project
when issuing notice. Although City Council, not the Hearing Examiner, will ultimately decide the
street vacation request, it remains part of the overall project context and affects site design,
which is why it appears in the notice.
3. Purpose of the hearing at this stage: The Hearing Examiner will be reviewing the applicant’s
land-use requests, including zoning, transportation, architectural, landscape, and site-planning
components, to determine whether the proposal meets applicable City codes.
4. Who decides the street vacation: City staff from several departments (CED, Parks, Public
Works, Police, etc.) will review the street vacation request and prepare a single, unified
recommendation to City Council. The City Council is the body that makes the final decision on
whether the street is vacated.
5. Requesting additional traffic analysis: I am currently coordinating with our engineering reviewer
on the traffic-related comments and questions you submitted. If additional data or analysis is
determined to be necessary, the applicant may be required to update the traffic study. I will follow
up with you once that review is complete.
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6. If the hearing date changes again: The same notification steps described above would occur,
updates on the project website, publication of a legal notice, and direct notification to Parties of
Record two weeks prior to the scheduled hearing
Once I receive input from our engineering reviewer, I will reach back out. In the meantime, please feel
free to contact me with any additional questions about the process. I am also happy to set up a phone
call, virtual meeting, or in-person meeting if you would like to discuss anything further.
Thank you again for your interest in this project.
Alex
ALEX MORGANROTH, AICP, Principal Planner
City of Renton // Planning Division
oƯice (425) 430-7219 // email amorganroth@rentonwa.gov
Virtual Permit Center // Online Applications and Inspections
NOTICE OF PUBLIC DISCLOSURE: This message complies with Washington State’s Public Records Act – RCW
42.56
From: sarah becker <beckersarah92@gmail.com>
Sent: Tuesday, December 9, 2025 10:53 AM
To: Alex Morganroth <AMorganroth@Rentonwa.gov>
Subject: Re: RHS Expansion & Replacement Public Comment for hearing 12/9
Good morning Alex,
Thank you for notifying me of the change in hearing date. I did read that the hearing was a tentative date,
but wouldn't a new Notice of Application be updated to the Community and Economic Development
Project Site to reflect the date change once the new date was identified? I am a bit confused as to why
the new hearing date has not been updated for public record. As I look this morning, the hearing date and
time is still listed as Dec. 9th at 11a.m., even though you have clarified with me of the date change to
January 13th, 2026. I would presume that you have been aware of this new hearing date for at least a few
days, if not longer, and feel that this is something that should have been updated in the public notice
record for all to see. Are there no requirements for public notification?
I have a few other questions, if you please can answer.
1) Since the hearing date has been moved out a full month, are the accepted public comments
extended until 5pm January 12th?
2) If the hearing does not address the requested street vacation, why is that listed as a topic for the
hearing examiner to consider?
3) What is the point of the hearing at this stage of the project, if not considering the street vacation?
4) Is it just the will of the City Council on if the street is vacated, or is this a 'recommendation' by
the City Project Manager?
5) How can I request another traffic study be conducted now that most of the houses are vacated
and/or demolished?
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6) If the hearing date is again moved, will there be prior notice to the public?
Sincerely,
Sarah Becker
Renton Resident
On Tue, Dec 9, 2025 at 7:26 AM Alex Morganroth <AMorganroth@rentonwa.gov> wrote:
Hi Sarah –
Thank you for reaching out. I am the project manager for the Renton High School project. Please note
that I have added you as a party of record for the project and have added your comment letter to the
official project file.
The public hearing date listed in the Notice of Application was intended as a tentative date and may be
adjusted depending on the progress of the review. In this case, we decided to move the hearing to after
the holidays to allow additional time for public comment. The public hearing is now scheduled for
January 13, 2026 at 11:00 a.m. and can be accessed using the same link provided in the original notice.
One point of clarification I want to make sure you’re aware of: the S Tobin St vacation requested by the
school district will not be reviewed or decided by the Hearing Examiner at the public hearing. Instead,
the street vacation will be reviewed and acted on by the City Council, likely sometime in February or
March. You are still welcome to submit comments to the Hearing Examiner, but I wanted you to know
that the final decision on the vacation itself will be made by the City Council. If you have any questions
on the project or the process in general, please feel free to reach out at any time.
Thank you,
ALEX MORGANROTH, AICP, Principal Planner
City of Renton // Planning Division
office (425) 430-7219 // email amorganroth@rentonwa.gov
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Virtual Permit Center // Online Applications and Inspections
NOTICE OF PUBLIC DISCLOSURE: This message complies with Washington State’s Public Records Act – RCW
42.56
From: sarah becker <beckersarah92@gmail.com>
Sent: Monday, December 8, 2025 5:48 PM
To: CityClerk <CityClerk@Rentonwa.gov>
Cc: Alex Morganroth <AMorganroth@Rentonwa.gov>
Subject: Re: RHS Expansion & Replacement Public Comment for hearing 12/9
Hello,
Thank you for your reply. This is not in reference to a RHS Board meeting. This is for a Public Hearing
Examiner Meeting held at City Hall and or Zoom. Attached are screen shots of the Public Hearing in
question. If this has been rescheduled, please let me know when it will be held.
Sincerely,
Sarah
On Mon, Dec 8, 2025 at 4:35 PM CityClerk <CityClerk@rentonwa.gov> wrote:
Good afternoon,
The City of Renton – City Clerk’s Office received your email below regarding public comments for a
12/9/2025 hearing. The Renton City Council does not have a hearing scheduled for Tuesday,
December 9.
Perhaps the message is for the Renton School District (a separate entity); you can reach that agency at:
https://www.rentonschools.us/our-district/school-board; according to the Renton School District
website, it appears their meeting is on 12/10/2025.
CAUTION: This email originated from outside the City of Renton. Do not click links, reply or open attachments unless
you know the content is safe.
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We are happy to have you comment during the citizen comment portion of the Renton City Council this
evening, you can sign up here: https://forms.rentonwa.gov/Forms/registertospeakform
Please let me know if I can be of further assistance.
Thank you,
MELISSA MCCAIN, MMC, CPRO | PUBLIC DISCLOSURE MANAGER/DCC
City of Renton // City Clerk’s Office
Office (425) 430-6507
NOTICE OF PUBLIC DISCLOSURE: This message complies with Washington State’s Public Records Act – RCW 42.56.
From: sarah becker <beckersarah92@gmail.com>
Sent: Monday, December 8, 2025 4:07 PM
To: CityClerk <CityClerk@Rentonwa.gov>
Subject: RHS Expansion & Replacement Public Comment for hearing 12/9
Hello,
Attached is a public comment regarding the RHS proposal to vacate Tobin Street.
I will try to attend the hearing via Zoom, but wanted to submit this in case I am unable to attend and
make a live comment.
Thank you,
CAUTION: This email originated from outside the City of Renton. Do not click links, reply or open attachments unless
you know the content is safe.
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Sarah Becker
TECHNICAL MEMORANDUM
Project: Renton High School Replacement Project
Subject: Public Comments and Responses
Date: December 12, 2025
Author: Tod S. McBryan, P.E., Principal
The Renton School District (District) is proposing to expand the overall Renton High School (RHS) site
and construct a new replacement high school building and athletic fields. The potential transportation
impacts of the site expansion and school replacement project were evaluated and described in a
Transportation Technical Report (Heffron Transportation, Inc., September 16, 2025). This memorandum
responds to comments submitted to the City of Renton by Sarah Becker, a Renton resident.1 Each
individual comment is restated below followed by a response.
Comment 1:
Traffic study conclusion may not accurately reflect the impact of vacating Tobin Street:
1) homeowners live close to downtown and transit, may not be driving since everything is walking
distance, therefore not impacting traffic study
Response 1: As stated in paragraph 1 of Section 3.2.3 on page 30 of the referenced Transportation
Technical Report [underline added for emphasis]: “The proposed site expansion would result in the
elimination of 30 single-family dwelling units (including 2 accessory dwelling units ADUs)), 4 duplexes,
and 5 commercial buildings. Many of these were occupied at the time of traffic counts conducted for this
analysis. Although it would be reasonable to adjust the future traffic forecasts to account for the removal
of these uses, no reductions in traffic were made to ensure a conservative worst-case analysis of with-
project conditions. The following estimates of traffic generation by eliminated uses is provided for
informational purposes and for consideration in future traffic impact fee determinations.”
Paragraph 2 of Section 3.3.1 on page 42 of the referenced Transportation Technical Report states “As
described previously in Section 3.2.5, the 2030-with-project traffic forecast and operations analyses
accounted for the re-assignment of non-school trips (estimated at about 1,075 trips per day) that would
otherwise use the vacated roadway segment. The non-school peak hour trips on that street (75 morning
trips, 148 afternoon trips, and 120 PM peak hour trips) were re-assigned to alternative routes along
Airport Way and S 2nd Street. It is noted that although some of those trips are also likely associated with
the adjacent land uses and would be eliminated with the demolition and removal of those uses, they were
assumed to remain and be re-distributed in the area. Over the three analysis peak hours, the re-assigned
S Tobin Street trips represent between 2% and 3.8% of the total traffic on Airport Way and between 1%
and 1.6% on S 2nd Street. As demonstrated by the operational analysis results presented in Table 11,
these re-assigned trips would not result in significant adverse impacts.”
1 Received from the City of Renton, December 10, 2025.
Renton High School Replacement Project
Public Comments and Responses
December 12, 2025 | 2
Comment 2:
2) students in the homes are walking to school, not impacting traffic study
Response 2: Based on Renton School District enrollment data, during the traffic counts performed in
May 2024, there were two (2) RHS students living in the homes that were acquired for the site expansion;
during the counts performed in May 2025, there were three (3) RHS students living in those homes. The
removal of these students from living in the area would not materially change the analysis or results of the
transportation study.
Comment 3:
3) some home owners work from home, again not driving during peak drive times and not impacting
traffic study
Response 3: See response to Comment 1 above. Note that the traffic counts conducted multiple times
throughout the study area reflect current and ongoing trends of some employees working from home.
Comment 4:
4) only 12 of the demolished homes lined Tobin street, the other 25 homes lined either Airport Way
or Login Ave. Only those 12-homes would require homeowner/residents to drive Tobin to get to
their home
Response 4: See response to Comment 1 above. No reductions in traffic were made to future traffic
forecasts for the removal of these uses, which ensures a conservative worst-case analysis of conditions
with the project, including the street vacations.
Comment 5:
5) on that note, over half of the businesses and residents forced out of their homes lived on Login or
Airport access – or through the Tillicum alley – therefore would not impact the traffic study
Response 5: See response to Comment 1 above. No reductions in traffic were made to future traffic
forecasts for the removal of these uses, which ensures a conservative worst-case analysis of conditions
with the project, including the street vacations.
Comment 6:
Therefore, I request another traffic study now that only three homes and one business remain. This will
give a more accurate count of traffic patterns and how closing Tobin will adversely affect traffic on
Airport Way
Response 6: The analyses included in the referenced Transportation Technical Report were based on
multiple counts of the surrounding study area including Tobin Street and intersections with Tobin Street.
The counts were performed during peak periods (6:30 to 8:30 A.M. and 1:00 to 6:00 P.M.) and three-day
(72-hour) periods in May 2024 with school in session, in July 2024 with school out of session, and in
April 2025 with school in session. With the removal of homes and businesses that occurred after those
counts, it is likely that newer counts would show lower volumes than were counted and re-assigned. Thus,
the analysis was based on the worst-case condition for surrounding roadways and intersections.
Renton High School Replacement Project
Public Comments and Responses
December 12, 2025 | 3
Comment 7:
Currently, it is my estimate that most of the traffic counted using Tobin accesses Tobin as a shortcut to
avoid the traffic back-ups on Airport way. People enter from Rainier Ave heading westbound on Tobin,
and turn right into the Downtown core.
Response 7: Based on the multiple counts of Tobin Street (described in the Comment 6 response), most
of the traffic on Tobin Street was either generated by the school (as can be seen by turning movements
into and out of the school driveways) or was likely cut-through traffic. All of that traffic (school-trips and
non-school trips) was re-assigned for the analysis of with-project conditions with the vacation of Tobin
Street. Therefore, it accounted for the anticipated addition of trips to the Airport Way and S 2 nd Street
corridors due to the project, including the street vacation. As outlined in the City’s Comprehensive Plan,2
local access streets, such as Tobin Street, are primarily intended to provide direct access to abutting land
uses and are designed to discourage through traffic. It is more consistent with City policy to have that
traffic using the Principal Arterial segments of Airport Way and S 2nd Street, which are forecast to
continue operating at acceptable levels with the project and street vacation.
Comment 8:
If Tobin is closed to through traffic, Airport Way traffic will be highly impacted. Many people use
Airport way to skirt traffic back-ups on I-405 and S 3rd street. And due to the high volume on Airport
Way, people use Tobin to get through to downtown Renton.
Response 8: The Tobin Street vacation would extend from Shattuck Avenue S to Logan Avenue S. The
segment west of Shattuck Avenue S would remain open. The analysis accounted for all school-trips and
all re-assigned non-school trips that are likely to use Airport Way as a result of the project, including due
to the street vacation. The school traffic and re-assignment of Tobin Street traffic did not indicate
degradation of operations at Airport-Way intersections. As stated in Section 3.3 on page 40 of the
referenced Transportation Technical Report:
“The analyses account for the changes school-bus load/unload locations and travel routes with
corresponding adjustments to the heavy-vehicle percentages on affected movements. The analyses
also account for peaking characteristics of school traffic (using observed lower peak hour factors for
site driveways) and the potential for increased pedestrian activity (increases proportionally based on
added enrollment). Table 11 shows the results of the operational analysis; the results for without-
project conditions are shown for comparison.
“The table shows that the proposed replacement school project—which would increase school-
related traffic, change school access locations, and change local travel patterns with street
vacations—could modestly increase the vehicle delay at the study-area intersections. However, all
five signalized study area intersections are forecast to remain operating at LOS E or better with the
project during all three analysis peak hours, with changes in delay ranging from a reduction of 1.3
seconds to an increase of 9.1 seconds. The unsignalized intersections are forecast to remain
operating at LOS A overall with all movements at LOS D or better during all three peak hours….
Based on these results, the project would not result in significant adverse impacts to study-area
traffic operations.”
2 City of Renton, Comprehensive Plan – Transportation Element, Adopted December 9, 2024; Ordinance No. 6253.
Renton High School Replacement Project
Public Comments and Responses
December 12, 2025 | 4
Comment 9:
Page 46 of the traffic study claims there will be ‘negligible effects on the surrounding roadways’, along
with ‘minimal effects on the surrounding roadways.’
I contest this claim and feel it does not accurately reflect the increase in congestion that will occur on
Airport Way – mainly eastbound – and strongly request that the street remain open as a throughway
to ease traffic congestion in the downtown core.
Response 9: The referenced text appears to be from Section 3.3.1 on page 42 of the Transportation
Technical Report. There it states:
“The vacation of S Tillicum Street between Shattuck and Logan Avenues S would have negligible
effects on the surrounding roadways. The small number of trips that were observed using that roadway
segment (fewer than five trips per hour) was most likely associated with the adjacent land uses and
would be eliminated with the demolition and removal of those uses due to the site expansion.
“Similarly, the vacation of S Tobin Street between Shattuck and Logan Avenues S would have minimal
effects on the surrounding roadways. As described previously in Section 3.2.5, the 2030-with-project
traffic forecast and operations analyses accounted for the re-assignment of non-school trips (estimated
at about 1,075 trips per day) that would otherwise use the vacated roadway segment. The non-school
peak hour trips on that street (75 morning trips, 148 afternoon trips, and 120 PM peak hour trips) were
re-assigned to alternative routes along Airport Way and S 2nd Street. It is noted that although some of
those trips are also likely associated with the adjacent land uses and would be eliminated with the
demolition and removal of those uses, they were assumed to remain and be re-distributed in the area.
Over the three analysis peak hours, the re-assigned S Tobin Street trips represent between 2% and
3.8% of the total traffic on Airport Way and between 1% and 1.6% on S 2 nd Street. As demonstrated by
the operational analysis results presented in Table 11, these re-assigned trips would not result in
significant adverse impacts.”
As stated above in Response 7, the City’s Comprehensive Plan defines local access streets, such as Tobin
Street, as primarily intended to provide direct access to abutting land uses and are designed to discourage
through traffic. It is more consistent with City policy to have that traffic using the Principal arterial
segments of Airport Way and S 2nd Street, which are forecast to continue operating acceptably with the
project and street vacation. Local access streets are not intended for congestion relief of Principal Arterials.
TSM/mch
RSD RHS Replacement - Public Comment and Responses - FINAL