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Home My WebLink AboutC_On-Hold Letter_Steele House_2603011_v1 March 11, 2026 Daniel Umbach 33822 172nd Ave SE Auburn WA 98092 Subject: On-hold Notice Steele House / LUA25-000443; PR25-000088 Dear Mr. Umbach: The City of Renton Planning Division determined that the subject application was complete pursuant to the applicable submittal requirements on January 8, 2026. On March 11, 2026, you submitted an email (attached) to the project manager requesting that review of the application be placed on hold due to client- driven changes to the project scope. Accordingly, review of the Steele House project has been placed on hold pending receipt of revised application materials. Review will resume once the updated documents have been submitted. At that time, a notice will be sent to you and all parties of record confirming that the review process has recommenced. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions. Sincerely, Alex Morganroth Principal Planner cc: Parties of Record Attachments: Email from Applicant (Attachment A) 1 Alex Morganroth From:Dan Umbach <umbachdw@hotmail.com> Sent:Wednesday, March 11, 2026 8:36 AM To:Alex Morganroth Subject:Re: Steele House 3001 NE 16th St, Parcel # 7227801475 Yes please. We are going to submit the revised plan. We will need know the process in terms of re-noticing, if that is required. Dan daniel UMBACH architect, llc 33822 172nd Ave SE Auburn, WA 98092 Ph: 206.427.3871 umbacharchitect.com umbachdw@hotmail.com From: Alex Morganroth <AMorganroth@Rentonwa.gov> Sent: Tuesday, March 10, 2026 5:00 PM To: Dan Umbach <umbachdw@hotmail.com> Subject: RE: Steele House 3001 NE 16th St, Parcel # 7227801475 Hi Dan – Following up on this as I’d like to get the review on hold (just to stop our review clock) ASAP. If you’d like to process with the project hold pending the updated documents, please let me know. Thank you, Alex ALEX MORGANROTH, AICP, Principal Planner City of Renton // Planning Division office (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: Alex Morganroth Sent: Friday, March 6, 2026 12:25 PM To: Dan Umbach <umbachdw@hotmail.com> Cc: Huy Huynh <HHuynh@rentonwa.gov>; Paul Pasquier <ppasquier@ststephenhousing.org>; Ann Allen 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. 2 <aallen@ststephenhousing.org>; Jamie Madden <jamie.madden@77stoop.org> Subject: RE: Steele House 3001 NE 16th St, Parcel # 7227801475 Hi Dan – I confirmed with my manager that re-noticing would be the appropriate path forward if you would like to amend the parking layout. This will require a new two-week public comment period, but it should not significantly delay the review process since we will not be starting the review from scratch. If you would like to proceed, please send me a brief email requesting that the project review be placed on hold pending the proposed design change. Once I receive that request, I will formally place the application on hold until you have prepared the materials needed for resubmittal. For the resubmittal, I will need: • An updated project narrative, and • Revised plan sheets reflecting the proposed changes. In addition, there are two related items we can address at this time. You will need to submit two street modification requests—one for NE 16th Street and one for Jefferson Avenue NE. Our original plan was to include these as conditions of approval in the land use decision, but since the project will be re-noticed, it will be cleaner to incorporate them into the application materials now. I’ve outlined the general scope of each street modification request below. A short narrative explaining the justification for each request will be sufficient. Please let me know if you have any questions. NE 16th St - Classified as a residential access street, with an existing right-of-way (ROW) width of approximately 60-feet with an existing paved width of approximately 32-feet. To meet the City’s complete street standards for Residential Access streets, a minimum ROW width of 60-feet is required. Per RMC 4- 6-060 half of street improvements as taken from the ROW centerline shall be required and include a 32- foot paved road (16-feet each side), a 0.5-foot curb, an 8-foot planting strip, 5-foot sidewalk and 0.5-foot clear space behind walk. No dedication is required. Modification: Due to the presence of existing mature trees along the project frontage, the city will support a modified street section along NE 16th Street. 1. A six-inch curb shall be Installed along the entire project frontage on NE 16th St, replacing the existing raised asphalt edge. 2. The existing sidewalk shall be retained from the Western property line, extending twelve (12) feet East past the dripline of the preserve trees. New frontage improvements shall commence a minimum of twelve (12) feet east of the tree trunk to minimize disturbance to the tree. The City’s arborist shall be present on-site during excavation activities occurring in proximity to the existing tree trunk. The required modified street section shall consist of a 14.5-foot travel lane, 0.5-foot curb, 8-foot sidewalk, and 2-foot of clear space behind walk. Jefferson Ave NE - Classified as a residential access street, with an existing right-of-way (ROW) width of approximately 50-feet with an existing paved width of approximately 26-feet. To meet the City’s complete 3 street standards for Residential Access streets, a minimum ROW width of 60-feet is required. Per RMC 4- 6-060 half of street improvements as taken from the ROW centerline shall be required and include a 32- foot paved road (16-feet each side), a 0.5-foot curb, an 8-foot planting strip, a 5-foot sidewalk and 0.5-foot clear space behind walk. Approximately 5-feet of dedication will be required. Modification: A City-implemented capital improvement project has been completed along the project frontage on Jefferson Avenue NE. Accordingly, no additional frontage improvements are proposed along Jefferson Avenue NE. Staff will support a street modification to retain the existing improvements along Jefferson Avenue NE, provided that a five-foot easement is granted to the City of Renton for the installation and ongoing maintenance of the new streetlight system along Jefferson Avenue NE. ALEX MORGANROTH, AICP, Principal Planner City of Renton // Planning Division office (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: Dan Umbach <umbachdw@hotmail.com> Sent: Thursday, March 5, 2026 4:03 PM To: Alex Morganroth <AMorganroth@Rentonwa.gov> Cc: Paul Pasquier <ppasquier@ststephenhousing.org>; Ann Allen <aallen@ststephenhousing.org>; Jamie Madden <jamie.madden@77stoop.org> Subject: Re: Steele House 3001 NE 16th St, Parcel # 7227801475 Hi Alex, Thanks for following up. I heard back from the owner. I think they would really prefer to go ahead with the change. Between the new bedroom at the ADA unit and the extra bedroom at the other garages we would be going from 18 to 25 bedrooms, which I think is a plus for everyone. I want to avoid having a decision issued on the current plan and then having to start from scratch with the new one. I think submitting a revision now before the decision is issued would be the ideal way to go. If we need to re-notice and allow some additional time for comment, then that's probably fine. I understand that you need to be transparent with the public. Let me know what you/staff think about the process. If needed, we would be happy to get the team on a meeting to discuss it. Thanks, Dan 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. 4 daniel UMBACH architect, llc 33822 172nd Ave SE Auburn, WA 98092 Ph: 206.427.3871 umbacharchitect.com umbachdw@hotmail.com From: Alex Morganroth <AMorganroth@Rentonwa.gov> Sent: Thursday, March 5, 2026 7:35 AM To: Dan Umbach <umbachdw@hotmail.com> Subject: RE: Steele House 3001 NE 16th St, Parcel # 7227801475 Understood – thanks. I will check on my side and see if it’s something we can adjust as part of this land use review. I don’t have any major concerns with the parking reduction, as it’ll still exceed the parking minimums for affordable housing, we just need to make sure we’re being open and transparent with the public. Thanks, Alex ALEX MORGANROTH, AICP, Principal Planner City of Renton // Planning Division office (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: Dan Umbach <umbachdw@hotmail.com> Sent: Wednesday, March 4, 2026 7:40 PM To: Alex Morganroth <AMorganroth@Rentonwa.gov> Subject: Re: Steele House 3001 NE 16th St, Parcel # 7227801475 I have updated the owner and am waiting to hear back. I think we would much rather do a resubmittal on the current application if that is the most expeditious way to go forward. This came up a bit late in the process with the change in ownership. They still have not officially confirmed the change, but I think it will happen. It's a group process with a number of stakeholders, so it always takes a little time to get the final go-ahead. Dan daniel UMBACH architect, llc 33822 172nd Ave SE Auburn, WA 98092 Ph: 206.427.3871 umbacharchitect.com umbachdw@hotmail.com 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. 5 From: Alex Morganroth <AMorganroth@Rentonwa.gov> Sent: Wednesday, March 4, 2026 4:10 PM To: Dan Umbach <umbachdw@hotmail.com> Subject: RE: Steele House 3001 NE 16th St, Parcel # 7227801475 Hi Dan – While it not be subjectively “major”, I have to make determination based on the criteria in our code. Involve more than a ten percent (10%) increase or decrease in any measurable aspect of the approved plan such as, but not limited to, area, scale, building height, density, commercial area, amenities, public or private open space, landscaping, parking spaces, building materials (e.g., glazing), etc Removal of 50% of the parking spaces would certainly exceed the 10% noted, so I don’t see how I’d be able to classify it as a minor modification. It may be something we can just update now (as opposed to doing a formal re-notice), but I’ll need to chat with my manager. I’ll talk with him tomorrow and get back to you. Thank you, Alex ALEX MORGANROTH, AICP, Principal Planner City of Renton // Planning Division office (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: Dan Umbach <umbachdw@hotmail.com> Sent: Wednesday, March 4, 2026 10:42 AM To: Alex Morganroth <AMorganroth@Rentonwa.gov> Subject: Re: Steele House 3001 NE 16th St, Parcel # 7227801475 I don't think it would be major. They would use the garage space to add an extra bedroom, which they feel would be a better use of the space for the clients they serve. With that change, we would also likely move the living space to the ground floor and just have two bedroom levels above. Again, not a siginficant change to the footprint, but just a rearrangement of the interior functions. The other change (for funding reasons) would be to convert one unit to accessible, probably the one on the west end. This would involve expanding the ground floor footprint of that unit enough to put a bedroom and accessible bath on that floor. That would result in a floor area increase of about 250 s.f., or about 2%. 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. 6 Below is a snapshot of the ground floor plan with the added bed/bath on the west unit. The bedroom floors above would be consistent with the submitted plan. The site design, without the garages, will have more landscaping and less paving, but will not change in any fundamental way. daniel UMBACH architect, llc 33822 172nd Ave SE Auburn, WA 98092 Ph: 206.427.3871 umbacharchitect.com umbachdw@hotmail.com From: Alex Morganroth <AMorganroth@Rentonwa.gov> Sent: Wednesday, March 4, 2026 10:19 AM To: Dan Umbach <umbachdw@hotmail.com> Subject: RE: Steele House 3001 NE 16th St, Parcel # 7227801475 Hi Dan – Apologies for the delay in my response. I just want to make sure these changes won’t fall under a major modification once the site plan issued, as that would trigger a new public notice and site plan review. Below are the criteria for a minor modification – do you think the changes would fall under this? With the elimination of the garage, do they no longer need to the CUP for the height increase? Minor Modifications: Minor modifications may be permitted by administrative determination. To be considered a minor modification, the amendment must not: a. Involve more than a ten percent (10%) increase or decrease in any measurable aspect of the approved plan such as, but not limited to, area, scale, building height, density, commercial area, amenities, public or private open space, landscaping, parking spaces, building materials (e.g., glazing), etc.; b. Have a substantially greater impact on the environment and/or public facilities than the approved plan; 7 c. Change the boundaries of the originally approved plan; and d. Substantially alter a key feature of the approved plan. (Ord. 6014, 3-22-2021) Thanks, Alex ALEX MORGANROTH, AICP, Principal Planner City of Renton // Planning Division office (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: Dan Umbach <umbachdw@hotmail.com> Sent: Monday, February 23, 2026 1:00 PM To: Alex Morganroth <AMorganroth@Rentonwa.gov> Subject: Re: Steele House 3001 NE 16th St, Parcel # 7227801475 Alex, The owner wants to simplify the envelope a bit for cost reasons. They also want to eliminate the garage parking - we have too much parking now for affordable housing anyway. So there will be some changes, but the site concept will not change, nor will the building concept of the radiused building and 6 units. I think, if the decision comes out without any resubmittal being required, then we may have some details to work out on the BP review, but as long as we are close, then I am not too concerned. Dan daniel UMBACH architect, llc 33822 172nd Ave SE Auburn, WA 98092 Ph: 206.427.3871 umbacharchitect.com umbachdw@hotmail.com From: Alex Morganroth <AMorganroth@Rentonwa.gov> Sent: Monday, February 23, 2026 12:36 PM To: Dan Umbach <umbachdw@hotmail.com> Subject: RE: Steele House 3001 NE 16th St, Parcel # 7227801475 Hi Dan – We should have a decision out by end of next week. Floor plan changes shouldn’t an issue assuming it doesn’t change the overall site layout or building envelope. 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. 8 Alex ALEX MORGANROTH, AICP, Principal Planner City of Renton // Planning Division office (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: Dan Umbach <umbachdw@hotmail.com> Sent: Monday, February 23, 2026 8:36 AM To: Alex Morganroth <AMorganroth@Rentonwa.gov> Subject: Steele House 3001 NE 16th St, Parcel # 7227801475 Hi Alex, I was wondering what the ETA might be for some comments on the site application. The owners are looking at some floor plan changes. Nothing that would alter the site concept or basic building configuration, but we don't want to do too much work on it until we have some official confirmation on where we stand. Thanks, Dan daniel UMBACH architect, llc 33822 172nd Ave SE Auburn, WA 98092 Ph: 206.427.3871 umbacharchitect.com umbachdw@hotmail.com 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.