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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPN_Project_Narrative_20210324_v1 (2).pdf March 24, 2021 RENTON ELEMENTARY SCHOOL #16 Renton School District No. 403 PROJECT NARRATIVE: a) Project name and size: The Renton School District is proposing to design and construct a new elementary school on a series of 11 parcels that have a combined area of approximately 11 acres. The residences that occupied the site were demolished under a separate permit. Additionally, the Renton School District wishes to vacate two areas of right-of-way and incorporate them into the development of the proposed elementary school property. Upon securing the right-of-way vacations from the City, the district is proposing a parcel consolidation and development that is to include all 11 parcels. Parcel No: Address: Zone: Area: 102305-9076 1103 Chelan Ave NE R-8 61,419 sf 102305-9096 1138 Chelan Ave NE R-8 28,314 sf 102305-9107 1123 Chelan Ave NE R-8 64,904 sf 102305-9124 1102 Chelan Ave NE R-8 33,541 sf 102305-9138 1103 Chelan Ave NE R-8 43,560 sf 102305-9139 1012 Duvall Ave NE R-8 57,499 sf 102305-9173 1146 Chelan Ave NE R-8 17,859 sf 102305-9202 1070 Chelan Ave NE R-8 31,563 sf 102305-9249 1128 Chelan Ave NE R-8 51,154 sf 102305-9275 1137 Chelan Ave NE R-10 42,688 sf 102305-9332 1058 Chelan Ave NE R-8 37,937 sf 12’ Strip East of Parcel 102305-9076 - 2,250 sf Right of Way - - 9,874 sf TOTAL AREA: 482,562 sf (11.08 acres) Our current schedule proposes starting construction in the spring of 2022 with an anticipated occupancy of August 2023. In order to meet this deadline, we anticipate submitting for the Conditional Use Permit and SEPA in early 2021, followed by the Building Permit submittal in the summer of 2021. Site Location: Northwest portion of Section 10, Township 23, Range 5 The school campus is located directly to the west of Hazen High School in the northeastern portion of the Renton School District. An initial investigation identified two established wetlands. The site is bordered to the east by Duvall Avenue, and residential homes to the north, west and south. b) Zoning designation of the site and adjacent properties: All parcels are zoned R-8 or R-10. Elementary Schools are allowed in this zone by Conditional Use Permit. The site is surrounded by zones R-8 to the southwest, south and south east, RM-F to the northeast and northwest, and R-10 to the north. The City’s Zoning Use Table Renton Municipal Code (RMC 4.2.060) allows K-12 public institutions in these zones with a Hearing Examiner Conditional Use Permit. c) Current use of the site: Prior to demolition, the site consisted of 9 residences on 11 lots. The site has been cleared of structures, and currently sits vacant. d) Special Site Features (wetlands, water bodies, steep slopes): The City of Renton’s Environmentally Critical Area maps identify steep slopes and seismically sensitive soils within the property. However, investigation by AESI (documented in the enclosed Updated Subsurface Exploration and Geotechnical Engineering Report) suggests that there are no topographical conditions that fall under the City’s definition of a Critical Area. Two wetlands have been delineated on the Elementary School #16 site per the enclosed RSD Chelan Ave NE, Wetland Delineation Report, dated November 26, 2019, prepared by The Watershed Company. Wetland B – Category Type IV – 50 ft Buffer Width, 15’ Buffer Setback Wetland C – Category Type III – 100 ft Buffer Width,15’ Buffer Setback The development of the proposed school cannot proceed without the removal of Wetland B following approval from the Army Corps of Engineers. This project proposes to purchase credits from the City of Renton’s Springbrook Creek wetland mitigation bank. The rating and buffer width for Wetland C is shown on the enclosed drawings. e) Statement addressing soil type and drainage conditions: Topographically, the site generally slopes down from the east to the west with elevations ranging from approximately 438 feet in the southeastern portion of the parcel to approximately 409 feet at the existing west wetland area. The Updated Subsurface Exploration and Geotechnical Engineering Report for the proposed RSD Chelan Avenue Properties has been included with this CUP submittal. This report was prepared by Associated Earth Sciences Inc (AESI) on December 22, 2020. Their field study included fourteen exploration borings across the site. The explorations typically encountered existing fill and recessional outwash sediments underlain by dense, silty Vashon lodgement till sediments. Five exploration borings encountered surficial existing fill to thicknesses of up to approximately 7 feet. Two explorations found shallow Vashon recessional outwash sediments ranging in thickness from approximately 2.5 to 5 feet thick. The northernmost exploration borings terminated in potential lodgement till and advance outwash transition sediments at depths of approximately 20.5 to 21.5 feet. Groundwater was not encountered in any of the explorations completed for this study at the time of exploration. The use of potential stormwater infiltration was found to be infeasible due to the extent of dense, silty soils across the site. The existing fill is not a suitable infiltration receptor due to its variable density, silt, and organic content. The recessional outwash found in two of the borings do not have enough vertical depth to support infiltration without adequate separation from the hydraulically restrictive layers. Lodgement till is not a suitable infiltration receptor due to its high silt content. The site is located within three drainage basins and has three separate discharge points from the site. The south portion of the site flows southwest. The runoff is collected by the existing catch basins along the east side of Chelan Avenue NE and flows into a 12-inch main. The northeast portion of the site discharges into the existing east wetland and leaves the site via a 12-inch storm line heading north and connects in to the 12-inch main within NE 12th Street. The west portion of the site naturally sheet flows to the existing western wetland and discharges from the site via a 15-inch CMP and heads north and eventually connects into the 15-inch main within NE 12th Street. Stormwater ultimately discharges to May Creek which outlets to Lake Washington. f) Proposed use of the property and scope of the proposed development (height, square footage, lot coverage, parking, access, etc.): The new elementary school is designed for a capacity of 650 students with classrooms, a library, a cafeteria, a warming kitchen, a gymnasium, and administrative spaces with accommodation for mechanical, electrical and building services. The programmed building area is approximately 77,000 square feet over two stories, with a mechanical platform above. The building height is approximately 42.5’, measured vertically from the determined existing average grade plane to the highest point of the mechanical equipment platform roof. A new vehicle access point will be developed at the southeast corner of the property along Duvall Ave NE. Parent queuing and drop-off will be located at the south end of the site in a parking lot accessed from Duvall Ave NE. To reduce impacts to the principal arterial, the proposed vehicular access will be right-turn in, right- turn out only. An additional exit-only drive will be developed at the southwest corner of the property onto Chelan Ave. The school bus drop-off will be located on the east side of the site accessed from Duvall Ave. To reduce impacts to the principal arterial, the proposed bus access will be right-turn in, right-turn out only. The school is located with clear pedestrian connections to sidewalks on Duvall Ave NE and Chelan Ave NE. The front entry of the building, highlighted by a prominent entry canopy, is clearly visible from the main street frontage, Duvall Ave NE, and opens onto a landscaped pedestrian plaza. While a prominent façade highlighting the public areas of the building faces Duvall Ave NE, the more private classroom wings stretch to the west with classrooms placed to optimize their access to controlled natural lighting. Providing abundant natural light was a major goal in designing the new school. The classroom wings are oriented along an east to west axis in order to achieve controlled day lighting through the use of southern light and / or northern light. Classrooms located along the southern face of the facility will be equipped with exterior sun shades to reduce solar heat gain and glare. Maximizing controlled natural daylight will help reduce the building’s overall energy needs and create a more environmentally sustainable facility while providing a more pleasant teaching and learning environment. In order to reduce the overall 'bulk' of the building, the façade has been carefully subdivided to assist the transition to the surrounding residential context. The classroom wings are broken into sections, providing articulation of the façade every 1-2 classrooms. These sections are further subdivided by use of materials and color to again subdivide the mass into smaller sections. Along Duvall Ave NE the building uses roof lines and materials to reduce the scale of the building. Due to the limited access options for the facility, the building's trash enclosure and utility enclosure (which houses the facilities emergency generator, chiller, and transformer), are served from Duvall Ave NE. While these enclosures face the main street, they are set back from the property line approximately 90 feet, and are screened from view by a stand of trees. These utility areas are enclosed on all sides by masonry walls. In response to comments received by the City of Renton Planning Department after a pre-submittal review, the placement of cladding materials has been revised at the gym volume, and additional glazing is proposed in order to brighten the east façade facing Duvall Avenue. The brick veneer of the trash enclosure has been revised in order to allow it to blend into the surrounding volume. Finally, the design team is proposing to explore options for an ornamental gate at the trash enclosure in lieu of the district’s standard chain-link gates, in order to provide visual interest and increased screening. The design of the gate will be finalized as the design progresses. g) Proposed off-site improvements (installation of sidewalks, fire hydrants, sewer main, etc.): Sanitary Sewer: The project site resides within the City of Renton sewer service area. Based on the site’s survey, there is no existing sanitary sewer infrastructure in the site area that can be utilized for the proposed school. There is a an existing 8-inch sewer main within Chelan Avenue NE. The proposed sanitary sewer system will be routed along the west and south side of the school, flowing to the south to connection the sewer main within Chelan Avenue NE. Sanitary sewer design and storm drainage systems will be verified with City of Renton during upcoming coordination meetings and will be reviewed and permitted by City of Renton. Domestic Water/Fire Service: The public water system serving the site will be owned and maintained by the City of Renton. In order to provide adequate fire hydrant coverage for the proposed building, a new 10- inch water loop around the site with four (4) onsite fire hydrants is proposed. Two (2) additional fire hydrants are required within the right-of-way of Duvall Avenue NE. The on-site water loop will connect to the 10-inch public water main running along the eastern side of Duvall Avenue NE as well as the 8-inch public water main within Chelan Avenue NE. The water loop will require a 15-foot easement. The water design will be reviewed and permitted by City of Renton through the Developer Extension Agreement (DEA). Frontage Improvements: Frontage improvement to Duvall Avenue NE include a new curb and gutter, with an 8-foot-wide planter and 8-foot-wide sidewalk. In addition, a 10- to 11-foot-wide queueing lane will be integrated between the school-bus exit driveway and the main parking lot access driveway. Frontage improvements to Chelan Avenue NE involve a half-street improvement to meet current City standards. These are expected to include curb, gutter, and x-foot sidewalk. Signal: Based on the results of the signal warrant analysis done as part of the Transportation Technical Report, the project proposes to replace the existing HAWK pedestrian-only beacon at the NE 10th Street / Duvall Avenue NE intersection with a full traffic signal with pedestrian-actuated crossing signals and crosswalks on all four legs. h) Total estimated construction cost and estimated fair market value of the proposed project: The estimated maximum allowable construction cost for this project is $40 million. i) Estimated quantities and types of materials involved if any fill or excavation is proposed: Based on the geotechnical report prepared by Associated Earth Sciences Inc (AESI), the existing topsoil and forest duff will be stripped from structural areas. Once stripping is complete and existing fill below new buildings will be removed and replaced as needed with structural fill. Based on the information currently available, the preliminary earthwork quantities are as follows: · Cut = 32,575 CY · Fill = 9,700 CY As the existing fill material, as well as the lodgement till and recessional outwash sediments contain substantial silt and are considered highly moisture-sensitive, every effort will be made to perform earthwork activities during the dry weather months. j) Number, type and size of trees to be removed: The included Tree Retention Plan and Worksheet describe that this project proposes to remove 34 landmark trees, 271 significant trees, and 37 non- significant trees. k) Explanation of any land to be dedicated to the City: No land is anticipated to be dedicated to the City.