HomeMy WebLinkAboutD_UW_Medicine_TUP_II_v3DEPARTMENT OF COMMUNITY
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D_UW Medicine TUP II_v3
A.ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT & DECISION
Decision: APPROVED APPROVED SUBJECT TO CONDITIONS DENIED
Report Date: December 6, 2021
Date of Expiration March 31, 2022 or the day after the appeal period of the future CUP closes,
whichever is first.
Project File Number: PR21-000430
Project Name: UW Medicine Testing Lab TUP II
Land Use File Number: LUA21-000424, TP
Project Manager: Brittany Gillia, Assistant Planner
Owner: B.H. 1601 Lind Avenue, LLC, PO Box 49993, Los Angeles, CA, 90049
Applicant/Contact: Ben Newton, University of Washington, Campus Box 352210, Seattle, WA, 98195
Project Location: 1601 Lind Ave SW
Project Summary: The applicant, University of Washington, is requesting approval of a Tier 2 Temporary
Use Permit to temporarily allow tenant improvements for the relocation of their
Medicine Testing Lab facilities (primarily testing for COVID-19) to the first floor of a
vacant office building located at 1601 Lind Ave SW (APN 3340404006). The 5.29 acre
site is located in the Commercial Office (CO) zone, Urban Design District ‘D’, and the
Employment Area Comprehensive Plan land use designation. The testing lab will
contain equipment to perform several tests on samples that are collected in other
locations. Patients requiring testing are not expected to visit the site. The testing lab
will take up approximately 15,240 square feet of the 199,168 gross square footage of
existing vacant office space. Expected hours of operation will be 24 hours a day, 7
days a week and there will be approximately 120-150 staff employed (40-50 per shift).
Contingencies in the project will include: the addition of additional HVAC units to be
located near the loading bay area, using the parking lot area for mobilizing containers
and mobile buildings to continue COVID-19 testing, and infrastructure to support
such work (i.e., generators, possible water and portable washrooms). The parcel is
mapped with High Seismic Hazard Areas, and Special Flood Hazard Area (100 year
flood). No trees are proposed for removal.
Site Area: 5.29 acres
DocuSign Envelope ID: E74ED070-622E-42C1-8BA9-FE8BBBC20A40
City of Renton Department of Community & Economic Development
UW Medicine Testing Lab TUP II
Administrative Report & Decision
LUA21-000424, TP
Report of December 6, 2021 Page 2 of 6
D_UW Medicine TUP II_v3
B.EXHIBITS:
Exhibit 1: Administrative Decision
Exhibit 2: Site Plan and Floor Plans
Exhibit 3: Abatement Agreement
Exhibit 4: Hold Harmless Agreement
Exhibit 5: Construction Mitigation Description
Exhibit 6: Project Narrative
Exhibit 7: Correspondence with Applicant on Site Plan Comment
C.GENERAL INFORMATION:
1.Owner(s) of Record:B.H. 1601 Lind Avenue, LLC
PO Box 49993, Los Angeles, CA, 90049
2.Zoning Classification:Commercial Office (CO)
Urban Design District ‘D’
3.Comprehensive Plan Land Use Designation:Employment Area (EA)
4.Existing Site Use:Office
5.Critical Areas:High Seismic Hazard Areas, and Special Flood Hazard
Area (100 year flood) FEMA Zone –AE
6.Neighborhood Characteristics:
a.North:SW 16th St; Employment Area Comprehensive Plan Land Use Designation; Industrial
Medium (IM) zone
b.East:Lind Ave SW; Employment Area (EA) Comprehensive Plan Land Use Designation;
Commercial Office (CO) zone
c.South:Employment Area (EA) Comprehensive Plan Land Use Designation; Commercial Office
(CO) zone
d.West:Employment Area (EA) Comprehensive Plan Land Use Designation; Commercial Office
(CO) zone
7.Site Area:5.29 acres
D.HISTORICAL/BACKGROUND:
Action Land Use File No. Ordinance No. Date
Annexation N/A 1745 04/19/1959
Hearing Examiner Site
Plan Review
LUA15-000275 N/A 04/23/2015
Comprehensive Plan N/A 5758 06/22/2015
Zoning N/A 5758 06/22/2015
DocuSign Envelope ID: E74ED070-622E-42C1-8BA9-FE8BBBC20A40
City of Renton Department of Community & Economic Development
UW Medicine Testing Lab TUP II
Administrative Report & Decision
LUA21-000424, TP
Report of December 6, 2021 Page 3 of 6
D_UW Medicine TUP II_v3
E. FINDINGS OF FACT (FOF):
1. The Planning Division of the City of Renton accepted the above master application for review on
November 22, 2021 and determined the application complete on November 22, 2021. The project
complies with the 120-day review period.
2. The project site is located 1601 Lind Ave SW.
3. The project site is currently developed with a 5-story office building and associated surface parking.
4. Access to the site would be provided via SW 16th St and Lind Ave SW
5. The property is located within the Employment Area (EA) Comprehensive Plan land use designation.
6. The site is located within the Commercial Office (CO) zoning classification.
7. The site is mapped with High Seismic Hazard Areas, and Special Flood Hazard Area (100 year flood) FEMA
Zone –AE. Impacts to critical areas will be evaluated in the next phase of land use permitting for the
conditional use.
8. The applicant is proposing to begin construction on December 7, 2021 and end on or before March 31,
2022.
9. Staff received no public comment letters.
10. An abatement agreement (Exhibit 3) for the temporary use was included with the project submittal.
11. A Hold Harmless agreement (Exhibit 4) for this application was signed on December 6, 2021.
F. ANALYSIS:
The applicant, University of Washington, is requesting approval of a Tier 2 Temporary Use Permit (TUP) to
temporarily allow tenant improvements for the relocation of their Medicine Testing Lab facilities (primarily testing
for COVID-19) to the first floor of a vacant office building located at 1601 Lind Ave SW (APN 3340404006). The
current location that the applicant has been using is becoming unavailable to them as of March 31, 2022 and so a
new location is required to be operational before March 31, 2022 in order to avoid a halt in a significant portion
of the essential covid testing facilities for the State of Washington. Per RMC 4-2-060, ‘Laboratories: research,
development, and testing’ is allowed in the CO zone with an approved Administrative Conditional Use Permit
(CUP). Upon TUP approval, the applicant will begin tenant improvements while pursuing a Conditional Use Permit
and, if necessary, other needed land use entitlements to move forward with long term approval of the Laboratory
use. Due to the timeframe established by the project scope, staff recommends that this TUP expire on March 31,
2022 or upon closing of the appeal period for the subsequent land use entitlements (CUP, SEPA and /or Site Plan
Review), whichever is first. To allow staff the appropriate time needed for review of the CUP and associated
entitlements and attempt to keep to the applicant’s timeline, staff recommends as a condition of approval that
the applicant must submit a complete application for the additional land use entitlements no later than January
14, 2022. Submittal materials must be submitted for review and approval by the Current Planning Project Manager
in order to be prescreened for completeness prior to the issuance of a Notice of Complete Application. Along with
this, staff recommends as a condition of approval that the applicant have the public information signage for the
next phase of land use entitlements to be installed prior to December 17, 2021. The applicant shall submit a
completed Affidavit of Installation of Public Information Sign to the Cur rent Planning Project Manager after sign
installation has been completed.
The testing lab will contain equipment to perform several tests on samples that are collected in other locations
and couriered to the facility using small courier vehicles including cars and small panel trucks. Patients requiring
testing are not expected to visit the site. The testing lab will take up approximately 15,240 square feet of the
DocuSign Envelope ID: E74ED070-622E-42C1-8BA9-FE8BBBC20A40
City of Renton Department of Community & Economic Development
UW Medicine Testing Lab TUP II
Administrative Report & Decision
LUA21-000424, TP
Report of December 6, 2021 Page 4 of 6
D_UW Medicine TUP II_v3
199,168 gross square footage of existing vacant office space. Expected hours of operation will be 24 hours a day,
7 days a week and there will be approximately 120-150 staff employed (40-50 per shift). According to the project
narrative (Exhibit 6), contingencies in the project will include: the addition of additional HVAC units to be located
near the loading bay area, using the parking lot area for mobilizing containers and mobile buildings to continue
COVID-19 testing, and infrastructure to support such work (i.e., generators, possible water and portable
washrooms). Contingent improvements or structures that may be proposed on site have not been evaluated as
part of this permit. Staff recommends as a condition of approval that if the applicant finds that a contingent
variable becomes necessary, an extension request may be submitted to the Current Planning Project Manager no
less than 30 days prior to the permit expiration for review and approval by the Department of Community and
Economic Development Administrator to extend the expiration date of this permit. If the applicant ’s request may
affect or be affected by the critical areas on site, proper reports and documents as prepared by licensed
professionals must be supplied with the extension request. Any extension request to this permit must
be submitted to the Current Planning Project Manager no later than March 1, 2022 to allow for adequate
processing time prior to the expiration of this permit.
This temporary use permit is subject to RMC4 9 240J Temporary Use Permit Decision Criteria. The Administrator
may approve, deny, modify, or condition an application for a temporary use permit, based on consideration of the
following factors:
Compliance Temporary Use Permit Decision Criteria Analysis
✓
1. The temporary use will not be materially detrimental to the public health, safety, or
welfare, nor injurious to property or improvements in the vicinity of the temporary use
Staff Comment: The properties abutting the subject parcel, a vacant surface parking lot,
an office park, and a public utility site, will not be negatively impacted by the construction
for the temporary use. According to the applicant’s construction mitigation descriptio n
(Exhibit 5), the subject building is unoccupied and has substantial parking and driveways
for all traffic. There is no need for street and/or sidewalk closures and the work will be
limited to the interior of the structure on site. The construction activities for the first-floor
improvements are not anticipated to generate more trips than the previous office use at
full building occupancy and will therefore not increase any impacts on the surrounding
properties.
✓
2. Adequate parking facilities and vehicle ingress and egress are provided to serve the
temporary use and any existing uses on the site
Staff Comment: The applicant is only proposing to occupy the first floor of the vacant five-
story office building. The parcel has adequate surface parking surrounding the structure
to accommodate potential traffic related to the improvements and there are no
additional uses that require parking that exist at the subject site. The parcel is a corner
lot with driveway access to two public streets; SW 16th St and Lind Ave SW which should
provide adequate ingress and egress for the construction activities.
✓
3. Hours of operation of the temporary use are specified, and would not adversely impact
surrounding uses
Staff Comment: The construction mitigation description (Exhibit 5) states that
construction will take place Monday through Friday from 5am-2pm. Possible work on
Saturdays from 5am-2pm may occur as needed to keep the project on schedule. Due to
the time constraints and implications of impacts on public health for the State of
Washington that are related to the timely completion of the project (Exhibit 6), the scope
DocuSign Envelope ID: E74ED070-622E-42C1-8BA9-FE8BBBC20A40
City of Renton Department of Community & Economic Development
UW Medicine Testing Lab TUP II
Administrative Report & Decision
LUA21-000424, TP
Report of December 6, 2021 Page 5 of 6
D_UW Medicine TUP II_v3
of this permit, as defined in a Hold Harmless agreement signed by the applicant and the
City (Exhibit 4), is related to granting the ability to conduct tenant improvements prior to
land use permitting to allow for concurrent construction and review of the permanent
laboratory use. Hours of operation for the use itself will be evaluated in the next phase of
land use entitlements.
✓
4. The temporary use will not cause nuisance factors such as noise, light, or glare which
adversely impact surrounding uses
Staff Comment: The construction related to the temporary use will be contained to the
interior of the building (Exhibit 2, 5, 6). Any external improvements to the site that may
be proposed based on the foreseen contingencies will be evaluated in the next phase of
land use entitlements.
✓
5. If applicable, the applicant has obtained the required right-of-way use permit
Staff Comment: N/A
G.DECISION:
The UW Medicine Testing Lab UW Tier 2 Temporary Use Permit File No. LUA21-000424, TP, as depicted in Exhibit
2, is approved and is subject to the following conditions:
1.The applicant shall submit a complete application for the additional land use entitlements no later than
January 14, 2022. Application materials must submitted to the Current Planning Project Manager for
prescreening review. If a complete application for the land use entitlements has not been received by
this date, this Temporary Use Permit shall become void unless otherwise approved by the Department of
Community & Economic Development Administrator.
2.The applicant shall install the public information signage for the next phase of land use entitlements no
later than December 17, 2021. An Affidavit of Installation of Public Information Sign shall be submitted
to the Current Planning Project Manager for review and approval after the sign has been installed. If the
complete Affidavit of Installation of Public Information Sign has not been received by this date, this
Temporary Use Permit shall become void unless otherwise approved by the Department of Community
& Economic Development Administrator.
3.If the applicant finds that a contingent variable becomes necessary, an extension request must be
submitted in writing to the Current Planning Project Manager no later than March 1, 2021 for review and
approval by the Department of Community & Economic Development Administrator. If the applicant’s
request may affect or be affected by any critical areas on site, proper reports and documents as
prepared by licensed professionals shall be supplied with the extension request.
DATE OF DECISION ON LAND USE ACTION:
SIGNATURE:
Vanessa Dolbee Planning Director Date
DocuSign Envelope ID: E74ED070-622E-42C1-8BA9-FE8BBBC20A40
12/6/2021 | 5:21 PM PST
City of Renton Department of Community & Economic Development
UW Medicine Testing Lab TUP II
Administrative Report & Decision
LUA21-000424, TP
Report of December 6, 2021 Page 6 of 6
D_UW Medicine TUP II_v3
TRANSMITTED on December 6, 2021 to the Owner/Applicant/Contact:
Owner: Applicant/Contact:
B.H. 1601 Lind Avenue, LLC
PO Box 49993, Los Angeles, CA, 90049
Ben Newton, University of Washington,
Campus Box 352210, Seattle, WA, 98195
TRANSMITTED on December 6, 2021 to the Parties of Record:
Naomi Gross, Chernoff Thompson Architects
Naomi.g@tca.bc.ca
Alicia Reszka, Chernoff Thompson Architects
Alicia.r@cta.bc.ca
TRANSMITTED on December 6, 2021 to the following:
Chip Vincent, CED Administrator
Brianne Bannwarth, Development Engineering Manager
Amanda Askren, Property Services
Matt Herrera, Current Planning Manager
Anjela Barton, Fire Marshal
K.LAND USE ACTION APPEALS, REQUEST FOR RECONSIDERATION, & EXPIRATION:
The administrative land use decision will become final if the decision is not appealed within 14 days of the
decision date.
APPEAL: This administrative land use decision will become final if not appealed in writing to the Hearing
Examiner on or before 5:00 PM on December 20, 2022. An appeal of the decision must be filed within the 14-
day appeal period (RCW 43.21.C.075(3); WAC 197-11-680). Due to the ongoing state of emergency enacted by
Governor’s Proclamation 20-05, the City Clerk’s Office is working remotely. For that reason, appeals must be
submitted electronically to the City Clerk at cityclerk@rentonwa.gov or delivered to City Hall 1st floor Lobby Hub
only on Tuesdays and/or Wednesdays. The appeal fee, normally due at the time an appeal is submitted, will be
collected at a future date if your appeal is submitted electronically. Appeals to the Hearing Examiner are
governed by RMC 4-8-110 and additional information regarding the appeal process may be obtained from the
City Clerk’s Office, cityclerk@rentonwa.gov.
RECONSIDERATION: Within 14 days of the decision date, any party may request that the decision be reopened
by the approval body. The approval body may modify his decision if material evidence not readily discoverable
prior to the original decision is found or if he finds there was misrepresentation of fact. After review of the
reconsideration request, if the approval body finds sufficient evidence to amend the original decision, there will
be no further extension of the appeal period. Any person wishing to take further action must file a formal appeal
within the 14-day appeal time frame.
EXTENSIONS: Extension requests do not require additional fees and shall be requested in writing 30 days prior
to permit expiration to the Department of Community & Economic Development Administrator.
THE APPEARANCE OF FAIRNESS DOCTRINE: provides that no ex parte (private one-on-one) communications
may occur concerning the land use decision. The Doctrine applies not only to the initial decision, but to Appeals
to the Hearing Examiner as well. All communications after the decision/approval date must be made in writing
through the Hearing Examiner. All communications are public record and this permits all interested parties to
know the contents of the communication and would allow them to openly rebut the evidence in writing. Any
violation of this doctrine could result in the invalidation of the appeal by the Court.
DocuSign Envelope ID: E74ED070-622E-42C1-8BA9-FE8BBBC20A40
CITY OF RENTON
DEPARTMENT OF COMMUNITY AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT & DECISION
EXHIBITS
Project Name:
UW Medicine Testing Lab TUP II
Land Use File Number:
LUA21-000424, TP
Date of Report
December 6, 2021
Staff Contact
Brittany Gillia
Assistant Planner
Project Contact/Applicant
Ben Newton
University of Washington
Campus Box 352210, Seattle,
WA, 98195
Project Location
1601 Lind Ave SW
The following exhibits are included with the Administrative report:
Exhibit 1: Administrative Decision
Exhibit 2: Site Plan and Floor Plans
Exhibit 3: Abatement Agreement
Exhibit 4: Hold Harmless Agreement
Exhibit 5: Construction Mitigation Description
Exhibit 6: Project Narrative
Exhibit 7: Correspondence with Applicant on Site Plan Comment
DocuSign Envelope ID: E74ED070-622E-42C1-8BA9-FE8BBBC20A40