HomeMy WebLinkAbout12-043 (Ceder River Station, CA, Seismic)DEPARTMENT OF COMMUNITY
AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
M E M O R A N D U M
DATE:
June 21, 2012
TO:
Pre-application File No. 12-043
FROM:
Vanessa Dolbee, Senior Planner
SUBJECT:
Cedar River Station – 13043 Renton Ave. S.
General: We have completed a preliminary review of the pre-application for the above-referenced development proposal. The following comments on development and permitting issues are
based on the pre-application submittals made to the City of Renton by the applicant and the codes in effect on the date of review. The applicant is cautioned that information contained
in this summary may be subject to modification and/or concurrence by official decision-makers (e.g., Hearing Examiner, Community & Economic Development Administrator, Public Works Administrator,
Planning Director, Development Services Director, and City Council). Review comments may also need to be revised based on site planning and other design changes required by City staff
or made by the applicant. The applicant is encouraged to review all applicable sections of the Renton Municipal Code. The Development Regulations are available for purchase for $50.00
plus tax, from the Finance Division on the first floor of City Hall or online at www.rentonwa.gov
Project Proposal
The subject property is located on the south side of Maple Valley Highway (SR 169) and east of 152nd Avenue SE. The project is comprised of two parcels totaling 3.2 acres in area and
is zoned Commercial Arterial (CA). The site is vacant and the applicant is proposing to develop a commercial complex that would include two commercial buildings, Building A and Building
B. Building A would be 7,438 square feet with a drive thru and Building B would be 13,513 square feet of general retail uses. Both retail buildings would be located on Lot A. Lot
B would contain a future fuel station, not proposed to be developed at this time. Access to the site is proposed in two locations, one access would be off of Maple Valley Highway and
the second would be from 152nd Avenue SE.
Current Use: The property is currently vacant.
Zoning: The project site is zoned Commercial Arterial (CA) and located in the Commercial Corridor Land Use designation. The purpose of the Commercial Arterial Zone (CA) is to evolve
from “strip commercial” linear business districts to business areas characterized by enhanced site planning, incorporating efficient parking lot design, coordinated access, amenities
and boulevard treatment.
It should be noted that there is an existing development agreement for the subject property, this development agreement restricts some uses that are permitted within the CA zone and
has prescriptive design regulations that the development shall comply with, in addition to vesting the subject site to CA development standards from January of 2007. A copy of this
agreement is attached.
The proposed retail with a drive thru, vehicle fueling station, and general retail uses are permitted within the CA zone. Although the development agreement further restricts uses on
the subject site. In general, the development agreement does not permit more than four “drive-in/drive-through, retail” uses and no more than two free-standing drive-in/drive-through
fast-food restaurant buildings, all fast-food shall have customer seating. Car washes are further restricted by the development agreement to operation hours between 7:00 a.m. and 9:00
p.m., and self-service car washes are not permitted.
Development Standards: The project would be subject to RMC 4-2-120A, “Development Standards for Commercial Zoning Designations” effective at the time of complete application (noted as
“CA standards” herein). The following standards are based on the City’s 2004 development regulations, as this is the most applicable full set of standards available for staff’s review.
Minimum Lot Size, Width and Depth – There are no minimum requirements for lot size, width or depth within the CA zone.
Lot Coverage – The CA zone allows a maximum building coverage of 65 percent, or 75 percent if parking is provided within a building or within an on-site parking garage. Surface parking
is provided therefore the maximum building coverage for this project would be 65 percent. The provided materials indicated that building coverage for Lot A would be approximately 24
percent, which is significantly less the maximum permitted within the CA zone. The applicant will be required at the time of formal land use application to provide a lot coverage analysis
and calculations for the subject site.
Setbacks – Setbacks are the distance between the building and the property line or any private access easement. Setback requirements in the CA zone are as follows: 10 feet minimum for
the front yard but may be reduced to zero feet through the site plan review process provided blank walls are not located within the reduced setback. The side yard along a street setback
is required to be a minimum of 10 feet. This setback may be reduced to zero through the Site Plan Review process. There is no minimum rear or side yard setbacks unless the project
site is adjacent to residential zoned property. The project site abuts a Residential 14 (R-14) zoned property to the south of both Lot A and B and Residential Manufacture Home (RMH)
property to the east of Lot B. Therefore, the buildings/structures on this site are subject to an increased setback of
15 feet along the south and east property line, but not between the two commercial lots. The proposed side and rear setbacks comply with the CA zone standards.
Gross Floor Area – There is no minimum requirements for gross floor area within the CA zone at this location.
Building Height – The maximum building height allowed in the CA zone is 50 feet. The applicant provided elevation drawings of the two commercial retail buildings, which would be compliant
with CA height requirements. Although, the applicant did not provide height information for the fueling station, and therefore staff could not determine compliance with the CA height
requirements for these structures. Heights may exceed the maximum height with a Conditional Use Permit. Building elevations and detailed descriptions of elements and building materials
are required with a formal land use submittal and/or building permit application.
Screening – Screening must be provided for all surface-mounted and roof top utility and mechanical equipment. The application will need to include elevations and details for the proposed
methods of screening.
Refuse and Recycling Areas – Refuse and recycling areas need to meet the requirements of RMC 4-4-090, “Refuse and Recyclables Standards” (enclosed).
In retail developments, a minimum of five square feet per every 1,000 square feet of building gross floor area shall be provided for recyclables deposit areas and a minimum of ten square
feet per 1,000 square feet of building gross floor area shall be provided for refuse deposit areas. A total minimum area of 100 square feet shall be provided for recycling and refuse
deposit areas.
Furthermore, outdoor refuse and recyclables deposit areas and collection points shall not be located within fifty feet of any residential zone property. The applicant has indicated
that a modification from this standard would be requested at the time of land use application.
If the above requirements cannot be met by the development, the applicant shall submit, with official application, a request for a refuse and recycling modification. This modification
request shall include justification as to why the dimensional requirements stipulated above cannot be met.
Landscaping – Except for critical areas, all portions of the development area not covered by structures, required parking, access, circulation or service areas, must be landscaped.
The development standards require that all pervious areas within the property boundaries be landscaped. The minimum on-site landscape width required along street frontages is 10 feet,
except where reduced through the site plan development review process.
Pursuant to the development agreement, a 15-foot wide landscape strip shall be required along all street frontages. Unimproved portions of abutting street right-of-way can be used in
combination with abutting private property to meet the required 15-foot
landscape strip width. The development agreement also stipulates that if the existing trees along the street frontage are not retained, then the 15-foot wide landscape strip shall include
at a minimum, a 30-inch high berm and 2½-inch caliper Red Maples planted 25 feet on center.
A 15-foot wide landscaped visual barrier is required if the abutting and adjacent properties are zoned residential. A 10-foot sight-obscuring landscape strip may be allowed through
the site plan development review process in addition to other landscape strip modifications as approved by the Administrator. The applicant would be required to provide a 15-foot wide
landscape visual barrier along all four sides of the combined commercial site. As proposed the site plan complies with the minimum landscape width requirements.
Please refer to landscape regulations (RMC 4-4-070) for further general and specific landscape requirements (enclosed). A conceptual landscape plan and landscape analysis meeting the
requirements in RMC 4-8-120D.12, shall be submitted at the time of formal land use application and/or building permit.
Fences – Per the development agreement, a double-faced and stained 5-foot high wood fence shall be installed along any unfenced boundaries of the site that abut residential-zoned property.
This fence shall provide openings for pedestrian access from the abutting residential properties. The number of openings to the south shall be limited to one for each parcel of commercial
development. The location of the fence must be designated on the landscape plans. A fence detail should also be included on the plans as well.
Parking –The parking ratios required of the project depends on the specific uses proposed. Parking calculations for commercial uses must be based on the net area of the building. The
subject proposal would meet the City’s definition of Shopping Center, which results in a minimum parking standard of 0.4 spaces per 100 square feet of net floor area and a maximum of
0.5 per 100 square feet of net floor area. Parking, Loading and Driveway Regulations can be found in RMC 4-4-080. Based on the gross floor area a maximum 105 parking spaces and a
minimum of 84 parking spaces would be required for the development proposed on Lot A. The applicant has proposed to provide 108 parking stalls which exceeds the maximum number of parking
stalls required for the subject development.
Drive-thru facilities shall be so located that sufficient on-site vehicle stacking spaces is provided for the handling of motor vehicles using such facility during peak business hours.
Typically, 5 stacking spaces per window are required unless otherwise determined by the Planning Director. Stacking spaces cannot obstruct required parking spaces or ingress/egress
within the site or extend into the public right-of-way. Based on the provided site plan, it appears the drive-thru would meet the minimum stacking requirements.
The applicant should be aware that the parking ratio is based on net square footage; the total of all floor area of a building, excluding stairwells, elevator shafts, mechanical equipment
rooms, interior vehicular parking or loading, and all floors below the ground floor, except when used for human habitation or service to the public.
If the proposal provides more or less parking than required by code, a request for a parking modification would need to be applied for and granted. This detailed written request can
be submitted before or concurrently with a site plan application.
It should be noted that the parking regulations specify standard stall dimensions of 9 feet x 20 feet, compact dimensions of 8½ feet x 16 feet, and parallel stall dimensions of 9 feet
x 23 feet. No more than 30 percent of the parking stalls are permitted to be compact. ADA accessible stalls must be a minimum of 8 feet in width by 20 feet in length, with an adjacent
access aisle of 8 feet in width for van accessible spaces. The appropriate amount of ADA accessible stalls based on the total number of spaces must be provided. For one row and two
rows of 90-degree head-in parking using the same aisle in a one way or two way circulation pattern, the minimum width of the aisle shall be 24 feet. Based on the provided site plan
it appears the project would comply with minimum dimensional standards for parking stalls and drive aisles.
In the requirements for Loading Space Standards, RMC 4-4-080J (enclosed), all buildings shall provide off-street loading space if the activity carried in the building requires deliveries
to it of people or merchandise. Loading space is in addition to required off-street parking. Loading docks are not permitted on the site of the lot adjacent to or abutting a residential
zone. As proposed the loading dock would be approxamily 20 feet from the R-14 zoned property to the south, which is not compliant with this standard. If the proposal is not able to
meet loading space standards a separate request for a modification would need to be applied for and granted.
Access – The maximum parking lot and driveway slopes shall not exceed eight percent; the Community & Economic Administrator may approve a parking lot slope greater then eight percent
but no more then 15 percent.
Driveway widths are limited by the driveway standards, in RMC 4-4-080I.
Pedestrian Access – A pedestrian connection shall be provided from a public entrance to the street and internally from buildings to abutting retail properties.
Signage – Only one freestanding business sign (monument/ground, projecting or roof) is permitted per street frontage. Each sign shall not exceed an area greater than one and one-half
square feet for each lineal foot of property frontage that is occupied by the business. In no case shall the sign exceed a total of 300 square feet (150 square feet per face). In addition
to the permitted freestanding sign, wall signs with a copy area not exceeding 20% of the façade to which it is applied are also permitted.
Per the development agreement, any allowed freestanding signs shall be ground-oriented monument type signs. Pole and rooftop-mounted signs shall be prohibited.
Building Design Standards –The development agreement for the subject site has additional specific design regulations. Per the development agreement when the design regulations conflict
with sections within Renton Municipal Code, the specifications within this agreement shall prevail.
Critical Areas
The City of Renton’s Critical Areas maps indicate the presence of seismic hazards on the subject site. The seismic hazard is related to potential liquefaction of soils during an earthquake
event. A geotechnical analysis for the site is required. The analysis needs to assess soil conditions and detail construction measures to assure building stability.
Permit Requirements
The proposal would require Hearing Examiner Master Site Plan (Master Site Plan is required per the development agreement), Site Plan approval, Environmental (SEPA) Review, and a Lot
Line Adjustment. All permits would be reviewed in an estimated timeframe of 12 weeks. The application fee is $2,000 for Master Site Plan, $1,000 for Site Plan, and $1,000 for Environmental
Review and $450 for the Lot Line Adjustment. Please note that all land use permits have an additional 3 percent Technology Surcharge Fee.
In addition to the required land use permits, separate construction, building and sign permits would be required. The review of these permits may occur concurrently with the review
of the land use permits, but cannot be issued prior to the completion of any appeal periods.
Impact Mitigation Fees: In addition to the applicable building and construction fees, mitigation fees would be applicable to the site. Impact fees, which would replace mitigation fees,
may be adopted prior to building permit approval for which an applicant may vest to impact/mitigation fees. Those fees have yet to be determined. Currently fees are the following:
A Transportation Mitigation Fee based on $75.00 per new daily trip attributed to the development; and
A Fire Mitigation Fee based on $0.52 per square foot of new non-residential area (excluding structured parking areas).
A handout listing all of the City’s Development related fees in attached for your review.
cc: Jennifer Henning