Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutBMC Renton Project; Land Use No. LUA17-000445, SA-A, ECF, MODFrom: Linda McCabe <linda@mccabeappraisal.com> Sent: Monday, November 27, 2017 8:16 AM To: Jill Ding Cc: andrewt.levesque@gmail.com; 'Linda McCabe' Subject: BMC Renton Project; Land Use No. LUA17-000445, SA-A, ECF, MOD Subject: Fwd: BMC Renton Project; Land Use No. LUA17-000445, SA-A, ECF, MOD Ms. Ding, Thank you for providing me with the requested materials concerning the City of Renton's proposed use of the Optional DNS process, limiting opportunity for comment on the environmental impacts of the subject proposal to this single comment period. The November 9, 2017 Notice of Application for this project states that a DNS is likely to be issued, followed by a 14-day appeal period. Please accept this communication as our formal notice of intent to file an appeal to the DNS within the time period indicated. While we have no objection to reasonable use or proposed improvement of the project site, our review of relevant project documents has disclosed substantive errors of fact on the part of the Applicant, and of both fact and administrative process on the part of the City of Renton. These errors, which will be set forth below, have the clear potential to severely impact the environment, including reasonable use of the adjoining Harper parcel abutting the subject proposal site to the south, and need to be fully corrected prior to any project approvals, including issuance of the proposed DNS. The November 1, 2017 Preliminary Technical Information Report for the BMC Renton project includes differing statements concerning existing runoff from the site. In Sect. 1.2: "Most of the site sheet flows to the existing drainage structures or directly to the existing wetland along the east side of the site.This existing wetland [elsewhere denoted "Wetland A"] overflows into a drainage ditch south of the site. This ditch conveys water west to the publicly owned and operated drainage system in the East Valley Road." This finding is apparently clarified in Sect. 3.4, Task 4.1.1: "Runoff generated on the existing site sheet flows to existing onsite catch basins before discharging east to the existing wetland east of the site." However these roughly compatible findings are contradicted in part in Sect. 2.1.1: "Stormwater runoff generated on the existing project site discharge both east to the existing wetland and west to a publicly owned and operated drainage system in East Valley Road. The existing wetland overflows into the existing drainage ditch South of the project site, which discharges to the drainage system in East Valley Road." Similarly these findings seem to be wholly contradicted by field inspection findings in Sect. 3.3.9: "The project site does not discharge to an offsite conveyance system or to adjacent private properties." The Applicant needs to clarify if no runoff leaves the site, if portions of the site presently drain directly from the site to West Valley Road, or if all existing runoff is directed first to the easterly wetland, thence through the privately owned drainage ditch on the Harper Property to the south, thence west to Renton's stormwater system. Similarly, Sect. 3.1 states: "There are no upstream tributary areas contributing to the onsite basin area." However, Sect. 5.1, Wetlands, states: "Hydrology for Wetland A is provided by a seasonally high groundwater table, direct precipitation, and stormwater runoff from adjacent high intensity land uses with excess impervious surfaces." Appendix F, Wetlands, to the SVC report discussed more fully below also notes in Sects.D2.1 and D.5.1 that the wetland unit receives stormwater discharge. Certainly stormwater entering a wetland mapped on a portion of the subject project site prior to discharge from that wetland to the Harper site is coming from "tributary areas contributing to the onsite basin area" of the BMC Renton site. If not, all runoff entering the wetland would presumably be coming from the BMC Renton site. Clearly this is not the case. Please note that no mapped demarcation of existing onsite or offsite drainage basin source areas or discharge locations is provided to properly identify where existing flows originate, where they enter the site, where they enter the wetland, or where they are presently conveyed offsite to help resolve these related questions. Sect. D.4.3 of the SVC Habitat Report directly states that no definition of the area tributary to the wetland has been mapped or measured. No finding regarding potential project impacts to the Harper site or on the adequacy of the proposed site measures to address such impacts can be made without this information regarding existing drainage conditions. We have similar questions regarding proposed onsite drainage improvement measures. Sect. 2.1.1 proposes: "...discharging all runoff generated onsite to the publicly owned drainage system in East Valley Road." Sect. 4.1.2 proposes that: "The project site will be split into two separate drainage basins. The north basin will...[be]...discharging into the municipal stormwater system...The south basin...runoff will then be conveyed to the City of Renton Stormwater system at a separate connection point from the northern basin." This is clearly a diversion of discharge from the described existing discharge location, first to the east, then south offsite. Sect. 7.2 of the accompanying SVC Habitat Report purports that "the project provides comprehensive stormwater treatment and flow control to minimize impacts on [wetland] hydrology." However four things are evident in comparing this proposed project discharge configuration with the already conflicting statements regarding existing drainage conditions at and adjacent to the site, as discussed above: (1) The proposed drainage system will involve a wholesale diversion of existing site runoff away from the existing Wetland A, where it is described as currently discharging. (2) The diversion of this stormwater from Wetland A would constitute a direct modification of and environmental impact to wetland hydrology, as "stormwater runoff from adjacent high intensity land uses with excess impervious surfaces" is noted as one existing source of this hydrology in Sect. 5.1. (3) The fact of this impact to Wetland A's hydrology is not described, nor is the likely nature or magnitude of the impact addressed. (4) Because this impact is not addressed, no impact avoidance, minimization, or mitigation measures are proposed that could justify issuance of the proposed DNS. We are also asking Renton to address several additional issues of concern relate to the findings of the October 2017 Wetland and Fish and Wildlife Habitat Assessment and Restoration Plan prepared by Soundview Consultants (SVC), which appears to have been prepared in "winter 2016." From the Executive Summary: "The site investigations identified one wetland (Wetland A) located on the eastern border of the subject property" [the BMC Renton site], which "was classified as a Category III wetland... requiring a standard 75- foot buffer..." SVC also "identified ...one non-regulated drainage ditch (Drainage Z) located on the southern property boundary." This privately owned drainage ditch is located wholly on the Harper property, as is the "offsite construction stormwater pond approximately 30 feet south of the subject [BMC Renton] property." Both these offsite features on the Harper site are shown on both the Existing Conditions and Proposed Project site maps in Appendix C of the SVC report with the specific note that they are NOT DELINEATED. Moreover SVC specifically documents that Drainage Z is an intentionally created feature and is not subject to regulation per Renton Municipal Code (RMC) 4-3-050.G.7.b. The Table 5 provided by SVC for Drainage Z determines that any potential wetland rating for Drainage Z is "N/A" (Not Applicable), that it is not regulated under RMC 3-3-050, that it is "not regulated" under RCW90.48, and that it is "not likely" to be regulated under the Clean Water Act. The DNR stream type, the Local (Renton) rating, the buffer width, and the Building Setback are all shown as "N/A", since it is an intentionally created feature. Figures 1 through 10 in Appendix D (Aerials) show an exhaustive sequence of site views plainly showing the intentional construction of Drainage Z in conjunction with early construction of Highway 167, along with roughly simultaneous fill placement on both the BMC and Harper sites. Sect. 5.2, Drainages notes: "...purposeful creation is documented through [this] historic aerial photograph research...", before concluding: "Therefore Drainage Z should be considered an intentionally created feature." Sect.6.1.2 also is clear: "Drainage Z is a linear drainage ditch intentionally created in an upland area." SVC then states at several locations in their Report: "However, after review, the City of Renton is classifying Drainage Z as the same regulated wetland as Wetland A." We have four concerns with this unsupported finding: First, no wetlands mapping, classification, rating, or categorization is provided as a basis for this determination. We are concerned that this constitutes a significant administrative and procedural error on Renton's part, which results in an adverse condemnation of property interests held by M's. Harper, since the feature in question is located wholly on her parcel. We do not believe that issuance of a DNS by Renton is appropriate under these circumstances, and intend to appeal if one is issued. Secondly, the administrative error on Renton's part is compounded by the factual error in issuing their unsupported finding. Not only does SVC continue to disagree with the "classification" of this privately owned, deliberately constructed ditch as "wetlands" by Renton, such a requirement is not only wholly unsupported by, but actually directly contradicted by their findings, all of which appear to be rigorously consistent and compliant with all relevant codes and regulations, and procedures, including Renton's own. We do not believe that issuance of a DNS by Renton is appropriate under these circumstances, and intend to appeal if one is issued. Thirdly, though we can hardly fault the BMC Renton consultants or project proponents for this state of affairs, absolutely no wetland mapping, boundary determination, or delineation of Drainage Z has been provided with the project proposal in support of this "classification" by Renton. In fact project documents note this feature is NOT DELINEATED. Moreover, since no wetland boundary determination or classification can apparently be derived from application of the existing, recognized, lawfully required and regulated methodologies and procedures applied to Drainage Z by SVC in their study, it would appear that no wetland delineation of this feature is even possible. We do not believe that issuance of a DNS by Renton is appropriate under these circumstances, and intend to appeal if one is issued. Fourthly, since no wetland boundary has been or apparently may be determined for this feature, it should be obvious that no buffer area of any dimension can be established with respect thereto. This point needs some added emphasis on our part, as SVC repeatedly notes: "The Applicant will accept the recommended buffer for...Drainage Z by the City of Renton to enable the project to move forward." This may be a trade-off suitable for the BMC Renton site proponents, as they are apparently in possession of sufficient acreage to still make use of their site even with such reductions in useable site development area, but such is not likely to be the case if Renton's entirely unsupported wetlands mapping of Ditch Z on the Harper site were to lead to similar use restrictions in the future. The Harper site is conspicuously smaller than adjacent sites sharing the same land use zoning designation, and will be unreasonably constrained as a consequence of this regulatory action by Renton. At the very least, impacts to the Harper site's use potential and economic valuation resulting from this mapping determination by Renton are clearly within the nexus of the proposed action and should be fully addressed by the project. We do not believe that issuance of a DNS by Renton is appropriate under these circumstances, and intend to appeal if one is issued. Thank you for the opportunity to submit these comments. We have also mailed a hard copy of these comments for your convenience. Regards, Andrew Levesque and Linda McCabe on behalf of Mae Harper 253-653-0300 Cell AndrewT.Levesque@gmail.com Sent from my iPad Begin forwarded message: From: Clark Close <CClose@Rentonwa.gov> Date: November 22, 2017 at 9:10:08 AM PST To: "'andrewt.levesque@gmail.com'" <andrewt.levesque@gmail.com> Subject: RE: BMC Renton Project; Land Use No. LUA17-000445, SA-A, ECF, MOD Andy, No problem. I've uploaded the items on OneDrive just in case: https://1drv.ms/f/s!AiqJKI_D_CSDgQd0sUOwb5LaP2Au Thanks, Clark H. Close Senior Planner City of Renton 425-430-7289 -----Original Message----- From: andrewt.levesque@gmail.com [mailto:andrewt.levesque@gmail.com] Sent: Wednesday, November 22, 2017 9:05 AM To: Jill Ding <JDing@Rentonwa.gov> Cc: Clark Close <CClose@Rentonwa.gov> Subject: Re: BMC Renton Project; Land Use No. LUA17-000445, SA-A, ECF, MOD Yes Jill, I should have included the following mailing address as well: Andrew T. Levesque 26526 201st Ct. SE Covington WA 98042 Thank you for your prompt response. Sent from my iPad On Nov 22, 2017, at 6:22 AM, Jill Ding <JDing@Rentonwa.gov> wrote: Andrew, I have received your email and will add you and am happy to add you and your wife as parties of record, please provide me with a mailing address. Attached are the reports you had requested, please note that the stormwater construction permit you have requested is a permit that the applicant will need to get before they start construction it is not a report that I have a copy of at this time. Unfortunately I am not able to extend the public comment period at this time. The status of the project is that it is currently "on hold" per some corrections that need to be made to bring the proposal in compliance with the City's design standards. I have also attached a copy of the hold letter as this correspondence was sent to parties of record. Some of these files may be too large and not fit in one email, if that is the case I will send separate emails. Thanks, Jill Ding Senior Planner City of Renton Community and Economic Development 6th floor 1055 S Grady Way Renton, WA 98057 425-430-6598 jding@rentonwa.gov -----Original Message----- From: andrewt.levesque@gmail.com [mailto:andrewt.levesque@gmail.com] Sent: Tuesday, November 21, 2017 2:22 PM To: Jill Ding <JDing@Rentonwa.gov> Cc: Linda McCabe <Linda@McCabeAppraisal.com> Subject: BMC Renton Project; Land Use No. LUA17-000445, SA- A, ECF, MOD Ms. Ding, This email is to respectfully request that my wife, Linda McCabe, and I be made parties of record regarding the subject land use permitting application. Linda has a Power of Attorney and is representing the interests of her Mother, Mae Harper, who has recently inherited title to the property immediately adjoining the BMC Renton project location, to the south. I called and left you a voice message this morning, but note your phone message states you are only in on Mondays and Thursdays. Since this coming Thursday is a holiday, I may not be able speak to you in time to properly request access to relevant project documentation over the phone. Therefore I am conveying this request via e-mail. Specifically, we would like to obtain and review copies of the following: *DOE Stormwater Construction Permit *Drainage Report *Geotechnical Report *Wetland Assessment Each of these project elements of the overall permitting process has adversely affected previous attempts to develop Ms. Harper's adjoining parcel in the recent past. We are interested in determining how studies for the BMC Renton project proposal may bear upon her future efforts to do so. With the Thanksgiving Holiday and weekend intervening before comments are due by 5:00 PM on Monday November 27, 2017, we are also therefore respectfully requesting an extension of the limited comment period for one additional week, in the event we find project elements of concern. Thank you for your consideration of this request. Regards, Andrew T. Levesque 253-653-0300 andrewt.levesque@gmail.com Sent from my iPad <36_Drainage_Report_v1.pdf> <32_RS_Geotechnical_Report_170124_v1.pdf> <C_hold ltr.pdf>