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HomeMy WebLinkAboutRS_Traffic_Impact_Memo_220412_v1 3131 Elliott Avenue, Suite 400, Seattle, WA 98121 o: 206.286.1640 www.kpg.com Memorandum To: City of Renton From: John Davies KPG Psomas Date: 4/1/2022 Re: Interim Maintenance Facility – Transportation Impact Scoping Analysis Project No: 20094 King County is proposing a change of use to the building (Farwest Steel) located at 201 SW 34th Street in the City of Renton. The County is proposing to use the facility as an interim vehicle maintenance and parts storage facility. The following sections provide a brief description of the proposed project, an estimate of the project’s vehicular trip generation and a discussion of the probable impacts and applicable City requirements. Project Description The site is located along SW 34th Street, between Lind Avenue SW and E Valley Road. The site also connects to Lind Avenue SW from the southwest corner of the parcel. The proposed project will reuse the existing 96,938 square foot (sf) steel warehouse/fabrication plant, 2,160 sf locker/break building and 2,096 sf office buildings to provide a temporary vehicle maintenance and parts storage facility for the King County Solid Waste Division (KCSWD). Two additional portable modular buildings totaling 1,440 sf will be brought onto the site for additional office space. As proposed, approximately one-half of the building’s interior will be devoted to vehicle circulation to allow vehicles to maneuver into and out of the maintenance bays and to provide access to vehicle stores. As designed, trucks movements will primarily enter and exit using the SW 34th Street driveway. Trucks will be able to turn around within the warehouse to exit the building on the northeast corner. A second entrance will be used on the south side of the building. A loading dock is located on the east side of the building. Other vehicles may use either the SW 34th Street driveway or use the access road to access directly to Lind Avenue SW. The County will retain existing parking areas and will meet required parking requirements as per Renton Municipal Code (RMC) 4-4-080. A site plan is attached to this memorandum. 2 of 4 Project Trip Generation Farwest Steel operated the building until approximately March 2021, when King County took over as the leaseholder. The Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) Trip Generation (11th Edition) and data from King County Solid Waste were used to estimate the expected trip generation for each land use for the facility. Prior Use The trips generation for the previous use (Farwest Steel) was based on ITE Trip Generation estimates for Warehousing (150) and Office (712) land uses. Table 1 summarizes the AM and PM peak hours for adjacent street traffic and the daily trip generation rates based on the square footage. Table 1. Trip Generation Summary for Previous Land Use Land Use Square Footage AM Peak Hour PM Peak Hour Daily Warehouse (150) 96,938 16 17 191 Office/Break (712) 4,256 7 9 61 Total 101,194 23 26 252 ITE Trip Generation 11th Edition, Land Uses 150 and 712. Proposed Use The County is proposing two primary uses of the site: warehouse/storage and maintenance facility. According to the site plan, approximately two-thirds of the main building square footage would be for the warehouse storage function and one-third of the main building square footage would be devoted to vehicle maintenance. The office/break area will continue to be used in that function. King County provided information regarding the number of expected employees working for each function. Warehouse Facility Based on information obtained by the County, there will be a weekday average of 6 employees per day split between a day shift and a swing shift. The facility will operate Monday-Friday from 6:00 AM to 9:00 PM and on Saturdays and Sundays between 6:00 AM to 4:30 PM. There are 4-8 deliveries anticipated per day. Maintenance Facility Approximately 4-5 vehicles are expected to arrive for scheduled maintenance each day. Additionally, there may be unscheduled KCSWD vehicles requiring on-site services. These include bays for mechanics, tire and lube and a welding all located in the southern portion of the building. The hours of operation will be 6:30 AM to 11:00 PM with 2 shifts. A total of 28 employees will work during on weekdays split between two shifts. Fourteen (14) employees will workday shift from 6:00 AM to 2:30 PM and thirteen (13) employees the swing shift 2:30 PM to 11:00 PM. One maintenance scheduler will also work during the daytime hours. 3 of 4 Proposed Use A combination square footage and employee data were used to estimate the trip generation for the proposed Interim Maintenance Facility. The highest employee shift was used to estimate the trip generation. Office uses were based on building gross square footage. Table 2. Trip Generation Summary for the Proposed Use Land Use Units AM Peak Hour PM Peak Hour Daily Warehouse (150) 3 employees 6 2 43 Existing Office/Break (712) 4,256 gsf 7 9 61 Vehicle Maintenance (942) 14 employees 11 15 15 New Office (712) 1,440 gsf 2 3 21 Total 26 29 201 ITE Trip Generation 11th Edition. Estimate of Net New Trips Table 3 summarizes the AM peak hour, PM peak hour and daily trips anticipated to the site. The proposed project will generate 3 new trips during both the AM and PM peak hours and 51 fewer daily trips than the previous land use (Farwest Steel). Table 3. Net New Trips Land Use AM Peak Hour PM Peak Hour Daily Existing Use 23 26 252 Proposed Use 26 29 201 Net New Trips +3 +3 -51 Renton Requirement There are three sections of the Renton Municipal Code (RMC) that apply to the transportation analysis of the project: RMC 4-9-070 Environmental Review Procedures, Part G. Categorical Exemptions: Part 1c. Local Modifications. The project will add 1,400 gross square feet of office space, less than the 4,000 gsf of office, commercial, or service building threshold and therefore, it is considered categorically exempt under SEPA and does not trigger the need for a TIA. RMC 4-6-070 Transportation Concurrency Requirements: Part C. Applicability and Exemptions. The project is not subject to transportation concurrency requirements due to the project’s categorical exemption. 4 of 4 RMC 4-1-190 Impact Fees, Part G. Collection of Impact Fees. The project is subject to Transportation Impact Fees based upon the City’s current Impact Fee Rate Table. Conclusions This analysis documents the proposed change of use and function for the KCSWD interim maintenance facility. Activities of the proposed project will occur within the existing building footprint and a new 1,440 square foot temporary office space building. The analysis finds that the project is not anticipated to generate significant traffic impacts to area roadways and intersections. The ITE Trip Generation analysis indicates that there will be 51 fewer daily trips and small increases of 3 net new AM peak hour and 3 net new PM peak hour trips with the proposed project. Based on the review of the RMC requirements, the proposed project is categorically exempt from SEPA review. Therefore, the project does not require a TIA and it is not subject to transportation concurrency requirements. The project is expected to be required to pay City Transportation Impact Fees. No other mitigation is required.