Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutAttachment-C-Staff Report-Supplemental-Land Use ElementPage 1 of 6 CITY OF RENTON Community and Economic Development Department 2024 Comprehensive Plan Update: Supplemental Staff Report for Land Use Element Staff: Angie Mathias, Long Range Planning Manager Date: July 2, 2024 Applicant or Requestor: Staff GENERAL DESCRIPTION The city is in the process of updating its Comprehensive Plan, which is a long-term plan that establishes goals and policies for growth and development in Renton. The Plan guides decision making on a variety of important topics – including housing and land use, parks, economic development, and transportation. In order to keep Renton a great place to live, work, and visit, the Comprehensive Plan will include policy direction to: • Plan for and accommodate housing for residents and households with all income levels • Encourage a variety of housing options, such as ADUs and middle housing to increase housing availability and affordability. • Identify strategies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and increase resiliency to impacts related to climate change. • Meet Renton’s equity objectives and ensure that all residents have equitable access to opportunity. City staff presented a briefing on the Land Use element, this supplemental staff report addresses a proposed Comprehensive Plan Land Use Designation amendment and rezone of a small area along Benson Rd. S. and the creation of a new Residential Multi-Family zone that allows 40 dwelling units per acre. It also addresses the city’s desire to establish two Countywide Centers. COMPREHENSIVE PLAN LAND USE DESIGNATION AMENDMENT AND REZONE There is an apartment complex located on Benson Road South built in 2014 that developed three of the ground floor units as live work space in order to satisfy the mixed use requirement of the Commercial Arterial (CA) zone. The property owner has only been able to secure one tenant over the last ten years and that single tenant, a barber shop, was not able to remain viable and has closed. The topography of the area rises sharply making visibility difficult. The property owner would like to bring the site into full conformance with Code and the most reasonable way to do this is to rezone the property to a zone that does not require a commercial component to be able to allow residential. #D-210 Page 2 of 6 May 18, 2022 The parcel on which this apartment complex is located is east of Benson Rd. S. It is 2.8 acres in size and there are 119 apartments units in two buildings. A second parcel abutting to the west that is .87 acres in size is where the approximately 7,000 square foot rental office for the apartments is located. A third parcel abuts the apartments to the east. It is a retirement facility that lies on 4.53 acres and has many buildings. There are multiple buildings that serve as nursing home structures for approximately 120 units. There is a 63 unit assisted living facility, a duplex, and a sixplex that also provide housing for seniors. This parcel does not have any commercial uses. Both of the residentially used parcels are built out at approximately 40 dwelling units per acre. All three of these parcels are currently designated as Commercial Mixed Use (CMU) on the Comprehensive Land Use Map and zoned CA which is intended to function with commercial uses. Staff recommends amending the Land Use Designation of these three parcels from Commercial Mixed Use with Commercial Arterial zoning to Residential High Density (RHD) and rezoned to a new zone called Residential Multi Family 2 (RMF-2) that is recommended to allow 40 dwelling units per acre. Across Benson Road South, to the west of the apartments, there is a single parcel with the Land Use Designation of CMU and zoned CA. The current use of the site is an approximately 35,000 square foot office building on a 1.3 acre parcel. The area used for parking for the office building currently is on three parcels all designated Residential High Density (RMD) and zoned R-14, allowing 14 dwelling units per acre. The parcels in total are approximately 3.5 acres in size. While the parking is considered an accessory use to the office building and does not necessarily need to be identified in the use table as a permitted use, it would be more consistent to have the parcels associated with parking for the office and the office itself designated with the same zoning. There is a single parcel to the north of these parcels that is also designated as RMD and zoned as R-14. The current use is predominately to serve as an onramp to I-405 from Benson Drive South (SR 515). #D-210 Page 3 of 6 May 18, 2022 Staff recommends amending these parcels from Residential High Density to Commercial mixed use and from R-14 zoning to Commercial Arterial zoning. Almost all of these parcels are constrained by steep slopes. In the map shown the yellow areas have 15-25% slopes, orange areas have 25-40% slopes, red areas have 40-90% slopes, and purple areas have greater than 90% slopes. Slopes greater than 40% are identified as protected slopes and development is prohibited on these areas with limited exceptions such as reasonable use provisions. Sensitive slopes are those greater than 25%, but less than 40%. The allowed development on these areas depends on landslide hazard which depends on soil type and other factors, but may only allow limited development. Construction costs also inhibit the redevelopment likelihood of areas with these types of slopes. All Comprehensive Plan amendments shall be evaluated on their merits based upon the following (with staff assessment following in italics): 1. The effect upon the rate of growth, development, and conversion of land as envisioned in the Comprehensive Plan; These areas are built out with little capacity to accommodate additional growth over the next 20 years. However, the Land Capacity Analysis done as part of the Comprehensive Plan update process has identified adequate capacity in other areas of the city. Therefore, an amended designation and rezone of these parcels does not have an effect of the rate of growth development, or conversion of land. 2. The effect upon the City’s capacity to provide adequate public facilities; These two areas are built out with existing uses that are not anticipated to change over the next 20 years. Therefore, there will not be need for the city to provide additional adequate facilities to these parcels. 3. The effect upon the rate of population and employment growth; #D-210 Page 4 of 6 May 18, 2022 It is not anticipated that these Land Use Designation amendments and rezones will have an effect on the rate of population and/or employment growth. 4. Whether Comprehensive Plan objectives are being met as specified or remain valid and desirable; Comprehensive Plan objectives are being met. Although the area is built out, the existing uses accommodate growth inside the Urban Growth Area. 5. The effect upon general land values and housing costs; It is not anticipated that these Land Use Designation amendments and rezones will have an effect on the general land values and/or housing costs. 6. Whether capital improvements or expenditures, including transportation, are being made or completed as expected; Metro Rapid Ride I line is anticipated as a transportation improvement that will run along Benson Drive South (SR 515) has been delayed, it is expected to open in 2026. There are not other identified capital improvements or expenditures that are not being made or completed as expected in this vicinity. 7. Whether the initiated amendment conforms to the requirements of the GMA, is internally consistent with the Comprehensive Plan, and is consistent with the County-wide Planning Policies for King County; The proposed rezones are in conformance with GMA and is consistent with both the Renton Comprehensive Plan and the Countywide Planning Policies. 8. The effect upon critical areas and natural resource lands; It is expected that the existing critical areas regulations adequately protect identified areas with steep slopes. 9. Consistency with locational criteria in the Comprehensive Plan and application requirements established in this section; The Comprehensive Plan calls for the RMF zone to be applied to areas greater than one acre in size where there is existing or vested multifamily housing. Also, when access is from a Principal, Minor, or Collector arterial road. The proposed rezone to RMF meets these criteria. The CA zone calls for areas with large surface parking lots and that provide employment opportunities. The parcels proposed to be rezoned to CA meet this criteria. 10. Consistency with the policies set forth in the Comprehensive Plan; The proposed rezones are consistent with the policies set forth in the Comprehensive Plan. 11. The effect upon other considerations as deemed necessary by the Department. n/a #D-210 Page 5 of 6 May 18, 2022 COUNTYWIDE CENTERS DESIGNATION In the County’s adoption of the Countywide Planning Policies they established for the first time a Countywide Center designation for urban areas that accommodate concentrations of housing and employment. They are similar to a Regional Growth Center designation from Puget Sound Regional, except at a countywide level rather than a four county region. These centers areas within cities that are expected to accommodate a substantial amount of growth, both housing and employment. Also, by focusing growth into centers helps achieve goals of a sustainable and equitable community. Renton submitted two areas for candidates as Countywide Centers, Sunset and the Rainier Grady Junction TOD area. The County reviewed the areas and recommended some amendments to them. First, the Sunset area did not have enough Activity Units (# of housing units + #of jobs per acre) in both existing and planned with only 16 existing and 25 planned. The TOD area also did not have enough existing or planned Activity Units per acre with 20 existing and 26 planned. Staff recommends amending the boundaries as shown by the redline on the maps above. The Sunset area has experienced such significant change in the three years since the Countywide Centers nominations were made that it currently has 29 activity units per acre. Staff believe that omitting the park located in the area, which contains no housing units and no jobs the existing and planned activity units will achieve the minimum 30 activity units. In the TOD area, proposed amendment to the boundary will shift it to 28 Activity Units per acre existing and 38 planned. Additionally, the County indicated in their response to the city’s nomination that the presence of the interstate as an intervening aspect of the center did not work #D-210 Page 6 of 6 May 18, 2022 to create a “compact, walkable, and transit oriented place”. The proposed amendment to the map would resolve this concern.