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HomeMy WebLinkAbout07-23-2024 - HEX Decision - Renton New Life Church - LUA-23-0003301 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 CONDITIONAL USE AND SITE PLAN- 1 CAO VARIANCE - 1 BEFORE THE HEARING EXAMINER FOR THE CITY OF RENTON RE: New Life Church Office Building Conditional Use and Site Plan PR24-000146 ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) FINDINGS OF FACT, CONCLUSIONS OF LAW AND FINAL DECISION Summary The Applicant requests approvals of hearing examiner site plan, conditional use permit and two street modifications to construct a new 6,400 square foot office building at 15711 152nd Ave SE. The applications are approved subject to conditions. Testimony A computer-generated transcript of the hearing has been prepared to provide an overview of the hearing testimony. The transcript is provided for informational purposes only as Appendix A. Exhibits Exhibits 1-26 as shown on the “Exhibits” list presented during the July 9, 2024 hearing were entered into the record during the h6earing. FINDINGS OF FACT Procedural: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 CONDITIONAL USE AND SITE PLAN- 2 CAO VARIANCE - 2 1. Applicant. New Life Church @ Renton, 15711 152nd Ave SE, Renton, WA 98058. 2. Hearing. A virtual hearing was held on the applications on July 9, 2024 at 1:00 pm, Zoom ID No. 946 7233 4580. 3. Project Description. The Applicant requests approvals of a hearing examiner site plan, conditional use permit and two street modifications to construct a new 6,400 square foot office building at 15711 152nd Ave SE. The subject site is approximately 55.1 acres (2,401,898 sf) in size and is located at 15711 152nd Ave SE (Parcel no. 2323059021). The project site is currently developed with a 54,320 square foot religious institution (New Life Church), a 36,000-square foot church auditorium, and a 38,680-square foot private school serving children from K-8th grade. The site is also developed with a surface parking lot with approximately 796 parking stalls, a private storm water system, an outdoor play area, and a multi-purpose playfield. The Applicant proposes to construct a new 6,400 square foot, two-story office building on the northern-most portion of the existing surface parking lot. According to the Applicant, construction of the building would eliminate approximately 40 surface parking stalls and require rerouting of some storm detention pipes. A secondary fire exit is proposed via an exterior stairway off of the south side of the building. Site access is proposed to remain via two (2) existing curb cuts off of 152nd Ave SE. For one of the two street modifications, the Applicant is requesting a modification from RMC 4-6-060, Street Standards, for the required street profile of Maple Valley Hwy (SR 169), a Principal Arterial. Specifically, the Applicant is requesting a modification to retain the existing abutting street section and relocate approximately 200 linear feet of sidewalk behind a new 6-foot (6’) wide planter strip near the intersection of Maple Valley Hwy and 152nd Ave NE (see Exhibit 4, Civil Plans). The existing street section in front of the site has a ROW width between 150 and 160 feet. The paved roadway is approximately 84 feet consisting of two (2) travel lanes in each direction, a center turn lane, an eastbound right turn lane, and a westbound bus stop lane. A five-foot (5’) sidewalk is located along the site frontage. A six-foot (6’) wide planter strip is located along the majority of the frontage. The second street modification request is for a modification from RMC 4-6-060, Street Standards, for a section of 152nd Ave SE, a dead-end street fronting the east side of the site (see Exhibit 4, Civil Plans). The road is classified as a Commercial-Mixed Use and Industrial Access Street. Specifically, the Applicant is requesting a modification to retain the existing street section, which has a pavement width of approximately 56 feet with two (2) travel lanes, a northbound left turn lane, and six-foot (6’) sidewalks on each side of the road. 4. Adequacy of Infrastructure/Public Services. The project will be served by adequate and appropriate infrastructure and public services. Infrastructure and public services are more directly addressed as follows: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 CONDITIONAL USE AND SITE PLAN- 3 CAO VARIANCE - 3 A. Water and Sewer Service. The project is located within the water and sewer service areas of the Cedar River Water and Sewer District. B. Fire and Police. The City of Renton will provide police service and the Renton Regional Fire Authority will provide fire service. Police and Fire Prevention staff indicated that sufficient resources exist to furnish services to the proposed development with the improvements and fire impact fees required of the project. C. Drainage. The proposal provides for adequate and appropriate drainage facilities since its proposed stormwater controls have been found by City staff to conform to the City’s stormwater regulations. The proposal is subject to the 2022 City of Renton Surface Water Design Manual. The Manual requires that the proposal not generate off-site flows that exceed pre-developed forested conditions of the project site. A Technical Information Report, Exhibit 10, has been prepared by the Applicant and found to conform to the Manual for this level of review. As detailed in the report, the site falls within two (2) drainage basins including the Lower Cedar River Drainage Basin and Madson Creek sub-basin. The proposed office building would interrupt existing drainage patterns in the parking lot. Therefore, the Applicant proposes new catch basins and a new twelve-inch (12”) storm drainage pipe to collect and convey stormwater around the building to the existing on-site storm drainage system. No new impervious surface is proposed as a result of the project. D. Parks/Open Space. The proposal provides for adequate parks and open space. No specific amount of open space is required of the proposal. Significant existing open space is located on the site including a large track field on the western half of the site and a playground area near the northwest corner of the existing auditorium building. The proposal is not found to create any demand for park space and no park impact fee is currently required by City ordinances for the proposal. E. Transportation and Circulation. The proposal is served by adequate and appropriate transportation facilities. Access is proposed via the two (2) existing driveway access points from 152nd Ave SE. The project fronts Maple Valley Hwy (SR 169) to the north and 152nd Ave SE to the east. Maple Valley Hwy is classified as a Principal Arterial and 152nd Ave SE is classified as a Commercial-Mixed Use, Industrial, & Neighborhood Collector Arterial. As identified in Finding of Fact No.3, the Applicant submitted two (2) street modifications requesting deviations from the required complete street standards for both 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 CONDITIONAL USE AND SITE PLAN- 4 CAO VARIANCE - 4 abutting Maple Valley Hwy and 152nd Ave SE. Minor frontage improvements along Maple Valley Hwy are proposed. A Traffic Impact Analysis (TIA) is required when a project proposal would result in the generation of 20 new a.m. or p.m. peak hour trips. A TIA prepared by Transpo Group and dated August 2023 (Exhibit 13) was submitted with the land use application. Due to the unique nature of the existing use, which has a larger number of trips during weekend or non-peak hours due to various events and church services, the TIA analyzed both typical weekday conditions and event conditions. According to the TIA, the proposed project is estimated to generate 70 new weekday daily trips, with 10 new trips occurring during the weekday AM peak hour (9 in, 1 out), and 9 new trips occurring during the weekday PM peak hour (2 in, 7 out). The calculation is based on the ITE Manual for Trip Generation, 11th Edition. The TIA discussed traffic impacts at a future year of 2024 and evaluates the Level of Service (LOS) at two (2) off-site intersections, 152nd Ave SE/SR 169 and 152nd Ave SE/SE 155th Pl. Currently, New Life Church hosts multiple annual events with higher attendance than usual, such as Easter and Christmas Eve. According to the TIA, the church collaborates with the City and community, communicates event details in advance, adds traffic control and U-turn enforcements, and provides off-site parking with shuttle services to minimize impacts and traffic disruptions to the surrounding neighborhood. The proposed project is not expected to increase event demands or change event conditions due to the office use-nature of the new building. Staff determined that at completion of the project, the development will have met City of Renton traffic concurrency requirements (Exhibit 16), which is based upon a test of the citywide Transportation Plan, consideration of growth levels included in the LOS-tested Transportation Plan, site specific improvements, and future payment of Transportation Impact Fees. The transportation impact fee that is current at the time of building permit issuance would be levied. The proportionate traffic impacts of the proposal on the City’s transportation network are mitigated by the imposition of traffic impact fees. Those fees are imposed by City ordinance and become due during building permit review. The proposal ensures safe movement for vehicles and pedestrians and shall mitigate potential effects on the surrounding area. The Applicant contends that layout of the existing church site allows for safe movement of both vehicles and pedestrians both on and off-site. According to the Applicant, off-duty police officers and church staff are 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 CONDITIONAL USE AND SITE PLAN- 5 CAO VARIANCE - 5 available to direct traffic during special events and ensure safe movement of vehicles and pedestrians entering and exiting the site. The proposed new building would eliminate one drive aisle but would not impact the broader circulation pattern or ingress/egress points due to the location of the building near the back of the parking lot. City staff have agreed that the proposed use would not adversely impact vehicle or pedestrian traffic and also with the findings of the Traffic and Parking Assessment. Given these factors and the fact that staff has found the proposal to conform to the City’s street standards and to meet traffic concurrency and the absence of any evidence to the contrary, it is determined that the proposal provides for safe movement of vehicles and pedestrians and adequately mitigates against impacts to the surrounding area. The proposal also provides for desirable transitions and linkages between uses, streets, walkways and adjacent properties. An existing north/south connection on the western half of the parking lot provides a mix of dedicated sidewalk and painted cross walks to provide safe access for pedestrians crossing the parking lot to access the main church building near the center of the site. Based on comparisons between recent aerial photography and the proposed site plan, the existing parking lot connection would not reach the proposed building, providing no obvious walking route between the proposed office building and the other buildings on the site. Therefore, a condition of approval requires the Applicant to submit a site-wide pedestrian circulation plan that specifically identifies a connection between the proposed building and the main campus building. F. Schools. The proposal is not found to create any demand upon public schools and hence no mitigation is required. G. Refuse and Recycling. The proposal complies with applicable refuse and recycling regulations and thus provides for adequate and appropriate facilities to address solid waste impacts. In office, educational and institutional developments, a minimum of two (2) square feet per every one thousand (1,000) square feet of building gross floor area shall be provided for recyclables deposit areas and a minimum of four (4) square feet per one thousand (1,000) square feet of building gross floor area shall be provided for refuse deposit areas. A total minimum area of one hundred (100) square feet shall be provided for recycling and refuse deposit areas The site is developed with a 54,320 square foot religious institution (New Life Church), a 36,000 square foot church auditorium, and a 38,680 square foot private school. The proposed new building would have a gross square footage of 6,400 square feet, resulting in total gross floor area of 135,400 square feet Therefore, a minimum of 271 square feet ((135,400 square feet / 1,000 square) x 2 = 270.8) is required for recyclables. A minimum of 542 square feet ((135,400 square feet / 1,000 square feet) x 4 = 541.6 square feet) is 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 CONDITIONAL USE AND SITE PLAN- 6 CAO VARIANCE - 6 required for refuse. The Applicant did not provide information regarding refuse and recycling on the site with the land use application. As such, a condition of approval requires that the Applicant demonstrate compliance with the refuse and recycling size, location, and screening requirements prior to issuance of a building permit. H. Parking. The proposal provides for adequate and appropriate parking because the proposed parking complies with the City’s parking standards. Parking regulations for three (3) separate uses located on the site were evaluated (religious institution, elementary and junior high schools, and office). For religious institutions, parking regulations require that a minimum and maximum of 1.0 for every 5 seats in the main auditorium; however, in no case shall there be less than 10 spaces. For elementary and junior high schools, parking regulations require a minimum of 1.0 stall per employee. In addition, if buses for the transportation of students are kept at the school, 1.0 off-street parking space shall be provided for each bus of a size sufficient to park each bus. For offices, a minimum of 2.0 per 1,000 square feet of net floor area and a maximum of 4.5 parking spaces per 1,000 square feet of net floor area. Approximately 796 parking stalls are currently located on the site. Due to the siting of the new building, the Applicant has proposed the removal of approximately forty (40) surface parking stalls, resulting in a new total of approximately 756 stalls. Based on a total of 1,450 auditorium seats, 290 parking stalls are required for the religious institution use (1,450 seats / 5 = 290). Based on a total of 120 staff, 120 stalls are required for the school use (1 stall per employee). Based on a total square footage of 6,400 sq. ft., the proposed office building is required to provide a minimum of 13 stalls (6,400 sq. ft. / 1,000 sq. ft. x 2 = 13 stalls) and a maximum of 29 stalls (6,400 sq. ft. / 1,000 sq. ft. x 4.5 = 28.8 stalls). Although the amount of parking exceeds the maximum permitted per the defined uses, the proposal results in the removal of 40 stalls and brings the overall development closer to compliance with the parking requirements and does not increase the parking nonconformity. In addition, the 36,000 sq. ft. auditorium, entitled in 2008 under previous development standards (LUA08-081), allowed for a total of 874 stalls on the site. Therefore, the proposal complies with parking regulations for the R-14 zone. I. Landscaping. The proposal provides for adequate and appropriate landscaping by conforming to the City’s landscaping standards. The Applicant submitted a conceptual landscape plan prepared by Lyon Landscape Architects, LLC (Exhibit 5). Per RMC 4-4-070.B.1.b, compliance with the landscaping requirements site-wide is required when any new building is proposed on the subject site. New landscaping proposed by the Applicant is primarily focused around the foundation of the new building. Species proposed for planting include subalpine fir, trident maple, 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 CONDITIONAL USE AND SITE PLAN- 7 CAO VARIANCE - 7 Mexican orange blossom, birchleaf spirea, compact Oregon grape, and others. Two (2) new parking lot islands adjacent to the building are also proposed and include one Pacific Sunset maple with various shrubs and groundcover species in each. Mature street trees along 152nd Ave SE provide screening between the parking lot and the adjacent residential uses, and mature parking lot landscaping is present throughout the site. While the landscape plan and aerial photography clearly identify a significant amount of landscaping on the site, a lack of detail on the portions of the site away from the proposed new building make verification of compliance difficult. Therefore, a condition of approval requires that the Applicant submit an updated landscape plan prepared by a licensed landscape architect or nurseryman that demonstrates site-wide compliance with the landscape regulations in RMC 4-4-070. J. Transit and Bicycle. As conditioned, the proposal complies with City bicycle parking requirements and thus provides for adequate bicycle facilities. Transit is also reasonably accessible. The closest transit stop is located on the other side of Maple Valley Hwy (SR 169) where the DART 907 route has a dedicated off-load/on-load lane. The 907 route connects the Renton Transit Center with the cities of Maple Valley and Black Diamond. Access to the stop is provided by the existing multi-use trail on the north side of Maple Valley Hwy. Bicycle facilities were not proposed as part of the project. The Applicant did not include information regarding the provision of bicycle parking. Therefore, a condition of approval requires that the Applicant demonstrate compliance with the bicycle parking requirements prior to issuance of a building permit. 5. Adverse Impacts. There are no significant adverse impacts associated with the proposal. On June 3, 2024 the City issued a Mitigated Determination of Non-significance (MDNS) for the project. Adequate infrastructure serves the site as determined in Finding of Fact No. 4. Impacts are more specifically addressed as follows: A. Views. According to the staff report, The proposed two-story building would not impact the limited views available on the site. This finding is consistent with the site plan of the project. Due to the topography of the southern portion of the site, no shoreline or mountain views would be affected by the proposal. B. Compatibility. The proposal is compatible with surrounding use. Surrounding uses are mixed with single family residential to the north separated by Maple Valley Highway, commercial and multifamily to the east, undeveloped land to the south and manufactured housing to the west. The Applicant contends that the proposed use would continue to blend into the neighborhood and would be compatible with the 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 CONDITIONAL USE AND SITE PLAN- 8 CAO VARIANCE - 8 scale and character of the neighboring properties by spreading development around the site and limiting the size of new buildings. The proposal is found to be compatible with surrounding uses since all of its impacts have been mitigated as identified in this decision, it does not represent a large scale addition to the existing campus, it is separated from adjoining uses to the north and east by the Maple Highway and 152nd Ave SE and all other adjoining uses by a significant amount of parking area. Landscaping along 152nd also serves as effective buffering to the residences located to the east. C. Light, glare, noise and privacy. As conditioned, the proposal will not create any significant adverse light, noise or glare impacts and will not impact privacy. The City has adopted lighting standards designed to prevent spillage of unnecessary light and glare onto adjoining properties. No lighting information was provided by the Applicant with the land use application. Therefore, a condition of approval requires that the Applicant submit a lighting plan with the building permit application that adequately provides for public safety and creates visual interest to the building and site. Pedestrian scaled lighting shall be provided at the primary entrance and accent lighting on building facades. In addition, the parking area shall also contain adequate lighting to ensure safety and security. The lighting plan shall be reviewed and approved by the Current Planning Project Manager prior to permit issuance. The proposal is not found to create any privacy impacts. The two-story building is shorter in height compared to the existing buildings and would be located within an existing parking area away from the rest of the New Life campus. Its proximity to the Maple Highway and 152nd Ave SE, the buffering created by the landscaping along 152nd and the separation provided by the surrounding parking all help prevent any visual corridors into adjoining uses. D. Critical Areas. The proposal is found to adequately avoid impacts to critical areas since it conforms to the City’s critical area regulations. Critical areas present at the project site are composed of a Category II wetland, a Type F stream (Madson Creek), sensitive slopes, steep slopes, a high erosion hazard, a Special Flood Hazard area – FEMA Zone A, a high seismic hazard, and Maplewood Wellhead Protection Area Zone 2 i. Seismic Hazard. According to City of Renton (COR) Maps, a high seismic hazard, a high erosion hazard, and sensitive and protected slopes are located on the project site. The proposed new building would not be located within a protected slope or very high landslide areas or buffers. The Applicant submitted a Subsurface Exploration, Geotechnical Engineering, and Stormwater Infiltration Feasibility Report, prepared by Associated Earth Sciences, Inc., dated January 31, 2024 (Exhibit 9). The report concludes that the proposed 6,400 sq. ft. building should be supported on pin piles to reduce the risk of future floor slab settlement. However, the report also notes that a less expensive conventional spread 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 CONDITIONAL USE AND SITE PLAN- 9 CAO VARIANCE - 9 footing is acceptable but carries risk of post-construction static and seismically induced settlement fill due to the weak sediments found below grade. Full infiltration is deemed infeasible due to the wide-spread prevalence of glacially consolidated soils and shallow groundwater. The MDNS for the proposal includes two (2) mitigation measures related to the Applicant’s compliance with the recommendations in the geotechnical report, or future addenda (Exhibit 22). ii. Streams. The project site is mapped with a Type F stream (Madson Creek). The creek flows from south to north, bisecting the site until it reaches Maple Valley Hwy, then runs east along the northern property line before entering a pipe under the highway. As such, the Applicant submitted a Critical Areas Study, prepared by Altman Oliver Associates, LLC, dated July 8, 2022, and a Stream Buffer Restoration memo, prepared by Altman Oliver Associates, LLC, dated March 4, 2024 (Exhibits 11 and 12). The creek's ordinary high-water mark (OHWM) was delineated on January 25, 2024, and subsequently surveyed. Type F streams requires a 115-foot buffer and a 15-foot structure setback according to RMC 4-3-050G. The proposed office building is located outside of both the buffer and structure setback area. Per RMC 4-6-060, the Applicant is required to underground any new utilities. The Applicant proposes installing a fiber line from the new building to a utility pole near the northwest corner within the Maple Valley Hwy ROW. The installation requires a trench, disturbing approximately 2,100 sq. ft. within the 115-foot buffer, which is substantially degraded according to the consultant and primarily vegetated with manicured grass and Himalayan blackberry. The work is classified as an exempt activity per RMC 4-3-050.C3.e.ii, which allows for utilities, traffic control, walkways, and bikeways within existing, improved right-of-way or easement. All trenching would occur in the ROW and therefore the proposed utility work is exempt. The Applicant would restore 2,097 sq. ft. of the disturbed area with native species and enhance 837 sq. ft. of the buffer outside the disturbed area by replacing non-native vegetation with native plants. The proposed restoration and enhancement aim to improve the buffer quality and stream function. iii. Aquifer Recharge. The City of Renton (COR) mapping system has identified the property as located within the Maplewood Wellhead Protection Zone 2. The presence of the aquifer results in limited development restrictions on the site and staff have not found any that directly apply. Most pertinent, no fill is anticipated to be brought on the site. However, if fill is brought on site, fill materials shall be from a verifiable source in order to ensure it is clear of contaminants. The City’s grading and excavation regulations require imported fill in excess of 50 cubic yards within a Wellhead Protection Zone to provide a fill source statement certified by a qualified professional or confirm the fill was obtained from a Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) approved source. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 CONDITIONAL USE AND SITE PLAN- 10 CAO VARIANCE - 10 iv. Wetlands. The Applicant submitted a Critical Areas Study, prepared by Altman Oliver Associates, LLC, dated July 8, 2022, and a Stream Buffer Restoration memo, prepared by Altman Oliver Associates, LLC, dated March 4, 2024 (Exhibits 11 and 12). The report identifies Wetland A, located along the west property line of the site, as a Category II wetland with seven (7) habitat points, which requires a 150-foot buffer and 15-foot structure setback per Renton Municipal Code (RMC) 4-3-050G. According to the consultant’s observations, the wetland consists of a historically excavated pond that consists of a forested plant community dominated by willow, black cottonwood, and salmonberry. Overflow runoff within Wetland A drains west through a concrete dam and eventually drains into Madson Creek which flows from northeast to southwest to the northwest of the proposed project area. Work associated with the new proposed building would be located approximately 700 feet from the edge wetlands buffer and therefore no impacts are anticipated. 6. Tree Retention. Beyond the City’s critical area regulations, the only regulations requiring protection of vegetation are the City’s tree retention standards. As conditioned, the proposal meets the City’s tree retention standards and thus is found to adequately protect and retain site trees. Construction of the proposed building would result in the removal of three (3) trees within existing parking lot landscape islands. In addition, the installation of frontage improvements near the northeast corner of the site would result in the removal of five (5) trees in the Maple Valley Hwy ROW. As such, the Applicant submitted an Arborist Report, prepared by Washington Forestry Consultants, Inc., dated October 25, 2023 (Exhibit 8). The report identified a total of approximately 371 trees on the site. For removal, the report identifies three (3) on-site Sweetgum trees ranging in size from five inches (5”) to six inches (6”) DBH, four (4) off-site Freeman maple trees all three-inch (3”) DBH, and one off-site ten-inch (10”) DBH Scouler’s willow. While five (5) of the trees are located in areas of likely future ROW improvements to be completed along Maple Valley Hwy as part of the project, City staff would evaluate these five (5) trees at the time of civil construction permit application review to determine whether adjustments to frontage improvements can be made in order to retain these trees. According to the tree retention worksheet submitted with the application (Exhibit 7), a total of 4,293 trees are located on the site, the majority of which are located within undeveloped areas of the site encumbered by critical areas. After deducting trees within critical areas and their associated buffers, trees in the public ROW, and high-risk trees, a total of 371 trees are located on the site. The removal of three (3) trees results in a tree retention rate of 99.1% (368 trees / 371 trees = 0.991, which exceeds the 30% minimum retention rate. In addition, based on the net land area of 900,623 sq. ft. (20.7 acres) calculated after deduction of existing and proposed ROW as well as critical areas and buffers, a total of 620 tree credits are required (20.7 acres x 30 trees per net acre = 620 tree credits required). According to the Applicant’s arborist, the 368 trees proposed for retention results in a total of 2,211 tree credits. Therefore, the proposal complies with the tree retention and density requirements for the zone. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 CONDITIONAL USE AND SITE PLAN- 11 CAO VARIANCE - 11 Conclusions of Law 1. Authority The conditional use permit, street modifications and site plan applications require hearing examiner review and final approval. The modification and site plan requests are subject to staff approval when reviewed separately, but are consolidated with hearing examiner review for this application. The proposal is subject to Type III hearing examiner conditional use permit review because it involves a religious institution within the R-14 zone. See RMC 4-2-060G. The street deviations are Type I permits and the site plan review is Type II review. See RMC 4-2-080G. RMC 4-8-080(C)(2) requires consolidated permits to be collectively processed under “the highest-number procedure.” The Type III review is the “highest-number procedure” for the permit applications identified above and therefore must be employed for the conditional use, site plan and street modification applications. As outlined in RMC 4-8-080(G), the hearing examiner is authorized to hold hearings and issue final decisions on Type III applications subject to closed record appeal to the Renton City Council. 2. Zoning/Comprehensive Plan Designations. The subject property is zoned R-14 and RC. Its comprehensive plan land use designations are LD and RHD. 3. Review Criteria/Adoption of Staff Findings and Conclusions of Street Modifications. Conditional use criteria are governed by RMC 4-9-030(D). Site Plan criteria are governed by RMC 4- 9-200.E.3. All applicable review criteria for the conditional use and site plan applications are quoted below in italics and applied through corresponding conclusions of law. The criteria for the street design modification requests identified in Finding of Fact No. 3 is governed by RMC 4-9-250.D.2. The findings and conclusions of Finding No. 21 and 22 of the staff report are adopted by this reference in full to conclude that all review criteria for the requested street modification are met. CONDITIONAL USE The Administrator or designee or the Hearing Examiner shall consider, as applicable, the following factors for all applications: RMC 4-9-030(C)(1): Consistency with Plans and Regulations: The proposed use shall be compatible with the general goals, objectives, policies and standards of the Comprehensive Plan, the zoning regulations and any other plans, programs, maps or ordinances of the City of Renton. 4. As conditioned, the proposal is consistent with all applicable comprehensive plan policies and development standards as outlined in Findings No. 16 and 17 of the staff report, adopted by this reference as if set forth in full. RMC 4-9-030(C)(2): Appropriate Location: The proposed location shall not result in the detrimental overconcentration of a particular use within the City or within the immediate area of the proposed use. The proposed location shall be suited for the proposed use. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 CONDITIONAL USE AND SITE PLAN- 12 CAO VARIANCE - 12 5. For the reasons identified in Finding of Fact No. 4 and 5, the proposal is compatible with surrounding uses, will be served by adequate infrastructure and will not create significant adverse impacts to adjoining properties. For these reasons the proposed location is suited for the proposed use. While the majority of the existing buildings are concentrated towards the center of the site, the proposed office building would be located approximately 700 feet north of the existing buildings in an area currently utilized for parking. Therefore, the proposed would not result in overscale structures or overconcentration of the proposed use. RMC 4-9-030(C)(3): Effect on Adjacent Properties: The proposed use at the proposed location shall not result in substantial or undue adverse effects on adjacent property. 6. As determined in Finding of Fact No. 5, as conditioned, there are no significant adverse impacts associated with the proposal, so it will not result in substantial or undue adverse effects on adjacent property. RMC 4-9-030(C)(4): Compatibility: The proposed use shall be compatible with the scale and character of the neighborhood. 7. As determined in Finding of Fact No. 5B, the proposed use is compatible with the scale and character of the neighborhood. RMC 4-9-030(C)(5): Parking: Adequate parking is, or will be made, available. 8. As determined in Finding of Fact No. 4H, the site is served by adequate parking. RMC 4-9-030(C)(6): Traffic: The use shall ensure safe movement for vehicles and pedestrians and shall mitigate potential effects on the surrounding area. 9. As outlined in Finding of Fact No. 4E, the proposal provides for safe circulation and adequate traffic mitigation and facilities. RMC 4-9-030(C)(7): Noise, Light and Glare: Potential noise, light and glare impacts from the proposed use shall be evaluated and mitigated. 10. As determined in Finding of Fact No. 5C, the proposal will not result in any adverse light, noise or glare impacts. RMC 4-9-030(C)(8): Landscaping: Landscaping shall be provided in all areas not occupied by buildings, paving, or critical areas. Additional landscaping may be required to buffer adjacent properties from potentially adverse effects of the proposed use. 11. The criterion is met. As verified by staff in the staff report, p. 20, and shown in the landscaping plan, Ex. 5, all areas not paved are landscaped. SITE PLAN 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 CONDITIONAL USE AND SITE PLAN- 13 CAO VARIANCE - 13 RMC 4-9-200(E)(3): Criteria: The Administrator or designee must find a proposed project to be in compliance with the following: a. Compliance and Consistency: Conformance with plans, policies, regulations and approvals, including: i. Comprehensive Plan: The Comprehensive Plan, its elements, goals, objectives, and policies, especially those of the applicable land use designation; the Community Design Element; and any applicable adopted Neighborhood Plan; ii. Applicable land use regulations; iii. Relevant Planned Action Ordinance and Development Agreements; and iv. Design Regulations: Intent and guidelines of the design regulations located in RMC 4-3-100. 12. As concluded in Conclusion of Law No. 4, the proposal is consistent with the City’s comprehensive plan and development regulations. RMC 4-9-200(E)(3)(b): Off-Site Impacts: Mitigation of impacts to surrounding properties and uses, including: i. Structures: Restricting overscale structures and overconcentration of development on a particular portion of the site; ii. Circulation: Providing desirable transitions and linkages between uses, streets, walkways and adjacent properties; iii. Loading and Storage Areas: Locating, designing and screening storage areas, utilities, rooftop equipment, loading areas, and refuse and recyclables to minimize views from surrounding properties; iv. Views: Recognizing the public benefit and desirability of maintaining visual accessibility to attractive natural features; v. Landscaping: Using landscaping to provide transitions between development and surrounding properties to reduce noise and glare, maintain privacy, and generally enhance the appearance of the project; and vi. Lighting: Designing and/or placing exterior lighting and glazing in order to avoid excessive brightness or glare to adjacent properties and streets. 13. As conditioned, the criteria quoted above are met. As outlined in Finding of Fact No. 4E, the proposal provides for desirable transitions and linkages between uses, streets, walkways and adjacent properties. As determined in Finding of Fact No. 4G, the proposal complies with the City’s refuse 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 CONDITIONAL USE AND SITE PLAN- 14 CAO VARIANCE - 14 and recycling standards. As determined in Finding of Fact No. 5A, the proposal will not adversely affect any views. As determined in Finding of Fact No. 4I, the proposal is consistent with the City’s landscaping standards. The proposal will not create any significant light impacts, including excessive brightness or glare, for the reasons identified in Finding of Fact No. 5C. No new utility, loading, or storage areas were included in the proposal. Due to the office-nature of the proposed building, no new loading or delivery areas are proposed. Existing loading and delivery areas near the southwest corner of main building would continue to function as normal. RMC 4-9-200(E)(3)(c): On-Site Impacts: Mitigation of impacts to the site, including: i. Structure Placement: Provisions for privacy and noise reduction by building placement, spacing and orientation; ii. Structure Scale: Consideration of the scale of proposed structures in relation to natural characteristics, views and vistas, site amenities, sunlight, prevailing winds, and pedestrian and vehicle needs; iii. Natural Features: Protection of the natural landscape by retaining existing vegetation and soils, using topography to reduce undue cutting and filling, and limiting impervious surfaces; and iv. Landscaping: Use of landscaping to soften the appearance of parking areas, to provide shade and privacy where needed, to define and enhance open spaces, and generally to enhance the appearance of the project. Landscaping also includes the design and protection of planting areas so that they are less susceptible to damage from vehicles or pedestrian movements. 14. The criteria quoted above are met. Privacy impacts are adequately addressed as identified in Finding of Fact No. 5C. Due to compliance with the City’s critical areas ordinance, there are no natural features adversely affected by the proposal. The scale of the structure is adequately mitigated for the reasons identified in Conclusion of Law No. 5. RMC 4-9-200(E)(3)(d): Access and Circulation: Safe and efficient access and circulation for all users, including: i. Location and Consolidation: Providing access points on side streets or frontage streets rather than directly onto arterial streets and consolidation of ingress and egress points on the site and, when feasible, with adjacent properties; ii. Internal Circulation: Promoting safety and efficiency of the internal circulation system, including the location, design and dimensions of vehicular and pedestrian access points, drives, parking, turnarounds, walkways, bikeways, and emergency access ways; iii. Loading and Delivery: Separating loading and delivery areas from parking and pedestrian areas; 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 CONDITIONAL USE AND SITE PLAN- 15 CAO VARIANCE - 15 iv. Transit and Bicycles: Providing transit, carpools and bicycle facilities and access; and v. Pedestrians: Providing safe and attractive pedestrian connections between parking areas, buildings, public sidewalks and adjacent properties. 15. The proposal provides for safe and efficient access and vehicular and pedestrian circulation as required by the criterion above for the reasons identified in Finding of Fact No. 4E. Transit and bicycle facilities are available as determined in Finding of Fact No. 4J. No loading and delivery area is proposed. RMC 4-9-200(E)(3)(e): Open Space: Incorporating open spaces to serve as distinctive project focal points and to provide adequate areas for passive and active recreation by the occupants/users of the site. 16. The proposal provides for adequate open space as outlined in Finding of Fact No. 4D. RMC 4-9-200(E)(3)(f): Views and Public Access: When possible, providing view corridors to shorelines and Mt. Rainier, and incorporating public access to shorelines. 17. There are no view corridors to shorelines or Mt. Rainier affected by the proposal as determined in Finding of Fact No. 5A. The proposal also does not include any shorelines and is in no position to provide public access to them. RMC 4-9-200(E)(3)(g): Natural Systems: Arranging project elements to protect existing natural systems where applicable. 18. The City’s critical area regulations identify and adequately protect all natural systems of significance. As determined in Finding of Fact No. 5D, the project protects all affected critical areas as required by the critical area regulations. RMC 4-9-200(E)(3)(h): Services and Infrastructure: Making available public services and facilities to accommodate the proposed use. 19. The project is served by adequate services and facilities as determined in Finding of Fact No. 4. RMC 4-9-200(E)(3)(i): Phasing: Including a detailed sequencing plan with development phases and estimated time frames, for phased projects. 20. There is no phasing plan proposed DECISION The site plan, conditional use, and street modification requests meet all applicable review criteria for the reasons identified in the Conclusions of Law of this decision and are approved, subject to the following conditions: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 CONDITIONAL USE AND SITE PLAN- 16 CAO VARIANCE - 16 1. The Applicant shall comply with the mitigation measures issued as part of the Determination of Non-Significance Mitigated, dated June 3rd, 2024: a. The Applicant shall comply with the recommendations of the Subsurface Exploration, Geotechnical Engineering, and Stormwater Infiltration Feasibility Report, prepared by Associated Earth Sciences, Inc. dated January 31, 2024, and any future addenda. b. The Applicant’s geotechnical engineer shall review the project’s construction and building permit plans to verify compliance with the geotechnical report(s). The geotechnical engineer shall submit a sealed letter stating they have reviewed the construction and building permit plans and in their opinion the plans and specifications meet the intent of the report(s). c. The Applicant shall submit an Inadvertent Discovery Plan (IDP) prepared by a qualified professional prior to the start of any construction. The Applicant shall provide notification to Tribes’ cultural committee prior to the start of construction. 2. The Applicant shall submit an updated landscape plan prepared by a licensed landscape architect or nurseryman that demonstrates site-wide compliance with the landscape regulations in RMC 4-4-070. The updated landscape plan shall be reviewed and approved by the Current Planning Project Manager prior to issuance of a building permit. 3. The Applicant shall demonstrate compliance with the refuse and recycling size, location, and screening requirements prior to issuance of a building permit. 4. The Applicant shall demonstrate compliance with the bicycle parking requirements prior to issuance of a building permit. 5. The Applicant shall submit a lighting plan with the building permit application that adequately provides for public safety and creates visual interest to the building and site. Pedestrian scaled lighting shall be provided at the primary entrance and accent lighting on building facades. In addition, the parking area shall also contain adequate lighting to ensure safety and security. The lighting plan shall be reviewed and approved by the Current Planning Project Manager prior to permit issuance. 6. The Applicant shall submit a site-wide pedestrian circulation plan that specifically identifies a connection between the proposed building and the main campus building. The pedestrian circulation plan shall be reviewed and approved by the Current Planning Project Manager prior to the issuance of the building permit. DATED this 23rd day of July, 2024. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 CONDITIONAL USE AND SITE PLAN- 17 CAO VARIANCE - 17 City of Renton Hearing Examiner Appeal Right and Valuation Notices As consolidated, RMC 4-8-080(G) classifies the application(s) subject to this decision as Type III applications subject to closed record appeal to the City of Renton City Council. Appeals of the hearing examiner’s decision must be filed within fourteen (14) calendar days from the date of the decision. A request for reconsideration to the hearing examiner may also be filed within this 14 -day appeal period. Affected property owners may request a change in valuation for property tax purposes notwithstanding any program of revaluation This transcript was exported on Jul 23, 2024 - view latest version here. Renton New Life Church (Completed 07/23/24) Transcript by Rev.com Page 1 of 7 Appendix A July 9, 2024 Hearing Transcript New Life Church -- PR24-000146 Note: This is a computer-generated transcript provided for informational purposes only. The reader should not take this document as 100% accurate or take offense at errors created by the limitations of the programming in transcribing speech. A recording of the hearing is available at the City of Renton Community and Economic Development Department should anyone need an accurate rendition of the hearing testimony. Examiner Olbrechts: (00:19): Get this. Yeah. Alright. Okay, so for the record, it's July 9th, 2024, 12:00 PM I'm Bergs Hearing Examiner for Renton. We are considering now at this time in the application for conditional use permit, site plan review and two street modifications for an office building for the New Life Church campus. Hearing format will be, we will have a presentation from staff. Mr. Morgan Roth will give us an overview of the project. Once he's done, we'll move on to applicant comments. It's not required, but if you want to add anything, you'll have that chance and we'll move on to public comments. If we have any members of the public who are participating today, we'll certainly give them a chance to express their input after public comment and go back to Mr. Morgan Roth. To complete the record and answer questions the applicant gets. Final word, I get 10 business days to issue a final decision. And at this point, just want to ask Mr. Ros to go ahead and flash the exhibit list on the screen. And let me, going to try to, I don't have video yet, so I'm going to, would you like Speaker 2 (01:28): Me to read them off Mr. Brooks? Examiner Olbrechts: (01:31): Yeah. Put up the exhibit list and I'm just trying to get on right now. Okay. There we go. Okay. I see now there it's, okay. So that's a total of 12 exhibits, Mrs. Ros, or is that just the partial? Speaker 2 (01:42): There are 20, we have 20 environmental review report. Examiner Olbrechts: (01:47): Yep. The site plan and civil plan drawings, landscape plans, architectural drawings. They have an ARBOROUS report, true retention memo, a geotechnical analysis, drainage reports, street and discrete modification, requests of traffic analysis, transportation, concurrency review, and comments from the tribe and so forth. So at this point I just want to ask if anyone, oh, sorry Mr. I know we have to add the other three there as well. Speaker 2 (02:13): Yeah, this is for the hearing. All This transcript was exported on Jul 23, 2024 - view latest version here. Renton New Life Church (Completed 07/23/24) Transcript by Rev.com Page 2 of 7 Examiner Olbrechts: (02:14): Right. We have the staff report and 21 and the termination that no environmental impact is necessary a on hold letter. And then finally final three is the staff PowerPoint, the City of Renton Maps available on the city's website of the project site, which includes zoning, aerial photographs, that kind of thing. And then Google Earth. Also a photographs of the project site. So we have total of 26 exhibits. Anyone have any objection to entry those into the record? Mr. SROs, did you see anybody objecting? If you do object, just click on the raise hand button at the bottom of your screen. And Mr. SROs, do we have any objectors or Speaker 2 (02:53): We do not. Examiner Olbrechts: (02:54): Okay. So we'll admit one through 26. Alright. Mr. Morgan Roth, let me, sorry again, just raise the hand. Do you swear affirm to tell the truth, nothing but the truth in this proceeding? Speaker 3 (03:03): I do. Examiner Olbrechts: (03:04): Great. Go ahead. Speaker 3 (03:06): Okay, thanks. Let me get my screen up here. Make sure everyone can see it. Oops. All right. Can you see that Mr. Examiner and Jenny? Anyone? Examiner Olbrechts: (03:33): No. Come up any yet? Speaker 3 (03:35): Oh no, no. That's not the answer I was expecting. All right, one second here. How about now? It's Examiner Olbrechts: (03:46): Not the view we want to see Speaker 3 (03:49): Not how about now? Examiner Olbrechts: (03:52): There we go. Speaker 3 (03:53): This transcript was exported on Jul 23, 2024 - view latest version here. Renton New Life Church (Completed 07/23/24) Transcript by Rev.com Page 3 of 7 Okay. Oh man. It's like I don't need another tech problem. Alright, awesome. Thank you. I'm Alex Morgan Roth, the principal planner with the city of Renton. I'm going to be making the staff recommendation for the New Life church office building. This is LUA 23 dash 0 3 3 0. A little about back out of here, a little about the project site. So the site there, the map is on the bottom of the PowerPoint slide. So the site is on the south side of Maple Valley Highway, which is also state route 1 6 9. Address is 1 5 7 1 1 1 50 second Avenue Northeast, which is a little road on the east side of the site. That's how the site is accessed. That road is accessed via Maple Valley Highway. The site is split zone, so it's R 14. And then resource conservation zoning districts. The resource conservation district portion of the site is all on the south side where it's undeveloped. (04:52): So for the purpose of the staff recommendation and the staff analysis, just looked at the R 14 zone and the development standards there because all the work is taking place in that zone. Same thing for the comp plan, land use designation, it's split with high density residential on the north side and then low density residential on the south side. Again, because the slopes on the south side of the site pretty much not able to be developed, which is the reason for the zoning there. So currently some buildings on the site include a 54,000 square foot religious institution. The main church, a 36,000 square foot church auditorium built I think a little over a decade ago, and then around 40,000 square foot private school. And then the associated surface parking critical areas on the site include a high seismic hazard area wellhead protection area zone two special flood hazard area zone, A type F stream, which is Matson Creek category two wetlands, steep slopes and high erosion hazard. (05:53): The entire bingo card of critical areas, which I'll get into in a little bit here. The project proposal. So again, the applicant's requesting a hearing examiner, conditional use permit, site plan review, two street modifications, and then the environmental review, which we already had a determination issued. It's a two story proposal, 6,400 square foot primarily going to be used for office space. So just like a traditional office building, moving some of the churches, tending to move some of their admin functions over here from the main building. It would result in the elimination of approximately 40 parking stalls. They've got 796 right now, so that would drop the new total down to 756. They're as far as street improvements, they're proposing a relocation of the sidewalk along Maple Valley Highway or SR 1 69 right now. And I'll show you on the site plan, but there's a portion of the sidewalk that's right, a budding the street instead of having a planter strip. And so we're basically having about 200 linear feet roughly, and they're going to be installing a planter strip and bumping that sidewalk back to create a little more pedestrian safety. There. Also undergrounding some fiber lines in the Maple Valley highway right of way on the north west side of the site. The site access is to remain via the two entrances off of one 52nd. (07:19): Here's a site plan. I got a second one that enlarges it a little bit. But you can see in the dashed area there's two dash areas where the work is going to occur. So you've got the Maple Valley Highway where they're installing the fiber, so you can see doing some of the sidewalk there and the dark catching you can see. And then the actual building itself is going to be on the far north side of the parking lot. The building is the little white square there, reconfiguring some of the parking. They're also going to be relocating a drain, a storm water line just around the building. And then I'll zoom in here a bit. This is the actual building footprint. So you kind of see the underlying parking there underneath that's going to be removed. And again, relocation of a couple of the planner or the landscape islands and then reconfiguration of a little bit of the parking there. (08:08): This transcript was exported on Jul 23, 2024 - view latest version here. Renton New Life Church (Completed 07/23/24) Transcript by Rev.com Page 4 of 7 Here's just a couple renderings just so you can get an idea of kind of what we're looking at here. So two story building. Shed roof about 28.8 feet max height, land use zoning, landing designations in the surrounding area. So this is in our Cedar River planning area, which is a community planning area. It's in again, split zoned across the R 14 and RC zones. You can see that more clearly here. Same for the comprehensive plan, land use designation split between high density and low density, high density correlating with the R 14 zone, the low density correlating with the resource conservation zone to the east. We've got R 14 and ca zone, that city of Renton zoning. We've got King County zoning to the south, which is one of their resource conservation zones. We've got residential manufactured housing zone to the west and also some more King County resource conservation esque zones. (09:12): Again, religious institutions permitted an R 14 zone but with an approved hearing examiner conditional use permit. And this represents an expansion of that. So that's why they're going getting the CUP as well as the site plan review. So critical areas, the red dot there represents just the rough location of the building. You can see their whole site encompasses that track area. And you can see the green is a stream, the green line, you can see a little bit of wetlands to the west of the existing building. So the left of the existing building there, Matson Creek is a type F stream fish bearing stream there. There's of course analysis in my staff report on that, but the building's not going to be in that stream buffer there. I believe it's 115 foot stream buffer. But they are going to be doing some trenching in the right of way for the installation of new fiber line. (10:04): And that's going to be occurring in the stream buffer. However, it is a very degraded buffer. It's mostly mode or unloaded lawn and its right in the right of way there. And so they're going to be doing some trenching and then they have a planting plan to install native plants, improve the buffer there after it's complete. Also got the sense that it protective slopes, high erosion hazard, the wetlands, special flood hazard area, it's outside of those, the work except for the wellhead protection area zone too . So just we have our fill standards that they bring any fill to the site they'll need to follow. (10:47): I know a little hard to see, but it'll be easier once if you pull up the exhibits after the meeting. But this is where they're going to be doing the trenching. You can see the flagging from the stream and then you can see in the blue kind of hatching is where they're going to be doing buffer restoration along there. So that's all in the right of way. And that's again for the fiber undergrounding for the new fiber to serve the building. We require any new utilities like that to be undergrounded. Site plan review. Again, access to remain. There's of course a lot of analysis in my staff report on this, but access to remain via the existing entrances off of one 52nd, no change there. The building will be kind of oriented towards both the parking lot and Maple Valley Highway. Again, a 6,400 square foot two story building. (11:33): They are protecting the existing wetlands on site. No impacts there. And we'll be improving the stream buffer area for Matson Creek. There's already pretty quality pedestrian and vehicular connectivity, although there is one condition of approval related to the pedestrian connectivity. Just asking for a little more info on that before getting a building permit. How are you going to get folks from the main building over to the new building, which is across a number of parking lot aisles safely. But other than that good vehicular connectivity, no big impacts on the existing connectivity as a result of the building construction. And then they did submit a traffic impact analysis, which included a lot of analysis on both event conditions. So there's obviously as a church, as a religious institution, there's some events during the year that draw a lot more people thinking holidays like Christmas, Easter, things of that nature. This transcript was exported on Jul 23, 2024 - view latest version here. Renton New Life Church (Completed 07/23/24) Transcript by Rev.com Page 5 of 7 (12:31): And so they looked at that and then they also looked at just typical conditions. The city has gotten complaints out there for various reasons, not just the church, but it's one 52nd, a dead end road and you've got a Starbucks drive through on the other side, on the other side of one 52nd and you've got some condos and so you've got a lot of competing vehicular interests over there. And so I think it's been a little bit of a challenge. I will say we didn't get any comments specifically on this project when this public notice went out. It's just something that we're kind of aware of over there. So they looked at all that and basically found that because this is not going to create a bunch of new traffic impacts, they're essentially moving some of their admin offices over there. And so with payment of the impact fees, there was no specific conditions recommended related to that. (13:25): The conditional use permit, again, it's required due to the expansion of religious institution. What we went through the analysis of the eight different criteria listed there and found that it met all of those if all conditions of approval are met. And then two street modifications, one for Maple Valley Highway and then one for one 52nd the street that they take access off of. So Maple Valley Highway is just retaining the existing street section and then relocating the 200 linear feet of sidewalk behind a new six foot wide planter strip, which will greatly increase pedestrian safety and just perceived safety over there with the traffic along Maple Valley Highway. And then so staff is supportive of that. And then one 52nd, it's against a dead end road. There's already Sidewalk Street, mature street trees and all that. So we're supportive of maintaining the existing street section there as well. (14:22): And then again, got the analysis there and for both modifications broken out separately in the staff report. But staff did find or does recommend approval of both. Those just touched on the environmental review. So City of Renton was the CPA lead agency. We issued a mitigated determination of non significance on June 3rd with a 14 day comment appeal period. And then there was no appeals filed. There were two mitigation measures related to the geotechnical recommendations in the geotech report. And then due to, we had a comment from the Duwamish tribe related to the potential for finding culturally significant items or other artifacts and so to making sure that submit the inadvertent discovery plan, which is pretty typical in this area. So those are the two mitigation measures there. Some integral project features, again, fairly small projects on a large site, but there's still some important things we looked at. One of which is just making sure there's adequate onsite pedestrian circulation, just making sure people are going back and forth between the two buildings. There's safe crossings there of existing critical areas is key. Again, not impacting the wetlands, improving the buffer after the trenching is complete. Then leading to the stream buffer improvements and then the relocation of the sidewalk along Maple Valley Highway, which will provide a much nicer pedestrian environment for that relatively small section but near a busy intersection for sure. (15:56): I won't read through each one of these up here. They're obviously in the staff report, but we've got six recommended conditions of approval. The first is just making sure, meeting the mitigation measures for cipa. And then we got a second one submitting an updated landscape plan, just making sure they're complying there. It was just a little issue kind of when doing the analysis during the land use review. Same for refuge refuse and recycling. Just want to make sure that's all sized appropriately. Bicycle parking, again, just kind of want to verify these things before issuing a building permit, lighting plan, making sure we've got adequate public safety on the site. And then the site wide pedestrian circulation plan just so we can identify a connection between the proposed building and then the main kind of This transcript was exported on Jul 23, 2024 - view latest version here. Renton New Life Church (Completed 07/23/24) Transcript by Rev.com Page 6 of 7 campus area. And there already are against some pathways there, but it's just unclear exactly how those are going to tie into the new building. So recommending approval of the new life church office site plan, CUP and two street mods, subject to the six conditions of approval in the staff report. And I'm happy to answer any questions. Examiner Olbrechts: (17:08): Okay, just one, a minor one was Morgan Roth on the utility line. It's going to go through the critical area buffer from what I recall, that's an authorized activity within Buffers, is that right? Speaker 3 (17:18): It is. It's in an existing right of way, which it is. It's in the Maple Valley Highway right of way. Examiner Olbrechts: (17:25): Yep. Okay. Okay. Does the code require any restoration or anything in a case like that? Speaker 3 (17:31): Yep, we do. So like I said, they did hire a wetlands biologist to come up with a restoration plan and so they're going to be going and replanting with native plants and that's something that staff will go out there and verify once it's complete. But yeah, certainly right now it's just kind of gravel, tall grass, weeds, blackberries and so it'll certainly, while we never like to do trenching or impact a buffer, it'll definitely be functioning at a higher level per the consultants review of it once they install those native plants. Examiner Olbrechts: (18:05): Okay. Sounds good. Great. Thank you. Alright, applicants at this point, your turn to speak if you want to say anything, you don't have to, but now's the chance. Anyone, any takers out there? Speaker 4 (18:18): Yes, I'm Cal Carpenter. I'm the executive pastor and CFO of New Life Church. Examiner Olbrechts: (18:24): Okay. Mr. Carpenter, let me swear in. Do you swear Affirm tell the truth, nothing but the truth in this proceeding? Speaker 4 (18:29): Yes I do. Examiner Olbrechts: (18:31): Okay, great. Speaker 4 (18:32): Go ahead. Just background, we purchased the property in 1980. The first building was the school building and the gymnasium, we occupied that in April of 1995. We built, the school began to occupy in 1995 as well. And then the auditorium expansion, which is the 38,000 feet is the newest, that was 2010. This transcript was exported on Jul 23, 2024 - view latest version here. Renton New Life Church (Completed 07/23/24) Transcript by Rev.com Page 7 of 7 So we haven't really done anything since then. This office space is just for our in-house staff. We are currently in a place where we need more space for the staff. We don't believe it will have any impact on traffic. Our high traffic times, of course, our Sunday mornings and special events, we do the best that we can to be good neighbors in those events. We have full parking teams in the parking lot helping people find parking places. We also give priority to the neighbors as they come out when there's a traffic log at the turnaround there, they get first chance to get into the line and get out of there. It's also one of the largest auditoriums in the Renton area. And we host civic advance funerals, et cetera, things like that. So basically what this does is give us the opportunity to have a better workspace for our staff. Now we're spread out all through the building, it gets us together and it does not make an impact. We believe on anything that happens on a day-to-day basis and especially on the weekends. So that's the reasoning behind the building and we hope that it will serve us well for a long time. Examiner Olbrechts: (20:30): Alright, thank you Mr. Pat Carpenter. Okay, at this point I think we can move on to public comments and Mrs. Mero, since I'm only participating by phone, I don't have access to the participant list. Is there anyone, if anyone wants to speak at this time, raise the virtual hand button at the bottom of your screen, click on that and that'll let us know that you want to say something. Any takers there? Mr. Speaker 2 (20:53): There isn't anybody from the public. Pardon? There isn't anybody from the public at the meeting. Examiner Olbrechts: (20:57): Okay. Alright, well that makes it pretty straightforward then. Mr. Morgan Roth, any final comments? Speaker 3 (21:04): No sir. Nothing else. Examiner Olbrechts: (21:05): Okay, well that makes it even simpler. Okay, I'll go ahead, close the hearing then and well, it's nice to see the church community thriving to this extent and it's a pretty innocuous addition to the church campus. So that should be, for me, an easy approval anyway, and I'll get that out in the next couple of weeks. So thank you all for putting up with a little tactical difficulties, but we got through it and have a great day.