HomeMy WebLinkAboutC_Compliance Statement_170613_v2M
CONSULTING ENGINEERS, LLC
June 13, 2017
Mr. Clark Close
Senior Planner
City of Renton - Current Planning
1055 South Grady Way
Renton, WA 98057
r BlueFern
DEVELOPMENT, LLC
RE: Statement Addressing Project's Compliance with Decision Criteria
Eadington Townhomes PPUD/Preliminary Plat
Dear Clark:
In support of the Earlington Townhomes Preliminary Planned Unit Development and
Preliminary Plat we are providing this letter/statement addressing the provisions of the City
Code that are intended to be modified. In addition we are providing the justification for the
modifications and demonstrating the publice benefit and quality of design that is expected
as part of this project
1. Demonstration of Compliance and Superiority Required:
Superiority in layout and design will be achieved by providing ample space between
the proposed Earlington Townhome buildings and adjacent properties to the west as
well as providing ample space between the Townhome buildings and both Renton
Ave. S and S 132nd Street The space between the properties to the west and both
Renton Ave. S and S 132nd Street is accomplished by constructing a public street off S
132nd Street. Clustering the buildings within the site will create more open space
resulting in a park -like setting along Renton Ave. A pedestrian garden plaza that runs
east/west between buildings 5-7, 6-8 and 9, 11 and 12 creates opportunity for social
interaction. Sizable green spaces are located along the Northwest property line at
Renton Ave. S and continuing southeast terminating at a large open park -like space at
the corner of Renton Ave. S and S 132nd Street The proposed Earlington Townhomes
development provides 30'+ between the front elevations and will provide ample
screening, privacy and green space far superior to what may be developed without the
PUD. The PUD allows Earlington Townhomes to achieve a strong sense of community
and personal safety while encouraging active and passive recreation in the large park-
like green spaces that surround the buildings.
2. Public Benefit Required:
a Critical Areas: There are no critical areas on this project site.
b. Natural Features: The site plan has been created to adjust to the sloping
topography of the site rather than mass grading the property. The buildings are
Mr. Clark Close
June 13, 2017
Page 2
either tuck -under (garage tucked under the upper floors) or daylight (lower floor
below the garage level) designs so that the foundations of the buildings conform
to the slope of the topography. Existing trees are preserved where possible.
c. Public Facilities: Aside from the public road cul-de-sac and additional utilites that
are proposed, no public facilities have been proposed. However, the large green
spaces located at the north corner of the property and at the corner of Renton Ave.
S and S 132nd Street are a benefit to the surrounding community by providing an
attractive street frontage.
d. Use of Sustainable Development Techniques: The development will utilize the
Built Green sustainable rating system to minimize the environmental impact of the
development Site infrastructure, such as storm drainage, will be designed in
accordance with Low Impact Development techniques as required by Washington
Department of Ecology standards.
e. Overall Design:
i. Open Space / Recreation: Large green spaces provide active and passive
recreational opportunities throughout the Earlington Townhome
development. The green spaces and garden plazas are achievable only
through the PUD process. The largest green space is located at the corner of
Renton Ave. S and S 132nd Street and will provide a visual buffer by providing
tree lined street frontage with attractive plantings and a park like appearance.
ii. Circulation / Screening: Circulation within the site is achieved via a public
street located along S 132nd Street with private alleys branching off to the
garage side of each townhome. The Earlington Townhomes utilize these
alley drives to help minimize the interaction between vehicles and
pedestrians in turn helping to create a safe friendly environment Private
walks throughout the site help to further separate the vehicle and pedestrian
interaction by allowing access to the front doors of all the townhomes with all
townhomes either opening to a private park like space or courtyard all of
which help to enforce a sense of community and provide a greater level of
safety.
iii. Landscape / Screening: Landscaping and screening is achieved using large
open park -like areas, garden plazas and properly placed decorative
plantings. Plantings will be properly spaced and native or drought tolerant
requiring minimum resources. Sight distance triangles will be maintained
where appropriate.
Iv. Site and Building Design: Our proposed development has a different zoning
designation and density than that of the surrounding developments, with our
buildings consisting of three story townhomes with two to seven homes per
building. Visual impact to the neighboring sites will be reduced by:
Orienting the townhome buildings with their shortest profiles presented to the
adjacent single-family properties, thereby reducing what would otherwise feel
like a wall of houses abutting the residential properties.
Within the Earlington Townhome development, we shall coordinate overall
design in a fashion as to use the same tectonic language and similar roof
profiles across all buildings to create a cohesive overall development design.
At the same time, we plan to treat each building and each unit as its own
distinct piece within the development, and as such realize the importance of
Mr. Clark Close
June 13, 2017
Page 3
allowing each building type to stand out as its own unique building. We will
accomplish this using different materials (siding types) and colors in
buildings arranged across the site. Building types will be grouped in such a
way as to create a regular rhythm with enough variation to maintain interest
across the site creating a sense of unity. The architectural detailing of our
proposed buildings will be such as to break up potentially large wall areas
and create buildings that are made up of separate and distinct units, each
with its own individual character and identity. While our design will
incorporate a more modern style than that of the surrounding developments,
we will be sure to incorporate a materials pallet that will help tie our project
into the general aesthetic already present in the greater neighborhood area.
We propose the use of materials such as fiber cement products with colors
to give our development a sense of quality and warmth. We propose varying
windows sizes and styles and incorporating a color scheme that uses
complementary building colors adding more variation to the site. We propose
using rich colors that will complement the site and provide visual appeal to
the overall design. We will also incorporate high quality dark roofing materials
that will provide a visual quality and reduce any glare to the neighboring
properties. We have also incorporated varying vibrant door colors to each
individual unit versus the monotonous door color approach utilized by other
developments. This in turn provides a sense of individual identity to each unit.
The proposed development will eliminate an older residence along with old
dilapidated green houses and undesirable storage buildings and invasive
vegetation and hazardous trees that could fall potentially effecting
neighboring properties.
v. Alleys: Earlington Townhomes utilizes a public street and alleys throughout
the site. These alleys are intended to minimize the interaction between
vehicles and pedestrians in turn helping to create a safe pedestrian friendly
environment.
3. Additional Review Criteria:
a Building and Site Design:
Perimeter. The use of a single public street will accommodate vehicular traffic
entering and exiting the project site. The proposed access road will be
designed in such a way as to accommodate the need of any emergency
vehicle entering and/or leaving the development and to meet the traffic
needs of our new development. Vehicle access will be designed to not have
a negative effect on the surrounding areas. Entry and exit conditions will have
appropriate sight distances for a safe vehicle flow under current posted
speed limits. Visual impact to the neighboring sites will be reduced by
orienting the townhome buildings with their shortest profiles presented to the
adjacent single-family properties, thereby reducing what would otherwise feel
like a wall of houses abutting the residential properties. Large areas of green
space have been located at the north corner of the property and at the
corner of Renton Ave. S and S 132nd Street. These spaces will provide a
visual buffer by providing tree lined street frontage with attractive plantings
and a park -like appearance. Front doors will face S 132nd Street to create an
attractive edge.
Mr. Clark Close
June 13, 2017
Page 4
fl. Interior Design: The proposed site design incorporates 14 townhome
buildings clustered and utilizing pedestrian garden plazas that promote
community, social interaction and safety. The townhome units have individual
front yards with associated ornamental landscaping. All the front yards open
onto either pedestrian garden plazas, park like spaces or walkways. The
walkways throughout the site provide access to all areas of the site without
the need to interact with vehicular traffic.
b. Circulation: Providing the public street and alleys, made possible by PUD approval,
will create a calmer traffic environment within the development. This access road
will create a safer environment for residents pulling out of their garages and
eliminate the need for vehicle and pedestrian contact. By providing the alley
access to the rear of each townhome we will also be able to create a separate
pedestrian circulation corridor and garden plaza through the center of the majority
of buildings and away from moving vehicles. These semi-public corridors will be
the primary focal point of the development. The proposed townhome buildings will
all front onto (and?) this attractive human scaled space rather than a street which
is common in many recent housing developments. Using the `garden plaza'
pedestrian corridor, we are providing a safer pedestrian environment within the
project eliminating potential conflicts between pedestrian and vehicular traffic that
traditionally share the same route. In addition, the townhome buildings will provide
a buffer between pedestrians and the public street. The garden plaza pedestrian
corridor will tie back into the existing public sidewalks and have access to either
Renton Avenue South and South 132nd street. The parks at the northwest and
south-east corners of the site will provide the added benefit to the Earlington
Townhome residents by providing a connection to Renton Avenue South. This
proposed development is designed in such a way as to accommodate all required
emergency vehicles and allow easy entry, exit and navigation on all proposed turn
radii.
c. Infrastructure and Services: The project will be providing the necessary water and
sewer main upgrades and extensions necessary for the development of 60
townhome units. Additionally the water main in Renton Ave is being extended
north to 130' Street to ensure the water system has sufficient pressure. These
upgrades will be a benefit to the Earlington Townhomes project as well as the
surrounding neighborhood.
Road frontage improvements on both Renton Ave and 132nd Street are proposed.
These improvements will ensure that the street fronts meet current city standards
and provide for safe pedestrian passage and vehicular travel.
Street lights and street trees will be provided as required along all public roadways.
d. Clusters or Building Groups and Open Space: Townhome buildings are clustered
allowing for large open spaces throughout the project providing active and passive
recreation. Building entries face a centralized `garden plaza' in most cases with
pedestrian corridors that run through the center of several townhome clusters on a
west/east axis. Buildings within this project will be separated from their immediate
neighbors by providing generous open green spaces or plantings at the sides of
the townhome buildings.
e. Privacy and Building Separation: Building openings will be designed in a way, to
provide light and air to all major living spaces and be in such a way as to not
infringe on the privacy of neighboring and adjacent buildings. Openings in the
Mr. Clark Close
June 13, 2017
Page 5
sides of buildings will be handled such that interest is maintained on the side
elevations and opportunities for daylighting are taken advantage of, but be of
discreet size and located in areas where building occupants will not feel their
privacy is impeded upon by neighboring buildings. Internal site privacy for our
proposed development is in part provided using the green spaces which provide a
greater separation than a traditional development. Main living space in the
townhomes will be located above the level of finish grade and windows are
located in a way as to be above the eye level of passersby along the pedestrian
corridor.
f. Building Orientation: The building layout will also allow for long uninterrupted views
from the highest point of the site down across the development and to the
landscape areas beyond with all units having a potential view of Mount Rainier on
clear sunny days. The siting and orientation of the Earlington townhome buildings
will also reduce the impact to residential properties around the site.
g. Parking Area Design:
Design: Parking across the site will be handled in such a way as to have no
large surface area parking lots. Instead we are proposing locating four
parallel parking stalls along the entry drive of the development. Each unit will
accommodate a two -car garage for building occupants. In total, the
proposed development provides one hundred twenty four (124) parking
spaces; one hundred twenty (120) in garages and seven (4) parallel street
parking stalls. This meets the following requirements for the townhome units;
ii. Adequacy:
1. Parking: 3 Bedrooms Units 1.6 = 92.8 Spaces Required (114 Provided)
2. Parking: 2 Bedrooms Units 1.4 = 4.2 Spaces Required (6 Provided)
h. Phasing: The project anticipates being developed in a single phase.
Mr. Clark Close
June 13, 2017
Page 6
REQUESTED DEVIATIONS, VARIANCES, AND MODIFICATIONS:
D1.4 -2-110A Maximum Net
Maximum density per RMC 4-2-11A is 14 dwelling units per
Density
acre and we currently show 18.03 du/ac. We have 60 units
with zero lot lines allowing for a higher density development
with a minimal footprint and less impervious surface. (The
project would provide affordable units as required to obtain
the proposed density.)
D2.442 -110A Minimum Lot Width
Minimum interior lot widths are required to be We
at interior lots.
have buildings containing 2 to 7 units each with unit widths
ranging from 16' to 20' wide at the interiors. Because the site
is platted in order to sell each individual unit we end up with
lots substantially smaller than the required lot width. As a
whole, the buildings have widths ranging from 42' at the 2
unit buildings to 138'-0" at the 7 unit buildings. We request a
deviation from this code requirement
D3.4 -2-110A Minimum Lot Width
Minimum lot width at corner lots are required to be
at Comer Lots.
We have buildings containing either 2 or 7 units each with
end units being 20'-0" wide. Because the site shall be platted
in order to sell each individual unit we end up with lot widths
that are smaller than required. As a whole, the buildings have
widths ranging from 42' at the 2 unit buildings to 138'-0" at
the 7 unit buildings. We request a deviation from this code
requirement
D4.4 -2-110A Minimum Rear Yard
The minimum rear yard is required to be 10'-0". We currently
have an average rear yard distance of 4'-0" that abuts an
alley. Because the site shall be platted and due to the site
design with vehicle access via private alleys we are unable to
meet this requirement. Currently the development will have a
proposed rear yard setback of 4' then an alley with a width of
20' and an additional 4' setback to the adjacent building for a
total building separation of 28'. Splitting the alley would
rovide essential) 14' off rear setbacks for each unit.
D5.4-9-150 Private Open Space
Required Standard: Provide an open space with a minimum
dimension of 15 'x 15' in every direction for private usable
open space contiguous to each unit which also equates to
225 square feet of usable open space per unit.
Currently Provided: The current PPUD submittal shows units
with front yards provided for individual usable open space
having dimensions from 16' to 20' wide and depths 11.25' or
greater measured to the inside face of front facades. These
dimensions provided usable open space greater than the
required 225 square feet but does not provide the 15'
minimum dimension in all directions.
Requested Modification: We ask that a modification to the
minimum 15 -foot dimension required by section 4-9-150 E be
reduced to a minimum of 11.25 feet if the minimum square
footage of 225 S.F. is achieved.
D6.4 -2-110A Maximum Building
Maximum Building Coverage for this development is 65%.
Mr. Clark Close
June 13, 2017
Page 7
Coverage.
Our site would be platted creating individual lots that are for
sale. Lot coverage for the entire development is at 28.7%
which is far lower than for each individual lot which would
exceed the requirement based on individual interior units with
no side yards.
D7. Maximum Impervious Surface
Maximum impervious surface for this development is 80%.
Area
Our site will be platted creating individual lots that are for sale.
Lot impervious surface area for the entire development is
1185% As individual lots, they would be in excess of the
allowed Maximum Impervious surface area and would require
a deviation.
D.8 41-110 Maximum wall plate
The maximum wall plate height is 24'-0" with section 18a.
height
stating that roofs with a 4:12 pitch or greater may project an
additional 6'-0" above the plate height for a total building
height of 30'-0".
Currently Provided: The current PPUD submittal shows units
with building plate heights ranging from 24' to just under 26'.
This height variance is due to the site sloping in multiple
directions on site compounded with the depth and length of
the proposed buildings. Currently the units are designed with
parking below the living space and have unit depths that
cause the roof slope to be a little taller than 6' simply due to
the depth of the building unit. The width of many of the
buildings along with the slope of the site cause the average
grade to be lower causing the building plate height to be
slightly higher than required.
Requested Modification: We ask that a modification be
granted allowing an additional height increase of 2'-0" to the
required plate height of 24'-0" for a total of 26'-0" plate height
with an additional 6'-0" building height increase for roofs with
slopes equal to or greater than 4:12. The site slopes from
North to South and the additional height would not affect any
views or cast any shadows to any properties that surround
the site.
D.9 44090 Refuse and
All new developments for multi -family residences shall
Recyclables Standards.
provide on-site refuse and recyclables deposit areas and
collection points for collection of refuse and recyclables in
compliance with this section.
Location within Structures Possible: Refuse and recyclables
deposit areas and collection points may be located in
separate buildings/structures or outdoors. Refuse and
recyclables deposit areas may be located within residential
buildings, providing that they are in compliance with the
Uniform Fire Code, and that collection points are easily and
safely accessible to hauling trucks.
All refuse and recyclables storage locations are within each
individual garage with pick up locations shown on site. The
pick up locations on sites will not be permanent storage
locations and should not require screening. Landscaping will
be provided.
Mr. Clark Close
June 13, 2017
Page 8
D.10 No more than 6 units per
Required Standard: No more than 6 units per building
building
Currently Provided: We currently have (3) of the (14) buildings
with (7) units each. All of the buildings are located at the
interior of the site and would not be visible from the street as
a whole.
Requested Departure: We request that buildings 5,6 and 9
be allowed to go up by (1) unit to 7 units each. The benefit to
the community would be a better mix of affordable units. With
the density increase we are achieving an additional (14) units
with (7) being affordable and (7) at market rate. This solution
would provide (3) 16' wide and (4) 20' wide affordable units
which is far superior than a straight (7)16' wide affordable
units.
D.11 Minimum Side Yard (Along a
Required Standard: 15'
Street)
Currently Provided: We currently have buildings along the
access drive aisle with side yard setbacks at varying
distances with all buildings other than buildings 9 and 11
being greater than 15' from the drive aisle.
Requested Departure: We request that the required side yard
setback along a street be reduced to a minimum of 12' from
the street.
D.12 Minimum Lot Depth
Required Standard: 60'
Currently Provided: Currently we have lot depths in the range
of 58' to 66' with all units being a part of the entire platted
project.
Requested Departure: We request that the required lot depth
be reduced to 57' to allow for lots that abut alleys. The lots
are all part of the entire development and ample open space
for all residence has been provided above and beyond the
required open space.
RMC 44-040.D.1 - Retaining Wall
Required Standard: City of Renton limits retaining walls in the
Height
residential district to 6 feet in height
Currently Provided: There are three walls that are anticipated
as part of the project Two of the walls do not exceed the 6'
threshold. However the wall between the cul-de-sac terminus
and the adjacent Renton Ave right of way will exceed the 6
foot threshold by approximately 2 feet Due to the generally
steep nature (14%) of the proposed road we have limited
space between the cul-de-sac bulb and the ROW, As such
terracing is not feasible. With a slightly taller wall the roads
work well together. The proposed wall will be of a style and
design that will enhance the overall feel of the green space.
This could include a keyhole wall with vegetation planted in
the wall or possibly a custom design that has architectural
appeal. This will be determined as part of the final design.
Requested Departure: We request allowance for 2 additional
feet to the retaining wall standard.
Mr. Clark Close
June 13, 2017
Page 9
The proposed Earlington Townhome development demonstrates superiority over what
would result without a Planned Urban Development (PUD) and will result in an
aesthetically pleasing, socially healthy community and environmentally sensitive project
with ample green space, trees, interior building clusters and pedestrian garden plazas.
We look forward to working with you through the City's review and approval process.
Should you have any questions, or require additional information, please contact me
directly at 253-838-6113.
Sincerely,
ESM CONSULTING ENGINEERS LLC.
EVAN MANN
Associate/Senior Planner
CC: Jordan Salisbury, Blue Fern Development
Benjamin Paulus, Blue Fern Development
John Graves, Blue Fern Development
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