HomeMy WebLinkAboutPublic Comment_Styskal_RESPONSEFrom: Alex Morganroth
Sent: Monday, January 22, 2018 12:10 PM
To: 'Stephen Styskal, Jr.'
Subject: RE: Huynh Short Plat / LUA17-000855, SHPL-A
Hi Steve,
Thank you for your comments – I have added you as a Party of Record to the Huynh Short Plat, LUA17-
000855. You will receive a copy of all future official written correspondence between the City and the
applicant. Please see my responses to your questions/comments below in red.
If you have other questions or concerns, feel free to contact me.
Thanks,
Alex Morganroth, Associate Planner
City of Renton | CED | Planning Division
1055 S Grady Way | 6th Floor | Renton, WA 98057
(425) 430-7219 | amorganroth@rentonwa.gov
PS – Here is a link to the designer portfolio so can get an idea of the kind of work they do -
https://monsefdesign.com/our-portfolio/
From: Stephen Styskal, Jr. [mailto:styskal@hotmail.com]
Sent: Monday, January 22, 2018 11:07 AM
To: Alex Morganroth <AMorganroth@Rentonwa.gov>
Subject: Huynh Short Plat / LUA17-000855, SHPL-A
Alex-
Thank you for taking the time to explain to me the proposed short plat. We did want to be
made a party of record.
I have the following comments:
1. Variances are requested for this project. What is the city asking for to mitigate these
variances, (e.g., increased landscape buffers elsewhere on the site, increased building
setbacks in other locations)? We are okay with variances being granted that make sense,
but we also strongly feel in doing so, additional improvements should be required
elsewhere on the site.
Variances don’t always have a “give and take” component, and mitigation is not
required by code, but you are correct in that the City can require improvements to help
offset impacts created by the variance that would otherwise not occur. Since the review
of this project is still on-going, I cannot give you any specifics with regards to analysis of
the impacts or potential conditions. That being said – similar projects have included
conditions related to additional landscaping requirements, additional design
requirements, and garage access location requirements.
2. After the adjacent 5-lot property was recently developed to the south, we have a direct
view of their concrete walled-detention tract which is now composed of dead
landscaping and dead trees, surrounded by overgrown weeds. We are very disappointed
in the city for approving a landscape plan which obviously had no maintenance and
general upkeep requirements. Our neighboring cities of Bellevue and Newcastle would
not have allowed this to happen in a neighborhood such as this. Although this proposed
short plat does not have a detention tract, what assurance will we have that the
landscaping in the proposed plat won't result in similar outcome? This proposed short
plat is between two plats with home values in the $700k range. We expect the city to
strongly advocate for the surrounding homeowners and require the applicant match or
improve the neighborhood aesthetically from both a landscaping and building plan, and
to require the new home owners to maintain the proposed landscaping. The City of
Renton needs to do better.
As discussed in our previous phone conversation, I have passed this information on to
our Code Compliance officers who will perform an inspection and take enforcement
action if warranted. While we do have requirements for the maintenance of
landscaping within tracts, we unfortunately do not have enough staff resources to
actively police the hundreds of residential and commercial stormwater detention
facilities city-wide. According to our system, we have not received any complaints with
regards to the subject stormwater tract near your property. We always urge property
owners to contact our 24-hour Code Compliance hotline (425-430-7373) if there ever
any maintenance issues in their neighborhood, as that is the primary driver for our
enforcement.
With regards to the short plat – landscaping in the driveway tract will be covered under
a two-year maintenance and monitoring agreement w/ surety provided to the
city. Landscaping on individual lots will be regulated under RMC 4-4-070 after final
inspection of the homes. Any issues that arise would be addressed by our Code
Enforcement team.
Stephen & Hong Styskal
3921 NE 21st St
Renton, WA 98056
(206) 276-8697