HomeMy WebLinkAbout06/07/2018 - Wilson's Request for Extension of Wilson Park 1June 7, 2018
VIA EMAIL
Mr. Phil Olbrechts
Renton Hearing Examiner
1055 S. Grady Way
Renton, WA 98057
Ref: (1) Request for Additional Extension Pursuant to Renton Municipal Code 4-7-080
(2) Wilson Park 1 Preliminary Plat LUA 09-140, PP, 12 lots
(3) Wilson Park 2 Preliminary Plat LUA 12-013, PP, PUD, 10 lots
Dear Sir:
This letter is in support of our Request for Additional Extension Pursuant to Renton Municipal
Code 4-7-080, and in reply to the City's Request for Denial.
Preliminarily, our request is not for a "nine-year extension," as the City calls it, but rather for a
limited and brief 11 -month extension of the validity of the Wilson Park 1 Preliminary Plat, which
is set to expire on August 16, 2018. Our request seeks to extend the approval to July 5, 2019
only, which coincides with the Wilson Park 2 approval period. The Code allows for additional
time extensions of preliminary plat approvals "if the applicant can show need caused by unusual
circumstances or situations which make it unduly burdensome to file the final plat ..." As
explained in our request, the Wilson Park 1 preliminary plat approval faced unusual
circumstances, such as the need to obtain approvals and develop plans incorporating a second
preliminary plat. Although the two plats are interdependent and necessary, the time spent on the
second plat consumed a significant portion of the Wilson Park 1 approval period.
To further explain some of the challenges we faced, attached are Declarations from Steve A.
Beck and Darrell Offe, who worked on the plats. Both professionals opined that this project was
unusually difficult and burdensome compared to other projects in their experience.
Further, contrary to the City's characterizations of our efforts, the Declarations demonstrate that
we have been working diligently and in good faith to file the final plat. The City previously
granted a one-year extension under the Code, indicating that the City believed we demonstrated
good faith effort. (See Code 4-7-080.L.1 (allowing a one-year extension if the applicant
demonstrates good faith effort)). We believe that, if granted, the limited 11 -month extension will
allow us sufficient time to obtain final plat approval.
Please let us know if you require any additional information to support our request.
Thank you,
Robert and Doravin Wilson
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BEFORE THE HEARING EXAMINER
CITY OF RENTON
In the Matter of the "Request for
Additional Extension Pursuant to Renton
Municipal Code 4-7-080" submitted by
Robert and Doravin Wilson:
Wilson Park I Preliminary Plat LUA 09-
140, PP, 12 Lots
Wilson Park 2 Preliminary Plat LUA 12-
013, PP, PUD, 10 Lots
Hearing Examiner File
DECLARATION OF STEVEN A. BECK
IN SUPPORT OF REQUEST FOR
ADDITIONAL EXTENTION
I, Steven A. Beck, declare and state as follows:
I. I am over eighteen years of age, have personal knowledge of the matters
herein, and am competent to testify regarding all matters set forth herein.
2. I have over 40 years of experience working as a real estate broker in the
State of Washington. My work has been primarily concentrated in the Renton/Southeast
King County area.
3. I am currently a broker with John L. Scott Real Estate. Previously, I was
the founder and owner of a real estate research company called New Construction
DECLARATION OF STEVEN A. BECK - ] Ilan Ness
Feldman ,,
719 Second Avenue, Suite 1154
Seattle, WA 98104
(206) 623-9372
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Services. I sat on the Regional Real Estate Board for King County in the 1980s, and in
i 1992 1 was the President of the Northwest Multiple Listing Service, a nonprofit, member -
I owned organization of real estate professionals. In 1991 1 sat on the first surface water
manual development committee, representing both the May Valley and the Cedar River
basins and the Highlands Redevelopment Committee with the City of Renton. I have been
involved in land development since the mid-1980s, and I worked on some of the first large
I developments in the Renton area. I have been involved in over 30 subdivision
developments in various capacities such as overseeing acquisition, and I have been
involved as a developer in approximately 15 subdivisions, such as a 32 -lot development
off of Northeast 4t11 Street, called Beclan Place.
4. When working on development projects, I act an end product advisor,
seeing the end product and working it back to the dirt stage. I monitor and am involved in
various aspects of the development, ranging from soils analysis; stormwater management,
design, and best management practices; lot layout and design; and access and road
standards. Through my experience in land development, I have become familiar with the
regulations relating to civil construction and plat approval.
5. I first began working on this project with Robert and Doravin Wilson
around 2010. In my career working in land development, this project has been the most
complicated subdivisions I have ever been involved with and has faced unusual,
unforeseen circumstances. The site of the first preliminary plat, Wilson Park 1, had
attractive features such as quality soils and potential for views, but also had some site
DFCLARATION OF STEVEN A. BECK - 2 Van Ness
Feldman,,,
719 Second Avenue, Suite 1150
Seattle, WA 98104
;206)623-9372
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difficulties at the outset. For example, the site had challenging topography and required
heavy cut and fills on-site to meet grading requirements.
6. After we received the preliminary plat approval, we discovered the
property adjacent to Wilson Park 1 was going through foreclosure. The preliminary plat
approval for Wilson Park 1 depended on an access and utility easement across the
adjacent property. The foreclosure jeopardized the access and utility easement rights.
Consequently, to preserve the easement rights for Wilson Park 1, on March 2011 the
Wilsons purchased the adjacent property, which became the subject of the second
preliminary plat, Wilson Park 2.
7. The Wilson Park 2 site had complicated zoning issues, with an overlay and
different zoning designations on portions of the site. To modify some of the development
standards, the Wilsons applied for planned urban development approval in addition to the
preliminary plat approval. This process was an additional unforeseen step, and though the
Wilsons acted quickly, the application process took over a year and received approval on
July 2012,
8. With the Wilson park 2 site, we had to relook at engineering plans from
scratch to combine the two sites into one integrated project. Thus, we could not complete
final engineering for the Wilson Park 1 site until more than three years after the Wilson
Park 1 preliminary plat approval.
9. We received approval of our final engineering drawings and water plans
from the City and from Soos Creek Water and Sewer District on December 2014. At this
DECLARATION OF STEVEN A- BECK - 3 Van Ness
Feldman
719 Second Avenue, Suite 1150
Seatile, WA 98104
(206) 623-9372
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point, because of the need to incorporate Wilson Park 2, we had used up four years of the
Wilson Park 1 approval period and were unable to market or pursue final plat approval
during this time.
10. When we received. final engineering approval, the housing market was just
coming out of the doldrums. We went to market very shortly after we received the
engineering approval. We initially listed the property for approximately $90,000 per unit,
which was an appropriate starting price close to market price for this property and its
characteristics. We have had over six deals, though the deals fell through, in part because
of the economic conditions, the site's challenging topography, and the costs of
constructing improvements.
11. We have listed the property eight times, and each time we continually
dropped the price until it has now reached under $50,000 per unit, which is an extremely
competitive price. For comparison, one comparable undeveloped property within a few
hundred feet of the Wilson Park site closed in 2015 for a price of approximately $58,300
per lot. Despite this price, potential buyers have been reluctant to close on the property
because of the upcoming expiration of the Wilson Park 1 preliminary plat approval.
Moreover, the City no longer accepts bonds in Iieu of construction, which limits our
options to market the property and increases the uncertainty for potential buyers.
12. Potential buyers who have expressed interest in the site have informed me
that if Wilson Park 1's expiration date were extended to July 2019 to coincide with
DECLARATION OF STEVEN A. BECK - 4
Ilan Ness
Feldman .a
719 Second Avenue, Suite 1150
Seattle, WA 98104
(206) 623-9372
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Wilson Park 2's expiration, the extension would afford sufficient time to complete
construction of improvements and obtain final plat approval for both preliminary plats.
13. In my opinion, and based on the feedback from potential buyers, Wilson
Park 1 and 2 must be approved and marketed as a single development project, because the
two sites are linked and dependent upon each other. For example, the stormwater design
is dependent on developing both sites together—the stormwater drainage vault for Wilson
Park 1 was originally planned to be within Wilson Park II, and was later revised to
accommodate both Wilson Park I and 2. This unusual linkage, combined with the site's
engineering challenges, made this a particularly difficult project and required substantially
more time and effort than any other subdivision development I have ever been involved
I with.
14. Moreover, because of the linkage, if the Wilson Park 1 plat approval were
to expire, the Wilsons will lose their significant investment in both Wilson Park 1 and 2.
15. Despite the challenges this project has faced, I believe that if the extension
is granted, the project will be ready for final plat approval in time. I also believe the
project will add valuable housing inventory to the City and will help meet the current high
demand for single-family homes.
I Il
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DECLARA'T'ION OF STEVEN A. BECK - 5
Van Ness
Feldman,,.
719 Second Avenue, Suite 11
Seattle, WA 98104
(206) 623-9372
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I declare under the penalty of perjury under the laws of the State of Washington
that the foregoing is true and correct.
DECLARATION OF STEVEN A. BECK - 6
Steven A. Beck, Decca
Van Ness
Feldman «t
719 Second Avenue, Suite 1150
Seattle, WA 98104
(206) 623-9372
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7 BEFORE THE HEARING EXAMINER
CITY OF RENTON
S
9 In the Matter of the "Request for Hearing g Examiner File
Additional Extension Pursuant to Renton
10 Municipal Code 4-7-080" submitted by
Robert and Doravin Wilson:
I I DECLARATION OF DARRELL OF:
Wilson Park 1 Preliminary Plat LUA 09- SUPPORT OF REQUEST
12 140, PP, 12 Lots ADDITIONAL EXTENSION
13 Wilson Park 2 Preliminary Plat LUA 12-
14 01-3, PP, PUD, 10 Lots
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17 1, Darrell Offe, declare and state as follows:
18 1. I am over eighteen years of age, have personal knowledge of the
19 herein, and am competent to testify regarding all matters set forth herein.
20 2. 1 have over 40 years of construction experience, ranging from single
21 residential projects to high rise commercial office buildings to heavy civil constr (
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have been a Registered Professional Engineer in the State of Washington since f
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1990 (28 years) and in the State of Wyoming since November 2009-
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DECLARATION OF DARRELL OFFS - 1 Van Ness
Feldman.,
719 Second Avenue, Sui
Seattle, WA 98104
(208) 623-3372
4.#al
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[e 1150
1 1 Since becoming a Professional Engineer, the large majority of my
2 experience has been in single family residential development, and I have worked on a large
number of projects. I have worked on projects in Ding County, City of Redmond, City of
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Auburn, City of Kent, City of Renton, City of Puyallup, City of Seattle, City of ercer
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6 Island, City of Bellevue, City of Kirkland., City of Clyde Hill and City of Burien. Notable
7 projects include 1994 Street of Dreams Summit Ridge (Bellevue); Pinnacle Point
8 (Bellevue); Rainier Shadows/Willow Park (Auburn); The Parks (Lake Desire/Shad lake)
9 (King County) and View Point at Maple Ridge (Renton).
10 4. My commercial experience includes providing civil engineering and si pport
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for design and construction on numerous projects in Redmond such as the Pro Sports Club,
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the Lakeridge office development, the Daytona and Laguna Office projects for Hart
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14 Properties, and Microsoft's campus. My heavy construction experience includes eavy
15 equipment operation and construction surveying for projects in Wyoming and Utalf, and
16 acting as project engineer for construction on Shuster Parkway (1-705) from 1-5 to I Dock
17 Street — Tacoma.
18 5. 1 art the engineer who signed and stamped the final approved engineering
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drawings for Wilson Park 1 and 2, combined as one 22 --lot development, and 1 worked on
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21 the preliminary plat and planned unit development ("PUD") approval for Wilson Par 2.
22 6. In my opinion, based on my experience, this project faced a number of
23 unusual delays and circumstances- The timeline for obtaining the preliminary platfPLJD
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DECLARATION OF DAR.RELL OFFS - 2 Van j9N'yess
Fell. man ,,.
719 Second Avenue, Sui
Seattle, WA 98104
(206) 623-9372
to 1350
I approval and the approval of the final engineering and design plans exceeded thea erage
2 timeline for obtaining approvals for a project of this type and scale.
7. For example, although the Wilson Park 1 and 2 sites are within the C ity of
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Renton water service area, the City granted permission to Soos Creek Water and' ewer
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District to be the water purveyor for the sites. This process took an additional two on
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7 of negotiations between the Wilsons, the City, and the District, and the District had to apply
8 for and obtain approval for the expanded service area -
9 8. Additionally, the Wilson Park 2 site had an overlay and different zanig
10 designations on various portions of the site. We spent considerable time working with the
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City to determine how to handle the split zoning issues and what process the City ould
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use, which led to the need to apply for a PUD in addition to the preliminary plat- Wh le the
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14 end result was productive, the process extended the timeline for obtaining approvals.
15 9. The City also wished to condition approval for Wilson Park 2 upon
16 providing pedestrian linkage to the nearest Renton School District bus stop. The con ition
17 was unusual given the project's size (10 lots) and the confusing layout of school bus r 3utes.
18 The project is close to the boundary between the Renton and Kent School District , and
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both districts had school buses operating in the area. Determining the actual locations of
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21 the routes and stops for the two districts, and determining the City's requirements r the
22 walkway, required multiple conversations. We then needed to bring in a surveyor to pvide
23 additional topographical information for the pedestrian walkway design. This process alone
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DECLARATION OF DARRELL OFFE - 3 Van Ness
Feldman L11
719 Second Avenue, Sui
Seattle, WA 98104
(266) 623-9372
e 1150
I took four months from the time we began working to meet the condition to the topog
2 survey.
3 10. After we received the preliminary plat/PUD approval and the engin
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plans were ready for review, additional delays occurred. The plans were reviewed
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6 the direction of three different supervisors. One of the supervisors refused to provid
7 approval based on the location of the stormwater vault. The vault's location had been
g on the preliminary plat application and on every set of plans we had submitted to th,
9 so the refusal to approve came as a surprise. After the Stonriwater Utility Depa
10 approved the location, the supervisor conceded and gave verbal approval, but the F
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of attempting to negotiate took considerable time_ Further, the supervisor required the
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access ports be provided on the vault, although the Code only required two access po
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14 this case, we revised the plans to accommodate the supervisor's requirement. This F
15 of working with the City on these matters consumed an additional six weeks, beyo
16 normal time period for review and approval of the final plans.
17 11. Despite the challenges this project has faced, I believe that if the ext
18 is granted, the project will be ready for final plat approval in time.
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1 declare under the penalty of perjury under the laws of the State of Washing
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21 the foregoing is true and correct.
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DECLARATION OF DARRELL OFFS - 4 Van Ness
Feldman LLP
719 Second Avenue, Sur
Seattle, WA 98104
(206) 623-9372
final
City,
three
In
the
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DECLARATION OF DARRELL OFFE - 5 van bless
Feldman LLP
719 Second Avenue, Su
Seattle, WA 98104
(206) 623-9372
fe 1150