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Home My WebLink About04/22/2009 - Minutes RENTON PLANNING COMMISSION Meeting Minutes April 22, 2009 Renton City Hall 6:00 p.m. Council Chambers Planning Commissioners Present: Lisa Brines, Michael Drollinger, Shawn Duffee, Gwendolyn High, Nancy Osborn, Kevin Poole, Ed Prince Planning Commissioners Absent: Michael Chen, Ray Giometti City Staff Present: Chip Vincent, Planning Director; Angie Mathias, Associate Planner; Kris Sorensen, Assistant Planner 1. CALL TO ORDER: Commission Vice Chair Osborn called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m. 2. ROLL CALL: Commission Secretary Prince called roll. Commissioners Chen and Giometti were absent and excused. 3. AUDIENCE COMMENTS: None 4. COMMISSIONER COMMENTS: None 5. DIRECTOR’S REPORT: Chip discussed the Commission’s role as part of the legislative process and advisory to the City Council. The Commission is part of the legislative process, and as a result free to talk to the public off the record. This is in contrast to the quasi‐judicial process where all information received has to be part of the public record. If a member feels there’s a personal conflict at the time of the vote, members are asked to share information if they feel the rest of the Commission should be aware. Members should recuse themselves if there is an appearance of a conflict of interest. 6. SUNSET EAST ANNEXATION AREA PREZONING PUBLIC HEARING: Vice Chair Osborn opened the public hearing. Angie made a presentation describing the Sunset East annexation area, its current King County and Renton land use, zoning, and possible zoning in Renton. Staff proposed prezoning the area R‐4. There will a second public hearing on May 27. Following the hearing, the Planning Commission will make their recommendation to the Planning & Development Committee, where the Committee will review the comments and recommendation, and forward a recommendation to the full Council. Vice Chair Osborn closed the public hearing. The public record will remain open until the second public hearing. Planning Commission Minutes Page 2 of 4 April 22, 2009 7. DEVELOPMENT REGULATIONS (TITLE IV) AMENDMENTS PUBLIC HEARING: Vice Chair Osborn opened the public hearing. Angie made a presentation regarding the following docket items and said that all the items have been evaluated for consistency with the Comprehensive Plan policies and objectives. The Commission has been briefed on these items at previous meetings. #D‐02: Indoor Recreational Uses After the Planning Commission briefing of this item, Staff identified two footnotes that create conflict with the proposed changes in the CN zone. Staff recommends allowing “new” where “existing” is currently allowed to include CD, CO, COR, IL, UC‐N1, and UC‐N2. Staff further recommends allowing “new” where “existing” is not allowed to include CN. The purpose of and intensity of use in these proposed zones are consistent with indoor recreational use. Audience Comment There was no audience comment. #D‐04: Setback Modifications At the briefing of this item, the Planning Commission said that the Staff’s suggested revisions to applicability section of Site Development Plan Review were unclear. Staff has revised the language. Granting this proposal would formalize and assign an appropriate procedure for projects to modify setbacks. Staff recommends amending the procedures to include an option for Site Plan Review for those projects that would have been otherwise exempt. Audience Comment There was no audience comment. #D‐08: Stream Reclassification At the briefing of this item, the Planning Commission asked that the process be consistent for updates to the Streams and Lakes Map. The proposed process requires administrative acceptance/determination, followed by legislative amendment. The Commission also asked about Public Notice when a reclass occurs. Notice will be given in accordance with the legislative amendment process. Staff recommends reclassing portions of Honey Creek and Maplewood Creek where salmonids are present, as determined by WDFW. Staff also recommends clarifying the process for reclassification of streams to a higher level. Audience Comment William Collins, 420 Cedar Ave S, Renton, WA 98057: Vice Chair Osborn read correspondence received from Mr. Collins requesting that stream classifications be updated to agreed with City and State wetland studies, develop an official policy regarding wetlands, stream setbacks, and buffer zones, and the see the City’s Critical Areas Regulations strong enough that it will not be easily overturned by appeal. Susan Rider, 1835 NE 20th St, Renton, WA 98056: Ms. Rider does not want the process to be harder for the community to protect the critical areas. It seems that this proposal is more restrictive from what is already in place. Chip explained that this proposal ensures that the City is using accurate information, based on the best available science, to make informed decision. Planning Commission Minutes Page 3 of 4 April 22, 2009 #D‐11: Allow Live Work Units Staff has added new conditions to this item including having a maximum non‐residential space of 1,000 square feet, having one residential parking space, allowing the use at 150 feet from an arterial in the CA zone, and requiring an internal connection between spaces. Audience Comment There was no audience comment. #D‐12: Household Pets & Medium and Large Lot Animals There has been no supplemental information since the briefing of this item. Staff recommends inserting a table in Title IV 4‐4‐010D regarding the number of animals that are allowed where lot sizes that meet the incremental increases, only for domestic animals, not household pets Audience Comment There was no audience comment. #D‐14: Create Tier System for Temporary Uses There has been no supplemental information since the briefing of this item. Staff recommends creating a tier structure, using Type I and II processes and adding criteria to evaluate the tier level. Additional recommendations include limiting the number of auto sales events at a site to one per year, creating fees, and revising the code. Audience Comment There was no audience comment. #D‐21: Downlighting At the briefing of this item, the Planning Commission requested a map showing the location of the Design Districts. There was also concern about the uplighting of vegetation. Staff contacted the City’s arborist and he does not have any “significant issues with uplighting of vegetation.” Staff recommends amending the definitions to include downlighting and to amend the Design District standards to specify usage. Audience Comment There was no audience comment. #D‐23: Accessory Dwelling Units At the briefing of this item, the Planning Commission had a concern regarding rear yard setbacks. In the RC, R‐1, and R‐4 zones, the setbacks would range from ten feet to the standard of the zone. In the R‐8, R‐10, and R‐14 zones, the setbacks would range from five feet to the standard of the zone. The Commission also had a concern regarding garbage collection. ADUs will be addressed distinctly from the primary dwelling, therefore, garbage will be separate. The Commission felt that neighborhoods would become overwhelmed with ADUs. Staff recommends limiting the number of ADUs allowed to 50 per year. Audience Comment Sue Kinzer, 1733 NE 20th St, Renton, WA 98056: Ms. Kinzer wanted more clarification regarding this proposal. She feels this is an excellent proposal and is happy to see that it is being discussed. #D‐24: Bulk Standards At the briefing of this item, the Planning Commission requested an illustration of bulk standards on a slope, to make it easier to understand. An illustration is being prepared, modeled after a graphic provided by the Planning Commission Minutes Page 4 of 4 April 22, 2009 City of Seattle’s website. The Commission also asked that man‐made slopes be exempted on a case‐by‐case basis only. Staff is revising the New Density definition to exclude man‐made slopes on a case‐by‐case basis and remove trails. Audience Comment There was no audience comment. The Planning Commission will deliberate on these docket items at their next meeting on May 13. Following that meeting, on May 27, they will make their recommendation to the Planning & Development Committee. Vice Chair Osborn closed the public hearing. 8. COMMISSIONER COMMENTS: The next meeting is on May 13, 2009. On the agenda is the deliberation of the docket items presented, a public hearing on the prezoning for the Honey Creek Estates annexation, and a briefing of the West Hill land use designation Comprehensive Plan amendment. 9. ADJOURNMENT: The meeting adjourned at 7:56 p.m. Nancy Osborn, Vice Chair Ed Prince, Secretary