Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutJ_Conditional_Use_Permit_Justification_FFCC_190905_v1 September 5, 2019 Family First Community Center CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT JUSTIFICATION The proposed Family First Community Center will be located adjacent to the existing Cascade Elementary School at 16022 116th Ave SE, in Renton. The total school lot area is 14.88 acres and will be subdivided to create a separate parcel for the community center that will be approximately 2.96 acres (129,000 SF). The building, approximately 21,100 SF in area, will accommodate a variety of uses including a gymnasium, exercise facilities, classrooms, meeting rooms, offices, childcare, a community clinic and administrative spaces. The site is zoned Residential-6 (R-6). Per the Renton Municipal Code, this zone is established for single family dwellings and is intended to implement the Residential Medium Density Comprehensive Plan designation. The zone allows a variety of neighborhood support uses through the Conditional Use process including City government facilities, cultural facilities and some healthcare services. Consistency with Plans and Regulations The proposed community center is consistent with the vision of the City of Renton Comprehensive Plan. The community center will support the goals of enhancing social equity and resiliency and fostering safe, healthy, cohesive neighborhoods that accommodate a diverse population. Additionally, the community center offers, employment opportunities, active recreation and will be a community resource that brings people together. Appropriate Location The Cascade Benson neighborhood of Renton is a large area of single-family development and related support services including schools, houses of worship, parks and small businesses. According to 2015 demographics data the area population was 3,800; 19 percent of the population was 14 years or younger; 27 percent of the housing was occupied by renters; 12 percent of the population lived below the poverty line earning less than $24,000 per household; over 65 percent of students were eligible for free or reduced price lunch. Demographics for Cascade Elementary school included 26 percent Hispanic/Latino, 18 percent African - American/Black. The community center fills a vital need for youth and families in the Cascade Benson area. The programs that will be provided in the community center include sports and recreation, health and wellness, after-school programs for youth and children, and tutoring and mentoring. The proposed location does not result in a detrimental overconcentration of a use in the City or within the immediate area of the proposed use. The proposed location is well-suited to the use because many users of the community center will come from the neighborhood itself and/or Cascade Elementary. Effect on Adjacent Properties The site for the community center is located south of Cascade Elementary school. Adjacent single-family residences to the south will be buffered by heavy landscaping, and residences to the east will be buffered by the school’s existing ball field. The community center will front on 116th Ave SE, but will be set back from the Family First Community Center September 5, 2019 Page 2 of 2 street by approximately 150’ and separated from the street by a parking area. The development will include adequate on-site parking to serve users of the facility. The proposed building is a single story and would not have an adverse impact on views. Compatibility The proposed community center design is compatible with the scale and character of the neighborhood. The proposed building is one-story, similar in height to the adjacent Cascade Elementary School. Portions of the building, including the Entry Gallery and the Gymnasium, are also one-story but are taller features for function and to enhance architectural modulation. The nearby buildings in the neighborhood are mostly one and two-story buildings with surface parking and landscape areas similar to the proposed community center. The proposed building materials include metal wall panels and membrane roofing. These are common materials and they will be in colors that will be compatible with the neighborhood. Parking The project will add 92 parking spaces, this includes 90 stalls on the community center parcel plus two stalls that will be added to a portion of the school parking that will be reconfigured with this work. The area to be reconfigured currently has 27 existing stalls. The reconfigured lot would total 29 stalls. For the community center use, a total of 119 parking stalls are proposed, 90 on-site plus 29 shared with the school. Currently there is no applicable land use identified in the Renton City Code that fits the intended uses of the proposed development relative to the City of Renton parking requirement. To determine parking demand, the Institute of Transportation Engineers Parking Generation, Fifth Edition, 2019 was used. Based upon Recreational Community Center and Clinic, direct application of published rates estimate the peak development parking demand at a total of 92 parking stalls. Traffic Access to the community center parking would be from 116th Avenue SE using the existing curb cut at the south end of the parcel. The school parking and student pick-up/drop off access would be modified in accordance with Traffic Engineers NW recommendation as outlined in their report dated February 13, 2019. Per TENW observations, the current student pick-up/drop off results in a queuing area back up on 116th AVE SE. The proposed mitigation includes modifying the vehicle access north of the community center parking access and creating a parking and queuing area on site for student pick-up/drop off. Adjacent to this proposed access is a proposed Bus Only access lane. Vehicular traffic accessing the community center during student pick-up/drop off times of the day will be restricted from accessing the school parking by a gate closure system. Per the Traffic Impact Study prepared by Transportation Engineering Northwest, dated February 13, 2019, the proposed development would generate approximately 790 daily trips, of which 53 would occur during the AM peak hour of adjacent street traffic, and 64 would occur during PM peak hour of adjacent street traffic. Published average trip rates compiled by the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) in the Trip Generation Manual, 10th Edition, 2017, were applied. Family First Community Center September 5, 2019 Page 2 of 3 Noise, Light, and Glare Lights provided for the community center will be directed onto the building itself or the ground immediately abutting to it. Light emissions will not be visible above the roofline of the building. Parking lot lighting will be non-glare and mounted no more than twenty-five feet above the ground to minimize the impact onto adjacent and abutting properties. All fixtures shall be fitted with a cutoff type luminaire. Construction related noise will occur on the site for approximately one year. To mitigate noise, construction activities will be restricted to the hours between 7:00 am and 8:00 pm Monday through Friday. Work on Saturdays will be restricted to the hours between 9:00 am and 8:00 pm. No work will be permitted on Sundays. After construction, noise will be from daily vehicular and pedestrian activity. Landscaping Landscaping will be provided throughout the development area where not occupied by the building or paving. Street frontage landscaping will include shrubs, trees and grasses. Along the south property line, adjacent to the single-family use, a ten-foot wide fully sight-obscuring landscaped visual barrier will be provided. Landscape areas will be planted with grasses and native and drought resistant plantings of shrubs and groundcover. New specimen trees will be planted on-site where feasible and or required by local ordinance.