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Home My WebLink AboutC_Narrative_191015_v1.pdf 2701 1st Ave, Suite 520, Seattle, Washington 98121 | 206·624·7880 | www.tonkinarchitecture.com Project Narrative and Modification Justification October 15, 2019 The Habitat for Humanity Seattle-King County and Tonkin Architecture are submitting a land use type 2 application for site plan and environmental review. The application also includes two minor modifications: for increased parking and for accessible front stoops at six of the proposed twelve new affordable for sale townhouse units. Per Renton Municipal Code Section 4-1- 210 B the project qualifies for waived fees. Project Name: La Fortuna Phase II Project Addresses: 12710-12748 SE 173rd STREET 17210 -17324 127TH PLACE SE, RENTON WA 98058 Parcel Numbers: 784180-0090 Project Contact: Pam Derry, Principal/Architect, Tonkin Architecture Phone: 206-624-7880 x 1100   pam@tonkinarchitecture.com Project Description and Location Habitat for Humanity is well known for their international efforts to provide affordable for sale housing. Under King County jurisdiction site improvements were previously made to Habitat’s La Fortuna property, which is located north of SE Petrovitsky Road, east of Washington State Route 167 and west of the Fairwood Neighborhood. Under the previous permits, 23 affordable townhouses in four buildings have been constructed and sold to homeowners. This application is to complete construction at the site under the current Renton jurisdiction. The proposed townhouses would be accessed by the existing internal street constructed under the previous King County permit. To comply with Renton’s municipal code the current application is for 12 additional affordable for sale townhouses in 3 four-unit buildings and improvements including parking and open space. The site is zoned R-10. The surrounding zoning is R-4, R-6, and R-10. The majority of the neighboring parcels have single family houses on them. The parcel directly to the east is part of the grounds of Divine Peace Evangelical Lutheran Church. Wetlands and Soil As detailed in the wetland delineation report there are two wetlands on the site. Wetland A is a large forested wetland that drains to the south to an even larger wetland complex associated with Soos creek that is located south of SE Petrovitsky Road. It is classified as a Category II wetland. Wetland B is RECEIVED 11/04/2019 amorganroth PLANNING DIVISION 2 a small forested, depressional wetland upslope from Wetland A. It is classified as a Category III wetland. Previous mitigation projects have resulted in the enhancement of Wetland A and Wetland B. No construction activity is proposed in the wetland areas. Existing vegetation in the wetland areas including all existing trees will be retained. A portion of the wetland setbacks and buffer zones that are on the north side of the existing internal street were cleared and graded under the previous permit. It is proposed per Renton Municipal Code Section 4-3-050B that the wetland buffers on the north side of the street do not apply. Construction on the portion of the buffer north of the street is therefore proposed. The site slopes from west to east with an overall elevation change of approximately 24 feet. The west portion of the site is relatively level. The steepest slope on the site is approximately 35%. In general, the site slopes with heights of 10 feet or more have average inclinations between about 15 to 20%. Per the geotechnical report some portions of the site have a top layer of gravel and other fill from previous construction. In other locations there is an approximately 6” layer of topsoil. In two of the four test pits fill was observed below the surface. The native soil below the fill or topsoil was silty sand with gravel and occasional cobbles. It was generally in a medium dense condition below the surface soils and graded dense at shallow depth. This soil is interpreted to be glacial till and continued to the termination depth of the test pits (between 3.5 and 5 feet below the existing ground surface). Site Improvements Much of the utility work for the proposed development will utilize improvements made during the previous construction project. These include the existing sewer mains, water mains, drainage structure, fire hydrant, and electrical conduit. As detailed in the drainage plan and report, an additional drainage vault is required to meet the requirements of the current stormwater code. It is proposed to largely leave the existing internal street and sidewalks as they are, however, street lighting will be added, and the existing rolled curb will be modified for curb cuts at the proposed parking lots. From email communication with Fire Marshal Corey Thomas, we understand that due to the size of the existing water mains and the available fire flow, both fire sprinklers and monitored fire alarms will be required for the new townhouses. Parking The existing townhouses have tandem garages. Unfortunately, the 3 homeowners tend to use these garages for purposes other than parking, so parking is currently an issue at the site. For the proposed 12 townhomes, we understand that 24 parking spaces are required. We propose to provide five additional spaces for a total of 29 spaces to reduce the parking issue at the existing townhomes. We understand that normally only 10% extra parking would be permitted under R-10 zoning, which would be a total of 26 parking spaces. We request a modification to provide an additional 3 parking spaces for a total of 29 parking spaces. Of those 29 parking spaces, two are proposed to be accessible parking spaces. There are no existing accessible spaces at the site. Accessibility In addition to providing needed and required accessible parking, Habitat for Humanity’s program includes one townhouse with a fully accessible ground floor and five additional townhouses in which the ground floor will be “visitable” for those with mobility issues. In order to provide accessible front entrances at these 6 townhouses (all of the units in Building A and the two western units in Building B), we proposed to have front stoops at grade rather than at a minimum of 12” above grade as required by Renton Municipal Code Section 4-2-115E-3, however, we propose fully covered significant front porches at all of the townhouses, so all of the units will have well defined front stoops regardless of the elevation level of the stoops. Open Space The proposed development includes the required square footage of public and private open space. The proposed public open spaces include two general open spaces and one p-patch garden. The proposed private open space meets the requirement for a minimum 250 square feet of space in each rear yard. Bicycle Parking Per Renton’s zoning code for attached dwellings 0.5 bicycle parking spaces are required per residential unit. Since the proposed townhouses will not have garages, we propose a covered bicycle parking area in each rear yard. From each rear yard a shared gravel pathway with a maximum 5% slope will be provided to the existing sidewalk at the internal street. Trash Storage Without garages, exterior trash and recycling storage spaces is also necessary. Republic Services has informed us that a shared trash collection area is only possible with dumpster service. It is not available for single family cart-based service. Therefore, we propose to provide screened trash storage locations in each rear yard, however, the area of the trash 4 enclosures is not included in the calculation of the rear yard open space. The same paths that will be provided for transporting bikes from rear yards, will be available for transporting trash, recycling, and compost to the curb on collection days. Construction Habitat for Humanity utililizes a significant fraction of volunteer labor in their construction. They expect to have one small mobile job shack on the site during construction. It be moved within the site as needed to facilitate construction activities. The estimated overall project value is $3,250,000. Conclusion La Fortuna Phase II will be designed and programmed to meet the needs of first-time homebuyers seeking affordable housing. In addition to providing twelve for sale townhouses with desirable amenities, the Renton homeowners of the townhouses currently at the site will be benefit from new street lighting, additional parking, and new shared open spaces.