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HomeMy WebLinkAboutD_Oasis_Church_011212December 12, 2006 OFFICE OF THE HEARING EXAMINER CITY OF RENTON REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION OWNER: Strada da Valle 9125 10'h Avenue S Seattle, WA 98108 APPLICANT/CONTACT: Jim Hester Oasis Seattle Church 2400 East Valley road Renton, WA 98055 Oasis Church Conditional Use Permit LUA-06-130, CU-H LOCATION: 2400 East Valley Road SUMMARY OF REQUEST: Conditional Use approval to operate the Oasis Seattle Church within an existing office building, on a 244,807 square foot site. SUMMARY OF ACTION: Development Services Recommendation: Approve. DEVELOPMENT SERVICES REPORT: The Development Services Report was received by the Fxaminer on November 28, 2006. PUBLIC HEARING: After reviewing the Development Services Report, examining available information on file with the application, field checking the property and surrounding area; the Examiner conducted a public hearing on the subject as follows: MINUTES The following minutes are a summary of the December 5, 2006 hearing. The legal record is recorded on CD. The hearing opened on Tuesday, December 5, 2006, at 9:34 a.m. in the Council Chambers on the seventh floor of the Renton City Hall. Parties wishing to testify were affirmed by the Examiner. The following exhibits were entered into the record: Exhibit No. 1: Yellow file containing the original application, proof of posting, proof of publication and other documentation pertinent to this request. Exhibit No. 2: Site Plan Exhibit No. 3: Building Elevations Exhibit No. 4: Floor Plan Exhibit No. 5: Landscape Plan Exhibit No. 6: Zoning Ma Oasis Church Lease File No.: LUA-06-130, CU-H December 12, 2006 Page 2 The hearing opened with a presentation of the staff report by Jill Ding, Senior Planner, Development Services, City of Renton, 1055 S Grady Way, Renton, Washington 98055. The project site is located within the Commercial Arterial (CA) Zone, it is designated as Employment Area Valley on the City's Comprehensive Land Use Map. Access to the property would be via East Valley Road located to the west of the property. The proposal is to convert an existing 17,193 square foot office space into a church that would be operated by the Oasis Seattle Church with approximately 400 members. Services would be held on Thursday from 6-9 p.m. and on Sunday from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. The main assembly room would have 168 total seats for the congregation. No new construction is planned at this time. They do propose to use the existing onsite parking lot for the parking required by the church. The proposal is consistent with the Public's Facilities Land Use Element. The existing building complied with the setback, landscaping, building lot coverage, and height requirements. It is not expected that there would be any adverse impact in relationship to traffic or noise on the surrounding properties. The building would be required to be in compliance with all applicable building and fire codes. Utilities Staff has indicated that all existing public utilities are currently sufficient to serve the proposed development associated with this conditional use permit. James Hester, Oasis Seattle Church, 2400 East Valley Road, Renton 98055 stated that they have already have the business permit, the church has been in working order for over a year. They were under the impression that a Conditional Use Permit was not required at that time, since being notified they have been working towards being in compliance. However, during that year they have been fire inspected and everything has been approved. The Examiner called for further testimony regarding this project. There was no one else wishing to speak, and no further comments from staff. The hearing closed at 9:48 a.m. FINDINGS, CONCLUSIONS & RECOMMENDATION Having reviewed the record in this matter, the Examiner now makes and enters the following: FINDINGS: The applicant, Jim Hester, for Oasis Seattle Church, filed a request for approval of a Conditional Use Permit to establish a church in an existing office building. 2. The yellow file containing the staff report, the State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA) documentation and other pertinent materials was entered into the record as Exhibit #1. The Environmental Review Committee (ERC), the City's responsible official, issued a Determination of Non -Significance (DNS -ND for the subject proposal. 4. The subject proposal was reviewed by all departments with an interest in the matter. The subject site is located at 2400 East Valley Road. The subject site is located on the east side of East Valley just north of SW 27th Street. SR-167 runs along the eastern property line. Oasis Church Lease Nile No.: LUA-06-130, CU-H December 12, 2006 Page 3 6. The map element of the Comprehensive Plan designates the area in which the subject site is located as suitable for the development of employment generating uses, but does not mandate such development without consideration of other policies of the Plan. The Comprehensive Plan permits churches in most neighborhoods given appropriate access. 7. The subject site and neighboring sites along the east side of East Valley Road are zoned CA (Commercial Arterial) while property west of that street is zoned for light and medium industrial uses. 8. The subject site is a triangular parcel containing three office buildings aligned north to south. The subject site is 5.62 acres or 244,807 square feet. The existing office building is located in the middle of the parcel. 9. The existing building is one story and is approximately 17,193 square feet. Parking is primarily located south and west of the building. As noted, there are two other office buildings on the site with additional parking. 10. The church has already set up occupancy but learned that they needed appropriate permits and have, therefore, submitted an application for a Conditional Use Permit. l 1. The church has a membership of approximately 400 parishioners. They would be attending services on different days, thereby limiting the total number at the church as any one time. Services would occur on Thursday evenings from 6 to 9 pm and at multiple services on Sunday. There would be seating for 168 people in the main assembly hall. 12. The applicant proposes no changes to the external appearance of the building or property. Current driveway configuration and landscaping would be unaltered. 13. The complex requires only 38 parking stalls and the site contains 305 parking stalls. Staff and the applicant noted that the parking demands would be at hours different than those generally required by the adjoining office uses. CONCLUSIONS: 1. The applicant for a Conditional Use Permit must demonstrate that the use is in the public interest, will not impair the health, safety or welfare of the general public and is in compliance with the criteria found in Section 4-31-36 (C) which provides in part that: a. The proposal generally conforms with the Comprehensive Plan; b. There is a general community need for the proposed use at the proposed location; C. There will be no undue impacts on adjacent property; d. The proposed use is compatible in scale with the adjacent residential uses, if any; e. Parking, unless otherwise permitted, will not occur in the required yards; f. Traffic and pedestrian circulation will be safe and adequate for the proposed project; g. Noise, light and glare will not cause an adverse affect on neighboring property; Oasis Church Lease File No.: LUA-06-130, CU-H December 12, 2006 Page 4 h. Landscaping shall be sufficient to buffer the use from rights -of -way and neighboring property where appropriate; and i. Adequate public services are available to serve the proposal. The requested conditional use appears justified and should be approved. 2. The Comprehensive Plan designates this site for employment generating uses but permits churches in most areas of the City as long as there is good vehicular access. East Valley Road provides more than adequate access. While the use will not generate as much employment as an office building or commercial use, it can cater to those in the community who might want to worship after work. Clearly, being located in a commercial area avoids two of the prime issues of churches - parking and traffic in a residential neighborhood. This office generally avoids making determinations about community needs when reviewing religious institutions. It is probably an inappropriate criteria given the variety of religious denominations that exist. While other criteria may be used to determine if the use is appropriate or intrusive, this one seems inappropriate for governmental review. 4. The churches proposed hours of operation, Thursday evening and Sunday would not impact adjacent properties. The church, without benefit of this permit, has been operating without complaint up till now, so it appears to be a reasonable neighbor. The current complex of three office buildings and associated parking provides sufficient parking and reasonable access. Parishioners already attend services and the traffic already exists. No new structures or exterior changes are proposed so there should be no additional visual impacts on surrounding properties. The large eastern buffer provided by SR-167 and the wetlands isolates the property from any residential uses. 6. The parking lot is more than adequate since the use only requires approximately 38 parking spaces and over 300 are available. 7. There should not be any undue or adverse noise, light or glare problems. The existing commercial complex has landscaping in the parking area and along the perimeter of the site. There is also landscaping adjacent to the building. 9. In conclusion, the conversion of the office space to church assembly appears reasonable. DECISION: The proposed Conditional Use Permit is approved. Oasis Church Lease File No.: LUA-06-130, CU-H December 12, 2006 Page 5 ORDERED THIS 12'h day of December 2006. FRED J. KAUJU4AN 14FARING EXAMINER TRANSMITTED THIS 12' day of December 2006 to the parties of record: Jill Ding 1055 S Grady Way Renton, WA 98055 Kayren Kittrick Development Services Renton, WA 98055 Jim Hester Oasis Seattle Church 2400 East Valley road Renton, WA 98055 TRANSMITTED THIS 12' day of December 2006 to the following: Mayor Kathy Keolker Jay Covington, Chief Administrative Officer Julia Medzegian, Council Liaison Gregg Zimmerman, PBPW Administrator Alex Pietsch, Economic Development Jennifer Henning, Development Services Stacy Tucker, Development Services King County Journal Strada da Valle 9125 10`" Avenue S Seattle, WA 98108 Stan Engler, Fire Larry Meckling, Building Official Planning Commission Transportation Division Utilities Division Neil Watts, Development Services Janet Conklin, Development Services Pursuant to Title IV, Chapter 8, Section 100Gof the City's Code, request for reconsideration must be filed in writiniz on or before 5:00 p.m., December 27, 2006. Any aggrieved person feeling that the decision of the Examiner is ambiguous or based on erroneous procedure, errors of law or fact, error in judgment, or the discovery of new evidence which could not be reasonably available at the prior hearing may make a written request for a review by the Examiner within fourteen (14) days from the date of the Examiner's decision. This request shall set forth the specific ambiguities or errors discovered by such appellant, and the Examiner may, after review of the record, take further action as he deems proper. An appeal to the City Council is governed by Title IV, Chapter 8, Section 110, which requires that such appeal be filed with the City Clerk, accompanying a filing fee of $75.00 and meeting other specified requirements. Copies of this ordinance are available for inspection or purchase in the Finance Department, first floor of City Hall. An appeal must be filed in writine on or before 5:00 p.m., December 27, 2006. If the Examiner's Recommendation or Decision contains the requirement for Restrictive Covenants, the executed Covenants will be re aired prior to approval by City Council or final processing of the file. You may contact this office for information on formatting covenants. Oasis Church Lease File No.: LUA-06-130, CU-H December 12, 2006 Page 6 The Appearance of Fairness Doctrine provides that no ex parte (private one-on-one) communications may occur concerning pending land use decisions. This means that parties to a land use decision may not communicate in private with any decision -maker concerning the proposal. Decision -makers in the land use process include both the Hearing Examiner and members of the City Council. All communications concerning the proposal must be made in public. This public communication permits all interested parties to know the contents of the communication and would allow them to openly rebut the evidence. Any violation of this doctrine would result in the invalidation of the request by the Court. The Doctrine applies not only to the initial public hearing but to all Requests for Reconsideration as well as Appeals to the City Council. Project Location. 2400 East Valley Road (parcel no. 3023059103)