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Home My WebLink About12-045 (R-4 Pleasant Path, PUD, Wetlands)DEPARTMENT OF COMMUNITY AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT M E M O R A N D U M DATE: June 28, 2012 TO: Pre-Application File No. 12-045 FROM: Vanessa Dolbee, Senior Planner SUBJECT: Pleasant Path PUD – 650 Nile Ave. NE General: We have completed a preliminary review of the pre-application for the above-referenced development proposal. The following comments on development and permitting issues are based on the pre-application submittals made to the City of Renton by the applicant and the codes in effect on the date of review. The applicant is cautioned that information contained in this summary may be subject to modification and/or concurrence by official decision-makers (e.g., Hearing Examiner, Community & Economic Development Administrator, Public Works Administrator, Planning Director, Development Services Director, and City Council). Review comments may also need to be revised based on site planning and other design changes required by City staff or made by the applicant. The applicant is encouraged to review all applicable sections of the Renton Municipal Code. The Development Regulations are available for purchase for $50.00 plus tax, from the Finance Division on the first floor of City Hall or online at www.rentonwa.gov Project Proposal: The subject property is located at 650 and 684 Nile Avenue NE. The project site contains two tax parcels totaling 4.50 acres in area. The pre-application packet indicates the proposal is to construct an environmentally sensitive cottage community utilizing the Planned Urban Development (PUD) standards. The community would contain 14 cottage units and would require wetland fill and re-creation. The proposal includes common parking, courtyard space and a community building and a trail through the critical areas. Access to the site would be directly off of Nile Avenue NE, however each unit would be reach via a pedestrian connection from a common parking area. Current Use: The property is currently developed an existing single family home and two accessory structures. Zoning/Density Requirements: The subject property is zoned Residential - 4 dwelling units per acre (R-4). There is no minimum density in the R-4 zone and the maximum density is 4.0 du/ac. The site is also located within the City’s Residential Low Density comprehensive land use designation. Use: Single Family residential units are allowed within the R-4 zoning designation. Development Standards: The project would be subject to RMC 4-2-110A, “Development Standards for Residential Zoning Designations” effective at the time of complete application (noted as “R-4 standards” herein). Type of Standard R-4 Minimum Standard Minimum Density None Maximum Density 4 du / net acre Lot Size 8,000 square feet Lot Width 70 feet for interior lots. 80 feet for corner lots Lot Depth 80 feet Min Front Yard 30 feet Side Yard 5 feet Rear Yard 25 feet Min Side Yard Along-A-Street 20 feet Lot Coverage 35% or 2,500 SF, whichever is greater. Impervious Surface 55% Height 30 feet Landscaping On-Site Street Frontage 10 ft *Except for walk and driveways. In those cases, 10' of landscaping shall be required where buildings are not located. Tree Retention 30 % of significant trees Parking – Each lot is required to accommodate off street parking for a minimum of two vehicles. See additional parking layout requirements below under the PUD review criteria. Planned Urban Development There are two principal purposes of the planned urban development regulations. First, it is to preserve and protect natural features of the land. Second, it is to encourage innovation and creativity in the development of residential, business, manufacturing, or mixed use developments by permitting a variety in the type, design, and arrangement of structures and improvements. Planned Urban Development Standards RMC 4-9-150 states that in approving a planned urban development, the City may modify any of the standards of chapters 4-2, 4-4, and 4-7 RMC and RMC 4-6-060, except as listed in subsection B3 of this Section (i.e. uses, density, and procedures). All modifications including but not limited to lot size and setbacks will be considered simultaneously as part of the planned urban development. Zoning/Density Requirements – RMC 4-9-150B.3 states that the number of dwellings units shall not exceed the density allowances of the applicable base or overlay zone or bonus criteria in chapter 4-2 or 4-9 RMC. The subject property is zoned R-4 with a maximum density of 4 du/ac. The area of public and private streets and critical areas would be deducted from the gross site area to determine the “net” site area prior to calculating density. Since the area of public and/or private streets on site was not provided with the pre-application materials, the density cannot be calculated. This information must be provided with a formal land use application. Common Open Space – Open space shall be concentrated in large usable areas and may be designed to provide either active or passive recreation. Open space must be at least 10 percent of the development site’s gross land area. Open space may include, but is not limited to the following: A trail that allows opportunity for passive recreation within a critical area buffer (only the square footage of the trial shall be included in the open space area calculation, or A sidewalk and its associated landscape strip, when abutting the edge of a critical area buffer and when a part of a new public or private road, or A similar proposal as approved by the reviewing official. Additionally, a minimum area equal to fifty square feet per unit of common space or recreation area shall be provided in a concentrated space. Stormwater facilities may be incorporated with the open space, common space, or recreation area on a case-by-case basis if the Reviewing Official finds: The stormwater facility utilizes the techniques and landscape requirements set forth in The Integrated Pond, King County Water and Land Resources Division, or an equivalent manual; or The surface water feature serves areas outside of the planned urban development and is appropriate in size and creates a benefit. Private Open Space – Each residential unit in a planned urban development shall have usable private open space (in addition to parking) for the exclusive use of the occupants of that unit. The private open space shall be well demarcated and at least 15 feet in every dimension. Decks on upper floors can substitute for the required private open space. For dwelling units which are exclusively upper story units, there shall be deck areas totaling at least 60 square feet in size with no dimension less than 5 feet. PUD Decision Criteria The City may approve a planned urban development only if it finds that the following requirements are met. Demonstration of Compliance and Superiority Required – Applicants must demonstrate that a proposed development is in compliance with the purposes of the Planned Urban Development and with the Comprehensive Plan. The proposed development shall be superior to that which would result without a planned urban development and that the development will not be unduly detrimental to surrounding properties. Public Benefit – In addition, applicants shall demonstrate that a proposed development will provide identified benefits that clearly outweigh any adverse impacts or undesirable effects of the proposed planned urban development, particularly those adverse and undesirable impacts to surrounding properties, and that the proposed development will provide one or more of the following benefits than would result from the development of the subject site without the proposed planned urban development: Critical Areas: Protects critical areas that would not be protected otherwise to the same degree as without a planned urban development; or Natural Features: Preserves, enhances, or rehabilitates natural features of the subject property, such as significant woodlands, native vegetation, topography, or noncritical area wildlife habitats, not otherwise required by other City regulations; or Public Facilities: Provides public facilities that could not be required by the City for development of the subject property without a planned urban development; or Use of Sustainable Development Techniques: Design which results in a sustainable development; such as LEED certification, energy efficiency, use of alternative energy resources, low impact development techniques, etc.; or Overall Design: Provides a planned urban development design that is superior to the design that would result from development of the subject property without a planned urban development. A superior design may include the following: Open Space/Recreation: Provides increased open space or recreational facilities beyond standard code requirements and considered equivalent to features that would offset park mitigation fees in Resolution 3082; and Provides a quality environment through either passive or active recreation facilities and attractive common areas, including accessibility to buildings from parking areas and public walkways; or Circulation/Screening: Provides superior circulation patterns or location or screening of parking facilities; or Landscaping/Screening: Provides superior landscaping, buffering, or screening in or around the proposed planned urban development; or Site and Building Design: Provides superior architectural design, placement, relationship or orientation of structures, or use of solar energy; or Alleys: Provides alleys for any proposed single family detached, semi-attached, or townhouse units. Additional Review Criteria – A proposed planned urban development shall also be reviewed for consistency with all of the following criteria: Building and Site Design: Perimeter: Size, scale, mass, character and architectural design along the planned urban development perimeter provide a suitable transition to adjacent or abutting lower density/intensity zones. Materials shall reduce the potential for light and glare. Interior Design: Promotes a coordinated site and building design. Buildings in groups should be related by coordinated materials and roof styles, but contrast should be provided throughout a site by the use of varied materials, architectural detailing, building orientation or housing type; e.g., single family, detached, attached, townhouses, etc. Circulation: Provides sufficient streets and pedestrian facilities. The planned urban development shall have sufficient pedestrian and vehicle access commensurate with the location, size and density of the proposed development. All public and private streets shall accommodate emergency vehicle access and the traffic demand created by the development as documented in a traffic and circulation report approved by the City. Vehicle access shall not be unduly detrimental to adjacent areas. Promotes safety through sufficient sight distance, separation of vehicles from pedestrians, limited driveways on busy streets, avoidance of difficult turning patterns, and minimization of steep gradients. Provision of a system of walkways which tie residential areas to recreational areas, transit, public walkways, schools, and commercial activities. Provides safe, efficient access for emergency vehicles. Infrastructure and Services: Provides utility services, emergency services, and other improvements, existing and proposed, which are sufficient to serve the development. Clusters or Building Groups and Open Space: An appearance of openness created by clustering, separation of building groups, and through the use of well-designed open space and landscaping, or a reduction in amount of impervious surfaces not otherwise required. Privacy and Building Separation: Provides internal privacy between dwelling units, and external privacy for adjacent dwelling units. Each residential or mixed use development shall provide visual and acoustical privacy for dwelling units and surrounding properties. Fences, insulation, walks, barriers, and landscaping are used, as appropriate, for the protection and aesthetic enhancement of the property, the privacy of site occupants and surrounding properties, and for screening of storage, mechanical or other appropriate areas, and for the reduction of noise. Windows are placed at such a height or location or screened to provide sufficient privacy. Sufficient light and air are provided to each dwelling unit. Building Orientation: Provides buildings oriented to enhance views from within the site by taking advantage of topography, building location and style. Parking Area Design: Provides parking areas that are complemented by landscaping and not designed in long rows. The size of parking areas is minimized in comparison to typical designs, and each area related to the group of buildings served. The design provides for efficient use of parking, and shared parking facilities where appropriate. Phasing: Each phase of the proposed development contains the required parking spaces, open space, recreation spaces, landscaping and utilities necessary for creating and sustaining a desirable and stable environment, so that each phase, together with previous phases, can stand alone. Significant Tree Retention: A tree inventory and a tree retention plan along with a tree retention worksheet shall be provided with the formal land use application. The tree retention plan must show preservation of at least 30 percent of significant trees, and indicate how proposed building footprints would be sited to accommodate preservation of 6-inch caliper (at chest height) trees that would be retained. If the trees cannot be retained, they may be replaced with minimum 2 inch caliper trees at a rate of six to one. Trees planted to meet landscaping requirements count toward the tree replacement ratio. Critical Areas Critical areas have been identified on the subject property. The site contains wetlands. As noted above, regulated wetland areas will need to be deducted from the gross property area for the purpose of calculating density. The applicant will be required to submit, as part of a formal land use application a wetland report delineating and classifying the wetland on site. As a part of the application materials the applicant has proposed to fill a portion of the wetland on site and balance the fill with recreation on the east end of the property. As proposed there would be impacts to the wetland and buffer, therefore a mitigation plan should also be submitted. City staff may require secondary review of the wetland and mitigation plan, at the expense of the applicant. Additionally, a trail is proposed to be developed through the wetland and around the site. A Critical Areas Exemption would be required for the trail area located in the wetland and the buffer of the wetland. Environmental Review The proposed project would be subject to Washington State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA) review due to the number of proposed units and the presence of critical areas. Therefore, an environmental checklist is a submittal requirement. An environmental determination will be made by the Renton Environmental Review Committee. This determination is subject to appeal by either the project proponent, by a citizen of the community, or another entity having standing for an appeal. Permit Requirements The project would require Preliminary Approval of a Planned Urban Development, a Preliminary Plat and Environmental (SEPA) Review. The project may also require a Critical Area Exemption. A Preliminary Planned Urban development may be considered simultaneously with any other land use permit required for a proposal, including environmental review, preliminary plat, and critical area exemption. Where merged, the review criteria for all of the applications shall be considered simultaneously with the planned urban development criteria. With concurrent review of these applications, the process would take an estimated time frame of 12 weeks. After the required notification period, the Environmental Review Committee would issue a Threshold Determination for the project. When the required two-week appeal period is completed, the project would go before the City’s Hearing Examiner for a decision. The Hearing Examiner’s decision would be subject to two-week appeal periods. The application fees include the following: Preliminary Planned Urban Development - $2,000.00 Preliminary Plat - $4,000.00 Environmental ‘SEPA’ Review - $1,000.00 Critical Area Exemption – No Charge Final Planned Urban Development $1,000.00 *Note: all land use permits have an additional 3 percent Technology Surcharge Fee. Once Preliminary Planned Urban Development approval is obtained, the applicant must complete the required improvements and dedications, as well as satisfy any conditions of the preliminary approval before submitting for Final PUD review. The developer shall, within 2 years of the effective date of action by the Hearing Examiner to approve the preliminary plan, submit to the Planning Division a final development plan showing the ultimate design and specific details of the proposed planned urban development or the final phase or phases thereof. Upon application by the developer, the Hearing Examiner may grant an extension of the approved preliminary plan for a maximum of 12 months The Final PUD is an administrative review process with an estimated time frame of 6 weeks. Building permit applications are required to be submitted within 6 months of Final PUD approval. Additionally, the developer shall complete the approved planned urban development or any phase thereof included in the approved final plan within 2 years from the date of the decision. Other Fees In addition to the applicable building and construction permit fees, the following mitigation fees would be required prior to the recording of the plat (the project will be credited for the existing home). A Transportation Mitigation Fee based on $75.00 per each new average daily trip attributable to the project; and, A Parks Mitigation Fee based on $530.76 per new single family lot payable prior to recording; A Fire Mitigation Fee based on $488.00 per new single-family lot payable prior to recording; and, A Renton School District Impact Fee based on $6,300.00 per each new single-family residence payable prior to issuance of building permits. A handout listing all of the City’s Development related fees in attached for your review.