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HomeMy WebLinkAbout11-29-2022 - HEX Final Decision - Subdivision Extension -- Grant Avenue1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 PLAT EXTENSION REQUEST - 1 BEFORE THE HEARING EXAMINER FOR THE CITY OF RENTON RE: Grant Avenue Townhomes Second Request for Extension of Plat Expiration LUA15- 000885 and LUA17-000335 ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) FINAL DECISION Summary Furr Engineering Services, PLLC, on behalf of Applicant Satwant Singh, has requested a third extension of the May 31, 2021 expiration date for the Grant Avenue Townhomes and Preliminary Plat and PUD (LUA15-000885 and LUA17-000335). The extension is granted for two months to account for delays in processing the request, but is otherwise denied. The Preliminary Plat and PUD will expire on January 30, 2023. Overall, the primary reason the extension request is denied is because the Applicant hasn’t identified why the six and a half years it has had to complete required subdivision improvements was not enough time. The Applicant identified five factors the delayed its construction activity. The City found none of the reasons to justify the extension. For most of the factors, the City did not find the underlying causes of delay to be unusual or anything that significantly delayed the project. The Contractor did not dispute or rebut the position of the City on these factors. The contractor identified COVID as a factor, but as noted by the City, the City Council has already addressed this factor by adopting an ordinance that extended the expiration period six months to account for COVID delays. Background The extension request was filed by Furr Engineering on September 26, 2022. The City filed a response to the request on November 7, 2022, asserting that the Applicant has met none of the 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 PLAT EXTENSION REQUEST - 2 requirements for approval of the extension. The request and City response were forwarded to the Examiner on November 7, 2022. The Examiner sent an email to the parties on November 11, 2022 allowing a reply from the Applicant by November 18, 2022. The Applicant submitted a reply on November 18, 2022. No oral argument was taken or requested by the parties. This decision is solely based upon the extension request, City response and Applicant reply. The project was approved on May 31, 2016. In accordance with RMC 4-9-150G.1.b, the Preliminary Planned Urban Development and Preliminary Plat is valid for five (5) years and any extensions granted for the Preliminary Plat are also applicable to the Planned Urban Development. On April 20, 2020, the Renton City Council adopted an ordinance (Ordinance No. 5968) that temporarily extended the validity of certain permits by a period of six (6) months due to on-going construction challenges created by the COVID- 19 outbreak. On October 28, 2021, the City approved an administrative one (1) year extension requested by the applicant pursuant to RMC 4-7-080L.2. Review Standard Requests to extend the expiration of preliminary plat and PUD approvals are governed by RMC 4- 7-080(L)(2), which authorizes extensions by the hearing examiner for up to one year “…if the applicant can show need caused by unusual circumstances or situations which make it unduly burdensome to file the final plat…” Factors for Delay The extension request is based upon five factors, each of which is addressed below and should be considered findings of fact for this decision: 1. COVID. COVID does not serve as justification for further delay, since that delay has already been addressed in the City Council COVID ordinance. The Applicant asserts that it has experienced setbacks due to COVID illness, supply chain issues and a change in general contractor. The City responded that delays due to COVID were already addressed in the City Council’s adoption of an ordinance extending plat/PUD expiration for six months due to COVID. As noted by the City, the Applicant has not identified any unusual circumstances justifying additional time beyond that granted in the COVID ordinance. No evidence was presented showing that the illnesses and change in contractor caused more than six month delay and no greater delay is reasonably inferred. Given these factors, COVID does not serve as an acceptable grounds for extension. 2. Alley Grading. Alley re-grading does not serve as justification for an extension. The Applicant had proposed incorrect alley grades that resulted in an alley with a grade two feet below adjoining garage entrances. The City discovered the error in the Applicant’s approved construction drawings in April 2021. The Applicant submitted corrected plans mid-May 2021 and the plans were approved in early June, 2021. Deducting wet season non-construction months, this left 10 months to construct the alleys at proper grade. The Applicant did not provide any explanation in its reply as to why this amount of time was 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 PLAT EXTENSION REQUEST - 3 insufficient to meet grade. Given the City’s opinion that the alley grade does not serve as justification for an extension and the absence of any explanation as to why ten months is insufficient time to raise the grade, the alley grade does not serve as an acceptable grounds for an extension. 3. Water Meter Relocation. Water meter relocation does not serve as grounds for extension. The Applicant installed water meters within public right of way, which is contrary to code. The City noted that the meters were correctly designed to be placed outside the right of way, but were found by the City within the right of way in both March and October 2021. The relocation resulted in some re-design of water meter concrete boxes, with plans approved for the re-design in April 2021. For the October incident, the Applicant was able to move water meters within a week of the City’s discovery without a need for any plan revisions. The Applicant did not provide any explanation in its reply as to why and how the relocation of the water meters have prevented it from completing the rest of required improvements within the six and a half years prior to expiration. Given the City’s opinion that the water meter relocation doesn’t serve as grounds for an extension and the absence of any explanation to the contrary, the water meter relocation does not serve as an acceptable grounds for an extension. 4. Potholing. Potholing of utility extensions doesn’t justify an extension. The Applicant noted that during inspection the City required potholing for all utility crossings within Grant Avenue. Pothole and surveying of existing utilities within Grant Avenue occurred in late December 2020 for the installation of the water main. At that time, it was found that there were multiple conflicts with the proposed water main locations and the existing utilities. The Applicant submitted revised plans to address the conflicts and the City approved the revised plan in early January 2021. In addition, a survey of the existing utilities in Grant Avenue for the storm drainage connection was required by the City after the contractor had damaged the existing pipe in April 2022 and it was found to be in conflict with the proposed storm water connection pipe. Plans for the revised storm drainage connection was approved in June 2022, less than a week after it was submitted. The Applicant did not identify in its reply why the delays caused by the potholing requirements prevent it from completing its other required improvements within the six and half years it had to install the improvements. Given the City’s opinion that the potholing requirements don’t serve as grounds for an extension and the absence of any explanation to the contrary, the water meter relocation does not serve as an acceptable grounds for an extension. 5. Wet Season. Wet season restrictions don’t just an extension. The Applicant asserts that a condition of approval prohibiting construction in the wet season was a factor in needing additional time. As noted by the City, the wet season restriction is applied to all projects. It does not create any unique circumstance that necessitates additional time. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 PLAT EXTENSION REQUEST - 4 As outlined above, none of the factors cited by the Applicant compel the conclusion that the Applicant experienced unusual delays that fell outside the scope of the 6.5 years authorized for completion of the project. However, it is recognized that the Applicant made its request two months ago. The request has been processed as reasonably quickly as circumstances permit, but the time necessary to make a decision does not give the Applicant reasonable opportunity to plan for the results of the decision. The processing time for this decision qualifies as an unusual circumstances justifying an extension. The extension will be granted subject to the conditions recommended by staff, which have been reasonably formulated to address the impacts of another extension. Decision The Grant Avenue Townhomes Preliminary Plat and PUD expiration date is extended to January 30, 20231 subject to the conditions recommended by staff in Ms. Dolbee’s November 7, 2022 response. DATED this 29th day of November, 2022. ____________________________ City of Renton Hearing Examiner Appeal Right and Valuation Notices The RMC does not identify whether a hearing examiner decision on plat expiration requests is appealable to the City Council. If the Wilsons wish to appeal, they should consult with their attorney and the City’s Planning Department to ascertain their appeal rights. In the absence of clear appeal rights, a common strategy is to appeal both administratively (in this case the City Council) and judicially (under the Land Use Petition Act, Chapter 36.70C RCW). City Council appeals must be filed within 14 days of the issuance of this decision and judicial appeals must be filed within 21 days of the issuance of this decision. A request for reconsideration to the hearing examiner may also be filed as outlined in RMC 4-8-100(I). 1 It is recognized that some of the outstanding work may be prohibited by the dry season condition. The dry season condition restricted work from October 1 through April 30th of each year. The Applicant didn’t make an extension request until September 26, 2022, just four days before the condition took effect. Consequently, the delays caused by processing of the extension request did not prejudice the Applicant in relation to the wet season condition. If the Applicant is unable to finish its required work by January 30, 2023 because of the wet season condition, its permits will expire. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 PLAT EXTENSION REQUEST - 5 Affected property owners may request a change in valuation for property tax purposes notwithstanding any program of revaluation.