HomeMy WebLinkAbout01-10-2022 - City Response and Exhibit List
Radin Special Fence Permit (LUA21-000319)
Administrative Appeal
City’s Response
Page 1
City of Renton
Community and Economic Dev.
1055 South Grady Way
Renton, WA 98057
Phone: 425.430.7200
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BEFORE THE HEARING EXAMINER OF THE CITY OF RENTON
RE: Radin Special Fence Permit (LUA21-000319)
Administrative Appeal
City of Renton’s RESPONSE
The City of Renton (“City”) hereby responds to the Appeal and Exhibits provided on
October 11, 2021. The City also certifies it concurrently produces a copy of this response to the
Appellant and the Applicant.
A. Background
On September 28, 2021, the City issued an administrative decision of denial for the Radin
Special Fence Permit, LUA21-000319, in response to a Special Administrative Fence Permit
request for a single-family residential property located at 274 Thomas Ave SW. On October 11,
2021, the Appellant, Benjamin Radin, submitted an appeal to the decision based on alleged
Radin Special Fence Permit (LUA21-000319)
Administrative Appeal
City’s Response
Page 2
City of Renton
Community and Economic Dev.
1055 South Grady Way
Renton, WA 98057
Phone: 425.430.7200
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deficiencies, that “(1) the scale comparison is factually incorrect; and (2) … that a Code compliant
fence … does not address the need for privacy based on noise from the Earlington Park …”; and
concluded with allegations that the City did not consider “the noise problem from living alongside
a Park”. The appeal cites to criteria for a Special Administrative Fence Permit in Renton Municipal
Code (“RMC”) 4-4-040.G. The Appellant’s proposed fence exceeds seventy-two inches (72") and
is located within required yard setbacks; therefore, the proposed fence is eligible for Special
Administrative Fence Permit review process, in conformance with RMC 4-4-040.G.1.b (As
amended by Code Interpretation CI-154 based on the date of complete application; See Exhibit
COR 5).
B. Appeal Requirements
Renton Municipal Code (RMC) 4-8-110.C.3 (Required Form and Content of Appeals)
require an Appellant to “fully, clearly and thoroughly specify the substantial error(s) in fact or
law … in the record.”
C. Appeal Submitted and Deficiencies Alleged
The appeal submitted on October 11, 2021, identified the following concerns and alleged
deficiencies:
1. Referencing RMC 4-4-040G.2.b, the appellant states that the City
“misrepresents the scale comparison” of his proposed two-foot fence height
increase (plus a two-foot privacy screen), and that the proposed adjustment
does “not detract from the quality of the residential neighborhood by being
Radin Special Fence Permit (LUA21-000319)
Administrative Appeal
City’s Response
Page 3
City of Renton
Community and Economic Dev.
1055 South Grady Way
Renton, WA 98057
Phone: 425.430.7200
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out of scale”, in part because the adjacent “Earlington Park is at least two
feet (2’) higher than [his] property”; and
2. Related to RMC 4-4-040.G.2.c, the appellant asserts that the proposed fence
complements the environment and is aesthetically pleasing, as it is not
inconsistent with the yard attributes of the surrounding neighborhood
because there are no other fences near the proposed fence, with the
exception of the park’s chain-link fence along the shared property line; and
3. The appellant claims that, pursuant to RMC 4-4-040.G.2.a, the proposed
fence “improves the privacy and security of [his] property”, and that
although alternative and code-compliant solutions “may exist”, that is not a
legal basis for denial of the special fence permit; and
4. The appellant asserts as an unassailable truth that a 10-foot fence provides
greater privacy than an 8-foot fence, and therefore meets RMC 4-4-040.G.2.
a. of the special fence permit decision criteria; and
5. The appellant states that City staff did not address the noise concerns in the
administrative decision.
D. Appellant Exhibits Provided
The appeal submitted on October 11, 2021, included two (2) photograph exhibits (Exhibit
A and Exhibit B), in addition to the appeal request.
E. City’s Response
The City herein responds:
Radin Special Fence Permit (LUA21-000319)
Administrative Appeal
City’s Response
Page 4
City of Renton
Community and Economic Dev.
1055 South Grady Way
Renton, WA 98057
Phone: 425.430.7200
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1. Renton Municipal Code
RMC 4-4-040.G.2 requires that a property owner meet all four evaluation
criteria in order for the Administrator to consider whether to issue a Special
Administrative Fence Permit. The Administrator’s decision is discretionary,
and not mandatory. The four (4) evaluation criteria are: privacy and security;
not detract by being out of scale, or creating vast blank walls along public
roadways; compliments the environment in an aesthetically pleasing
manner; and, not present a vehicular or pedestrian hazard (RMC 4-4-
040.G.2.a-d). No part of the Renton fence regulations (RMC 4-4-040)
considers or requires consideration of, noise or sound issues; nor does it
address “privacy screens” along the top of fences. Per RMC 4-2-110E.4.i,
arbors, pergolas, or trellises are allowed in required yard setbacks; however,
they are limited to a maximum length of twelve feet (12') and, if latticework
is used, a minimum opening of two inches (2") between crosspieces is
required.
To further investigate the appellant’s allegations and concerns, City staff
conducted a site visit to Earlington Park, which abuts the subject property,
on the afternoon of January 3, 2022. Exhibit COR 4 includes site photos and
videos, both take from ground level and from the top of the playground play
structure. The site photos and videos show the visibility of the subject
property and home from both ground level and from the top of the play
Radin Special Fence Permit (LUA21-000319)
Administrative Appeal
City’s Response
Page 5
City of Renton
Community and Economic Dev.
1055 South Grady Way
Renton, WA 98057
Phone: 425.430.7200
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structure. The photos also include visibility of other homes and properties
abutting the park.
2. Scale of Proposed Fence
The appellant claims that current code allows for an eight-foot (8’) tall fence,
and that the proposed fence is only two feet (2’) taller than what is permitted
by code. However, current code (RMC 4-4-040.D) only allows for a maximum
seventy-two inches, or a six foot (6’) tall fence, within the side and rear yard
setbacks. Therefore, the proposed fence is four feet (4’) taller than what is
permitted by code (10 feet is 67% greater than 6 feet = 67% greater).
Furthermore, since as the appellant notes there are no other solid fences
nearby, a ten-foot (10’) tall fence would be considerably out of scale with
any other residential fence within the local area.
The appellant states that, since the grade of the subject site is two feet (2’)
lower than the park property, the proposed fence will “appear as” an eight-
foot (8’) fence from the park-side of the shared property line. The appellant
also states that “the only people who would see the additional height” would
be those from the subject property. However, the appellant makes this claim
with the assumption that an 8-foot fence is permitted by current code, which
is not the case. In viewing the appellant’s pictures and description, the
existing fence already exceeds code requirements by two feet (2’). While the
appellant occasionally characterizes the top two feet (2’) of his fence as a
Radin Special Fence Permit (LUA21-000319)
Administrative Appeal
City’s Response
Page 6
City of Renton
Community and Economic Dev.
1055 South Grady Way
Renton, WA 98057
Phone: 425.430.7200
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“privacy screen”, there is no such consideration in the City’s residential (RMC
4-4-040.D) or special (RMC 4-4-040.G) fence regulations. Exhibit COR 4
includes videos depicting the scale of the existing eight-foot (8’) tall fence
using a bystander for reference.
3. Compatibility with Surrounding Neighborhood
The appellant states that the proposed fence is not inconsistent with the
yard attributes of the surrounding neighborhood, because there are no
other fences near the proposed fence (with the exception of the park’s
chain-link fence). The appellant further clarifies that the nearest wood
fences from the subject property are at least 200 feet away.
This statement supports the City’s finding that a fence that exceeds code
requirements by four feet (4’) is significantly more incompatible in a
neighborhood with very few or no fences than a fence that meets code
requirements in RMC 4-4-040.G.
Therefore, as stated in the staff analysis provided in the administrative
decision for the Radin Special Fence permit (Exhibit COR 1), the proposed
fence does not meet the evaluation criteria b. and c. as identified in RMC 4 -
4-040G.2 as the proposed ten-foot (10’) fence detracts from the quality of
the residential environment by being significantly out scale and inconsistent
with the yard attributes of the surrounding single-family residential
neighborhood.
Radin Special Fence Permit (LUA21-000319)
Administrative Appeal
City’s Response
Page 7
City of Renton
Community and Economic Dev.
1055 South Grady Way
Renton, WA 98057
Phone: 425.430.7200
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4. Privacy and Security
a. Alternative Measures
The City provided code-compliant alternatives as a courtesy to the applicant
for their consideration to meet their privacy and other concerns, given the
City’s determination that the proposed fence would not be Code compliant.
The alternatives were not provided to justify that the proposal does not
meet evaluation criteria.
Even in instances where all four (4) criteria are met, RMC 4-4-040G.2 allows
the Administrator discretion in issuing special fence permits (“the
Administrator may approve the issuance of special fence permits …” RMC 4-
4-040.G.2, emphasis added) provided all four (4) objectives (evaluation
criteria) can be met.
b. Privacy
The Appellant asserts that a 10-foot fence provides greater privacy than an
8-foot fence, and therefore meets criteria a. (privacy and security) of the
special fence permit decision criteria. The appellant further claims that the
City made a determination that criteria a. of the evaluation criteria (per RMC
4-4-040G.2.a) was not met.
The City’s determination was silent regarding whether “privacy and security”
was met. The City did determine that not all four (4) criteria were satisfied
by the fence proposal, specifically objectives and criteria b. (scale) and c.
Radin Special Fence Permit (LUA21-000319)
Administrative Appeal
City’s Response
Page 8
City of Renton
Community and Economic Dev.
1055 South Grady Way
Renton, WA 98057
Phone: 425.430.7200
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(compliments the environment) were not met by the proposed 10-foot
structure.
Based on the height of the existing non-compliant fence as shown in the site
photographs and videos in Exhibit COR 4, a 6-foot tall fence with a maximum
twelve-foot long and four-foot high (maximum total height of 10 feet from
finished grade) trellis, in conformance with RMC 4-2-110E.4.i, would provide
adequate privacy and also more privacy than some other properties in the
community which abut the park.
5. Noise Concerns
As noted above, noise is not a consideration in City code related to fences.
While the applicant briefly noted noise in his application, it is not a
consideration under our regulations and therefore had no bearing on the
City’s denial of his Special Administrative Fence Permit. The City therefore
requests the Hearing Examiner not include this issue in the current Appeal.
If the Hearing Examiner chooses to consider this issue, the City suggests that
the proposed wooden fence structure is unlikely to block sounds from the
abutting Earlington Park property. The City is aware that there are
alternatives to reduce noise entering the home including replacing or
repairing windows, insulating walls and ceilings, and/or utilizing noise -
reducing drapes. All these solutions serve to reduce noise without the visual
impact of a ten-foot (10’) tall structure to the surrounding community.
Radin Special Fence Permit (LUA21-000319)
Administrative Appeal
City’s Response
Page 9
City of Renton
Community and Economic Dev.
1055 South Grady Way
Renton, WA 98057
Phone: 425.430.7200
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The City is sympathetic to Appellant’s noise concerns but are unable to
thoughtfully address those concerns through an appeal hearing for a fence
decision. In addition, the Washington Administrative Code (“WAC”) 173-60
(Maximum Environmental Noise Levels) establishes maximum permissible
noise levels pursuant to RCW 10.107 (Noise Control Act). The maximum
permissible noise in Appellant’s residentially zoned neighborhood is likely
generally 55dBA (WAC 173-60-040). There are exceptions between the
hours of 7:00 am and 10:00 pm “relating to temporary projects for the
maintenance or repair of … grounds” (WAC 173-60-050(1)(a)) and “sounds
originating from officially sanctioned parades and other public events” (WAC
173-60-050(4)(h)) and “sounds caused by … unamplified human voices”
(WAC 173-60-050(4)(k)). To the extent the appellant’s concerns related to
noise are considered here, the City asserts that the noises and times
referenced are within legal bounds.
F. Exhibit List
The City designates the following as exhibits the City may use at the appeal hearing. These
exhibits may be found in the City’s online project file. A hyperlink is provided below for COR 1,
COR 2, COR 4, and COR 5.
City of Renton
(“COR”)
Exhibit No.
Description and Link
COR 1 D_Radin_Special_Fence_Permit
COR 2 Radin Special Fence Permit Administrative Decision Exhibits (2-6)
COR 3 Radin Special Fence Permit (LUA21-000319) Administrative Appeal City’s
Radin Special Fence Permit (LUA21-000319)
Administrative Appeal
City’s Response
Page 10
City of Renton
Community and Economic Dev.
1055 South Grady Way
Renton, WA 98057
Phone: 425.430.7200
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Response
COR 4 Site Photos and Videos
COR 5 Code Interpretation CI-154
In addition, the City reserves the right to use any exhibit used or designated by the
applicant.
G. CONCLUSION
For the reasons described above, the City of Renton recommends maintaining the original
administrative decision of September 28, 2021, related to the Radin Special Fence Permit.
RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED this 10th day of January, 2022.
Angelea Weihs
Associate Planner
City of Renton