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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCity Response and Exhibit List - Radin 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 “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 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 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 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 (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 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 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 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 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. Associate Planner City of Renton