MEMO TO: Members of the City Council
FROM: Mayor Angela Birney
SUBJECT:
title
Public Hearing and Approval of the Woodside Master Plan, Development Agreement and Site Plan Entitlement, Type V Quasi-Judicial
a. ORDINANCE NO. 3004: An Ordinance Adopting the Technical Committee’s Recommendation to Approve with Conditions the Woodside Master Plan, Development Agreement, and Site Plan Entitlement (File LAND-2018-01323, LAND-2018-01322) and Establishing an Effective Date
b. RESOLUTION NO. 1533: A Resolution Approving a Development Agreement for Properties Owned by Polygon WLH, LLC
I. RECOMMENDED ACTION
recommendation
Open a public hearing, receive public comments and applicant testimony, close the hearing and issue a decision on the Woodside Master Plan, Development Agreement and Site Plan Entitlement.
body
II. DEPARTMENT CONTACTS
Carol Helland, Director 425-556-2107
Sarah Pyle, Community Development and Implementation Manager 425-556-2426
Cameron Zapata, Senior Planner 425-556-2411
Planning and Community Development Department
III. DESCRIPTION/BACKGROUND
The Woodside project requires a Master Plan and Development Agreement approval to proceed. A Site Plan Entitlement permit would have been required after the approval of the Master Plan and Development Agreement; however, the applicant has elected to combine the Site Plan Entitlement permit with this review package. Development Agreements require a public hearing before the City Council, followed by Council approval. Under the Redmond Zoning Code (RZC), the Master Plan is required to be reviewed by Council in a consolidated package when a Development Agreement is sought. The following City Council meetings have been scheduled to facilitate the required review and approval process.
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Date |
Council Meeting |
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ü April 14 |
Committee of the Whole |
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ü May 5 |
Council Staff Report |
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ü May 26 |
Study Session |
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July 21 |
Public Hearing and Potential Final Action |
Because the Woodside project requires a Type V Quasi-Judicial decision of the City Council, the proceedings are governed by the Appearance of Fairness Doctrine (RCW 42.36). Communications outside of a Council meeting must be disclosed and could result in the disqualification of a decisionmaker if objections to participation are raised by the parties.
Project Context
The proposed project is located within the Southeast Redmond Neighborhood and is in the Northeast Design District (NDD1) zone. The site is approximately 11.94-acres in size and is currently undeveloped. The site was previously used as an industrial gravel pit and contains manmade steep slopes on the east, west, and south portions of the site. It is bounded by rural Unincorporated King County to the east, Woodbridge single-family community to the south, an undeveloped lot and Southeast Redmond Park to the west and Cadman industrial gravel pit to the north.
The NDD1 zone is unique because it includes residential uses, is adjacent to a protected natural environment, and is in close proximity to employment opportunities, retail, manufacturing, and industrial uses. NDD1 is intended to create a transition from the more intensive heavy industrial uses to less intensive single-family uses through thoughtful siting of buildings, vegetated buffers, and parks. To ensure that transition between industrial uses and placement of residential is effective, the zone includes additional standards that apply to site design.
Additional regulations unique to NDD1 zone include:
• The eastern edge of the project site is required to be designed to appreciate the views and opportunities along the rural edge.
• As the site transitions from less intensive to more intensive uses, tiered landscaping is required to be used in order to provide visual buffers from the more intensive use.
• Designing to the pedestrian scale and providing common open spaces and small gathering areas for people of all ages and abilities is required to cultivate a sense of space and contribute to the neighborhood character
Project Description
The project is proposing 170 for-sale dwelling units (17 of which will be affordable) and consists of 118 townhomes and 52 carriage flat condominiums, 2.67 acres of open space and associated infrastructure upgrades. The Master Plan proposes to increase the housing diversity within the City, provide a school bus shelter, a pedestrian connection to Woodbridge Community, and the dwelling units will be built to 3-Star Built Green standards. The project will extend 191st Avenue NE north to NE 70th Street and construct NE 70th Street from 188th Avenue NE to the project site.
The Technical Committee has recommended approval to the City Council on April 29, 2020. A thorough analysis has been prepared for the City Council’s review and demonstrates the project’s conformance with the following:
• Comprehensive Plan
• Redmond Zoning Code
• Master Plan Decision Criteria (RZC 21.76.070.P.5)
• Development Agreement Criteria (RZC 21.76.070.L.3)
• Site Plan Entitlement Criteria (RZC 21.76.070.Y.3)
In summary, the proposed project meets all applicable decision criteria listed in the paragraph above and dimensional requirements of the zone. The project application also implements the vision and policies set forth in the Comprehensive Plan for Southeast Redmond. Key goals the project emphasizes include:
LU-11: Promote compatibility between land uses and minimize land use conflicts when there is potential for adverse impacts on lower intensity or more sensitive uses by:
• Ensuring that uses or structures meet performance standards that limit adverse impacts, such as noise, vibration, smore and fumes; and
• Creating an effective transition between land uses through building and site design, use of buffers and landscaping, or other techniques.
Response: The project site abuts Cadman industrial gravel pit to the north, rural and natural areas in Unincorporated King County to the east, and the existing Woodbridge single-family community to the south. The project has been designed to address compatibility with the existing neighboring uses by creating areas of transition from less intense to more intense uses. For example, the carriage flat buildings that are adjacent to Woodbridge have a two-story maximum height in order to be more compatible to the existing neighborhood. A minimum 15-foot wide landscape transition adjacent to the south property line is also proposed to buffer Woodbridge from Woodside with at least 30 percent increased planting sizes to be installed. Each building is proposed to include a private backyard with a minimum depth of 15 feet, providing in total, with the landscaped transition area a minimum 30 to 35-foot building setback from the southern property line.
Cadman operations are located north of the project site. The proposed townhomes have been oriented so that its narrowest dimension (37 feet) faces the Cadman site, landscaping and a six-foot tall fence has been proposed to minimize noise impacts. The landscaping will include evergreen trees at least five-feet in height and deciduous trees at least ten-feet in height and are to be installed on the north side of the project site to provide at least 80-percent sight obscuring screening along that edge of the property. An existing 20-foot wide berm, currently located on the southern edge of Woodside, will be moved north of Woodside to the Cadman operations site to provide additional noise buffering from the more intensive land use.
The east side of the project site sits adjacent to rural King County. The buildings adjacent to the east side of the property are to provide passive spaces and to better relate to the topography and natural surroundings. The buildings along the eastern edge are located 80 feet from the property line and do not front more than 50 percent of the property line. This presents a transition from the more intensive Woodside to the less intensive rural King County.
HO-11: Encourage the development of a variety of housing types, sizes and densities throughout the city to accommodate the diverse needs of Redmond residents through changes in age, family size and carious live changes, including:
• Developments that provide smaller units with a mix of attached and detached dwelling units,
• Homes with ground floor master suites,
• Homes with all living areas on one floor.
Response: The project is not a traditional detached single-family development; it provides a mix of housing types of smaller townhomes and carriage flats to fill the Missing Middle Housing gap within the City. Missing Middle Housing is a type of housing sized between detached single-family homes, much like in North Redmond, and mid to high-rise apartments much like in Downtown or Overlake but without the cost and maintenance burden of a detached single-family home. These housing types appeal to different generational and income needs.
The attached townhomes proposed are three stories in height and range from approximately 1,300 to 1,700 square feet with two to three bedrooms. The project proposes 52 single level carriage flats condominiums, which are above garage condominiums. The carriage flats range from approximately 1,000 square feet to 1,200 square feet with two bedrooms. The proposed development offers a variety of housing types and price points to families of different sizes, ages, and income levels.
HO-12: Create opportunities for ownership housing in a variety of settings, styles, sizes and affordability levels throughout Redmond.
Response: The proposed project site was formerly an industrial gravel pit. The project will offer 118 for-sale townhomes with two to three bedrooms and 52 for-sale two-bedroom carriage flats. These housing types are a departure from the commonly built single-family home and for-lease multifamily communities. As a result, this project would diversify the City’s housing supply and making home ownership within Redmond possible for a greater number of persons. Ten percent of the units will be available as affordable through participation and coordination with A Regional Coalition for Housing (ARCH) and will be distributed throughout the site.
Development Agreement:
The Development Agreement provides the following benefits to the City:
• Increase in the diversity of for-sale housing supply;
• School bus shelter (on 192nd Avenue NE);
• Pedestrian connection of Woodbridge Community (638 lineal feet);
• 3-star Built Green homes.
In return, the applicant is proposing:
• A ten-year vesting period;
• Development in six phases.
The applicant is not requesting any additional considerations and is requesting what is generally granted to typical preliminary plats that are routinely reviewed by the City. The ten-year vesting and phasing of the development are allowed under RZC 21.76.070.3. The Development Agreement is largely a Code mandated requirement for the NDD1 zone that must be met in order to process the permit.
Staff presented the Technical Committee Report to the City Council on May 5, 2020 and a Study Session was held on May 26, 2020. An issues matrix reflecting comments raised by Council to-date has been included with this memo as “Attachment D.” The required public hearing is scheduled for July 21, 2020.
IV. PREVIOUS DISCUSSIONS HELD
April 14 - Committee of the Whole - Planning and Public Works
May 5- City Council Staff Report
May 26- City Council Study Session
V. IMPACT
A. Service/Delivery:
It is not anticipated that the project will have a negative impact on City services or delivery. The Lake Washington School District has been notified of the proposed addition of the 170 dwelling units.
B. Fiscal Note:
The project proposes to mitigate impacts through street improvements/dedications, trail construction/dedication, transportation impact fees, fire impact fees, park impact fees, and school impact fees.
VI. ALTERNATIVES TO STAFF RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends that Council conduct a public hearing and approve the Master Plan, Development Agreement, and Site Plan Entitlement. As alternatives to the staff recommendation, Council could choose to:
1. Keep the public hearing open to a date certain and render a decision at the close of the hearing; or
2. Leave the public hearing open and remand the application back to City Staff to address any issues brought up during the hearing and set a new date for the close of hearing and decision; or
3. Close the public hearing and set date for the item to return for a final decision at a future meeting.
VII. TIME CONSTRAINTS
There have been no identified time constraints other than state mandated timelines for review of permit applications. However, the applicant would appreciate a timely review.
VIII. LIST OF ATTACHMENTS
Attachment A: Ordinance
Attachment B: Resolution
Attachment C: Technical Committee Report to City Council with Exhibits
Attachment D: Study Session Issues Matrix 5-26-2020