Development Commission · Wednesday, July 6, 2016 · City Council Digest

1. CALL TO ORDER

Commission Membership

packet pp.3

Open packet at p.3 ↗

Staff report:

Development Commission About Staff Liaison Created in 1983, this commission reviews all land Christopher Wright, use actions requiring a Level 3 review. The Project Oversight Manager Commission further serves as an advisory board to Email the City Council on land use actions requiring council approval (Level 5 review). Regular Members 2018 - Vacant The appearance of fairness doctrine prohibits 2018 - Raymond Leong Development Commission members and City 2018 - Richard Sowa Council members from discussing the merit of 2019 - Michael Brennan specific land use development applications outside 2019 - Randolph Harrison of the formal public meeting process. Citizens, 2020 - Melvin Morgan however, may discuss any issue with the City's 2020 - Kevin Price Development Services Department. Written comments are also welcome. Alternate Members 2017 - TJ Ginthner Membership 2017 - Vacant The…

2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES

Minutes of June 8, 2016

packet pp.5

▶ Watch from 2:02 Open packet at p.5 ↗

Staff report:

CITY OF ISSAQUAH DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION MINUTES June 8, 2016

4. AGENDA ITEMS

Sunset 7 Apartments - Site Development Permit - SDP16-00004

Amy Tarce, Senior Planner · packet pp.7–31

Topics: Land Use

▶ Watch from 1:00 Open packet at p.7 ↗

Staff report:

CITY OF ISSAQUAH DEVELOPMENT SERVICES DEPARTMENT DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION

207 segments .txt ↗

0:26 ↗ Good evening and welcome to the July 6th meeting of the Issaquah Development Commission. Tonight

0:33 ↗ we will be looking at a, this is a public, obviously a public

0:39 ↗ meeting, and the process will be explained For those of you who don't

0:45 ↗ have a copy of it or didn't look at it, there will be approval of

0:48 ↗ minutes, which is the next item. Then there will be a session primarily for the

0:54 ↗ benefit of members of the commission that is a review of the process

1:00 ↗ that is involved with our work here. And then the agenda item is a site

1:06 ↗ development permit application for process or

1:12 ↗ applicant SDP 16-0004 and that will be the primary thing that

1:18 ↗ we'll be doing this evening is looking at presentation by the city. There

1:24 ↗ will then be, a part of this will be, and the applicant and then we'll

1:28 ↗ have questions, clarifications and so on by members of the commission.

1:34 ↗ There will also, there's also a sign in sheet there if there, Normally there isn't

1:39 ↗ a part the public comment, but we're going to do that today if there's anybody

1:44 ↗ that would like member of the public that would like to be heard on this

1:48 ↗ We'd ask you to sign it in please and then when you come up Excuse

1:52 ↗ me when you come up to the microphone If you'd give your name and your

1:56 ↗ address if you'd like to be on the record, okay All right with that The

2:02 ↗ first item is the approval of the minutes are there any Corrections?

2:10 ↗ Legions? If not, can we get a second? Mr. Chair, move. Move. Motion, please. Move.

2:15 ↗ Move. Move. Move. Move. Move. Move. Move. Move. Move. Move. Move. Move. Move. Move. Move.

2:16 ↗ Move. Move. Move. Move. Move. Move. Move. Move. Move. Move. Move. Move. Move. Move. Move.

2:19 ↗ Move. Move. Move. Move. Move. Move. Move. Move. Move. Move. Move. Move. Move. Move. Move.

2:21 ↗ Move. Move. Move. Move. Move. Move. Move. Move. Move. Move. Move. Move. Move. Move. Move.

2:27 ↗ Move. Move. Move. Move. Move. Move. Move. Move. Move. Move. Move. Move. Move. Move. Move.

2:31 ↗ Move. Move. Move. Move. Move. Move. Move. Move. Move. Move. Move. Move. Move. Move. Move.

2:34 ↗ Move. Move. Move. Move. Move. Move. Move. Move My name is Christopher Wright and I'm

2:39 ↗ the project oversight manager for the Development Services Department. And in the interest of

2:44 ↗ continuing to train you, especially the new members, but also as a refresher

2:50 ↗ for some of you old timers, we thought we would take a few minutes to

2:54 ↗ go over kind of what the Development Commission's purview is and what kind of applications

2:59 ↗ you see and why.

3:05 ↗ This is a list of the different types of applications that you see. There are

3:10 ↗ site development permits, SDPs, which is what you're reviewing this evening. Community

3:15 ↗ conference, which is kind of a preliminary meeting that you do for some site development

3:21 ↗ permits, and I'll get to that in a minute. Master site plans, development

3:26 ↗ agreements, and then some signs. I put that in there for you, Mel. Thank you,

3:32 ↗ Mr. Wright. Because there are some signs, if they are outside of an urban village,

3:37 ↗ outside of central Issaquah, on a major street, new signs not replacing existing

3:43 ↗ signs that would come to the Development Commission. And we'll be evaluating

3:49 ↗ whether the Development Commission is going to continue to review signs sometime in the next

3:52 ↗ year or so, hopefully, when we draft a unified sign code.

3:59 ↗ Because right now we've got five different sign codes for different areas of the city.

4:02 ↗ So we'd like to correct that. But just know between now and then, you may

4:06 ↗ see some signs. So the main

4:12 ↗ applications we wanted to talk about are site development permits, master site plans, and development

4:17 ↗ agreements. And again, a majority of what you see are site development permits. And they're

4:22 ↗ what we call a level three review. And if a project is

4:27 ↗ outside of an urban village and outside of central Issaquah, level three

4:33 ↗ reviews are required for projects that either are a level three level of review on

4:39 ↗ the table of permitted land uses, which in the land use code are the blue

4:43 ↗ sheets, but also sites that are greater than three acres and on a primary street.

4:49 ↗ So that's kind of the determining factor on when something is a level three site

4:54 ↗ development permit or not. And I mentioned a community conference a little bit ago. Community

4:59 ↗ conferences are a required step in the site development permit process, again, for

5:05 ↗ projects that are not within central Issaquah. And again, tonight is an example of a

5:11 ↗ project that is on a major street on Sunset Way and went through the community

5:15 ↗ conference process a few several months ago. And for a level three

5:21 ↗ site development permit, the development commission is the decision maker and it's through a quasi

5:27 ↗ judicial process and Amy's gonna talk a little bit more about that in a minute.

5:32 ↗ And what you're reviewing there is consistency with the development regulations, the design criteria

5:38 ↗ checklist or the green sheets in the land use code and technical review

5:46 ↗ of items that are within the land use code. For a master site plan,

5:52 ↗ and those are kind of getting phased out as well, because there are no master

5:56 ↗ site plans either in the urban villages or in central Issaquah. But outside of those

6:01 ↗ areas, if a parcel is greater than 15 acres and is anything other than

6:07 ↗ single family residential, it goes through a master site plan process. Examples of

6:13 ↗ master site plans that you've seen in the last few years, usually it's been schools

6:17 ↗ like the high school or the middle school because that whole property is greater than

6:20 ↗ 15 acres. Confluence Park was another example because that was greater than 15 acres. But

6:27 ↗ there's only a couple of parcels left in the city that could possibly go through

6:31 ↗ a master site plan process. And for those, the development commission is not the decision

6:37 ↗ maker, but actually you make a recommendation to the city council. And often,

6:43 ↗ especially in the case with the schools, you'll be reviewing the master site plan concurrently

6:47 ↗ with a site development permit, usually. And for those, a

6:53 ↗ master site plan by itself, the plans are more kind of a site plan. You

6:57 ↗ wouldn't usually see building elevations necessarily. It's mostly the site plan that you're reviewing

7:04 ↗ for compliance with the comprehensive plan and land use code. And there's specific criteria for

7:08 ↗ master site plans in the code as well. And then development agreements, I think it's

7:14 ↗ been a while since you've seen one, but you may be seeing one at your

7:18 ↗ next meeting for Silverado. uh... but development agreements come to the development commission

7:24 ↗ for uh... when a uh... cluster development is proposed or when uh... project is utilizing

7:30 ↗ the transfer of development rights or what we call td ours in a cluster cluster

7:35 ↗ development uh... just by way of explaining is when uh... there's uh... a

7:41 ↗ residential proposal and the proposing in a single-family zone to either cluster attached

7:47 ↗ units or make smaller lots in an effort to preserve more open space.

7:53 ↗ So we do see those sometimes. And like I said, you may have an example

7:57 ↗ coming up of that. And that too, like master site plans, you're not the decision

8:01 ↗ maker on a development agreement, but instead you're making a recommendation to the city council.

8:09 ↗ So this is just really generally kind of the process that most applications go

8:16 ↗ through us and then through you. And this is a site development permit, as example.

8:22 ↗ Usually, we'll have kind of an introductory meeting. Sometimes we call it a project feasibility

8:26 ↗ meeting internally when we go over with the applicant just what the development standards are,

8:31 ↗ what the zoning is, the permitted uses. and just kind of see if what they're

8:37 ↗ proposing will meet the code. And then we will have what we call a collaboration

8:41 ↗ meeting where they may have some kind of preliminary sketches, some conceptual designs. In that

8:47 ↗ meeting, we usually have a planner and an engineer, and we kind of share the

8:50 ↗ vision for whatever area they're proposing their project in and just kind of talk a

8:56 ↗ little bit more about the process. And then the first real application that's made is

9:00 ↗ a pre-application and we have a pre-application meeting.

9:06 ↗ And those are plans that are starting to get a little more firmed up at

9:12 ↗ least to the point where we would route it to all of the different permit

9:17 ↗ reviewing departments in the city and kind of gather their comments and share them with

9:21 ↗ the applicant again talk a little bit more about what recommendations we have before they

9:27 ↗ make their larger land use application and talk a little bit more detail about the

9:31 ↗ process and expectations at that point so then the actual site development permits the middle

9:37 ↗ that's the big one that's the that's the land use permit application and so we

9:42 ↗ take that in again it's routed it's all of the city departments we notify

9:48 ↗ adjacent property owners and parties of record what the application is submitted

9:54 ↗ and then subsequently then we notify them again when the public hearing date is set

10:00 ↗ And when we set the date for the public hearing, we've compiled all of the

10:03 ↗ comments from all the departments and the planner drafts a staff report,

10:10 ↗ which includes our overview of the project, description of the

10:15 ↗ project, and then also our recommended conditions. And then it becomes

10:21 ↗ before the development commission in a public hearing, which tonight is an example of. And

10:26 ↗ then if the development commission approves it or conditionally approves it, we draft a notice

10:31 ↗ of decision. And this goes into a little bit more detail about the

10:37 ↗ steps that you're involved in. As I said, the staff report that the staff writes

10:42 ↗ is sent to you about a week before the hearing. And at the hearing,

10:49 ↗ And there's kind of two parts to it. I mentioned if you're outside of central

10:53 ↗ Issaquah and it's a site development permit, we will have had a community conference earlier

10:59 ↗ on to give just kind of initial comments and feedback without making any kind of

11:03 ↗ decision. But if it's within central Issaquah, it's kind of a two-step public hearing process.

11:09 ↗ We'll have the first public hearing where we get your input, get public input, and

11:14 ↗ then we hear whatever issues or concerns that you have. we kind of go

11:20 ↗ back, try to work with the applicant to address those, and draft up what we

11:25 ↗ call a briefing response memo that is kind of an addendum to the staff report

11:30 ↗ addressing those things that came out in that first meeting. And then in the second

11:34 ↗ public hearing portion is when you will see when and how and if we've

11:40 ↗ addressed those things, and at that point you would make your decision on the project.

11:46 ↗ And the reason for the two parts, I know, I said when we got rid

11:50 ↗ of the community conference step in central Issaquah, if we just had one hearing, it

11:55 ↗ would be kind of difficult for you to make your decision and for us to

11:59 ↗ address all of your concerns all in one meeting. So that's why we've kind of

12:03 ↗ broken it up so we have a chance to go back and address your concerns.

12:09 ↗ And then finally, as I said, the staff prepares a notice of decision with the

12:15 ↗ decision and all the conditions, and we prepare that for the chairperson's signature.

12:21 ↗ And that is the approval of a site development permit. And I'll just point out

12:25 ↗ now, for all of the... Because like I said, there are many different codes and

12:28 ↗ plans and chapters that we use in evaluating

12:34 ↗ projects. And I just wanted to point out that all of those are available on

12:38 ↗ the city's website. And in particular, there's a section called the Document Center on the

12:44 ↗ city's website. And this gives you just an example of where the central Issaquah plan

12:49 ↗ design standards are. But you can also get to the land use code, the sign

12:53 ↗ code, the critical area, ordinance you can get to all of our codes that we

12:59 ↗ use through there so i just wanted to make sure you were aware of that

13:04 ↗ and do you have any particular questions yes christopher is that process the preceding couple

13:10 ↗ of slides is that on the on on the website as well the city's website

13:14 ↗ um no not exactly there's a more detailed flow charts

13:20 ↗ uh that are part of the land use code and part of centralistic, but this

13:26 ↗ is kind of an abridged version. Okay. Can I suggest that maybe you

13:32 ↗ send copies of that to us individually

13:38 ↗ so that we can always have it, new members can continue to refer to it.

13:44 ↗ What was that, you old guys, was that the? The old timers, yeah. So we

13:49 ↗ can refresh our failing memory by looking at it too. It would help, I think.

13:54 ↗ Also, I think if you go forward a bit, if you notice down the lower

13:59 ↗ left, you need an N on recommendation there. Oh yeah. Okay. Anything

14:04 ↗ else? So the two public hearings that's really taken place,

14:10 ↗ so the first one, would have been called a community conference before? Is there a

14:15 ↗ difference? Well, there is, yeah. A community conference and a public hearing? The difference between

14:20 ↗ them really is that at a community conference, the plans are still kind of preliminary.

14:25 ↗ They're in the early stages. And so...

14:32 ↗ The goal there is to provide your input before they make their more

14:38 ↗ detailed plans. But in the site development permit public hearing for centralistic while the plans

14:43 ↗ are a little bit further along. They're complete basically at that point, but then

14:50 ↗ they may be revised in between those two meetings. But the level of detail in

14:53 ↗ the plans is the big difference. I had a question.

15:00 ↗ With respect to tonight's project, where does it map

15:06 ↗ to this? The last hearing? Yes, it's

15:11 ↗ basically this one here. Since it's not in central Issaquah, as I said, there was

15:16 ↗ a community conference that was done for this project a few months ago. And so

15:21 ↗ what we're entering into now won't be a two-part public hearing. It'll just be this

15:25 ↗ one, and this is where you'll be making your decision on the project.

15:33 ↗ Anything else? Okay, Christopher, thank you. I appreciate it. I think this is the kind

15:38 ↗ of thing that from time to time we need to do. It's good to back

15:41 ↗ up. Yeah, and it also helps to have this in the public portion of it

15:45 ↗ too so people have the opportunity to understand what the process is.

15:51 ↗ Exactly. And now Amy's going to talk a little bit more about the quasi-judicial aspect

15:54 ↗ of it.

16:02 ↗ Thank you, Christopher.

16:09 ↗ So I think Christopher had already touched on your role

16:15 ↗ as a development commission. So I am going to skip along to the next slide.

16:21 ↗ So basically, just a very brief description of what quasi judicial mean.

16:27 ↗ In this particular instance, basically, the process is like a court basically you serve almost

16:33 ↗ like a court, and the proceedings have to be fair and appear to be fair.

16:40 ↗ And there are two aspects of what

16:46 ↗ your role and your responsibilities are focused on. One is the

16:52 ↗ procedural due process, and then the other one is the substantive due process. So in

16:57 ↗ both cases, in both situations, I'm sorry, both situations have to be met.

17:04 ↗ So for procedural due process, we look at whether we followed all the steps

17:09 ↗ that's required by law. And also, basically, there's a

17:16 ↗ focus on your role with the person who's benefiting from

17:21 ↗ the decision, which is the applicant. For substantive due process, basically, we look at

17:27 ↗ The adopted regulations, whether or not staff established that the

17:33 ↗ project met the standards, and also the conditions that we

17:39 ↗ recommend and that you eventually accept and use for the approval

17:46 ↗ is reasonable and related to alleviating a problem created by the project.

17:52 ↗ So this is where we talk a lot about nexus and proportionality.

17:58 ↗ So for tonight's public hearing, we go through this

18:04 ↗ exercise for the new members. Basically, we have these six

18:09 ↗ questions that we ask everyone to evaluate on your own. I'm not gonna read all

18:15 ↗ of them, but I'll give you time to kind of look through them, and then

18:20 ↗ at the end, I'm just gonna check and see where everyone's at.

18:42 ↗ So hopefully everyone's done. Looks like you guys are looking at me, which means you

18:45 ↗ read a lot faster than me. So is there anyone in the

18:51 ↗ Commission that would answer yes to any of these questions?

18:58 ↗ Okay, that's great. And we're good. So the other aspect that...

Approved minutes

Extracted from the next meeting's packet, where this meeting's minutes were approved as a consent-calendar attachment.

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Attendance

Audience commenters (1)

Commissioner Discussion HARRISON

Recommendations & actions (8)

Sentences extracted from the narrative containing words like recommended, requested, directed, moved, or approved. Best-effort — verify against the full minutes for context.

Tarce said the Council has asked staff to come up with a preliminary concept for improvements on East Sunset Way, but it is in the very early stages.
Tarce explained that the bike rack identified in the plan can be moved, and the eventual placement can be worked out with the applicant.
Commissioner Discussion HARRISON asked staff to clarify when notification of this application became available to the public via direct mail, on the City’s Web site, notices published in the newspaper, and so on.
Review of Criteria Checklist HARRISON asked staff to explain the objective of using the design standards checklist for this project (Attachment 1).
MOVED BY HARRISON, SECONDED BY GINTHNER that SOWA be nominated as Chair of the Development Commission for the upcoming term.
MOVED BY LEONG, SECONDED BY GINTHNER that nominations for Chair be closed.
MOVED BY BRENNAN, SECONDED BY HARRISON that MORGAN be nominated as Vice Chair of the Development Commission for the upcoming term.
MOVED BY GINTHNER, SECONDED BY LEONG, that nominations for Vice Chair be closed.