Notes
City of Yelm
Community Development Department
105 Yelm Avenue West
P.O. Box 479
Yelm, WA 98597
Pre-Application Meeting
October 21, 2004
These comments are preliminary in nature and are not intended to represent final comments and or requirements for the City of Yelm. Until a complete application is made, the Community
Development Department can only attempt to inform the applicant of general requirements as they appear in the form presented by the applicant at the time of pre-submission.
Proponent: Tahoma Terra, LCC 4200 6th Avenue SE Lacey, WA 98503
Property Owner: Henry Dragt 14848 Longmire Street Yelm, WA 98597
Project Proposal: Master Planned Community - 220 acre mixed use development.
Project Location: At the end of Longmire Street in a portion of Sections 23 and 24, Township 17 North, Range 1 East, W.M.
Zoning
The property is identified by the Comprehensive Plan map as Master Planned Community. Within this district, development may be allowed through approval of a master site plan and final
master site plan by the City.
The purpose of the master plan process is to protect and improve the public health, safety and welfare by pursuing the following objectives:
A. To ensure that future growth and development which occurs as the result of a master plan is in accord with the comprehensive plan and the planning policies of the city;
B. To provide for large-scale projects that incorporate a full range of land uses, where appropriate and where consistent with the comprehensive plan;
C. To encourage innovations and creativity for the safe, efficient and economic use of land;
D. To ensure and facilitate the provision of adequate public services such as transportation, water, sewage, storm drainage, electricity and open space;
E. To encourage efficient patterns of land use which, where appropriate, decrease trip length of automobile travel and encourage trip consolidation, increased public access to mass transit,
bicycle routes and other alternative modes of transportation;
F. To improve the design, quality and character of new development so as to reduce energy consumption and demand, and to minimize adverse environmental impacts including degradation
of wildlife habitat and important natural features in the area; master plan for the site;
G. To foster and ensure a rational pattern of relationships between residential, business and industrial uses so as to complement and minimize impacts on existing neighborhoods;
H. To ensure coordination of commercial and industrial building designs which will be harmonious and blending with each other and the natural environment.
A Master Planned Community can have any mix of land uses provided the plan is consistent with the Comprehensive Plan. All standards of the zoning code and subdivision code, including
setbacks, building heights, road sections, and land uses, are established by the master site plan.
The application for the master site plan approval must clearly establish the proposed development regulations for each phase of the proposed master site plan. Existing standards from
similar zoning districts may be used as a base for the MPC requirements, although the developers may wish to review setbacks and building height to create unique neighborhoods within
the project.
The master planned development, at a minimum, should:
Create a neighborhood that complements and extends the land use patterns within the City.
Provide for an average gross density of at least 4 units per acre.
Provide a mix of housing types, styles, and density.
Commercial areas should be limited to serving the residents of the proposed master planned community and not compete with the other commercial zones within the City.
Provide appropriate public services to serve the proposed community.
Critical Areas
Pursuant to the previous environmental documents, there are wetlands and associated buffers located on the property generally located near Thompson Creek. Any new use within the wetland
buffers must be addressed in the updated environmental review documents. The only enroachment into the wetland buffers proposed by the previoulsy
approved master site plan was the road crossing, which follows the path of an existing crossing.
The entire City of Yelm is within a critical aquifer recharge area. Development standards are in place to mitigate any potential adverse impacts to the aquifer. Any deviations in the
development standards proposed for the master planned development will have to include equal or better protections.
Transportation
The SW Yelm Annexation and previous applications for master planned communities within the annexation area all proposed a boulevard connecting SR 510 (Yelm Avenue West) at a realigned
Killion Road to SR 507. This route is part of the Yelm Comprehensive Transportation Plan and must be part of any new application for development of the subject site. The City will
require that the portion of the Boulevard that extends from the project site north to SR 510 (Yelm Avenue West) be aquired through a dedication by the property owners to the City of
Yelm or protected through another instrument approved by the City, such as a three party agreement in which the City automatically aquires title to the corridor at a certain phase of
development or through formation of a Local Improvement District.
The transportation impact analysis submitted with the application should clearly identify what road system improvements are required at each phase of development. It is anticipated
that the Boulevard would be required to be constructed along with phase two of the project, with improvements to Longmire Street, the intersection of Longmire/Cullens and Yelm Avenue
West, McKenzie Avenue, and Mosman to SR 507 required at different phasing points. The importance of the Longmire/McKenzie/Mosman link to SR 507 is due to the Boulevard not being constructed
through the annexation area to SR 507 as part of this proposed master planned community.
The TIA and the phasing plan for the master planned development will have to clearly identify at what point various improvements to the transportation system will be required. No phase
will be allowed to adversely impact the existing transportation system if additional improvements would mitigate those impacts.
Water
The proposed site is currently not connected to the City of Yelm water system. An existing X” diameter water main is located near the intersection of Berry Valley and Longmire. This
main would be required to be extended to serve the proposed
development. Fire flow will be an issue at this location and it is possible that on-site storage will be required in order to provide sufficient fire flows.
Commercial water connections are based on a consumption rate of 240 gallons per day and are charged at a rate of $1,500 per connection (fee subject to change) inside the city limits.
An engineers estimate for water usage will be required as part of the civil plan submission. Water connection fees are payable at building permit issuance.
An irrigation meter may be installed, provided an approved backflow prevention device is provided. As sewer use fees are calculated based on water usage, an irrigation meter could lower
monthly sewer bills.
All commercial buildings and irrigation systems are required to provide for cross-connection control through the provisions of a back flow prevention device installed on the water services.
A list of approved devices can be found at Chapter 246-290-490 WAC.
Sewer TC \l1 "
The proposed site is currently not connected to the City of Yelm’s STEP sewer system. The closest existing line in the sewer basin in which the site is located near the corner of Berry
Valley and Longmire. However, the project site is in a different sewer basin than the existing line. The City will allow phase I to connect to the existing line provided that the developer
shows that this connection will not adversly impact the ability to fully connect all future development within each of the impacted sewage basins. If approved, the 3 inch line would
have to be extended to the project site along Longmire Street.
Sewer connections for all future phases would be through a new connection to the sewer treatment plant XXX DESCRIBE
Line sizes would be reviewed as part of the civil plan submission and may be adjusted if the proposed use generates more sewer usage than anticipated by the sewer plan. A latecomers
agreement may be requested by the developer.
This project will be required to install a mofied City of Yelm STEP sewer tank assembly to serve each household. Each home would connect to a standard detail tank which would gravity
flow to a pressure chamber that would serve between 5 and 15 households. The STEP tanks would be located on each lot pursuant to the details in the development guidelines, while the
pressure chamber would be located in the street right-of-way. Telemetry may be required in the pressure chambers. Commercial and multi-family connections would be per the details in
the development guidelines.
Currently, sewer connection fees are $5,269.00 per equivelant residential unit. This fee is subject to change and is collected at the time of building permit issuance.
Fire Protection
All projects need to have fire protection for the buildings. It is likely that fire flow may be an issue at this location, which could be addressed through on-site fire flow storage.
Stormwater
TC \l1 "
The City of Yelm has adopted the 1992 DOE Stormwater Manual and all stormwater treatment must meet the standards of this manual. The master planned community can propose alternate methods
for the treatment of stormwater as part of the application process. The City will consider alternate methods provided that:
They are approved by the Department of Ecology as providing equal or better treatment than the standard provisions of the 2001 Stormwater Manual.
They do not require maintenance beyond a typical stormwater system in Yelm which meets the standards of the 1992 Stormwater Manual.
They are clearly community property and not easily subject to encroachment by adjacent property owners (such as drainage swales in the right-of-way).
State Environmental Policy Act Process
A SEPA threshold determination will be required before action is taken on the Master Site Plan application. An Environmental Impact Statement was prepared for the Annexation of the
subject property and a supplemental EIS was preapred for a previous application for a Maser Planned Community. An expanded environmental checklist will be required initially to review
the changes and the impacts attributable to those changes in the present proposal from the previous application. The expanded checklist should include the following environmental documents:
Traffic Impact Analysis.
Preliminary Stormwater Plan.
Information on additional demands for Fire, Basic Life Support, and Police services.
The SEPA threshold determination is appealable to the Hearings Examiner, who would hold an open record hearing on the issue. The Examiners decision may be appealed to City Council,
which would conduct a closed record hearing and determine if the Examiners decision was contrary to law and supported by substantial evidence.
Master Site Plan Review Process
A Master Plan Development application as established by Chapter 17.62 YMC is a several step process.
1. A conceptual Master Site Plan is reviewed
2. Final Master Site Plan.
3. Development Approval.
Phasing
Developer Agreement