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PL Long townhouse dev City of Yelm Community Development Department 105 Yelm Avenue West P.O. Box 479 Yelm, WA 98597  Pre-Application Meeting October 19, 2005 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: Jack Long Project Proposal: Multi Family Housing Project Location: Crystal Springs St. SE Short plat to separate industrial parcel, Binding Site Plan to provide for condominium townhouses. Townhouse development regulations. Zoning and Setbacks The property is zoned Moderate Density Residential (R6), Chapter 17.15 YMC. This district allows residential uses at a gross density of up to 6 units per acre. The density is calculated on the gross acreage. Maximum number of dwelling units allowed is 15, based on the approximate 2.5 acres. Actual acreage shall be determined by a licensed surveyor. A Townhouse Development allows for townhouses, however, the number of dwelling units per gross acre permitted in the underlying zone shall serve as the criteria to determine basic density. A density increase may be approved up to twenty percent (20%) provided that three of the following four environmental and recreational amenities are met: (20% of 15 units is 3, total 18 units maximum) a. Develop and equip significant recreational areas within the common open space with such features as, but not limited to, swimming pools, tennis courts, bike or pedestrian path systems or children’s play areas, b. Substantial retention of natural groundcover, bushes and trees, c. Landscape the on-site drainage retention facility as per Chapter 17.80 YMC and link with pedestrian path system for passive recreation, d. Provide substantial and exceptional landscaping in excess of the requirements of Chapter 17.80 YMC either in addition to or in lieu of natural landscaping; Height. The maximum height of any townhouse shall not exceed that allowed in the district in which the development is located, which is 35 feet. Maximum Parcel Size. The parcel size for townhouse development shall be no more than two acres in the R-4 zone, five acres in the R-6 zone and 10 acres in the R-14 zone. Setback Variation. No more than four abutting townhouses or townhouse clusters within the townhouse project site shall have a common front building setback. Variations in the setback of front building faces shall be at least four feet. Right-of-Way Setback. No townhouse dwelling unit shall be located closer than 25 feet to any public right-of-way or within 15 feet of a private drive, access road or common open parking area to the front or rear of such a dwelling unit. Rear Yard Requirements. The minimum rear yard requirement shall be the same as the underlying zone. Private Yard Area. Every lot containing a townhouse must provide a private yard of at least 300 square feet, oriented to either the building front, rear or side, enclosed visually by fences or walls at least five feet in height or plantings to screen first level views from adjacent units. Side Yard Requirements. The minimum side yard requirement for end dwelling units in townhouse groups shall be the same as the underlying zone. For all dwelling units other than end dwelling units in subdivided townhouse developments, the common walls shall be designed with zero lot lines. Minimum Distances Between Townhouse Groups. No portion of a townhouse, accessory structure or other building type in or related to one group or cluster of contiguous townhouses shall be nearer than 10 feet to any portion of a townhouse or accessory structure of another townhouse building or cluster. Access. When the only driveway is from the street, each pair of units must share a common curb cut. Conversion. Conversion of existing structures to a townhouse project will be permitted provided all townhouse development guidelines as outlined in this section can be satisfied. Refuse Areas. Refuse container screening shall be required and be of a material and design compatible with the overall architectural theme of the associated structure, shall be at least as high as the refuse container, and shall in no case be less than six feet high. No refuse container shall be permitted between a street and the front of a building. Refuse collection areas shall be designed to contain all refuse generated on-site and deposited between collections. Deposited refuse shall not be visible from outside the refuse enclosure. 17.61.050 Review and approval procedure. Townhouse developments shall be approved pursuant to the regulations and procedures established in the platting and subdivision ordinance, as modified below, and the standards of this chapter. A. Review. The site plan review committee shall review and approve the creation of four or fewer townhouse lots. The site plan review committee approval does not involve a public hearing, but will be subject to notification of adjacent property owners. The decision of the site plan review committee is subject to the appeal process as identified in Chapter 17.84 YMC. Platting. A subdivision plat or short plat shall be required for all townhouse developments not proposed to be filed as a condominium so that individual dwelling units are divided into lots with common walls located on lot lines. Application requirements for a townhouse development can be found in Chapter 17.61.050 Yelm Municipal Code Parking Chapter 17.72 YMC requires a minimum of 2 off-street parking spaces per unit. Yelm Development Guidelines 4G.110 states; “in all commercial and industrial developments, parking areas shall be so arranged as to make it unnecessary for a vehicle to back out into any street or public right-of-way. A parking plan shall be submitted to the Community Development Department for review and approval a the time of application for site plan review. All required parking areas must be paved, striped and landscaped. Ingress/Egress Ingress and egress at the site shall be consistent with the Yelm Development Guidelines, section 4B.140. Existing vehicular access to the site is by Crystal Springs Road. In this instance, the binding site plan allows for a commercial driveway entrance, and shared access travel lanes to the units. Travel lanes will be reviewed for vehicular and pedestrian safety, as well as fire access. Landscaping: Chapter 17.80, Type II, III, IV & V Type II landscaping is intended to provide visual separation of uses from streets, and visual separation of compatible uses so as to soften the appearance of streets, parking areas, and building elevation. This landscaping is used around the perimeter of a site, and adjacent to buildings. Type II landscaping is characterized by an 8 foot landscape strip between uses and a 5 foot strip around buildings of any combination of evergreen and deciduous trees (with no more than 50 percent being deciduous), shrubs, earthen berms and related plant materials or design features may be selected; provided, that the resultant effect is to provide partial screening and buffering between uses and of softening the appearance of streets, parking and structures. Type III landscaping is intended to provide visual relief where clear sight is desired. This landscaping is utilized along pedestrian corridors and walks for separation of pedestrians from streets and parking areas. Type III landscaping would be required along Crystal Springs Road. Type III landscaping is typified by a six foot landscaping strip with street trees for a large overstory canopy along streets and pedestrian corridors and grass or other approved vegetation for groundcover. Earthen berms with grass or other vegetative groundcover and other design features may be worked into landscaping provided the resultant effect of providing a pedestrian-friendly environment and visual relief where clear site is required can be achieved. Type IV landscaping is intended to provide visual relief and shade in parking areas. At least 24 square feet of landscape development for each parking stall proposed. Each area of landscaping must contain at least 100 square feet of area and must be at least six feet in any direction. Each planting area must contain at least one tree. Live groundcover shall be provided throughout each landscaping area. No parking stall shall be located more than 50 feet from a tree. Type V landscaping is required in storm water retention areas, if required. The floor and slopes of any stormwater retention/detention area shall be planted in vegetation that is suitable and will thrive in hydric soils. The landscaping of the stormwater facility shall be incorporated with all on-site landscaping. A conceptual landscaping plan is required with the application for site plan review. Final landscaping and irrigation plan is required as element of civil construction drawings, with installation prior to occupancy. The refuse area must be large enough to accommodate a dumpster and recycle bin. Refuse areas must be screened with an enclosure of a material and design compatible with the overall architectural theme. A six foot wall or fence shall enclose any outdoor refuse collection point. The fence shall be a solid material such as wood or masonry. Traffic The City has adopted a Transportation Facility Charge (TFC) of $750.00 per PM peak trip. The Code provides a default table that the applicant can use to determine new PM trips generated. Multi-family dwellings (townhouse, duplexes) generate .60 peak PM trips, which is equivalent to a TFC of $450.00 per unit. The TFC is payable at time of building permit issuance. If the applicant feels the proposed use would not generate the default number of trips as designated in the TFC Ordinance, and analysis prepared by a Washington State Licensed Engineer can be submitted to the City for review and consideration. SEPA An environmental checklist is required. Yelm School District requires applicants to mitigate impacts to the School District from residential growth. Each developer must negotiate an agreement with the School District. As of January 2005, mitigation fees per single-family residential unit are $2,140.00. Yelm Creek is a shoreline of the state which is designated a rural environment. This designation establishes a density of two homes per acre, a minimum lot size of 20,000 square feet, a minimum lot width of 100 feet, maximum lot coverage of 30 percent, and a setback of 50 feet. If any new lot extends within the shoreline jurisdiction, a shoreline substantial development permit will be required and the restrictions listed above would apply to all lots and portions of lots within the shoreline jurisdiction. Any development within the shoreline jurisdiction, such as the stormwater system, would trigger the requirement for a shoreline substantial development permit. A critical areas report is required to determine the wetland rating and analysis. The wetland rating will then determine the wetland buffer which ranges from 50 feet to 300 feet. The survey must include elevations which will be used to determine the actual flood zone. All development must remain outside of the flood zone. The riparian habitat area width of 150 feet is established along Yelm Creek. When the flood area exceeds the recommended riparian habitat area width, the riparian habitat area shall extend to the outer edge of the flooded area. Hydrologic and hydrogeologic studies are necessary to delineate the high ground water flood hazard area and the base flood elevation. No development shall locate within fifty feet, measured on a horizontal plane, from the outer edge of the high ground water hazard area or extending to a ground elevation two feet above the base flood elevation, whichever is less. The bottom of any infiltration facility for stormwater discharge shall be located at least 6 feet above the base flood elevation. Open Space Chapter 16 YMC (Subdivision) and Chapter 14.12 YMC (Open Space) require all residential developments to provide a minimum of 5% of the gross area in open space. Dedication and protection of the flood plain area meets the open space requirement. The binding site plan requires a public hearing before the Yelm Hearing Examiner and includes Environmental Review. Once preliminary approval is granted, the applicant has 5 years to install all required infrastructure improvements to serve the pads and apply for final binding site plan approval. A site plan review is required for each pad at the time of development to ensure the proposed building and its use is consistent with the requirements of the zoning code and the approved binding site plan. The environmental determination, preliminary binding site plan, and site plan review are reviewed concurrently and typically takes 16 to 18 weeks, depending on workload. Preliminary approval typically contains conditions of approval that the applicant must complete prior to receiving final binding site plan approval or permits for construction. Following land use approval the applicant is required to submit civil construction drawings to the Community Development Department for review and approval, and satisfy all conditions of preliminary binding site plan approval. Upon satisfactory completion, the applicant submits the final documentation for final binding site plan. Short subdivision Chapter 16, A short subdivision is an administrative land use approval. Minimum application requirements are located Section 16.12 and are listed on the application form. A project of this size can expect completed review in approximately 12 - 14 weeks. Preliminary subdivision approval typically contains conditions of approval that the applicant must complete prior to receiving final subdivision approval or permits for construction. Following land use approval the applicant is required to submit civil construction drawings to the Community Development Department for review and approval, and satisfy all conditions of preliminary subdivision approval. Upon satisfactory completion, the applicant submits the final documentation for final plat approval. Final Plat approval takes approximately 8 weeks from the time the City receives a completed application packet. Other Thurston County Health Department Review may be required if any wells and/or septic systems are located on or within 100' of property. All wells and septic systems within 100' of the property must be shown on preliminary plat drawings. Any existing wells and septic on site must be abandoned, and any water rights deeded to the City. State and federal laws regulate the demolition of buildings containing asbestos and/or lead paint. State law (Chapter 173-425 WAC) defines land clearing burning as outdoor burning of trees, stumps, shrubbery, or other natural vegetation from land clearing projects. Olympic Region Clean Air Authority (ORCCA) issues land clearing permits for burning. The applicant shall contact the ORCAA, 2940-B Limited Lane NW, Olympia, WA 98502, (360) 586-1044 to secure any necessary permit(s) for the removal of materials containing asbestos and/or lead paint, and for land clearing burn permits. Prior to issuance of a city building permit the applicant shall demonstrate compliance with any ORCAA requirements, and prior to any demolition, proof of compliance with ORCAA and a City demolition permit is required.