comments on ENV
M E M O R A N D U M
City of Yelm
Community Development Department
Review of Expanded Checklist
Yelm Community Schools
Page 4 - Other governmental approvals include civil plan approval from the City of Yelm, ORCAA demolition permit and WSDOT approval of improvements to State Routes 507 and 510.
Figure 3 - This figure does not correctly show the public streets serving Mill Pond and the new Junior High School.
Page 20 - Alternate technologies are not an approved method of stormwater treatment in Yelm at this time. The City will consider the use alternate technologies through civil plan review,
but it is not guaranteed that they will be approved. This comment applies to several other sections of the checklist.
The City has adopted the 1992 Stormwater Design Manual, not the Thurston County Stormwater Design Standards. This comment applies to several other sections of the checklist.
Page 31 - The design occupancy for the High School should be noted in the checklist and traffic impact analysis to clearly show that the impacts seen now are partially caused by the
fact the facility is over design capacity.
Page 34 - The parking lot of the new Junior High School is designed so that headlights are directed at the rear yards of the existing housing development. This impact should be noted
in the expanded checklist and potential mitigation measures identified.
Page 40 - The construction of the new Junior High School will trigger frontage improvements on Mill Road.
Page 41 - The expansion of Fort Stevens Elementary will trigger connection to City water and sewer.
TIA - The proposed signal at the intersection of SR 510 and the High School parking lot is in a location that is not approved as part of WSDOT’s Route Development Plan for this section
of the Highway. A signal is proposed at Killion Road, which would ultimately provide insufficient distance between signals. Alternative mitigation in the form of extending the turn
lanes at the intersection of SR 507 and SR 510, turn lanes at key
intersections between the High School and the intersection of Yelm Avenue and 1st Street, and signal upgrades at that intersection should be explored in an updated TIA.
TIA - The City has a strong connected streets policy which would indicate that 107th and Carter Street should be connected as a public street. This should be discussed in the expanded
checklist along with traffic impacts related to the preferred alternative which does not provide any vehicular access between Mill Pond Intermediate School and the New Junior High School.
TIA - WSDOT noted that the School District is required to have an approved pedestrian access plan if the facility is within one mile of a State Highway. WSDOT also noted that a bus
route should be included in the TIA to evaluate transportation patterns.