CC Staff Report
City of Yelm
STAFF REPORT
To: Mayor Adam Rivas Yelm City Council
From: Tami Merriman, Assistant Planner
Date: January 19, 2005 (for January 26, 2005 City Council Meeting)
Subj: ANX-04-0119-YL Annexation of approximately 42.84 acres on the south side of State Highway 507, east of Bald Hills Road.
Recommendation
Approve the intent to annex and adopt Ordinance No. 827, annexing property into the City of Yelm.
Background
On March 10, 2004, Mr. David Phill appeared before Council with a request to circulate a petition to annex approximately 61 acres located on the south side of State Highway 507, east
of Bald Hills road. Staff recommended a different boundary, including 42.84 acres of land, in which parcels are affected by a water latecomers agreement.
The City Council accepted the request to circulate a petition to annex the 42.84 acres, as recommended by staff. Mr. Phill obtained sufficient signatures from property owners within
the proposed annexation area to bring meet the annexation petition requirements (60% of the owners based on assessed value). These signature were sent to the Thurston County Assessor’s
Office, which confirmed the sufficiency requirements were met.
The Community Development Department then had a legal description of the area to be annexed prepared, and processed the proposed annexation through the Thurston County Boundary Review
Board, which did not invoke jurisdiction as there were no objections to the annexation by impacted agencies, including Thurston County and SE Thurston Fire/EMS.
Upon annexation, the land would zoned Heavy Commercial (C-2), as stated in the Yelm Comprehensive Plan.
Current Situation
At this point in the annexation process, the Council determines whether it is appropriate to annex the property into the City of Yelm.
There are several issues that the Council should consider before annexing the property.
Bald Hills Road will become a City Street (it is now a County Road), which means that the City will take over maintenance of this portion of Bald Hills Road and will become responsible
for any improvements to the road section. Bald Hills Road along the frontage of the annexation area is currently substandard, with little or no shoulders and a failing driving surface.
Any commercial development of the properties fronting Bald Hills Road would trigger frontage improvements that would improve the roadway to the City’s urban arterial standard.
Del’s Farm Supply constructed a building on an adjacent five acre parcel which was permitted by Thurston County as an non-commercial agricultural building. There has been no land use
permit or building permit issued by Thurston County for the use of the building for commercial purposes. There has also been no land use permit issued by Thurston County for the use
of the 5 acre parcel as parking and storage for Del’s Farm Supply.
The five acre parcel currently does not meet the requirements for a commercial land use within the City of Yelm, including paved parking and drive aisle’s, landscaping, frontage improvements
to Bald Hills Road, extension of City sewer and water, compliance with design guidelines, and stormwater management.
It is the City’s position that the use of the 5 acre parcel for commercial purposes is not a pre-existing, non-conforming use as it was not legally permitted. The City would expect
Del’s to apply for a site plan review approval, a building permit to convert the structure to a commercial use, and compliance with all City development standards.
Because it is anticipated that development will cause Bald Hills Road to be improved, and the Community Development Department has notified the owner of Del’s Farm Supply that she is
expected to bring the property into compliance with City regulations, the Community Development Department would recommend the Council approve the request to annex the property into
the City of Yelm.