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YELM
WASHINGTON
City of Yelm
STAFF REPORT
To: Mayor Ron Harding
Yelm City Council
From: Grant Beck, Community Development Director
Tim Peterson, Public Works Director
Date: October 1, 2009 (for October 12 City Council Meeting)
Subj: Palisades West Subdivision Alteration
Recommendation
Deny the request to alter the Palisades West (formerly Forrester Heights)
subdivision in order to remove two conditions noted on the face of the final
subdivision relating to issuance of certificates of occupancy prior to the
installation of a booster pump station and sewer roll seal.
Background
On August 24, 2009, Ben Cushman, on behalf of his clients Andrew and Cynthia
Smith, applied for an alteration of the Palisades West subdivision. Specifically,
the request is to amend two conditions noted on the final subdivision, as follows:
No building permit shall be issued within this subdivision, except
for Lot 15, until a booster pump is installed by the developer and
approved by the City of Yelm which provides adequate fire flow per
the International Fire Code and City of Yelm standards, provided
that a building permit may be issued for a model home if a fire
protection plan is approved by the City of Yelm Fire Marshal and SE
Thurston Fire/EMS.
No certificate of occupancy for any habitable structure shall be
issued, except for Lot 15, until a sewer roll seal is installed by the
developer and approved by the City of Yelm.
In May of 2005, the Community Development Department held apre-submission
conference with Steve Chamberlain and Dan Lee to review the proposed
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subdivision. The City's Development Review Engineer noted in the pre-
submission report that:
"This project location is on top of a hill. 1 would highly recommend
that you have your engineer look at the elevation of the location and
how it is going to effect the hydrant operation. This location is 6
feet higher than the base of the Baker Hill Water Tower. "
The subdivision application was subsequently submitted in January, 2006, by
FH1, LLC, with Dan Lee as the applicant's contact. The Environmental
Checklist, prepared and signed by Dan Lee, indicated that
"The project will require the installation of a booster pump station
for the water system. Design of the booster pump will be
accomplished during the final civil design for the project."
The staff report to the Hearing Examiner in September of 2006 stated that:
"The City of Yelm's current water system cannot provide the fire
flow and water pressure that is required to serve this proposed
subdivision due to the significant amount of topographic relief, and
the project is approximately the same elevation as the City's water
reservoirs. Service of the City water system will require the
installation of a booster pump. Civil plans shall include an analysis
of the water system and propose appropriate mitigation measures. "
The Hearing Examiner, in his decision to approve the preliminary subdivision on
September 27, 2006, found that:
"The City of Yelm will provide both domestic water and fire flow
subject to the applicant paying the connection fee. Furthermore,
due to the height of the parcel, the applicant must install a booster
pump to provide both fire flow and domestic water pressure. "
Based on this finding, the Examiner attached the following condition:
"Civil engineering plans shall include an analysis of water system
pressures and propose appropriate mitigation for probable low
pressure flows at the project site, such as a booster pump."
The developer, however, requested during the civil plan review process that the
water system be installed prior to designing a booster pump station in the hopes
that pressures would meet fire flow without the booster pump. This approach
was approved by the Development Review Engineer on March 20, 2007, but with
the following caution:
March 9, 2010 Page 2 of 4
"After the installation of the water system, the water system will
need to be tested to verify if the system is going to meet the fire
flow requirements and domestic pressure requirements. The testing
perimeters, target flow and target pressures will be determined by
the Public Works Department and only the Public Works
Department. If the installation does not meet the testing
requirements as set forth by the Public Works Department then the
subdivision will not be approved and a final plat application will not
be accepted by Community Development Department. "
"This approval has been granted to allow the system to be installed
and tested to verify exactly what additional improvements may be
needed to serve this subdivision. The above approval does not
guarantee that the existing system will be adequate to serve this
application. "
Additionally, it was determined through the civil engineering review process that
a pressure sustaining valve would be required to be installed in the sewer line in
order to equalize pressures in the STEP sewer system. The Development
Review Engineer noted in an October 2006 letter that:
"Due to the elevation difference between the proposed project,
existing City conveyance system and treatment plant, a roll seal
pressure reducer will be required on the sewer main at the bottom
of the hill. This shall be designed and provided by a City consulting
engineer. They will be providing one plan sheet to be inserted into
your construction set. "
At the request of Steve Chamberlain, who wanted to convert construction
financing to long term financing, the City Council approved the final subdivision
with the following conditions:
"No building permit shall be issued within this subdivision until a
booster pump is installed by the developer and approved by the City
of Yelm which provides adequate fire flow per the International Fire
Code and City of Yelm standards, provided that a building permit
may be issued for a model home if a fire protection plan is approved
by the City of Yelm Fire Marshal and SE Thurston Fire/EMS. "
"No certificate of occupancy for
issued until a sewer roll seal is
approved by the City of Yelm."
any habitable structure shall be
installed by the developer and
On June 2, 2008, Dan Lee, representing FH1, LLC, applied for a building permit
for the booster pump station.
On July 8, 2008, the civil plans for the pressure sustaining valve were approved.
March 9, 2010 Page 3 of 4
On July 23, 2008, the civil plans for the booster pump skid were approved.
On September 5, 2008, Dan Lee, at this point representing Triance Homes,
applied for a building permit to construct a residence rather than a model home
and submitted a building permit on behalf of Mr. and Mrs. Smith on lot 15 of the
subdivision. Gary Carlson, Building Official for the City, confirmed with Mr. Lee
during the building permit review process that a certificate of occupancy would
not issue for the structure until both conditions noted on the recorded
subdivision were satisfied. The permit was issued on September 17, 2008.
As completion of the dwelling neared and it became clear that the developer was
not proceeding diligently with the construction of the booster pump station or
pressure sustaining valve, John Rowland, Building Inspector, repeatedly warned
the contractor that a certificate of occupancy would not be issued for the
building.
As a result of these warnings, the City was approached by Steve Chamberlain to
explore alternatives to the booster pump station. Staff from Community
Development and Public Works spent considerable time and effort exploring
ways that fire flow could be provided, including water storage tanks within the
development, an upgraded fire sprinkler system within the home, and the
installation of a smaller fire booster pump designed to serve only one home. In
the end, no alternative was found that could replace the original requirement of
a booster pump station.
On December 23, 2008, the City sent a letter to Steve Chamberlain
memorializing the need for the installation of the water booster pump station
before issuance of a certificate of occupancy.
Current Situation
The policy issue before the City Council is whether to waive a clear requirement
of the International Fire Code and Health Regulations and knowingly allow
occupancy of a dwelling unit in which these requirement for fire flow and
residential pressures cannot be met.
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