Loading...
Staff Report STAFF REPORT City of Yelm Community Development Department   To: Stephen K. Causseaux, Jr., Hearing Examiner From: Grant Beck, Director of Community Development Date: October 10, 2003 Subject: Yelm Community Schools Variance Request VAR-03-8350-YL Applicant: Yelm Community Schools Erling ‘Rocky’ Birkland P.O. Box 476 Yelm, WA 98597 Location: Yelm High School, 1315 Yelm Avenue West Proposal: Vary the maximum height requirement in the Institutional District in order to allow a portion of a proposed building to exceed the maximum height requirement of 40 feet. Background Yelm Community Schools has applied for a variance from the height requirements of the Institutional District in order to construct a new high school which includes a fly loft in the performing arts area which exceeds 40 feet in height. The property to the north and west of the site is commercially zoned with some existing commercial uses. Areas to the south and west of the property is zoned residential with single family homes and vacant land. The property is designated by the Yelm Comprehensive Plan as Institutional District. The property is over 36 acres in area and currently contains the Yelm High School, including classrooms, a football field and stadium, tennis courts, and a parking lot. The property is mostly rectangular in shape, being approximately 1,700 feet by 1,700 feet with a 400 by 400 section to the northwest. The site is level, with a difference of only 10 feet in elevation over the entire property. The High School is located on Yelm Avenue West (SR 510), an urban arterial. The Uniform Building Code defines the height of building as the vertical distance above a reference datum measured to the highest point of the coping of a flat roof or to the deck line of a mansard roof or to the average height of the highest gable of a pitched or hipped roof. The proposed building includes a gable roof above the commons area which averages 39 feet 3 inches above grade with a maximum height of 53 feet. The proposed fly loft has a flat roof with a height of 53 feet measured at the coping line, and an area of approximately 3,700 square feet. Chapter 17.48 YMC establishes the allowed uses and the development standards for the Institutional District, as follows: Maximum height of buildings: 40 feet Maximum development coverage: 70 percent of site. Side yard minimum setback: 15 feet (25 feet to residential zone) Rear yard minimum setback: 15 feet (25 feet to residential zone, with 25 feet of landscaping) Front yard minimum setback: 35 feet (25 feet to minor street) The City of Yelm will provide police protection, water service, and sewer service to the new High School. Fire protection services are provided by The SE Thurston Fire/EMS District (Thurston County Fire Protection District #2). A Notice of Application was mailed to local and state agencies, and surrounding property owners on September 19, 2003. A Notice of the Public Hearing was published in the Nisqually Valley News on October 24, 2003, and posted in public areas on October 22, 2003. The public hearing notice was mailed to adjacent property owners and the applicant on October 22, 2003. Section 17.96.023 Yelm Municipal Code allows the issuance of a setback if because of special circumstances applicable to the subject property due to size, shape, topography, location, or surroundings, and if the strict application of this title is found to deprive subject property of rights and privileges enjoyed by other properties in the vicinity and under identical zone classification, the approval authority may grant a variance in accordance with the provisions for variances in this chapter. The School District indicates in the application that the fly loft provides adequate accommodation for the performing arts and music programs and allows Yelm High School to be on a par with other Washington high schools. The District further indicates that it will be able to sponsor community events that existing facilities cannot accommodate, and that Yelm High School students would be impaired by inadequate facilities that do not meet basic program requirements. The District also claims the Zoning Code provides exception for a height variance as the proposed use is similar to the special uses listed in Chapter 17.66 YMC, and notes that the area the area above the stage is no different than a church bell tower or fire station drying tower. Analysis There is no extraordinary circumstance related to the property. There is no special circumstance related to the property that would preclude the use of the site as a high school, with a performing arts and music program, or accommodating other community events. The size of the property is sufficient to accommodate the Districts proposed new High School building, along with older buildings to be demolished after the new schools is occupied. The property is not of a shape that unduly restricts the location of the proposed new building and the topography does not impact construction or necessitate a taller building than would be allowed. There is nothing special about the location or surroundings of the school which would create a circumstance in which a school facility could not be utilized, as shown by the existing high school on the property. The sole circumstance that forms the basis of the variance request is the desire to have a fly loft in the auditorium which allows scenery and curtains to be stored above the stage rather than to the side of the stage. It is possible to accomplish this within the 40 foot maximum height through an alternate building design, such as excavating under the auditorium to allow recessed seating. Approval of a variance would be a grant of special privilege. The District compares the proposed High School to other schools in Washington State, although no evidence was submitted which indicates that a fly loft is prevalent in the State, but does not address how denial of a variance would deprive the property of rights enjoyed by others within the vicinity and under identical zoning classification. Although not linked to the variance criteria, there is also no evidence to support the Districts claim that a performing arts center without a fly loft is inadequate or that community events could not be accommodated within a facility without a fly loft. The present performing arts center at the current high school does not have a fly loft. There are no other buildings within the City of Yelm and within the Institutional District which exceed the 40 foot height limit as defined by the Zoning Code. If a variance were approved, therefore, only the District would benefit and it would clearly be a grant of special privilege. The maximum height may not be modified through a Special Use. A School facility is not similar in nature to any of the listed Special Uses as found in Chapter 17.66 Yelm Municipal Code and is specifically allowed in the Institutional District. Further, the height limitation may be modified by the approval authority for a special use only when the alteration is found to be reasonable to protect adjacent properties or health of the community [Section 17.66.050 YMC]. The fly loft requires the issuance of a variance if over 40 feet in height. The examples of permitted encroachment beyond the maximum height limit cited by the District are specifically listed in the Zoning Code as being allowed or exempt from the definition of building height, as it is not top of the gable as determined in the Uniform Building Code. The proposed fly loft is approximately an 3,700 square foot encroachment above the height limit. Recommendation The Community Development Department recommends the Hearing Examiner deny the variance application as the proposal can not meet the criteria for approval of a variance as found in Section 17.96.023 YMC.