Loading...
Saar's Building Nisqually Plaza Yelm Ave City of Yelm Community Development Department 105 Yelm Avenue West P.O. Box 479 Yelm, WA 98597   Pre-Application Meeting March 2, 2011 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: PKJB Architectural Group PS Representative: Tim Cook Project Proposal: Convert previous grocery store into three separate retail spaces Project Location: 906 Yelm Avenue, Yelm Plaza Tax parcel number 22730110204 Zoning and Setbacks The property is zoned Commercial (C-1) which is codified at Chapter 17.26 YMC. The C-1 district is intended to provide for the location of business centers to serve the needs of the community for convenience goods and services such as food, drugs, household supplies, automobile servicing, recreation, entertainment and other uses related to, but lesser in scope, than downtown core area uses. The C-1 district allows second hand stores as a permitted use subject to site plan review, 17.84 Yelm Municipal Code (YMC). Additional tenants would be subject to confirmation of zoning compliance. Building setbacks are 15 feet from the front, 20 feet from the rear and 10 feet from the side property lines. The maximum building height is forty (40) feet. Critical Areas All of Yelm is considered a critical aquifer recharge area. The City critical area maps indicate that the northeast corner of the property is located within a floodzone. All development is to occur outside of the floodzone.  Site Plan Review Process Site plan review is required for any commercial activity. Exemptions are granted when there is no addition of square feet or no additional tenant, or the expansion is for storage only. Site plan review is required for the proposal as additional tenant spaces are being proposed. A Site Plan Review application as established by Chapter 17.84 YMC is an administrative review process. The minimum application requirements can be found at Section 17.84.060 YMC and are listed on the application form. A notice of application is mailed to all property owners within 300 feet of the site, which includes a mandatory 15 comment period. The site plan review committee’s decision on a site plan review application may be appealed to the Hearing Examiner, who would hold an open record hearing on the issue. The Examiner’s decision can be appealed to the City Council, which would hold a closed record hearing and determine if the decision was supported by substantial evidence or contrary to law. Land use approval typically contains conditions of approval that the applicant must complete prior to receiving a building permit. Upon satisfactory completion of all conditions of land use approval, the applicant can submit building plans for approval. Because the proposal is an expansion on an existing improved site, the site plan review process is expected to be very straightforward and should take less than 6 weeks. Land Use Fees Site Plan Review $350.00 + $50 per 1,000 sq ft per gross floor area. Traffic Impact Fee $1,321.00 per peak PM trip* Building Plan Review Based on 1997 UBC fee Schedule Building Permit Based on 1997 UBC fee Schedule Sewer Connection Fee $6,219 per ERU or $3,179 if part of LID* Sewer Inspection Fee $145.00 per ERU* Water Connection Fee $5,217.00 per ERU* * May not be required, depending on the uses within the new spaces.  Design Review Side and Rear Yards/ Siting Service Areas The design guidelines indicate that service areas, including loading docks, compactors, and outdoor storage be located away from neighboring properties to reduce conflicts, and requires screening of refuse containers located behind the building. No refuse container is permitted between a street and the front of a building. The following describes the intent in siting service areas based on the Design Guidelines: To “reduce the visibility of unsightly uses”. To minimize the visibility of “backs” of buildings where service areas are located. To “encourage more thoughtful siting of trash containers and siting areas by screening its negative aspects”. To reduce the noise impacts of service areas. Building Design and Details To encourage buildings that are comfortable at a human scale, at least three of the following features must be incorporated into the building design: Balconies in upper stories Bay windows Pedestrian oriented space Individual windows Gable or hipped roof Porch or covered entry Spatially defining building elements that define an occupied space Upper story setbacks Composing smaller building elements near the entry or pedestrian oriented street fronts To ensure new development is compatible with Yelm’s architectural size and character, at least two of the following features must be incorporated into the building design: Upper story setback Horizontal building modulation Modulated roof line Building articulation To encourage unique, identifiable architectural features at intersections, at least one of the following features must be included on a façade facing a public street: Decorated roofline Decorative treatment of windows and doors Decorative railings, grill work, or landscape guards Landscape trellises Decorative light fixtures Decorative building materials (masonry, wood details or patterns) Concrete block walls must use textured blocks, colored mortar or a mix of other masonry types. Metal roofing must be of high quality with a standing seam and can not be brightly colored. Concrete must be architecturally treated. Blank walls must be treated through trellis and plantings, landscaping beds or other methods. Design Guideline Summary The following design issues need to be addressed through the site plan review process. The refuse area must be large enough to accommodate a dumpster and recycle bin, and 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. A clear plan for loading and unloading needs to be provided that does not interfere with required parking or parking lot circulation. Customer drop offs should be addressed in this plan. The existing drop off trailer in the parking lot is not allowed and must be removed. Entrances to each of the new tenant spaces needs to be clearly defined and must have clear pedestrian paths from the parking lot.  Transportation The City of Yelm has adopted a Transportation Facility Charge (TFC) of $1,321.00 per PM peak trip generated by new development. The code provides a default table that the applicant can use to determine the number of new PM trips generated by a proposal. Credit for the previous use of the building will be calculated and the TFC would only apply if the three new tenant spaces combined generated higher traffic counts than the previous use. Water The proposed project is located in the City of Yelm’s water service area, and is currently connected to City water service. If the uses within the new tenant spaces use more water than the previous use, additional water connections will be required. Water connections are based on a consumption rate of 875 cubic feet a month and are charged at a rate of $5,217 per connection (fee subject to change). The City currently does not have any available water connections, but have capital projects underway which will increase the City’s connection limit and allow new connections to be made. Washington State Department of Health, in WAC 246-290-490 states that all group A water systems with 1000 or more connections are required by the Department of Health to develop and implement a cross control connection program. This program requires all commercial buildings and irrigation systems to have a Reduced Pressure Backflow Assembly device installed on the water services. A list of approved devices can be located at the above referenced Washington Administrative Code. A RPBA will be required to be installed at any meters serving the tenant spaces. Sewer The proposed project is located in the City of Yelm’s sewer service area, and is currently connected to City sewer service. If the uses within the new tenant spaces use more water and therefore generate more sewage than the previous use, a STEP sewer sizing report will be required prior to tenant improvement. If the existing STEP tanks are not sized appropriately for additional sewage flows, a new STEP tank will need to be installed. There are existing grease interceptors that were used by the previous tenant. Prior to building permit issuance, it needs to be shown that any new plumbing layouts will not send black water through an existing interceptor. It must also be shown that any grey water with the potential to contain fats, greases, or oils will not be sent directly to a STEP tank without first being processed through a grease interceptor. If additional sewage flows will be generated, commercial sewer connections are based on a consumption rate of 875 cubic feet a month and are charged at a rate of $6,219.00 per connection (fee subject to change). An inspection fee of $145.00 per a connection will also be required. Fire Protection The International Building Code (IBC) provides occupancy ratings for different types of uses. The fire coverage and sprinkler system for the proposed use must meet IBC requirements. ADA Requirements Sites, buildings, structures, facilities, elements and spaces, temporary or permanent, shall be accessible to persons with physical disabilities. The Site Plan Review Committee will review all improvements for accessibility and compliance with relevant sections of Chapter 11 of the International Building Code. Building Permit Process Building Plan review, permitting and inspections will be based on Title 15 Yelm Municipal Code, adopting the International Codes, Uniform Plumbing Code and Washington State Energy Code. By resolution, the City of Yelm re-adopted the 1997 UBC, UMC and UPC Fee schedules. Five(5) sets of plans, one of which may be half scale, two (2) sets of engineering calculations, energy calculations and specifications will be required. An integrated sprinkler and fire alarm system may be required. These plans may be submitted at a later date along with any required kitchen suppression systems. All fire related items 5’ outside the building will be subject to civil review along with domestic water, waste, and storm water. Concurrently with Site Plan Review two sets of building and accessory building elevations must be submitted for review of the building for consistency with the Design Guidelines. Allow at least 3 weeks for Building Plan Review and 2 weeks for design guideline review.