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2009 10 13 Staff report to Council 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 a pre-submission conference with Steve Chamberlain and Dan Lee to review the proposed subdivision. The City's Development Review Engineer noted in the pre-submission report that: "This project location is on top of a hill. I 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: "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 any habitable structure shall be issued until a sewer roll seal is installed by the developer and approved by the City of Yelm.” 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. 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.