Letter of Completeness
City of Yelm
Community Development Department
105 Yelm Avenue West
P.O. Box 479
Yelm, WA 98597
February 28, 2007
Matthew Ruettgers, PLS
PacWest Engineering
5009 Pacific Highway East, Unit 9-0
Fife, WA 98424
Dear Matthew:
The Site Plan Review Committee has reviewed your application for a Planned Residential Community and Subdivision, Newman’s Addition, and, with the submission of the addenda to the Traffic
Impact Analysis, has determined that the application is complete.
The Committee also conducted a preliminary review of the application for consistency with applicable development regulations. The application was submitted as a Planned Residential
Development pursuant to Chapter 17.60 YMC.
As you know, a Planned Residential Development is a zoning overlay district intended to encourage imaginative design, preserves environmental amenities, creates or preserves usable open
space, preserves natural characteristics, encourages a variety of housing types, and provides maximum efficiency in the layout of streets and utilities.
If these amenities are provided, the specific development standards of City Codes may be waived within the Planned Residential Development.
In review of the application, the Committee noted the following requested deviations from development standards:
Street standards – The streets within the proposed development are identified as private streets with a 5 foot sidewalk on each side, no planter strips, a 7 foot parking lane, and two
9 foot drive lanes. Additionally, the development proposes dead end roads with no provisions for emergency vehicle turn-arounds, contains blocks longer than the maximum block width
allowed, and does not provide for two accesses to a neighborhood collector as typically required.
Joint utility easement – Is proposed to be 7 feet rather than the required 10.
The stormwater system proposes a pump system from the treatment element to the infiltration element.
The proposed flag lots have less than the minimum 20 foot frontage (flag) on a public street.
Lot setbacks are proposed to be 15 feet from the front property line, 20 feet from the rear, and 5 feet from the sides.
The Committee reviewed each of the proposed changes to City standards as well as the criteria for approval of a Planned Residential Development, and concluded that the present design
does not meet the intent for a PRD in certain areas, and would not be able to recommend approval of the PRD to the Hearing Examiner as presented.
The Department can support having a single access to lots located west of the high groundwater area provided that the cul-de-sac provided at the end of the street contains a single travel
lane around a center planter strip with vertical curb on the outside. The cul-de-sac needs to be large enough and with a turning radius sufficient to accommodate a fire engine. The
Fire Department may object to this design through the permit review process, however. The Department will not support a single access to the rest of the property without provisions
for connected streets to the properties to the north of the subject site and to the east of the subject site. Appropriate locations for connected street stubs would be to the east just
north of the high groundwater area and to the north to the Flood property.
The Department will not support the street design as proposed with no planter strips or street trees, but would support a modified section that includes 8 foot sidewalks with street
trees in grates.
A private street is not appropriate for the size of the proposed development.
The proposed 7 foot utility easement is simply not sufficient to provide for utilities necessary to serve the proposed subdivision and the Department can not support a reduction of the
easement.
The front of each home must have an area set back at least 20 feet in order to provide sufficient room for a standard S.T.E.P. tank. This is typically accommodated by the required 20
foot driveway approach, which you are proposing to modify. The back yard may be reduced in area to a minimum of 15 feet in depth.
The proposed layout shows lots adjacent to the mapped high ground water area, while the Critical Areas Code requires a buffer equal to two feet of vertical elevation or 50 feet of horizontal
distance between the high groundwater area and any lot. It appears that the proposal is to fill the buffer area to create 2 feet of vertical separation. The Department will not support
this variance from the Critical Areas Code.
While the majority of the high ground water is being left undisturbed, the remaining open spaces within the proposed development do not appear to contain improvements
sufficient to meet the intent of the open space requirements of the Planned Residential Development chapter of the Zoning Code. Pedestrian access to improved and unimproved open space
areas should be provided.
A stormwater conveyance system that utilizes pumps or mechanical systems will not be approved. It also appears that the stormwater infiltration area will be filled to obtain the required
6 feet of separation from high ground water. This is not acceptable.
The Department will not support flags of less than 20 feet in width, but will support private roads serving ‘flag’ lots in lieu of a series of flags with access easements.
It seems clear that many of the issues noted above will impact the location, layout, and potentially the number of lots within the proposed development. As noted during the pre-submission
meeting, a mixed density development with a mix of housing types may be an option to maximize the number units on this highly constrained parcel. This is also one of the main intents
of a Planned Residential Development.
While the application is complete, the Department will not recommend approval of the proposal as submitted.
Please let the Department know how you wish to proceed with your application. If you would like, we can schedule time during our normal Wednesday Site Plan Review Committee meeting
to discuss the issues raised in this letter. If you would like to schedule a time to meet, please contact Nisha Box of the Community Development Department at (360) 458-8430 or nishab@ci.yelm.wa.us.
Sincerely,
Grant Beck, Director
Department of Community Development