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20130191 HE Decision 07032013 ���� THFp�� City of Yelm � � `� CommunityDevelopmentDepartment 105 Yelm Avenue West P.O. Box 479 Y E L M Yelm, WA 98597 WASNINGTON July 3, 2013 Kym Drehle 15826-104th Avenue S.E. � � Yelm, WA 98597 RE: Yelm Learning Tree Preschool Case No. 20130191 Dear Ms. Drehle: Transmitted herewith is the Report and Decision of the City of Yelm Hearing Examiner relating to the above-entitled matter. Very truly yours, T N K. CAUSSEA , JR. Hearing Examiner SKC/jjp cc: Parties of Record CITY OF YELM -1- i OFFICE OF THE HEARING EXAMINER CITY OF YELM REPORT AND DECISION CASE NO.: Yelm Learning Tree Preschool Case No. 20130191 APPLICANT: Kym Drehle 15826-104th Avenue S.E. Yelm, WA 98597 � � OWNER: Dwayne and Carol Bockman 13306 Vail Road S.E. Yelm, WA 98597 SUMMARY OF REQUEST: il Special Use Permit and Site Plan Review to establish a preschool on the ground floor of an existing building and to rent the space on the upper floor at a site located at 204 Yelm Avenue East. SUMMARY OF DECISION: Request granted, subject to conditions. PUBLIC HEARING: After reviewing Community Development Department Staff Report and examining available information on fife with the application, the Examiner conducted a public hearing on the request as follows: The hearing was opened on June 17, 2013, at 9:00 a.m. Parties wishing to testify were sworn in by the Examiner. The following exhibits were submitted and made a part of the record as follows: EXHIBIT "1" - Community Development Department Staff Report with Attachments EXHIBIT "2" - Email dated June 20, 2013 from Tami Merriman to Hearing Examiner EXHIBIT "3" - Email dated June 20, 2013 from Tami Merriman to Ms. Drehle and Mr. Beadle -2- EXHIBIT "4" - Email dated June 25, 2013 from Kym Drehle to Tami Merriman EXHIBIT "5" - Email dated June 25, 2013 from Kym Drehle to Tami Merriman EXHIBIT "6" - Emails dated June 27, 2013 from Mickey Beadle to Tami Merriman TAMI MERRIMAN appeared, presented the Community Development Department Staff Report, and testified that the building is presently vacant and was previously used for a beauty salon. The building is located in the CBD zone classification, and while the proposed use is allowed, it requires a special use permit. The applicant could lease the space on the upper floor. Surrounding property owners were notified and the Department of Transportation expressed no concern. The applicant proposes no new construction, just a change of use of an existing structure. The structure is already connected to the water system and they will actually use less water than the previous occupant. The school will not increase the use of the sewer system. The City has already constructed Yetm Avenue to current standards, and the use will have no impact on the school system. The applicant can make use of on-street parking in addition to the parking stalls at the rear of the site. A public parking lot located behind the municipal building is atso available. The use will create no additional impervious surfaces. A condition requires a new, reduced pressure backflow per City ordinance. The new use will have the same or less intensity than previous uses. KYM DREHLE, applicant, appeared and testified that she wants to open the preschool to fulfill a need for the community and to encourage recycling and other community programs. She likes the building as it is older and has historical value. Substantial foot traffic will encourage student enrollment. Parents will park behind the building or walk their children to school. Parking is not a big issue. The State allows her 20 children but she will cap the enrollment at 16. They want a smaller class size and will have two teachers that will have eight students each. The school will have two classes that will occur between 9:00 a.m. and 12:00 p.m. Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, and from 9:00 a.m. to noon and 1:00 to 3:30 on Tuesday and Thursday. They are considering a party planning business upstairs that will operate on the weekend for one to two hours. Functions such as birthday parties would occur there. The fire department and the building department will need to approve the occupancy. The school year witl follow that of the Yelm School District and in the summer they may operate a small day camp for a few hours per day. MICKEY BEADLE appeared and testified that he owns the bowling alley next door to the building. He expressed concerns regarding the impact of the school on his business, namely his ability to continue serving �iquor. A discussion then ensued between the Examiner and Grant Beck, Community Development Director, who testified that State regulations would consider the bowling alley vested. The Liquor Control Board does regulate liquor sales and he recommended that the record remain open to allow the City to research State law and also correspond with the Board regarding the impacts of the school on the bowling alley. -3- MS. DREHLE reappeared and testified that she would submit any letter necessary to ensure that neither herself nor any future owner would complain about the bowling alley. No one spoke further in this matter and so the Examiner took the request under advisement and the hearing was concluded at approximately 9:30 a.m. NOTE: A complete record of this hearing is available in the City of Yelm Community Development Department. FINDINGS, CONCLUSIONS, AND DECISION: FINDINGS: 1. The Hearing Examiner has admitted documentary evidence into the record, heard testimony, and taken this matter under advisement. 2. This project does not require review pursuant to the State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA) pursuant to Section 197-11-800(1)(b)(iii) of the Washington Administrative Code (WAC) that exempts the construction of an office, school, commercial, recreational, service, or storage building with 4,000 square feet of gross floor area, and with associated parking facilities designed for twenty automobiles. 3. Notice of this application was mailed to state and local agencies and property owners within 300 feet of the project site on May 16, 2013. Notice of the date and time of the public hearing before the Hearing Examiner was posted on the project site and mailed to the owners of property within 300 feet of the project site on Thursday, June 6, 2013. Notice of the date and time of the public hearing was published in The Nisqually Valley News in the legal notice section on Friday, June 7, 2013. 4. The applicant has a possessory ownership interest in a rectangular parcel of property abutting the north side of Yelm Avenue East between Second Street N.E. and Third Street N.E. within the City of Yelm. The parcel is improved with a two story, 1,199 square foot, commercial building that contains 750 square feet on the ground floor and 445 feet on the second floor. Vehicular access to the site is provided from an alley that abuts the north property line. The site has four approved parking stalls at the rear of the building adjacent to the alley. 5. Previous owners/tenants of the parcel used the building for various service oriented businesses such as a beauty salon and massage therapy. The applicant proposes a change of use to the "Yelm Learning Tree Preschool". The preschool will consist of a maximum of 16 students and two teachers. Preschool hours of operation will extend from approximately 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. during periods of the year that the Yelm School District is in session. During the -4- summer the applicant would use the facility for small day camps. The applicant contemplates leasing the second floor to a party planning business that would provide a location for birthday parties and other events for one to two hours on the weekend. 6. Abutting uses include the Yelm Bowling Alley to the west and Ellie Jewelry to the east. The parcel and abutting parcels are located within the Central Business District (CBD) zone classification of the Yelm Municipal Code (YMC). Chapter 17.24 YMC sets forth the bulk regulations for the CBD classification. Section 17.24.020(A) YMC authorizes bowling alleys and beauty shops as outright permitted uses but does not list a preschool as a permitted use. However, YMC 17.24.030(B) authorizes special uses as provided for in Chapter 17.66 YMC. Section 17.66.020(A)(1) YMC authorizes "Nursery schools and preschools" as a permitted, special use. The applicant has therefore properly requested a special use permit and must show that the request satisfies all criteria set forth in Chapter 17.66 YMC. 7. The YMC does not establish minimum or maximum lot sizes, and the CBD zone classification has no specific, structural setback requirements. However, YMC 17.66.050 requires that development within the CBD zone maintain the character of the neighborhood. In the present case the applicant proposes no changes to the exterior of the structure, and the building is currently consistent with the setbacks and heights of structures within the neighborhood. 8. The parcel will access from an alley that in turn provides access to Second Street N.W. to the west and Third Street N.E. to the east. Both streets have access to SR-507 (Yelm Avenue). The applicant proposes no changes to the transportation system. Furthermore, the preschool use will generate fewer vehicle trips than previous commercial uses, and therefore no Transportation Facility Charge (TFC) is required. 9. The structure is presently connected to City water and sewer systems. However, the applicant must install a reduced pressure backflow assembly device at the water meter in accordance with City standards. The proposed use of the building for a preschool will decrease the amount of water and sewer service required. 10. While the parcel contains only four, on-site, parking spaces, vehicles may also park along Yelm Avenue and in a public lot one block away at the corner of Washington Avenue and Second Street. 11. The project will create no new impervious surfaces and therefore the applicant need not provide a stormwater report for the project. Existing landscaping presently meets the requirements of YMC Chapter 17.80 and therefore no -5- additional plantings are required. Should the applicant desire residential refuse service, she must store the trash can out of sight except on trash pick-up days. 12. The only issue affecting approval of the project is the bowling alley that abuts the west property line. The bowling alley serves liquor to its customers and is well within 500 feet of the preschool. The applicant has no objection to the bowling alley and knew full-well of its existence prior to submitting the present application. However, the State Liquor Control Board issues licenses for liquor sales and the Examiner left the record open for the City and parties to contact the Board regarding applicable rules and regulations. Following research to include phone calls and reading the RCWs covering the Liquor Control Board, staff determined that the Board may not issue a license for a premises within 500 feet of a "tax-supported public school" (RCW 66.24.010(9)(a). The Yelm Learning Tree Preschool is not tax supported. In addition, Yelm Learning Tree is not a private school accredited for kindergarten to Grade 12. Therefore, establishment of Yelm Learning Tree Preschool should have no impact on the liquor license issued to the bowling alley. The City provided opportunity for Mickey Beadle and Kym Drehle to provide comment on its findings and both agreed that the estabtishment of the school would have no adverse impacts on the bowling alley's liquor license. Furthermore, Ms. Drehle confirmed at the hearing that she would not object to any license renewal application for the bowling alley. CONCLUSIONS: 1. The Hearing Examiner has jurisdiction to consider and decide the issues presented by this request. 2. The applicant has shown that the request for a special use permit and site plan review to establish a preschool satisfies all criteria set forth in the CBD zone classification and in the YMC and therefore should be approved subject to the following conditions: 1. The applicant shall install a Reduced Pressure Backflow Assembly device at the water meter. 2. Neither the applicant nor future property owners shall object to issuance of liquor license renewals to Mr. Mickey Beadle and future owners of the Yelm Bowling Alley. The applicant shall advise future owners and tenants of her business/building of this restriction. The applicant shall submit a letter of non-objection to the City for placement in the file. -6- DECISION: The request for a special use permit and site plan review to allow establishment of the Yelm Learning Tree Preschool together with additional uses on the second floor at a site located at 204 Yelm Avenue East within the City of Yelm is hereby granted subject to the conditions contained in the conclusions above. ORDERED this 3rd day of July, 2013. � PHEN K. CAUSSEAUX, . Hearing Examiner TRANSMITTED this 3rd day of July, 2013, to the following: APPLICANT: Kym Drehle 15826-104th Avenue S.E. Yelm, WA 98597 OWNER: Dwayne and Carol Bockman 13306 Vail Road S.E. Yelm, WA 98597 OTHERS: CITY OF YELM -�- CASE NO.: Yelm Learning Tree Preschool Case No. 20130191 NOTICE 1. RECONSIDERATION: Any interested party or agency of record, oral or written, that disagrees with the decision of the hearing examiner may make a written request for reconsideration by the hearing examiner. Said request shall set forth specific errors relating to: A. Erroneous procedures; B. Errors of law objected to at the public hearing by the person requesting reconsideration; C. Incomplete record; D. An error in interpreting the comprehensive plan or other relevant material; or E. Newly discovered material evidence which was not available at the time of the hearing. The term "new evidence" shall mean only evidence discovered after the hearing held by the hearing examiner and shall not include evidence which was available or which could reasonably have been available and simply not presented at the hearing for whatever reason. The request must be filed no later than 4:30 p.m. on July 18, 2013 with the Community Development Department 105 Yelm Avenue West, Yelm, WA 98597. This request shall set forth the bases for reconsideration as limited by the above. The hearing examiner shall review said request in light of the record and take -s- such further action as he deems proper. The hearing examiner may request further information which shall be provided within 10 days of the request. 2. APPEAL OF EXAMINER'S DECISION: The final decision by the Examiner may be appealed to the city council, by any aggrieved person or agency of record, oral or written that disagrees with the decision of the hearing examiner, except threshold determinations (YMC 15.49.160) in accordance with Section 2.26.150 of the Yelm Municipal Code (YMC). NOTE: In an effort to avoid confusion at the time of filing a request for reconsideration, please attach this page to the request for reconsideration. -9-