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20130325 HE Decision 12112013 . , ��0� THE A�� City of Ye l m O �ae Community Development Department 105 Yelm Avenue West P.O. Box 479 Yelm, WA 98597 YELM WASHINGTON December 11, 2013 City of Yelm 105 Yelm Avenue West Yelm, WA 98597 RE: 20130325 Yelm SW Well 1A Development Dear Applicant: Transmitted herewith is the Report and Decision of the City of Yelm Hearing Examiner relating to the above-entitled matter. Very truly yours, —�% � /i "� �'. T PHE K. CAUSSE X, JR. Hearing Examiner SKC/jjp cc: Parties of Record CITY OF YELM -i- , , OFFICE OF THE HEARING EXAMINER CITY OF YELM REPORT AND DECISION CASE NO.: 20130325 Yelm SW Well 1A Development APPLICANT/ City of Yelm OWNER: 105 Yelm Avenue West Yelm, WA 98597 REPRESENTATIVE: RH2 Engineering, Inc 621 Pacific Avenue Tacoma, WA 98402 PLANNER: Tami Merriman SUMMARY OF REQUEST: Request for Special Use Permit approval and Site Plan Review approval to construct a municipal water treatment facility that would provide filtration for manganese removal and disinfection of the municipal water supply. Improvements include a 600,000 gallon, at-grade, reservoir tank, and booster pump station. SUMMARY OF DECISION: Request granted, subject to conditions. PUBLIC HEARING: After reviewing Community Development Department Staff Report and examining available information on file with the application, the Examiner conducted a public hearing on the request as follows: The hearing was opened on December 3, 2013, at 10:00 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" - Photograph -2- EXHIBIT "3" - SW1A Well and Treatment Facility EXHIBIT "4" - Letter from Sara Foster dated December 3, 2013 TAMI MERRIMAN appeared, presented the Community Development Department Staff Report, and testified that the project would provide treatment for the City's water system. The tank will be located on a parcel at the present end of Tahoma Boulevard. A Community Park abuts the parcel to the east. The City obtained a deed to the property in July, 2012, as well as an easement for waterlines on an adjoining parcel. DOE provided standard comments and the City provided proper notice and posted the site. The City performed concurrency review as well. The parcel is at the end of a cul- de-sac within the City. Said road will provide access to the site and will eventually connect to Tahoma Boulevard. The City Council waived the fire impact fee and the environmental official issued a DNS on October 9, 2013. The parcel is zoned Open Space and said classification allows the proposed use. The code requires 25 foot wide, side and rear yard setbacks as abutting parcels are within residential zones and improved with residential uses. The street setback width is a minimum of 25 feet. A structure cannot exceed 35 feet in height in the Open Space zone and the water tank will not. Therefore, the project meets all bulk regulations. The site is also located in a master planned community. The project meets all City design standards to include setbacks, and the City will either paint the tank to match the area or paint a mural thereon. They will present plans for painting at a later date. Additional improvements on the site will include a power generator and fuel tank. The applicant proposes a fence due to security issues, and staff desires a landscape buffer outside of the fence. They want a paved street to the entrance at least 20 feet in width for fire apparatus. The City also desires a sign at the end of the street advising of no public access. They will review the sign language with the applicant. The site plan shows a maintenance access onto Tahoma Terra Boulevard that the applicant anticipates using one to two times per month. They do not need an additional fire access or other special access. Tahoma Boulevard will consist of a four lane road with a divider that generates the need for a waiting area for vehicles in front of the gate. Water and sewer are available to serve the site at present. The applicant need only provide two to four parking stalls as the public will have no access to the site. The stormwater drainage facilities must meet the 2012 version of the DOE manual. The landscaping must be 15 feet wide. She is unclear regarding garbage service to the site. STEPHANIE RAY appeared and testified that she finds the Staff Report accurate and only has minor issues. EDWIN HALIM appeared and testified that he supports a modification to Condition 13 regarding the landscaping as they must comply with Federal water storage standards. Concerning Condition 13, the roof drainage requirement comes from the residential code. They propose to direct roof drainage from the water reservoir to the stormwater ponds. -3- TAMI MERRIMAN reappeared and testified that roof runoff requirements are not limited to the residential code. Roof runoff is considered clean water and is not required to go through the stormwater ponds. No one spoke further in this matter and so the Examiner took the request under advisement and the hearing was concluded at 10:25 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, viewed the property, heard testimony, and taken this matter under advisement. 2. The City of Yelm SEPA Responsible Official issued a Determination of Non- significance based on WAC 197-11-340 (2) on October 9, 2013. This determination is final as no appeals were filed. 3. Notice of this application was mailed to state and local agencies and property owners within 300 feet of the project site on September 18, 2013. The Washington State Department of Ecology provided comment that if contaminates are found during construction, they must be notified. 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 Monday, November 18, 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, November 22, 2013. 4. The applicant, City of Yelm, has a possessory ownership interest in a pie shaped, unimproved, approximately 1.7 acre parcel of property abutting the north side of the Tahoma Boulevard S.E. right-of-way and the south side of the Jensen Drive S.E. right-of-way. The parcel is located within the Tahoma Terra Master Planned Community and the City of Yelm approximately 1.4 miles west of Yelm Avenue. 5. The applicant requests a special use permit and site plan review to allow construction of a municipal water treatment facility on the western portion of the site and overflow and storm drainage ponds on the eastern portion of the site. The water treatment facility will provide filtration for manganese removal and disinfection of the municipal water supply. Improvements will include a 60 foot diameter, 28 foot tall water reservoir that will provide storage for 600,000 gallons of water. Improvements also include a 2,232 square foot, 35 foot tall, treatment -4- plant/booster pump station; 2-4 parking spaces; emergency power generator; and fuel tank. The site plan also shows a 1,000 gallon STEP tank that will become part of the sewer system. The site will obtain access from the cul-de- sac marking the terminus of Jensen Drive at the northeast corner of the parcel. The access will initially consist of a 20 foot wide, paved driveway that will accommodate emergency vehicles. Upon construction of Tahoma Boulevard S.E. by the developer of Tahoma Terra, the applicant will install a right-turn- in/right-turn-out maintenance driveway that will access onto said road. 6. Abutting uses include an active recreation park along the east property line and undeveloped residential properties to the north and west across Jensen Drive. As previously found, Tahoma Boulevard abuts the south property line. Tahoma Boulevard will eventually consist of a four lane road with center divider. 7. The site is located within the Master Planned Community-Open Space zone classification that authorizes the special uses set forth in Chapter 17.66 of the Yelm Municipal Code (YMC). Section 17.66.010 YMC, entitled "Intent", provides in Subsection B as follows: Permit essential services and facilities which are needed or may be needed by or in the community, but the exact nature, scale or location of which cannot be foreseen or predicted. Section 17.66.020 YMC includes in its list of special uses "Public Utilities and their Appurtenances". Section 17.66.020(C) YMC provides in part: 2. Pumping, lift stations or similar regulatory appurtenances for the transmission or distribution of electricity, natural gas, water, oil or steam and storage tanks for any of the above, including water towers. Thus, the proposed use of the site for a municipal water treatment facility is consistent with uses allowed pursuant to a special use permit. 8. The site is located within the City of Yelm's sewer system service area and the project will connect to the City sewer system. An eight inch, sewer force main is located in Tahoma Boulevard southeast of the site. The applicant will need to extend the force main to a proposed maintenance easement and then extend a service line to the STEP tank location. The site is also located within the City's water service area as identified in the Yelm Water System Plan, and the applicant will connect the site to the water system. A water line located in Jensen Drive S.E. will be extended to the site to serve the proposed special use and to provide municipal water service. 9. Road frontage improvements are not required for the project since the subdivision to the north must extend Jensen Drive S.E. to Tahoma Boulevard at -5- the time of development. Furthermore, the Tahoma Terra developer must construct Tahoma Boulevard across the south property line upon development of the plats to the west. The project will not impact the school system as no one will reside on the site. The City Council has waived the fire impact fee until such time as the Southeast Thurston Regional Fire Authority establishes a region- wide impact fee. The City Council may adopt a resolution regarding fire impact fees that the City would pay at the time of building permit issuance. 10. Section 17.66.050 YMC sets forth design standards for special uses. Said section authorizes alterations or variations for a proposed project when such are found reasonable to protect adjacent properties or the health or general welfare of the community. Said section allows the alteration of minimum area, width, depth, setbacks, building heights, building coverage, development coverage, parking, and landscaping. The applicant requests no alterations with the possible exception of landscaping as set forth hereinafter. In the present case, the applicant proposes to construct a 60 foot diameter, 28 foot tall, water reservoir on the site. To lessen its impact on the community, the City proposes to either paint the reservoir in a color that will blend with the area or paint a mural thereon. A condition of approval requires a solid wall or other screening/visual facility that will serve as a noise and visual barrier for the power generator and fuel tank. The applicant will screen the site perimeter with fencing and vegetation in accordance with Federal standards. City standards require a 15 foot wide, very dense, sight barrier and physical buffer to provide a significant separation from surrounding uses. However, such may conflict with Federal regulations that require vision into critical uses such as water reservoirs. A condition of approval requires a landscaping plan consistent with State and Federal requirements. 11. Section 17.66.010(E) YMC reads as follows: E. Provide for a review process which will enable City officials, the general public and proponents of special uses to evaluate the need, location, scale and development characteristics of said uses and their impact on adjacent properties and the community as a whole, to the end that such uses may be approved, modified or disapproved fairly and objectively. In addition, YMC 17.66.010(C) requires that nearby properties that "are of clearly different character from the use or uses proposed" "are reasonably protected from adverse effects or impact of these special uses". In the present case, the proposed water reservoir is adjacent to a major arterial and future road intersection. Roads on three sides separate the parcels from residential uses. The fourth side (the east) is abutted by an active recreation park. The applicant proposes to paint the tower to match the area and to fence and vegetatively screen all structures as much as legally possible. Water reservoirs are frequently found within residential areas and do not create disruptions due to infrequent traffic and low noise. The applicant has asked for no variations in -6- either the design standards or the bulk regulations of the zoning code. Therefore, the project satisfies the criteria for a special use permit as set forth in Chapter 17.66. YMC. 12. The City received a letter objecting to issuance of a "conditional use permit" based upon pending litigation in "Thurston County Superior Court regarding the use and implementation of Yelm s SW Well 1A . However, granting the special , „ use permit does not authorize construction of the municipal water treatment facility as construction must await the application for and issuance of a building permit. The City may await the outcome of the litigation prior to proceeding to the building permit process stage. Special use permit approval and site plan approval confirm that the site is appropriate for the proposed use subject to compliance with conditions of approval. 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 special use permit approval meets all criteria set forth in YMC 17.66.010 and the design standards set forth in YMC 17.66.050. The request for site plan review approval meets all criteria set forth in Chapter 17.84 YMC. Both approvals should therefore be granted subject to the following conditions: 1. The treatment facility shall connect to the City S.T.E.P. sewer system. There is an existing 8-inch sewer main located in Tahoma Boulevard at its end southeast of the site. This main shall be extended to the proposed southern entrance within the Tahoma Boulevard future right-of-way. A service line shall be extended onto the site. Tank sizing will be determined during civil plan review. 2. There is an existing water main located in Jensen Drive SE and Tahoma Boulevard. The line shall be extended to the site for service to the treatment facility, as well as for municipal water supply. Line location and sizing will be determined during civil plan review. 3. All conditions for cross connection control shall be met, as required in Section 246-290-490 WAC. 4. If an irrigation meter is installed, a backflow prevention device will be required for all irrigation connections between the irrigation system and the water meter. 5. A minimum 20 foot paved emergency access road shall be constructed from Jensen Drive to the proposed north entrance to allow access for fire and emergency service vehicles. -�- 6. Signage shall be placed in the cul-de-sac of Jensen Drive at the emergency access road to depict that the road is for City personnel and emergency access only, no public access. Exact wording of the sign shall be determined by the City prior to certificate of occupancy. 7. The gated access from Tahoma Boulevard shall be set into the site an adequate distance to allow the delivery and maintenance trucks to be able to pull off of the future Tahoma Boulevard into the driveway while waiting for the gates to be opened. 8. Adequate off street parking shall be provided on site, based on the greatest number of employees expected to be at the site. 9. Paint color and theme for the water reservoir must be provided at the time of civil plan submission for review and approval by the City. 10. A solid wall or other screening should be installed to provide a visual and sound barrier for the power generator. Details shall be provided at the time of civil plan submission. 11. The civil engineering plans shall include a detailed landscape plan. The water distribution facility requires a Type I landscaping on the perimeter of the site. The Type I landscaping is a minimum of 15 feet. Any combination of trees, shrubs, fences, walls, earthen berms and related plant materials or features may be used. This landscaping shall be consistent with any State or Federal Homeland Security Requirements for public utility sites. 12. If security fencing is proposed to be chain link, the fencing shall be of black or green coated vinyl. The required 15 foot landscape buffer should be placed on the outside perimeter of the fencing to provide screening and buffering. 13. The civil engineering plans shall include plans for the collection treatment, and infiltration of stormwater in accordance with the 2012 Stormwater Management Manual for Western Washington. Best Management Practices (BMP's) are required during construction. A 10-foot setback from all property lines and easements are required for stormwater facilities. The final stormwater plan shall include an operation and maintenance plan. All roof drain runoff shall be infiltrated on each lot utilizing individual drywells. 14. The civil engineering plans shall include a fire hydrant plan consistent with the Yelm Development Regulations which includes the proposed location of all hydrants and service lines and fire flow calculations for all existing and proposed hydrants. 15. The civil engineering plans shall show that the requirements of the adopted Fire Codes are met through the provision of adequate fire flow, or construction methods that reduce the required fire flow. -s- 16. If refuse service is proposed, the refuse location must be approved by Lemay, be a minimum of 8-feet by 20-feet, and include screening and landscaping as described in the Design Guidelines. DECISION: The request for a special use permit and site plan review to allow construction of a municipal water treatment facility to provide filtration for manganese removal and disinfection of the municipal water supply that includes a 600,000 gallon, 28 foot tall, reservoir tank and 35 foot tall, treatment plant/booster pump station at a site located within the Tahoma Terra Master Plan Community on the north side of Tahoma Boulevard East approximately 1.4 miles west of Yelm Avenue is hereby granted subject to the conditions contained in the conclusions above. ORDERED this 11th day of December, 2013. S P E K. CAUSS U JR. Hearing Examiner TRANSMITTED this 11th day of December, 2013, to the following: APPLICANT/ City of Yelm OWNER: 105 Yelm Avenue West Yelm, WA 98597 REPRESENTATIVE: RH2 Engineering, Inc 621 Pacific Avenue Tacoma, WA 98402 OTHERS: Edwin Halim, P.E. Stephanie Ray 22722_29tn Drive S.E., Suite 210 105 Yelm Avenue West Bothell, WA 98021 Yelm, WA 98597 CITY OF YELM -9- CASE NO.: 20130325 Yelm SW Well 1A Development 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; 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 December 26, 2013 (10 days from mailing) 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 such further action as he deems proper. -�o- 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. -�t-