HomeMy WebLinkAboutAgenda Packet 08/03/2000
CITY OF PORT ANGELES
FORTANGELES
WAS H I N G TON, U. S. A.
CITY COUNCIL MEETING
August 3, 2000
I.
SPECIAL MEETING
CALL TO ORDER - REGULAR MEETING:
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II. ROLL CALL:
Members Present:
Mayor Doyle
Councilman Campbell '
Councilmember Erickson ~
Councilman Hulett ~
Councilmember McKeown ~
Councilman Wiggins
Councilman Williams ...-
Staff Present:
Manager Quinn
Attorney Knutson
Clerk Upton
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Other Staff Present:
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S. Brodhun
B. Collins
G. Cutler
D. McKeen
T.Riepe
Y. Ziomkowski
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III. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE:
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Led by:
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CITY OF PORT ANGELES
· ~ORTANGELES
WAS H J N G TON, U. S. A.
CITY COUNCIL MEETING
Attendance Roster
DATE OF MEETING: August 3, 2000
LOCATION: City Council Chambers
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DATE:
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SUBJECT:
FORTANGELES
WAS H I N G TON, U. S. A.
CITY COUNCIL MEMO
August 3,2000
DEPUTY MAYOR MCKEOWN AND CITY COUNCIL
Brad Collins, Planning Director
Findings and Conclusions in Support of Highland Courte Conditional Use Permit
(CUP 00-03) Appeal
Summary: On August 1,2000, the City Council denied the applicant's appeal and approved the
neighborhood group's appeal of the Planning Commission's decision to approve a private chemical
dependency treatment center in a residential location. The effect of this action was to deny the
Highland Courte CUP 00-03, subject to the Council's approval of findings and conclusions in
support of its action. Working with the neighborhood group's attorney and Councilman Larry
Williams, the staff has prepared a set of findings and conclusions consistent with the public record
on Highland Courte CUP 00-03 and the Council's reasons as stated at the August 1, 2000, closed
record hearing on the appeals of the applicant and the neighborhood group.
Recommendation: It is recommended that the City Council confirm its decision to deny
the Highland Courte LLC appeal and approve The Families and Independent Residents ofthe
Highland Neighborhood appeal, denying CUP 00-03 based on the re~ord established by the
City Council at its August 1, 2000, meeting, citing the 32 findings and 6 conclusions attached
to this memorandum.
Backeround:
Following three public hearings on April 12, May 10, and May 24, 2000, the Planning
Commission approved a conditional use permit to allow a private chemical dependency treatment
center to be located in a Residential High Density zone at a special meeting conducted on May 31,
2000. The City received two appeals of that decision on June 7 and June 14,2000. One appeal of
the decision was filed by the applicant regarding two of the conditions of approval, and a second
appeal was filed by a neighborhood group regarding the review process for approval. The
neighborhood group requested the following relief: 1) an open public hearing on the matter before
the Port Angeles City Council and 2) denial of applicant's conditional use permit.
Per the Washington State Regulatory Reform Act, the Port Angeles Municipal Code provides
for appeal of actions taken by the Planning Commission following an open record public hearing
to be reviewed by the City Council at a closed record hearing. Appeals of this type must be
considered within sixty days of the appeal unless the parties agree to an extension. The City
Council heard the appeal arguments on August 1, 2000, and may confirm its decision approving the
neighborhood group's appeal by citing the attached findings and conclusions in support of the
Council's appeal action on August 3,2000.
Highland Courte CUP 00-03 Appeal
August 3, 2000
Page 2
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During the City Council's closed record review, the following documents from the public
record file were considered by the Council:
Attachment A - Appeal Letter from Highland Courte LLC dated June 7, 2000; Notice of
Appeal from The Families and Independent Residents of the Highland
Neighborhood dated June 14,2000; Memorandum of Applicant Highland
Courte dated July 27,2000; and the Brief in Support of Notice of Appeal
from The Families and Independent Residents of the Highland
Neighborhood (excluding Attachments 1 and 8) dated July 27,2000
Attachment B - CUP 00-03 excerpts of the Planning Commission minutes for April 12,
May 10, May 24, and May 31 meetings
Attachment C - Staff reports for CUP 00-03 dated from April 5 - May 31, 2000
Attachment D - Application materials dated received March 12,2000, and supplemental
reports dated received through May 2, 2000
Attachment E - Public comment letters dated received from April 3 - May 24, 2000
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BEFORE THE CITY COUNCIL OF PORT ANGELES
IN THE MATTER OF TWO
CONSOLIDATED APPEALS
OF THE HIGHLAND COURTE
CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT
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FINDINGS, CONCLUSIONS,
AND DECISION
APPLICATION NO. 00-03
FINDINGS
1.
The applicant, Highland Courte - Tim German, applied to the City of Port Angeles for a
conditional use permit to establish a private chemical dependency treatment facility in the
Residential High Density (RHD) zone. The application and supplemental. information by
the applicant's representative is identified as Attachment B2 to the May 10,2000, Staff
Report for CUP 00-03.
The applicant describes the facility as providing professional and affordable treatment
services for up to 50 men and women based on the "12 Step Recovery Minnesota Model."
Treatment would consist of group, individual, and family therapy and includes lectures,
video presentations, and professional guided group therapy.
Although the application also included "mental health triage and stabilization services,"
the applicant has stated these services are no longer part ofthe application. The proposed
facility would be a private pay facility and would not be affiliated with any government
agency. A "medical director" would oversee the facility and staff of30 employees. There
would be no doctors or nurses on staff; the staff would be trained professionals who would
work under the supervision of a licensed medical doctor. The doctor would visit the
facility once a week and be on call for the balance of time. The average length of stay for
a patient would be 28 days. A patient could choose to leave the program prior to its
completion.
2.
1 - FINDINGS, CONCLUSIONS & DECISION
PORT ANGELES CITY ATTORNEY
321 East Fifth Street / POBox 1150
Port Angeles W A 98362-0217
Phone: 360-417-4576/ Fax: 360-417-4529
Craig D. Knutson WSBA #7540
Dennis C. Dickson WSBA #17652
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The project site is located at 1704 Melody Circle.
The 2 ~ acre site is located in an existing residential district with a mixture of single family
homes, multi-family apartments, and senior housing developments.
The existing building and grounds were constructed and opened in 1999 as a 42 unit
assisted living facility for residents with Alzheimer's disease. A CUP 97-13 was approved
for Alzheimer's use in 1997.
The Highland Courte chemical dependency treatment center is proposed to be located in
a facility that was constructed as part of what was originally planned as a phase of a
planned residential development (PRD) approved by the City Council in Ordinance 2875.
The PRD provided that the facility was to be a congregate care facility.
Only Phases I and II of the proposed development were finalized prior to expiration of the
Highland Communities PRD. The preliminary PRD is commonly known as Highland
Communities and the phases of the PRD that were given final approval by the City are
commonly known as Highland Estates.
A replat of the remaining expired PRD was completed, and a senior oriented housing
development was constructed on property in the immediate vicinity of the Highland
Communities PRD. This senior housing development is commonly known as Highland
Commons I and II.
10.
Many of the residents of Highland Commons and Highland Estates decided to reside in
this housing development in reliance on its exclusive restriction as a senior housing area.
11.
The Planning Department, Planning Commission, and City Council have previously
recognized the unique character of the senior housing neighborhood in approving
preliminary plans for a congregate care facility as part of the PRD and later through the
issuance of a conditional use permit for the facility to be operated as an Alzheimer's care
facility.
The senior housing developments on each side of the property for the proposed CUP are
a separate and distinct neighborhood, which is segregated from the surrounding residential
area and which can only be accessed from Melody Circle at one end. Access to the CUP
site cannot be accomplished by any publicly accessible route except through the senior
housing neighborhood.
In applying the Port Angeles Comprehensive Plan to the proposal, one ofthe most relevant
sections is Land Use Element Residential Policy C-1, which identifies legitimate
components of residential district development and commercial uses such as home
occupations and district shopping areas which may be considered subordinate and
compatible nonresidential type uses.
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The City's Zoning Code, as set forth in Port Angeles Municipal Code (PAMC)
17.08.020(E), defines a conditional use permit as "a limited permission to locate a
particular use at a particular location, and which limited permission is required to modify
the controls stipulated by the Zoning regulations in such degree as to assure that the
particular use shall not prove detrimental to surrounding properties, shall not be in conflict
2 - FINDINGS, CONCLUSIONS & DECISION
PORT ANGELES CITY ATTORNEY
321 East Fifth Street I POBox 1150
Port Angeles W A 98362-0217
Phone: 360-417-4576/ Fax: 360-417-4529
Craig D. Knutson WSBA #7540
Dennis C. Dickson WSBA #17652
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with the Comprehensive Plan, and shall not be contrary to the public interest."
The Zoning Code, as set forth in PAMC 17.96.050, also states that the purpose ofa CUP
is to "assure that the maximum degree of compatibility between uses shall be attained" and
that a CUP may denied if the proposal would "defeat the purpose of the Zoning
Regulations by introducing incompatible, detrimental or hazardous conditions."
As set forth in the Zoning Code, Chapter 17.15 P AMC, the purpose of the Residential High
Density(RHD) Zone is to be a high density residential zone for multi-family residential
structures. Compatible uses may be allowed with conditional use permits, but the zone is
still regarded as a residential area, and commercial enterprises are not generally considered
to be compatible.
The proposed treatment center is a commercial enterprise, which does not primarily serve
. the residential district in general and the surrounding senior housing development in
particular.
18. The proposal is a commercial enterprise, which serves a transient clientele.
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The proposal is a commercial enterprise, which is a private, for profit, business that is not
affiliated with any government agency
The proposal is a commercial enterprise, which is not like typical commercial uses such
as home occupations and district (local) shopping listed in the Port Angeles
Comprehensive Plan Land Use Element Residential Policy C-1 as legitimate components
of a residential district.
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The proposed treatment center is not subordinate to the residential uses of the zoning
district but intends to treat patients drawn from throughout the northwestern United States
rather than primarily from the neighboring residents.
22. The proposed treatment center does not provide dwelling units and is not a residential use.
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23.
The Port Angeles Police Department and a number of area residents expressed public
safety concerns about the proposed treatment center. These concerns were supported by
limited evidence of public safety problems in similar facilities elsewhere.
The public record for the Planning Commission's approval of Conditional Use Permit
CUP 00-03 includes CUP 00-03 excerpts ofthe Planning Commission minutes for April
12, May 10, May 24, and May 31 meetings, staffreports for CUP 00-03 dated from April
5 - May 31, 2000, application materials dated received March 12, 2000, and supplemental
reports dated received through May 2, 2000, and public comment letters dated received
from April 3 - May 24,2000.
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The Planning Commission's decision to approve CUP 00-03 included 15 conditions, 42
findings, and 11 conclusions and was made on May 31, 2000.
The Planning Commission's condition #10, which attempted to restrict patients from
driving to the proposed facility, is unenforceable and insufficient to mitigate the traffic
impacts on the immediately surrounding senior housing area.
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3 - FINDINGS, CONCLUSIONS & DECISION
PORT ANGELES CITY ATTORNEY
321 East Fifth Street / POBox 1150
Port Angeles W A 98362-0217
Phone: 360-417-4576/ Fax: 360-417-4529
Craig D. Knutson WSBA #7540
Dennis C. Dickson WSBA #17652
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The Planning Commission's Condition #11, which attempted to ensure that a significant
number of local area clients would use the proposed facility, is unenforceable and
insufficient to mitigate the regional nature of the commercial use.
Highland Courte LLC, the applicant, appealed the Planning Commission's decision on
June 7, 2000.
The Families and Independent Residents of the HigWand Neighborhood, the neighborhood
group, (FAIR) appealed the Planning Commission's decision on June 14,2000.
30. The staff report dated August 1, 2000, responded to both appeals and seven appeal issues.
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31.
Per the Washington State Regulatory Reform Act, the Port Angeles Municipal Code
provides for appeal of actions taken by the Planning Commission following an open
record public hearing, to be reviewed by the City Council at a closed record hearing.
Appeals of this type must be considered within sixty days of the appeal filing date unless
the parties agree to an extension.
32.
CONCLUSIONS
13 1. The City Council bases its decision on the record of the Planning Commission, the appeal
arguments made at the August 1, 2000 City Council closed record hearing on the appeals
14 of the applicant and the neighborhood group, and the 32 Findings set forth above. The
Council excludes from its consideration Attachments 1 and 8 of FAIR's appeal brief,
15 because these documents were not in the Planning Commission's record. The Council
includes in its consideration the remaining Attachments to FAIR's brief for the following
16 reasons:
17 a) Attachment 2 is an ordinance of the City Council, of which the Council is entitled to
take official notice and which is relevant to this proceeding.
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b)
Attachments 3, 5, 6, and 7 were part ofthe Planning Commission's record and were not
objected to by any of the parties.
Attachment 4 was in the Planning Department's file, and at least the Deputy Police
Chief s cover memo was presented to the Planning Commission. The entire document,
including the attachments to the Deputy Police Chiefs cover memo, should be
considered by the City Council in order for the Council to have a full and complete
understanding of the Deputy Police Chiefs input on the public safety issue, which is
relevant to this appeal.
The proposed treatment center is distinguished from a group home, a nursing home, an
assisted living facility, and an Alzheimer's care unit, which are principal dwellings for
their clients and which provide residential services as defined by the Port Angeles
Comprehensive Plan.
c)
2.
4 - FINDINGS, CONCLUSIONS & DECISION
PORT ANGELES CITY ATTORNEY
321 East Fifth Street / POBox 1150
Port Angeles W A 98362-0217
Phone: 360-417-4576/ Fax: 360-417-4529
Craig D. Knutson WSBA #7540
Dennis C. Dickson WSBA #17652
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3.
their clients and which provide residential services as defined by the Port Angeles
Comprehensive Plan.
Per PAMC 17.96.050, a conditional use permit to Highland Courte LLC for a private
chemical dependency treatment center should not be approved because of the following
characteristics of the intended use as related to the specific site, which would defeat the
purpose of the Zoning Code by introducing incompatible, detrimental or hazardous
conditions:
a. The proposal is a commercial enterprise, which does not primarily serve the
residential zoning district and the senior housing development in particular.
b. The proposal is a commercial enterprise, which serves a transient clientele.
c. The proposal is a commercial enterprise, which is a private, for profit, business that
is not affiliated with any government agency.
d. The proposed is a commercial enterprise, which is not like typical commercial uses
such as home occupations and district (local) shopping listed in the Port Angeles
Comprehensive Plan Land Use Element Residential Policy C-I as legitimate
components of a residential zoning district.
e. The proposed treatment center is not subordinate to the residential uses of the zoning
district but intends to treat patients drawn from throughout the northwestern United
States rather than primarily from the neighboring residents.
f. The proposed treatment center does not provide dwelling units and is not a residential
use.
4.
Based on the factors set forth in Conclusion 3 and on the unique and special character of
the senior housing developments in the area, the conversion of the previous nursing home
and Alzheimer's unit to an adult drug and alcohol treatment center is not compatible with
existing and potentially allowable uses in the zoning district.
Under the Americans with Disability Act (ADA) and other applicable laws and court
decisions, the City may condition or deny a CUP for a drug rehabilitation facility based
on specific, documented reasons, as long as the decision is not based on unsubstantiated
community fears.
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The City Council recognizes the public safety concerns of the Port Angeles Police
Department and the area residents regarding the proposed drug treatment center.
However, due to the limited evidence in the record in support of these concerns, the
Council's decision is not based on these concerns. Rather, the Council's decision is
based on the documented evidence, as set forth in the above Findings, of the intrusion
of a regional, non-senior, commercial development into a local, senior, residential
development in the RHD zoning district.
5 - FINDINGS, CONCLUSIONS & DECISION
PORT ANGELES CITY ATTORNEY
321 East Fifth Street / POBox 1150
Port Angeles W A 98362-0217
Phone: 360-417-4576/ Fax: 360-417-4529
Craig D. Knutson WSBA #7540
Dennis C. Dickson WSBA # J 7652
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DECISION
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3 In consideration of the above Findings and Conclusions, the City Council of Port Angeles
hereby denies the appeal of Highland Courte LL Cand approves the appeal of the Families and
4 Independent Residents of the Highland Neighborhood which requested that CUP 00-03 be denied.
.5 Dated this 3rd day of August, 2000.
6 City Council of Port Angeles
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By:
Cathleen McKeown, Deputy Mayor
Attest:
Sasha Galuska, Deputy City Clerk
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6 - FINDINGS, CONCLUSIONS & DECISION
PORT ANGELES CITY ATTORNEY
321 East Fifth Street/POBox 1150
Port Angeles W A 98362-0217
Phone: 360-417-4576/Fax: 360-417-4529
Craig D. Knutson WSBA #7540
Dennis C. Dickson WSBA #17652