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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes 08/26/2009PORTANGELE!S W A S H I N G T O N U S A. COMMUNITY ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AGENDA PLANNING COMMISSION 321 East Fifth Street August 26, 2009 6 p.m. I. CALL TO ORDER Pledge of Allegiance Led by the Chair II. ROLL CALL III. APPROVAL OF MINUTES: Regular meeting of August 12, 2009 IV. PUBLIC HEARINGS: 1 CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT CUP 09 -04 NORTHWEST PETROLEUM PRODUCTS 484 Eclipse Industrial Park: A proposal to place an industrial propane tank for distribution purposes in the Industrial Heavy zone. STREET VACATION PETITION LUCERO STV 09 -01— Northeast corner of Vine and Whidby Avenue: A request to vacate a portion of the east one half of the right of way in a location where a residential use encroaches into the right of way V. COMMUNICATIONS FROM THE PUBLIC VI. STAFF REPORTS VII. REPORTS OF COMMISSION MEMBERS VIII. ADJOURNMENT PLANNING COMMISSIONERS Doc Reiss (Chair); John Matthews (Vice Chair), Werner Beier; Mike Caudill, Tim Boyle, Carla Sue, Nancy Powers PLANNING STAFF Nathan West, Director; Sue Roberds, Planning Manager, Scott Johns, Associate Planner; Roberta Korcz, Assistant Planner ROLL CALL Members Present: Members Absent: Staff Present: Public Present: APPROVAL OF MINUTES PUBLIC HEARINGS: MINUTES PLANNING COMMISSION Port Angeles, Washington 98362 August 26, 2009 6:00 p.m. Nancy Powers, Mike Caudill, Carla Sue, Doc Reiss, Werner Beier, Tim Boyle, John Matthews (arrived at 6 10 p.m.) None Scott Johns, Sue Roberds, Heidi Greenwood Patricia Menning, Jonathan Shotwell, Red Anderson, Cathy Rodney and Tina Lipman, Patti Toth, Randy Stone, Wendy Hawkins, Mike Kessl Commissioner Sue moved to approve the August 12, 2009, regular meeting minutes. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Boyle, and passed 6 0. Chair Reiss reviewed the quasi judicial public hearing guidelines and conducted the qualifying procedure in preparation for the evening's public hearings. All Commissioners responded that they had no appearance of fairness or conflict of interest issues with regard to the pending applications. CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT CUP 09 -04 NORTHWEST PETROLEUM PRODUCTS 484 Eclipse Industrial Park: A proposal to place an industrial propane tank for distribution purposes in the Industrial Heavy zone. Planning Manager Sue Roberds reviewed the Department Report recommending approval of the conditional use permit with one condition. Chair Reiss opened the public hearing. Red Anderson, 2320 Milwaukee Way, Tacoma, WA represented the application. He understood the staff recommendation and had nothing to add. There being no further testimony, Chair Reiss closed the public hearing. Following brief discussion, Commissioner Boyle moved to approve the conditional use permit citing one condition supported by the following findings and conclusions: Planning Commission Minutes August 26, 2009 Page 2 Condition: 1 The applicant shall meet all Fire Department conditions prior to use at the site. Findings: Based on the information provided in the Community Development Staff Report for CUP 09 -04 dated August 26, 2009, including all information in the public record file, comments and testimony presented during the public hearing, the Planning Commission discussion and deliberation, and the above listed conditions of approval, the City of Port Angeles Planning Commission hereby finds that: 1 Associated Petroleum Products Inc. submitted Conditional Use Permit application CUP 09 -04 on July 21, 2009 to locate a 30,000 gallon propane storage tank on the site at 484 Eclipse Industrial Parkway, parcel number 063018140075 2. The site is located within the Eclipse Industrial Park and is zoned Industrial Heavy All uses in the industrial park are industrial including Port Angeles Hardwood, 3 wrecking yards, Green Creek Wood Products, Evergreen Fiber, and Lakeside Paving. 3 Per 17.96.050 PAMC, the Planning Commission shall consider applications for conditional use permit uses as specified in the applicable Chapter of the Zoning Regulations. The Planning Commission may grant said permits which are consistent and compatible with the purpose of the zone in which the use is located, consistent with the Comprehensive Plan, and not contrary to the public use and interest. In each application the Planning Commission may impose whatever restrictions or conditions are considered essential to protect the public health, safety, welfare, and to prevent depreciation of neighboring property Conditional uses shall be evaluated to determine if the characteristics of the intended use as related to the specific proposed site would defeat the purpose of the City's Zoning Regulations by introducing incompatible, detrimental, or hazardous conditions. The Planning Commission may refuse to issue a conditional use permit if the characteristics of the intended use would defeat the purpose of the City's zoning regulations. A development that is approved through the conditional use permit process must remain in continual compliance with specific conditions of approval or may be revoked. 4 The Comprehensive Plan designates the site as Industrial. Adjacent property in County is zoned Rural and Commercial Forest. The City's Comprehensive Plan was reviewed for consistency with the proposal. Land Use Element Industrial Goal H, Policy H.4, and Policy H.5 were found to be most relevant to the proposal. 5 Reviewing City Departmental comments were considered in the review of this application. The Port Angeles Fire Department will require that: a. The tank must be at least 50 feet from the nearest building or line of adjoining property that may be built upon. b. Any electrical equipment at the site must meet the requirement for classified areas as specified in the latest edition of the National Electrical Code. c. The tank and filling facilities must be protected by a fence that is at least 6 feet high. The fence must have two gates that are open when anyone is inside. Planning Comnussmn Minutes August 26, 2009 Page 3 d. If operations are to be conducted outside of daylight hours, lighting shall be provided. e. Weeds, long dry grass, and loose piled combustible material may not be within 10 feet of the tank. A minimum 18 pound fire extinguisher with a B or C rating shall be mounted at the site. h. The access road leading to the tank must be suitably maintained to allow for Fire Department access. 6. Notification of the proposed action and conditional use permit application was placed in the Peninsula Daily News on July 30, 2009 Public notice was mailed to property owners within 300 feet of the subject property on July 28, 2009 Notice of the proposal was posted on the site on July 28, 2009 No written comments were received during written comment period that ended on August 14, 2009 7 A determination of non significance (DNS) was issued for the proposal per WAC 197- 11 -355 on August 20, 2009 8. The Planning Commission conducted a public hearing on the proposal at the August 26, 2009, regular meeting. g. Conclusions: Based on the information provided in the Department of Community Development Staff Report for CUP 09 -04 dated August 12, 2009, including all of the information in the public record file, comments, and testimony presented during the public hearing, the Planning Commission's discussion and deliberation, and the above listed conditions of approval and listed findings, the City of Port Angeles Planning Commission hereby concludes that: 1 The proposal is consistent with requirements for approval of a conditional use permit as specified in PAMC 17.96.050, of the Port Angeles Municipal Code. 2. The permit will enable Associated Petroleum Products to operate a propane facility from an industrial location to provide a needed service to the Port Angeles area citizens, and is therefore in public interest. 3 As conditioned, placement of the tank and development of the use on the site will be per Port Angeles Fire Department requirements to address public safety concerns. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Beier and passed unanimously. STREET VACATION PETITION LUCERO STV 09 -01 Northeast corner of Vine and Whidby Avenue: A request to vacate a portion of the east one half of the right of way in a location where a residential use encroaches into the right of way Associate Planner Scott Johns reviewed the Department Report recommending vacation of the right of way Mr Johns displayed maps of the site and surrounding area using the overhead projector to note other rights of way in the Vine Street corridor that have been previously vacated largely as a result of encroachment. Chair Reiss opened the public hearing. Planning Commission Minutes August 26, 2009 Page 4 Cathy Lucero, 509 Whidby Avenue thanked the Commission for their consideration of the matter and explained that she learned during a prior street vacation hearing regarding the west half of Vine Street in 2006 that her residence was constructed partially in the right of way She said that her residence was one of the first structures to be built in the area and that it was constructed during the 1920's. Most of what she considered to be her side yard is actually within the right of way along with approximately 10 feet of her residence. Staff told her that early surveying errors and poor development practice in the general area caused many encroachments to occur Mrs. Lucero would like to obtain ownership to the yard area, but due to likely costs in a purchase of the property, she asked that at minimum the area her home sits over along with a minimum side yard be vacated to her to clear title and provide a conforming side yard. Tina Lipman, 438 Lopez Avenue spoke of a previous vacation petition that was submitted in 2006 requesting vacation of the west half of Vine Street adjacent to the subject right of way She reminded Commissioners of the 2006 decision by Council to deny vacation of the west one half of right of way without prejudice until a new development was completed in the area to determine traffic needs. She asked that action regarding the subject petition be postponed until a comprehensive study is done in the area regarding closure of the remaining portion (west) of Vine Street as well. She believes that the remaining portion of Vine Street, including the entire west half between Whidby Avenue and Orcas Avenue, should be vacated. Brief discussion began between Commissioner Caudill and Ms. Lipman as to the City's Comprehensive Plan designation for the site. Chair Reiss asked Ms. Roberds to clarify the correlation. Manager Roberds responded that the City's Comprehensive Plan land use designation does not play a part in this action. She believed that Mrs. Lipman was simply referring to a comprehensive look at the matter of vacation of the subject corridor. The procedure for vacation of right of way is prescribed through the Revised Code of Washington (RCW) that provides that abutting property owners may seek vacation of right of way for cause. The petition under consideration is valid as it has been signed by 100% of the abutting property owners. If valid petitioners wish to revisit the matter of vacation of the west half of Vine Street, they should do so independently of the subject action. Patti Toth, 437 Lopez Avenue was a petitioner in an earlier (2006) action requesting vacation of the west half of Vine Street. She and her husband do not object to the vacation as currently proposed and believe that the petitioner has every right to the property She stressed the history of previous vacations approved along the Vine Street corridor approved to clear previous development encroachment issues. She noted that staff recommended approval of the vacation petition submitted in 2006 for the west half of Vine Street but, since the Housing Authority's housing project had not been completed at the time, it was determined by Council that the petition be denied without prejudice until completion of the housing project when a normal traffic pattern for the area could be determined. The high speed of traffic in the area remains of primary concern to all of the neighborhood residents. The matter was discussed at length in 2006 along with the deplorable road condition but no improvements have been made to either issue. All of the neighbors are concerned about the traffic and yet nothing seems to resolve the issue. Patricia Manning, 518 1/2 Lopez Avenue is a neighbor to Ms. Lucero's residence. All of Vine Street in this location is gravel. She commented regarding Ms. Lucero's careful maintenance of Planning Commission Minutes August 26, 2009 Page 5 her yard that is apparently right of way, and stated that she deserves ownership of the right of way for no compensation to account for all her years of maintenance. She believed that Ms. Lucero should have the entire east half of the right of way not just enough to clear her property encroachment. She was not in favor however, of vacating the west half of Vine Street as proposed by earlier speakers. Randy Stone, 437 Lopez Avenue agreed that Ms. Lucero should be able to acquire the entire east half of Vine Street as it is not needed and has never been used as part of the traveled way Most of the east half is already fenced in as yard. Wendy Hawkins, 504 Lopez agreed that Ms. Lucero should be able to acquire the entire east half of Vine Street without compensation in payment for the manner in which she maintains the right of way property A lot of children live along Vine Street between Whidby and Lopez and traffic travels way too fast along the corridor The street is also in very bad condition. No one seems to care. There being no further testimony, Chair Reiss closed the public hearing. Planner Johns noted that, although staff recommended a minimum vacation, staff is not opposed to vacation of the entire east one half of the Vine Street right of way adjacent to Ms. Lucero's ownership. No compensation seems logical and fair in this matter and the City's Real Estate Committee agreed with the policy Following continued discussion regarding the area of right of way to be included in a recommendation to Council, Commissioner Beier moved to recommend that the entire east half of the Vine Street right of way abutting Lot 11, Block 11, PSSC 2 Addition be vacated due to unintended encroachment and historic development in the area. The Commissioners also recommended that no compensation be required for the right of way due to historical surveying errors, citing the following findings and conclusions in support of the recommendation: Condition: 1 Property owned by the petitioners and right -of -way acquired through the subject vacation shall be combined into one building site per Zoning Lot Covenant prior to the issuance of quit claim deeds for the right -of -way Findings: 1 A petition requesting vacation of a portion of the Vine Street right -of -way situated immediately north of Whidby Avenue abutting Lot 11, Block 11, Puget Sound Cooperative Colony's Second Addition (PSCC2) to Port Angeles was submitted on June 23, 2009, by property owners John and Cathy Lucero. 2. RCW 58.17 requires the signatures of two thirds of abutting property owners to be valid when the vacation of right -of -way is proposed. The subject petition is signed by 10% of the abutting property owners. Planning Commission Minutes August 26, 2009 Page 6 3 The subject area is zoned RS -7 Residential Single Family The RS -7 zone requires a 13 -foot side yard abutting a street for residential development. The subject area is developed with single family structures and a multiple family apartment along the Lopez/Orcas Alley 4 PSCC2 was filed as a County plat in the late 1800's. The area was annexed into the Cit in 1961 Many homes in the subdivision were developed during the first portion of the 20` Century with the subject residence developed in the early 1920's. The Lucero residence was constructed in the mid 1920's and encroaches into the adjacent Vine Street right of way some 10' along the west side of the structure. 5 Historic development in PSCC2 has resulted in many encroachments onto neighboring properties and into rights of way largely due to some initial incorrect surveys and lack of surveys in the area. Vacations of the Vine Street right of way south of Whidby Avenue to Park Avenue have resulted in that entire portion of right of way being vacated between 1979 and 1997 Vacations were approved to allow property owners to clear title to their properties where encroachments occurred. The east one half of Vine Street immediately north of the subject property between Whidby Avenue and Orcas Avenue was vacated in 1987 That vacation is the only one in the area that was not approved to clear title. However, the right of way immediately north of that site, to Orcas Avenue (east portion of Vine Street) was vacated to clear title to property in 1987 The subject right of way is the only portion of the east half of Vine Street between Orcas Avenue and Park Avenue not yet vacated. 6 The City's Public Works and Utilities, Fire, Police, and Community and Economic Development staff reviewed the petition. No objections or concerns were raised as a result of that review Public Works and Utilities staff commented that vacation of the subject portion of the east one half of the right of way will not present any transportation or utility issues. The Port Angeles Fire Department noted that emergency access will not be hindered by the proposed vacation. Community and Economic Development had no issues to report. The Police Department did not comment. 7 Utilities are located in the west one half of the right of way No utilities are found in the east half of the right of way 8. The City's Comprehensive Plan and Land Use Map were reviewed for consistency with the proposed vacation of right of way proposal. Land Use Element, Map, Goals, Policies, and Objectives Element Goal A is relevant to the proposal. 9 The Port Angeles City Council's Real Estate Committee met on August 3, 2009, and determined that a minimum value should be established for the unopened right of way based on previous precedent set by vacating other areas of Vine Street for no compensation or $1 to clear unintended encroachments. 10 The vacating of a street is categorically exempt from the State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA) review per Section 197- 11- 800(2)(h) of the Washington Administrative Code. Planing Comm,ssmn Minutes tes August 26, 2009 Page 7 11 The site was posted regarding the proposed land use ction on July 28, 2009, with required publication appearing in the Peninsula Daily News on July 30, 2009 12. Consolidation of the right of way following vacation can be accomplished by the filing of a Zoning Lot Covenant that will combine the vacated property with the abutting lot owned by the Luceros into one building site. 13 At its August 4, 2009, regular meeting, the Port Angeles City Council established a public hearing date by resolution for action on the street vacation petition as September 15, 2009 14 The Port Angeles Planning commission held a public hearing on the proposed street vacation on August 26, 2009 Conclusions: A. Previous vacations of Vine Street between Orcas Avenue and Park Avenue have been approved resulting in the subject location being the only portion of the right of way where the width remains as originally platted 70' The City Engineer stated that the full width of right of way is not needed in this location to facilitate either the current or long range transportation planning needs of the City because local traffic will continue to utilize the west one half of the right of way with no change in traffic pattern as a result of the vacation. B. Emergency service providers (Fire Department) indicated that vacation of the east portion of right of way as proposed will not prevent access to properties in the area for emergency purposes or for residential use, nor will such vacation cause a change in access or service to existing properties. C. A history of vacation of rights of way in the underlying subdivision is noted due to historic development and use encroachments into adjacent rights of way and neighboring property lines. Vacation of the subject right of way will allow the petitioners' to clear title to their property and provide a standard side yard setback adjacent to a street as is required in the Port Angeles Municipal Code for the RS -7 zone. Additionally, the vacation will place unneeded property on the City's tax roles, therefore being in the public interest. D As conditioned, site consolidation will appropriately combine the vacated right of way with adjacent residential property to create a conforming building site. E. The action is consistent with the goals and policies of the City's Comprehensive Plan specifically with Land Use Map, Goal, Policies and Objective Element Goal A. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Powers and passed unanimously. COMMUNICATIONS FROM THE PUBLIC None Planning Commission MLmues August 26, 2009 Page 8 STAFF REPORTS Associate Planner Johns noted explained the Shoreline Master Program update process that will be undertaken to review the Program per State mandate by the end of the year 2011 Mr Johns noted that committee meetings would be held with Commissioners sitting on various committees. Staff is looking forward to significant input from Commissioners on this approximately two year process and appreciates, in advance, that assistance. None REPORTS OF COMMISSION MEMBERS None ADJOURNMENT The meeting adjourned at 7.30 p.m. Sue Roberd ecretary PREPARED BY S. Roberds re.— .tiC Doc Reiss, Chair PRINT NAME ADDRESS AGENDA ITEM 1,0rn MeN ic/) A/ Si r$. Lopsz, _z_ i j it fil c- 3 sf o /j°afa -tl nn C LH Lix CEO 5 9 vJV,. (4, 6- Tin btpmct -L3X Lope z t ,,).J.�y4,o —iu g <„int z Pot4 Tofh 1 43i fopeZ 14.00+c r ti(7) 150-4 bo A-ve, PORTANGELES W A S H I N G T O N U S A PLEASE SIGN IN To help us provide an accurate record of those in attendance, please sign in. If you do plan to testify, by your signature below, you certify that the testimony given is true and correct under penalty of perjury by the laws of the State of Washington. Signature below DOES NOT REQUIRE you to testify MEETING DATE Au G 0,S7 (p :.cc5