C.A.R.E. Response: Evendell Plat Revision - Application L03RE038 January 22, 2004
Who We Are
Since November 2001, Citizens' Alliance for a Responsible Evendell has been meeting with and recording the concerns of the neighbors who will be most impacted by the subject application. C.A.R.E represents over 80 households and over 150 individuals whose residencies in our community range from one year to more than sixty years. Their contact information, including parcel numbers, is attached. (C.A.R.E. Households List)
Gwendolyn High presents this documentation and will speak for C.A.R.E. in this hearing. She is a data analyst, programmer and information technology project manager. She is the elected district representative for this neighborhood on the Four Creeks Unincorporated Area Council, where she serves as Secretary and Transportation Representative. In October 2002 she was appointed the only citizen representative on the King County Transportation Concurrency Advisory Committee. Ms. High is co-founder and current president of C.A.R.E.
What We Have Accomplished
On April 5th, 2002, we delivered our first Response to the original Evendell applications. From the data reported in that submission and other communications with DDES staff, our concerns over drainage impacts were further investigated and found to be factual. The applicant was required to perform a Level III Downstream Analysis and additional drainage mitigation was subsequently required.
On March 6th we attended the Public Hearing. Marsha Rollinger and Ms. High acted as Interveners on behalf of the residents of our community. Over 60 people sacrificed their entire day to join together and speak out against the Evendell proposal. There were so many people and so much testimony that the Hearing Examiner had to grant an extension. On the 10th of March, we came back and delivered our closing arguments. In the Report and Recommendation to the King County Council issued March 28th 2003, Hearing Examiner Pro Tem James O’Conner recommended that the application for Zone Reclassification be denied.
When US Land appealed to the King County Council, C.A.R.E. submitted a written response to the appeal and participated as a party in the oral arguments before the Council. C.A.R.E.’s efforts were successful: the King County Council ultimately adopted the Hearing Examiner’s recommendations. U.S. Land subsequently filed a Land Use Petition in King County Superior Court. C.A.R.E. was named Intervener in the lawsuit and was represented by Peter Eglick of Helsell Fetterman at the Hearing on January 12, 2004. Judge Barbara Fleck is expected to issue a Memorandum of Decision within the week.
What We Hope To Achieve
The originally proposed 70 lot plat was found to be in violation of multiple King County Comprehensive Plan Policies and rejected. The identical 70 lot plat is now being proposed through the utilization of Transfer of Development Rights (TDR). KCC 21A.37.010 states that the TDR program is "intended to supplement land use regulations… and to encourage increased residential development density…where it can best be accommodated with the least impacts on the natural environment and public services…" KCC 21A.37.010 (2) further requires that the use of TDR must be "… balanced with other county goals and policies, and are adjusted to the specific conditions of each receiving site."
The mechanism for achieving R-6 density (TDR instead of zone reclassification) is the only substantive difference between the original and the revised applications. The same Comprehensive Plan policies that precluded the approval of the rezone equally apply to the use of TDR. Additionally, new data from the King County Department of Transportation, the Issaquah School District and the City of Renton only strengthen the body of evidence previously submitted and conclusively indicates the state of infrastructure deficit in this community. The local infrastructure can not support the requested density and there is no indication that improvements will ever be constructed to support it.
We strongly urge the denial of the Evendell Plat Revision - Application L03RE038.
Introduction
The argument has been made that the impacts on C.A.R.E. and its members are no different under the requested increased density (equivalent to R-6(gross)) than they are under the current R-4(gross) density designation. This argument ignores reality. There is a difference between R-4(gross) and R-6(gross) and that difference is approximately 24 (more than 50% more) newly constructed houses in an area that is approximately the same size. The additional houses will mean, among other things, approximately 50% more traffic, and 50% more impervious surfaces, as well as additional emergency responses, and additional noise. Significantly, if this application is approved, C.A.R.E. and its members will also likely suffer additional impacts in the future as new developers also request increased densities and refer to the Evendell decision as supporting their requests.
In particular, C.A.R.E. and its members are interested in ensuring coordinated and responsible development of our community consistent with state and local zoning laws and regulations that are aimed at ensuring that development does not exceed infrastructure capacity, including transportation capacity. Traffic congestion is already a major problem in this neighborhood. The entire plateau is served by just one north-south road, 156th Avenue SE. In addition, in light of its topography, substantial physical obstacles stand in the way of future transportation capacity improvements. The proposed Evendell development would add additional traffic to the area and the amount of additional traffic will be directly proportional to the size of the development. C.A.R.E. has serious concerns about the ability of King County and the City of Renton to provide adequate police and fire protection services for this area, either immediately or in the longer term, in the face of rampant new and denser development such as that proposed.
C.A.R.E. and its members are also concerned with protecting against physical damage to existing residences and properties as a result of site preparation, construction, and use associated with the Evendell development. Such impacts would harm C.A.R.E. members’ interests in protecting their property values, along with their privacy and the quiet enjoyment of their property. Any one or more of these interests may be negatively impacted if increased density is allowed for the proposed Evendell development.
KCC 21A.37.010 Transfer of development rights (TDR) program - purpose.A. The purpose of the transfer of development rights program is to provide a voluntary, incentive-based process for permanently preserving the rural resource and Urban Separator lands that provide a public benefit. The TDR provisions are intended to supplement lands use regulations, resource protection efforts and open space acquisition programs and to encourage increased residential development density, especially inside cities, where it can best be accommodated with the least impacts on the natural environment and public services by:
1. Providing an effective and predictable incentive process for rural, resource and Urban Separator land property owners to preserve lands with public benefit as describes in K.C.C. 21A.37.020; and
2. Providing an efficient and streamlined administrative review system to ensure that transfers of development rights to receiving sites are evaluated in a timely way and balanced with other county goals and policies, and are adjusted to the specific conditions of each receiving site.
Though the legislation regulating the TDR program supports increased density within the entire area of the Urban Growth Boundary, the statement of purpose acknowledges that not all parcels within that area are equally capable of supporting such increased density. With this documentation, C.A.R.E. will show that the subject parcel is not capable of supporting the requested increased density and that approval of the requested increased density will violate multiple King County Comprehensive Plan policies that are mandated to be balanced when evaluating applications for utilization of the TDR program.
Infrastructure Capacity
The attached press releases from King County highlight the appropriate application of TDR by setting the receiving sites inside recognized urban centers. (March and April 2000 Press Releases) The Evendell parcel is neither in nor near any urban center with the established capacity to meet the needs of the proposed development. (Six Year Plan Map showing Urban Centers)
In July of 2003, the King County General Government Budget Advisory Task Force issued a Recommendations Report. (Report of the King County General Government Budget Advisory Task Force) The Task Force report repeatedly cites the major impediment to cities’ enthusiasm for annexation to be the critical infrastructure deficit in urban unincorporated areas. The Suburban Cities Association responded with a White Paper (A Joint City Position) which also emphasizes the infrastructure deficit in Potential Annexation Areas such as the one in which the proposed Evendell is located.
Despite the mutually acknowledged existence of significant infrastructure deficit, the Task Force has proposed, and the King County Executive has agreed, that not only should the unincorporated area property tax levy, which has always been dedicated to roads and transportation, be redirected to other uses; but that services in the Urban Unincorporated Areas should be reduced or eliminated. The Task Force Conclusions state (in part):
"Despite several years of aggressive budget cuts by the County, unless continued steps are taken to trim programs, streamline operations, apply greater management rigor, challenge traditional service delivery mechanisms, shed remaining urban unincorporated areas to cities, and successfully lobby the state for additional revenue tools, a steady decline in the quality of County government services is unavoidable. Even if the County is able to make major progress in terms of efficiencies, ultimately it cannot achieve long-term financial stability without the assistance of the state and local governments in this region (particularly those who are stakeholders in annexation)."
The King County Executive’s Office and the DOT have issued several statements in support of limiting and/or eliminating expenditures within the Urban Unincorporated Areas. In fact, the proposed 2004 Budget includes the initial steps in that direction – specifically the deferral of four major roads projects in the PAAs totaling $5.7 million in 2004 alone. (July 2003 Message to Employees; Budget & Fiscal Management Committee Capital Budget Panel – 2004 CIP Budget Overview; In Transportation – Facing the Challenges)
According to the KCDOT (Community Action Strategies – Subarea Priority Ranking Map), our area is in line behind at least four high priority areas and one medium priority area for any retrofit or new capacity improvements. Additionally, neither the Urban Retrofit nor the Capacity Improvements indicated on the Subarea Priority Ranking Map are either scheduled or funded. This indicates that even with the least impact from the implementation of the Task Force's recommendation, our bad situation will continue to get far worse before there is any attempt at correction.
In July 2003, KCDOT updated the status of the intersection of SE 128 St at 160th Avenue SE to the High Accident Locations Report from #90 to #16. (High Accident Locations Report) C.A.R.E. members passionately testified at the Public Hearing in March 2003 on the original Evendell application concerning the current conditions at this intersection. No mention was made of the HAL or this intersection's status on it at the original Public Hearing. These dangerous conditions exist now - before the impacts of the Evendell (46-70 units), Hamilton Place (26 units), Liberty Grove I & II (60 units), or Nichols Place (25 units) applications - which all access 160th Ave SE and will all contribute traffic to this intersection.
The issuance of transportation concurrency certificates for densities in excess of the current zoning has artificially pushed the zone out of compliance and prevents any application for development in compliance with current zoning. (King County Concurrency Maps 2001, 2002 and 2003; Concurrency Detail Comparison Graphic) The entire area from the City Limits of Renton to the City Limits of Issaquah; from May Valley to the Cedar River Valley has been out of compliance with King County Transportation Concurrency standards since spring 2002. The current Concurrency Status Map shows no improvement, even with the introduction of averaging factors to prevent a single critical link from driving a zone out of compliance.
Since the original Evendell application, the Issaquah School District has amended their School Concurrency Certificate. The District has determined that there is no safe walkway for students between the Evendell site and any of the local schools (Briarwood Elementary, Maywood Middle School or Liberty High School) even though they are only blocks away. As a consequence, the District will be required to bus all children. Worse than that, the proposed development falls outside the standard radius of bus service, so additional funds, at taxpayer expense, are to be provided by the State.
Development Density
U-113New residential development in the Urban Growth Area should occur where facilities and services can be provided at the lowest public cost and in a timely fashion. The Urban Growth Area should have a variety of housing types and prices, including mobile home parks, multi-family development, townhouses and small-lot, single-family development.
The overwhelming evidence presented by C.A.R.E. clearly indicates that adequate infrastructure capacity does not exist now, and is not likely to be constructed in a timely manner. The requirement for additional taxpayer funds to bus school children from Evendell to schools merely blocks away also clearly violates the “lowest public cost” requirement.
Comp Plan Chapter 2 - B. Residential Land Use1. Residential Densities
The density of eight homes per acre expressed below is a long-term goal and would be an average density of single-family and multifamily developments. Single-family homes will continue to account for most of the land area used for new development in the County. This plan proposes ways to develop single-family homes more efficiently so that urban land is used more efficiently, homes are affordable, more housing choices are available and densities are adequate to allow for transit services.
The latest data from King County illustrates that all growth targets throughout the county are being met. (2003 Annual Growth Report - excerpts) 50% of the anticipated growth in King County for the entire 20 year planning cycle has been achieved in the first 38% of that cycle. Even more telling, the Unincorporated Area of the South Subregion, in which the proposed Evendell is located, has achieved 37% of its total 20 year goal in the last 2 years (9% of the total period). (King County Benchmark Report 2003: Land Use - excerpts) This rate far exceeds the anticipated and planned rate of growth, and the impacts are sorely felt in our community. Achieved Density on New Plats and Achieved Density on New Permits far exceeded the Average Planned Density for areas, such as ours, currently zoned 3-5 DU/acre in the South Subregion. Our area is more than meeting its growth targets and fulfilling the goals of the Comprehensive Plan for urban densities inside the UGB.