HE Decision Conditional Use -- St. Alban's (PLN20191001).pdf1
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CITY OF EDMONDS
121 5t" Avenue North, Edmonds WA 98020
Phone: 425.771.0220 • Fax: 425.771.0221 • Web: www.edmondswa.gov
DEVELOPMENT SERVICES DEPARTMENT • PLANNING DIVISION
BEFORE THE HEARING EXAMINER FOR THE CITY
OF EDMONDS
Phil Olbrechts, Hearing Examiner
RE: St. Alban's Episcopal Church
Conditional Use Permit
PLN20190001
FINDINGS OF FACT, CONCLUSIONS
OF LAW AND FINAL DECISION
INTRODUCTION
The Applicant has applied for a conditional use permit to allow for pre-school use of
the Sunday school wing of St. Alban's Episcopal Church, located at 21405 82nd Place
West. The application is approved subject to conditions.
TESTIMONY
[This summary is only provided for the convenience of the reader, to provide an
understanding of the testimony presented at the hearing. The summary of testimony is
not to be construed as containing any findings of fact or conclusions of law, or as
indicating what information the examiner found pertinent or significant.]
Mike Clugston, City of Edmonds Senior Planner, summarized the staff report. In
response to examiner questions, he noted that impacts to AM peak hour traffic hadn't
yet been analyzed and that issue will be addressed during subsequent permit review. Mr.
Clugston also clarified that all adjoining use is residential.
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Phil McClelland, Applicant representative, noted there are 33 parking spaces currently
at the project site. The church is running a capital campaign to improve the roof and
parking lot and parking lot improvements are scheduled to be constructed as funds arise.
In response to examiner questions, the play area will be located in the northern portion
of the project site.
Amanda Floyd, preschool representative, noted that the three classes are never held at
the same time, so the most cars at anyone time would be transporting a maximum of 18
students to the school.
EXHIBITS
The Staff Report with attachments 1-9 was admitted as Ex. 1 at the February 28, 2019
hearing.
FINDINGS OF FACT
Procedural:
Applicant. Greg Peters, 21405 82"d PL W, Edmonds, WA 98026.
2. Hearing. A hearing was conducted on the subject application on February
28, 2019 at 3:00 pm in the Council Chambers of the Edmonds Public Safety Complex.
Substantive:
3. Site and Proposal Description. The Applicant has applied for a conditional
use to allow for pre-school use of the Sunday school wing of St. Alban's Episcopal
Church, located at 21405 82nd Place West. West Edmonds Co-op Preschool would
operate the preschool on weekdays during the school year from 9am — 3pm. The Co-
op will have a 2-year old's class of up to 16 children, a 3-year old's class of up to 18
children, and a Pre-K class of up to 18 children. The classes will not be held
concurrently, such that the maximum number of students at the site at any one time
would be 18. The approximately 2.5 acre site contains the church building, surface parking,
and related outbuildings and structures. According to the County Assessor, St. Alban's was
built in 1958 and the site was annexed by the City of Edmonds in 1959.
4. Characteristics of the Area. The site and surrounding area is zoned Single -
Family Residential (RS-8) and developed with single-family use. Further to the north
and west radiating from "Five Corners" are parcels zoned and developed with
multifamily and business uses.
5. Adverse Impacts of Proposed Use. There are no significant adverse impacts
associated with the proposal. Impacts are more specifically addressed below:
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A. Traffic. General impacts to the City's transportation system will be mitigated by
traffic impact fees, to the extent that City regulations require any during building
permit review of parking improvements required by the conditions of approval. As
acknowledged by staff during the hearing, no traffic analysis has yet been
conducted for the proposal. At most, since classes don't start until 9:00 am, the
AM peak hour would only be affected by trips generated for the transport of 18
students. The need for a traffic study and corresponding traffic mitigation will be
assessed during the building permit review of the required parking lot
improvements.
B. Critical Areas. The site was reviewed and inspected for critical areas under
CRA19980233 and it was determined the site did not contain any critical areas.
Since the original determination is more than five years old, the conditions of
approval require a subsequent critical area checklist to be submitted if any new
exterior construction is proposed.
C. Pam. As conditioned, the proposal provides for adequate and appropriate
parking because it will comply with applicable City parking standards. According
to ECDC 17.50.020.C.8, preschools require one parking space per 300 square feet
or one space per employee plus one per five students, whichever is greater. By
square footage, six (6) parking spaces would be required since the preschool would
be about 1,800 sq. ft. of classroom space. Counting staff and students, however,
16 spaces would be required [6 for staff + 10 for students (up to 52 students/5 =
10.4)]. There are about 26 existing spaces in the paved lot north of the church.
That number satisfies the parking requirement for the preschool; however, the stalls
will need to be restriped and a building permit is required for that work.
Per ECDC 17.50.030.C, different uses on the same site must sum all requirements
for the individual uses, reduced by any applicable joint use provisions. Regarding
combining parking for the church and preschool, ECDC 17.50.030.B indicates:
Combination of uses shall meet the requirement based on the sum of all
the uses reduced by any applicable joint use provisions (see ECDC
17.50.060). Examples of such combined uses are: a furniture store with a
retail display area and attached storage warehouse, a storage warehouse
with attached office, a church with a parochial school, mixed use building
with commercial and residential uses and so forth.
Since the religious use of the site is primarily on weekends and the preschool use
will be Monday — Friday during the school year, a joint use parking agreement must
be established in accordance with Chapter 20.30 ECDC prior to beginning the
preschool use of the site.
D. Compatibility and Noise. The proposal is compatible with surrounding
development. As shown in an aerial photograph of the site, Ex. 4, the classroom
wing is located in the middle of a 2.5 acre project site surrounded by large trees.
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At most, except for perhaps brief periods between classes, the most students at any
one time at the project site would 18. The extensive amount of trees, modest
number of students and large project site should serve to buffer any significant noise
impacts to adjoining properties, even with outdoor playtime. Further, no exterior
improvements are proposed except for possibly some additional parking space,
which should not create any significant aesthetic impacts. Given the lack of
impacts and the use of existing buildings the proposal will not disrupt adjoining
residential use and is found to be compatible with that use.
CONCLUSIONS OF LAW
Procedural:
1. Authority of Hearing Examiner. The conditional use permit is classified as
a Type III-B decision under ECDC 20.01.003. ECDC 20.01.003(B) provides that the
hearing examiner holds a hearing and makes a final decision on Type III-B permits.
Substantive:
2. Zoning Designations. Single Family Residential (RS-8).
3. Permit Review Criteria. A conditional use permit is required for preschools
as a secondary use in the R-8 zone as required by ECDC 16.20.010(D)(1). The criteria
for a conditional use permit are governed by ECDC 20.050.010. All applicable criteria
are quoted below and applied through corresponding conclusions of law.
ECDC 20.050.010: No conditional use permit may be approved unless all of the
findings in this section can be made.
A. That the proposal is consistent with the comprehensive plan.
4. The proposal is consistent with the Comprehensive Plan policies identified
at p. 3 of the staff report, primarily because the proposed use is compatible with
surrounding single-family residential use as determined in Finding of Fact No. 5(D).
ECDC 20.05.010(B): Zoning Ordinance. That the proposed use, and its location, is
consistent with the purposes of the zoning ordinance and the purposes of the zone
district in which the use is to be located, and that the proposed use will meet all
applicable requirements of the zoning ordinance.
5. The criterion is met. The purposes of the zoning districts, as specified in
ECDC 16.00.010, are focused upon providing for compatibility of uses and preventing
adverse impacts. For the reasons outlined in Finding of Fact No. 5, this purpose is met
because the proposal will not create any significant adverse impacts and is compatible
with surrounding uses. The pertinent purpose of single-family zoning districts, ECDC
16.20.000(B), is to provide for nonresidential areas which are complement and are
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compatible with single-family use. As previously noted, the proposal is compatible
with single-family use. It complements single-family use by providing a convenient
location for a necessary community service. The proposal meets all applicable zoning
standards for the reasons identified at pages 4-8 of the staff report.
ECDC 20.05.010(C): Not Detrimental. That the use, as approved or conditionally
approved, will not be significantly detrimental to the public health, safety and welfare,
and to nearby private property or improvements unless the use is a public necessity.
6. The criterion is met. As discussed in Finding of Fact No. 5, there are no
significant adverse impacts associated with the project. As a consequence, the proposal
will not be significantly detrimental to the public health, safety and welfare or to nearby
properties or improvements.
ECDC 20.05.010(D): Transferability. The hearing examiner shall determine whether
the conditional use permit shall run with the land or shall be personal. If it runs with
the land and the hearing examiner finds it in the public interest, the hearing examiner
may require that it be recorded in the form of a covenant with the Snohomish County
auditor. The hearing examiner may also determine whether the conditional use permit
may or may not be used by a subsequent user of the same property.
7. The conditional use permit shall remain personal to the West Edmonds
Coop Preschool as requested by the Applicant.
DECISION
As conditioned, the conditional use permit application complies with all applicable
review criteria for the reasons outlined in the Conclusions of Law above. The
application is approved subject to the following conditions:
1. The building's fire alarm must comply with NFPA 72. The alarm system will need
to have a qualified fire alarm company examine and make recommendation to the
building owner and Fire Marshall's Office. Any alterations to the fire alarm system
require a permit.
2. The north parking area must be restriped and drop-off/pick-up must be resolved to
meet current code; a building permit is required. Any traffic impact fees will be
assessed with the building permit. A traffic study shall be completed and associated
mitigation implement if triggered by applicable trip generation levels. Should the
gravel area south of the church be needed for parking or drop-off/pick-up, permits
would be required to improve the area to current standards.
3. A joint use parking agreement between the church and preschool must be
established per ECDC 20.30 prior to occupancy.
4. If alteration to interior space is needed, a building permit is required.
5. The Preschool must obtain a business license.
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6. As required by the City's critical area regulations, any improvements to exterior
areas shall require submission of a critical areas checklist along with implementation
of any required critical areas mitigation.
Dated this 4th day of March 2019.
Ph-ir A.Olbrechts
City of Edmonds Hearing Examiner
Appeal Right and Valuation Notices
This land use decision is final and subject to closed record appeal to the City Council
as authorized by ECDC 20.01.003. Appeals must be filed within 14 days ofthe issuance
of this decision as required by ECDC 20.07.004(B). Reconsideration may be requested
within 10 calendar days of issuance of this decision as required by ECDC 20.06.010.
Affected property owners may request a change in valuation for property tax purposes
notwithstanding any program of revaluation.
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