Response Letter 7.15.16.pdfJuly 15, 2016
Jen Machuga
City of Edmonds
121 5th Avenue North
Edmonds, WA 98020
RE: Resubmittal of Revised Edmonds Short Plat
18227 80th Avenue West
City of Edmonds File No. PLN20150031 / Our Job No. 15370
Dear Jen:
Wilson & Neal, PLLC
Attorneys at Law
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4
We have revised the plans and technical documents for the above -referenced project in accordance with
comments we have received from City of Edmonds staff. Enclosed are the following documents for your
review and approval:
1. Five full-size copies of the revised preliminary short plat map
2. One 11x17 -inch copy of the revised preliminary short plat map
3. Three full-size copies of the revised civil engineering plans
4. One 11x17 -inch copy of the revised civil engineering plans
5. Three copies of the preliminary stormwater site plan report dated July 8, 2016 prepared by
Taylor Engineering Consultants
6. Three copies of the geotechnical engineering study dated June 29, 2016 prepared by
Geotech Consultants, Inc.
7. Infiltration considerations dated March 11, 2015 (updated and legible sieve analysis exhibit
attached dated June, 2016) prepared by Geotech Consultants, Inc.
The following outline provides each of the comments in your letter dated January 21, 2016 in italics
exactly as written, along with a narrative response describing how each comment was addressed:
Your proposal for all three lots to utilize separate access driveways is not consistent with
regulations requiring the proposal to minimize grading and causes concerns related to traffic
safety (see attached Engineering Division memo). Additionally, the proposed lot layouts are
not practical and could result in potential future private property issues since the property
lines are not located in logical locations. Concerns were also raised related to the site design
and access during the public comment period. One of the subdivision review criteria of
ECDC 20.75.085 states the following: "The proposal shall be designed to minimize grading
my using shared driveways and by relating street house site and lot placement to the
existing topography." Based on the current proposal, staff cannot find that this criterion is
being met. It appears that the subject site may be a good candidate for a modification
request in order to propose more logical lot layouts and access. Modification requests could
PO Box 158 Kent, WA 98035 + (206) 805-6238 Office # (206) 550-3189 Mobile
Terry@WilsonNeal.com
Jen Machuga
City of Edmonds
July 15, 2016
Page 2
take the form of a proposal for reduced minimum required setbacks, lot area, and/or lot width.
The fee for a modification request is $795 per type of request, and such request also requires
a written statement addressing the review criteria of ECDC 20.85.010. It shall be noted that a
modification request requires public notice and may only be approved if all of the required
findings set forth in ECDC 20.85. 010 can be made.
Response: A separate modification request accompanies this resubmittal package
addressing the layout issues and grading issues raised.
2. If your long-term plan is to replace the existing residence, you may find that demolishing the
existing residence with the subdivision would allow you greater flexibility with the location of
the lot line between Lots 1 and 2. It should be noted that if the proposal requires the removal
of the existing residence, demolition would not need to occur until the time of final review of
the short plat, not with preliminary review.
Response: Our current proposal is to keep the existing residence.
3. Please revise your preliminary plans as necessary and provide a cover letter responding to
the enclosed comments from the Engineering Division dated December 21, 2015
Response: All plans have been revised as requested and individual responses to all
engineering comments have also been provided herein.
4. Thank you for providing a geotechnical report. This report, however, does not provide any
references to the applicable critical areas code requirements of ECDC Chapters 23.40 and
23.80. As previously requested, your geotechnical engineer must include sufficient evidence
as to how the design standards of ECDC 23.80.070.A.3 will be met through the proposal, or if
an alternative design would be more compliant with these requirements. Design alternatives
to consider include, but are not limited to, lot layout, vehicular access, future building location,
etc. After revising the proposal in response to the above comments, please provide the
revised proposal to your geotechnical engineer and request an addendum to the previous
report that clearly reviews the revised proposal's compliance with the applicable critical areas
code requirements of ECDC Chapters 23.40 and 23.80, including a specific analysis of the
proposal's compliance with the design standards of ECDC 23.80.070.A.3.
Response: The geotechnical report has been updated by Geotech Consultants dated June
29, 2016. The report has been updated to include more specific information with regard to
Chapter 23.40 of the Edmonds Code. Erosion Hazard Area and a Landslide Hazard Area has
been discussed in the study per Chapter 23.40. In addition, the report has been updated with
regard to Chapter 23.80 of the Edmonds Code. Several points are included in the updated
report, in particular on Pages 3 and 4, with regards to information requested in Chapters
23.80.60 and 23.80.70. Your January 21 letter noted that information related to Chapter
23.80.70.A.3 was needed in the report; this portion of the code refers to an "alteration".
However, per Chapter 23.80.70.A.1 and 2, any setbacks and/or buffer from Hazard Areas are
determined by the geotechnical engineer, which are included in the June 29 report, and thus
no alterations are needed. 23.80.A.3 does not apply to this project.
The following outline provides each of the comments in JoAnne Zulaufs Memorandum dated
December 21, 2015 in italics exactly as written, along with a narrative response describing how each
comment was addressed:
Jen Machuga
City of Edmonds
1. Completed.
Response: No response required.
2. Completed.
Response: No response required.
3. Completed.
Response: No response required,.
4. Completed.
Response: No response required.
July 15, 2016
Page 3
5. 12/21/15 It is still unclear how the driveway runoff for Lot 2 and Lot 3 will be collected.
Please show the collection point and the conveyance to an infiltration system. Current CBs
are not shown in or partially in the pavement area and therefore cannot collect runoff from
those areas as drawn. Please specifically identify on the plan how the driveway(s) runoff will
be collected. The storm systems shown appear to be shared though it is unclear. The
access road and the impervious surface total from each lot shall be connected to a storm
system. Lot 1 existing impervious surface will only need to be connected to a storm system if
the existing house was constructed after 1977 or the existing house will be demolished. If the
existing home is demolished, all impervious surface on that lot will need to be connected to a
storm system as well.
Response: On the plans previously submitted, the driveways would logically have been
sloped toward the center swale. The current layout is different as a result of other comments,
and includes a common driveway which has an inverted crown, sloped toward a shortened
swale at the east end. Slope arrows now show the intent for all driveway runoff to flow to this
ditch/swale. The CB is located outside the pavement because it's primary function is as a
common collection point for all the site pipes and adjacent surface flow, with an oil -water
separator prior to discharge to the drywell, which also includes a (bottomless) catch basin.
6. Completed.
Response: No response required.
7. 12/21/15 At the connection to the public sewer system at manhole will be required. Please
show on plan. To show feasibility of the sewer system, provide rim and invert elevations from
proposed structures on each lot to a clean out at the property line and then on to a
connection to the public sewer main. Please include length and size of all pipe to verify a
minimum of 2% slope can be attained.
Response: A Manhole has been added along with the required run data.
8. 12/21/15 Please see the stormwater engineer's comments below. Please provide an
infiltration stormwater report including testing information using one of the approved testing
Jen Machuga
City of Edmonds
July 15, 2016
Page 4
methods found in the City of Edmonds Stormwater Supplement Appendix C. The
Supplement can be found on our website under Handouts
Response: Please see enclosed stormwater report addressing the concerns that have been
raised.
9. 12/11/15 Please see transportation engineers comments below.. The intention and
arrangement of the access road(s) is unclear.
a. 12/21/15 Please see transportation engineer's comments below. The proposed access
along with the existing driveway and the driveway adjacent to the east will create a 50'
expanse of asphalt with only a small area of vegetation between them. Please revise
reducing the excessive access entry to the lots. An option would be to demo the
driveway access from the east to the existing house and use only the west entrance.
Then the access road to the other two lots could be reduced to a 15Access easement
with 12' paved.
Response: Please see enclosed revised Short Plat drawing and revised Engineering
drawings. The layout has been revised to eliminate the "panhandle/flag lot" layout and a
26' proposed access and utility easement has been proposed, along with an
accompanying modification request for the reduction of lot sizes for Lots 2 and 3.
b. 12/21/15 Utility easements will be required to be shown during the civil review process.
There is a label stating that a 30 x 20 area adjacent to the road is an Access/Utility
easement. It appears that the road will be on both lot 2 and 3 property and that the
utilities will also be on both properties through the road. If this is the case then the entire
access road would be the Access/Utility easement. Please clarify.
Response: Please see enclosed revised Short Plat drawing and revised Engineering
drawings. The layout has been revised to eliminate the "panhandle/flag lot" layout and a
26' proposed access and utility easement has been proposed, along with an
accompanying modification request for the reduction of lot sizes for Lots 2 and 3.
c. Completed.
Response: No response required.
10. Completed,
Response: No response required.
Traffic _R_goort Review. Sertr. nd Hauss Trns ortation Engineer: I have concerns regarding
access from / to LOT #1 onto 80th Ave. W (especially for drivers backing out of driveway to
access 80th Ave. W). In order to provide a safer access, the driveway from LOT #1 should
join the other (2) driveways further to the east, so drivers only have to turn their heads @
90degree angle to see vehicles coming from the south (instead of much more / very
uncomfortable unsafe position under current layout). Can that movement be completed safely
/ show AUTOTURN layouts? In order to further improve access from LOT 1 and 2 (for drivers
backing out), a turnaround within the property should be provided so they are facing 80th
Jen Machuga
City of Edmonds
July 15, 2016
Page 5
Ave. W. when coming out of the driveway. Please see City Standard Detail E2.6 for on-site
turnaround requirements.
Response: The access driveway to Lot 1 has also been relocated further East. Engineering
plans have also been revised to remove sections of the existing driveway and propose
access driveways that should satisfy the city's turn around standards.
Stormwater Review.- Jeay Shuster Stormwater En ineer The stormwater report information
submitted is incomplete and therefore a full review was not possible.
Infiltration is feasible on this site based on the soil descriptions in the geotech letter dated
3/11/2015. The figure in that report with the sieve analysis (plate 4) was difficult to read
making it impossible to confirm any of the body of the report. Project is >10,000 sf of
impervious is proposed and it is near a steep slope, I would require a pilot infiltration test
(Appendix C of the Stormwater Supplement) for this site and not solely rely on sieve
analyses.
Response: The TIR has been revised to document that the project is < 10,000 sf. It never
was >10,000 sf — we attempted to convey our desire to size the infiltration facility for the
existing impervious roof area, even though it was not technically required per Section 2.3 of
the Edmonds Stormwater Code Supplement (ESCS). The new area take -offs document how
the project meets the requirements for use of the presized calculations, and the required
drywell size is reduced to 609 sf. It should be noted that we conservatively used the largest
possible Sizing Factor, and now propose to leave the previously -sized 807 sf drywell even
though it is larger than required. If a pilot infiltration test is still required, we can certainly
have one done, but it will most likely further reduce the required drywell size.
The drainage report appears to be using the pre -sizing tables to design the dry well. The
project impervious is >10,000 therefore exceeds the maximum for using pre -sized
calculations. The infiltration BMPS must be modeled. The modeling results included have no
record of the input parameters so it is impossible to verify findings. The spreadsheet with
impervious calculations is cut off.
Response: See response above for justification for using the presizing tables. The modeling
results included in the TIR were missing the input parameters. These have been revised and
are now included, but this modeling is only used to generate flows for sizing erosion control
facilities. We don't know how the spreadsheet was cut off — the original pdf in our file is whole
and intact. Regardless, these areas have been changed as described above and in the
revised TIR.
The site will have >5000 sf pollution generating impervious surface. The proposal is an "oil
water separator elbow" for this. They must include a treatment system per the Ecology 2005
manual. Please revise report and resubmit.
Response: Similar to the impervious area discussion above, if the existing pavement is
taken into account per Section 2.3 of the ESCS, the site will not have > 5,000 of PGIS. The
new + replaced PGIS totals 4,985 sf, and in addition, the project will remove 2.978 sf of
PGIS, which does not generate any credit for the project, but is nevertheless worth noting.
Jen Machuga
City of Edmonds
July 15, 2016
Page 6
We believe that the above responses, together with the enclosed revised plans and technical documents,
address all of the comments we have received. Please review and approve the enclosed at your earliest
convenience. If you have questions or need additional information, please do not hesitate to contact me
at this office. Thank you.
Respectfully,
Terrance Randall Wilson
Attorney at Law
153700005-S-PRLM-SH PL
enc: As Noted
cc: Phong Le, Clear Vision Homes, Inc.
Trevor Lanktree, Lanktree Land Surveying, Inc.