Loading...
Resolution 397PLANNING COMMISSION RESOLUTION NO. 397 A RESOLUTION TO THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF EDMONDS, WASHINGTON RECOMMENDING THE ADOPTION OF AN ORDINANCE TO CREATE A DESIGN COMMISSION IN SAID CITY BY THE ADOPTION OF A NEW CHAPTER TO THE EDMONDS CITY CODE, CHAPTER 12. 20 AS SET FORTH IN PLANNING COMMISSION FILE NO. ZO-5-72. WHEREAS, the Planning Commission of the City of Edmonds pursuant to proper notice held a series of public hearings on a proposal to implement and further the Comprehensive Plan and Official Zoning Ordinance of said city by the creation of a Design Commission, and WHEREAS, having set forth the purposes of said Design Commission in Section 12. 20. 010 of the herein proposed ordinance, and finding that said purposes will be accomplished by the adoption of the proposed ordinance in the form proposed a& Chapter-12. 20; wh_i_ch _ i s Ex',-ibit ".A"__.attached hereto; now, therefore BE IT FIRST RESOLVED by the Planning Commission of said City that recommendation be and the same is hereby made to the City Council that subject to part two below, the City Council adopt by ordinance proposed new Chapter 12. 20 creating a Design Commission as the same appears in Planning Commission File No. ZO-5-72, and BE IT RESOLVED SECOND that the foregoing first action by the Planning Commission is the first stage of a successive recommendation in two parts, the second part to deal with the respective jurisdictions of the Design Commission and the Planning Commission, said second part to be reviewed and recommended by the Planning Commission contingent upon affirmative action by the City Council upon first part of said matter as herein above set forth. tgaVErtaE ¢. DATED as of the J 51"4 day of 19,eoei,�, 1972. APPROV Chairman, Edmore s Planning Commission File No. ZO-5-72 Date of Hearing: 11-15-72 Initial Request by: City Council Edmonds City Planner Planning Commission Resolution No. 397 "Exhibit A" Section 12. 20. 010 Intent. This chapter is intended to imple- ment and further the Comprehensive Plan and the Official Zoning Ordinance of the City of Edmonds and _i s:- adopted for the following purposes: (1) To promote the public health, safety and general welfare of the citizens of said city including the development and coordination of municipal growth and services. (2) To supplement land use regulation to encourage the most appropriate use of land throughout the municipality, lessen traffic congestion and accidents, secure safety from fire, provide light and air, prevent the overcrowding of land, avoid undue concentration of population, promote a coordinated development of the unbuilt areas, and conserve and restore natural beauty and other natural resources. (3) Incidental to the foregoing purposes the_ intentions of this chapter are to incorporate into the same and recognize that land use regulations should consider not only the foregoing considerations but should include as incidental thereto the orderliness of community growth, the protection and enhancement of property values for the community as a whole and as they relate to each other, the minimization of discordant and unsightly surroundings and visual blight, the avoidance of inappropriate and poor quality of design,and other environmental and aesthetic considerations which generally enhance rather than detract from community standards and values for the comfort and prosperity of the community in the preservation of its natural beauty and other natural resources which are of proper and necessary concern of local government, and to promote and enhance construction and maintenance practices that will tend to prevent visual blight and enhance environmental and aesthetic quality for the community as a whole. Section 12. 20. 020 Definitions. The words and terms used in this chapter shall be defined and construed as set forth in chapter 12.12 (Zoning Definitions) in the Edmonds City Code, and in addition shall include the following: ARCHITECTURAL FEATURE shall mean the exterior archi- tectural treatment and general arrangement of the portions of an improve- ment and site as shall be open to external view, including, but not by way of limitation, the following considerations: (a) building materials, texture, and where elsewhere indicated color; (b) attached or detached signs; (c) landscaping and site screening; (d) parking lots; (e) exterior lighting; (f) walkway and related pedestrian considerations; (g) such other fixtures and appurtenances to lots and structures that have or will have visual impact to adjoining and vicinal properties whether in private or public ownership. IMPROVEMENT shall mean any building, structure, fixture or other improvement to real property open to exterior view including site development and excavation. It shall include, but not by way of limitation the following: (a) street improvements excluding maintenance, surfacing or lifts which do not include widening in excess of eight feet; (b) street furniture; (c) advertising structures, billboards and signs; (d) assessory uses, apartment houses and other multiple residential structures including duplexes, boarding houses, rooming houses, fraternity houses and sorority houses. (e) carports for multiple structures, clinics, clubs, Section 12. 20. 030 Creation of Design Commission. There is hereby created a Design Commission for the City of Edmonds which shall have the powers, duties and functions as hereinafter provided. The Design Commission shall consist of seven members and shall be appointed by the Mayor, subject to approval of the City Council. In case any vacancy shall''.occur in the membership of the Commission, for any cause, the Mayor shall fill such vacancy by making an appointment which appointment shall be subject to approval of the City Council. The new appointee shall fulfill the unexpired term. The members of the Commission or any of them, may be removed by the Mayor, subject to approval of the City Council, without cause. In making appointments to the Design Commission the Mayor shall seek to appoint persons who are knowledgeable in matters of community development, design and architectural judgment. Emphasis should be placed upon the professions of architecture, landscape architecture, urban planning, civil engineering, but should include lay members as well. Members of the Commission shall serve without compensation. Residence of the City of Edmonds shall be a requirement of members of the Design Commission. No member of the Design Commission shall participate in discussions or vote on any matter involving any client he is serving or for any business of which he is an owner, officer or other employee, or having to do with property in which he has any interest personal to him and not shared by others in the community as a whole. Section 12. 20. 040 Design Commission - Terms of Office. No member of the Design Commission shall serve for more than two consecutive full terms on the Commission, not including fulfilling the balance of an unexpired term. The terms of the seven members shall be four years, provided, that in order that the fewest terms will expire in any one year, the terms of the first appointive members shall expire on the 31st day of December of each year as follows, and thereafter on the fourth anniversary of said term: Position No. 1 - 1973 Position No. 2 - 1974 Position No. 3 - 1974 Position No. 4 - 1975 Position No. 5 - 1975 Position No. 6 - 1976 Position No. 7 - 1976 Initial terms of less than a full four years shall be considered a full term for purposes of prohibiting the appointment of a member for no more than two consecutive terms. Section 12. 20. 050 Desi-an Commission - Rules and Records. Subject to the rules set forth in this chapter, the Design Commission may adopt rules and regulations for the conduct of its own business. A majority of the membership shall constitute a quorum for the purpose of transacting business. Action by the Design Commission shall be by majority vote of the quorum in attendance, but no matter may be disposed of without three votes for or against. The chairman shall have a tie breaking vote and may vote in order to constitute the third required vote for final action. A tie vote, or a vote of less than three affirmative votes, shall constitute a failure of the motion and denial of the application. The planning director, or his duly authorized representative(s), shall serve as the executive secretary of the Design Commission and shall be responsible for all records which shall be open to the public. Minutes shall be taken of all Design Commission meetings and retained as public documents. Section 12. 20. 060 Design Commission - Meeting Dates. All meetings of the Design Commission shall be open to the public and conform to the State open meeting law. Regular meeting dates of the Design Commission shall be as follows: document phase, or at any time they deem necessary. A municipal improvement approved by the City Council after review and recommendations by the Design Commission may be implemented on a phasing basis without further review so long as the improvement is developed in substantial conformity with the reviewed plan. Significant deviations from an approved plan shall be submitted to the Design Commission for its further review and recommendations. For municipal improvements the Design Commission review and recommendation shall not be binding upon the City Council but shall be given due consideration by the City Council. (5) The Design Commission may assist any person, group or organization which requests design advice on matters not requiring formal commission action. (6) The Design Commission may consult with the Planning Commission, Park Board, Board of Adjustment, Board of Building Appeals, City Council or any other department, body or commission of the City of Edmonds on matters affecting the subject matter of this chapter. Such consultation may be by the Design Commission as a whole or by a committee designated by the Design Commission. The Design Commission may offer recommendations to appropriate city departments, boards, commissions and any other agency on pending or proposed legislation relative to the subject matter of this chapter. Section 12. 20. 080 Criteria. In reviewing applications to the Design Commission, or other duties of the Design Commission elsewhere specified in this chapter, the Design Commission shall be guided by the intent and purposes of this chapter as set forth in Section 12. 20. 010 herein and the following considerations: (1) Relationship of building site. (a) The site should be planned to accomplish a desirable transition with the streetscape and to provide for adequate planting, and pedestrian walkways or other improvement. (b) Parking spaces and lots and other service areas should be located, designed and screened from public view insofar as the same may be practical and consistent with the nature of the improvement, geographic and topographical considerations. (c) Consideration shall be given to the height and scale of each structure for compatibility with the site and adjoining and vicinal improvements with consideration given to the conformance or lack of conformance with the existing zoning and comprehensive plan projections for the area and the state of repair, conformity and general benefit of the improvements on adjoining and vicinal properties. (2) Relationship of building and site to adjoining area. (a) Buildings and structures should be designed to be compatible with the purposes of the comprehensive plan, zoning ordinance and adjacent buildings of conflicting environmental and architectural detail, or provide site screening, site breaks or materials for the purpose of environmental and aesthetic compatibility and avoidance of visual blight. (b) Harmony in texture, lines and masses of buildings or structures should be encouraged. (c) Landscape transition to adjoining properties should be encouraged to provide continuity of transition in harmony with the purposes of the comprehensive plan, zoning ordinance and general environmental considerations. (d) Municipal improvements and other public or quasi -public buildings and structures should not interrupt the established neighborhood character as existing and proposed in long range planning concepts in the comprehensive plan. (3) Landscape and site treatment. (a) Where existing topographical configuration contributes to the conservation of natural beauty and other natural resources they should be conserved. (b) Grades of walkways and other pedestrian provisions, parking spaces and lots, terraces and other paved areas should minimize conflict with the conservation and restoration of natural beauty and other natural resources. (c) Landscape treatment should be provided to enhance architectural features and improvements, environmental harmony, minimize visual conflict with the structure or building, provide shade for walkways and other pedestrian provisions and to conserve and restore natural beauty and other natural resources. (d) In location where plants would be susceptible to damage by pedestrian or motor traffic, they should be protected by appropriate curbs, tree guards or similar devices. (e) Where building or structure sites eliminate planting, the placement of trees, shrubs or other plantings should be encouraged in parkways and paved areas where adequate protection may be provided. (f) Screening of service yards, and other open spaces which tend towards the accumulation of litter or other visual blight, should be accomplished by the use of sight obscuring materials such as walls, fencing, planting, or combinations thereof, emphasizing the preservation of natural beauty and other natural resources. Screening should be designed for effectiveness in winter as well as summer periods. (g) In areas where general planting will not prosper, other materials such as fences, walls, pavings of wood, brick, stone, gravel or other materials suggesting natural beauty should be encouraged. (h) Exterior lighting, when used and permitted under applicable laws, should be shielded and restrained in design to avoid excessive brightness or brilliance to adjoining and vicinal properties and streets. Lighting standards and fixtures should be de-emphasized and not detract from the overall site continuity, structure, building or improvement and emphasis should be placed upon the site environment, natural beauty conservation and blend. (4) Building Design. Architectural style is not restricted. Evaluation of the building, structure or other improvement should be based on quality of design and relationship to environmental concerns, the conservation and restoration of natural beauty and other natural resources and the avoidance of conflict with the character of the existing neighborhood considering its present state of economic wellbeing and repair and the projected utilization and function of the neighborhood pursuant to the comprehensive plan. Scal e, line and mass should similarly conform to the total project evaluation as herein set forth. In addition, but not by way of limitation, the following building design considerations should meet the criteria herein set forth: (a) All building components, such as, but not by way of limitation, as windows, doors, eaves, and parapets. (b) Colors, which should emphasize neighborhood compatibility and avoid conflict by excessive brightness or brilliance save and except where the same may enhance the general balance and harmony of the neighborhood. In relation to its utilitarian function, existing zoning and structures, and considerations for future development as proposed by the com- prehensive plan. (c) Mechanical equipment or other utility hardware on the roof, grounds or buildings, should be screened from view wherever practical and provision made to buffer sound against noise to adjoining property. (d) Monotony of design in single or multiple building projects should be avoided for the purpose of preserving and restoring natural beauty and other natural resources, such as providing variable siting and individual buildings within a multiple building project, to enhance opening to the occupants of light and air, and where applicable to provide recreational facilities, and to avoid excessive shading between structures. (e) Advertising structures, billboards and all other types of signs shall conform to existing ordinances and laws, and should conform to the criteria set forth above for building design evaluation generally, building components, colors, and where applicable, the lighting criteria set forth in subparagraph 3(h) above. (5) Street Furniture. Street furniture wherever located, other than in conjunction with a single family dwelling or use assessory thereto, should be designed to be a part of the total architectural concept of design and landscape under the criteria set forth above. Particularly, materials should be compatible with buildings; scale and color should de- emphasize street furniture with emphasis on compatibility with the overall design of site, building and neighborhood; and lighting should be similarly treated. Section 12. 20. 09,0 Application and procedure. Applications to the Design Commission shall be submitted to the executive secretary on forms provided by the City and shall include a site plan and exterior elevations and such other data as required by the executive secretary as will enable the Design Commission to adequately evaluate the proposed improvement. Preliminary drawings may be submitted for review and preliminary advisory opinion by the Design Commission. No formal Design Commission action shall be taken except upon final site plans and elevations being provided. Final site plans and elevations shall be drawn to sale and shall indicate the nature and extent of the proposed improvement and shall show in detail that they conform with the provisions of this chapter and the zoning ordinance. The Design Commission may approve, disapprove, or require modification of any such application. In no instance shall the Design Commission's action conflict with existing zoning, subdivision or platting requirements, building or other applicable city ordinances nor grant variances therefrom. All final decisions of the Design Commission shall be reduced to writing and shall include findings of fact as to the reasons deemed controlling to the decision where the decision is adverse or requires modification from that proposed by the applicant. The Design Commission shall complete its review and make its decision and/or,- recommendations within 60 days after the application is filed with the executive secretary unless an extension is approved by the applicant or his agent. There shall no posting or publication requiremert s for the application but all decisions, interim or final shall be made at regular meetings of the Design Commission. Section 12. 20.100 Appeals. Any persons feeling aggrieved by an action of the Design Commission may file a written notice of appeal with the City Council setting forth the reasons for appeal. Appeals must be filed with the City Clerk, and a copy with the executive secretary of the Design Commission, within ten days of the formal and final action by the Design Commission. The filing of an appeal shall suspend the issuance of any building or other required city permit until the City Council has taken final action on the appeal. The City Council upon transmittal to it by the City Clerk, or executive secretary, shall set a date for public hearing of the appeal, and shall take final action on the appeal within 45 days of the filing of the notice of appeal with the City Clerk and the executive secretary of the Design Commission. Review by the City Council shall be confined to the review of the file of the Design Commission, including the minutes thereof, and written findings where applicable, except that the City Council may elect to take additional testimony bearing on an issue of alleged procedural irregularities in the proceedings before the Design Commission that may not appear in the records, if any. Further, the City Council, may, upon request, consider oral and/or written arguments for submission to the City Council, including rebuttal, if any. The City Council may affirm the decision of the Design Commission; remand to the Design Commission for further proceedings, in which case the Design Commission shall reach a final resolve of the matter in not less than 30 days following the action of the City Council;or the City Council may reverse the decision of the Design Commission if it finds that substantial rights of the appealing party, or others he may represent, have been prejudiced because the findings, conclusions or decisions of the Design Commission vue in violation or in excess of its authority or jurisdiction, made upon unlawful procedure, clearly erroneous of the entire record as submitted and the public policy contained in this chapter, or the action was arbitrary and capricious as that term is used in judicial review of zoning procedures. Review of any action by the City Council to a Superior Court shall be within ten days from the date of action of the City Council, and only after the perfection of an appeal to the City Council, by way of writ of certiorari, writ of prohibition, or writ of mandamus. Section 12. 20. 110 Application Fees. Application fees for applications filed with the Design Commission shall be as follows: Section 12. 20. 120 Penalties. Any person or organization, or employee or owner or an organization, who violates any of the provisions of this chapter, or knowingly permits such violation, or fails to comply with any of the requirements thereof, or who knowingly misrepre- sents an application or representation to the Design Commission, or violates the terms of the approval, denial or modification of an application to the Design Commission, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction thereof shall be punishable by fine or imprisonment as set forth in Section 5. 12. 170 of the Edmonds City Code. In case any improvement, architectural feature or street furniture is constructed, altered, modified, converted, or maintained in violation of this chapter, the proper legal authorities of the City of Edmonds, in addition to any other remedies, may institute an appropriate action or proceedings to prevent such construction, alteration, modification conversion or maintenance to restrain, correct or abate such violation, to prevent the occupancy of the site, building, structure, or improvement or to prevent any other act, conduct, business or use in or about such site, building, structure, improvement, architectural feature or street furniture which is or are made illegal by the terms of this chapter. Section 12. 20. 130 Severability. If any section, subsection, clause, phrase, or word of this chapter is for any reason held to be invalid or unconstitutional, such invalidity or unconstitutionality shall not affect the validity or constitutionality of the remaining portions of this chapter, it being hereby expressly declared that this chapter, and each section, subsection, clause, phrase and word hereof would have been prepared, proposed, adopted, approved and ratified irrespective of the fact that any one or more of said sections, subsections, sentences, clauses, phrases, or word or words thereof be declared invalid or unconstitutional. Section 12. 20. 140 Modificatkns to the Zoning Ordinance. [Merlin Logan has presented to the Planning Commission the essential modifications to take place under the zoning ordinance if that is the desire of the Planning Commission. However, before dealing with that matter, which will be somewhat involved, and almost a separate subject, it would appear to the writer that review of the preceding sections might first be appropriate]