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HomeMy WebLinkAbout02-02-1999 - MinutesMEDINA CITY COUNCIL WORKSHOP SPECIAL MEETING MINUTES February 2, 1999 St. Thomas School 7:00 PM Medina, WA CALL TO ORDER The special meeting of the Medina City Council was called to order at 7:00 PM by Mayor Becker. ROLL CALL Present: Councilmembers Suzanne Cohen, Paul Demitriades, Thomas Morgan, Susan Potts, Steve Preston, Grahame Ross and Mayor Daniel Becker. Staff Present: City Manager Doug Schulze, City Attorney Kirk Wines, City Building Official Lowell Erickson, City Planner Bob Burke, Public Works Superintendent Carl Burris, City Clerk Kris Finnigan WORKSHOP Mayor Becker explained that the primary reason for this workshop was for the council to discuss the issues raised both at the January 11, 1999, City Council Meeting and information received since that time. Mayor Becker explained that proposed Ordinance No. 614 deals only with R-20 and R-30 zones, not R-16. He stated that the primary elements of that ordinance included height limitations, side yard setbacks and lot coverage. Mayor Becker said that prior to and subsequent to the January City Council Meeting the comments received were sixty-four percent in favor of the ordinance - making some change although not necessarily as fully written. Fifty percent were in favor of the height limitations as defined, which were 25' and 31'. Sixty-six percent were in favor of the sideyard setbacks as addressed in the ordinance. Mayor Becker invited Planner Burke to review the history of and possible impacts of the ordinance. Planner Burke used overhead projection to explain the Planning Commission's primary focus in addressing the issue in recent years. They studied: a) the mass and height of structure at side yard setback; b) the bulk of upper floors at side yard setback; c) limiting the maximum size of the house related to underlying minimum lot area; Medina City Council Minutes February 2, 1999 - Special Meeting Workshop Page 2 d) impact of consolidation of properties; e) impact of construction of large houses on neighbors and time required to build large homes. Planner Burke stated that the specific Planning Commission recommendations in 1996 and 1997 which were passed on to the City Council for their consideration were: a) setbacks in lots over 100 feet in width - 10% of lot width but not more than 30', with the current Council recommendation of 15% but not less than 10'; b) require upper floors of structures to be set back at the side yard - establish line 10' below maximum height and have a 45 degree line in which structures must be built; c) reduce lot coverage in R-20 and R-30 to 10% of the lot area in excess of the minimum 20,000 or 30,000 square foot lot size. He then explained options that had been explored regarding the building envelope in relation to side yards and building envelope on a sloped site. Planner Berke explained that there had been significant changes to the code about ten years ago. He stated that: a) the overall lot coverage had been reduced by about 50%; b) the lot coverage allowed was only 17.5% and 15%, down from 30%; c) the effective height of buildings on slopes was reduced by measuring allowed height from original grade or finish grade whichever is less; d) a mitigation plan was established with public hearing for large houses meeting certain thresholds of maximum building size, amount of excavation and length of construction time. In summarizing the proposal in Ordinance No. 614 before the City Council, Planner _ Burke explained the change in height to 25731' if on slope, for a 5' reduction. He said that there was a provision in both R-20 and R-30 for a 25% lot coverage and a 25% height limit which would be eliminated in this process. He explained the change in the side yard requirement to 15% of lot width with a minimum of 10 feet - minimum increase on narrow lots. Planner Burke also stated that the lot coverage proposed would actually increase. Referring to the issue of reduction of height, Planner Burke stated that it would partially address the height/bulk of buildings at the side yard setback and that it would likely reduce houses to two floors. He also stated that it may increase the number of flat roofs. Relative to the issue of the side yard setback, Planner Burke said that the 15% would begin to affect lots as narrow as 70 feet and that as the width of the sideyard is increased it will likely increase the extent of house immediately adjacent to that sideyard. He said that increasing the width of the side yard may have some benefit in saving trees and that the width of most lots is such that the side yard setback will not increase substantially, and the mass of the upper floors is still there. He stated that some kind of angled setback above a certain height may also be desirable. Relative to increased lot coverage, Planner Burke explained that the combination of height reduction and lot coverage increase has a modest reduction in the potential size of house that can be built, assuming at 25731' height with two floors and 30736', with three floors. Mayor Becker invited comment from the public. Medina City Council Minutes February 2, 1999 - Special Meeting Workshop Page 3 Yusuf Yoler, 2841 Evergreen Point Road, stated that he cannot think of one property that would not be affected in one way or another by the proposed ordinance. Charlie Hall, 3304 78th PI. NE, asked how this ordinance will impact remodels. Planner Burke explained that building codes would have to be abided by and he and Councilmember Cohen addressed the issue of reconstruction. Greg Whitten, 8335 Overlake Drive W asked what percentage of the lots in R-30 were impacted in the studies done. Mayor Becker stated that there was not an exact percentage at this time. Mark Nelson, 1233 Evergreen Point Road wanted to clarify that the proposed ordinance only applies to single family residences and would not affect the church and school, which is also in the R-20 zone. Planner Burke stated that the church and school have specific dimensional and other criteria that are part of the special use permit and are not affected by this as they are not a single family residence. Councilmember Demitriades thanked the members of the audience for attending and complimented the thoughtful responses and ideas. He stated that some Councilmembers had visited development sites that people are concerned about. Councilmember Preston stated that he had been somewhat in favor of height restrictions but was now having second thoughts on the issue. He stated that lowering the height inay restrict one's ability to build a nice -looking home. He said that he would rather see a reduction than an increase in lot coverage and possibly a modification of setbacks. Councilmember Ross stated that he was not certain what the problem was that they were attempting to solve. He added that he thought that many of the concerns could be dealt with in other ways and he encouraged the Council to move cautiously in this matter. Councilmember Potts stated that this was a good time to look at the city and consider its direction. She expressed appreciation for and encouraged more feedback. Councilmember Morgan stated that he is troubled by reducing height, although the reduction seems to be in scale with other upscale communities in the United States. Vassos Demitriou, 8901 Groat Point Drive, a resident and architect explained that he had looked at the three issues being considered in the proposed ordinance. He displayed illustrations, showing how these changes would physically affect buildings and views. Susan Moscrip, 1442 Evergreen Point Road, questioned how the 25' restriction works in Clyde Hill. Mr. Demitriou explained that if the Council decided to reduce height to 25', then they should not reduce the 36' height on the downside. Medina City Council Minutes February 2, 1999 - Special Meeting Workshop Page 4 Raymond Lee, 1259 Evergreen Point Road, asked Mr. Demitriou to expand on the concept of the slope of the lot, relative to height reduction and he explained that it is all proportional and that it would work with all the grades. Laurel Preston, 7640 NE 32nd, spoke to the visual aspect of changes. Bob Koch, Anderson, Koch, Smith Architects, Seattle, brought illustrations of some recent projects that his firm was constructing in Medina. The first home shown was one at 1449 Evergreen Point Road, on the shoreline. He explained the height calculations under the current and the new rule, demonstrating that the new rules of 31' from original grade would force a flat roof home. He also showed an example of a larger home on Overlake Drive, with new and old setbacks drawn for comparison, illustrating that, in this case, the new rules would not impact. He went on to describe how this particular home had a great deal of horizontal vertical and modulation. He said that when you approach the house, you have no idea of how large it is because it is so broken up and vegetation has been preserved. His conclusion was that a lot of things may be done with architecture other than formulas. Mayor Becker asked City Manager Schulze to comment on a survey that was done regarding new construction over the past two years. The majority of twenty-two homes studied were said to have been built to the maximum allowed by code. After discussion the meeting was opened for audience participation. Yusef Yoler, 2841 Evergreen Point Road, commended the Council for a difficult task that he believes is being done admirably well. He stated that he gets the sense that we do not know what the problem is that we are trying to solve. Carib Nelson, 7650 NE 10th, stated that the character is changing in Medina. He noted the larger homes and loss of greenery. Jacqui Robinson, 2632 78th Ave. NE, stated that she is in R-16 zone and wondered if mega homes could be built there when lots are sold off. Mayor Becker stated that R-16 is more restrictive than R-20 and R-30. Raymond Lee, 1259 Evergreen Point Road, referred to the Comprehensive Plan and asked if we are going in the right direction. Bill Cook, 3434 Evergreen Point Road, stated that he wondered that, if the Comprehensive Plan is in favor of protecting the rural atmosphere, what has happened? His preference is that the Plan be enforced and strengthened by changes. Greg Whitten, 8335 Overlake Drive E., stated that he lives in the R-30 zone, in a home built in 1961. He stated that the entire level of the house is below the level of the street and he does not believe that any of the proposed restrictions would improve the character of his house. He said that he feels that the setbacks are way too restrictive and that the people in R-20 and R-30 zones should be asked what they want. Medina City Council Minutes February 2, 1999 - Special Meeting Workshop Page 5 Mark Nelson, 1233 Evergreen Point Road, told the audience that he lives in the R-30 zone, in a home that was built in 1916 and remodeled in 1961. He said that he plans to remodel again and bring it back to its original 1916 character. In explaining that his is a very modest house, he said that he would not be able to build this home again today under the current code. Janie Lee, 1259 Evergreen Point Road, asked the City Council if it was not possible to differentiate view properties where a project affects property value. She explained that their home had had a view since it was constructed in the 1950's, and now with the proposed home built in front of them, their view will be obliterated and lower their property's value. Mayor Becker reviewed the Medina Heights view preservation ordinance wherein over 75% of the people to be impacted supported the ordinance. Porter Taylor, 1855 Evergreen Point Road said that they have a true colonial, 36' high at the top of the central chimney. He stated that something which he felt was missing from the proposed ordinance was the allowance for trade-offs, such as going up a bit higher if home is set further back. Fred Welk, 300 Overlake Drive E., explained that he is a member of the Board of Adjustment and that recently he had heard comments from people who seemed to be under the impression that a variance was an easy thing to obtain. He said that this was not so. Discussion followed regarding direction that the council wanted take, relative to the proposed ordinance. The consensus was to table Ordinance No. 614 for the February 8, 1999, City Council Meeting. It was decided that a date for the next Workshop to discuss options and Ordinance No. 614, would be announced at the Regular Council Meeting on February 8, 1999. ADJOURNMENT By common consent, the City Council concluded the Workshop at 9:25 p.m. D niel F. Becker, Mayor Attest: f9 4I Kristen Finnig , City Clerk