Declaration of Ex Parte Contact
Dawkins stated he performed a site visit, but had no ex parte contact. Morris declared no site visits or ex parte contacts. Stromberg stated he performed a site visit and shared his observations, including: 1) that he drove down the alley to the dead-end and then had to back out because there is no turnaround, and 2) that he observed the alley's surface and saw a cut that appeared to be caused by water.

Staff Report
Assistant Planner Amy Anderson provided a brief recap of the planning action. She noted the application was preliminarily approved in June and was called up for a public hearing in July. The Hearings Board held the public hearing at their August meeting, and at that time a request came in to keep the record open for an additional 7 days. Ms. Anderson stated the record is now closed and the Hearings Board may begin deliberations. She noted a correction needs to be made to the Staff Report Addendum and stated the following sentence should be deleted from Page 4, "The applicant is proposing to reduce the width of the driveway curb-cut which would provide for an on-street parking credit on Harmony Lane, for a total of six spaces."

Deliberations and Decision
Stromberg stated he is interested in the following issues: 1) the activity that will take place at the rear of the property due to the location of the proposed Accessory Residential Unit, 2) whether increased traffic will have an impact on the alley's surface, 3) what are the implications that it is a dead-end alley without a turnaround, and 4) the storm water pipe concerns expressed by Cyndi Dion.

Ms. Anderson clarified the Public Works Department confirmed that maintenance was done on the pipe referred to by Ms. Dion.

Dawkins commented on the neighbor's suggestion to reduce the impact on the alley by moving the accessory unit to the front of the property. He questioned whether the driveway would then meet the setback requirements and noted there is also a large Cedar tree that would impact this option. In regards to the issue raised about the diameter of the storm drainage pipe, Dawkins noted the staff report indicated the pipe was adequate to handle this residential use. He also stated he does not feel there will be a lot of extracurricular traffic on the alley caused by the proposed accessory unit. Dawkins noted the applicant's offer to eliminate the two extra parking spaces and stated he was willing to accept that offer.

Morris also commented on some of the issues raised by the neighbors. He stated a lot of properties are "back-loaded" and noted the City has been encouraging garages to be located at the back of the lot and accessible through the alley. He commented on the requirement for paved access and stated the City has always applied this to mean there is paved access to the property's street address. He stated this application meets the intent of the ordinance and cited a recent approval on Ross Lane where they did not require Ross Lane or the alley to be paved. Morris stated he has no problems with the application and the conditions recommended by staff and sees no reason to deny it.

Stromberg questioned whether the board supported removing the two extra parking spaces as offered by the applicant. Morris stated he would prefer to include the spaces, but with pervious pavement. Dawkins stated he could go either way, but if included, he also would like them to be pervious. Stromberg stated he could also go either way, but is inclined not to have them because: 1) pervious pavers do not drain as well as not having anything there, and 2) he is concerned that the spaces might attract additional cars and parking. Ms. Anderson clarified that based on the site plan, the applicant needs to keep at least one of the parking spaces. She also clarified it is already conditioned to be pervious pavement.

Commissioners Dawkins/Stromberg m/s to approve PA #2008-00801. Roll Call Vote: Commissioners Dawkins, Morris and Stromberg, YES. Motion passed.