| Synopsis: |
On June 1, the Council heard additional testimony from the
appellant and opponents on this planning action. The Council also asked questions
of staff to clarify issues that had been raised. The applicants began their
rebuttal with the council, however the hearing was continued due to time
constraints at the meeting. The applicant agreed to an extension of the 120-day
time limit to July 22, 2004.
The applicant has provided additional detailed rebuttal information, addressing
the concerns raised by Councilor Jackson in a memo presented at the June
1 meeting, and addressing issues raised by other council members, the appellant,
and the public.
Further, due to concerns raised during the hearing, Staff conducted additional
research regarding the history of Floodplain Corridor standard 18.62.070(G).
This standard was found to be modified from the original adopted version
during the creation of the Hillside Standards ordinance. No explanation as
to the modification was found in the staff report or record, and the modification
appears to be part of a group of housecleaning edits throughout the chapter
that were done concurrently with the Hillside Ordinance. While the standard
has internal inconsistencies, the modified version in the current ordinance
is the adopted standard and requires compliance. In essence, the standard
requires that the 1872' elevation line be the build-to line of this project
for structures other than decks. Staff informed the applicant of this issue,
and that Staff had incorrectly applied a previous ordinance which allowed
intrusion into the floodplain corridor two feet below the FEMA flood elevation,
per the previous ordinance. In order to comply with the ordinance as adopted,
the applicant has proposed to modify the first floor of the building to remove
that portion located on lands identified as Floodplain Corridor (those areas
within the 1872' elevation line.) [See Sheet A-101R and A107R of the revised
submittals] The proposal changes this portion of the project from interior
restaurant space to deck area. Decks are allowed to be located on floodplain
corridor lands. The second and third stories of the building remain as originally
proposed, cantilevered over the floodplain corridor lands in accordance with
18.62.070(G). The street elevations on North Main remain the same. Staff
believes that the modified building complies with 18.72.070(G) and keeps
the structure (other than allowed decks) out of the Floodplain Corridor.
While some may argue that this constitutes a significant change, the majority
of the building remains essentially the same, the only change being interior
restaurant space being converted to an outdoor deck area. The important part
of the change, however, is that all portions of the structure, other than
decks, are located on other than floodplain corridor lands. Staff believes
that this modification is appropriate for the site and required for compliance
with the ordinance.
An email has been included from Colin Swales requesting clarification as
to how the Building Department will review this structure at the time of
building permit. The action before the Council is regarding an application
subject to the land use ordinance. The Building Code, and the building official's
determination, are not part of the Council's review of this project. Once
the land use process is complete, and should the project be approved, the
plans will be reviewed for compliance with all building code requirements. |
