October 3, 2010 Meeting Minutes

7:00 PM

Call to Order
Pledge of Allegiance
Roll Call
Public Comment on topics which are not listed on the Agenda
Review and Approve Agenda
Approval of minutes

7:15 PM

KC Code Change Recommendations
The Area Council reviewed and agreed to a final set of recommended changes to the King County Code (KCC). The Growth Management and Transportation Committees conducted a 3-month comprehensive review of the KCC. The objective of the review was “to protect the Rural Area from massive urban development and its "overflow" (intentional or not).” This exercise was precipitated by the Yarrow Bay-proposed Master Planned Developments in Black Diamond which are expected to have major adverse effects on all of southeast King County including the Rural Area.

The committees’ overarching recommendation is for King County to enforce the KCC. While many KCC provisions protect Rural Area citizens from the impacts of adjacent urban development, in many cases meaningful or timely enforcement is lacking. The full KCC can be found here.

At its August monthly meeting, the Area Council agreed to a set of recommendations for KCC TITLES:

7--Parks & Recreation;

9--Surface Water Management;

10--Solid Waste;

14--Roads & Bridges;

26--Agriculture & Open Space Lands.

During this meeting the Area Council discussed, probably the most complex KC TITLE, 21A--Zoning. The Area Council was guided by the KCC 21A.04.060A--Rural Area Zone, which states: “The purpose of the rural zone is to provide for an area-wide long-term rural character and to minimize land use conflicts with nearby agricultural or forest production districts or mineral extraction sites.” The following recommendations were agreed to for the Residential Rural Area and are listed by KCC subsection:

21A.08.030--Residential Land Uses
1. Eliminate the permitting (even as a Conditional Use) of Community Residential Facility-I (up to 9-10 residents and staff that provide counseling, rehabilitation, and medical supervision). These do not meet Rural Character, off-street parking is limited, and nearby supporting activities are lacking.

21A.08.050--General Services Uses
1. Require a Conditional Use permit for Social Services Facilities when re-using a public school. King County should recommend size and use limitations for review by the Area Council.
2. Require a Conditional Use permit for Office/Outpatient clinics when re-using a public school.
3. Eliminate the permitting (even as a Conditional Use) of both Middle/Junior High Schools and Secondary/Senior High Schools. There are little to no facilities to support such complexes including roads/road maintenance. Also, expanding public sewer lines would enable possible future development in conflict with long-term rural character.
4. Eliminate the permitting (even as a Conditional Use) of School District Support Facilities. Traffic congestion created by such facilities does not fit in the Rural Area and what happened with the Tahoma School District Bus Facility should be avoided in the future.
5. Eliminate the technical loop holes in notes 15 and 16 (that apply to items 3. and 4. above) regarding of expansion of public sewer facilities in any way, shape, or form.
21A.08.100--Regional Land Uses
1. Eliminate the permitting (even as a Special Use) of Jail/Farm Camp Facilities.
2. Eliminate the permitting (even as a Special Use) of Work Release Facilities.
3. Eliminate the permitting (even as a Special Use) of Wastewater Treatment Plants.
4. Eliminate the permitting (even as a Special Use) of Airport/Heliport Facilities unless the Heliport is restricted to emergency use only.
5. Eliminate the permitting (even as a Conditional or Special Use) of School Bus Base Facilities. The transportation infrastructure is unable to handle the trips generated by such facilities.
6. Eliminate the permitting (even as a Special Use) of Racetrack Facilities. The transportation infrastructure is unable to handle the trips generated by such facilities.
7. Eliminate any permitting of College/Universities especially as re-use of surplus non-residential facilities. The transportation infrastructure is unable to handle the trips generated by such facilities.

21A.24.100--Critical Area Review
When initial Critical Area Reviews are performed, charges should be reasonable~$250-$350.
All Area Council recommendations will be presented to the KCC Review Committee for consideration. The Committee Chair will be invited to discuss these recommendations at a future Area Council meeting.

9:15 PM Other Council Business
13th Annual Model Train Show
The Area Council finalized preparations for the 13th Annual Maple Valley Operating Model Train Show to be held again at the Gracie Hansen Community Center at 27132 SE Ravensdale Way in Ravensdale on Saturday, October 16, and Sunday, October 17 between 10:00 AM and 5:00 PM. Please click here for more details.

Landsburg Road Speed Limits
Recently King County has posted a 45 mph speed limit sign on Landsburg Rd in Ravensdale. We question this considering the history of the “Landsburg Curve,” where there have been a number of accidents. The history of this stretch of road includes a death at the intersection of Summit Landsburg Rd and Landsburg Rd SE involving an auto entering the road from a private drive. The problem is limited sight distance of less than 300 ft in either the north or south direction. In addition, the common speeds on this stretch of road usually exceed 50 mph. For the past six years this has been one of the primary routes of travel for truck and trailers delivering gravel to various jobs in the county.

The Area Council voted to send a letter to King County Roads recommending the following: (1) Change the new sign from 45 mph down to 35 mph and (2) Post the road with a warning of “Intersecting Driveways” or something similar--a posting already exists warning of deer crossings and this is a known path for elk crossings as well.

Maple Valley/Yarrow Bay MPD Transportation Mitigation Agreement
On September 20 the Black Diamond City Council passed an Ordinance of Approval for Yarrow Bay-proposed massive Master-Planned Developments (MPDs) in Black Diamond. Part of that Ordinance referenced an initial Agreement addressing traffic mitigations in Maple Valley reached between the City of Maple Valley and Yarrow Bay. The Area Council discussed some of the potential pitfalls and risks associated with that Agreement.

9:30 PM

Adjourn