HomeMy WebLinkAbout05/24/2022 - Regular - Additional Docs-Park Impact Fees
FG:100359090.3
Direct Phone: 206.447.2905
Fax: 206.749.1915
pat.schneider@foster.com
May 19, 2022
BY EMAIL to jrobertson@insleebest.com
Jennifer S. Robertson
Inslee Best
Skyline Tower, Suite 1500
10900 NE 4th Street
Bellevue, WA 98004
Re: Port Orchard’s proposed new Park impact fees
Dear Jennifer:
I write on behalf of McCormick Communities LLC to express serious concerns with the
City’s proposed new Park impact fees, which the City is proposing to increase from $811 per
single-family dwelling unit to $6,658 per unit. The City Council is holding a public hearing to
consider this increase on May 24, 2022.
For the reasons explained in this letter, the imposition of such fees on McCormick
Woods, by its inclusion within a single service area with the rest of the City, does not comply
with RCW 82.02.060(8), which requires the City to establish “one or more reasonable service
areas.”
The City’s proposed fee increase is based on the analysis in the City’s Parks, Recreation
& Open Space (PROS) Plan, and specifically on the data and analysis in Appendices D and E.
McCormick is concerned about the accuracy of this data, but this letter focuses on the City’s
determination of its Existing Level of Service (ELOS) and Proposed Level of Service (PLOS),
which are ratios of the supply of park lands per 1,000 residents.
Taking “total park lands” as an example, the discussion on page 3 of Exhibit D states the
National Recreation & Park Association (NRPA) has determined that the “benchmark” or
median acreage provided by cities of 15,000 – 25,000 population is 12.6 acres per 1,000 persons,
but that the existing ratio in Port Orchard is only 5.93 acres per 1,000 because the City owns only
89.7 acres of parkland, much of which is within McCormick Woods. For example, the City’s
existing inventory of park land includes McCormick Village Park, which for some reason is
listed as only a 40-acre park even though GEM I conveyed 63.5 acres for this Park and
McCormick Communities conveyed another 13 acres.
Jennifer S. Robertson
May 19, 2022
Page 2
FG:100359090.3
McCormick Woods includes many other parks and open spaces, including Deer Park,
which is 32 acres, and more than 150 acres of forested open space and wetlands with miles of
maintained trails. And there is the McCormick Woods Golf Course, with 168 acres of open
space. Even assuming the McCormick Village Park is only 40 acres, as stated in Appendix D,
and including the golf course, this total of park and open space within McCormick Woods is 392
acres.
The existing population within McCormick Woods is approximately 4,010 people in
1,412 single-family homes. This means that the ELOS within McCormick Woods for its
residents is 97.754.
As McCormick Woods develops and population is added, an additional 126.8 acres of
parks and open space also will be developed. Using the City’s cost estimates in Appendix E to
the PROS Plan, the cost of developing these acres will be $7,786,449 – not including the cost of
the land itself. McCormick Communities will provide the land for these future parks and open
spaces, and the funds for their development, just as McCormick Communities and its
predecessor, GEM I, provided the existing 392 acres and the funds for their development.
The population within McCormick Woods will increase as lots and homes are developed,
but even at full build-out the LOS will be at least 46.34 acres per 1,000 residents, almost four
times the NRPA benchmark of 12.6 acres per 1,000 residents – all provided by McCormick
Communities.
The City expects McCormick Communities to continue to provide land, financing, and
construction for these parks and open space, but the City also proposes to increase the park
impact fees within McCormick Woods from $811 per single-family dwelling unit to $6,658 per
unit, to pay for parks and open space elsewhere in the City. The LOS within McCormick Woods
is and will be much higher than in the rest of the City, and it is not “reasonable,” as required by
RCW 82.02.060(8), to include McCormick Woods within a single service area that comprises the
City as a whole.
In addition, the proposed increase in park impact fees does not take into account the 2010
“Interlocal Agreement Between Kitsap County and the City of Port Orchard Relating to
Parks, Open Space and Recreation Within the McCormick Urban Village And
McCormick/ULID #6 Urban Growth Area.” In this Interlocal Agreement, the County
transferred to the City 63.5 acres and $643,742 for McCormick Village Park, after GEM I
conveyed this land and made payment to the County for the Park. This Interlocal Agreement
includes the same vesting language as the earlier Development Agreement between the County
and GEM I:
Vesting. The City acknowledges that for all development within the McCormick
Urban Village, the City shall not require the payment of additional fees related to
open space, parks, and recreation impacts and projects that are duplicative of the
park impact fees already paid.
Jennifer S. Robertson
May 19, 2022
Page 3
FG:100359090.3
The City has never given McCormick Communities appropriate credit against impact
fees for the 63.5 acres and $643,742 provided for McCormick Village Park (or for the
subsequent 13 acres that McCormick Communities conveyed).
The City has drafted a proposed new Development Agreement that would require
McCormick Communities to make substantial additional improvements to McCormick Woods
Park, in exchange for a credit against future impact fees of $6,658 per single-family dwelling
unit, to help defray the cost to McCormick Communities of further developing the Park.
For the reasons summarized above, McCormick Communities does not believe that a
park impact fee of $6,658 per residence within McCormick Woods can be justified either legally
or equitably. McCormick proposes the following alternative:
• the park impact fee remain $811 per single-family residence within
McCormick Woods, which will become its own “reasonable service area” per
82.02.060(8); and
• the City and McCormick Communities enter into a development agreement in
which McCormick Communities agrees to develop the facilities within
McCormick Woods that are identified in the PROS Plan (at an estimated cost
of $7,786,449) without seeking credit against impact fees.
Making McCormick Woods its own service area for park impact fees is not only
consistent with RCW 82.02.060(8), it also is consistent with the history and current reality of this
community, for example:
• the area has been developed from the beginning as an “urban open-space-
recreation community,” to use the words in the Open Space, Parks and
Recreation Plan that is an exhibit to the 2010 Interlocal Agreement between
the City and County; as a consequence the area is far more rural than the rest
of the City;
• the area is geographically isolated, connected to the rest of the City only by
the Sedgwick/Glenwood corridor, and governed by its own concurrency
standards;
• the area is governed by its own development standards and its development
occurs pursuant to a series of development agreements that are unique to this
community.
The Council is scheduled to hold a public hearing on the proposed park fees on May 24,
and I ask that that we and our clients meet as soon as possible to discuss McCormick’s concerns
and to attempt to reach agreement about fees and future development of parks and open space
within McCormick Woods.
Thanks in advance for your consideration of these concerns and this proposal.
Jennifer S. Robertson
May 19, 2022
Page 4
FG:100359090.3
Sincerely,
FOSTER GARVEY PC
By
Patrick J. Schneider
Principal
Enclosures
cc: Eric Campbell
Greg Krabbe
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McCORMICK OVERVIEW
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Existing
McCormick
Park
McCormick
Woods
Open space
tracts and trails
McCormick Park trail
head improvements
Deer Park
Future St Andrews
Park
Mary
McCormick
Park
West future park 2
Future McCormick
West open space
and trail system
McCormick Woods open and
recreation spaces
Multi modal
trail
Future multi
modal trail
Existing multi
modal trail
West Future
park 2
West Future
park 1
Park or open space amenity Description Elements Estimated cost / value Notes
Existing
McCormick Village park 40 acre park north along the east side of
McCormick North.
Playground and equipment The 40‐acre site was deeded over to the city in two sections and
a cash contribution of approximately $600,000 was given to the
city along with the initial parcel of land. As of this writing
McCormic has not receive any credit against park fees for these
contributions to the city.
Dog park (2)
Water park
Parking lot
Restrooms
Mary McCormick Park 2 acre site located at McCormick Woods
drive and Marymac drive.
Tennis court
Pickleball courts (2)
Full Basketball court
Restrooms
Parking lot
Deer park 32 acre park site partially developed at the
south end of McCormick Woods drive.
Baseball diamond
1/2 Basketball court
Playground and equipment
Forested walking trails
McCormick open space tracts 150+ acres of forested open space and
wetlands with established pedestrian trails
3.5 miles of maintained hiking trails
Multi modal trail 9' wide paved trail along McCormick
Woods drive.
3 miles of paved multi modal trails
McCormick Woods Golf Course 168 acres of open space
Proposed parks Appendix G.1
McCormick Village Park trailheads Two new trailheads along east boundary of
park
1,000' of new trail
Trailhead landing structures
Lighting
Landscaping
St Andrews Multimodal trail Approximately 1 mile of new trail along St
Andrews Drive.
5000 lf of paved 10' trail. 979,012$
St Andrews park Approximately 2 acre park at east entrance
to McCormick Woods
Pickle ball courts (4) w/o lights Outd 610,670$
Playground and equipment 10‐ch 471,902$
Restrooms 443,463$
Parking lot 135,000$
Picknick tables and areas 3 tabl 81,930$
1,500 lf Jogging trail w/ fitness 107,907$
Grassy Playfield 1 acr 1,044,488$
McCormick West open space tracts Approximately 125 acres of open space and
wetland areas within the plat.
Day hike trail class 5 2 mil 197,966$
McCormick West park 1 Approximately 2 acres of open space
located at the NW corner of McCormick
West.
Playground and equipment 5‐chil 235,951$
basketball court (1/2) 125,000$
McCormick West park 2 Approximately 2 acres of open space at the
south east entrance to McCormick West.
Playground and equipment 471,902$
Pickle ball court (2) 305,353$
Picknick tables and areas 81,930$
Landscaping/soft trail 175,000$
McCormick West park 3 Approximately 1.25 acres of opens pace at
sout end of McCormick West.
Playground and equipment 5‐chil 235,951$
Landscaping 125,000$
McCormick West multimodal trail Approximately 2 miles of 8' paved trail
around the interior of McCormck West.
2 miles 8' paved muti modal trail. 1,958,024$
subto 7,786,449$
remaining lots West & Woods 2026 credit 3,843.26$
McCormick Population 4,010
McCormick Population at Buildou 11,559
Improvements LOS Standard current at McCormick current LOS
Additional
Improvements at
McCormick Projected LOS
excess/
deficit of LOS
Land Requirements 12.6 acres per 1,000 persons 392 97.754 126.8 44.884 32.284
Linear Trails
Number of Parks .77 pars per 1,000 persons 4 0.997 5 0.779 0.009
Picnic tables & shelters
Multipurpose bike and walking trails .29 per 1,000 3 0.748 3 0.519 0.229
Park and Hiking trails .15 per 1,000 3.5 0.873 2 0.476 0.326
Outdoor basketball/outdoor courts .14 per 1,000 1.5 0.374 0.5 0.173 0.033
tennis/picketball courts .23 per 1,000 3 0.748 6 0.779 0.549
Soccer fields .47 per 1,000 1 0.249 0.5 0.130 (0.340)
Single Family 2.8
Multifamily
Community Occupied Homes Existing Population
Projected Homes
& Units
Projected
Population
Total at
Build Out
Woods
Single Family 1,412 4,010 451 1,281 5,291
West
Single Family 1,575 4,473 4,473
Multifamily 100 200 200
North
Single Family 411 1,167 1,167
Multifamily 285 428 428
McCormick Neighborhoods outside of Woods
Subtotals 1,412 4,010 2,822 7,549 11,559