Loading...
May 2018 Newsletter - 05/01/2018 City of Port Orchard Newsletter Rockwell Park-Final Ad Ready Design Phase -Public Works/Engineering Department In 2017, the Rockwell Park 30% Conceptual Design was completed by Emily Russell Landscape Architects and the City to submit grant applications to both the House and the Senate’s Capital Budget Local and Community Projects Program. On January 31, 2018, the City of Port Orchard received a Grant Award Letter from the Department of Commerce in the amount of $299,730. The City has now selected Exeltech Engineering, Inc. for the Rockwell Park 100% Design. It is anticipated that the Construction Phase will begin in late 2018 and will be completed in 2019. The park will have many amenities including ADA accessibility to the beach and ADA parking; terraced seat walls; picnic areas; viewing areas and launching area for small boats. Update: Tremont Street Widening Project-Construction Phase 2 -Public Works/Engineering Department In February of 2018, the Tremont Street Widening Project shifted into Phase 2 of construction with Tremont Street closing between South Kitsap Boule- vard and Pottery Avenue. It is anticipated that the Phase 2 construction sequence will continue through- out the remainder of the work activity. In general, the Project is currently on-schedule and on-budget and will be completed in 2019. M a y 2 0 1 8 w w w . c i t y o f p o r t o r c h a r d . u s ( 3 6 0 ) 8 7 6 -4 4 0 7 McCormick Village Park-Phase 2 Construction -Public Works/Engineering Department In 2014, the City of Port Orchard completed Phase 1 Improvements of the McCormick Village Park, and Phase II has now begun. The project is anticipated to be completed by fall of 2019. Phase II Improvements include sidewalks and paths; pedestrian bridge and boardwalk; picnic shelters; play areas and play structures; splash pad water-play feature; fenced dog park areas; paved parking stalls; drainage structures; landscaping and irrigation. Bay Street Pedestrian Pathway Project-Segment #3 Construction Phase -Public Works/Engineering Department In 2016, the City received a $3,500,000 Connecting Washington grant award for the overall Bay Street Pe- destrian Pathway Project. $500,000 of the award is for the construction of Segment #3 of the project. Phase 3 will continue the pathway along the waterfront behind the Marlee Apartments and Bruce Titus Ford and connect to the existing bridge over Blackjack Creek. It is anticipated that the Construction Phase will com- mence in May 2018 and will be completed in 2018. w w w . c i t y o f p o r t o r c h a r d . u s ( 3 6 0 ) 8 7 6 -4 4 0 7 Page 2 of 4 Design Standards -Community Development Department In June 2017, the City adopted design standards for new and remodeled single-family and duplex residen- tial development, which are located in Chapter 120.139 of the City’s Municipal Code. City staff then began to work with a consultant to assist in the crea- tion of design standards for multi-family and commer- cial development. A citizen review committee was also appointed to work with staff and the consultant on the initial draft standards. After several months of work, the multi-family and commercial design stand- ards were reviewed by the Planning Commission, which also held a public hearing, and were approved by City Council in February 2018. These design standards have been included in the City’s Municipal Code as Chapter 20.127. With the adoption of Chapter 120.27 and 120.39, the City now has a full range of design standards that apply to all types of new devel- opment and redevelopment (except for certain industri- al areas). The standards will support an attractive and functional built environment throughout the City that promotes neighborhood cohesion, encourages pedestri- an and multi-modal transit access and travel, and cre- ates appropriate transitions between residential and nonresidential areas. For more information, contact the Planning Department at plan- ning@cityofportorchard.us or 360 874-5533. Blast from the Past: Old City Hall Building Opportunity Zones -Community Development Department/Mayor Putaansuu Gov. Jay Inslee approved 139 census tracts in 36 counties for “Opportunity Zone” status, enabling them to offer special federal tax breaks to encourage development and job crea- tion. Two of those Opportunity Zones (OZ) are in Port Or- chard, one through a County set aside process and the second via a State wide competitive process spearheaded by the City’s Development Director Nick Bond. “We’re appreciative of Gov. Inslee and the WA Dept. of Commerce for their support of our application to include our downtown area in this very helpful program”, stated Mayor Rob Putaansuu. “The OZ status will attract needed invest- ment and support our efforts to redevelop downtown Port Orchard.” The OZ program was established as part of the US Tax Cuts and Jobs Acts legislation passed by Congress and signed by the President in December 2017. Qualified census tracts des- ignated for the program will provide incentives for investors, deferring capital gains taxes for re-invested funds and waiv- ing news taxes on OZ gains after ten years. “The two zones in our downtown area include much of the recently established Mixed Use Pilot Program as well as the residential property tax abatement program, both created to encourage investment and redevelopment”, added Putaansuu. “We are very grateful for the participation of our City Coun- cil and community leaders who provided support for our ap- plication.” Along with the City Council, Rep. Derek Kilmer, County Commissioners Garrido, Wolfe and Gelder, KEDA Execu- tive Director John Powers, Kitsap Bank CEO Steve Politakis, Housing Kitsap Director Stuart Grogan, the Port Orchard Chamber of Commerce and a number of local business own- ers and community supporters all provided letters of support for Port Orchard’s application. w w w . c i t y o f p o r t o r c h a r d . u s ( 3 6 0 ) 8 7 6 -4 4 0 7 Page 3 of 4 Zoning Code Updates -Community Development Department Port Orchard’s Department of Community Development is preparing an overall update of the City’s zoning code, to better reflect current development trends and community needs, encourage flexibility and quality of design in new development, and promote implementation of the City’s Comprehensive Plan goals. It is also intended that the re- vised zoning code will be more user-friendly and provide additional guidance on complying with code requirements. The City seeks to move to a new “form-based” zoning code to replace the existing conventional zoning code, which emphasizes land use over building form. Conventional zon- ing emphasizes the separation of land uses (residential, commercial, etc) as the primary means of obtaining compat- ible physical forms (buildings) within a specific area. -based zoning focuses on standards that create desirable and compatible buildings within a specific area, with an equal emphasis on form and land use. A form-based zoning code addresses the multiple relationships between building fa- cades and nearby public/pedestrian areas, the form and mass of buildings in relation to one another, and the scale and types of streets and blocks. The regulations in a form- based zoning code are intended to be presented in both pic- toral diagrams and words, and are intended to provide a plan that designates the appropriate form and scale (and therefore, character) of development rather than only dis- tinctions in land-use types. This is in contrast to conven- tional zoning's focus on the management and segregation of land uses, and the control of development intensity through abstract and uncoordinated parameters (e.g., floor area rati- os, dwelling units per acre, setbacks, parking ratios) to the neglect of an integrated built form. To illustrate the reasons for moving to a form-based zon- ing code, consider the following aspects of the City’s cur- rent R8 zone. Within the residential R8 zone, the City al- lows the construction of single family detached uses (houses) and single family attached houses [duplexes (2 units), townhomes (3-6 units, not stacked), etc.]. However, a townhome project and a single-family housing project require different amounts of land per unit and different set- backs. Despite this, the R8 zone has a maximum density of 8 units per acre and a minimum lot size that is identical for both attached houses and detached houses at 5,445 per unit. Single family lots are typically 80-120 feet deep and at this minimum lot size would be 45-70 feet wide. Upcoming Events • Council meetings, second and fourth Tuesday of each month starting at 6:30pm • Work Study Session, third Tuesday of each month starting at 6:30pm • Farmers Market: Saturdays, April 14th—Oct. 13th • Seagull Calling Festival: May 26th • Seagull Splat 5K Run/Walk: May 26th • The Unforgotten, Run to Tahoma: May 26th • City Hall CLOSED May 28th for Memorial Day. -Continued Zoning Code Updates -Community Development Department Townhome units range from 16 feet wide (with an alley load garage) to 40 feet wide when equipped with a front loading two car garage. To build a townhome in the R8 zone, lot depths would be 120-340 feet deep at this minimum lot size. In short, you can build more townhomes per acre than single family homes, but our zoning code discourages townhomes because the standards for development of townhomes and detached single-family houses are the same. No builder would build a more affordable, efficient and lower mainte- nance townhome project under Port Orchard’s zoning code because such a project could not be as profitable as building an equal number of 4,000 square foot detached houses. The City’s comprehensive plan includes goals for providing high quality housing and diverse housing options, and ensur- ing housing affordability. The City’s zoning code as support- ed by design standards is providing high quality new hous- ing, but no diversity in housing types and few housing units that are affordable for purchase. In terms of housing, the zoning code is yielding large detached single-family houses and 3 story garden apartments such as those recently built near the intersection of Sidney and Sedgwick. The new code that is being developed seeks to incentivize the construction of a variety of housing types. The lot size, density, and set- back requirements for townhomes and detached single-family houses do not need to be the same just because these struc- tures are being built in the same zone. Likewise, in multi- family zones, an apartment, four-plex, and townhome should all have zoning standards tailored to that building type. An individual townhome can easily fit on a lot that is 25x60 feet (1,500 square feet, since townhomes have at most one side yard). A four-plex (2-story, 2 units per floor) usually requires about 7,500 square feet as a minimum lot size. An apartment building (more than 4 units) usually needs at least 10,000 square feet as a minimum lot size. For detached houses, the minimum lot size can vary based on garage and parking con- figuration. A house with a garage that loads from an alley can be quite attractive at 35 feet wide. A house with a 2-car front load garage would look less attractive on a 35-foot lot. Houses with a 3-car garage require greater lot width. Port Orchard’s current zoning code takes a one size fits all ap- proach to development that doesn’t consider the wide diversi- ty in building forms that are possible. When complete, the draft revised zoning code will be re- viewed by the Planning Commission and the City Council. A public hearing will also be held; notice of the hearing will be provided at https://www.cityofportorchard.us/news/ w w w . c i t y o f p o r t o r c h a r d . u s ( 3 6 0 ) 8 7 6 -4 4 0 7 Page 4 of 4 640 Bay Street Redevelopment Proposal -Community Development Department In late 2017, the City declared the city-owned parcel at 640 Bay Street property to be surplus. Soon after, the City requested proposals for redevelopment of the property. The winning proposal, as approved by City Council, consists of a 5-story mixed-use building con- taining 44 apartments (studio, one-bedroom and two- bedroom units), and nearly 12,000 square feet of commercial space on the ground floor fronting Bay Street. A preliminary commitment has been made to relocate the Port Orchard branch of the Kitsap County Library and an existing Bay Street restaurant into the commercial space. The proposed project will be developed by Waterman Investment Partners, LLC. The design was prepared by Bremerton architect Rice Fergus Miller and the proposed contractor on the project is the Port Orchard -based BJC Group. It is anticipated that site work and construction will begin in summer 2018.