HomeMy WebLinkAbout80- Koening - Laundry CommentsMarcia Koenig. 3164 Oak Bay Rd. I’m Associated with Concerned Neighbors of Oak Bay Rd
My comments are about impact considerations when the building plan and site plans don’t indicate the location of necessary systems and structures. My concern is that these ‘out of sight, out of mind’ components have led to
overlooked impacts during this review process, which normally might result
in the rejection of this Permit Application.
First let’s consider Laundry Facilities, Generated Wastewater, &
Septic Sizing. The laundry facility is a vital component of any Hotel Conference Center with restaurant facilities, yet it’s absent on the available floor plan and all site plans, including the OSS Plan and Stormwater Plan. Nor is there a discussion of a laundry anywhere in the proposal or County staff analysis.
In the DCD Staff Report, Section 3 of the Staff findings pertaining to
wastewater, it states that the septic system is sized for the Retreat Center
plus Caretaker Residence and that “ no other types of waste will be
generated on site.” This statement highlights the point of concern.
Was laundry-generated wastewater from the hotel and restaurant
operations included when sizing the septic system? If not, then the proposed septic system could be undersized and be at risk of failure.
Residents downhill from the proposed Center already deal with stormwater runoff from uphill. If an undersized septic system failure should
occur, wastewater, just like stormwater, will flow downhill towards
resident properties and the Sound.
I request that, as a Condition of Approval, the County requires that the septic system must be capable of handling the maximum septic flows during the peak summer season, which should include wastewater from the hotel, restaurant and the unaccounted for laundry facilities.
Now let’s consider the impact of Heat Pumps, Kitchen Exhaust Fans & other Unconsidered Noise Sources.
In the DCD Staff Report, Section 3, it states that best management
practices will be used to address noise generated by construction, guests
and long-term business operations. Here, long-term business operations
have been interpreted to mean sound amplification and commercial truck
deliveries. What about commercial truck pickups, such as early morning garbage collections?
Exhibit 80
Exhibit 80 Page 1046
A Hotel Convention Center with a Restaurant will have at least one large dumpster for trash. The noise a garbage truck makes when it empties a dumpster and the lid crashes back and forth will be heard for considerable distances all around our quiet neighborhood. It’s not surprising that County staff overlooked noise from this long-term business operation, since a trash collection area is not designated on the site plan.
Kitchen exhaust fans, another source of noise from restaurant operations,
is not even mentioned in any document, let alone considered as
contributing to generated noise levels.
Noise from the 12,000 sf Convention Center’s backup generator also wasn’t mentioned with regard to business operations since such noise is exempt from consideration by WA code. However, surely this exemption doesn’t exclude discussion about the location of the backup generator. Site plans indicate the close proximity of the neighbor to the south, but do not identify the backup generator location, thus preventing any resident’s
input on the subject.
And finally, noise from long-term business operations didn’t include noise
generated by mechanical systems, such as the high efficiency heat pumps and the heat recovery ventilation system for the 12,000 sf Center. Information on these systems hasn’t been provided. Neither the available Conference Center floor plan, nor the site plan, shows the location of a mechanical room or building, or even just a Heat Pump
Building. Subsequently, it’s not surprising that the noise created by these
Systems, when functioning, was overlooked in the review process.
In summary, it’s obvious that JC’s analyses neglected to consider several
facility components and systems, which have potential cumulative impacts on generated wastewater, runoff or noise levels that would be materially detrimental to uses and property in the vicinity. This Hearing provides residents their only chance to a careful and thorough review process. That review of the proposed project, in its entirety, has already been denied them.
Therefore, Given the many power systems, components and structures, which are
necessary for the operation of the Hotel Conference Center but are missing
on the current approved site plans,
and given the consequent lack of any impact considerations of these
missing systems, components and structures, I’m requesting that the Conditional Use Permit Application be denied. Thank you very much for hearing me out.
Exhibit 80 Page 1047