HomeMy WebLinkAbout81a- Koening Hearing Comments 092620221
Amanda Hunt
From:Amanda Hunt
Sent:Monday, September 26, 2022 3:33 PM
To:Barbara Ehrlichman; Laura Mikelson
Cc:Courtney Kaylor
Subject:FW: PW Comments
Attachments:PW - Laundry 10 Terri.docx; ATT00001.htm; PWP- Terri Driveway.docx; ATT00002.htm
Koening’s Comments
Amanda Hunt
Assistant Planner
ahunt@co.jefferson.wa.us
From: Terri Ross <terri40love@yahoo.com>
Sent: Monday, September 26, 2022 3:30 PM
To: Amanda Hunt <AHunt@co.jefferson.wa.us>
Subject: Fwd: PW Comments
ALERT: BE CAUTIOUS This email originated outside the organization. Do not open attachments or click on links if you
are not expecting them.
Amanda, Here are Marcia & Evan Koening’s inputs comments, please put in the record until they can talk tomorrow..
Thank you
Cheers Terri 💐
From: Marcia Koenig <sentinel_fir@yahoo.com>
Date: September 21, 2022 at 11:29:26 PM PDT
To: Terri Ross <terri40love@yahoo.com>
Subject: PW Comments
Exhibit 81a
Exhibit 81a Page 0001
Marcia 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 81a Page 0002
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 81a Page 0003
I’m Marcia Koenig, Evan’s wife. I live 3 lots directly south of the proposed Hotel Conference Center at 3164 Oak Bay Road. I am associated with the group “Concerned Neighbors of Oak Bay Road”.
I would like to talk about the Type 3 CUP criteria (c) that the
Permit Application fails to satisfy,
namely that the Hotel Conference Center will have a materially
detrimental impact on a resident’s use of her property.
To determine the impact of the facility-related traffic, you need to consider the time of year when the facility will have the greatest impact, using the maximum number of guest cars that come & go. This traffic impact won’t be evenly distributed over the year, because it will be higher during the peak summer months. Nor will it be uniformly distributed during the day because facility-related traffic will
surge whenever guests arrive, about 2 hrs before activities begin, and again about
2 hrs after the end.
SEPA states that the Conference Center will have a total of 31 parking stalls for
guests, 7 workers and a manager. That leaves 23 parking stalls for guests. That’s the maximum number of cars that all guests are expected to use. Of course, once at the Center, with the parking lot at full capacity, who would really turn away a guest entirely or prevent a guest from parking along the driveway as a last resort? With up to 35 guests, there actually could be as many as 35 non-carpooling guest cars going into and out of the Center, instead of the assumed 23 cars.
This means as many as 35 cars could exit the Hotel Conference Center
during approximately a 2-hour period, after activities end,
and later that same day, as many as another 35 cars could enter
during approximately a 2-hour period, before activities begin for the next
group. With guests staying as little as 2 nights at a time, residents on Oak Bay Rd could expect this guest egress and entry to occur as often as every other day, for the entire summer.
Also, please note, this traffic scenario doesn’t include sightseeing trips, workers’ cars,
the manager’s or caretakers’ cars, cars of visiting craft professionals, delivery trucks,
miscellaneous maintenance vehicles & garbage trucks.
Now Oak Bay Rd is only one lane in each direction & the posted speed limit here is 50 mph.
Exhibit 81a Page 0004
During the 2-hour arrival period, northbound guests will slow down, and possibly stop before turning into the Conference Center. It would be unclear whether the oncoming traffic will drive by at 50 mph or are guests also, who will turn. So any northbound guest may end up waiting for the traffic to clear before turning,
meanwhile holding up all additional northbound traffic behind.
Terri Ross, is a long-time resident, whose driveway is directly opposite the Conference
Center’s driveway. It is her driveway that will be totally blocked every time a
northbound guest, and any traffic behind, slows down or stops, before turning left. Similarly, when leaving the Center, guests turning left will go right past the front of Terri’s driveway on their way out, and guests turning right when they leave, will hinder Terri’s ability to make a left turn from her driveway.
These 2-hour cycles could be repeated twice a day, every other day, for 5 months
during the summer. If Pomona Woods is granted the Conditional Use Permit
Application, that’s a huge, materially detrimental impact for one commercial
establishment to impose upon a single resident.
In the DCD Staff Report, the Staff Comment on the Type 3 CUP Approval Criteria states “ There is an expectation that owners of residential property have a right to the peaceful enjoyment of their property…” and states further “ any impact from neighboring property that could affect that use
could be considered materially detrimental. ”
Terri’s right to enjoy her property includes the right to freely access and exit her property. Since summer facility-related traffic could have a significant impact on her ability to do so, I request that the following condition be added to the Conditions of Approval, namely
that the Pomona Woods driveway entrance be significantly (100’ minimum) moved
down the road from Terri’s driveway. If this isn’t possible for whatever reason, then I
request that the Pomona Woods Conditional Use Permit Application be denied.
Exhibit 81a Page 0005