A development agreement for the WSU Demonstration Forest between the city and developers was discussed during a Dec. 1 Bonney Lake City Council workshop.
Community Development Director John Vodopich gave a presentation before the council outlining the key points of a development agreement.
The current land-use designation of the property is conservation/open space and the zoning is public facilities.
Washington State University and Weyerhaeuser applied for a change in land-use designation of the property by the April 30 amendment application deadline.
The application and recommendation is that the land-use designation be changed to a combination of commercial, public facilities and high-density residential with the corresponding zoning designations.
Vodopoich said development agreements are authorized by state law and provide a mechanism to set forth requirements for the future development of the property.
Under the development agreement, 35 acres – including 4.75 acres under a sale agreement for a medical office building – is zoned for commercial use, 47.4 acres would be dedicated to the city for recreational use and 64.7 acres for residential with three acres of private open spaces.
Under the land to be dedicated to the city, 34.6 acres are for recreational use, 5.4 are for a YMCA or community recreation center, 5.4 for a perimeter buffer/trails, and 2 for a triangular park at 214th and South Prairie Road.
Councilman Mark Hamilton asked if the YMCA was involved in the development agreement, and Vodopich said no.
Mayor Neil Johnson said the YMCA doesn’t have a problem “if the land is deeded to them or if they sign a 50-year lease agreement.”
Under a residential rezone of the property, Vodopich said the residential component would consist of single-family detached units, cottage type homes, duplexes, townhomes, and/or condominiums at an average minimum density of 10 units per net acre.
He said it would require change to the city’s zoning code, either in the form of an amendment of R-3 or the adoption of a new R-4 zone in 2010.
Vodopich said the Planning Commission recommended against moving forward with changes to R-3 and recommended creation of a new R-4 zone.
He said the council has the ability to make the changes to R-3 and direct the Planning Commission to consider the creation of a new R-4 zone in 2010.
Vodopich said property currently zoned as R-3 could apply for rezone to R-4.
Vodopich said restrictions on use of city property in the WSU Forest are that the city must use the dedicated property for recreation in perpetuity, except the city may rezone and sell up to 15 acres of the property for nonresidential uses once building permits have been issued for the commercial property or on Jan. 1, 2025, whichever comes first.
“The intent is to ability to the city to sell off a portion of the property as non-residential in order to fund future open-space acquisitions,” Vodopich said.
Councilman James Rackley asked that the word “perpetuity” be taken out of the agreement for him to support it.
Hamilton said the park element was not in the development agreement and feels it wouldn’t need a public hearing.
“The park element is the only reason I have any interest in this at all,” Hamilton said.
Once the property is dedicated to the city, Bonney Lake will be allowed to open the trails on the entire property for use by the public, until such time as the property is developed.
Vodopich said WSU will transfer the property to city ownership when the development agreement is executed, Comprehensive Plan Amendment and rezone are approved, change of zoning (R-3 or R-4) is approved, and appeal periods have expired or appeals resolved.
He said WSU will receive a waiver of park impact fees in exchange for dedication of the city property.
Under the agreement, WSU will:
• fill a small existing Category III wetland and provide off-site mitigation.
• use a small portion of the city’s property adjacent to Fennel Creek for off-site mitigation and compensate the city for the fair market value of the property.
• prepare a Master Drainage Design for the entire property. It will consist of three ponds, one on the city property and two on the residential property, and an infiltration area that can be used for recreational purposes. Ponds will be designed to be aesthetically pleasing and integrated with the parks environment.
• use Low Impact Development techniques, where feasible, to reduce the amount of land needed for stormwater facilities.
• will construct a new connector road through the commercial area between SR 410 and South Prairie. WSU is working to gain state Department of Transportation approval. If approval for a signal is obtained, the city will add the connector road to its list for funding.
• will provide additional traffic review for access points as the residential property is developed. Frontage improvements will be required along state Route 410 (including a third lane) and along South Prairie Road if required by the county.
Water and sewer service will be provided by the city, as sewer capacity is available, with the developer being required to construct any necessary system extensions, Vodopich said.
The term of the agreement is for 15 years with provision for a one-time, five-year extension granted by council.
The second public hearing was Tuesday and the council’s decision is scheduled for the Tuesday workshop in conjunction with the decision on the Comprehensive Plan amendment and rezone.
