Xs PLANNING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT % 210 Lottie Street, Bellingham, WA 98225 Z = Telephone: (360) 778-8300 Fax: (360) 778-8302 TTY: (260) 778-8982 Ne. St NGOCNOTICE OF RE-OPENED PUBLIC HEARING The City of Bellingham’s Hearing Examiner will re-open the public hearing on Wednesday, June 22, 2016 at 6:00 PM in the City Council Chambers, City Hall, 210 Lottio Street, Bellingham, Washington, to take testimony on the following proposals: USE2016-0008 / VAC2016-0002: A Conditional Use Permit request for construction of the new Options High School, which would be a new 52,000 square-foot (SF), two-story facility located at 2015 Franklin Street, legally described as Lots 1-20, Bik 274, First Add to the Town of New Whatcom, Vol 2, Plat 36. A petition for Street Vacation of an unnamed alley west of Franklin Street, centered between Kentucky and lowa Streets, and ten feet (10°) of Franklin Street between Kentucky and lowa Street, abutting Block 274, First Add to New Whatcom is included. The proposal would be constructed on a currently developed site (54,006 SF) that is utilized for both the current Options High School and District Warehouse (existing structure would be demolished, portables would be relocated). Additional parking would be constructed on an adjacent lot. The current Options High School has been in place since 1994. The District Warehouse was constructed in about 1974 and the District acquired it i 2003. The project site is comprised of two parcels, which total approximately 1.93¢ acres in size. Construction would begin in the summer of 2016 with a completion/occupancy for the 2017-2018 school year. Project scope includes demolition of the existing District Warehouse building and infrastructure in preparation for the new school building. The new Options High School program would include spaces for learning studios, administrative offices and common spaces such as: Black Box Theater, stage and music room, gymnasium, program learning spaces, Career and Technical Education (CTE), and an outdoor plaza. The new facility would include a variety of schools and/or programs including Options High School, GRADS program, and CTE that would serve secondary {middle and high school) students independently or in cooperation with one another, Andrew Krzysiek, Zervas Group Architects, applicant; Bellingham School District, owner; Ron Cowan, Executive Director of Capital Projects & School Facilities, contact person,(360) 676-6531. Industrial, Light Land Use Designation. Sunnyland Neighborhood, Area 6. The full applications are available for viewing at the Planning and Community Development Department and on-line at: https:/Avww, cob .org/gov/depthearing/pages/hearing-examiner-materials.aspx. The Hearing Examiner conducted the original public hearing on the proposals on May 18, 2016. On May 31, 2016, the Hearing Examiner ordered that the public hearing re- HEADATAMIEARD Page 1 of G EXAMINER/PLANNINGINOTICE OF PUI IEARINOS.USF2016-0008opened to receive additional testimony and exhibits on the proposals. The testimony and exhibits already entered into the record at the May 18, 2016 public hearing shall remain in the administrative record created for the Hearing Examiner's review of the proposals. Hearing participants are highly encouraged to not repeat information they have already submitted. You may comment on the proposals by sending written comments to the address below and/or by testifying at the re-opened public hearing on June 22", Members of the public who have previously testified will be limited to three minutes of testimony. Members who have not testified will be limited to five minutes. The re-opened hearing will be your last opportunity to comment on this proposal prior to a decision being rendered. All written comments must be received during office hours before the close of business (6:00 p.m, on June 22, 2016, or you may submit them in-person at the re-opened hearing. Please provide two (2) copies for the recording secretary. You may also request a copy of the Hearing Examiner's decision and your appeal rights. Send comments and requests for information to: Planning & Community Dev. Dept. City Hall, 210 Lottie Street Bellingham, WA 98225 Attn: Brian Smart, Planner Il E-mail: bsmart@cob.org The City of Bellingham issued this notice on June 1, 2016. The City of Bellingham complies with the Americans with Disabilities Act. If you need special accommodations please call 778-8399 (voice) or 778-8382 (TDD) one day prior to the hearing. USE2016-0008 / VAC2016-0002: Options High School, 2015 Franklin Street If you want to receive notification of the Hearing Examiner's decision, please complete and return this section to the department listed above, Yes, | would like to know the action taken. Name:, Address: iyDATAMIEARING EXAMINER/PLANNINGINOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARINGS.USE2O16-0008 Page 2 ofLegend ‘BSD PROPOSAL 6:-BEVELOP EET WITH‘THE HEARING EXAMINER OF THE CITY OF BELLINGHAM WHATCOM COUNTY, WASHINGTON IN RE: HE-16-PL-006 BELLINGHAM SCHOOL DISTRICT, | ORDER RE-OPENING HEARING Petitioner and Apy ‘VAC2016-0002 / Vacation of 2,300 square feet of unopened alley; USE2016-0008 / Conditional Use Permit PHIL OLBRECHIS HEARING EXAMINER Pro TEM WHEREAS, a consolidated hearing was held on the separate street vacation petition and conditional use permit application identified in the caption above on May 18, 2016, and WHEREAS, at the hearing numerous concems about notice of the hearing were raised by the public, and WHEREAS, BMC 21.10.120(H)() required notice of the conditional use permit application to be mailed to all properties within 500 feet of the project site, and WHEREAS, during the May 18, 2016 hearing staff entered Exhibit 17, which staff explained was a site plan identifying the properties that received mailed notice of the hearing as well as an accompanying list of addresses, and WHEREAS, the site plan identifies that the wrong parcel was used as the project site for purposes of determining the 500 foot mailing radius — the project site fronts Franklin street and the parcel used to determine the 500 foot radius is identified in the site plan as the parcel immediately to the west of the project site, and Ovrice oF rue Hearine Fxamver ‘Onder Reopening Hewing apo incr Page Lara piotorn Smee vu, WASHES (850) 775-8399WHEREAS, as a result of using the incorreet parcel for the project site, the 500 foot radius is at least a half-block width short of including properties to the east, i. properties fronting Grant Street on its east side, and WHEREAS, as the administrative record doesn’t contain information on common ownership of contiguous parcels along the east side of Grant Street, from a counting of buildings in Google Maps (Ex. 4), it appears that approximately 10 property owners along Grant Street were not notified of the hearing due to the incorrectly computed radius, and WHEREAS, the mailing addresses accompanying the site plan of Ex. 17 reveal that mailed notice was sent to 60 property owners, and WHEREAS, the incorrect project site extends further south than the actual project site such that the properties that received mailed notice south of Ohio Street are likely not located within the 500 foot radius of the correct project site, and WHEREAS, there are approximately 15 separate buildings located south of the project site, and WHEREAS, the approximate total notices that should have been mailed is 55 (the 60 addresses in Ex. 17 less the 15 south of Ohio plus the 10 that were erroneously excluded), therefore, public hearing notice was not mailed to approximately 18% of the property owners within the 500 foot mailing radius, and WHEREAS, BMC 21.10.200(D)(4) provides that no proceeding shall be invalid ue to minor deficiencies in mailed notice pursued in good faith, and WHEREAS, an 18% error rate is not a “minor” deficiency so the error is not corrected by the good faith exception of BMC 21.10,200(D)(4), and WHEREAS , notice for the street vacation is governed by RCW 35.79.020, and WHEREAS, RCW 35.79.020 requires notice of a street vacation to be posted “in ‘conspicuous place on the street or alley sought to be vacated” (emphasis added), and WHEREAS, during the hearing Bill Paxton testified that no notice had been posted on the street and alley sought to be vacated and as far as can be discerned from the record staff testified that notice had been posted on the project site but not necessarily on the vacation areas, and xe Reopening Heng ia ere Page art nie worms ear WADE i 99i WHEREAS, if (see, e.g. Prosser Hill Coalition v. County of Spokane, 176 Wn. App. 280(2013)), substantial compliance will excuse the failure to place signs within the affected street and alley, then at a minimum at least one sign should have been readily visible to users ofthe bike trail (proposed alley vacation). The administrative record does not have sufficient information to establish whether a sign was placed in such a location. ‘NOW, THEREFORE IT IS ORDERED, 1, The May 18, 2016 hearing on the above-captioned conditional use and street vacation applications is re-opened duc to failure to comply with the mailing notice requirement for the conditional use permit and the posting requirement for the street vacation as outlined in the whereas clauses above. ‘The defeots in notice serve as good cause to re-open the hearing as authorized by Hearing Examiner Rule of Procedure 2.24(b).. 2. Staff shall re-advertise the hearing and comply with all notice requirements that applied to the original hearing for the street vacation and conditional use permit 2 application. 13 14 | 3, Asa“re-opened” hearing, the testimony and exhibits already entered in the record ie on May 18, 2016 shall remain in the administrative record of the hearing examiner review of the street vacation petition and conditional use. permit 16 application, 7 ig | 4 Motions for reconsideration ofthis onder may be filed with the Assistant to the Hearing Examiner, Kristina Bowker, if received by her by 2:00 pm, June 8, 2016. 19 The request for reconsideration on the conditional use permit must be based upon the record. No new evidence for that argument is allowed since the conditional baa use permit is subject fo the one hearing rule of RCW 36.70B.050, New evidence 21 may be used to support ¢ motion for reconsideration on the street vacation, A 2 street vacation arguably may not qualify as @ “project permit” subject to one hearing rule of RCW 36.70B,050 and the City has exempted street vacations from 23 most Chapter 36.70B requirements in BMC 21.10.070(C). The motions to 24 reconsider must be emailed fo Ms. Bowker at kbowker@cob.org or mailed or ‘ delivered to her at 210 Lottie St, Bellingham, WA 98225. 26 ca 28 | 5. The hearing examiner may distribute one or more motions to reconsider to all » parties of record for a response in which case the movant will be given an ‘opportunity of reply. 30 rer Reopening Heng Omer or me iexane Buss Page Sof ‘210 Lorne sites ‘BeLLINGHAN, WA 98225, (G60) 718.830925 26 7 28 29 30 DATED this 31st day of May, 2016. Hearing Examiner Pro Tem Order Reopening Hearing, Page 4074 price or THe HARING EXAMINER ‘CHV OF BELLINGEN 210 Love STREET Beuntiaw, WA9KZ25 2) 778-8399