CODE DEPARTURES FOR SCHOOLS

Lee Bruch January 28, 2020This is an annotated summary of my understanding of the School Development Departures process, some of its implicaons, and a suggeson towards its improvement.

INDEX

A.Summaryp. 1B.Detailed Explanaon of Code Departures for Schoolsp. 3C.Typical Departure Requests and their Disposionp. 5D.Recommendaonsp. 8

A.SUMMARY

Schools are oen located in single family zones or other zones where the zoning regulaons can make it dicult to build or alter schools.Zoning regulaons legally cannot be altered ad hoc; to do so there must be a public and appropriate due process.Some cies solve this diculty by creang special school zones. But those special zones can be inexible and require lengthy and contenous rezoning processes when the need for new schools occurs.Seale has followed a dierent, more exible route, codied in Secon 23.79.002 of the Seale Municipal Code (SMC).Under it, the School District can apply for school development departures from zoning code requirements. The Department of Neighborhoods (DON) then appoints a commiee of stakeholders to address the requested departures, which is charged with recommending to the Director of the Seale Department of Construcon and Inspecons (SDCI), for each requested departure, whether it be granted, granted with condions, or denied. The commiee can also submit a minority report on those issues that are not agreed.The SDCI then makes a nal decision, which may or may not coincide with the departures commiee’s recommendaons, and incorporates that decision and the reasoning underlying in an “Analysis and Decision of the Director of the Seale Department of Construcon and Inspecons”, which then forms the basis of the Master Use Permit. The Decision can be appealed to the city’s Hearing Examiner (whose decisions can be appealed to court). Both the Director’s Decision and any appeals must be grounded in codied laws and not be discreonary.

The departures process’s strengths and weaknesses

The current development departures process has some strengths:1.It is much more exible than having a dedicated “school zone” which would require a rezoning process for every new school.2.It is exible, allowing the applicable regulaons to be adjusted to the circumstances of individual schools and neighborhoods.Page

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3.The departures commiee can idenfy problems or opportunies that may otherwise be missed by the district and/or its consultants (witness the high proporon of departures “granted with (subject to) condions.”4.Ideally, the departures process can result in beer cooperaon between the school and its neighboring community to the benet of bothBut current development departures process has some major weaknesses:1.It can create uncertainty to the project designers and the school district regarding what the nal requirements will be.2.This uncertainty may remain unl late in the design & permit process, requiring extensive redesign and busng both budgets and schedules.3.Somemes neighbors who are upset with unrelated city decisions and policies such as zoning and parking can “hold the school hostage” by using the as the only tool available4.The departure process is delicate requiring good will between all pares. It can be acrimonious if misused.

Recommendaons

A change any aspect of the Seale Municipal Code, including its zoning code, must be enacted by City Council and the Mayor. The me and eort, and the implicaons of a change, vary substanally with the complexity of the change.The Departure Process is partly aected by the way the Seale Municipal Code is structured regarding schools. Changing the fundamental structure of the code can be very dicult and polically fraught. (Witness the years long complex polical and legal bale over the MHA.)And the Departure Process is partly aected by a few details in the code. These details are much easier to change.There are a few specic departures that frequently reoccur and that are usually granted. Of note are:1.To allow less parking than code requires2.To allow greater height than code allows3.To allow bus load/unload o site4.To allow greater lot coverage than allowed5.To allow changing image sign6.To allow less setbacks than required Changes to the code are both technical and polical maers.My recommendaon would be to form a working group composed of people from Seale Public Schools (SPS), Seale Department of Construcon & Inspecons (SDCI), Department of Neighborhoods (DON), the design community, charged with reviewing the school departure process and recommending ways to expedite it. Aenon should be paid both to the process itself and to small changes in the code that can be relavely easily accomplished. Special priority should be given give to addressing the most common departures. And a deadline should be set for delivery of the work product to the Directors of the relevant city departments.Page

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B.DETAILED EXPLANATION OF CODE DEPARTURES FOR SCHOOLS

Informaonal side note:Much of the following was adapted from, and/or quotes from, a summary for Coe Elementary School’s Departure Commiee accessed at hps://www.seale.gov/Documents/Departments/Neighborhoods/MajorInstuons/Coe%20Elementary/Presentaon20190828.pdf  and from a Department of Neighborhoods presentaon accessed at hps://www.seale.gov/neighborhoods/programs-and-services/major-instuons-and-schools/school-departures-advisory-commiees).

School development departures

 are established by, and outlined in, the Seale Municipal Code, Chapter 23.29 (found at hps://library.municode.com/wa/seale/codes/municipal_code?nodeId=TIT23LAUSCO_SUBTITLE_IVAD_CH23.79ESDESTDEPUSC )

Introducon

“The departure process is established by the Seale Land Use Code Secon 23.79.002. The intent of the  process is to allow for the construcon, addion, and/or renovaon of schools that do not necessarily meet all of the land use and zoning standards of the surrounding neighborhood.”

1

Purpose & Intent

“

Most schools are located in single family neighborhoods; the land use code does not include a ‘school zone.

’“[School construcon,]

renovaon, and addions oen will not meet the underlying zoning, therefore  public schools can request exempons, known as departures, from the land use code

.

“The commiee can recommend to grant, grant with condion, or deny the requested departures. ” 

 

2

The commiee is appointed by, and administered by, the Department of Neighborhoods (DON).The Seale Department of Construcon & Inspecons (SDCI) makes the nal determinaon when the Master Use Permit is issues. The determinaon can be (and oen is) appealed to the Hearing Examiner for non-conformance with the law.

“Commitee Roles & Responsibilies (SMC 23.79.008)

“A. It shall conduct one or more public meengs within a ninety (90) day period from formaon of the advisory commiee.“B. It shall gather and evaluate public comment.“C. It shall recommend the maximum departure which may be allowed for each development standard  from which a departure has been requested. Minority reports shall be permied. The advisory commieemay not recommend that a standard be made more restricve unless the restricon is necessary as a condion to migate the impacts of granng a development standard departure.

“Evaluaon Crieria – Consisency (SMC 23.79.008)

1

 From “School Departures Advisory Commiees” webpage at hps://www.seale.gov/neighborhoods/programs-and-services/major-instuons-and-schools/school-departures-advisory-commiees

2

 From “Development Standard Advisory Commiee” introducon notes for Coe Elementary at hp://web6.seale.gov/dpd/edms/GetDocument.aspx?id=4901293 

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