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 implicaons, and a suggeson towards its improvement.
INDEX
A.Summaryp. 1B.Detailed Explanaon of Code Departures for Schoolsp. 3C.Typical Departure Requests and their Disposionp. 5D.Recommendaonsp. 8
A.SUMMARY
Schools are oen located in single family zones or other zones where the zoning regulaons can make it dicult to build or alter schools.Zoning regulaons legally cannot be altered ad hoc; to do so there must be a public and appropriate due process.Some cies solve this diculty by creang special school zones. But those special zones can be inexible and require lengthy and contenous rezoning processes when the need for new schools occurs.Seale has followed a dierent, more exible route, codied in Secon 23.79.002 of the Seale 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 commiee of stakeholders to address the requested departures, which is charged with recommending to the Director of the Seale Department of Construcon and Inspecons (SDCI), for each requested departure, whether it be granted, granted with condions, or denied. The commiee 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 commiee’s recommendaons, and incorporates that decision and the reasoning underlying in an “Analysis and Decision of the Director of the Seale Department of Construcon and Inspecons”, 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 codied laws and not be discreonary.
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 regulaons to be adjusted to the circumstances of individual schools and neighborhoods.Page
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3.The departures commiee can idenfy problems or opportunies that may otherwise be missed by the district and/or its consultants (witness the high proporon of departures “granted with (subject to) condions.”4.Ideally, the departures process can result in beer cooperaon between the school and its neighboring community to the benet 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 unl late in the design & permit process, requiring extensive redesign and busng both budgets and schedules.3.Somemes 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 pares. It can be acrimonious if misused.
Recommendaons
A change any aspect of the Seale Municipal Code, including its zoning code, must be enacted by City Council and the Mayor. The me and eort, and the implicaons of a change, vary substanally with the complexity of the change.The Departure Process is partly aected by the way the Seale Municipal Code is structured regarding schools. Changing the fundamental structure of the code can be very dicult and polically fraught. (Witness the years long complex polical and legal bale over the MHA.)And the Departure Process is partly aected by a few details in the code. These details are much easier to change.There are a few specic 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 polical maers.My recommendaon would be to form a working group composed of people from Seale Public Schools (SPS), Seale Department of Construcon & Inspecons (SDCI), Department of Neighborhoods (DON), the design community, charged with reviewing the school departure process and recommending ways to expedite it. Aenon should be paid both to the process itself and to small changes in the code that can be relavely 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
Informaonal side note:Much of the following was adapted from, and/or quotes from, a summary for Coe Elementary School’s Departure Commiee accessed at hps://www.seale.gov/Documents/Departments/Neighborhoods/MajorInstuons/Coe%20Elementary/Presentaon20190828.pdf and from a Department of Neighborhoods presentaon accessed at hps://www.seale.gov/neighborhoods/programs-and-services/major-instuons-and-schools/school-departures-advisory-commiees).
School development departures
are established by, and outlined in, the Seale Municipal Code, Chapter 23.29 (found at hps://library.municode.com/wa/seale/codes/municipal_code?nodeId=TIT23LAUSCO_SUBTITLE_IVAD_CH23.79ESDESTDEPUSC )
Introducon
“The departure process is established by the Seale Land Use Code Secon 23.79.002. The intent of the process is to allow for the construcon, addion, and/or renovaon of schools that do not necessarily meet all of the land use and zoning standards of the surrounding neighborhood.”
Purpose & Intent
“
Most schools are located in single family neighborhoods; the land use code does not include a ‘school zone.
’“[School construcon,]
renovaon, and addions oen will not meet the underlying zoning, therefore public schools can request exempons, known as departures, from the land use code
.
“The commiee can recommend to grant, grant with condion, or deny the requested departures. ”
The commiee is appointed by, and administered by, the Department of Neighborhoods (DON).The Seale Department of Construcon & Inspecons (SDCI) makes the nal determinaon when the Master Use Permit is issues. The determinaon can be (and oen is) appealed to the Hearing Examiner for non-conformance with the law.
“Commitee Roles & Responsibilies (SMC 23.79.008)
“A. It shall conduct one or more public meengs within a ninety (90) day period from formaon of the advisory commiee.“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 permied. The advisory commieemay not recommend that a standard be made more restricve unless the restricon is necessary as a condion to migate the impacts of granng a development standard departure.
“Evaluaon Crieria – Consisency (SMC 23.79.008)
1
From “School Departures Advisory Commiees” webpage at hps://www.seale.gov/neighborhoods/programs-and-services/major-instuons-and-schools/school-departures-advisory-commiees
2
From “Development Standard Advisory Commiee” introducon notes for Coe Elementary at hp://web6.seale.gov/dpd/edms/GetDocument.aspx?id=4901293
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