In 2019, the City Council approved a Minor Plat for Hauck Addition, which, in essence, was a simple lot split creating one new buildable lot legally described as Lot 2, Block 1 Hauck Addition (the "Subject Property").  The Subject Property abuts Trunk Highway 47 on the west, 169th Lane to the south, and Neon Street to the east.  The approved Sketch Plan showed a house pad on the northern part of the Subject Property, which was presumed to gain access from Neon Street (although a driveway was not shown on the Sketch Plan as that is not required information).  However, when the Building Permit Application was submitted, the Certificate of Survey showed the proposed home further south on the Subject Property with driveway access off 169th Lane NW.

Ideally, Staff would have caught this on subdivision review and restricted access on this stretch of road. That being said, Public Safety and Public Works find the proposal to be acceptable, although not ideal. The intent of this case is to confirm this direction given some other negative feedback about tree removal on this project. Staff is simply seeking City Council's confirmation in case needed for communication with neighboring properties.

Notification is not required.

As noted, an application for a Building Permit for a new home on the Subject Property has been submitted.  The proposed home location meets all required setbacks; however, it is further south than had been shown on the Sketch Plan and proposes driveway access to 169th Lane rather than Neon Street as proposed on the plat.  Staff found that preferrable and did not make any further comment and did not anticipate the current proposal for layout and driveway access. The proposed driveway would be approximately 120 feet east of the western property line and about 165 feet east of the edge of pavement for Trunk Highway 47. 

A concern had been raised by Staff regarding access spacing from Trunk Highway 47 as well as stacking of vehicles attempting to access Trunk Highway 47 from 169th Lane, due to it being the only point of access for three (3) neighborhoods.  Subsequently, this item was reviewed by the Development Review Team. There are pros and cons in either solution. While the general Staff preference is the original proposal, Staff finds the solution acceptable with amendments. It was recommended that the driveway either be relocated to Neon Street or, if to remain on 169th Lane, a 'turn around' be added to reduce the need for backing out onto 169th.  Furthermore, for transparency, it was suggested that this item be added to a City Council agenda for approval.  Public Safety Staff are a part of the Development Review Team and they did not raise any concern with the proposed driveway location but did support the addition of a 'turn around'.

Alternatives

Alternative 1: Approve the proposed driveway location contingent upon the addition of a 'turn around' to reduce the instances of backing out onto 169th Lane.  This option would help reduce the need to back out onto 169th Lane, creating a safer access point. Staff supports this alternative.

Alternative 2: Approve the proposed driveway location as proposed with no contingencies. 

Alternative 3: Do not approve a driveway access onto 169th Lane.  This would require the applicant to work with his surveyor to update the Certificate of Survey to show driveway access onto Neon Street.  This could have the potential to impact the layout of the home, although the driveway could be realigned without adjustment to the home.

This is being handled as part of Staff's regular duties.

Staff recommends adoption of Resolution #20-059 approving driveway access for the Subject Property to 169th Lane with the incorporation of a driveway 'turn around'.

Motion to adopt Resolution #20-059 approving driveway access for the Subject Property from 169th Lane.