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HomeMy WebLinkAboutApproved Minutes - 1999-11-15 CITY OF LAKE OSWEGO DEVELOPMENT REVIEW COMMISSION MINUTES November 15, 1999 CALL TO ORDER The Development Review Commission meeting of November 15, 1999 was called to order in the Council Chambers of City Hall, at 380 "A" Avenue, Lake Oswego, Oregon, by Chair Julie Morales at 7:00 PM. II. ROLL CALL Commission members present included Chair Morales and Commissioners Doug Cushing, Douglas Kiersey and Sheila Ostly. Commissioners Nan Binkley and Bruce Miller were excused. Staff present were Hamid Pishvaie, Development Review Manager; Elizabeth Jacob, Associate Planner; Evan Boone, Deputy City Attorney and Janice Benn, Senior Secretary. III. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Mr. Kiersey moved for approval of the Minutes of October 4. 1999. Ms. Ostly seconded the motion, and it passed with Mr. Kiersey and Ms. Ostly voting yes. Ms. Morales and Mr. Cushing were recused. Ms. Binkley and Mr. Miller were not present. Ms. Ostly moved for approval of the Minutes of October 18. 1999. Mr. Kiersey seconded the motion, and it passed with Ms. Morales, Mr. Kiersey and Ms. Ostly voting yes. Mr. Cushing was recused. Ms. Binkley and Mr. Miller were not present. V. PUBLIC HEARING LU 99-0038, a request by Lake Oswego School District for approval of Conditional Use and Development Review permits to install lighting and permanent seating for the existing athletic field at Lakeridge High School. The athletic field seating is proposed to accommodate the high school student body (approximately 1,200 seats). The installation of lighting will permit evening use of the athletic field. The site is located at 1235 Overlook Drive, Tax Lot 100 of Tax Map 21E 16. Staff coordinator is Elizabeth Jacob, Associate Planner. Continued from September 8th and September 20, 1999, hearings. Chair Morales opened the public hearing and explained the procedures and time limits to be followed. She asked Commission members to report any ex parte contacts, site visits, biases or conflicts of interest. Ms. Morales, Mr. Cushing, Mr. Kiersey and Ms. Ostly indicated they had visited the site. Ms. Morales reported that she had previously worked with the applicant's acoustical engineering consultant. She asked if any person in City of Lake Oswego Development Review Commission Page 1 of 5 Minutes of November 15, 1999 attendance desired to challenge any Commissioner's right to hear the application. No one presented such a challenge. Evan Boone, Deputy City Attorney recalled that during the previous hearing the parties had provided oral testimony and subsequently each party had submitted written testimony for the record. He advised the record had been closed to new evidence and the applicant was entitled to provide a rebuttal to the arguments at the hearing. Elizabeth Jacob, Associate Planner, pointed out that her October 5, 1999, memorandum summarized new written material that had been received since the previous public hearing. She pointed out that the staff report discussed the issues the new material had brought forward and contained examples of features of other parks and athletic fields in the City; discussed potential traffic and noise impacts to the residents; and contained documents discussing the potential for the facility to become a regional sports facility and the applicant's request to modify certain conditions of approval. She said that based on the new evidence staff found the application could be made to be reasonably compatible with uses in the vicinity. She recommended that the original conditions of approval be imposed in order to mitigate any potential negative impacts from the facility. She recommended— and the Commissioners agreed - that a letter that had been received after the record was closed not be entered into the record. Applicant Dorothy Cofield. 12725 SW 66th Avenue. Suite 107. Portland. OR 97223, stated she represented the Lake Oswego School District. She held that the District's application for lights and a bleacher was very reasonable. She said the opponents were contending that no impacts were to be allowed, but she reminded the Commission that that Code provided the use was to be "reasonably compatible" with the vicinity. She advised that the lighting vendor had guaranteed that the spillage from the lights would be 1.34 candles at 150 feet, which she said was well south of the opponents' homes. She said that amount was half the lighting levels that had previously been approved by the DRC in 1988 for the Westlake application. She confirmed that the kind of lights described by Musco Lighting would be used for the project. She noted that the opponents' Exhibit 218 included a photograph of a field that did not feature the same lighting technology as the applicant planned to use. She also noted that although the opponents related they had talked with a lighting expert, their letter was not written by a lighting expert. She held that evidence was not credible and should not be considered. She stressed that the applicant was to abide by a strict lighting schedule whereby the lights were to be turned off at 9:30 PM Monday — Friday, at 7:00 PM on Saturday, and at 6:00 PM on Sunday. She recalled that the DRC had approved a Lakeridge field application in 1993 that allowed that field to be lit until 10:15 PM. She said that in Exhibits 200 and 201 the principal of Lakeridge High School and the director of the Parks & Recreation Department projected that 20-40 people would attend soccer games; the high school soccer games would attract a maximum attendance of 250 people; and one or two play- off games could attract up to 450 people. She said that those uses were already permitted at the field and she reminded the Commissioners that it was only the lights and bleachers City of Lake Oswego Development Review Commission Page 2 of 5 Minutes of November 15, 1999 that were to be reviewed for impact on the neighborhood. Ms. Cofield related that the applicant had commissioned a noise study by Stanley and Associates, who had studied a varsity football game at Lake Oswego High School, a junior varsity football game at Lakeridge High School, a boys' soccer game at Lake Oswego High School, and national data. She said the study had been conducted according to professional standards. She said they had not measured noise levels inside the residences, but they had estimated that noise inside the homes would be reduced by 20-25 decibels from that outside the homes. She noted that the consultant had recommended that if the District constructed a berm or barrier the noise level would be nearly the same as it was without the lighted field. She explained for Mr. Kiersey that the District had originally planned to remove one tree to make room for a berm, but after neighbors requested that no obstruction be installed that would reduce their access to the field the District had agreed to install a combination of boulders and landscaping instead.. She said the District was not opposed to constructing a barrier and they believed that it would mitigate noise and traffic impacts. She said the applicants would agree to a condition of approval that called for a barrier similar to what the applicants' consultant proposed. She clarified for Mr. Cushing that the District would select their lighting vendor through a bidding process. Mr. Cushing asked if the applicant would prefer the hours of operation recommended by the staff or to be allowed lighted fields until 10:00 PM for three nights per week and the other nights until 8:00 PM, Faith Chappel, Principal, Lakeridge High School, clarified for Ms. Ostly that only player introductions would be announced over an amplified audio system at the Lakeridge field and no play-by-play announcements were done at any Lakeridge events. Mike Colsen, Lakeridge High School Athletic Director. indicated that it would be difficult to schedule games according to Mr. Cushing's suggested schedule. He anticipated that the field would be used for contested games a couple of days per week during the fall. He said most of the use would be for player practice. He said there was a total of 14 potential home games for girls' and boys' soccer in the evening during a three- month period. Ms. Chappel said the applicant would prefer to abide by a consistent lights-out time of 9:30 PM. Ms. Cofield stated the District already felt constrained to hours that no other high school facilities in the City were limited to. Cary Stanley, Daily Stanley & Associates, 4900 SW Griffith Drive, Beaverton OR, indicated that he was an acoustical engineer. Ms. Morales requested that he explain how the noise study had been accomplished. Mr. Boone cautioned the Commissioners that if Mr. Stanley's testimony included new evidence, the opponents would be entitled to submit an argument in opposition. Ms. Cofield recalled that the method used by Mr. Stanley to accomplish the noise study was documented in his report. City of Lake Oswego Development Review Commission Page 3 of 5 Minutes of November 15, 1999 Mr. Stanley explained that he had taken noise measurements at games at Lake Oswego High School when they played Lakeridge High School (which he noted was a very popular game) and at a Lakeridge vs. Gladstone High School boys' game (which he described as a typical-sized crowd). He said he took measurements at the field's west end approximately equal distance from the north and south bleachers (both bleachers had been full on both nights). He had measured the total sound coming from the crowd and the players. He said he used that data to project the noise levels for residents near the Lakeridge High School field during future night use and he had taken the distance from the field to the residences into consideration in making his assessment. He said he had also used a statistical method (used by the state Department of Environmental Quality) that showed how noise levels varied over time (see Exhibit 192). He clarified for Mr. Cushing that during the September 28, 1999, game between the two high schools the highest recorded noise level was at 83db at a distance of approximately 300 feet from the bleachers. Ms. Cofield summarized that the applicant had met the burden of proof and had agreed to conditions of approval that would mitigate any impacts from traffic; provide sufficient parking and ensure that anyone who broke their agreement not to park along Cloverleaf would not be allowed to use the Lakeridge Field. She noted the traffic study showed the parking lot could accommodate up to a 500-person event; and events would be limited to that number. She said the applicant's proposed changes were well within the scope of changes that had been approved at other high schools in the area. She noted that the Westlake approval had imposed fewer conditions. She said if the DRC imposed a condition of approval requiring a barrier along the cloverleaf District would consider it. She clarified that the noise consultant had suggested a six-foot barrier and the District would consider using stucco (to match the school), brick, or a synthetic noise fence, but they could no longer construct a berm because of the existing boulders in that area. Ms. Cofield recalled for Mr. Kiersey that the users of the field had never been required to sign an agreement regarding its use, but the applicant believed that such an agreement could be enforced because the Parks & Recreation Department could revoke a seasonal permit if the users had violated their agreement. Mr. Boone advised that if the DRC imposed conditions on the applicant's use of the field the conditions would apply year- round and it would be the applicant's responsibility to decide how to enforce the conditions. Ms. Chappel clarified for Mr. Kiersey that the District did not intend to promote use of the field to users outside the Lake Oswego community. Ms. Cofield requested additional time to submit a final written argument on behalf of the applicant. Mr. Cushing moved to continue LU 99-0038 to December 6, 1999., with the applicant's final written argument to be submitted by 5:00 PM on November 22, 1999. Mr. Kiersey seconded the motion and it passed with Ms. Morales, Mr. Cushing, Mr. Kiersey and Ms. Ostly voting yes. Ms. Binkley and Mr. Miller were not present. There were no votes against. City of Lake Oswego Development Review Commission Page 4 of 5 Minutes of November 15, 1999 IV. OTHER BUSINESS - Findings, Conclusions and Order LU 99-0053. a request by the City of Lake Oswego to construct a Skateboard Park. Mr. Pishvaie advised that it was beyond the authority of the DRC to impose Condition C(1), and that staff was recommending the conditions be modified to require any change of hours of operation must first be approved by the Parks & Recreation Advisory Board. He clarified for Mr. Cushing that the City Code already regulated excessive noise and police enforced the regulations. He also noted that the proposed park would not be lighted in the evening.. Mr. Cushing moved for approval LU 99-0053 with the modified condition C(1). Mr. Kiersey seconded the motion and it passed with Mr. Cushing, Mr. Kiersey and Ms. Ostly voting yes. Ms. Morales abstained. Ms. Binkley and Mr. Miller were not present. There were not votes against. VI. GENERAL PLANNING None. VII. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business before the Development Review Commission, Chair Morales adjourned the meeting at 7:53 PM. Respectfully submitted. Janice Bader Senior Secretary 1:\dre\minutes\11-15-99.doc City of Lake Oswego Development Review Commission Page 5 of 5 Minutes of November 15, 1999