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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPTEV PUD A-2 summary revised 6-9-09Port Townsend EcoVillage PUD Application -Narrative 1 Port Townsend EcoVillage PUD Application Narrative Summary 12/11/08, revised 6/9/09 Summary This Planned Unit Development is a demonstration project that will strive to provide more affordable housing and more sustainable lifestyles on about 7.7 acres in the geographic center of Port Townsend. Our Vision “Port Townsend EcoVillage is a community of people dedicated to living in harmony with each other and with the earth, exploring together ways to live more sustainably.” We will strive for affordability and sustainability through a combination of practices which will include: low impact development methods, conservation and re-use of water and waste, building with natural and local materials when possible, prioritizing use of people-powered and alternative transportation, using electricity produced on-site as well as passive solar energy, organic agriculture, and other permaculture principles and strategies. We hope that these efforts will help reduce the ?the cost of building, maintaining and heating dwellings and thus offer more just and affordable housing. We believe that this demonstration project will be of great public benefit by fulfilling many of the goals and strategies of the Port Townsend Comprehensive Plan. (See Exhibit #1, Public Benefit Analysis, for relevant references in the PT Comp. Plan). Our Commitment to the Environment Rapidly rising atmospheric CO2 levels, global warming and impending climate crisis have brought new urgency to the need for more sustainable lifestyles. Jefferson County and the City of Port Townsend have jointly committed to an 80% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions below 1990 levels by the year 2050. To help reach that goal, we must be creative in adjusting many aspects of how we live. As recommended by the state Department of Ecology, we have estimated the “lifespan greenhouse gas emissions” for our development. Since there is no template for Jefferson County yet, we used the one created for new developments in King County, even though it offers virtually no choices relevant to the many ways in which we will limit our ecological footprint. Our result for the south parcel, where 23 out of the 27 dwelling will be located, is under 37,484 MTCO2e (million tons of CO2 equivalents) for the lifespan of this project. (See Exhibit 3.) This is actually a gross over estimation, given all of the energy saving elements of our proposal that are not considered in the King County template. It is interesting to note that only 6% of our lifespan emissions will be from the embodied energy used in the construction of our project. The remainder is from the energy costs associated with living in our homes and transportation. We are committed to reducing our own personal footprints by using multiple strategies not reflected in the above lifespan emissions estimates. The 9 adults and 2 children currently living at the EcoVillage compost and recycle extensively, produce only 25 pounds of waste every 2 weeks, use only 29 gallons of water per person per day, and share an electric car. We have rain water catchment systems, a 3.2KW photovoltaic system for electricity generation and have purchased a heat pump to experiment with further reducing our use of electricity. We have developed a Tree Conservation and Landscape Plan (Exhibit 4) to help protect and nurture our small forest. At the same time, the conservation of our forest allows the removal of smaller Port Townsend EcoVillage PUD Application -Narrative 2 shade-producing trees elsewhere on the property in order to enhance solar access for efficient heating of homes and productive food gardening. Our Commitment to Housing Affordability There is a housing crisis in Jefferson County and in Port Townsend. Our county has the second lowest affordable housing index (67) in the State (average index 90), second only to San Juan County (WA Center for Real Estate Research, WSU). We are committed to ensuring broad economic diversity at the Port Townsend EcoVillage and have numerous strategies for realizing this goal by making the buy-in and housing for this community affordable. Currently, a single adult can become an EcoVillage member for about $52,000 (does not include dwelling cost), of which about $20,000 is available as a 6% loan. This includes shared ownership of all the land and common buildings. In addition, we have a Discount Fund for those who qualify for a discounted membership and an Economic Access Fund to provide additional loans for housing. At least 2 rental units will continue to be available on the property for those who cannot yet afford to buy-in. We will limit the increase in value of homes at the PTEV via a limited equity formula that prevents housing costs from escalation due to market forces, similar to a variety of methods employed by Community Land Trusts. Our Legal Structure The property is currently owned by Kees and Helen Kolff and will be sold to the Port Townsend EcoVillage (PTEV) over time. This EcoVillage is a form of Intentional Community, and we plan to become a Limited Equity Cooperative (LEC) that will own all the land and improvements, including the personal dwellings, and will lease them to coop Members The LEC structure best manifests our values and the belief that we in fact borrow the land and its resources from our children and future generations. We will continue as an LEC if we can obtain adequate insurance, financing and memberships. Our Homes The average size of dwellings in this PUD will be less than that permitted in the city’s Cottage Ordinance, except for one existing large dwelling that will provide some rental units as well as common space. Our purpose is similar to that described in the Cottage Ordinance (PTMC 17.34.010): “Cottage housing is provided as part of the city’s overall housing strategy which intends to encourage affordability, innovation and variety in housing design and site development while ensuring compatibility with existing neighborhoods, and to promote a variety of housing choices to meet the needs of a population diverse in age, income, household composition and individual needs.” With no more than 27 dwelling units on 7.7 acres, we will have 3.5 dwelling units per acre, well within the RII zoning density limits. Our cottages, some with shared walls to form duplexes, triplexes, fourplexes or townhouses as permitted in the RII zoning, will be limited to a maximum of 900 square feet of heated, ground floor area for a couple. An additional 20% of floor area will be permitted in loft space, and small, unheated porches and green houses will also be allowed. We will construct our dwellings and other buildings over time, experimenting with low impact development techniques and with the use of alternative and natural materials. We hope to demonstrate a variety of creative approaches and will work with the city to have them permitted as they evolve over time. Our Site Plans We have submitted 2 distinct site plans. The first is the PUD Site Plan, prepared by architect Richard Berg, which shows roughly how dwellings may be clustered on the property. It also shows Port Townsend EcoVillage PUD Application -Narrative 3 the approximate potential location of paths and major common buildings. Our second site plan is the Preliminary EcoVillage Binding Site Plan, prepared by surveyor Brian Van Aller, job #00379. This plan is meant to be registered at the County and shows no dwellings, but merely two distinct types of areas: the Shared Common Space, and the Personal Residential Areas. 1. Shared Common Space – Represents about 65% of the land area. All the members of the EcoVillage will share the use of land and structures within this area. Structures and some uses will include sanctuary and meditation spaces, clubhouses for gatherings and meals, rental units for guests and others, outdoor kitchens, studios for hobbies and home occupations, storage and agricultural sheds, playhouses, places for on-site parking, carports and/or garages covering no more than half of the parking area, and fire lanes. The preserved forest and much of the agricultural land is also in the shared common space. 2. Personal Residential Areas – Repreenst about 35% of the land and is located in 4 distinct areas. These areas will be mostly for more private or personal use by members, and will include personal dwellings, greenhouses, patios and gardens. as well as a variety of buildings for common use such as storage, playhouses, shops and other permitted residential uses. Impervious surface calculations Using calculations for the south parcel only, we anticipate the personal dwellings, commonly shared community clubhouse, sanctuary, and numerous outbuildings will cover less than 26,000 square feet (or 14%) of the total land area. Gravel fire lanes and paths may add an additional 8% of impervious area, for a total maximum of 22% impervious area in the south parcel. In the north parcel personal dwellings will have a cumulative footprint of no more than 4,000 square feet and commonly shared structures like the shop, laundry facility, concession stand, and learning center no more than 9,500 square feet. This total of 13,500 square feet represents less than 9% of the total north parcel area. Gravel parking and paths may add an additional 12,500 square feet or 8% of impervious surface, but much of the parking and many of the paths will remain as grass. The maximum impervious area will thus be less than 17% of the land in the north parcel. Low Impact Development for Storm Water management Kate Waddell, engineer with Northwest Territories Inc, has calculated the size and basic requirements for rain gardens that could be used in lieu of infiltration trenches to manage the storm water at the end of 35th Street (See Exhibit #10B). and this is the method we prefer, The soil on the property is primarily San Juan Gravelly Sandy Loam, and is mostly sand for the first 2-3 feet. Percolation Tests after 4 hours of saturation and at a depth of 2 feet showed about ¾ inch of percolation per minute, or 1.3 minutes per inch. For buildings larger than 200 square feet, splash-boards or rain gardens will be used, and we will present specific plans for them when we submit our building permits to the city. Storm water for the parking lot will be managed by an infiltration system within the natural forest. Easements and Dedications We wish to extinguish two of the three 25-foot city utility easements that run north -south across the south parcel, and keep only the current Oxford Street easement. We would also like to angle the northern half of the Oxford Street easement slightly to the west and narrow it to 20 feet. In exchange for this, we will grant 3 easements across tax parcel #33. One will be used as an extension of the 20-foot wide Oxford Street utility easement to loop a water line from 35th Street to the Port Townsend EcoVillage PUD Application -Narrative 4 substandard fire hydrant on 37th Street. The other 2 will be 10-foot wide public path easements, one as an extension of Haines Street to complete access from 35th Street all the way to 37th Street and the other all along the west edge of the property. We will dedicate 15 feet along the east edge of the north parcel to the San Juan Avenue ROW. In addition, we will dedicate 10 feet along the north edge of the north parcel to the 37th Street ROW at the times and under the conditions agreed to by the City of Port Townsend and outlined in the SEPA MDNS report prepared by the city as follows: “The dedication of a 10-foot wide easement running in an east-west direction along the north boundary of the north parcel adjacent to 37th Street, and roadway improvements to 37th Street and on-site parking off 37th Street shall be installed prior to any one of the following: 1. Issuance of the building permit for the second new single-family residence on the north parcel parcel or the twenty-first (21) new residence, including detached bedrooms, anywhere on the property, 2. Issuance of the building permit for the office/studio/learning center. The 10-foot easement will extend from San Juan to where the west edge of McNeil Street would intersect 37th Street and 37th Street shall be paved far enough to accommodate the traffic to the learning center (and on-site parking provided). 3. Issuance of the building permit for a greenhouse if it is to be used solely for commercial purposes (i.e. beyond that allowed by a home occupation). The 10-foot easement will extend to the west end of the greenhouse and 37th Street shall be paved far enough to accommodate the traffic to the greenhouse (and on-site parking provided). 4. Issuance of the building permit for the concession stand. The 10-foot easement will extend from San Juan to where the west edge of McNeil Street would intersect 37th Street and 37th Street shall be paved far enough to accommodate the traffic to the concession stand ((and on-site parking provided).” Cumulative Effects With each city permit application regarding an additional structure in the future, we will provide the full site plan and a table used to track the cumulative impacts and management strategies for impervious surfaces and other performance measures. Specific Requests We urge the city to consider this development as a pilot or demonstration project that if successful, might be considered for other developments in the future. Of paramount importance to us is the attempt to create a safe and healthy development that has the least impact possible on the land, the lowest greenhouse gas emissions possible, and the maximum housing affordability. These are growing necessities if we are to live more sustainably on this planet. We have presented our special requests in matrices listed in two separate tables: Table #1 includes 18 requests for which we would like to obtain specific authorization even though we believe they are NOT deviations from the Port Townsend Municipal Code. Table #2 lists the 9 specific requests that may be a significant departure from the Port Townsend Municipal Code, but which can all reasonably be granted through the PUD process. We wish to thank the City of Port Townsend for their assistance in helping refine this PUD application. We look forward to working with staff on the numerous aspects of this project over the coming years.