City staff recommends R-3 designation for SG Land Management annexation area; residents raise traffic and notice concerns

City planning staff recommended on Aug. 13 that the portion of an annexation petition submitted by SG Land Management (Short Plat 2021-08, Lot 2; parcel 126160129) be assigned R-3 medium-density residential zoning as allowed under the Broadmoor master plan and overlay.

Planner Ivan Berrigan presented the staff report and told the hearing examiner the approximately 22-acre parcel currently is zoned RS-20 in Franklin County but carries a medium-density residential designation in the city’s Broadmoor master plan. Berrigan described the overlay standards (PMC 25.97) that determine density under the Broadmoor plan and said the proposed R-3 zoning aligns with the adopted land-use map and will be forwarded to City Council in connection with annexation. Berrigan also noted the city is lead agency for environmental review and had determined the proposal exempt per WAC provisions cited in the staff packet.

Applicant representative Paul Lavrentiev (vice president for the applicant’s company) said he agreed with staff’s factual findings and that the request follows the Broadmoor master plan and the city’s comprehensive-plan designations. Lavrentiev said the project is intended to provide single-family detached lots rather than higher-intensity housing.

Neighbors from adjacent developments and county parcels testified at length. Common concerns included vehicle access and capacity on Burns Road and the Kohler Road intersection, whether Burns Road can be improved to the “100-foot right-of-way” shown in master-plan maps, and whether notification procedures (300-foot city notice vs. a county 1-mile radius referenced by participants) left many affected residents unaware of the hearings. Multiple speakers cited expected traffic impacts, questioned the transportation analysis and concurrency assumptions, and asked that any zoning or annexation reflect existing county zoning and the capacity of public infrastructure.

The examiner said written comments submitted before and since a July 9 hearing were part of the record; he noted he had read most of the more than 50 letters and comments and that he would consider them in any recommendation or decision. The examiner accepted the staff report and application materials into the record and closed the hearing; staff’s recommendation and the public record will be forwarded to the City Council at the time of annexation for final zoning action.