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CAPITAL FACILITIES
Future Vision for Redmond: Capital Facilities
Infrastructure and services have been provided to meet the needs of a growing population, as well as to correct existing deficiencies. Redmond has excellent police and fire protection and well-maintained and dependable public facilities. The community continues to enjoy a rapid fire and emergency response, professional police work, beautiful parks, pure water, and effective wastewater and stormwater management because the capital facilities needed to provide these services were, and still are, planned for the long-term. An efficient multi-modal transportation system has taken shape and is continually improved. Redmond citizens also embrace and support the high-quality educational, cultural, and recreational facilities in the community.
This long-term planning for services and facilities carries out the Comprehensive Plan goals and policies, such that new development and new services and facilities arrive concurrently. Over the past 20 years, all the areas of urban unincorporated King County within Redmond’s Potential Annexation Area have been annexed to Redmond, so that residents may receive a full range of urban services.
The cost of maintaining Redmond’s quality services and facilities is borne equitably. Redmond continues to draw from diverse revenue streams in order to finance capital facility projects. The public facility costs associated with new growth are recovered in part using impact fees that reflect up to date costs, including those related to land and construction. In addition, Redmond continues to seek grants and other outside funding in order to maintain its high quality of life.
Organization of This Element
Introduction
A. Capital Facilities Inventory
B. Capital Facility Investment
C. Capital Facility Financial Plan
D. Redmond’s Revenue Sources
E. Lands Useful for Public Purposes
F. Capital Planning References
Introduction
The Capital Facilities Element is a critical part of Redmond’s Comprehensive Plan. It establishes policies to direct the development of the City’s capital investment program in support of the community’s vision for the future. It guides the actions of public agencies, as well as private decisions related to individual developments. The Capital Facilities Element helps achieve Redmond’s vision by:
◊ Providing a clear definition of the role and purpose of the City’s capital investment program;
◊ Assuring that capital facility investments are prioritized to support growth in the locations targeted in the Land Use Element, including infrastructure to support Redmond’s Downtown and Overlake Centers;
◊ Identifying level-of-service (LOS) service standards for capital facilities to meet community expectations for municipal service delivery; and
◊ Requiring that adequate, long-term financial capacity exists to provide capital facilities needed to support expected growth while maintaining adopted service standards.
A. Capital Facilities Inventory
This section provides a brief summary of existing publicly owned capital facilities that support services to those who live and work in Redmond. The descriptions are intentionally brief; the documents listed at the conclusion of this element contain more detailed information on existing and planned capital facilities in the City of Redmond.
Fire and Emergency Medical Response
The Redmond Fire Department serves the City of Redmond and Fire District 34, providing a full-range of fire suppression and emergency medical response services. The Fire Department utilizes six fire stations that serve an area of approximately 42 square miles. The Fire Department’s mission is to continuously protect and preserve life and property through quality education, prevention, disaster preparedness, and rapid emergency response within the City of Redmond and King County Fire District 34 (see Map CF-1). The Fire Department also provides emergency medical services at the “Basic Life Support” level, and operates “Advanced Life Support.”
Fire Station 12
Parks and Recreation Facilities
Both the City of Redmond and King County own and operate public parks and recreational facilities in or near Redmond. The City’s facilities include a range of neighborhood, community, and resource parks, and a network of trails used for both transportation and recreation. The City of Redmond Watershed Preserve, located northeast of the City, is a major resource park with equestrian, hiking, and bicycling trails. The Old Redmond Schoolhouse operates as a community center, with adjacent sports fields available for recreation.
King County facilities serving Redmond residents include Marymoor County Park, which offers baseball and soccer fields, a velodrome, a climbing rock, hiking, model airplane flying, dog exercise areas, and the Sammamish River Trail, offering opportunities for walking, running, and bicycling.
Police Facilities
The City of Redmond Police Department provides crime prevention and law enforcement in the City of Redmond, and back up for surrounding jurisdictions. The Police Department’s primary capital facility is its operations center located in the City’s Public Safety Building on the Downtown Municipal Campus. That building contains a booking and temporary holding facility as well as a property impoundment area, classrooms, and an evidence room.
Public Educational Facilities
The Lake Washington School District (LWSD) serves the City of Redmond by providing public primary and secondary education. The locations of existing LWSD facilities are shown in Map CF-2. The Bellevue School District serves portions of Redmond in the Idylwood Neighborhood. The Northshore School District serves the English Hill Neighborhood, which is part of Redmond’s Potential Annexation Area north of NE 128th Street.
Ord. 2537
Sewer Facilities
The City of Redmond through its sewer utility is the sole provider of sewer service within the Redmond City limits. The Redmond sewer system consists of a network of conveyance pipes and pumping facilities. The system works primarily on a gravity feed basis with some assistance from pumping stations. Larger transmission mains carry waste to King County Metro interceptors, with sewage ultimately treated at Metro treatment plants at either West Point (Seattle) or Renton. The City of Redmond operates a joint-use system with the City of Bellevue to convey sewage from the Overlake Neighborhood.
Storm and Surface Water Facilities
The City of Redmond Natural Resources Division manages drainage systems, stormwater facilities, and surface water systems for the City. The goals are to: (a) convey water runoff from common storm events so that the utility of streets, sidewalks and public lands/facilities is not adversely impacted; (b) provide for system overflow during significant storm events to minimize impacts to buildings and property; (c) provide treatment facilities to remove pollutants; and (d) provide for natural systems that are stable and maximize the habitat value. There are more than 220 miles of public drainage pipes in the City, more than 50 miles of surface waters (such as streams and creeks), and hundreds of stormwater control facilities (detention/retention and water quality). The Natural Resources Division also inspects the more than 1,400 private drainage and stormwater facilities to ensure these systems are maintained and functioning as designed.
Transportation Facilities
The City of Redmond is served by a wide variety of transportation facilities, ranging from equestrian and biking trails, to transit stations, to a major network of arterial and freeway facilities. The City is primarily responsible for the development and maintenance of streets and associated traffic control hardware, sidewalks, and bicycle lanes and trails. Public transportation facilities are operated by King County Metro, Community Transit, and Sound Transit, and include a variety of park and ride lots and transit stops and stations.
Water Facilities
Water facilities serving the City of Redmond are developed and maintained by the City’s water utility. Water is supplied through a combination of local City-owned wells and water purchased from the City of Seattle. Redmond’s water system consists of seven water storage tanks and 422 miles of water pipe serving approximately 12,000 residential and business customers throughout the City. Water in the Overlake area is provided through a joint-use agreement with the City of Bellevue.
Water storage tank
Other Municipal Facilities
The City owns and operates a number of other capital facilities in order to provide administrative, maintenance, or special services. Within Redmond’s Downtown Municipal Campus, such facilities include Redmond City Hall, where administrative departments are located, the Redmond City Council Chambers in the Public Safety Building, and the Redmond Senior Center, where senior-oriented and other recreational activities are offered. The City’s Maintenance and Operations Center is located in SE Redmond, serving as the operating base for the City’s maintenance activities.
B. Capital Facility Investment
Capital Facilities and Functional Plans
Successfully planning for the development of major capital facilities, such as water, sewer, public safety, and parks systems, requires a disciplined and comprehensive process. That process traditionally is accommodated through the development of functional plans that include a significant capital component. The City of Redmond Water Comprehensive Plan and Fire Master Plan are examples of such functional plans. Together, these and other functional plans comprise Redmond’s Capital Facilities Plan (CFP), a comprehensive document that assesses the capital facility needs of the City and the cost of obtaining them over the long term. Developing the CFP provides the opportunity for a detailed, professional assessment of background information, current and future needs, and alternative strategies for meeting those needs. Done well, the CFP also may incorporate significant public involvement through the use of citizen advisory boards, such as the Redmond Parks Board, as well as public hearings, open houses, and other outreach efforts.
CF-1
Develop and regularly update functional plans and comprehensively assess capital facility needs and strategies for addressing such needs. As part of the functional plan development process, provide opportunities for public involvement appropriate to the nature of the update. Use functional plans to guide the development of capital priorities and investment decisions within each of the following functional areas:
♦ Fire protection and emergency management response;
♦ Police protection;
♦ Stormwater and surface water management;
♦ Water and sewer systems;
♦ Parks, recreation, arts, and open space;
♦ Transportation; and
♦ General government facilities.
CF-2
Include in the functional plans, at a minimum, the following features necessary for maintaining an accurate account of long-term capital facility needs and associated costs to the City, and consistency with the Comprehensive Plan and the Community Development Guide:
♦ A clear delineation of the functional plan into two sections, one section responding to Growth Management Act requirements, and the other section addressing non-Growth Management Act issues;
♦ A description of the current capital facility infrastructure and the cost of its operation and maintenance;
♦ A description of current capital facility deficiencies and appropriate funding strategies to remedy these deficiencies;
♦ An analysis of capital facilities needed through the year 2022, and estimated costs to meet those needs;
♦ An analysis of capital facilities needed through build-out of the Comprehensive Plan, and estimated costs to meet those needs;
♦ An analysis specifying how capital facilities will be financed and maintained;
♦ A public participation program describing the functional plan’s public outreach, participation, and review process;
♦ A set of criteria to be used to prioritize projects in the City’s Six-Year Capital Improvement Program (CIP); and
♦ An analysis indicating that the functional plan, including any subsequent revisions to or modifications of the functional plan, are consistent with the policies in the Comprehensive Plan and the regulations in the Community Development Guide.
CF-3
Adopt by reference sections of functional plans that respond to Growth Management Act requirements as components of the Capital Facilities Element of the Comprehensive Plan.
CF-4
Review proposed functional plans and updates to existing functional plans to ensure that both Growth Management Act and non-Growth Management Act required sections:
♦ Focus on changing infrastructure needs in both developed and developing areas of Redmond;
♦ Ensure that the functional plans are consistent with the Comprehensive Plan, including compliance with urban design policies; and
♦ Comply with State law.
CF-5
Require that new functional plans and updates to existing functional plans conform to the following review processes:
♦ Administratively review updates that are consistent with and do not impede the implementation of the Comprehensive Plan;
♦ Seek Planning Commission review on an advisory basis, and provide opportunities for input, for functional plan updates that are consistent with the Comprehensive Plan;
♦ Use the Comprehensive Plan amendment review process to consider new functional plans or updates for:
o A functional plan section that responds to Growth Management Act requirements;
o Facilities that are insufficient to serve planned growth envisioned in the Comprehensive Plan, including the adopted Land Use Plan;
o New or revised policies that are to be inserted into the Comprehensive Plan; or
o Policy changes that are inconsistent with the Comprehensive Plan, requiring that changes be made to the Comprehensive Plan;
♦ Update functional plans within two years of a Comprehensive Plan update;
♦ Delay updates to functional plans when a major update of the Comprehensive Plan is expected within one year.
CF-6
Require that properties, when they develop or redevelop, construct or contribute to improvements as identified in adopted plans.
Level-of-Service Standards
Service standards represent a yardstick against which to measure the performance of a particular type of capital facility. Service standards may be defined by State or federal law, as is the case with water systems; may be recommended by State and national professional associations, as is the case for parks; or may be locally defined based on community preferences, such as policing standards. Once service standards are established for capital facilities, they become a requirement that dictates what type and level of investment must be made to maintain the standards. Increased population and employment growth, for example, may generate the need for increased levels of capital investment to keep capital facilities performing up to standard.
CF-7
Establish capital facility level-of-service (LOS) standards for the following types of facilities in order to determine long-term capital facility and funding requirements, as follows:
♦ Water system: A flow volume that meets instantaneous demand together with projected fire flows.
♦ Sewer system: A level that allows collection of peak wastewater discharge plus infiltration and inflow.
♦ Transportation facilities1: The transportation LOS is established to identify the need for growth-related transportation programs and projects, as well as those that serve people already living and working in Redmond. The transportation concurrency requirements ensure that these programs and projects are implemented proportionally with the level of growth, and serve to implement the City’s Land Use Plan as contained in the Comprehensive Plan. Transportation LOS standards are contained in the Transportation Element and are as follows:
Table CF-2
Arterial and Transit Service Standards with Mode Split TargetsTransportation Management District
Arterial Intersection
Level-of-Service Standard2
(Area average of intersections)Transit
Level-of-Service Standard
(% of land uses within 1/4 mi of 30-minute, peak hour transit service)Mode Split Targets Level-of-Service Standard
(% daily trips by modes other than Single-Occupant Vehicle)
Letter Value
Maximum
V/C RatioResidential Land Uses
Employment Land Uses
1993
2012
1. Downtown
E+
0.95
100%
100%
18
30
2. NE Redmond
D+
0.85
30%
90%
18
23
3. Willows/
Sam. ValleyD-
0.90
30%
90%
10
20
4. Grass Lawn
D+
0.85
50%
90%
15
18
5. Overlake
E+
0.95
50%
100%
18
30
6. Idylwood
D+
0.85
30%
50%
15
18
7. SE Redmond
D-
0.90
70%
30%
10
20
1. These transportation level-of-service standards will be revised as part of the adoption of the recommendations contained in the Transportation Master Plan.
2. Level-of-service (LOS) standards are more fully described in the Transportation Element. LOS is based on a volume to capacity (v/c) ratio for motor vehicles. LOS A = v/c less than 0.600, LOS B = v/c of 0.601 to 0.700, LOS C = v/c of 0.701 to 0.800, LOS D+ = v/c of 0.801 to 0.850, LOS D- = v/c of 0.851 to 0.900, LOS E+ = v/c of 0.901 to 0.950, LOS E- = v/c of 0.951 to 1.000, LOS F = v/c above 1.000.
Ord. 2537
♦ Parks and recreational facilities:
o Neighborhood parks: 1.0 acres per 1,000 population.
o Community parks: 3.0 acres per 1,000 population.
o Resource parks: 2.5 acres per 1,000 population.
o Trails: 0.25 miles per 1,000 population.
♦ Fire protection: Total response time of five and one-half minutes or less for 80 percent of fire and emergency medical calls in the City.
♦ Police protection: Police capital facility needs are associated with police protection, operations, special operations, and support services. The service standard is to have facilities and equipment sufficient to meet the demand for police services. No additional significant capital facilities are anticipated beyond the replacement of police vehicles.
♦ Stormwater:
o A level that permits adequate drainage for the appropriate rainfall duration and intensity to ensure the safety, welfare, and convenience of people in the developed areas;
o A level of stormwater treatment that adequately protects surface and groundwater quality;
o A level of stormwater detention such that the rate of flow from a property shall not exceed pre-development levels; and
o A level of water quality treatment and detention to ensure that fish and wildlife habitat will not be degraded.
C. Capital Facility Financial Plan
Plan-Level Financial Balance
Fulfilling Redmond’s vision for the future is highly dependent on the City’s ability to provide adequate capital facilities. The City must be able to demonstrate that it can afford to construct the facilities that are needed to support growth anticipated by the Land Use Plan – both to preserve the high quality of life offered by Redmond as well as to meet mandates of the Growth Management Act.
The success of the Comprehensive Plan hinges on “plan-level financial balance.” This means the financial capability to operate programs and construct adequate facilities at the time they are required, in support of growth anticipated by the adopted Land Use Plan through the planning period (year 2022), and beyond to the build-out year. This does not require that the details or timing of every capital project be identified in advance. Rather, it calls for general comparison of anticipated capital improvements to be made against reasonably expected revenues, to ensure that they are in balance.
CF-8
Maintain a financial plan that summarizes the revenue and expense components of the City’s functional plans. Include financial data for capital spending in support of growth anticipated by the adopted Comprehensive Plan through the planning period to 2022, and beyond to the build-out year.
CF-9
Define “plan-level financial balance” as the financial capability to construct adequate capital facilities at the time that they are required, in support of growth anticipated by the adopted Comprehensive Plan through the planning period to 2022, and beyond to the build-out year.
CF-10
Waive project-level requirements of demonstrating “plan-level financial balance” to the extent that the City’s Capital Facility Plan itself demonstrates “plan-level financial balance.”
CF-11
Biennially evaluate the City’s ability to achieve “plan-level financial balance.” Take one or more of the following actions if the financial capacity to provide necessary capital facilities for all or part of the City is found to be insufficient:
♦ Reassess planned land use and adjust the capacity for growth;
♦ Institute mechanisms for phasing or deferring growth;
♦ Reassess service standards for capital facilities; or
♦ Identify new revenue sources.
CF-12
Adopt the City’s Six-Year Capital Improvement Program (CIP) as the short-term budgetary process for implementing the long-term Capital Facility Plan (CFP). Ensure that project priorities, funding allocations, and financing strategies incorporated in the CIP are consistent with the long-term CFP.
Focus on Redmond’s Centers
The Downtown Redmond and Overlake Urban Centers will accommodate much of Redmond’s growth over the planning period and beyond. The Land Use Element recognizes that since growth will focus on these areas, investment in facilities should likewise focus on these areas.
CF-13
Use capital facilities to attract growth to centers by:
♦ Giving priority to funding for public facilities and services within the Downtown Redmond and Overlake Urban Centers;
♦ Creating a mechanism to provide ongoing capital funds for Redmond’s Urban Centers; and
♦ Prioritizing projects outside these Urban Centers that will increase mobility to and from the centers.
D. Redmond’s Revenue Sources
Unrestricted Capital Revenue
Revenues available for capital investment within the City of Redmond’s Six-Year Capital Improvement Program (CIP) include a significant portion of unrestricted revenues. Unrestricted revenues do not have restrictions placed by State law or by City policy on how they are spent. In order to better facilitate long-range capital planning and year-to-year consistency within the City’s capital investment program, the City may allocate unrestricted funds to various functional areas on a percentage basis. This permits the community to clearly assess the City’s funding priorities to particular functional areas, and also permits those responsible for development of capital facilities to rely on specific revenue streams and plan facility development accordingly.
CF-14
Prepare a Capital Facilities Financial Plan to promote consistency and stability in capital planning and programming. Determine through this planning process the percentage allocation of unrestricted capital revenues to functional areas. Review the percentage allocation preferably in every off year after the biennial budget process but at least every five years.
Many opportunities arise for the City to obtain funding for capital facilities from outside sources, such as State and federal grants. Securing these outside funding sources usually requires supplying some local matching funds. Using local funds as a match to grant funds, as opposed to using local funds as the sole source of funding of projects, allows the City to more efficiently leverage its financial resources.
CF-15
Aggressively pursue funding from other levels of government and private agencies to accomplish the City of Redmond’s capital investment program while optimizing use of City resources.
Developer and Outside Funding
Impact fees allow new growth to assume an equitable share of the costs associated with growth. In order to promote orderly growth and ensure that adequate facilities are available to serve new growth, the Growth Management Act (GMA) provides the City of Redmond with authority to collect impact fees for (a) public streets and roads; (b) parks, recreational facilities, and open space; (c) school facilities; and (d) certain fire protection facilities. State law also allows for the “pooling” of impact fees, whereby fees are allocated to projects that will be completed within the six-year fee-collection window.
The following points describe the City’s policies for establishing and maintaining impact fees. For Redmond, impact fees are a necessary funding strategy that allows the community to achieve its vision for 2022 – that while growth will occur, quality capital facilities will be maintained and planned for the long term.
CF-16
Follow the principle that growth shall pay for the growth-related portion of capital facilities. When imposing impact fees on new development, the City will:
♦ Impose fees only for system improvements that are reasonably related to growth;
♦ Structure the impact fee system so that impact fees do not exceed the proportionate share of the costs of system improvements attributable to growth, and are reasonably related to the new development;
♦ Balance impact fee revenues with other public revenue sources in order to finance system improvements that serve new development;
♦ Use fee proceeds for system improvements that will reasonably benefit the new development;
♦ Prohibit the use of fee proceeds for correcting existing capital facility deficiencies;
♦ Establish an annual adjustment to impact fees based on an appropriate capital cost index and other relevant local construction data, subject to annual City Council approval;
♦ Conduct a thorough review of the impact fees and index used every five years; and
♦ Pool fees in order to more efficiently fund capital facilities resulting from new growth.
CF-17
Consider exempting from payment of impact fees certain developments that have broad public purpose when adopting an impact fee ordinance.
School Facilities
Upon the formulation of a school Capital Facility Plan, and at the request of the responsible school district, the City of Redmond has the authority to impose impact fees to pay for new school facilities that future growth necessitates. The City must exercise diligence in assuring that the facility plans developed by the school district are consistent with the amount and location of growth envisioned in the Redmond Comprehensive Plan. Similarly, the City must determine that the school service standards used by the school district in development of the school facility plan are consistent with community expectations and values.
Audubon Elementary School
CF-18
Require school districts that propose to have the City of Redmond impose impact fees for them to prepare Capital Facility Plans that include:
♦ Plans for capital improvements and construction over a 20-year horizon;
♦ A demonstration of how facility and service needs are determined;
♦ An annually updated six-year (or longer) finance plan that demonstrates how capital needs are to be funded;
♦ Population and demographic projections consistent with those used in developing the City’s Comprehensive Plan;
♦ A strategy for achieving consistency between the land use and Capital Facility Plans beyond the Six-Year Capital Improvement Program, including identified improvements; and
♦ An assessment and comparison of the condition and functional characteristics of school facilities across the entire district.
E. Lands Useful for Public Purposes
To ensure that adequate lands are available for public uses, the GMA requires local governments to identify lands useful for public purposes, including land for governmental functions, such as parks and recreation areas, streets, fire stations, other governmental buildings and utilities.
Redmond’s primary strategy for identifying lands useful for public purposes is to identify them in functional plans (and therefore the Capital Facility Element). Many of these sites are also identified in general terms in the various elements of the Comprehensive Plan. As the City acquires these properties, they may be identified more specifically in functional plans or, if they are large, they may be identified on the Land Use Plan Map.
CF-19
Identify lands useful for public purposes in functional plans and in the appropriate elements of the Comprehensive Plan. Identify alternative sites or lands more generally where acquisition is not immediate. Identify lands specifically when acquired and used for public purposes on the Land Use Map, or in the appropriate elements of the Comprehensive Plan where not otherwise identified by City or other governmental agency functional plans.
In addition to identifying lands useful for public purposes, the GMA also requires the local governments in a county to cooperatively develop a prioritized list of lands required for public facilities that serve more than one jurisdiction. These “shared needs” public facilities may include joint-use facilities or facilities that serve a region or the whole county. Local capital acquisition budgets must be consistent with this prioritized list.
CF-20
Identify shared needs and the lands that may be used to meet these needs with nearby cities, King County, neighboring counties, the state, the Puget Sound Regional Council, school districts, special purpose districts, and other government agencies. Maintain a capital acquisition budget and schedule that reflects the jointly agreed-upon priorities.
F. Capital Planning References
The following references are functional plans and may be consulted for more detailed information regarding existing and planned facilities, service standards, and facility development issues:
◊ City of Redmond, 2003-2004 Operating Budget and Six-Year Capital Improvement Program (CIP), adopted January 2003, as amended.
◊ City of Redmond, Capital Facilities Financial Plan, to be developed.
◊ City of Redmond, Comprehensive Plan, 1995, as amended.
◊ City of Redmond, Comprehensive Stormwater Program Plan, March 1999.
◊ City of Redmond, Fire Service Master Plan, July 7, 1992, amended 2000.
◊ City of Redmond, General Sewer Plan, 2009.
◊ City of Redmond, Parks, Recreation and Open Space Plan, June 2004.
◊ City of Redmond, Transportation Master Plan, May 2006.
◊ City of Redmond, Water System Plan, 2000-2010, May 2002.
◊ City of Redmond, Overlake Master Plan and Implementation Strategy, December 2007. If the Overlake Master Plan and Implementation Strategy and Transportation Master Plan conflict, the Overlake Master Plan and Implementation Strategy shall prevail.
◊ King County, Final 2001 Comprehensive Solid Waste Management Plan, November 1999.
◊ Lake Washington School District, Capital Facility Plan.
Ord. 2505; Ord. 2492; Ord. 2384; Ord. 2230
