Reminder that this Thursday night (6:30 pm, West Seattle High School library) is the first major public meeting about the proposal to rezone both sides of California between Hanford and Hinds (and a bit further south on the west side of the street) to allow larger businesses and taller buildings (city map screengrab at right). Over the holiday, the major landowners behind the proposal (and four other site visitors) added comments to the original WSB report about the plan — since that report is almost 3 weeks old, there’s a 99.9% chance you haven’t seen the new comments, so here are the highlights:
From co-applicant Roger Cayce:
It seems to me that there are three options for the future of this block in general. The first is to leave it as is which will leave mostly older run down properties that will be rented for lower rents but will continue to decline in condition and offer few amenities that the block could use. The second is to do like most other blocks now being built on up and down the street and build townhomes which also offer no amenities to the block but they would look better than the current buildings. The third is to allow the requested rezone and hopefully end up with some nice buildings that would offer many more living units and have full commercial street frontage with underground parking. Without question I feel that the third option is the best!!!
From “Mike,” apparently co-applicant Mike Gain:
I’ve lived and worked my entire life in West Seattle. I think it is a very special place and I plan to be here forever. I have had my offices located on this block for over 25 years. I own property in this block and would like to develope it. I am very interested in enhancing the identity and character of the area. I’d like to build a high quality mixed use building with retail, apt/condo’s that will fit in and look like it belongs in the Admiral district. This block was actually downzoned from a 40′ height restriction to 30′ a few years ago. It should be put back to what it was and remain consistant with the adjacent properties to the north and south at 40′. Parking has always been an issue in the Admiral area and the additional 10′will allow us to afford to supply two floors of underground, much needed, parking and storage. I’d like to build a building I can be proud of.
No obvious project ties on the names signed to the other four comments that also came in on the 11/8 post at about the same time over the holiday, all pro-upzone; you can read them by scrolling down here. Haven’t found background yet on the “it was previously downzoned” contention – we found this zoning map going back to 1999 and it labels the area as NC-1 but without an appended height restriction. Whether you’re for it or against it, the Thursday night meeting @ WSHS is a good place to find out even more than we learned at the informal presentation to the Admiral Neighborhood Association a week and a half ago.
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