ORIGINAL 1:44 AM REPORT: Just before the long holiday weekend, we reported on the city Hearing Examiner‘s decisions regarding the “upzoning” proposed for a block-plus stretch of California SW south of the Admiral District: Examiner Sue Tanner recommends the City Council approve the proposal to change the zoning from NC1-30 to NC2-40, meaning larger commercial spaces and taller buildings allowed. She also ruled against a community activist’s appeal of the city’s determination that the zoning change would be environmentally “nonsignificant.” We received the decisions via postal mail; we immediately requested electronic copies – and they’ve finally arrived in e-mail, so we have uploaded them to our site for you to read in their entirety if you’re interested: The decision recommending City Council approval of the rezone is here; the decision affirming the “determination of (environmental) nonsignificance” – denying community activist Dennis Ross‘s appeal – is here. As noted in our story a week ago, September 16th is the deadline for people “substantially affected” by the rezone approval recommendation to appeal; we are checking to see if the council’s Built Environment committee has a date yet for its vote on the rezone proposal.
ADDED 9:36 AM: Just talked with Michael Jenkins from the council’s Central Staff. He says the council has 90 days to get the proposal before the committee – and it’s not likely to happen any time soon, since the council will be busy with the budget for the next few months. If the Hearing Examiner’s recommendation is appealed, he says – noting that a few people have inquired about that process, though no formal appeal has come in yet – that ups the time line to 120 days. He has one other note: By law, council members cannot be contacted directly about matters like this; if you want to find out how to comment, or have other questions about the process, Jenkins says he’d be happy to help – e-mail him at michael.jenkins@seattle.gov.
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