As reported here last night, both projects brought to the Southwest Design Review Board for Early Design Guidance in a doubleheader meeting were told to try again. Here are the toplines from the first meeting, about SolTerra‘s proposed Perch 100-unit apartment building at 1250 Alki SW, first reported here in May.

This meeting was attended by dozens of the almost 400 neighbors who have organized as the Action Alki Alliance. They’re not objecting to the idea of apartments on Alki, they say, but to a proposal they say is out of scale for the neighborhood. Here are their talking points:

And a longer document of concerns sent to the city, provided to us by spokesperson Sandee Spears:

Factors such as traffic and noise are not in Design Review’s purview; they’re in the environmental review that the assigned SDOT planner – BreAnne McConkie for this project – will lead.

SWDRB chair Todd Bronk observed that the proposal as shown last night doesn’t seem to “connect the dots.” Overall questions include how the massing – which is a major concern at the EDG stage – would work in relation to the street, allow enough sunlight for the planned courtyard, and how the front facade would work with the neighborhood.

In addition to options that had been in the design “packet” for weeks (as shown here back in xx), SolTerra also brought a version with a few changes responding to concerns voiced by neighbors – including the reduction to 100 units, from the original 125, as described post-meeting by SolTerra spokesperson Melissa Milburn:

We angled out the break between the masses by a small amount; otherwise it’s identical in every way. The project is now 100 units (not 125), 20% less, specifically to address community concerns. No option impedes the steep slope buffer. We are not seeking extra height, any setback relief, bonus square footage, uses not permitted in the zoning, or anything else = other than the two departures we’re asking for on the building overall width and depth to help with sightline for neighbors. Everything we propose is allowed in the zone and we are not getting any concessions from the city.

Other public-comment concerns included the building’s placement on the property and the plan for the hillside behind it, which has seen slides over the years. Neighbors want to make sure some views of the greenbelt remain. Some concerns also were voiced about how the building would be accessed by services such as solid-waste pickup; the access will be addressed next time around.

The board liked aspects of Option 2 best, not the development team’s preferred Option 3, but overall, the instruction to the project team is to take the feedback back again and return. (The official city version of the meeting notes should be on the DPD website within a few weeks.) Because of the requirement for at least one more Early Design Guidance meeting, that means this project will have at least two more meetings – dates TBA. You can send comments about the project, in the meantime, to planner McConkie at breanne.mcconkie@seattle.gov.