DEVELOPMENT: 6504 24th SW meeting; long-idle 5249 California SW comments

| Development | West Seattle news

Two West Seattle projects are part of today’s twice-weekly Public Notices Summary from the city Department of Construction and Inspections:

PUBLIC MEETING FOR 6504 24TH SW: A public meeting is being held for comments about an 11-unit proposal at this site in Delridge [map] – five 2-story single-family houses, three attached accessory dwelling units, and three detached ADUs, with 11 offstreet-parking spaces. The meeting will be online at 5 pm on March 2nd. The official notice includes information on how to participate/comment. We first briefly mentioned the site back in 2014, when neighbors were voicing concerns about another site on the street, in the context of flooding concerns from nearby Longfellow Creek.

(WSB photo from last year, with tagging obscured)

COMMENT TIME FOR LONG-IDLE 5249 CALIFORNIA SW: More than a year after we reported on a new plan for the long-stalled site at 5249 California SW [map], the land-use application is being reviewed, and that’s opened a comment period. The site is proposed for what the city website describes as “a 3-story, 6-unit townhouse building, and a 3-story, 3-unit live-work building (with p)arking for 4 vehicles.” Comments are being accepted through February 22nd; the official notice explains how to submit yours.

Les February 9, 2023 (5:36 pm)

Just a note. The 6504 site is requesting to use part of a city right off way to build on. My question is what is it being sold for or if it. Is actually being sold at all.

Auntie February 9, 2023 (8:36 pm)

Re 6504 – if you live on 24th or 25th, please log into the public meeting and voice your concerns. This property is across the street (a single lane with no sidewalks) from Longfellow Creek. This street, as well as 25th to the west are single lane dead end streets whose only egress is northbound on 24th to Delridge. Adding this many dwellings (with lord knows how many vehicles) is going to put a strain on all of the sewer systems along here, as well as the roads themselves. There is no other way in or out to this property other than Delridge at 24th. No exit at the south end of 24th. No exit at the south end of 25th. And there is already a heinous development scraping the land bare between 24th and 23rd just south of this. I find it hard to believe that this is all being allowed in an environmentally sensitive area. Please log into the meeting and express your feelings on the demolition of our neighborhood.

HousingFirst February 10, 2023 (7:36 am)

So many inaccuracies for Auntie’s comment.
These are not ‘single lane’ roads, they are actually full 60 foot wide ROWs that SDOT and DCI may demand improvements to like water-mains, storm drainage and fire hydrants.
The claim about sewer systems is a red-herring howler as due to new low consumption water saver fixtures, Seattle is using the same volume of water (and therefor sewers) as back in the 1950s…simply not a problem.
Same for electricity.
Additionally, the city requires builders to update and improve other infrastructure.

I attended those meetings nearly a decade ago when ‘concerned’ neighbors effectively opposed new homes because of dramatic photos of flooding. The area has not had similar flooding for over a decade, even with the wild weather we have experienced.
Building in an Environmentally Sensitive Area is certainly a challenge with the baroque impenetrable Critical Areas Code, but those rules are, to my experience, strictly and unreasonably enforced.
This adds years and tens of thousands of dollars to the already expensive construction of needed housing.
I ask, the ever opposed to housing, Auntie where they would have houses built during this morally bankrupt era of such housing opposition? And why Auntie enjoys a home but opposes others from having the same basic right?

Azimuth February 9, 2023 (11:41 pm)

For the uninitiated like me, “ADU” and “DADU” no longer mean anything, A new “Single family home” with an ADU and DADU was recently built near my house on a small-ish lot. The ADU is as big as the SFH and each of three structures are all bigger than my house! They are being sold separately with different addresses even though the lot wasn’t subdivided. They are effectively a triplex or town homes.

Housingfree February 10, 2023 (7:51 am)

Uninitiated?
Yes and ignorant of what ADU and DADU mean.
I would also challenge the accuracy of Azimuth’s description.
First, there can’t be “three structures” as described. An ADU is attached or part of the principle house, not a separate structure.
It is highly unlikely that a principle house with ADU could be smaller than Azimuth’s house since that is less than 1,000 sq ft.
Azimuth’s description of a ‘triplex’ three homes where there were only one allowed before is true.
What is wrong with that?
Ryan February 10, 2023 (11:07 am)

Great, we love to see townhomes integrated in the neighborhood :)
M February 10, 2023 (1:20 pm)

It’s nice seeing that. I am hoping that when the owners of the property next to me finally sell that it’s redeveloped in similar fashion. Right now it’s a single family teardown (?) with 5 cars and excessive, unpermitted pavement everywhere. But more important than my personal gripes, we could use more types of housing in the area! Right now it’s mostly SFHs everywhere and apartments on arterials.

Les February 10, 2023 (2:40 pm)

Housing first obviously hasn’t measured the width of the entire street or gets stuck behind large vehicles and can’t move. How about the cars that park in the supposed two lane street. As for the strictly enforced rules, they are there to protect the fragile environment. If you want less rules go elsewhere to build.

Sorry, comment time is over.