West Seattle, Washington
01 Sunday
Three development notes as the week gets going:
SEE THE PACKETS FOR 2-PROJECT DESIGN REVIEW MEETING: This Thursday at 6:30 pm, the 2-building project at 4722 Fauntleroy Way SW/4721 38th SW takes up the entirety of the Southwest Design Review Board’s meeting. Above is the packet for the 7-story building (retail plus 231 apartments, 25 small efficiency dwelling units, 16 live-work units, 241 offstreet parking spaces); below, the one for the 4-story building (51 apartments, 1 live-work, 23 offstreet parking spaces) on 38th.
Both are by Encore Architects for developer Legacy Partners. The Thursday meeting at the Senior Center/Sisson Building (4217 SW Oregon) will be the second and potentially final review for the project (here’s our coverage of the first one back in July 2017).
CALIFORNIA/WILLOW ROWHOUSE APPROVAL: From today’s Land Use Information Bulletin, the decision approving a seven-rowhouse project at the site of this century-old house in south Morgan Junction, at 4300 SW Willow.
(King County Assessor’s Office photo)
When we first wrote about this plan last September, it had five offstreet-parking spaces, but the notice today says that’s changed to one. The approval notice opens a two-week appeal period.
COMMENT PERIOD FOR 48TH SW ROWHOUSES: Also in today’s LUIB, the official two-week comment period has opened for the two-building Admiral rowhouse project that we reported on last week, thanks to a tip and photo from Graham.
The proposal for the site of that 59-year-old house has two addresses – here’s the notice for 2329 48th SW (five units) and here’s the one for 2331 48th SW (two units).
Two more development notes:
13 HOUSES IN DELRIDGE, AND A RESIDENT’S REQUEST: Today’s Land Use Information Bulletin includes two notices that launch comment periods for adjacent undeveloped sites where 13 new “clustered” single-family houses are proposed. Eight of them would be at 5244 23rd SW (here’s that notice); five would be at 5232 23rd SW (here’s that notice). Each would be three stories, with parking for one vehicle. Comments are being sought on environmental impacts as well as on “allow(ing) a cluster housing development in a steep slope.” The deadline is April 25th, and you can follow the link to each notice to see how to comment.
One comment already in – and CC’d to us when sent pre-notice – is from area resident Douglas Ollerenshaw, who wrote to the city:
… I am requesting that the project include a publicly accessible stairway on the currently inaccessible Brandon St right of way on the south edge of this parcel.
A public stairway at this site would serve as a critical connection for residents of Puget Ridge to access the RapidRide H bus line that is currently being planned. It would also provide residents with access to the Delridge Library, nearby parks, and local businesses. There is currently an approximately 1 mile gap separating the closest pedestrian connections between Delridge and 23rd (at Oregon and Juneau Streets). This section of Brandon St. appears on the Feet First Trails of West Seattle map as a ‘future trail’. It is currently covered in deep shrubbery and inaccessible. …
The development site is just south of the address pinned on this map.
TEARDOWN-TO-TOWNHOUSES AT 4518 41ST SW: Three months ago, we reported on a plan to tear down a house at 4518 40th SW and replace it with five townhouses. City files now show an almost-identical plan for an almost-identical address one block west – 4518 41st SW, where this 108-year-old house will be demolished:
This five-townhouse project will go through Streamlined Design Review (public comment but no meeting), according to the city website.
Back on Monday, we reported first word of the Southwest Design Review Board meeting next month for the building planned to replace the fire-destroyed south building at Lam Bow Apartments in Delridge. Formal notice of that was published by the city today. But neighbors and others with questions can get a preview of the project sooner, when Seattle Housing Authority representatives talk about it at next Wednesday’s Delridge Neighborhoods District Council meeting (7 pm April 18th, Highland Park Improvement Club). Ryan Moore from SHA sent the “current concept” shown above, and these toplines:
Since the fire and subsequent demolition of one of the two buildings that comprised the Lam Bow Apartments (6935 Delridge Way SW) the Seattle Housing Authority has been working on replacement of the lost units and exploring options for redeveloping the site under the existing zoning. Our plan is to rehabilitate the existing building and rebuild on the portion we demolished. An Early Design Guidance meeting has been scheduled with the SW Design Review Board for May 3.
Redevelopment Goals:
· Rehab of existing (north) building: 30 units (mix of 1, 2 & 3 bedroom) & 30 parking spaces
· Replace units lost on South site:
– 50 units (roughly), mix of 1,2, & 3 bedroom
– 50 spaces in underground garage· Units in both will be affordable (income-restricted) up to 60% of area median income ($57,000/year for a family of 4)
Design Priorities:
· Central courtyard space for residents
· Preservation of existing Exceptional tree
· Height limited to 3 stories under existing LR3 zoning, not MHA upzone
· 1 parking space per unit
· Street improvements (sidewalks, curbs, and gutters) on 23rd Ave (east side)
Construction is anticipated to start in the spring of 2019 and be complete by 2020.
If you have questions but won’t be able to attend either of the meetings, you can reach Moore at SHA by e-mail at Ryan.Moore@seattlehousing.org or by phone at 206-615-3561.
P.S. If you missed our Monday report, it includes the draft “packet” for the May 3rd review.
From commercial-real-estate listings/records and the WSB inbox:
WEST RIDGE PARK SOLD: New ownership for this sprawling rental complex that made news a decade ago for a canceled condo conversion. We received a news release today saying that Canadian-based real-estate trust RISE Properties Trust and Boston-based real-estate investment firm Intercontinental Real Estate Corporation have bought the 239-unit complex at 7901 Delridge Way SW. County records show the complex was sold by Grosvenor USA for $72.2 million. The announcement says West Ridge Park “features an average unit size of 987 sq. ft. and includes a mix of one- and two-bedroom units, as well as two-bedroom townhome-style units with accompanying garages in select units” and promises that, “Upon the execution of our business plan, residents will benefit from an upgraded living experience with premier access to nearby retail, leisure and recreational amenities.”
SALE PENDING FOR JUNCTION BUILDING: From a broker’s website, we learned that one of The Junction’s newer apartment buildings, 4400 SW Alaska, has a sale pending. (It also has its own website and a promotional video – see it here.)
ALKI PARCELS FOR SALE: We found that information while researching what is currently West Seattle’s highest-priced real-estate listing, $10.8 million for a package of Alki parcels that of course have their own website, alkidevelopment.com, where you can watch a marketing video consisting largely of lush aerials as well as enthusiastic descriptions of the rest of the peninsula, including the “ultra-hip Junction” (the same adjective is used on the listing website in reference to Admiral). The parcels, 1356-1370 Alki SW, currently hold a mix of small buildings.
NORTH MORGAN BUILDING FOR SALE: Another new listing in West Seattle is 6041 California SW, a mixed-use building with 24 apartments (described as “averaging 900 square feet”) and 34 offstreet-parking spaces, asking $8.6 million. (This too has a promotional video, describing West Seattle as “dynamic.”)
C & P SALE CLOSES: And one final note – the C & P Coffee Company (WSB sponsor) sale has officially closed, three weeks after it was announced. County records show the sale price was $1,265,000, slightly over the original $1,250,000 asking price. We asked proprietors Cameron and Pete Moores if they had any further comment now that the deal is final; the reply, “The most important story we want to keep telling is our gratitude to the community for coming together and helping save this special place.”
West Seattle development notes, all from along California SW:
SO LONG, EX-SPANKY’S: Last August, we reported that a demolition permit was being sought for the site we photographed today, 3276 California SW, a small, long-vacant commercial building to be replaced by live-work/townhouse units. Commenters noted that it was the former adult shop Spanky’s. (Our archives include a 2007 open letter from that shop’s former owner.) Today we noticed the teardown has happened since last we looked a couple days ago.
WORK ALSO HAS BEGUN … at 7002 California SW, where six rowhouse units are going up on the corner lot that previously held a century-plus-old house.
JUST UP THE BLOCK … the “design packet” for 7111 California SW is now available. As noted here last fall, instead of what was proposed when we wrote about it months earlier, it’s now going into Streamlined Design Review (no meetings required, but comments are accepted) with a three-story, five-unit, four-offstreet-parking-space plan. The design packet is linked from this Design Review page.
NORTH OF MORGAN JUNCTION … an early-stage eight-townhouse proposal is now in the system for an old apartment building at 5917 California SW that city files show has been the subject of numerous complaints.
If you or someone you know is mobility-challenged and would benefit from a ramp at home, but can’t afford it, the Master Builders Association of King and Snohomish Counties wants you to know that its 25th annual Rampathon will be the biggest ever, so right now it’s looking for people to help with “free wheelchair access ramps for families struggling with mobility within their home and from nonprofit organizations whose clients or residents struggle with mobility.” Go here to find out more and apply – deadline is March 2.
By the end of next week, this year’s property-tax bills will be on the way. And that includes the new education-funding tax increase – $1 for every $1,000 your property’s worth – so the King County Assessor’s Office has sent an alert, in hopes you won’t be too shocked. Here’s the news release:
King County Treasury will begin sending out the annual property tax bills in mid February. King County collects property taxes on behalf of the state, the county, cities, and taxing districts (such as school and fire districts), and distributes the revenue to these local governments.
Voters have approved several property-tax increases that will make much-needed investments in veterans and senior citizen services and fire protection. In some parts of King County, as much as 50 percent of the property tax bill is the result of voter-approved measures.
New levies approved in 2017 for collection this year include:
· Fire protection levies in Maple Valley, Vashon, and Skyway.
· School bonds for Shoreline and Federal Way.
· Renewal of the Veterans, Seniors and Human Services levy in King County.In addition to approved local measures, the Washington State legislature passed an additional property tax to increase funding of education. Previously, the State Supreme Court ruled that the state must make new investments into public education; as a result the legislature added $1.01 per thousand dollars of assessed value, in King County, to their portion of property tax collection in order to fund the mandate (this is known as the McCleary Plan).
“Communities in our region are thankful to voters for approving new funding for essential services, but we know that property taxes can be especially tough for those on fixed incomes,” said King County Assessor John Wilson. “That’s why we’ve been aggressively reaching out to seniors, veterans and disabled homeowners with the property tax exemption program. Additionally, I’ve been working with Executive Constantine to create more tools for transparency around property taxes,” Wilson continued.
Low-income seniors, veterans and disabled homeowners may qualify for a property-tax exemption offered by King County. Information on how to apply for an exemption, along with other property-assessment-related information, can be found at kingcounty.gov/assessor. Property taxes vary depending upon location, the assessed value of the property, and the number of jurisdictions levying taxes (such as state, city, county, school district, port, fire district, etc).
With property taxes going up 16.92 percent on average, that means countywide property tax billings will be $5.6 billion in 2018, up from $ 4.8 billion last year. Aggregate property values in King County increased by 13.41 percent, going from $471.5 billion in 2017 to $534.7 billion in 2018.
“Without doubt voters are going to see a property tax increase due to the funding model the legislature has passed to fund education. So at a local level we are building more tools and supporting more legislation to increase transparency and fairness around the property tax. It is a work in progress and we will continue working on behalf of King County taxpayers,” said Wilson.
To avoid interest and penalties, the first-half property taxes must be paid or postmarked by April 30, 2018. The second-half property taxes must be paid or postmarked by Oct. 31, 2018.
If you haven’t received a notice by February 16th, that’s the date you can see your bill online via the King County Parcel Viewer. You also can sign up here to get your notice electronically instead of by postal mail.
The latest early-stage proposal from city permit files is for three lots that now hold houses in the 2800 block of SW Yancy – 2811, 2821, and 2827. They would potentially be combined and redeveloped with three 3-story buildings with 43 microapartments and an underground parking garage. The draft “site plan” carries the name of Transitional Resources, the nonprofit that is headquartered nearby, on SW Avalon, with a variety of services for people living with mental-health challenges, including residential units offering “supported housing.” We contacted TR’s CEO Darcell Slovek-Walker to ask for more information on what’s being considered. She replied, “We are in the very early stage of exploring how we can sustain the properties we have rented for years on Yancy Street.” The proposal carries the address of 2821 SW Yancy, though the parcels that would be involved run from 2811 through 2829, according to city files.
In our development-notes roundup last weekend, we mentioned the Streamlined Design Review comment period was about to start for the microapartment project planned at 4807 41st SW – three stories, 22 units, no offstreet parking. Tonight, the official notice is out, setting the comment deadline as February 14th, and the “design packet” is now posted on the city website for public review. It’s embedded above, and also visible in PDF here. If you have comments on the plan, the notice explains how to send them to the city (and notes that this is the only opportunity for public comment; the Streamlined Design Review process does not include public meetings).
If you still don’t quite get what the proposed HALA Mandatory Housing Affordability upzoning plan is all about and what it would do – take some time to watch the video above, in which the City Council met for the first time as the Select Committee that will decide the plan’s fate. Monday morning’s meeting was largely devoted to a briefing presented by city staff, introduced by committee chair Councilmember Rob Johnson as “where we are and how we got here.” But it also included the toplines of what it’s hoped the upzoning would do – lead to the construction of hundreds more units of lower-priced housing in the city each year, by requiring developers to either include some in their projects or pay a certain fee to the city to fund them elsewhere.
As noted during the briefing, the council’s vote is at least six months away. And several councilmembers made it clear they are looking for lots more information: Councilmember Teresa Mosqueda asked for an overlay of publicly owned land that might be eligible for affordable housing. Councilmember Lorena González wanted to know more about affordable-housing projects already in the pipeline. Our area’s Councilmember Lisa Herbold voiced frustration that she doesn’t believe potential displacement has been adequately analyzed – there is lots of info about how many people are moving to Seattle, but not so much about how many are moving out, she noted.
During the staffers’ recap of the “engagement” efforts over the past year-plus, Herbold also brought up concerns she had heard about “missteps along the way.” She mentioned “several” events at which people walked away with concerns from changes to neighborhood plans, a lack of clarity about the MHA plan including zoning changes, and/or confusion over what upzoning would allow. And she pointed out that “Some of the promotional materials … did not give the impression” that big changes were being contemplated. She also said she’s being asked about councilmembers potentially developing “companion resolutions” that might address the plan district by district and said if that was happening, it needed to be discussed sooner rather than later. And she pointed out that while urban village rezoning in HALA MHA is presented as enabling more people to live closer to “good transit,” two urban villages without robust transit are in her district – Admiral and South Park.
After Monday’s briefing (which was followed by public comment you also can watch in the video), here’s what’s next:
OPEN HOUSES: The first district open house looking at the HALA MHA maps is tonight (Tuesday, January 30th) in District 4. The District 1 (West Seattle/South Park) open house isn’t until May 9th.
NEXT COUNCIL ‘SELECT COMMITTEE’ MEETING: February 12th.
APPEALS OF THE FINAL ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT: As reported previously, the process for the appeals of the HALA MHA Final Environmental Impact Statement, filed by neighborhood advocates from around the city, is proceeding in parallel. Next step is a pre-hearing conference on February 14th.
WILL YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD BE AFFECTED? IF SO, HOW? Here’s the web map you can use to find out.
Still trying to grasp what the Housing Affordability and Livability Act (HALA)-related upzoning proposal is about? The slide deck above (also viewable here) might help – it is from the agenda for Monday morning’s meeting of the City Council “select committee” that is starting its official work on the citywide upzoning proposal for HALA’s Mandatory Housing Affordability. The proposal includes upzoning in “urban villages” (West Seattle has four – Junction, Admiral, Morgan, and Westwood-Highland Park) as well as all commercial/multifamily property. The document’s title dubs it the “megabriefing.” All councilmembers are on the “select committee,” which meets at 10:30 am Monday at City Hall, with a public-comment period scheduled as part of the meeting. They’re expected to work on the plan at least into late summer before a vote.
P.S. If you’re a big fan of the small print, the full ordinance, as first proposed, is among the links you’ll find here.
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
At the southwest corner of 63rd SW and Alki Avenue SW, that small plaque notes what’s believed to be the site of the legendary Denny Party cabin – the one that wasn’t finished by the time the settlers arrived, at which time some of them were reported to have sat down and had a “big cry”:
The site was later home to the Stockade Hotel (below) and currently holds the 11-apartment Pioneer Homes-Alki complex, built in the 1940s by Robert S. Wise, and still held by his family.
What you might not know is that the family also owns a parcel right behind it that holds two wood-sided duplexes and a house, also dating back to the 1940s.
And they’re looking to redevelop that parcel – 3015 63rd SW – into a new 11-apartment building, replacing those three structures.
12:40 PM: Seven weeks after moving an old log house across West Seattle, the “house-rescuing” firm Nickel Bros is about to save another local house. The 55-year-old house in our photo, at 1262 Alki SW, will be trucked off the site around midnight tonight and taken to a barge that will be waiting at Don Armeni Boat Ramp. That means road and parking restrictions for a few early-morning hours – you might already have seen the signs. From here, Nickel Bros tells us, this house will be going to a new owner in British Columbia. It would otherwise have been demolished to make way for the new SolTerra development that’s planned for the site; Nickel Bros says the developer asked them to try to find new owners for other houses at the project site too (including the one in the background of our photo above) – you can see the other listings here.
8:09 PM: In comments, readers have pointed out that this is the former home of Fred and Marjorie Dau, best remembered for Admiralty House Antiques (which closed in 2013 in the North Admiral building that now holds the restaurant Mioposto). We will be on Alki Avenue later tonight to cover the move.
Two townhouse projects in development news this morning, both on corner lots along SW Brandon:
TOWNHOUSES FOR THAITAN CORNER? An early-stage site plan has appeared in city files for 5258 California SW, current home of The Thaitan. 9 rowhouse (townhouse) units are proposed, two facing California, seven facing Brandon, with nine underground parking spaces. What’s particularly interesting is that while the adjacent, recently vacated Papa John’s site has had the same ownership, there’s no proposal in the files for that site – yet – though the site north has an 18-townhouse plan. Meantime, since the corner site is an early-stage proposal, not yet to the formal application stage, there’s no official comment period open yet either, but if you have anything you want to tell the city, you can contact PRC@seattle.gov and refer to #3030600. As for the restaurant’s future, we’ll be checking on that. (Photo: County Assessor’s Office)
(1:19 PM UPDATE: As Scott points out in comments, since we published this, a similar plan has turned up in online files for the ex-Papa John’s site – 9 townhouses, in this case, 3 fronting California, and three rows of two each behind it.)
And about four blocks directly east …
TOWNHOUSES AT FAUNTLEROY/BRANDON: A project much further along in the pipeline has received a key approval, per this notice in the city-circulated Land Use Information Bulletin. Six rowhouse-style townhouses have been approved for the northwest corner of Fauntleroy/Brandon, at 3914 SW Brandon, with six offstreet-parking spaces; today’s notice is the determination of environmental non-significance, and opens a two-week period for anyone interested in filing an appeal.
(‘Conceptual’ rendering by Lemons Architecture, from April 2017 Design Review presentation)
Just one West Seattle project on the city-circulated Land Use Information Bulletin published today – but it’s a four-parter. The project [map] has four addresses:
–3257 Harbor SW (7 units, 7 parking spaces)
–3303 Harbor SW (9 units, 9 parking spaces)
–3315 Harbor SW (8 units, 8 parking spaces)
–3252 30th SW (8 units, 8 parking spaces)
The project passed the first phase of Design Review back in April (WSB coverage here), which meant the developer was cleared to go ahead and apply for land-use permits. They have now just done so, which is the reason for the notices published today, opening a new public-comment period until January 8th (each address above is linked to the notice that in turn includes a “how to comment” link).
NEXT STEP: The second round of Design Review – no meeting date yet.
BACKSTORY: In 2014, a different proposal for the site – 80+ apartments – passed the first round of Design Review, but went idle, and in November 2016, we found this then-newly filed townhouse plan.
(King County Assessor’s Office photo)
While some sites on the north/west side of Avalon Way that once were proposed for apartments have turned into townhouse projects instead, the south/east side seems to be a different story. In an early-stage proposal that just turned up in city files, the Golden Tee Apartments complex on the southeast corner of Avalon and Genesee is proposed for demolition and replacement by a building with ~160 units and ~100 offstreet-parking spaces. Golden Tee spans two buildings at 3201 and 3211 SW Avalon Way, with 28 units, according to King County Assessor’s Office records, which say they were built 50 years ago. The preliminary site plan on record is by the prolific multifamily-project specialists at NK Architects. NK also designed 3039 SW Avalon Way, a 71-unit project about a block away, still making its way through the permit system after passing Design Review earlier this year.
(King County Assessor’s photo of 9238 35th SW)
While townhouse-building along arterials is not unusual, the plan for 9238 35th SW [map] is: Instead of demolishing the 84-year-old single-family house on this multi-family-zoned (Lowrise 2) site, the early-stage proposal that’s just appeared in city files would move the house forward on its current lot, and build four townhouses behind it. The detached garage on the alley at the back of the site would be removed, replaced by surface parking spaces. A house two doors north of this one had two townhouses built behind it in the ’00s but as far as we can tell, the house remained in its original spot. We have a request out to the project team for comment.
West Seattle is getting one percent of the $100 million in affordable-housing investments announced today by Mayor Jenny Durkan.
The lone local recipient on the list is Delridge Neighborhoods Development Association. As explained in the full announcement, part of the $100 million goes to new construction and part goes to preservation, and the latter is where DNDA comes in. Though the specific amounts weren’t mentioned in the announcement, we followed up for the specifics, and Office of Housing spokesperson Robin Koskey tells us DNDA was awarded $1,000,394. That will be invested in 70 apartments that are part of DNDA’s portfolio:
So what will the money buy? We asked DNDA executive director David Bestock. He tells WSB, “Rehab at these 4 properties” — Centerwood, Delridge Heights, Holden Manor, and Cooper School – “will include site improvements, exterior systems, interior maintenance, and specific to Cooper, abatement of foundation settling. We are thrilled to have the support of (the Office of Housing) to improve and preserve our affordable housing properties for residents of Delridge. This is a huge win for our residents, for our organization, and for our neighborhood.”
The funding announced today, for DNDA and the other organizations, comes from several sources, including the Housing Levy approved by voters last year, incentive-zoning payments, the sale of surplus properties, and $29 million in bonds approved by the City Council (in a plan sponsored by West Seattle/South Park Councilmember Lisa Herbold).
Two West Seattle development notes:
SOUTH DELRIDGE LOT PROPOSAL: That vacant lot at 9419 17th SW, long-ago home to a fire-damaged house that was demolished several years back, has an early-stage development proposal: “2 new mixed use buildings, consisting of 8 individual commercial/residential units.” The site is zoned for mixed-use development up to 40 feet; that would increase to 55 feet under the HALA MHA “preferred alternative.”
FIRST DESIGN REVIEW MEETING OF THE NEW YEAR: The Southwest Design Review Board‘s calendar has been empty for a while but the first meeting of 2018 has just been penciled in: 6:30 pm January 18th, the board will take its second and possibly final look at 4417 42nd SW, a 4-story, 62-unit (58 apartments plus 4 live-works), 26-underground-parking-space project. It got Early Design Guidance approval in May. (This too is zoned for 40 feet but proposed for 55′ under HALA MHA.)
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
“I just want to thank you.”
Midway through our coffeehouse conversation with four local neighborhood-group reps about why they’re part of a citywide challenge to the city’s Housing Affordability and Livability Agenda upzoning plan, a woman walked up to the table and addressed that to them.
She admitted she had been eavesdropping and “figured out what you were talking about.” She says she lives in the Junction area – which is where we were talking – and doesn’t want the upzoning to happen.
But, she added, “I don’t know what I can do to help.” The four offered suggestions immediately. Earl Lee of the Westwood-Roxhill-Arbor Heights Community Coalition said, “We need every soldier we can get.”
Amanda Sawyer, who has led the Junction Neighborhood Organization for half a year, mentioned JuNO’s Land Use Committee will be talking about HALA and the appeal at a meeting tomorrow (6:30 pm Thursday, December 7th, Senior Center of West Seattle).
Equipped with ideas, the woman moved on. The four were heartened by that unsolicited feedback. What their groups had joined is not universally popular – some supporters of the proposed upzoning accuse opponents of being elitist, wealthy, interested only in keeping their theoretical white-picket-fence gates slammed shut to newcomers.
Not at all, these four insist. But before we go further, introductions and backstory.
The Delridge development boom is apparently about to claim what might be our area’s most-infamous vacant house, the one at the far northeastern edge of Delridge Way itself, next to the bridge onramp, though its official address is 3804 23rd SW. After a tipster sent a photo of heavy equipment at the site, we went over for a look, and took the photo you see above. No one in view to ask, but county assessor records show it was sold again last spring (we had previously reported a tax-auction sale in 2015), and city records show that a site plan was filed in late summer for eight townhouse/rowhouses on the sloping site, 7,700 square feet, zoned Lowrise 1. The house has been the site of numerous complaints over the years, both formal and informal; it was spotlighted almost eight years ago in a “problem properties” tour organized by community leaders and attended by city councilmembers and department heads, described as a magnet for squatters. It’s also been mentioned over the years as councilmembers attempted to tweak the rules governing when owners can tear down derelict housing without having a redevelopment plan.
(Proposed project site – WSB photo from last month)
FIRST REPORT, 3:35 PM: This afternoon at City Hall, the City Council voted unanimously to approve the rezoning of land owned by the West Seattle Church of the Nazarene to Lowrise 1 from its current Single Family 5000, requested by the church so it can build and sell six townhouses to raise money for renovating its old building (5911 42nd SW). However, the council did not grant the church’s request to waive a requirement that it either devote part of the project to “affordable housing” or pay a fee, estimated at $200,000, to the city to fund affordable housing elsewhere.
This is the same Mandatory Housing Affordability requirement that is to be implemented with upzoning around the city, proposed as part of the Housing Affordability and Livability Agenda, but even though that is not in effect citywide yet, and this project has been in the pipeline for four years, a council decision last year called for applying MHA. Only the council had the power to waive it, and they declined; local Councilmember Lisa Herbold said that while the argument was that the church had agreed to set aside open space as part of the site, that wasn’t a reason to waive it. (In a side note, she had to read a disclosure statement before voting today, because she had responded to a social-media criticism after last week’s committee vote, from which she abstained, saying she wanted to read the Morgan Community Association‘s letter supporting a waiver before she voted.) We have a request for comment out to the church, to ask if they will proceed with the project despite the decision to not waive MHA.
ADDED 7:17 PM: We’ve heard back from the church’s pastor emeritus Terry Mattson, who’s been a spokesperson for the church during the years the project’s been in the works. He says it’s on:
West Seattle Church of the Nazarene was extremely pleased to see the Seattle City Council unanimously approve our project today. This decision ensures we’ll be able to make the necessary repairs to our church to continue to serve our members and neighbors. Although it would have been an ideal scenario to have the MHA fees waived, we want to assure the community we will be proceeding as planned and that you’ll still have access to the open space and the trees will be preserved.
We look forward to the development in the months ahead and will keep all of you up to date on progress. If you have any questions or concerns please don’t hesitate to visit us any Sunday morning or Wednesday evening. We’d be happy to chat. We especially want to thank the Morgan Junction Community Association, Deb & Cindi Barker, our partners Paar Development and Neiman Tabor Architects and our council representative for West Seattle Lisa Herbold for her support in helping carry this through the PLUS committee.
We can’t wait for you to experience the upgrades to our park and facilities with us.
(WSB file photo)
The West Seattle Church of the Nazarene‘s requested rezone for a six-townhouse project on its unofficial “park” space has moved up a week on the City Council‘s calendar. When the Planning, Land Use, and Zoning Committee voted on it this past Monday, they said it would go to the full Council for a final vote on December 11th, but instead, it’s on the December 4th agenda that just arrived. This is the project with a complication – though it’s been in the works for four years, long before the HALA Mandatory Housing Affordability (MHA) program was launched, the city says the project should be subject to MHA, which means either a $200,000-ish fee or setting aside two of the townhouses as “affordable.” The church was hoping for a waiver but the councilmembers who voted last Monday did not grant one. The land in question at 5911 42nd SW currently is zoned for three single-family houses; the church had been offering to preserve part of the open space as part of an agreement accompanying the upzone request. Next Monday’s meeting is at 2 pm at City Hall downtown.
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