01940a petition opposing construction of this apartment house, and that the
petition was filed August 5. He asked that the Board follow the recom-
mendation of the Planning Technician and that it consider the petition
on file. Harold Fosso, attorney, spoke on behalf of the owner at 530 Bell
St., saying care should be taken in reviewing property in the downtown
area. He cited parking as a concern, noting that Bell St. is overtaxed
for parking and that by adding another multiple unit it would.aggravate
a serious parking problem. He said granting this would not be in harmony
with the recent Council action to reduce density. He felt the rezone
peitition should be heard before any favorable action is given to this
application.
Gladys Tuson of 508 Bell, adjacent to the subject property, cited the bad
parking situation in their area. The public hearing was then closed.
City Attorney John Wallace advised that the fact that there is a potential
rezone pending is not a valid reason to justify postponement of this action.
He said the petition had not yet gone through any hearing stage, and
that if the applicant had progressed far enough with the filing of his
permit his rights to the zoning were vested. A MOTION WAS THEN MADE BY
MR. LERAAS, SECONDED BY MP.. VISSER TO DENY V-41-77 DUE TO THE DENSITY AND.
DUE TO THE ORDINANCE PASSED BY THE CITY COUNCIL TO LOWER THE DENSITY WITHIN
THE DOWNTOWN AREA, AND BECAUSE HE DID NOT BELIEVE IT WOULD BE IN HARMONY
WITH THE SURROUNDING AREA AND IT WOULD BE DETRIMENTAL TO THE HEALTH, WEL-
FARE, AND MORALS OF THE COMMUNITY. City Attorney John Wallace noted that
the elimination of the bonus density is not limited to the downtown area
only, but is city-wide. A ROLL CALL VOTE WAS TAKEN, WITH MR. LERAAS,
VISSER, ROBINSON, AND McQUADE VOTING YES, AND MR. ROY, BAILEY, AND MRS.
STEINKE AND STOLE VOTING NO, RESULTING IN A TIE, SO THE MOTION FAILED.
A MOTION WAS THEN MADE BY MR. ROY, SECONDED BY MR. ROBINSON, TO REOPEN
THE PUBLIC HEARING. MOTION CARRIED, WITH MR. McQUADE VOTING NO.. .
Jack Street of 542 Bell said there had been a lot of discussion regarding
cars parked on Bell St. and parking throughout the City of Edmonds. He
pointed out that many of these cars are from the Trident project and that
parking will be alleviated when that project is finished. Mr. Street
also said that he was interested in progress for the downtown area, and
that he had worked hard to maintain the four pieces of property he owns
on Bell St. He said he had no objection to an apartment building going
up next to the existing apartment house, pointing out that the houses
presently there are very old and in poor condition. He felt the proposed
project would be an asset to the community. Attorney Harold Fosso again
addressed the parking situation on Bell St., noting that the Civic Center
complex generates traffic, itself, even at night when meetings are held
i.n it. He felt the subject property should be looked at as a low density
area compatible with the governmental unit. He said the point was not
only .14 of a unit, but that the extra unit would probably have two cars
and several guests coming and going. Mr. Westlin then pointed
out that he could apply to put a 7/11 Store there, and the neighbors
wouldn't care for that. tie said that .14 of a unit is only 280 sq. ft.,
little more than the size of a parking stall, a very small area. Mr.
McQuade then asked Mr. Westlin to display an elevation of the building.
City Attorney John Wallace cautioned that if the Board looked at the plans
and the plans convinced the Board that the variance should be granted,
there must be a requirement that the variance is granted for those plans
only. Mr. Westlin had no objection. He described the building, saying it
will have three stories plus a garage. The height limit is 35' and they
will have to dig down to do the garage. There are two units per floor
BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT MINUTES
Page 3 - September 21, 1977