01568®m
would hurt it further. He said when Harbor Properties purchased the property
they knew what the zoning regulations were and they could live with them.
Chairman LaBelle advised him that this was not a rezone and explained that
a PRO retains the•underlying zoning. Dean Nordquist of ill Elm said the
creek already had been damaged by development runoff, and he did not want
the traffic increased. He complained that water pressure in the area is
low and that the sewage has to be pumped up to 2nd Ave. He felt this
proposal was not in the best interest of Edmonds. He also felt the City
had enough condominiums. Clyde Dimmick of 213 Elm said there was no way to
get in or out of this development when there is snow or ice on the road,
and he described the street configuration and steepness which made it
impossible. He said the creek is sensitive and is dropping 1' a year, and
he felt these homes were being built too close to it. Further, he felt the
square footage on one side of the site was being used to increase the
density on the other side. He thought 1st Ave. S. should be developed and
some of the houses built on that side. He felt the size of these lots
would be out of context with others in the neighborhood. Reba Laue of 1127
2nd Ave. S. submitted a.petition signed by 14 of the neighbors who opposed
the proposal. Everett Oman of 1121 2nd Ave. S. felt the property would be
very desirable for single family homes. He said he bought his home there
because he liked it, and he felt this proposal would degrade his property.
Gordon Walker of Olson Walker Associates said he was sympathetic to the
emotions involved in change to this kind of property. He said the overall
density of the neighborhood cannot be changed. He felt the bad thing that
could happen to such a piece of property would be that it could be chopped
up, and,he said designing in the 80's has s a different approach and is
more responsive to this type of_property. Lynn Dimmick of 213 Elm. said
their corner of Edmonds at one time was in the Comprehensive Plan as being
multiple but it was changed to residential and they could not even build a
mother-in-law apartment. She asked if they would pay for the water line.
Allen Morgan of Reid, Middleton & Associates, consulting engineers for the
developers, said they were aware that adequate water pressure must be
provided and they did not object to installing the 8" line. Further, he
said the City's drainage ordinance would require that the flow rate not be
increased and storm water from roofs and driveways would be collected and
properly dispersed. He said the topography was not an adverse condition
relative to erosion, and the Department of Fisheries considers this stream
to be a viable stream with fish life, so they have to take that into considera-
tion with all discharge and during construction. He was aware of the
traffic problems at Elm St. because of the grade. He said the developer
will have to extend the water line and that should bring up the water
pressure in the existing area. He noted that the units will be concentrated
on one side, leaving the other side of the site as it exists. Dean Nordquist
said the other side of the creek is not buildable so there is only area for
8 - 10 lots with access on 2nd. Nancy Nordquist said her concerns were
traffic and the stream. She said both sides of their portion of the stream
had been lined with rocks and they had a bridge but all of that was destroyed
from runoff after the development of Wooday Estates. She recommended an
environmental impact study be made if this were approved. Mr. Bowman
responded that he had seen the development in Woodway, but the intent with
this development was not to touch the west side, and that would be a condition
of approval so the vegetation would remain and act as a buffer of the runoff.
He stressed that they were trying to protect the environment of the creek
by not developing the west side. Louis Ball of 1152 2nd Ave. S. said he
was against the proposal as they already have a shortage of water and
electricity. Bernard Rorder, Vice President of Harbor Properties, stated
that over the past three years he had received a half dozen calls from Mr.
Echelbarger who wants to buy this property, and he advised that if Harbor
Properties could not develop this property they probably would sell it. It
had been implied earlier by one of the neighbors that Mr. Echelbarger had
developed the nearby Woodway property which resulted in destructive runoff.
Lyn Brinks asserted that this was not the best use for this property --just
EDMONDS PLANNING COMMISSION
Page 3 - March 26, 1980