La Conner Weekly News - Your independent hometown award-winning newspaper

Hearing examiner Bill Nielsen delivered his findings to La Conner Town Hall at about 4 p.m. yesterday – he recommended approval of the state shoreline permits and approved the historic design review for Michael Girdner’s “Galleria” project.

At the same time, he denied a variance that would have allowed the “lighthouse” feature to stick up a couple of feet higher than the 30 feet from the sidewalk permitted by town code.

Girdner purchased the old Lighthouse Inn property on First Street last year after it had been sitting mostly vacant since the bank took it back in 2010. He w...