Residents criticize approval of Center Street condos

Town officials have cited public engagement as a top priority going forward.

Attendees at the Feb. 22 La Conner Planning Commission hybrid meeting at Maple Hall took them at their word.

Much of the 45-minute session was devoted to public comments, with residents voicing concerns with Hearing Examiner David Lowell’s Feb. 8 decision to deny the appeal of a conditional use permit granted for a condominium complex at 306 Center Street behind The Slider Café.

Georgia Johnson, a Center Street property owner, joined others in raising environmental issues with a building site that was the back half of a full-service fuel station business.

Attendees also questioned the impact the project would have on parking in the area, primarily a single-family residential neighborhood.

Johnson thanked the commission for having recommended denial of the CUP last spring.

“I still think you were right,” she said.

“The Town,” Johnson added, “should watch very carefully how this project comes into being.”

Debbie Aldrich, a Center Street resident who with neighbor Linda Talman filed the appeal, left open the possibility that Lowell’s ruling might be challenged in court.

“We’re still thinking about what we’re going to do,” Aldrich said. “There are a lot of issues and questions not addressed by the hearing examiner.

“We appreciate all of you,” she told commissioners, “for seeing that and saying it’s not a good fit and still isn’t.”

Center Street resident William Smith asked if the commission had plans to address environmental questions related to lots where fuel had previously been stored and transported and if the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency had been consulted.

Commission Chair Carol Hedlin said that as an advisory body the panel is limited in what it can do. Town planner Michael Davolio said that the EPA is not involved in a local decision-making process.

“But you’re welcome to contact them,” he told Smith.

Davolio reminded the commission and residents that he had attached about a dozen conditions to his endorsement of the CUP application submitted by project developers Kate and Brandon Atkinson, among them a requirement that more information be provided in accordance with the State Environmental Policy Act.

“My recommendation for approval included an extensive list of conditions,” he said.

Davolio also said that an on-site soils test was completed. He said that approval was likewise contingent upon an engineer being on site during construction.

“I talked to (Public Works Director) Brian Lease about this extensively,” he said.

The planner said the Atkinsons’ plan meets Town parking requirements.

The Atkinsons have said that the project will help alleviate La Conner’s housing crunch and that the town is best served by developing the property for residential rather than commercial use. Nearby residents have contended that the project does not meet Town code because it can potentially have an adverse effect on the neighborhood.

Johnson conceded that the Atkinson proposal will likely proceed.

“We know a building will be built there,” she said. “We want it to be the best it can be for the neighborhood.”

The commission did give its blessing to another proposed structure –a carport sought by the Skagit County Historical Society to shelter a new vehicle at its museum. Davolio determined the carport would not be detrimental to the hilltop Fourth Street neighborhood, nor would it be significantly visible from a nearby house. Still, he said he wanted commissioners to review the application before making a formal decision.

Davolio reported as well that the town council had adopted a new construction impact fee resolution and ordinance earmarking funds for local fire protection and public parks.

Town Assistant Planner Ajah Eills reflected upon a Feb. 7 roundtable discussion on communication and public engagement. She said she had issued invitations to representatives of various entities and that the meeting’s attendees included Councilmember MaryLee Chamberlain, Port of Skagit officials, Jodi Dean of Home Trust of Skagit and numerous La Conner area residents.

Those in attendance identified housing, environmental protection, land use, parks, recreation and open space as key areas of interest, said Eills. She shared her hope to engage the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community in future talks and that she recently met Rachel Henden, the tribe’s new assistant planner.

“I would like to do some more outreach to that community,” Eills said.

Commissioner Marna Hanneman echoed that sentiment.

“The question,” she said, “is how do we get across the channel? We’ve got to get the word out to more people. I don’t know the answer to that.”

Hanneman praised the selection of the La Conner Retirement Inn as location of a public forum on communication in late January, which she said tapped into the community’s senior population as a source for constructive dialogue.

“That,” she said, “was amazing.”

Yet more discussion of pressing town topics was anticipated last night when commissioners and council members were scheduled to meet jointly with the town council Feb. 28.