Proposed Lighthouse expansion sparks town debate

There was a time the Lighthouse Inn was truly a local hot spot.

And that doesn’t take into account when a town character from bygone days tried setting the landmark waterfront restaurant ablaze.

It was, as La Conner resident Bob Raymond reminded a packed crowd at Maple Hall Tuesday night, “one of the more popular eateries in the Skagit Valley.”

But now the former elite diner is subject of a heated debate over a plan to significantly expand its original footprint.

The Town Planning Com-mission, which Raymond and numerous others addressed, held what amounted to an initial public forum to review a proposal by building owner Michael Girdner to add a second story to the old Lighthouse – renamed the Galleria – and further develop its parking lots.

More such input is scheduled going forward. That’s because a previously slated Aug. 4 hearing on the matter has been postponed.

“We’ve had a lot of comments come in regarding this project,” said Town Administrator John Doyle, whose recommendation that the Planning Commission not take any formal action Tuesday was upheld.

“This,” he said, “gives us an opportunity to review and clarify what is a very complicated application.

Doyle said the delayed review by a hearing examiner, initially set for tomorrow, Aug. 4, would likely be re-set for the end of the month.

The Planning Commission will continue Tuesday’s discussion to its next session.

If last night’s confab is any indication, that should be a dandy.

Numerous residents submitted detailed exhibits and commentary – much akin to a trial court – several of whom alleged the project – the subject of a front page story in last week’s “La Conner Weekly News” – is out of scale with the Town’s Historic Preservation District and would greatly reduce views of the waterfront.

Its potential impact on downtown parking was also lamented.

“The scope and scale is much too large,” said Lysa Sherman. “It might look right if this was Martha’s Vinyard.

“There’s no parking on First Street as it is,” she added. “I have to circle around a couple times to find a parking place just to pick up my mail.”

Second Street resident Dorothy Downs presented a Lego model of the proposed Lighthouse addition.

“This,” she said, “is the best I could do. I hope it makes the point.”

Raymond reinforced that point by repeating a recent conversation: “A friend told me it would be beautiful in a place like Bellevue,” he quipped. “Usually, around here, that’s a matter of concern.”

The project also had its share of supporters, including Town Councilman and former Planning Commissioner and code enforcement officer Bill Stokes, no stranger to the Town’s complex web of codes and ordinances. He said he favors the project if it is built within the town’s codes and height limitations.

Mark Reeves also spoke in favor of the development. “It would be good for the Town,” he said. “There’s ample parking in the Town parking lot and this is a case where private property would be developed in a way commensurate with Town requirements. I’m not opposed to activity in Town.”