Council sells Hedlin property, oks new lot density, setbacks

Work before pleasure has long been the accepted order of things.

But in La Conner, at least when it comes to the future of historic Hedlin’s Ballfield, the reverse is true.

A full season of youth league baseball will be played there this spring before construction begins to convert the Maple Avenue property to a housing subdivision and park area.

That was the game plan unveiled during Town Council’s Zoom meeting last week.

Near the end of the 90-minute session March 9, Council members unanimously accepted an $800,000 purchase offer from Mountain Pacific Bank’s Frank Jeretzky, a deal which clears the way for Landed Gentry Homes to build 10 single-family houses on 70 per cent of the nearly two-acre site.

The remaining 30 per cent of the property is earmarked for park space.

Designer Curt Miller last July submitted for review to the Town Parks Commission preliminary concepts for the park area. That plan was drafted before the proposed park space was expanded from 20,000 square feet to 24,000 square feet, an increase La Conner Mayor Ramon Hayes credits to input provided by a citizen’s group.

Builder Brian Gentry, whose family has been involved in residential development in Skagit County since the late 1970s, is committed to not starting work at the ballfield until after the youth league season concludes in mid-June – even though the sale is expected to close before April 15, thus sparing the Town a second $37,500 one-year option payment to the Hedlins.

“As for a buyer and developer,” Hayes said, “I’m very confident it could not be a better fit.”

The mayor introduced Gentry, whom he has known for more than a decade, to Council members prior to their formal acceptance of the purchase offer, which exceeded by $25,000 the Town’s asking price.

“We care a lot about this place,” said Gentry, who intends building houses here within the 1,200 square-foot to 1,700-square foot range.

“I’m so confident,” said Hayes, “that this is the best fit for the community.”

Town officials and listing broker Dick Nord are working on a new La Conner youth sports venue for 2022. They met last week with La Conner Schools administration to discuss potential on-campus solutions. Hayes has also explored the possibility of joining with the Swinomish Tribal Indian Community to develop a joint youth sports complex.

The transaction allows the Town to purchase the property from the Hedlins, who offered it for sale to recoup costs of buying adjoining farmland last year.

In addition, Hayes has said the new residential component for the ballfield property helps the Town address a housing crunch.

Housing was a primary theme throughout the meeting. Much attention was given to the Town Planning Commission’s recommendation – two years in the making – to increase housing density by reducing minimum residential lot sizes from 5,000 square feet to 4,000 square feet while also reducing front, side and rear setback requirements.

The Council approved the changes on a 4-1 vote, with member Bill Stokes dissenting.

“The setback reductions are the wrong way to go,” Stokes said, concerned that neighbors will have adjacent properties shadowed by new larger homes.

Former Planning Commissioner Linda Talman and resident Amy McFeely, both of whom favor increasing housing density, offered similar reservations regarding setback changes.

McFeely said the new rules could encourage construction of larger homes, thus defeating the purpose of smaller lot sizes.

“I feel strongly about setbacks,” she said. “Space equals livability.”

Former Town Planner Marianne Manville-Ailles, now on staff with the City of Mount Vernon, said reducing setbacks accommodates the building of accessory dwelling units (ADUs), which can help the Town meet state growth management mandates and provide multi-generational family living opportunities.

McFeely suggested that setback requirements in the municipal code could be written to specifically align with ADUs.

“You could write the code to meet a vision,” she said, “instead of (writing) one for everything.”

Manville-Ailles said planning for future population growth in La Conner is challenging due to its confined geography, which lends itself to the Town’s universal residential zone covering single-family and multi-family housing.

“We don’t have giant, huge spaces available for people to put 20 or 30 lots on them,” she said. “I think fears about large behemoth buildings overshading single-family residences likely won’t come to fruition.”

In related notes:

• Council voted 4-1 to an easement agreement with the Lervick family, bringing the Town closer to construction of a dike berm north of the La Conner Schools campus as a flood control measure. Councilmember John Leaver voted no, saying he wanted to hear further from scientists who keynoted a two-day 2017 seminar at Maple Hall addressing issues related to climate change, flood control and rising sea levels.

• The Council unanimously agreed to contract with Burlington attorney David Lowell as Town Hearing Examiner. Lowell succeeds retired Hearing Examiner Tom Mosier.