The Talmon: Center Street condo project plans bear familiar sounding name

onner resident Linda Talman has crafted an enduring legacy through long service on the Town's planning commission, tireless advocacy of open government and access to public records and support for retention of local green spaces and creation of non-motorized transportation options.

Now that legacy might also be linked to something not of her choosing.

In an ironic twist, the infrastructure improvement plan submitted for the 19-unit condo building proposed for 306 Center Street that Talman has steadfastly opposed, bears a name like her own.

Paperwork detailing the plan, submitted recently to Town staff by applicants Kate and Brandon Atkinson, identifies the proposal as "The Talmon Project."

Turns out, the name is more a biblical reference than a commentary on local politics.

"I didn't really have anything to do with the name," Atkinson told the Weekly News on Tuesday. "I believe it's related to a temple in the Old Testament. Anyway, we kind of liked the name and we'll stick with it."

Fittingly, the Bible Truth Library website list references it as "a temple doorkeeper."

Public Works Director Brian Lease, who has regularly conferred with the applicants and their architectural firm, confirmed that the connection between "Talmon" and "Talman" is purely coincidental.

"I never got the impression from Brandon or the design team that this was intentional," said Lease. "There was never any joking about the name. It was all very serious."

Talman, meanwhile, is taking the matter in good humor.

"(It's) kind of funny," she said Monday in a social media post. "As is the project."

Talman in the post capitalized the second "a" in her name for emphasis. She remains opposed to the project despite the phonetic similarity. Her letter is on page 2 today.

"It's still too big," she insisted. "Still lacks enough parking. Still has bad contamination on the western portion. And is still a design that is cookie cutter."

She also contends the design of the three-story building is not compatible with the adjoining historic residential neighborhood.

"But," she quipped, "at least it doesn't have the overrun appendages on the roof."

Lease and Assistant Planner Ajah Eills have stressed that plans received from the Atkinsons, the principals of KSA Investments, are solely for utility upgrades on the construction site.

"This is strictly for infrastructure improvements," Lease said. "No building permit applications have been submitted. This is only for utilities to the property – water mains, fire flow, sewer and drainage."

Eills said planning staff's most recent interaction with KSA was in March regarding soil testing where fuel storage tanks had previously been located. She said samples bearing contamination are to be removed to a landfill.

The site was formerly part of a full-service fuel station business that included the building that now houses The Slider Café. The back half of the property, where "The Talmon Project" is planned, was rezoned from residential to commercial in 1986. Yet it was never developed commercially.

The Atkinsons secured a conditional use permit following an often-contentious application process to site the multi-unit residential building on the property. That permit was granted by Town Hearing Examiner David Lowell despite an earlier planning commission rejection of the project, based on concerns voiced by Talman and other residents that it would have a negative impact on their neighborhood.

An appeal lodged by Talman and resident Debbie Aldrich was unsuccessful.

The Atkinsons have said that due to La Conner's long-standing housing crunch the property would be better utilized for residential than commercial uses. They also expressed confidence at the outset that their building would enhance a mostly vacant property which at the time of their purchase included a double-wide modular home and aging garage.

"It's taken a while to get to this point," Dr. Atkinson said, "but we think it'll look great."