Town staff send Center Street condo project application back to developer for revisions

It is back to the drawing board for at least parts of the controversial 306 Center Street multi-family three-story project.

Town of La Conner Planning Director Michael Davolio said several planned elements of the proposed apartment/condo building have been remanded to the project applicant for revision.

“We’ve noted three or four things that aren’t consistent with the approved project and we have advised the applicant of these inconsistencies,” Davolio told the planning commission during their Nov. 6 hybrid meeting at Maple Hall.

Davolio said those inconsistencies involve an elevator shaft that exceeds height restrictions, parking spaces that are encumbered and plans for five rather than the mandated six ground floor short-term rental units on what is a commercially zoned island within a north end residential neighborhood.

“We’re double-checking on other specifics in the plans,” Assistant Planner Ajah Eills assured commissioners.

Eills told the Weekly News on Thursday that “we’ve yet to hear back from the applicant.”

The project, following often contentious debate, received a conditional use permit for construction from Town Hearing Examiner David Lowell in 2022. The commercial property is behind a Morris Street building that now hosts several businesses, including The Slider Café. The site was once a service station.

The applicant, KSA Investments, whose principals are Kate and Brandon Atkinson, has been required prior to construction to remove contaminated soil from the site, which contained above ground fuel tanks.

A construction safety fence has been installed around the property but at the expense of parking spaces dedicated to the businesses facing Morris Street.

Brandon Atkinson, who maintains a dental practice in La Conner, said last year that given the community’s housing crunch the Center Street property would be better served by residential than commercial construction.

Neighbors, however, have expressed concerns about the project’s potential impact on parking, fire safety, noise and related issues.

The rest of the meeting

Planning commissioners were unanimous last Tuesday in deeming the La Conner Swinomish Library, Town Hall and Maple Hall “essential buildings.”

Commissioners recommended the town council designate the three buildings as essential facilities in La Conner’s comprehensive plan. In the case of the library, the essential facilities designation is to help with grant applications.

The Town will also study proposed updates to the comprehensive plan presented by students at Western Washington University. The students drafted the proposals as a class report for their Land Use Regulations and Technical Writing course, Eills said.

“We’ll analyze their recommendations,” said Eills. “It was a great opportunity to partner with Western and get their perspectives. They have a lot of really wonderful suggestions, but we certainly won’t be using all of them.

“Traditional planning literature doesn’t apply as much to small communities as it does to larger committees,” she added. “La Conner has unique needs that aren’t always recognized by urban planners.”

Commissioners are focusing on updating the comp plan’s transportation element, notably downtown parking. The commission and town council will hold a joint meeting Nov. 28. Staff from a firm specializing in paid parking systems will make a presentation.

Former planning commissioner and longtime La Conner resident Linda Talman, whose last name almost matches the 306 Center Street project – though she has been a vocal critic – asked that enhanced pedestrians and cycling options be incorporated into the transportation element.

“I’m hoping you’ll work real hard to get non-motorized transportation included in our plan,” Talman said. “It should be in the transportation element. Burlington has it in its transportation element. I hope that we pay attention to this.”