Talmon project design still not in alignment

After just one meeting, Town staff and representatives of KSA Investments are agreed on 80 per cent of the design revisions La Conner’s planning department requires for a proposed three-story apartment/condo project at 306 Center Street.

But reaching consensus on the remaining 20 per cent could literally be a tall order.

At issue is a planned elevator shaft that planning staff finds exceeds height restrictions. The developer, according to Planning Director Michael Davolio and Assistant Planner Ajah Eills, has countered that state building codes do not consider an elevator shaft to be part of a structure.

“The IBC (International Building Code) says an elevator shaft is not part of a building,” Eills acknowledged. “But we believe it’s part of a building.”

Davolio echoed that sentiment.

“We enforce the Town code, not the state code,” Davolio said during the Nov. 21 La Conner Planning Commission meeting at Maple Hall.

Considering the firefighting and public safety equipment available to the fire department, a 30-foot height restriction is imposed on new construction.

Davolio told commissioners that KSA, whose principals are Kate and Brandon Atkinson, has indicated it will explore its legal options on the matter.

However, Davolio noted that the deadline for appellate action has passed regarding a project that has already gone before Town Hearing Examiner David Lowell twice for review. Lowell issued a conditional use permit to construct the multi-family residential building on commercial lots behind the old Chevron/Exxon fuel station where several retail ventures now exist, including The Slider Café.

“They have options,” Davolio said. “They have an approved site plan for moving forward so long as they address the elevator shaft issue.”

Atkinson has said he is building a residential building on the commercial site to help alleviate the town’s housing crunch.

Residents of the adjoining neighborhood, though, have voiced objections to the size and scale of the Talmon Project and lodged an unsuccessful appeal of Lowell’s initial CUP approval.

“The Talmon Project,” refers to a biblical reference says Atkinson and is not to be confused with Center Street resident Linda Talman, a frequent critic of the development.

One of the agreements reached in the meeting is that six rather than five short-term rentals will be provided on the ground floor.

Yet agreement on the elevator shaft proved beyond reach, Davolio lamented.

“The original plan showed no elevator,” he said. “Their later plans showed an elevator shaft. But we’ve been consistent on this.

“We said you can have a shaft for a two-story building,” he added, “or you can have a three-story building without a shaft.”

At the meeting Commissioner Marna Hanneman encouraged the public to consider filing for the position she is vacating in January to become mayor. Interested residents need to contact Eills at Town Hall. Hanneman and Davolio said there are multiple training sessions available for new planning commission members.