Housing project on 13th Avenue and Cherry Street greenlit in Olympia

Olympia’s Site Plan Review Committee yesterday approved a land use recommendation for a housing project on 532 13th and Cherry Street SE.

Olympia associate planner Jackson Ewing said the project is a six-unit townhome-style apartment located in a three-story building. Parking is provided below each unit. There is a frontage improvement proposal along 13th and Cherry Streets, including curb streetlights, sidewalk repairs, and street trees.

According to Ewing, the site previously received land use approval for the apartment project.

"This land use review is to reduce the previously approved project scale from 12 to six residential units," Ewing noted.

Anderson Architecture, the applicant for the project, had no representative present when the committee held a project review on Wednesday morning, October 12.

Ewing discussed the land use approval conditions, which he said the applicant should meet before the issuance of construction permits.

For the site plan, the developer is required to show a clear sight triangle at the intersection of 13th Avenue and Cherry Street and provide the required common outdoor space. He said the area must be designed and oriented to encourage activity by building residents.

Five trees will be planted on-site to meet the minimum tree density in addition to the proposed street trees.

The developer must provide six long-term storage spaces and two for short-term bicycle parking and its design details.

Ewing detailed the conditions for the design review and engineering, some of which include:

• Show preferred option for solid waste – either cart stored along the rear property line or cart stored in individual garages
• Relocate all utility features at the 13th Avenue frontage to a less prominent location on site
• Provide 100sq.ft of common open space per unit
• Provide a construction-level design landscaping plan with the next review to evaluate the appropriateness of planting materials and to ensure there are no areas of pedestrian entrapment
• ADA (American Disability Act) compliant, pedestrian ramps shall be installed
• Residential local access street standards require 12-foot ornamental streetlights on 13th Avenue and Cherry Street with metered service
• Cherry Street shall continue to restrict on-street parking and shall provide appropriate signage

Prior to the issuance of construction permits, Ewing said, the developer must submit a traffic control plan detailing how traffic will be routed and what impacts to the street system will occur during the construction of the building.