Olympia committee reviews 48-house development on Ethel Street, possible townhouses

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Project Architect for Ethel Development, Josh Gobel, discussed the plan to build 12 structures with four units, or 48 houses on a 224,060 square-foot parcel on Ethel Street during a presubmission hearing conducted by the Olympia Site Plan Review committee on April 19.

Gobel said one of the things they have done was commissioning the West Fork Environmental (WFE) for site assessment in September 2022. WFE was asked to evaluate the potential impact of habitats and buffers on the buildable area.

In the narrative submitted to the review committee, WFE observed a seasonally flooded wetland in a swale running along the eastern portion of the parcel.

Based on Olympia's wetland rating system, WFE determined that the habitat score for the eastern parcel was 5 (L,L,M), requiring a standard 140-foot buffer.

Citing OMC18.32.535 (G)(1)(b), the WFE stated in the assessment that the wetland buffer could be reduced by 25% with an approved plan and measures, including "directing lighting away from the wetland, locating noise-generating activities away from the wetland, and densely planting the buffer to act as a barrier to pets and human disturbance."

Planning review

In the R4-8 zone, Olympia associate planner Lydia Moorehead said apartments are not permitted in the area. She added that townhouses, detached single-family, triplex, or fourplex are allowed in the district zone.

"If you want to stick with those buildings, it looks like you would need a subdivision application, possibly a short plat," Moorehead said.

For the townhome option, Moorehead said the city has a separate ordinance for that. One of the perks of this development on its lot is a 15% density bonus. She said the plan is in the range of 48 dwelling units an acre.

She noted that the plans referenced three-story townhome units, but in the R4-8 zone, the maximum number of stories is only two.

For parking for multifamily, the requirement is 1.5 spaces per unit. But Moorehead informed the developers that the city is considering reducing the parking standards for residential uses. The Olympia Planning Commission recently approved the parking code amendment. It will tentatively go to the city council for consideration in May.

For critical areas, the developers were required to submit a complete wetland delineation with a short plat application.

The project, according to Moorehead, would have to go through various processes depending on the number of proposed lots. It would either trigger a short plat that goes to the hearing examiner, State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA) review, or a neighborhood meeting before moving to a building permit design review.

The project site requires level 5 soil, a report on trees, soil, native vegetation, and a vegetation plan. The forester would determine the minimum required tree density, including the street trees requirement.

Engineering review

Engineering Plans Examiner Zulaika Kim noted that the primary soil type in the site is Alder gravelly sandy loam, which belongs to hydrologic soil group C. She added that there is a secondary soil type McKenna gravelly silt loam, in hydrologic soil group D.  Both have very high runoff potential, and infiltration is not recommended. She required the developers to attend a stormwater scoping meeting to discuss the same in-depth.

Kim told the developers to present a solid waste plan, which was missing in the narrative. She said the plan should be consistent with the city's Engineering Design and Development Standards (EDDS) requirements.

For multifamily collection, she informed them that the garbage would be with front-loading dumpsters, and recycling would be with the side-loading trucks. "You will need to provide turning templates based on the characteristics of front-loading trucks for garbage and collection and side-loading trucks for recycling."

She added that the project would be tripping full frontage improvements along 14th Avenue, a major collector with a bike lane, and Ethel Street.

The engineering plan examiner mentioned no direct access from 14th Avenue/Walnut Road, and developers would need to make access be taken from Ethel Street.

Regarding emergency access, Kim discussed the possibility of providing a cul-de-sac to allow appropriate maneuvering, ingress, and egress of the site.

According to Kim, there is sewer along 14th Avenue, but not on Ethel Street. A sewer extension is required along Ethel Street, initially for the first parcel.

She noted that the possible sewer extension would trigger the full reconstruction of a portion of Ethel Street.

Comments

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  • longtimeresident

    Who in the heck understands all this - the requirements are mind-boggling!

    Thursday, April 27, 2023 Report this

  • VDRAKE2

    Great. Gobel at it again. Cram in hundreds of people cars, not caring a tinkers damn about the nuances of the neighborhood of single family multifamily homes he's going to ruin walnut/14th Ave NW. Planning Commission needs a full on check up if they encourage developers/builders like this to run rough shod over the city. Great PNZ go for it.

    Thursday, April 27, 2023 Report this

  • Yeti1981

    The amount of barriers thrown in the way of building homes is astounding. Development costs are a significant reason that "affordable" housing isn't feasible for most builders. In addition, you get the veiled support of segregation as there is in these comments and the whole bit about "neighborhood character" or whatever you want to call it. Something I heard my entire young life growing up in the South. I hope Gobel gets this project and all the projects we so desperately need are able to overcome all the barriers that are thrown at them. We need more housing....period.

    Thursday, April 27, 2023 Report this