Olympia committee reviews proposed cottage community project in city's Eastside

Olympia's Site Plan Review Committee heard a proposal for a cottage community project at 1937 7th Avenue SE.

At the presubmission conference on Wednesday, local developers Michael Miltimore and Paul Horton presented their proposal, which involved combining two existing lots totaling 1.62 acres to allow for the construction of 12 cottage homes.

Miltimore said he bought the property more than a decade ago to do a cottage community, which he said was prohibited in the code then. He said Horton, his neighbor, acquired another piece of the property, and they have been working towards that project for quite some time.

According to Tessa Bradley of Artisans Group, the proposed cottages would have 800-square-foot footprints and likely be two stories for a total of 1,600-square-foot each. She mentioned that "we are aware that there would be some minimal street improvements along this little leg of the property here that abuts Seventh."

Bradley said the developers aimed to increase density in the city.

Associate planner Jackson Ewing confirmed that the cottage community project is allowed in the R 4-8 zoning district. He noted that the project is within the allowed range of parking and density based on the 1.62 acres available for cottages. He added that screening would need to be provided for the parking lot as it is located next to single-family residences.

Ewing said the proposed 800-square-foot footprints and two-story structures of 1,600 square feet total were confirmed to be allowed.

The associate planner also pointed out that Madison Elementary School is half a mile west of the project. There is a sidewalk down 7th Avenue, but Ewing said it cuts off about half a block before the project area. He said there might be a requirement to provide safe walking routes and sidewalk connections.

Olympia's senior engineering plans examiner, Tiffani King, noted that no traffic impact analysis would be required for this project, but frontage improvements would be triggered.

For the 7th Avenue frontage, improvement on the project side of the street would be required. Sidewalks, planting strips, and local road standards frontage would apply.

King mentioned that the sidewalk must be extended across the frontage parcel as part of safe walking routes.

According to King, the pavement condition on 7th Avenue is only 36, which she said could have been much higher. Pavement reconstruction is required, and trench patching is not allowed for any utility work, only a street overlay.