Olympia Site Plan Committee reviews a 3-story apartment project on Palomino Drive

The Olympia Site Plan Review Committee held a presubmission conference for a project proposal for a three-story apartment building at 1525 Palomino Drive SE yesterday, October 5.

Joseph Rydman, the architect for the BGI Apartment project, said the plan is to build a garden court apartment with 36 units. The site is adjacent to Briggs Village.

Chris Carlson of Hatton-Godat-Pantier said they have issues on the property side of the line on the south and west, which is Tumwater's jurisdiction. He noted that it is a lower-density residential zone.

"How does Olympia address that when it is not in their jurisdiction?" Carlson asked.

Olympia planner Casey Schaufler confirmed that the property and the north and east sides are in the Professional Office/Residential Multifamily (PO/RM) zone, which requires a 10-foot minimum setback.

"This is adjacent to the Tumwater City limits on the west and to Thurston County on the south. The city does recognize those adjacent jurisdictions. Since it is adjacent to Tumwater and Thurston County properties, zoned for low-density residential, we would apply a 15-foot minimum to the south and the west," Schaufler explained.

Schaufler told the developers that the project is subject to board-level design review.

For multifamily residential buildings, Schaufler cited Olympia Municipal Code 18.170, which requires usable open space that has "a minimum dimension of 10 feet with an overall grade of less than 10%." It also requires a mix of passive and active recreation areas.

Schaufler said active recreation areas might include facilities such as sports courts or swimming pools.

As for the parking, he said the site is eligible for an administrative 10% reduction, which would bring the developer's parking plan to a minimum of 49 parking spaces.

Engineering review

According to Zulaika Kim, engineering plans examiner, water will be provided to the parcel built to the north by the Village Cooperative project. "Any additional extension that is required is only for what will be needed for domestic and fire suppression needs."

For solid waste, Kim said the developers are required to provide a plan for front-load collection for garbage and then side-load collection for recycling carts.

Kim said she would provide information regarding minimum enclosure sizes and widths and links to Olympia's Engineering Design and Development Standards (EDDS), which has the truck characteristics to develop turning movements.

For transportation, Kim said new driveway access with pedestrian ramps is needed in the project proposal.

Kim said she would follow up with the Village Cooperative regarding frontage improvements.