Olympia Site Plan Committee reviews affordable ‘workforce housing’ on 9th Ave SW

Inland Group is proposing building an affordable workforce housing project with 252 units at 3909 9th Avenue SW, Olympia, adjacent to the Olympia Orthopaedics Spine Center near the Capital Mall.

Developer Joey Laucenford gave a brief overview of the Copper Grove Apartments project during a presubmission conference conducted by Olympia's Site Plan Review Committee on Wednesday, March 29.

He said the project is spread out in nine residential buildings. There will be a single-story clubhouse and amenities like an outdoor pool, playground, and barbecue pit. 

In the narrative submitted to the Site Plan Committee, the construction includes 48 one-bedroom/one-bath units; 124 two-bedroom/two-bath; 48 three-bedroom/two-bath; and 32 four-bedroom/two-bath units. 

Laucenford said the Copper Grove Apartments project is intended to be affordable for workforce housing. The units will be income-restricted to 60% of the area median income (AMI) for a four-person household, which amounts to $60,540/year.

According to Laucenford, Inland Group is a nationally-recognized developer of multifamily apartments and senior living communities in 11 western states, consisting of 56 properties (10,700 units) in Washington and Colorado.

He said Inland Group had completed two projects within Olympia – Copper Trail and Affinity at Olympia and is currently completing the GOAT apartment community.

It is noted in the narrative that the proposed project is currently divided by a zoning boundary line. The development would rest mainly on a Professional Office/Residential Multifamily (PO/RM) district with a portion on a Medical Service (MS) zone.

Planning review, transportation analysis, and parking

Olympia Associate Planner Paula Smith addressed the split zoning of the property. She said there are medical services on the eastern side of the property and Professional Office/Residential Multifamily (PO/RM) on the western side. "Basically, the development that occurs within that zoning district, you would need to apply those development standards to that portion."

Smith said the development standards for the front, side, and rear yard setbacks would differ. "So you have a 10-foot side yard setback on one side, a 10-foot rear yard setback in the PO/RM, and a 15-foot minimum setback on the medical services side."

She advised the developer to submit the development details within each zoning district for land use review. "There are different building coverage and impervious coverage limits. You have to look at where development straddles that zoning district line."

Smith mentioned that the property is in the Allison Springs Wellhead Protection area. The project is subject to the mitigation standards and Critical Areas code requirements. She added the property is also located in a design review for the freeway corridor. The review will cover lighting and vegetation adjacent to the highway.

The city planner said Olympia is looking at proposed parking requirements changes for vehicle parking. "They have not been adopted. If they get adopted, you can look at reduced parking at 1.25 maximum.”

For multifamily projects, she said the city requires the project to have a safe walking route analysis, specifically the routes for children walking to school or bus pick up.

"Based on what I could see, schools are not within walking distance. We would be looking for some analysis of where they would pick these children up from this development, safe walking conditions, and safe walking routes to those locations," she added.

Discount and rebate for low-income housing

Community Planning and Development Deputy Director Tim Smith informed the developer that the city substantially discounts impact fees for low-income housing projects.

The city collects impact fees for transportation, park, and schools.

He noted that if the project qualifies as low-income housing, the city would reduce the impact fees in three categories by 80%.

"We have a process for that application that is available for low-income housing that substantially reduces the amount of impact fees you would pay for this project if it is income-restricted in that regard," he said.

Smith also discussed the LOTT pilot program, Capacity Development Charge (CDC), giving 50% rebates on wastewater treatment systems.

He said the program allocated Olympia 275 equivalent residential units (ERUs) the city can apply.

"This project itself has over 170 ERUs. We would need to prioritize. That program may not be available to you, but I want to inform you and talk to LOTT to see how that program can be used for this project," Smith said.

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