Studio West Dance Academy seeks to build a studio in south Olympia

The Olympia Site Plan Committee reviewed a project proposal yesterday, including constructing a new building for Studio West Dance Academy at 1525 Palomino Drive SE.

In a proposal submitted by Anderson Architecture, the construction of the building would be on a 1.36-acre parcel in the Professional Office/Residential Multifamily District (PO/RM) zone. The location is just off Henderson, a block south of the corner of Yelm Highway.

The project proposal is for a new 11,219-square-foot one-story wood-frame building to accommodate the need of the dance studio and associated site work, according to Scott Anderson of Anderson Architect.

"Studio West has had a dance academy on the west side of Olympia on Black Lake Boulevard for many years. They are outgrowing their facility there," Anderson said.

He added that they have been looking around and studying different locations, including remodeling existing buildings. They found a piece of property on Palomino Drive and worked on the lot's potential development there.

Anderson said they are designing an 11,000-square-foot facility with adequate parking and a circular drive for a drop-off at the front door. The project would exceed the size limit in the city code However, Anderson inquired the site review team about the limitations of their project for the dance studio. He said there is an item in the municipal code that dance studios shall not exceed 5,000 square feet if they are in a PO/RM zone. "Why are we limiting dance studios to 5,000 square feet? Is there some way to mitigate that so we can build something that suits our needs in one contiguous building?"

The architect noted that PO/RM zones around the city vary in size. He added that some buildings in that zone are mostly either office, small retail, or medical facilities, ranging in size from 1,000 square feet to 35,000 square feet.

Property was recently rezoned

Tim Smith, Community, and Planning Development deputy director, said the site was recently zoned as a PO/RM.

"The PO/RM intent is to provide transitionary zoning between single-family and more intended for commercial uses. In this case, the east, south, and west properties have a single family. Residents are very concerned about the future development of this property," Smith explained.

He added that the Briggs Village across the street is a master plan village zone with different rules.

In addressing Anderson's inquiry, Smith said a code amendment is required. "You'd be in an uphill battle. It's not impossible, but at this point [that] zoning provides that very purpose of limiting the commercial size in those areas."

Planning recommendation 

Assistant planner Casey Schaufler pointed out that it is not just the dance studios that have a 5,000 square feet limitation. He said food stores and general merchandise stores have the same restriction.

Regarding planning design, Schaufler recommended possibly doing two 5,000 square foot structures on the site or splitting up the buildings.

He added redesigning and building multiple structures addressed the limitation. "That would offer opportunity in the future. Even if you change locations, that site could house different businesses along those lines."

In considering the recommendation, dance academy owner Stephanie Wood inquired how close the buildings could be so children could safely transfer studios and staff to be connected.

She said safety issues are one factor why they want to be under one roof.

Principal planner Nicole Floyd offered information that a minimum of six feet distance could be applied based on the zoning code of detached structures.

Schaufler said the developer could apply for the zoning code amendment. Still, they have to go through a process, including a hearing examiner and then approval by the city council. "It is an option, but it will extend the [project] timeline to a significant degree."