EDMONDS – The City Council on Tuesday made official its expected decision to limit building heights to 30 feet in the downtown commercial area.
While three of the seven council members had previously argued for allowing buildings to be 3 feet higher to encourage development, they voted with the majority on Tuesday to make the 30-foot limit unanimous.
The council last week informally agreed on a set of guidelines, including one to require buildings taller than 25 feet to have the third floor set back from the facade. That requirement was approved Tuesday along with the height limit.
Employing the setback, informally agreed to at 15 feet, would be the only way a builder could attain the 30-foot height.
The council agreed on several other points:
* In the retail core around Fifth Avenue and Main Street, buildings will be required to have 15-foot ceilings on the ground floor for retail and could not exceed two stories. Elsewhere in the commercial area, the first floor will have to be at least 12 feet high. The council left itself open to removing the ceiling height rule for areas on the fringe of the commercial area that are borderline residential.
* The first-floor entrance must be from street grade, as opposed to a sunken stairway entrance.
* The council left itself open to considering exceptions to the 30-foot limit, such as chimneys, clock towers and elevator shafts for roof gardens.
The council will send its recommendations to the city’s planning board to work out the final details.
The current council majority and its supporters have argued that the city’s recent policy of allowing three-story, flat-roof buildings is damaging the character of downtown.
The other camp has argued that downtown Edmonds cannot thrive economically without larger buildings, which they say attract new residents and customers for businesses.
The decision was precipitated by a shift in the balance of power on the City Council, which the November election tipped toward more restrictive limits. Ron Wambolt, a strict advocate of a 25-foot limit, defeated incumbent Jeff Wilson, who along with three other council members was open to a 33-foot limit.
That limit was advocated by the city’s planning board. But members of the former majority, saying they wanted to further examine design possibilities, never voted to approve the height increase.
Reporter Bill Sheets: 425-339-3439 or sheets@heraldnet.com.
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