Despite unanimous approval by the Architectural Design Board Wednesday night of Bob Gregg’s modified plan to renovate parts of Old Milltown, the local developer isn’t ready to break out the confetti and noisemakers.
The night before the Feb. 7 vote, Gregg confided that if he still was a young man, he’d have a drink to celebrate. But now, he’ll cross his fingers and hope for the best.
The decision-making volunteer board found the newest proposal in keeping with the city’s Comprehensive Plan, Edmonds Community Development Code (ECDC) and urban design guidelines. Conditions attached included compliance with city codes, such as parking requirements, and staff-approved planting and exterior-color plans.
Anyone wishing to appeal the latest ADB decision must do so within 14 days of it. Otherwise, the plan may proceed.
The board previously approved a more sweeping plan by Gregg. But a resident’s appeal of the decision meant the matter was heard by the Edmonds City Council, which, in a split vote, sided with the appellant and against Gregg in December.
In the revamped plan, Gregg proposes to follow his earlier plan west of the utility alley — a concrete ramp — facing Dayton Street; the portion of the building east of the alley will remain exactly as is.
The sparse audience at the meeting included Elisabeth Larman, who appealed the ADB decision to the City Council. Speaking during the public-comment portion of the meeting, she and several others, including Roger Hertrich, a frequent critic of the City Council on which he once served, were not as critical of Gregg’s plan as they were of the ADB’s decision-making process. Larman, Hertrich and others criticized the board’s attitude toward the public who questioned projects such as Gregg’s and what they said was failure in previous meetings to follow prescribed mandates in making at decisions.
Hertrich observed after the meeting, “Tonight, the board is doing their job.”
Gregg recently appealed the Council’s decision in Snohomish County Superior Court and filed a claim for damages with the city. He said after Wednesday’s meeting he will consider dropping both actions if the Council adopts clear and concise codes that builders and developers can understand and follow.
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