Building heights capped at 30 feet in downtown

Published 10:41 am Monday, March 3, 2008

It was with more of a whimper than a bang that the Edmonds City Council voted Tuesday, March 28, to cap building heights at 30 feet in the downtown commercial area.

The unanimous vote taken before a sparsely attended crowd was expected as council members unofficially agreed upon the limit during the previous week’s meeting.

All Council members favored a limit of 25 feet plus a potential of five more feet if the builder adds a 15-foot, third-floor step back on buildings over 25 feet.

Failing to garner a majority vote was Councilwoman Mauri Moore’s motion that alternatives to step backs, such as open space, be allowed to “earn” builders the extra five feet. The Council held fast to what Deanna Dawson, council president, described as buildings that look 25-feet tall from the street.

Other “decision points” accepted by the Council were:

• First-floor ceiling height of at least 12 feet in the commercial area. That height could be relaxed in the outskirts of the commercial area where business uses merge with residential ones.

• A two-story maximum and first-floor ceiling height of at least 15 feet in the retail core around Fifth Avenue and Main Street.

• Parking requirements waived for buildings under a certain size. The size was left at “bigger than a bread box and smaller than The Gregory,” quipped Dawson, making reference to the Fifth Avenue condo that burned down in December. The Planning Board will determine the size.

• Consider making requirements of large buildings such as open space to encourage the building of smaller structures.

• Allow residential units behind commercial spaces of a certain depth.

The council’s policy directions now will be forwarded to the Planning Board, which will flesh out the directives and hold one or more public hearings on their recommendations. The recommendations will be sent back to the City Council, where one or more public hearings will be held before the guidelines are voted upon and turned into code language that will be used to implement the Comprehensive Plan.