In the end, all those who voiced opinions on buildings heights in the downtown Edmonds business district at a city council public hearing last Tuesday had more in common than they thought.
Preserving open spaces and the small-town charm of downtown while recognizing the need for a vital retail community was on the wish list of nearly all who spoke. The hearing gave residents another chance to weigh in on that single aspect of design considerations downtown.
Due to the lateness of the hour, the council decided to consider the building-height testimony and possibly decide upon direction for the planning board — the next stop on the guidelines’ way to the Comprehensive Plan — at the Feb. 28 council meeting.
At council request, presentations were given by the Alliance of Citizens for Edmonds and the Greater Edmonds Chamber of Commerce. Council members Dave Orvis and Richard Marin also spoke on the subject, as did 11 residents.
ACE has a membership of only 40 people but is thought by some to have its collective finger on the pulse of residents concerned about growth issues.
Its president, John Reed, told the council ACE’s vision is an Edmonds with a small-town look and feel; healthy business climate; light, water and mountain visibility; an emphasis on the arts and adequate parking.
To achieve this, Reed said ACE members generally support a basic height limit of 25 feet, allowing extra feet in exchange for well-thought-out incentives, low-level architecture and design guidelines that permit variety. Most importantly, he noted, is to not delay and make a decision soon on guidelines.
Strom Peterson, Chamber board member and president of the Downtown Edmonds Merchants Association, said the Chamber’s position is that promoting economic vitality “should be the overriding priority of the city council of this issue” but that doesn’t preclude creating a charming and livable downtown.
Members want to see an emphasis on quality, first-floor retail space because that is where sales-tax revenue is generated, he said. They favor, Peterson continued, a minimum of 12-foot ceilings at ground level and a code that allow three floors of mixed-use (residential and commercial) space downtown.
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