One of south Snohomish County’s most recognizable neighborhoods, Edmonds’ Perrinville could soon get taller.
Marked by the turreted, multi-colored Old Western facades of the strip malls at 76th Avenue West and Olympic View Drive, the neighborhood is one of Edmonds’ designated commercial areas.
But, not all buildings are able to reach three stories tall, a restriction one property owner hopes to remove.
Edmonds’ Planning Board did not approve the recommendation, but the City Council will have the final say at a July 15 council meeting.
“One of the things that we are trying to achieve is to push the buildings out to the street edge,” said Tony Shapiro, a principal with A.D. Shapiro Architects, who is representing the property owner. “It would create more interest for people in cars, and enliven the sidewalks with pedestrian activity.
“It would create more of an urban setting rather than a suburban, strip mall type of setting,” Shapiro said.
Shapiro would like to see two stories of residential units be built over ground-level commercial in Perrinville, he said. That sort of arrangement is already possible in other Edmonds neighborhoods like Five Corners and Firdale.
However, that isn’t something neighbors are anxious to see, said Alison Pope, who hosted June 13 a gathering of 15 concerned residents in her Perrinville home.
“Obviously aesthetics are an issue,” Pope said. “The feeling in the neighborhood right now is pretty quite. We enjoy that. The intersection gets a fair amount of traffic, but that’s about it.”
The neighbors are also concerned about environmental issues, and the struggles of existing businesses, one of which had chained shut its front door June 17 after closing for good.
The planning board will not be the proposal’s final stop.
City staff has expressed support for Shapiro’s proposal, so long as the three-story buildings are at least 33 percent commercial, said planning director Rob Chave.
The issue is tentatively scheduled for a final decision at City Council in early July, officials said.
Reporter Chris Fyall: 425-673-6525 or cfyall@heraldnet.com
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