PUBLIC NOTICE INFORMATION
Notice Type:
NOTICE OF INTERPRETATION
Project Description:
The Seattle Department of Construction and Inspections (SDCI) has issued an Interpretation of the Land Use Code as described below:
Interpretation Number: 17-004
Address and Zone: 2925 East Madison Street Zone: NC2P-40, NC2P-30
Project Number: 3028345-IR
The interpretation is as follows: The subject property is described in SDCI records as Lots 1-5 and 19-24, Block 7, Madison Street Addition. The proposal for the property is to construct a six-story building consisting of 82 residential units above 26,250 square feet of retail space, located at ground level. Parking is to be provided for 140 vehicles at and below grade. The existing structure on the site is to be demolished (SDCI Project No. 3020338).
The interpretation was requested by Save Madison Valley, a group of neighbors of the subject property, and raises three issues: 1) Whether the project site meets the requirements of Seattle Municipal Code (SMC) Section 25.09.180.B.2 (Code version as last amended by Seattle City Ordinance 124447) for relief from prohibition on development in steep slope critical areas; 2) Whether the proposed development, which includes removal of existing trees and other vegetation from the site, complies with SMC Sections 25.09.060.B, 25.09.180.D, and 25.09.320.A.3.b and 25.09.320.A.3.d (Code version as last amended by Seattle City Ordinance 124447), which address removal of vegetation from steep slope critical areas and buffers, and avoidance of adverse impacts to critical areas and buffers by restricting development to the most environmentally suitable, naturally stable, and least sensitive portions of a site; 3). For purposes of height measurement under SMC Section 23.86.006.A.2, whether the average grade level of existing lot grades was properly calculated by the method of designating rectangular sections of the proposed structure at least 15 feet wide and finding average elevation of the existing lot grades at the midpoints of the two opposing exterior sides of each designated rectangular section
The SDCI decision is that the proposed project qualifies for relief from the prohibition on development of steep slope critical areas, as the steep slope on the project site was created by previous legal grading of the property according to both permit records for the property and historic SDOT street grade profiles of City street improvement projects for East Madison Street. Because the slope is not subject to limitations on development in steep slope critical areas due to the previous legal grading, the trees and vegetation on the slope may be removed as part of permitted construction and grading for the proposed new structure. Height measurement of the new structure complies with the optional height measurement techniques of the Land Use Code as set forth in Section 23.86.006.A.2 and SDCI Director’s Rule 4-2012.
HOW TO APPEAL THE INTERPRETATION
This interpretation may be appealed to the Hearing Examiner, in conjunction with an appeal of a MUP component of Project #3020338 that is appealable to the Hearing Examiner. Appeals of this decision must be received by the Hearing Examiner no later than August 6, 2018.
Publication Date:
07/23/2018
End of Appeal Period:
08/06/2018
Planner:
William Mills
Comments:
See attachments link above for complete notice and supporting documents.