The long road to a revised set of zoning and rules for development in Capitol Hill’s Pike/Pine neighborhood is nearing its destination. The City Council has scheduled a public hearing to discuss Council Bill 116508 Wednesday night. The hearing is a procedural formality and a ‘last check’ opportunity to gauge public opinion before the Council votes on the new rule set. You can read about the original plan and updates in our past CHS coverage. The city’s documentation of the plan is here.
While it seems unlikely many new issues will be raised by the public on Wednesday given the high level of outreach and public process related to the bill but there are still a few elements still ripe for further discussion.
One of these elements relates to property purchased by the Polyclinic last year that could be involved in the new zoning. The lot that is currently home to the Complete Automotive Building would be included in the new rules foiling the Polyclinic’s hope to tear down the building and build a new facility. “We purchased that spot to preserve our options,” Polyclinic spokesperson Tracy Corgiat told CHS. “We need to grow. We’ve outgrown our current building.”
Corgiat said the Polyclinic’s first choice for a relocated facility is at property the clinic owns adjacent to the Seattle First Baptist Church at Seneca and Boylston but that the zoning rules for the area prohibit building a structure large enough to meet their needs. “We just spent about 3 years on architectural fees and legal fees trying to make that space work,” Corgiat said. “[The Complete Automotive Building] is literally the only site that was zoned appropriately.”
The Polyclinic discussion is likely to become an issue beyond the new preservation legislation. We’ll follow up with more from Corgiat and the city on that next week.
Council Bill 116508
Related to land use and zoning, amending Seattle Municipal Code (SMC) sections 23.73.002, 23.73.004, 23.73.006, 23.73.008, 23.73.010, 23.47A.005, 23.47A.012, 23.61.006, 23.61.012, 23.55.030, 23.84A.002,
and 23.84A.006; adding a new section 23.73.009; and amending the Official Land Use Map at pages 110-111
to expand the boundaries of the Pike/Pine Overlay District, to rename the Overlay District the Pike/Pine Conservation Overlay District, to rezone land within the existing boundaries of the Pike/Pine Overlay District and one small area within the expanded overlay boundaries to add the Pedestrian zoning designation (suffix P), to designate additional principal pedestrian streets within the proposed pedestrian-designated zone, to remove the First Hill Station Area Overlay District, and to remove portions of the Capitol Hill Station Area Overlay District currently within the boundaries of the Pike/Pine Overlay District, in order to clarify the requirements of the Pike/Pine Overlay District and better maintain the character of the Pike/Pine neighborhood.
The hearing is scheduled for Wednesday, May 13th at 5:30 PM in Council chambers.
