The Kent city hearing examiner has recommended that the City Council approve a conditional-use permit by a Kirkland developer for a proposed East Hill commercial development on the southern edge of Kent.
Developer Kent 25 LLC, part of the YarrowBay Group of Kirkland, plans to build 75,302 square-feet of retail and office space as well as a 76,128-square foot, two-story senior care, assisted-living facility. The development would be built on 13.3 acres near the northwest corner of Southeast 304th Street and 124th Avenue Southeast.
Hearing examiner Ted Hunter, hired by the city as a neutral party to make land-use decisions, recommended approval of the permit in a March 15 written decision.
The Council is expected to consider Hunter’s recommendation at the April 6 Council meeting, said Fred Satterstrom, city planning director.
The commercial development is part of a proposal by YarrowBay to build 379 single-family homes, known as the Verdana or Bridges development, on 155 acres at the southern edge of the city’s border from South 288th Street to South 304th Street. The property, zoned for single-family homes, bumps against the city borders of Auburn, including the Crystal Meadows neighborhood.
The Council voted unanimously in February 2008 to accept a recommendation by Hunter to deny the initial application by YarrowBay because the proposed commercial development would defeat the purpose of the city comprehensive plan to provide environmental, visual, recreational and wildlife benefits in the area. Hunter also found that the commercial development would detract from the site’s ability to serve as an open space separation between already developed urban areas.
The developer submitted a revised application that Hunter received testimony about from city staff, the developer and residents at a March 3 public hearing at City Hall.
Several Auburn residents voiced concerns at the public hearing about traffic as well as the visual impact the new commercial development could have on property owners in the nearby subdivisions.
Michael Huey, project manager for the development, said at the hearing that several changes were made to lessen the impact on the neighboring subdivision of Crystal Meadows.
Hunter recommended approval of the revised application with conditions that the developer must meet including two drive-through lanes with landscaping to buffer visual impacts to surrounding areas; convenience stores typically associated with gas stations are not permitted; liquor stores are not permitted; solid landscaping must be installed between a westerly office building and the Crystal Meadows neighborhood; and roadway improvement plans must be submitted with the construction permit that meet lane width and sidewalk standards set by the city of Auburn.
For more information about the Verdana or Bridges project, call the city planning services office at 253-856-5454.
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