Reviewing the Nokomis Building situation | Letter
Published 11:55 am Friday, December 11, 2015
Beginning in February 2015, the Nokomis Club of Redmond participated in the process proscribed in the City of Redmond zoning code to prevent the Nokomis Building from being demolished and replaced by the 162TEN Project.
The 162TEN Project, a proposal for a five-story building of 96 units of 200 square feet each with ground floor retail, was given the status of a Type II Site Plan Entitlement, and the project was then reviewed by the City of Redmond Development Department to ensure the project met their initial screening checklist requirements. With the Type II Site Plan Entitlement designation, a project is approved after two reviews by the Design Review Board and two reviews by the Technical Committee comprised of the Director of Planning and the Director of Public Works. (Refer to Redmond Zoning Code 21.76.050E.)
In February, the first document issued by the city was the decision on State Environmental Policy Act-Determination of Non-Significance (SEPA-DNS). The primary concern of this determination was the viability of the Nokomis Building. The Nokomis Club and Redmond Historical Society partnered to appeal the city’s findings on this topic on March 3, 2015.
The Technical Committee Report was issued on April 2, 2015, and the Nokomis Club submitted its appeal on the April 22, 2015, deadline. However, the city distributed a revised version of the Technical Committee Report dated April 22, 2015. Further comments on issues in the new report were allowed and made by the Nokomis Club by the deadline of May 6, 2015.
The city determined it would be more efficient to hold the Nokomis Club appeals of the Technical Committee Decision and the SEPA-DNS concurrently before the hearing examiner. Those hearings were held on July 9 and 10, 2015. The hearing examiner issued her decision denying the appeals on Aug. 7, 2015. Following this decision, the Nokomis Club requested a reconsideration of some facts, and that decision was issued on Sept. 3, 2015.
The Nokomis Club appealed the hearing examiner’s decision of Aug. 7, 2015, to the Redmond City Council, and met the appeal deadline of Sept. 17, 2015. The City Council scheduled their hearing for Dec. 1, 2015. During this hearing, each side had 10 minutes to present an oral argument. After presentation of the arguments, the council voted to uphold the hearing examiner’s decision denying the appeals.
Should the Nokomis Club of Redmond determine the facts warrant another appeal, the outstanding issues can be appealed to King County Superior Court.
Alexa Munoz
President Nokomis Club of Redmond
