On Tuesday, July 25th at 4:30, Sultan's new Design
Review Board had its fledgling flight. There was an excellent turn-out
of residents, most of them there to make comment on the projects that
were under review, in particular, the Eagle Ridge Business Center and
Sultan Downs. There was also curiosity about the goal and purpose of
this new all-volunteer citizen board, as well as a bit of confusion
over whether or not this was going to be a "hearing" on the
Eagle Ridge Business Center (ERBC).
Roy Bysegger, the City Administrator, stood and
introduced the new members -- Andy Kovach, Harlan McElhany and Kevin
Teague -- and explained the reasons for and purpose of the Board's creation,
basically summarizing what was printed in the DRB guideline hand-out:
"Our vision and goal is to create a comfortable
feeling when you are walking and driving in the community by providing
easy access to commercial, industrial and residential areas. As you
walk and drive through our city you will enjoy the look and feel of
small-town America in a uniquely beautiful natural setting -- no matter
where you are in Sultan, you will enjoy a "clean air" view
of the mountains or the river valley. These guidelines have been created
as a cooperative effort between business owners, citizens and city staff
with the purpose of preserving and restoring our historic character
while attracting businesses and residents to our community. We wish
to retain the character of the city as it reflects the architecture
of the first half of the 20th Century (1900-1949). Studies have proven
that attractive, well-designed communities hold an economic advantage
over those with no comprehensive design plans. Careful planning and
site design, parking, materials, landscaping and related issues, will
reap economic rewards. The citizens of Sultan have consistently expressed
their desire to preserve the friendly small-town atmosphere of our community.
With careful planning, we can avoid deterioration into strip mall-type
commercial development."
The Design Review Board Members have impressive
credentials. Andy Kovach, its chairman, has been an architect for 20
years, and carries an air of authority that gives this body a feeling
of competence. Harlan McElhany is a civil engineer who has over 30 years'
experience under his belt, mostly in the Puget Sound region. He is also
a principal of Harmsen & Associates, this area's noted surveying
firm. And Kevin Tegue rounds out this group. Kevin is a landscape architect
who seems to "know his stuff" and is a state-registered landscape
architect.
Approximately 30 residents attended the meeting,
which is an extraordinary turnout for an event at 4:30 in the afternoon,
especially since it was "advertised" -- at least, up until
the "12th hour" -- as being open for public monitoring only;
i.e., no public comment would be accepted. The interest was largely
generated due to the a proposed 6,296 square foot "Business center"
to be built on Sultan Basin Road just north of Kessler Way (the Eagle
Ridge community) by CMI's Craig Morrison. Most of the residents spoke
against this facility, fearing both the negative effects of traffic,
noise, light and litter from its presence and the fact that it would
set a dangerous and detrimental precedent for this rural community.
The question of whether or not the ERBC will
get a public hearing is both clear and confusing. While Roy Bysegger
stated on two different occasions during the meeting that there WOULD
BE public hearings for all projects, Christi Amrine, the City's
planner, inferred at one point that this was a "done deal"
and, while the lawyer was "still reviewing" whether or not
a hearing was required, this is an acceptable use of this property that
did not require a hearing. This is in spite of the fact that all public
forums and hearings on each stage of the development of the Eagle Ridge
community (of which this land is a portion) were based on the criteria
of "single family residential" use.
Ttwo other projects were reviewed yesterday --
Sultan Downs and Sultan Ridge. Sultan Downs drew the most citizen comment
of the two. This proposal is for a 51-unit apartment facility on Fir
Street at the intersection of 7th. (At the risk of editorializing here,
it appears to us that this facilty would bring no benefit to the community,
with the exception of more rental units. The design has an "institutional"
look and feel and will totally block mountain views of the single family
homeowners living north of the project. Additionally, there is an out
of proportion and over-sized detention pond area that will be problematic
at best. We hope the DRB sends this project back to the drawing board
for a complete overhaul.)
The Sultan Ridge project, which is being developed
by Craig Morrison of CMI (the same developer who is proposing the ERBC)
appears to have been well-conceived and implemented, judging from the
colored sketches and plans that were reviewed. While the wisdom of placing
a community so close to a protected slope may be questioned, as well
as the visual side effects of the project as viewed from Sultan's downtown
area, the actual implementation of the proposed townhouses appear attractive
in design. One point of confusion, at least for this writer, is that
the developer is apparently "borrowing" the open space and
trail area from his development in the Eagle Ridge residential community,
for this new project.
We hope to have transcripts of Mr. Bysegger's
and Ms. Amrine's comments as well as those from the public, online shortly.
If you're requesting further details on when a hearing will be held
on these projects, call City Amrine or Laura Koenig at 360-393-2231.
