2009/03/25 Council Agenda Packet

Planning Commission September 2,2008 Pg. 5 Meeting Minutes 7:24:17 PM Mr. Farley presented some slides with lighting and signage. He presented an example of buildings that they would like to adapt to the site which represent the importance of the roof element. Areas between buildings/pedestrian areas are equally important. Transparency for retail shops is also important. A key element to the success of the Riverfront district is the design of main street—the better the design, the healthier the project will be. He presented a series of slides which represented the evolution of the project to date - larger roof elements are a common element in the project to create dry zones in the winter months. He asked Commission if there were any questions. 7:31:14 PM Commissioner Newland asked how the design and character of main street would relate to the big box retail. Mr. Farley responded that the big box retail would be located in the NW corner of the site and would provide a customer base for the smaller retail stores. 7:33:33 PM Mr. Ducox added that the topography from the NW corner drops down to the main street area so it is a perfect spot for the anchor store. 7:34:11 PM Commissioner Trautman asked how the areas integrate with the River at the end of the plaza. Mr. Ducox responded that they are proposing a boat dock and cement structure that will access the River. He added that they were also hoping to access the River at the end of the 36th Street. 7:35:29 PM Commissioner Trautman stated that she appreciated the difficulty of building on the site and understood that the landscaping would be challenging due to the settling and water collection. She asked about above ground containers and subsidence tiered containers due to the settling and the difference in elevation between street levels and sidewalks. Mr. Mueller responded that plantings of deep rooted—big ball trees are a challenge—what they look at are plantings that provide height that have more of a shallow lateral root base. Those types of plantings will get integrated along the main street with planter areas as opposed to planting in the ground. There will also be containers along the common areas. 7:38:28 PM Chairman Olivers asked if there were any questions from the audience. 7:38:59 PM Alex Alexander, Ebey Island, stated that he lived immediately across the River from the project. He felt that the Final EIS was flawed. The real challenge is the River. River integrated project would be successful on the Simpson Pad. He would like to present slides and further information at a later public hearing. He stated that Mr. Mueller talked about organic matter decomposing and gradually settling over time; however, the landfill is ultimately composed of clay. Under suitable conditions that soil becomes colloidal gels which can lead to landslides. For pilings to be stable, you would need to run pilings through all of the landfill to stone. The project has to be river integrated. In the long run, the River will win. 7:44:17 PM Chairman Olivers asked if there were any further comments.