Politics & Government

Proposed Potala Project Draws Nine Appeals to Traffic Test Determination

The Kirkland hearing examiner will hear appeals to the Road Concurrency Decision on controversial project Nov. 17

The proposed Potala apartment complex , and nine residents have filed appeals to a city determination that the 143-unit development proposal had passed two required traffic tests.

The city’s hearing examiner will hear the appeals on Nov. 17 at 9 a.m. in the council chambers. Though the hearing is open to the public, only those who have filed appeals will be permitted to participate, said Eric Shields, director of Kirkland’s Planning Department

The road concurrency is based on specific measurements of the projected effects of increased traffic from a proposed development and whether the current road system can handle the projected increase in volume to capacity, Shields said.

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The developer of Potala, Lobsang Dargey, was issued a decision that the project passed the tests along with an environmental approval for a shoreline permit back in June. The environmental approval has since been changed and the developer now is required to pay for an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) before it can move ahead with the project, Shields said. The city handles the contract for the study, but the developer must deposit funds to pay for it; as of Friday, Oct. 21, Lobsang Dargey had not yet taken that step, Shields said.

There is significant opposition to the project from residents of the neighborhood, in large part because the project would increase the neighborhood density by about 10 times, even though it was scaled back from the original proposal. The complex would be built on a lot that currently hosts a small restaurant and a dry cleaners, and a long vacant lot that has been the source of neighbors’ concern for years. In addition to 143 residential units, the building would include 6,200 square feet of ground floor office space and would be four stories, with underground parking. According to the BN zoning, at least 75 percent of the ground floor must be non-residential use, such as retail and office space.

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A number of residents attended last week’s City Council meeting to express their opposition, questioning the city’s process and asking the council to take action to review the zoning that allows the project. The group is preparing flyers it plans to distribute outlining the problems it sees with the project.

Once the draft EIS is prepared, the city likely will hold a public meeting to answer questions at the beginning of the required 30-day comment period for the statement. At the council meeting, Shields said the time involved in preparing an EIS means it would be unlikely for the developer to get a building permit for the project for at least three months.

The city has created web site pages that detail the project and the various steps required before it is ever built. The environmental impact statement for the shoreline permit application is scheduled to be completed by spring of 2012. Find the city web page on the project by clicking here.


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