By Katie Nelson
HIGHLINE TIMES

An application to construct a pharmacy at the corner of First Avenue South and Southwest 160th Street in Five Corners was approved by Burien officials last week. Now, the city is waiting for a land use decision to be made before proceeding.

Rick Herr, owner of Herr Lumber, which occupied the space until its closure in June 2012, owns the property under consideration. The lot currently houses a local antique store, Lasting Legacy Antiques, and an independent coffee stand, The Bean Hut Espresso. These two businesses will go the same route as the lumber store, should Herr follow through on the sale of the land.

The businesses that could be affected by the pharmacy’s construction have received a letter from the city, Davis said.

“All of the property owners within a 500-foot radius of this sight were notified by letter of the development proposal,” he said. “So I’m assuming that any of the businesses that are operating in that area are probably aware of what’s going on.”

Kim Gray, owner of Lasting Legacy since October 2010, said the land use notice went up on the side of her store on June 20. The public has 30 days from the time of posting to make comments on the matter.

Gray has been handing out notices to faithful customers in an effort to rally support for the store. There are six pharmacies located off First Avenue in Burien. This leaves Gray puzzled at the reason for building another pharmacy.

“Most people just can’t believe it. They don’t think that they need another pharmacy, and that that would just create more congestion for this corner, and that that’s not what the community needs,” she said. “They would rather see a small business.”

Antique dealer Terry Lee, who has worked at Lasting Legacy for the past 10 years, called the notification process sneaky.

“The owner got official notice because the city council posted a public notification on the back door where nobody would see it,” she said.

Gray says she is prepared to challenge the city’s decision via public letter should the store’s future be in serious jeopardy.

Lee further defended the antique store by adding that “the business is nice and established and people like it here.”

Amanda Link, owner of The Bean Hut Espresso, said she would not necessarily have to close if the pharmacy is built.

“I hope I can stay here, but if they make me move then … I’ll probably have to find a place to move the stand,” she said.

Wayne Shores, spokesperson for Velmeir Companies and the applicant for the property, did not disclose the type of pharmacy or the reason for building one in a cluster of similar businesses. However, CVS/Pharmacy is the only business of its kind on Velmeir’s clientele list. There is not a CVS pharmacy currently in Burien.

If the City Council chooses to go through with the process, the property to be purchased measures 15,400 square feet, and sits adjacent to a wetland and First Avenue.

The space’s location near the wetland is one of the matters to be considered in the land use review, according to Chip Davis, Burien’s community development director.

“One of the things that we’ll be looking at in the land use review is access, how cars will pull into and out of this facility,” he said.

The new pharmacy would have three access points from the street and create 754 new weekday trips, according to Davis.

Davis will make the final decision on whether the new pharmacy will be built — and the fate of the existing businesses — after July 12, the last day for public comment.