Three years after real estate agents Roger Cayce and Jim Gain, plus 22 other property owners, along California Ave. first applied to the Seattle Department of Planning and Development for commercial rezoning of their land and buildings, the Committee for the Built Environment approved the plan. They include Sally Clark, Sally Bagshaw, and TIm Burgess. It now goes to the full City Council for their approval within approximately two weeks.

The current NC130 zoning there translates to "neighborhood commercial 1", with a maximum of 10,000 square feet of commercial space and maximum building height of 30 feet. The application is for NC240, which allows for 25,000 square feet of commercial space and a building height of up to 40 feet. Mixed use, or business and residential, are permitted.

"The timing of this whole thing taking over three years is way longer than it should have been, but there is no current situation regarding a delay," said Cayce. "The city originally told us it would take a year and a half, in 2007. There were changes in the regime and system and lots of time delays. Someone there had a personal tragedy, too. So there is no one we want to point the finger at.

"Three who testified (against the rezoning) had their 15 minutes and we had our 15 minutes," Cayce said. "I feel good. Everybody who's had to make a decision has voted for it. Basically, people living east of the property are concerned they will lose their views. That's completely understandable and I have compassion for them. But the city zoning is as it is and even if we build only 30 feel they're going to lose their views. The city felt 40 wasn't that much difference. I think the opposition's whole take was if they could kill the rezone it would kill the likelihood that anyone would build anything."

"There is no plan for anything right now," he said. "Because of the configuration of the land hillside behind it and the lack of an alley, realistically the only thing that feasibly works with the existing zoning are townhomes. They don't want townhomes. We don't want townhomes. I don't think anybody wants them there. That's why we were going for 40 feet. At 40 feet it's much more viable to build.
When the economy comes back around, people will begin to think about developing again."

"This has been contentious, but that's not unusual for rezones," said Josh Stepherson, the applicant on record hired by Cayce and Gain to pass the rezoning.

"This represents a change over time, essentially, and it's not like the area is going to be dramatically different all of a sudden," said Stepherson. Changes will probably take years and years. But some (critics) go to 'worse case scenario'.

"As Roger testified, they've had their business there 25 years," Stepherson continued. "In early 2000 they wanted to update their building and they looked at mixed use building under existing zoning. It didn't make it feasible for commercial and residential. This area between Hinds and Hanford is part of the Admiral Residential Urban Village."

Stepherson explained that the Seattle Comprehensive Plan identified about 26 urban villages as a response to the statewide policy, the Growth Management Act, and the Admiral Residential Urban Village is one of those 26 neighborhoods,

"That means the City wants to encourage growth over time, and the zoning in place didn't do that," he said. The 30-foot building height is discouraging development and encouraging townhomes, not what city or community has said they wanted."