Group fighting development on Olympia’s isthmus takes issue to court

A group trying to stop a building project on the isthmus between Capitol Lake and West Bay in Olympia has taken its fight to court.

Developer Ken Brogan and his partners want to turn the nine-story Capitol Center building on Fifth Avenue Southwest — known to many as the “Mistake by the Lake” — into a mixed-use building with 140 apartments, a ground-floor restaurant and retail space. The Capitol Center building has been vacant for more than a decade.

The city’s hearing examiner last month signed off on the project, concluding it was consistent with the city’s comprehensive plan and “satisfies all development regulations.”

However, a group represented by Olympia attorney Allen Miller filed a land use petition in Thurston County Superior Court. It argues the hearing examiner “made significant errors” in the case and that the land use approval should be reversed.

The group wants the case to be sent back to the hearing examiner for a hearing on adverse environmental effects. It argues the development falls under the state’s Shoreline Management Act and that an environmental impact statement should be required.

The same group’s request for reconsideration by the hearing examiner was denied last month; its challenge to the city’s determination that an environmental impact statement was not required was also dismissed.

This story was originally published March 21, 2018 at 2:29 PM with the headline "Group fighting development on Olympia’s isthmus takes issue to court."