A delayed west Olympia development will go ahead, connect Craftsman Drive to Harrison
A long-delayed mixed-use development near Harrison Road in west Olympia will be allowed to continue, the city’s Hearings Examiner has ruled.
The 36-page decision is the final word on a five-year battle between the city, neighboring homeowners, and the developer, Kern Rexius, owner of the adjacent Bark & Garden Center.
Rexius’ initial plan, first submitted in 2016, was to subdivide 6.2 acres of land zoned High Density Corridor 4 into five lots to include multifamily housing, commercial office, and retail space.
Much of the disagreement stalling the project, however, centers on street connections.
The sticking point is whether to extend Third Avenue Northwest — currently a stub of street just two houses long — so that it runs parallel to Harrison Avenue, which would connect the new development to the existing Grass Lake neighborhood. The city also wants Craftsman Drive connected with Harrison Avenue, which the developer and homeowners have contested.
The hearings examiner ruling is split: It requires the developer to extend Craftsman Drive to allow vehicle access, but not Third Avenue.
The project still has a long way to go: the decision only approves a “binding site plan,” which is the first step in the complex land use permitting process. Rexius’ development plan has encountered strong opposition over the past five years from nearby homeowners emphasizing traffic impacts.
Jennifer Walker, president of the Grass Lake Village Homeowners Association, which covers about 180 homes north of the proposed development, told The Olympian in 2019 that the proposed development would “destroy our community.”
This story was originally published September 6, 2021 at 5:00 AM.
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