Lacey writing Part II of ‘Mistake by Lake’

Not wanting to be outdone by Olympia, the city of Lacey has just approved a site plan permit for a giant building that will become Lacey’s own "Mistake by the Lake."

The permit allows a California corporation to build five story, monolithic, 308-unit housing building on the site of the vacant Albertson’s store at the corner of Pacific Ave. and Carpenter Road. This towering behemoth, larger and taller than anything nearby, will be visible from the Lake Lois Habitat Reserve, thus qualifying for a new "Mistake by the Lake" title.

The project will also loom over the adjacent old Lacey historic area, a low-density, historic single-family neighborhood with roots stretching back over 100 years.

The city imposed no conditions on the project to mitigate its noise, light, and traffic impacts on the historic neighborhood, in which I have lived for 20 years. The permit itself acknowledges that the proposal does not meet code requirements for open space, yet claims the intent of the code is still met.

The lot will not contain the number of trees required by code, so the city will allow the developer to pay into a city fund instead.

My neighbors are working to collect the outrageous $980 fee that it will cost to file an appeal.

As the city gets ready to celebrate its 50th anniversary, it needs to pay more attention to how its land use decisions impact its own residents.

This story was originally published March 25, 2016 at 11:32 AM with the headline "Lacey writing Part II of ‘Mistake by Lake’."