SEQUIM — The City Council has approved, in a 4-3 vote, a binding site plan for a 109-unit affordable apartment complex in south Sequim, with some council members voicing concerns about the proposal’s density and whether it blends in with the surrounding neighborhood’s character.

The vote Monday night came after a closed executive session to discuss possible litigation surrounding the Peninsula Sunbelt Investments LLC proposal at South Sequim Avenue and Brownfield Road south of U.S. Highway 101.

Council members Ted Miller, Susan Lorenzen and Erik Erichsen voted against the proposal.

Smaller third floor

Mayor Ken Hays and council members Laura Dubois, Don Hall and Bill Huizinga voted in support of a plan option requiring that Sequim developer Paul H. Murphy agree to allow a third floor to the apartment complex if it had only 60 percent of the floor space of the first and second floors.

“It’s no longer the Great Wall of China,” City Attorney Craig Ritchie said, describing how it would have less impact on the aesthetics of the neighborhood if the third floor had fewer units.

Ritchie said he would be reluctant to allow less density when the proposal was within zoning laws.

The 7.5-acre site is zoned for mixed uses, including light manufacturing and heavy-duty commercial businesses.

Grocery store

Murphy proposes a grocery store for a triangular piece of the site between the U.S. Highway 101 eastbound on-ramp and Brownfield Road.

The approved option for the project’s site plan also requires that the ground floor have retail uses, such as a barbershop or a deli.

The project would require sufficient parking — the developer proposes 241 spaces — and landscaping.

Miller originally moved to approve an option supported by city planning staff that would only allow 60 units per acre, but Ritchie said he was concerned that such a motion would lead to litigation.

That is when the closed-door session was called.

Miller, himself a retired attorney, came out of the executive session to withdraw his motion and vote against the site plan.

“I do feel the density is so high that I could not justify a vote in favor of it,” Miller said.

Erichsen said he did not believe the proposal was a good fit for the neighborhood.

Not in harmony

“It must be in harmony with the surrounding area,” Erichsen said. “To me, the surrounding area includes a much broader area,” including the entrance to the city via South Sequim Avenue, farmland and open spaces.

Erichsen said he also saw a potential problem with traffic congestion in the area if the project is approved.

Proposed is about 60,000 square feet on the 7.5 acres.

The three-story apartment buildings would be built in clusters on property that would adjoin a neighborhood of “sweat equity,” low-interest financing, single-family homes built by families and other volunteers.

Murphy two weeks ago told the council that for three years, he has been trying to get Trader Joe’s grocery store to locate on part of the site closest to the highway at Brownfield.

Low-income senior housing is the plan, Murphy said.

The project’s second phase would include the grocery store or other commercial or public structures.

The project, designed by Seattle architect Philip Christophides, also could include office space, Murphy said.

City Associate Planner Joe Irwin said the project would require the use of on-site storm water controls, including bioswales and rain gardens.

Murphy said the state Department of Transportation used part of the family’s property for a storm water retention pond, agreeing to allow the family to benefit from it should it ever develop the property.

As proposed, the developer would agree to pay $795,000 in development impact fees to the city, and the plan would include mini-parks and trails.

An 8-foot-wide buffer of trees and vegetation will be required along the project’s southern boundary adjacent to existing residences.

The developer submitted an application for the four-phase project more than two years ago and the city found no adverse environmental or cultural impact from the project, although the state Department of Archaeology and Historic Preservation will require the project stop if any Native American remains or artifacts are uncovered during construction.

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Sequim-Dungeness Valley Editor Jeff Chew can be reached at 360-681-2391 or at jeff.chew@peninsuladailynews.com.