Tacoma building 20-unit residential apartment building without notifying neighbors
Nov 11, 2019, 3:39 PM
It might be a bit jarring to own a house in a residential neighborhood and only find out through the news that a few houses down an apartment building is being constructed.
That’s what happened in one Tacoma area where a house is being replaced with a building set to house 20 400-square-foot units renting at $1,050 a month, and which will only have one parking space for the entire building, reports The News Tribune.
“It’s got one parking spot. So let’s see, you’ve got probably 40 people living there. Divide that by two and carry that over and then so you have got one spot for 40 people,” KIRO Radio’s Todd Herman joked.
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Sufficed to say neighbors were a tad thrown off by this project, especially since they hadn’t been notified about it, according to The News Tribune. The project does align with standards for transit-oriented developed projects which have reduced requirements for on parking in such units.
Because this particular project and others like it in Tacoma has 20 or fewer units, it is exempt from any form of standard environmental review, public review and comment, and even public notice, which is why residents didn’t know about it until they heard about the developers’ property tax credit getting approved by city council.
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“When these buildings get approved, it always drives me crazy that there when they don’t include parking. Just because I think of the impact on the rest of the neighborhood and everyone else,” added co-host Candy Harper. When Candy built a tree house in her yard, she even managed to notify neighbors.
For Todd, it’s not about city regulations or zoning, it’s about being a good neighbor.
“Tacoma just started building this stuff. They didn’t so much as knock on the door and say, ‘Hey, we’d like to build a 20 units apartment building of studio apartments with one parking spot next to you.'” he said. “I’m saying this: If you live in a building with no parking spots, you don’t get to have a car … Or you have to prove that you have parking for your car.”
Listen to The Candy, Mike, and Todd Show weekdays from 3-7 p.m. on KIRO Radio, 97.3 FM. Subscribe to the podcast here.
