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Housing authority urges approval of Lisonbee (Olsen) building zoning change; port requests partial changes on waterfront map
Summary
Speakers at the Sept. 24 public hearing urged approval of a zoning change for the Lisonbee (called Olsen in the record) building to allow an affordable housing conversion; staff also reported a Port of Anacortes request to change several parcels to ‘commercial marine’ with staff recommending only partial approval.
Pat Barrett, acting chairman of the Anacortes Housing Authority board, urged the planning commission to recommend approval of a zoning change for the Lisonbee (referred to in the record as the Olsen) Building to enable a 27‑unit affordable housing project. Barrett said the building deed specified use for affordable housing and asked the commission to forward the plan to council so the project can proceed.
Barrett and staff described site constraints: the building footprint is about 5,000 square feet on a roughly 6,000‑square‑foot lot, and off‑street parking is limited. Barrett said the port has not agreed to provide additional parking and that the housing authority and the port are working together on mitigation and operational details. He told the commission the project is funded with grant resources and local sales tax revenue.
On the same agenda, staff summarized eight proposed future land‑use map (FLUM) amendments. Port of Anacortes requested that several parcels in the Capstan/Marina area be changed from a mix of commercial and marine‑mixed‑use designations to commercial marine. Staff recommended approving most of the port’s east‑side change (areas with direct water access) but keeping the gravel trailer parking area and the marine‑technical college site at Seafarers Park as their existing commercial or marine‑mixed classifications.
Commissioner discussion noted the practical consequences of labeling and zoning choices but did not record any legal prohibition preventing the housing project; commissioners observed that adjacent industrial or port uses would remain whether the parcel carried a CBD or commercial‑marine label. Commissioner questions focused on whether the port intended to block the housing project; staff and commissioners said they had seen no indication the port sought to halt the project and recommended the city attorney be available if legal easements or covenants needed review.
Public comment from nearby residents asked that the commission preserve the character of a small residential pocket between Fourth Street and the depot rather than extend downtown commercial form (higher height, zero setbacks) into that area; a resident and the museum director also supported a staff recommendation to change the museum parcel at 1305 Eighth Street to public use.
What was decided: the Planning Commission’s motion recommending adoption of the comprehensive plan updates and FLUM amendments to City Council included the staff’s consolidated FLUM recommendations (Aug. 22 memo). The commission’s recommendation does not itself change zoning—it forwards the future land‑use map and staff recommended text to the City Council, which makes final map and code changes.
Clarifying details recorded in the meeting: the housing authority said the Olsen/Lisonbee building would provide 27 units; the lot and footprint sizes were described in testimony as 6,000 square feet and a 5,000‑square‑foot building footprint; staff summarized eight FLUM amendment requests; the city had requested an urban growth area (UGA) boundary adjustment that the County Board of Commissioners approved, and the newly included parcels would be designated public in the FLUM.
