Commission approves revised privacy-slat plan for 1013 NW 13th Street

The Downtown Design Commission on May 21 approved a revised privacy-slat plan for a property at 1013 Northwest 13th Street, conditioning approval on keeping the fencing adjacent to the building open and starting privacy slats at the building's northwest corner.

Laura Griggs, of the Planning Department, told the commission the application had been continued from a prior meeting and that staff and the applicant had modified the proposal after neighborhood discussions. Griggs said the applicant met with representatives of Heritage Hills and agreed to relocate the privacy slats so the fence section immediately adjacent to the building remains open; staff included documentation from the fence vendor showing the slats are designed to integrate with the proposed fence.

Applicant Nusa Akimian thanked the commission and neighbors for the opportunity to meet and said the revised plan struck a balance between safety and aesthetics. "It makes a lot of sense to achieve two goals, you know, the safety of the kids and also maintain the aesthetic view of the area," Akimian said.

A commissioner moved to approve the application based on compliance with the Downtown Design District zoning ordinance, with the stated condition about the fence and slat locations; the motion was seconded and passed. The chair subsequently recused himself from the next agenda item.

The approval includes the condition that privacy slats begin at the northwest corner of the building and extend northward to the northwest corner of the fence; other details such as landscaping replacement were reported by staff as part of the mitigation undertaken after neighborhood outreach.

The commission did not record a roll-call vote tally in the transcript.