Friday Harbor council reviews 40-unit Home Trust design, asks for more two‑bedrooms

San Juan Community Home Trust and design partner Environment Works presented a conceptual plan for a 40‑unit affordable housing project on the Argyle lot, and the Friday Harbor Town Council signaled general consensus on May 7 for the project to move forward while asking the trust to try to increase the number of two‑bedroom units.

"The big vision or goal for this project was that it would become a development that would embody the culture, the history, and the context of the town of Friday Harbor," said Karen McGowanen of Environment Works, describing a layout focused on a central commons, walkways and interstitial green spaces intended to foster community.

Town planning staff highlighted constraints that shape the proposal. "One of the constraints on this lot is not only the setbacks off of Malcolm and Argyle of 20 feet, we also have a historic setback of 40 feet," said Director Ericsson, noting those rules concentrate development into a tighter footprint. Staff said building footprints average roughly 1,400–1,450 square feet and that the current site plan does not require moving the town sewer line.

Council discussion centered on unit mix, parking and commons programming. The team said current plans show roughly 40% of units as two‑bedrooms, below the 50% stated in the development agreement but above the county's 30% requirement. "We would need to create four additional two‑bedrooms, which would be converting either studios or one bedrooms into two bedrooms," a Home Trust representative said.

Council members generally praised the design's attention to green space and access but raised trade‑offs between adding family‑sized units and preserving central lawn areas and pedestrian spaces. "If we were trying to house the people that are here, we might want those two‑bedrooms," a council member said; another emphasized the project's downtown location and walkability to services and schools.

Designers confirmed the commons will include a multipurpose room, on‑site manager space and laundry; they said some pathways will be concrete and accessible, and that two pockets of green space are intended to accommodate children’s play and community gardening.

No formal vote was taken; the mayor summarized council feedback as "general consensus" to allow the Home Trust to proceed with applications while the trust and staff work to explore options for adding more two‑bedroom units and refining elevations and landscape details.

Next steps: staff said they will continue the joint site plan review process with public works and development services and will return with refined plans and any required development agreement adjustments.