Planning staff proposes Viking Avenue zoning changes, adds on‑site notice sign requirement

Planning staff presented a package of Viking Avenue text amendments that would allow mixed‑use development to include residential components and raise a bonus height to 55 feet, along with higher lot‑coverage and revised design standards. The proposal also adds a new requirement that applicants post an on‑site public notice board for projects decided through administrative site‑plan review.

Planning staff said the amendment "allows an increase in height that's to the 55 feet" and would permit lot coverage up to 80 percent while preserving pedestrian‑oriented design standards. The notice board would display the project address, zoning, parking count, proposed building height, estimated SEPA review and comment period, applicant contact and a conceptual site plan; staff said the applicant must post the sign and provide an affidavit verifying posting.

The proposal responds to commissioners' and residents' concern that many site‑plan‑review projects did not receive broad public notice. Staff told commissioners the notice requirement is citywide for projects requiring site plan review and said the director will set a visual standard for the signs so they are legible and consistent. Staff also proposed a removal requirement: once the appeal period is fully complete, the applicant must remove the sign within 14 days.

Commissioners asked for a clear maintenance requirement; staff agreed to insert wording that the applicant is responsible both to post and to maintain the sign while it is displayed. Commissioners also discussed practical details such as the number of signs needed along long frontages and the department estimated roughly five to six site plan submittals a year under current activity levels, though staff said the code changes could alter that overall demand.