PORT ANGELES — The City Council has approved closing off portions of a street and alley in a heavily residential area by approving two rights-of-way street vacations for Olympic Medical Center’s new medical office building.
The council voted unanimously Tuesday to close off Caroline Street between Race and Washington streets and an alley between Race and Washington for the $15.3 million project, located 1.5 miles east of downtown.
Council members also voted 5-1 to approve zoning changes that allow construction of the building, expected to house up to 30 physicians.
Councilman Lee Whetham recused himself because his wife works for Olympic Medical Center.
44 feet high
A portion of the new office building will be 44 feet high.
To offset the increase in building height, OMC had proposed setbacks, extensive landscaping and open space.
The road closures help the hospital consolidate its existing facilities into “a new and expanded public medical service campus and the addition of a new medical service structure without the constraint of a vehicular right-of-way splitting the project in two,” according to Community and Economic Development Director Nathan West’s staff report.
Councilwoman Sissi Bruch voted against the proposal.
She argued there was too much pavement for parking and too little open space included in the project.
“It turned into an engineered solution for the car,” said Bruch, who holds a doctorate in urban planning-geography.
“The design, in my opinion, is weak.”
But other council members praised the project.
The new facility will provide space for up to 30 more physicians and a 230-space parking lot for patients, more than the 180 spaces that are required.
“Trying to find a physician is difficult, if not impossible,” Mayor Dan Di Guilio said.
“This will go a long way to easing up on that pressure.”
Patients must drive to the hospital and need a place to park, Di Guilio said.
“I see an attempt to provide open space,” he said.
West said Thursday that 20 percent of the footprint of the project is required to be open space and can incorporate existing open-space areas.
Robert McNamara, the project architect with Rice Fergus Miller of Bremerton, said the additional parking was needed to accommodate a current parking shortage and future growth.
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Senior Staff Writer Paul Gottlieb can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5060, or at pgottlieb@peninsuladailynews.com.
