Agreement paves way for 20th Street vision

By Meghan Erkkinen

Fife has entered into an agreement with developer SGA Corporation regarding land owned by the corporation along 20th Street.

The agreement paves the way for several of the city’s goals in the area, including making 20th Street a pedestrian-oriented town center and building a new truck route to keep trucks off 20th Street. The agreement was approved by the Fife City Council at its meeting April 8.

The land is the former Sterino farm and totals about 464,000 acres. SGA’s proposed development, called the Portside Logistics Center, includes a total of nine buildings. Four of those buildings are along 20th Street.

SGA submitted its first permit application to develop the land in August 2006. At the time, the city was in the process of developing legislation to promote a vision of a pedestrian-friendly, commercial center in the area. Fife asked SGA to sit down and renegotiate its plans for the site to better align with the city’s vision.

Although the corporation had no obligation to do so, it agreed to work with the city.

“Time is money, and a lot of money, but my client decided to work with the city,” said attorney Brent Carson, who represents SGA. “In the end, it’s the right decision for my client and your city.”

SGA agreed to modify its designs and bring the street-front buildings closer to the road and put parking in back. Those four buildings will be geared toward community-oriented businesses, which the city is hoping to promote in the area of 20th Street. Four larger buildings behind them can be used for warehousing, technology, large-scale printing and similar activities. The last building, a large warehouse, is in an industrial zone and may be used accordingly.

The developer will put up buffers on both the east and west sides of its property to shield residents on both sides from noise.

SGA also agreed to construct a road through the middle of the property – the future 66th Avenue, a potential future truck arterial. The Fife council in 2007 approved a comprehensive plan amendment to support a future 66th Avenue, which would connect 20th Street and 70th Avenue.

Once the city has acquired additional right-of-way and funding for the road, SGA’s portion will be turned over to Fife.

The agreement also sets deadlines for the developer. A building permit application for one of the street-front buildings must be submitted by Jan. 1, 2010 and should be constructed within a year of the permit’s issuance. The agreement applies for 10 years, after which the developer will be subject to the city’s current zoning and regulations.

“Without this (agreement), the vision of 20th Street would be lost,” said Carl Smith, community development director for the city.

Several city residents

also spoke on the subject. Norm Weis, a housing association board member at the Mayfair Place

Condominiums to the east of the property, expressed his board’s support for the project.

“The city wins, we win and the developer gets to do his job,” he said. “We’re trying to become a city and this is a good way to do it.”

Two other residents, who both live in the Radiance development, spoke against the agreement, saying they are not pleased with the amount of truck traffic along 70th Street.

The council supported the agreement unanimously.

“I think this will be the beginning of our vision along 20th Street,” said Councilmember Nancy de Booy.

Councilmember Butch Brooks acknowledged the challenges faced by both the city and the developer in the agreement.

“Though it may not be perfect, this is the best-case scenario,” he said. “The developer very well could have said no.”

Several council members also expressed an interest in moving forward on the 66th Avenue project. Although it is a council goal, the city currently has no schedule for its development.

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