KPLU Local News
(2010-02-10)
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SEATTLE, WASH.
(KPLU) -
Seattle Children's Hospital will be able to expand, but less than it has been asking for. That's the compromise between the medical center and homeowners in the surrounding Laurelhurst neighborhood. It was announced at a Seattle City Council meeting.
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The medical center says it's bursting at the seams and needs more room--for hospital beds and offices. But, it's in a residential neighborhood just east of the University of Washington, and those neighbors want limits on the expansion. Now, it looks like the neighbors in Laurelhurst are getting most of what they wanted, such as:
# The total square footage on the main campus will not exceed 2.125 million square feet - a reduction of 275,000 square feet
# Building heights will not exceed 140' (excluding mechanical space)
# The Hartmann property (located across Sand Point Way NE) will not be developed as a part of the master plan
# Children's agrees not to expand its boundaries into residential areas within Laurelhurst for a period of 50 years
The concessions are similar to changes recommended last summer by a city Hearing Examiner, who ruled Seattle Children's master plan was out of scale for the area. The hospital was facing an all-or-nothing appeal to the Seattle City Council, and announced the settlement at the first public hearing in that process. The Laurelhurst Community Club and all its members agreed to drop their appeals. Seattle Children's will contribute $150,000 to the club, defraying the neighborhood's legal costs.
(Listen to the full story above.)
Details of the compromise are posted at a Seattle City Council website and at Seattle Children's website.
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