The third Early Design Guidance meeting for the Velmeir development took place last night. The Board heard from the architect and the community. They praised the architect’s efforts, but had a laundry list of items that still need to be addressed with the building. Nonetheless, they said the proposal could move on to the MUP (Master Use Permit) phase. This didn’t seem to be as much about the achievements of the design, as that the Board wants more information about aspects of the project (e.g., traffic impacts to the neighborhood) which they can only get from the MUP phase and SEPA (State Environmental Protection Act) which now will follow. The Board also stated that they would like to see several options for the proposal to address the outstanding issues including massing, depth of modulation, and better relation to the neighborhood.

What does that mean for Save Madison Valley and the greater community? Our work continues. It’s not over by a long shot. There’s room for community involvement and input during this very important time when issues like water and traffic are more closely studied and the developer’s reports will be evaluated. We’ll be consulting with our attorney and architect consultant and will let you know the next steps soon.

What else? Our disappointment in the Board’s decision to pass this project on at this point is mitigated by our gratitude to the greater neighborhood for your involvement. It was a great turnout and a very impressive presentation from folks: you were thoughtful, informed, passionate, and creative in your feedback to the Board. What an amazing place to live – and we’re going to be working to keep it an amazing place to live. We look forward to continuing to work with you to Save Madison Valley.