IN THE MATTER OF THE PETITION OF ACORN DEVELOPMENT LLC FOR
THE VACATION OF THE ALLEY IN BLOCK 21 WHICH IS IN
THE BLOCK BETWEEN BELL STREET, 7TH AVENUE,
BLANCHARD STREET, AND 8TH AVENUE IN THE DENNY
TRIANGLE NEIGHBOHROOD OF SEATTLE
CLERK FILE 314278

The City Council hereby grants approval of the petition from Acorn Development LLC
(hereafter Acorn Development or Petitioner) for the vacation of the Alley in Block 21
which is in the block between Bell Street, 7th Avenue, Blanchard Street, and 8th Avenue
in the Denny Triangle neighborhood of Seattle, described as:
The alley in Block 21, Heirs of Sarah A. Bell’s Second Addition to the City of
Seattle, recorded in Volume 1 of Plats, page 121, Records of King County,
Washington, being the block bounded by Bell Street, 7th Avenue, Blanchard
Street and 8th Avenue.
The street proposed for vacation includes approximately 5,756 square feet of right-ofway.
The vacation is granted upon the Petitioner meeting the following conditions. The
Petitioner shall demonstrate, to the satisfaction of the City, that all conditions imposed on
the vacation by the City Council have been satisfied: all utility work relating to the
vacation including easements or other agreements is completed; all public benefit
elements have been provided; any other agreements or easements have been completed
and recorded as necessary; and all fees paid, prior to the passage of the street vacation
ordinance.
1. The vacation is granted to allow the Petitioner to build a project
substantially in conformity with the project presented to the City Council
and for no other purpose. The project must be substantially in conformity
with the proposal reviewed by the Transportation Committee in
November of 2015.
2. All street improvements shall be designed to City standards, as modified by
these conditions to implement the Public Benefit requirements, and be
reviewed and approved by the Seattle Department of Transportation;
elements of the street improvement plan and required street improvements
to be reviewed include:
Street improvement plan showing sidewalks, street trees, bike racks, street
furniture, lighting, art or artist-made elements, and landscaping around the
site and the specific elements;
•
•

8th Avenue Hillclimb on site;
Blanchard Street setback;

 Block 21 Vacation Conditions for Amazon, CF 314278
Beverly Barnett, SDOT
December 8, 2015
Page 2 of 4

•
•
•
•
•
•
•

Bell Street setback;
7th Avenue Improvements and cycle track;
8th Avenue Improvements;
Blanchard Street Improvements;
Bell Street Improvements;
8th and Bell intersection enhancements;
Bell Street cycle track; and

3. The utility issues shall be resolved to the full satisfaction of the affected utility
prior to the approval of the final vacation ordinance. Prior to the
commencement of any development activity on the site, the Petitioner shall
work with the affected utilities and provide for the protection of the utility
facilities. This may include easements, restrictive covenants, relocation
agreements, or acquisition of the utilities, which shall be at the sole expense
of the Petitioner. Utilities impacted may include:



Seattle City Light; and
CenturyLink Communications.

4. It is expected that development activity will commence within
approximately 24 to 30 months of this approval and that development
activity will be completed within 7 years. In order to insure timely
compliance with the conditions imposed by the City Council, the Petitioner
shall provide the Seattle Department of Transportation with Quarterly
Reports, following Council approval of the vacation, providing an update on
the development activity, schedule, and progress on meeting the conditions.
The Petitioner shall not request or be issued a Final Certificate of Occupancy
(C of 0) until SDOT has determined that all conditions have been satisfied
and all fees have been paid as applicable.
5. Access to the buildings for vehicle parking, services, bicycles, and pedestrian
and retail entries shall be provided as follows, changes to this proposal shall
require the review of SDOT and DPD: three access points will be allowed;
two driveways on 8th Avenue with one providing an in/out driveway to the
parking garage and one providing an in/out driveway to the truck loading
dock; one exit-only driveway on Bell Street will be allowed for vehicles
exiting the parking garage.
6. In addition to the conditions imposed through the vacation process, the project,
as it proceeds through the permitting process, is subject to SEPA review and to
conditioning pursuant to various City codes and through regulatory review
processes including SEPA.
7.

The Petitioner shall develop and maintain the public benefit elements as
defined by the City Council. A Property Use and Development Agreement
(PUDA) or other binding mechanism shall be required to ensure that the

 Block 21 Vacation Conditions for Amazon, CF 314278
Beverly Barnett, SDOT
December 8, 2015
Page 3 of 4

public benefit elements remain open and accessible to the public and to
outline future maintenance obligations of the improvements. Signage
clearly identifying public access is required at the public open space
elements and shall require the review of SDOT Street vacations. The final
design of the public benefit elements shall require the review and approval
of SDOT Street Vacations. SDOT may request additional review by the
Design Commission of the implementation of the public benefit elements
or the pedestrian enhancements, as necessary. Public benefit elements in
the right-of-way require additional street use permits and indemnification,
public and private areas must be distinguished and markers in the sidewalk
shall be required. The public benefit requirements include the following
features as well as corresponding development standards, including
approximate square footage dimensions, which shall be outlined in the
PUDA:
Public Benefit
On Site
1
8th Ave
Hillclimb

Description

2

Blanchard
Street Setback



3

Bell Street
Setback





Adjacent Public R.O.W.
4
7th Ave

Improvements
and Cycle
Track

5

8th Ave
Improvements



6

Blanchard
Street
Improvements



12,000 sf publically accessible open space including:
o Accessible ramp from corner of 8th & Bell to mid-block plaza
o 2854 sf of planting
o 10 trees
o 132 lf seating elements
o Overhead soffit element
1,100 sf setback along the Blanchard Green Street including:
o 935 sf of planting
o 5 trees
o 59 lf seating elements
1,000 sf setback along the Bell Green Street including:
o 877 sf of planting
o 4 trees
o 20 lf seating elements
4,700 sf expanded pedestrian streetscape including:
o 1,366 sf of planting
o 7’ wide elevated cycle track running the length of the block
o 6 street trees (11 total new trees)
o Bus stop
o 5 pedestrian light fixtures
o Enhanced curb bulbs at each corner
3,300 sf expanded pedestrian streetscape including:
o 663 sf of planting
o 5 street trees (7 total new trees)
o 4 pedestrian light fixtures
o 74 lf seating elements
o Enhanced curb bulbs at each corner
750 sf expanded pedestrian streetscape including:
o 258 sf of planting
o 4 Street Trees (7 total new trees)
o 4 pedestrian light fixtures
o 74 lf seating elements

 Block 21 Vacation Conditions for Amazon, CF 314278
Beverly Barnett, SDOT
December 8, 2015
Page 4 of 4

7

Bell Street
Improvements

Off-Site Benefits
8
8th & Bell
Intersection
9
Bell Street
Cycle Track

10

Bell Street
Concept Plan



o Enhanced curb bulbs at each corner
1,800 sf expanded pedestrian streetscape including:
o 441 sf of planting
o 4 Street Trees (5 total new trees)
o 4 pedestrian light fixtures
o 10 lf seating elements
o Enhanced curb bulbs at each corner



5,350 sf raised intersection and sidewalk to enhance pedestrian safety



4,500 sf buffered bike lane on the north side of Bell Street from Denny
to 7th consistent with the Center City Bike Network including:
o
Buffered element to be planter or similar element approved by
SDOT
Development of conceptual street plan from 5th Ave to Denny Way to
be adopted by Joint Director’s Rule by SDOT and DPD.
Purpose of this Street Concept Plan is to inform future development to
reinforce the Bell Street Park design character




Signed by me in open session this ______day of December, 2015.

President ________________________of the City Council