Harbor Steps Project Appealed

Plans for the four-tower Harbor Steps development near the Pike Place Market have been appealed by opponents who claim the project should be dramatically scaled down or even scuttled in favor of a city park.

The appeals, scheduled to go before a city hearings examiner Oct. 15, challenge city approval of a master-use permit - the general permit issued before specific building papers.

Opponents argue that the project is out of scale compared with surrounding buildings. The 2.3-acre site is bordered by First and Western avenues, and Seneca and roughly Union streets.

Harbor Development Co. had hoped by the end of summer to begin demolishing two buildings to make room for the project, which has been in the works since the early 1980s. The retail, apartment and hotel project includes two 16-story and two 24-story towers. A wide staircase between the buildings would descend from First Avenue to the waterfront through a series of plazas, fountains and landscaping.

To make way for the project, workers would have to tear down the 86-year-old Erikson Building, which houses offices and retail businesses, and the 75-year-old Oceanic Building, which houses studio lofts.

Developers are scheduled to meet July 24 with the appellants and city officials to discuss procedure for the appeals. But Harbor Development does not expect to settle before the hearing, said Denny Onslow, vice president of development.

Onslow said the company agreed to spend more than $5 million on the staircase, which he said will serve as an ``urban park,'' and decided to shorten one building from 34 stories to honor new zoning codes even though permits are being processed under old guidelines. A fourth building was added when the tallest one was shortened.

``We have tried to be sensitive to the various interest groups,'' Onslow said. ``We are surprised that it was appealed.''

Appellant Earl Diller, who owns a building across First Avenue from the site, said Harbor Steps would block waterfront views from First. The project also would provide inadequate parking (775) and harm the Seattle Art Museum by shading it and eliminating nearby open space.

``This open space is as necessary to the museum as a front door is to a home,'' Diller wrote. He could not be reached for comment.

The other appellant, Elizabeth Campbell, complained about the buildings' size and projected traffic problems. She asked that the buildings be scaled down.

Although Diller's complaint focused on Harbor Steps hurting the Seattle Art Museum, the museum supports the project, said Kathleen Scott of the Museum Development Authority. So does the Downtown Seattle Association and the University Street Local Improvement District Committee, a group behind the idea of building steps from First Avenue to the waterfront.