Another public meeting for the 6010 Phinney Ave. project is scheduled for Thursday, from 6:30-8 p.m. at the Phinney Neighborhood Association, in the brick building’s Community Hall.
The building currently on the site houses Phinney Ridge Cleaners, Chef Liao, The Daily Planet Antiques, and Roosters Breakfast Club (formerly Val’s Cafe). The proposal is for a four-story apartment building with ground floor retail and underground garage.
Thursday’s environmental review is crucial, as concerned neighbors believe the dry cleaners 77 years at the site mean the ground could be contaminated and need extra clean-up:
We now have evidence that this dry cleaner has been at that location for 77 years. (1932 Seattle Polk’s Directory, p. 1724, UW Special Collections). Because of this continuous and lengthy operation of a dry cleaner business at this site, the potential for soil and groundwater contamination from PERC is higher than on a site that has not had continuous dry-cleaner operations for most of the last century. The nature of dry cleaning chemicals perchoroethylene (PERC) and tetrachloroethylene make them a triple threat as they contaminate soil, water and air. At the beginning last design review meeting on February 23rd, Catherine McCoy, Land Use Planner for the project announced that this upcoming SEPA meeting would be the time for anyone to make comments regarding traffic and parking issues. Phinney Avenue and 61st Street is a congested intersection, so this issue is likely to be a hotbed of contention.
