Sidewalks on agenda at Kingston Bay appeal

When county supervisors hold an appeal hearing May 14 about a project that would put a 41-bed, 31-room assisted-living facility for seniors on the busy residential corner of Ardath Drive and Green Street, there already will be some recommended changes to conditions previously approved by a county hearing officer.

One issue has been having the 28,265-square-foot Kingston Bay Senior Living Center provide sidewalks where people could walk safely, keeping them off the roadway on which drivers are known to zip past on their way to or from nearby Highway 1. Drivers heading east on Ardath face a downhill curve before getting to the highway, which poses a safety risk, according appellant Bruce Fosdike and some other members of the North Coast Advisory Council.

According to an email sent Tuesday, April 30, by county planner Airlin Singewald to Supervisor Bruce Gibson, some NCAC members and The Cambrian, county planners now are recommending that Kingston Bay provide a 4-foot paved shoulder on all frontages of the property (Londonderry Lane, Ardath and Green) and a 5-foot sidewalk on Ardath (with no provision for the applicant to request of waiver of the requirement). Curbs and gutters also are to be included.

Singewald said the project’s developer has agreed to the changes.

The previously approved condition also recommended sidewalks on Ardath Drive, including an 8-foot paved shoulder and 6-foot sidewalk, but the applicant could ask to have that condition waived.

Singewald wrote that, “These improvements will provide adequate pedestrian circulation around the site while keeping the street design generally consistent with the semi-rural character of the surrounding neighborhood and allowing the project to move forward without significant site planning changes.” 

He said applicant Jeff King also is exploring options (in consultation with Regional Transit Authority) to upgrade the existing bus stop at Ardath and Green Street. That upgrade could “include a bus pullout, or moving the bus stop to another area” that would better serve “pedestrian circulation developed in the right-of-way as part of the proposed project.”

This story was originally published May 2, 2013 at 4:56 PM with the headline "Sidewalks on agenda at Kingston Bay appeal."