Correction: Post Office property was not in the 185th rezone

Post Office property is zoned Commercial Business

By Diane Hettrick

In the article about the loss of the North City post office lease, I stated that the property had been rezoned as part of the 185th Station Subarea.

That was not correct. The parcel where the post office sits at NE 175th and 15th Ave NE was rezoned years ago.

With the assistance of the Planning department, I now have the correct information.

North City along 15th NE was zoned CB (Community Business) about 17 years ago. At the same time, the other existing business areas were also zoned CB: Ballinger, 4-Corners, Ridgecrest, and the area around NE 145th and 15th NE.

Much of the property along the east side of 12th Ave NE was rezoned to CB with the Station Area rezones several years ago.

The development requirements for CB zoning were slightly modified about 5 years ago to be consistent with other CB zones outside of North City.

Currently, the maximum building height is 60 feet (from average existing grade or 5-6 stories) with residential and commercial uses. There is no requirement that multi-story buildings include retail spaces or "affordable" residential units. However, developers can apply for Multifamily Tax Exemptions if they provide some affordability. The Polaris Apartments on NE 175th St are a recent example of that.