SEQUIM — Go ahead and build, but make it pretty.
That’s what City Council members told the developer of the Sequim Village Marketplace’s next phase.
The unlandscaped space around Home Depot, a Village Marketplace first-phase anchor, “looks like a bomb site,” Councilman Bill Huizinga said during Wednesday’s study session.
White pipes and weeds make it an eyesore, he said while asking the council to require future development to include landscaping around all future structures.
Thomas Lee of Madison Development stepped up to explain Home Depot’s surroundings.
Madison, based in the Seattle suburb of Kirkland, is in the process of purchasing the 20-acre property from AVB Development Partners, the original marketplace developer from Scottsdale, Ariz.
“It’s pointless and very expensive to landscape a building pad,” Lee said.
“Once the tenants are secured, the landscaping will be completed.”
“Just keep it from looking like a weed patch,” said Huizinga, himself a former real estate developer.
The council approved plans for the second phase of the Marketplace, provided landscaping is done wherever buildings aren’t.
Shoppers headed for the Village Marketplace’s Costco Wholesale, scheduled to be twice as big as the one at U.S. Highway 101 and Hooker Road, may not notice weeds on their way to the new store’s gas station, one-hour photo mart, optical and hearing aid centers and other amenities.
Lee said the store will open in June.