PORT TOWNSEND — A city building inspector this week issued a partial stop-work order on the former Port Townsend Lumber building renovation project after discovering unapproved design changes.
The building is undergoing renovation to turn the former lumber warehouse into a retail center with five stores spaces, including a Hollywood Video store and a Quiznos sandwich shop.
Hollywood Video’s store has been opposed by a group of Port Townsend residents, Stop Hollywood Video, who have criticized so-called “formula stores” from coming to town to compete with locally owned businesses.
Plans Examiner Jan Hopfenbeck issued the stop-work order Monday after discovering that the building renovation plans contained last-minute changes to the facade that were made without notifying city staff.
The Port Townsend Design Review Advisory Committee met with the developer and a project architect on Tuesday to discuss the revisions.
Architectural changes
Under the alterations, the building of about 13,000 square feet would not get earlier proposed brick foundation, would lack several initially designed side windows, and bear other architectural changes.
“I made a lot of assumptions, and shame on me for not talking to you guys about it,” architect Pedro Castro of Redmond-based Magellan Architects said in a meeting Tuesday with the design review panel, an advisory committee to the city Planning Commission.
A second public meeting is scheduled at noon today in the Cedar Room of the Waterman and Katz Building, 181 Quincy St.
The design changes technically were approved by the city last fall, staff said.
But because they were made at the last minute, city staff was not appropriately notified before the signed papers went out the door.
“We believe in maintaining the integrity of the commercial design process. It was a big deal,” said David Wright, Development Services Department interim director.
“It’s very rare that we see anything like this.”