Petaluma approves East Washington apartment complex

The 24-unit project is expected to help ease the city’s housing crunch.|

A plan to build 24-units of apartment housing along one of Petaluma’s busiest crosstown routes is the latest to get a green light in the housing-strapped city.

Known as East Washington Commons, the project, located on East Washington Street across from the Petaluma Library, received rare unanimous approvals from Petaluma Planning Commission last week.

Some commissioners said they were originally unsure that the sleek design was in step with Petaluma, but the aesthetic ultimately drew universal praise.

“I think it really shows how exciting some contemporary architecture could be on this street,” said Commissioner Bill Wolpert. “I think this is a great project for where we want to go.”

The development is the latest step toward easing the city’s profound housing crunch. Designed by Sausalito’s Jerry Kler Architects, the airy, three-story structure will feature broad windows and an open-air central corridor. The building is designed to evoke a sense of floating above ground-level parking, with units on the top two floors.

A courtyard fronting East Washington Street will be available to the public, while the fenced-off area behind will be for tenants. The 24 units will be evenly split between one-bedroom and two-bedroom floor plans.

In addition to architectural approval, the project required a special approval due to its location in an area zoned for mixed-use developments, which often feature ground-floor retail in addition to upper-level residential. While East Washington Commons only called for residential units, commissioners agreed with city staff that it would complement the overall mix of uses in the area.

“It’s adding a piece that is missing on this mixed-use corridor,” said Heather Hines, planning manager for the city of Petaluma.

The purely residential project is also expected to result in fewer vehicle trips than one with a commercial component, said Curt Bates, Petaluma’s city engineer. Eastbound drivers will also not be able to turn left across East Washington Street in order to access the property, nor will drivers exiting the property be allowed to turn left across the busy crosstown street.

The project is the first in over a decade for Sonoma’s Steve Berezin, a long-time developer who said a chance call from a real estate broker prompted him to come out of retirement to build East Washington Commons.

“It appeared to me to be a natural infill project,” he said.

Berezin said he expected it would take several months to draft up final drawings and obtain building permits from the city, making it likely that construction will start in the spring of 2017.

The development will span three parcels between Payran and Ellis streets, one of which includes a 1950s-era home determined to have no historic value. The home will be demolished as part of the project.

Berezin said rental rates were not yet determined, and that the project would pay into a city fund as an alternative to setting aside below-market-rate units at the site.

East Washington Commons is part of a wave of new housing units to receive planning approval in the past 12 months in Petaluma, part of a broader stirring of housing development after years of dormancy. Vacancy rates in the city generally hover around 1 percent.

After a 30-year career, Berezin said he was pleased with the support commissioners expressed for the project.

“I have never gotten a unanimous vote from a planning commission, except to turn me down,” he said with a laugh.

(Contact Eric Gneckow at eric.gneckow@arguscourier.com. On Twitter @Eric_Reports.)

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