HomeMy WebLinkAboutEX16_PublicCommentMalesisMr. Andrew Van Gordon January 6, 2022
Associate Planner
City of Renton
Dear Mr. Van Gordon and City of Renton staff,
I am the Managing member of Commercial Corner, LLC which owns the property at 307 Rainier Ave
South, Renton. Our current tenant is O’Reilly’s Auto Parts. News of the changes to the former Firestone
property made its way to me through a mailing received on January 3rd. After speaking with the
Manager at O’Reilly’s about these changes, I can say that both parties are happy to see alterations
proposed to the former Firestone property as it has become an attractant to trash and graffiti.
Our enthusiasm does not extend to the concept of the “new internal parking lot connection to the
O’Reilly’s Auto parts to the north” as is stated in the Project Description for PR18-000439 Chick-Fil-A
Restaurant / LUA21-000440, ECFG, SA-A. Commercial Corner ownership, and O’Reilly’s Auto Parts, have
concerns about a having an increase in vehicle traffic should unrestricted access be al lowed through the
property. The significant amount of pass-through traffic generated from a high drive-through count /
high meal count fast food business would be disruptive to O’Reilly’s business operations. We ask the city
to drop the proposed north drive access connection from the Chick-Fil-A site plan.
We do not understand the proposed need for vehicle circulation to the north coming out of the very
large Chick-Fil-A property (once it is combined with the former Firestone property). Their property has
more than half a city block of street exposure on Rainier Ave South. A street frontage of this length
supports multiple vehicle entrances all throughout the city. In addition, the Chick-Fil-A property has a
physical drive access connection to the heart of the Renton Center parking lot. Will this parking
expansion project not work without the proposed north side entrance?
We are not receptive to granting any access right to the former Firestone property. It is our
understanding there is no documented or recorded access right that has been granted to the former
Firestone parcel by current or prior owners of the Commercial Corner property. The existence of any
such instrument would be news to our ownership and if such document is found, we would like to
review it. This property has been owned by the same family since the early 1970s and its history is well
known.
In 1976, the owner of the former Firestone property granted an access easement to the Commercial
Corner property with the primary purpose of providing driveway access the southwest corner its
building where a loading door was located. This easement, the area of which is entirely located on the
former Firestone property, is still in effect today.
In my phone discussion with you (Andrew Van Gordon) on January 4th you mentioned that traffic and
vehicle volume studies are to occur. I have concerns because of what can be observed at City of
EXHIBIT 16
RECEIVED
01/07/2022
AVanGordon
PLANNING DIVISION
DocuSign Envelope ID: F94832C8-5168-46AD-9392-B611DC851286
Bellevue Chick-Fil-A site and the traffic problems that it has created. There is congestion daily at the
northbound 405 - eastbound NE 8th Street exit in Bellevue with restaurant traffic backing up as far as the
freeway off ramp (see attached image). Certainly, this traffic circulation was the subject of studies by
the City of Bellevue, and those studies missed the mark. If that type of miscalculation were to occur and
similarly effect our property, we will most certainly lose our national brand tenant and suffer a
tremendous loss of property value. We simply cannot risk allowing this type of problem to occur.
There had been pass through traffic permitted onto the Commercial Corner parcel from the former
Firestone property in the past. Since Firestone had its own driveway access to Rainier Ave South and
combined with the nature of their business, the low volume of traffic, approximately 25 vehicle trips a
day, did not adversely affect business operations at Commercial Corner.
Above all else, we hope that we do not experience the City pressing for vehicle access connections to
benefit one property owner at the detriment of another.
Please feel free to contact me if you would like to further discuss our position on this matter.
Regards,
Alex Malesis
Managing Member
Commercial Corner LLC
13831 SE 77 th Pl
Newcastle, WA 98059
malesis1@yahoo.com
4252473262
DocuSign Envelope ID: F94832C8-5168-46AD-9392-B611DC851286
Image from Google Street View
DocuSign Envelope ID: F94832C8-5168-46AD-9392-B611DC851286