What Kennewick officials say this time about a hotel and more houses for Thompson Hill
The men leading the charge for a Tri-Cities hilltop development claimed at hearing this week that the city is barring them from building anything, but staff and neighbors pushed back.
They say the developer is over-reaching.
Jose Chavallo has been trying to develop the roughly 40 acres he owns on top of Thompson Hill in Kennewick for more than a decade, but has come up short when requesting zoning changes.
He wants to turn a hilltop home he owns into a hotel and turn the surrounding acreage into a high density residential development.
The 3,400-square-foot home, built in 1971 by Ken Thompson, has been at the center of attempts to redevelop the hilltop for nearly 15 years.
Property records show Chavallo bought the home perched on top of the hill south Kennewick for $850,000 in February 2009. At the time, it was known as 360 Cellars Estate Bed & Breakfast.
Bids to turn it into a hotel in 2009, 2010 and 2011 failed, and in 2021 he brought forth the more ambitious rezoning request to develop his entire 38-acre property.
Heated meeting
Paul Christensen, the engineer on the project, told the Kennewick Planning Commission that this fight predates everyone on the commission, and that no matter what they’ve proposed they’ve been shot down.
“There was an existing subdivision that was already preplanned, approved, but we ran into this same fight with our neighbors at the time,” Christensen said. “At this point it’s, ‘We don’t care what you want to do, we don’t want to see it done.’”
Christensen said that this time around they’ve followed city staff recommendations, but staff still recommended the commission vote to deny the changes. And by the end of the night, they did.
“Our plan has never changed, as we made these requests we’re told to work with the staff and find the ways you can use the tools of the commission to make it happen,” Christensen said. “We were told to do it this direction and we can make it happen, then at the last moment we were told they were going to recommend denial.”
The subdivision he is referring to would have been a gated community with 36 half-acre lots called Citadel Estates, proposed back in 2011. The last indication they gave of their plans was for a development of 350 condos last year.
Christensen said they continue to fight because Chavallo wants to share the property with all of the Tri-Cities, calling it the “crown jewel” of the region thanks to its sweeping views.
Chavallo said that he tells his children to always fight for what they believe in, and fight to do the right thing, and this is what he believes is right.
“We started this a long time ago. We looked at what would be best for the community, not one neighbor,” Chavallo said. “I would love to share what I see when I get up in the morning.”
Only Chavallo and Christensen spoke in favor of the proposal.
The city received dozens of comments against it ahead of the meeting, as well as residents who spoke against it in person.
High density zoning
The latest attempt to have the zoning change follows a withdrawn proposal earlier this year to change zoning city-wide to allow boutique hotels, which would have allowed hotels of up to 100 rooms to operate anywhere in the city.
While they have a vision for the site, they have not filed official plans. That’s an area where city staff was particularly hesitant, said Senior Planner Steve Donovan. In their report to the planning commission, city staff recommended denying the proposal.
“As far as what he’d like to do with the property, we don’t know if that’s going to be the (final plan),” Donovan told the commission. “Whatever is permitted by the implemented zoning districts would be permitted on the site.”
What that means is that if the city allowed the zoning changes, Chavallo could build a hotel of any size rather than just convert the home already on top of the hill.
He could also build hundreds more homes, apartments and condos than the estimate previously put forth.
Donovan also pushed back on whether they’re being barred from building, by pointing out that the area is zoned low density, which means they already could build about 200 single-family homes without needing a zoning change.
Several neighbors said they would support such a development if it was proposed, and in line with the existing neighborhoods.
Under the requested zoning, they would be able to build nearly three times the number currently allowed, or even apartments.
Other areas of concern from city staff included erosion control because of the grade of the slopes on the hill, compatibility with surrounding neighborhoods and access.
Neighbor concerns
One neighbor asked the city whether they’re ready to commit to clearing those steep roads in the winter time to ensure traffic from the hotel doesn’t endanger home owners.
In a letter to the city, the Panoramic Heights Home Owners Association cited several factors that residents were most concerned about. They wrote the letter on behalf of more than 100 homeowners in Panoramic Heights and other nearby Southridge neighborhoods.
- Increased traffic
- Incompatibility with existing neighborhoods
- Steep slopes, runoff and landslides
- Decrease in property values
- Noise and light pollution
Panoramic Heights HOA President Bill Dixon said they welcome low-density single family home development, similar to what is already being built on Thompson Hill, but it is the possibility of much larger developments they take issue with.
Don Barnes said he’s been to the top of the hill, and agrees the view is incredible, but when talking about “sharing” he wants the city to consider what the share of homeowners will be.
“He wants you to envision only the positive attributes. It’s the overall share that’s not acceptable. Traffic, noise pollution, runoff. And that’s what is not compatible with the surrounding neighborhoods,” Barnes said. “(Chavallo) said he would continue to fight for his right, or what’s right, but to the best of my knowledge he’s not entitled to any upzone.”
After hearing from about a dozen members of the public attending in person, the planning commission voted unanimously to deny the request.
