Puyallup Design Review & Historic Preservation Board Meeting - November 20, 2025
Puyallup Design Review & Historic Preservation Board Meeting - November 20, 2025
The meeting was called to order at 4:06 PM and adjourned at 4:47 PM. The board discussed a pre-application for the mixed-use redevelopment of the former city administrative office building (AOB) site at 330 Third Street Southwest. No public comments were received. The board provided feedback on the design, and staff updated on upcoming projects.
Consent Calendar
- Approval of the agenda: Motion by Board Member Schlumpf, seconded by Vice-Chair Rooney, passed 5-0.
- Approval of the October 2, 2025 minutes: Motion by Board Member Schlumpf, seconded by Vice-Chair Rooney, passed 5-0.
Public Comments & Testimony
- No citizen comments were submitted in writing or presented via Zoom.
Discussion Items
- AOB Site Mixed-Use Development – Pre-Application: Senior Planner Chris Beale presented the project overview – a five-story, 140-unit multifamily building with 99 parking stalls, 2,300 sq ft of retail, and a residents-only gym. The project is in the CBD Core zone, subject to downtown design guidelines, with an approved development agreement allowing an upper floor stepback exemption. C2K Architecture (Nathan Miller, Juliana Seymour, Tim Boylan) presented the design, including brick façades on the ends, ribbed metal cladding in the center, and ground-floor public plaza areas. Board members provided the following feedback:
- Appreciated the overall design but recommended enhancing articulation on the brick ends without requiring upper-story stepbacks.
- Suggested exploring dynamic window fenestration groupings to break up the long (over 400-foot) façade.
- Expressed concern that the plaza location felt mid-block and not inviting; requested better integration with pedestrian activity and retail entrances.
- Noted that the central “gray bar” section appears repetitive; recommended adding features (e.g., false balcony fronts, trellis elements, or color changes) to break up the visual mass and screen mechanical units.
- Raised concerns about the parking garage openings being too visible and tall; suggested screening with vegetation, structure, or architectural treatments to minimize the parking garage appearance.
- Asked for contextual renderings showing the building in relation to the library and park to assess pedestrian-scale impact.
- Staff Report: Planning Manager Katie Baker thanked the board for feedback and noted upcoming projects: Bell Place (on hold pending development agreement), Seasons on Meeker (Cornforth Campbell site), and a small project. She requested members inform staff of planned absences for scheduling.
Key Outcomes
- No formal votes or decisions were made on the AOB project. The pre-application session was for feedback only.
- Staff will transmit board comments to the design team, and the team aims to return for a formal review in December 2025 or January 2026.
- Board Member Schlumpf requested minutes and recordings from previous design review update meetings; Planning Manager Baker stated they will be shared after Thanksgiving.
Meeting Transcript
Call to order. Yes, thank you. So yeah. Call to order. Time is it? 406. So good evening. The design review and historic preservation board meeting for August 20th is now called to order. Will the clerk please call the roll call? Board member Khan. Hi. Board member Garg. Appears to be absent. Board member Wolf. Here. Board Member Schlump. You appear to be muted. Here, I'm here. I'm mute. Sorry. Board member Pitts appears to be absent. Vice Chair Rooney. Here. Chair Staman. Here. We have a quorum. Thank you. Next item on the agenda is the approval of the agenda. Which was emailed out earlier. Motion to approve the agenda. So moved. Thank you. Do we have a second? A second. All right. Thank you. All in favor of approval of the agenda. Say aye. Hi. Hi. Hearing no or any opposed. Hearing none. That uh moves forward. Next item is consideration of minutes. Meeting minutes from October 2nd, 2025. Again, any discussion needed on if none looking for a motion. So moved. And uh to clarify a motion to approve. Motion to approve the October 2nd minutes. Thank you.
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