Reading the outrageous claim made by the New York developer of the 5th & Virginia project, Douglaston Development, in response to a recent query from Linzi Sheldon of Kiro7 News here in Seattle, it makes one wonder “Is it in the Water” in New York City?

Claim (by Douglaston):

Douglaston Development issued a statement to Linzi , which read in part: “To allow for more air, light and privacy, our Seattle-based design team has responded to comments throughout the city’s design review process and pulled back substantially from our property line.” The developer also said it looks forward to collaborating with neighbors and the City.

Fact (by Garry Papers, Senior Land-Use Planner, Seattle DCI):

In DCI Land Use Correction Notice #1 to Douglaston on March 1, 2016, to which no response has so far been received, the key statement from that notice is as follows:

“Other than the shifted loading dock, the submitted drawings are largely, substantively, non-responsive to DRB guidance contained in the EDG#2 Report.

Sounds like a New York politician, doesn’t it? They say they are doing great things for us, while the facts say that they have been “largely, substantively, non-responsive”.

We’ll soon find out if the City of Seattle will hold Douglaston’s feet to the fire, or keep letting these out-of-state developers flaunt the rules, abuse the process, and attempt to ruin Downtown livability with no meaningful consequences.

Maybe Clinton, Trump, and Douglaston all need to be drinking some cleaner water!