Trouble for the planned mixed-use development at 19th and E Mercer started with plans to tear down a big, old cedar tree. Now, frustration over the city’s design review process has prompted 20 Capitol Hill neighbors to formally challenge the project’s design.

The lead appellant, nearby homeowner Dr. Suzanne Lasser, said the first major issue occurred in February when she realized the city’s design review website did not include many letters of concern submitted by neighbors months earlier.

Then, the following design review board meeting was held at a location Lasser said was not ADA accessible, preventing some members of the public from attending. Those that did attend the meeting were also advised not to comment on the size of the building, Lasser said, which several people wanted to discuss.

“We just felt like we weren’t heard as normal citizens in the design review process,” she said.

Earlier this month Lasser and the group of neighbors filed an appeal with the city’s Hearing Examiner, challenging the project’s approval by the East Design Review Board. Lasser said neighbors do not want to stop the project, but would like to force another round of design review with more neighborhood input.

Developer Epic Property Management LLC, which has owned the parcel since 2003, is proposing a five-story, 32-unit building with 2,260 square feet of street level retail and parking for 10 vehicles underground with another two spots in the alley.

The plan would retain neighborhood restaurant Monsoon and the cluster of businesses in the offices behind the restaurant.

Unfortunately, the red cedar will be coming down as part of the plans supported by the design review board in a previous meeting.

Specific concerns raised by the appellants vary when it comes to designs from Public47 Architects. The appeal largely focuses on a lack of planning around traffic flow, delivery areas, the height of the building, and plans to add a 13-step staircase to the entrance of the existing office building which neighbors say would not be ADA accessible.

We will be adversely affected by the design flaws related to entrances and exits. The current design of exists and entrances to the apartment endangers pedestrians and may result in unsafe vehicle drop offs and deliveries. The design is not up to current ADA standards. Also, we are concerned about property devaluation, construction disruption, renters’ and retail traffic congestion.

Developers have not yet filed a formal response to the appeal. However, in a recording of a preliminary meeting on Tuesday, a representative for Epic said they would move to dismiss some of the issues raised in the appeal and asked for further clarification on others.

“What design features do the appellants believe are unsafe?,” asked attorney Clayton Graham. “We see a lot of compound statements raising safety, access (issues) … it’s hard to really tell what it’s getting at.”

How commercial vehicles will load and unload around the intersection was of particular concern to Lasser.

“You can’t double park a truck on 19th, where are the delivery trucks going?” Lasser said. “We just wanted answers from somebody in the city and didn’t get any.”

A hearing on the “merits of the appeal” has been set for November 28th.

Meanwhile, Seattle’s process for gathering public and expert feedback on new building designs is poised to undergo the most significant update since it was established in 1994. For starters, we may be saying goodbye to the East Design Review Board. Other recommendations made in May by a city-appointed task force include requiring community engagement from developers, better facilitating online public comments, and streaming design review meetings online.