A 30-day gap in the extension of a pedestrian ordinance that prohibits development of auto-oriented businesses could allow the Safeway supermarket chain to move ahead with plans to build a discount gas station at their Crown Hill location.

Late last month the Seattle City Council narrowly approved a six-month extension to an emergency pedestrian ordinance in Crown Hill, which was scheduled to expire on April 1. Councilman Richard Conlin sponsored the original emergency legislation last year under assumptions that the monorail would be built. At the March 27 council vote, Conlin removed the "emergency" language, allowing the ordinance to pass 5-4.

But legalities of the newly passed legislation won't allow the ordinance to take effect until 30 days, potentially permitting Safeway to move ahead with plans to build a gas station on the southwest corner of Northwest 83rd and 15th Avenue Northwest.

Permit applications submitted before the ordinance is in effect gives the company a vested right to move ahead with developments, said Conlin.

Cherie Myers, director of public and government affairs for Safeway, said the company still has some work to do on the project, but that they are very interested in the location and plan to act soon.

The supermarket chain applied for land use permits to build a gas station at the same site in 2000 but cancelled the application after the city requested further study on traffic and parking impacts.

Some residents say another gas station contradicts city and neighborhood goals of creating a pedestrian-oriented retail core for Crown Hill.

"Children and adults live and walk throughout the neighborhood, and I expect city leaders to prioritize the safety of children over the rights of Safeway to build a massive gas station," said Jim Anderson, president of the Loyal Heights Community Council.

Councilman Richard McIver voted against the extension. In an email response to Anderson's concerns, McIver said because 15th Avenue is designated as a major truck route in the city's Comprehensive Plan and is an important freight corridor that supports heavy volumes of traffic; he's not convinced that a pedestrian overlay is relevant to that area.

Anderson disagreed with McIver's reasoning, saying that freight trucks wouldn't be the primary users of a new gas station.

"It will be cars, and lots of them, pulling in and out of the neighborhood," he said. "In fact, it seems more likely that adding a mega-station in the area will do more to slow truck traffic than enhance it."

Large developments like Safeway's gas station (anything over 4,000 square feet) typically require an environmental review process, which studies traffic impacts, said Seattle Department of Planning and Development spokesman Alan Justad.

Jack Seifert, a self-employed massage therapist and president of the Crown Hill Business Association, said the neighborhood is already overloaded with gas stations. Through his own observation, Seifert calculated gas stations and pumps within a 1-mile radius in areas of Crown Hill, Aurora Avenue and Ballard. He found Crown Hill to have the most.

"There are a lot of outspoken people (in the Crown Hill Business Association) who are opposed to more gas stations," he said.

There are some business owners that do approve the idea, but they aren't recognizing the ramifications of a mega gas station, such as increased unwelcome traffic, said Seifert.

"But more than that, Crown Hill has the potential to be an identifiable central business district similar to Greenwood or Fremont," he said. "Anyone who lives here or passes through would want that."

Myers said Safeway has had support in Ballard and Crown Hill since the 1930s when the company first came to the area.

"I think we have our finger on the post," said Myers. "We wouldn't go into a neighborhood if we thought we didn't have our customer's support, but we feel we have that."

The city council is still awaiting two pieces of legislation that will affect Crown Hill's pedestrian future.

This month, DPD will present the council with a proposal for a recommended P2 Pedestrian Zone in Crown Hill. DPD recommends a pedestrian area that is smaller than the current temporary pedestrian zone.

The proposal does not include the land where Safeway plans to build a gas station, but the department said a smaller area would be easier to establish as a strong pedestrian-oriented retail core as it redevelops over time.

DPD's proposal has already been approved through environmental review, but some residents think the suggested pedestrian overlay is to small and will do little to support a pedestrian core.

Conlin said he plans to propose an amendment to the legislation that would "address the community's concern."

"I will continue to back up the residents," said Conlin. "That area should be pedestrian oriented."

In June, the council will vote on whether to limit the number of pumps at gas stations in neighborhood commercial areas, such as Crown Hill.