The future of the Dog House Tavern may rest on the exchange of less than 700 square feet of land.
Langley Mayor Fred McCarthy said the city is working to determine the value of public property adjacent to the Dog House Tavern ahead of the Monday, Nov. 17, public hearing on the street vacation, the technical name for the abandonment of a public right of way.
“Hopefully what we would be bringing forward is an obvious mutual benefit for the city and the Kleiners,” said McCarthy, of owners Charlie and Janice Kleiner, the Issaquah couple who purchased the property at auction years ago.
“I think it’s a very important issue to the Kleiners,” he added. “I think it’s just a matter of working out the details.”
Two pieces of land are being requested by the Dog House owners. One is about 540 square feet and is mostly under the existing stairs and porch. The other piece would make the property line straight, but which Charlie Kleiner said was not necessary to move forward with renovation or construction. Dollar values for both were not known by the Kleiners or the city as of press time.
While Kleiner said he would not necessarily tear down the building if the street vacation didn’t go through, he noted that the city has made it clear it wants to preserve at least the facade if the Dog House can’t be restored.
“If we save the building the way it is, we have to have the land,” Kleiner said in a phone interview Wednesday.
Some of the property west of the building that goes down the hill, technically a continuation of Anthes Avenue, is being considered to be given up by the city. In exchange, Langley would get land to add to Seawall Park on the north end of the Dog House property – the back of the building – from the Kleiners. In all, the couple would own about 630 square feet to the side of the Dog House that has the exterior stairs and porch.
To support the structure, Kleiner said he was advised by an architect to put an exterior shear wall, which would help bring it up to current seismic building standards, in the location that is currently on city property.
“It’s not like we want to own it,” Kleiner said. “We’re compelled to own it.”
Progress on the Dog House, Langley’s only structure on the National Register of Historic Places, has been halted at various points.
The Kleiners floated ideas to restore the building under a previous city administration, but their proposal was later rebuffed. Langley’s recently-departed planning director, Jeff Arango, said the building designs were insufficient for him to make a decision, and more importantly, the city is not allowed to give away public land without receiving something of equal value, either money or property.
The street vacation is similar to one proposed last year that the Kleiners abandoned. Charlie Kleiner said he had good reason. The city wanted equal or greater value in a land swap, and the latter condition did not sit well with him.
Earlier this year, the Kleiners emailed the city about the demolition process. As a response, the Langley City Council passed an emergency ordinance halting the demolition of historic buildings in the downtown area. After six months, the council approved rules and regulations about the maintenance of historic buildings and the qualifications to tear one down.
Partial Anthes Avenue loss
Langley is considering vacating part of Anthes Avenue as part of a deal with property owners who own the Dog House Tavern building. The public hearing on the issue is at 5:30 p.m. Monday, Nov. 17 at Langley City Hall.
