Park part of riverfront deal
Published 9:00 pm Friday, January 26, 2007
If you want an idea of how stretches of Everett’s planned riverfront development could turn out, look no further than the Narbeck Wetlands Sanctuary Park.
The 50-acre natural drainage site north of the Boeing Co.’s Everett factory is being held up as a model for planned wetlands and estuary enhancements along the Snohomish River.
“For being this close to an urban area (it’s) pretty amazing,” said assistant parks director Hal Gausman, walking across a footbridge made of recycled plastic boards at the sanctuary earlier this week.
As jets roared in the background, a mallard duck lazily paddled from behind a cluster of cattails sprouting from a shallow pond.
“It re-establishes its own dynamic,” Gausman said.
The city hopes to replicate some of those natural elements in a sweeping redevelopment project planned along the Snohomish River east of downtown.
On Wednesday, the Everett City Council is scheduled to vote on a proposal to sell 216 acres of city property to San Diego developer OliverMcMillan.
The key vote is the culmination of more than a decade of land acquisition, environmental cleanup, legal battles and real estate negotiations.
OliverMcMillan, which specializes in high-end mixed-use developments, is offering $8 million for the former Simpson mill and the city landfill.
The company plans to transform the long-abandoned industrial area into a pedestrian-friendly upscale shopping and residential neighborhood with trails, waterfront access, open space and parks.
The proposed sales agreement includes a commitment to develop the property to Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, or LEED, Silver standards.
That’s the second of four levels of certification by the U.S. Green Building Council, which rates projects based on sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency, materials selection and indoor environmental quality.
Under the plan, OliverMcMillan would deed back about 78 acres of wetlands that the city would restore and maintain, said city spokeswoman Kate Reardon.
That portion of the project would include 2.3 miles of pedestrian and bike trails and a three-acre city park.
It would also restore salmon habitat along Bigelow Creek, a small tidally influenced stream that flows northeast through the property.
Wetlands enhancements, the park and the trails are expected to cost the city between $12 million and $15 million.
In total, public improvements are expected to run between $30 million and $45 million.
That’s on top of an estimated $48 million that the city has already spent preparing the land for development, including environmental cleanup, a new 41st Street overpass and a deal with Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway to relocate tracks.
The city expects to pay for the improvements with a combination of city, state and federal grants and earmarks.
Tom Murdoch, director of the Adopt-A-Stream Foundation in Everett, said restoring stream and wetland ecosystems is needed to replenish depleted salmon runs.
“Since the non-Indians arrived on the scene, we have wiped out about 85 percent of the Snohomish County Wetlands estuary,” he said.
That’s why the city’s plans to develop the riverfront were challenged by the Tulalip Tribes and two environmental groups, Pilchuck Audubon Society and Washington Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility.
Young salmon spend up to a year in the estuary on their way from rivers to Puget Sound.
In a lawsuit, the groups accused the city of underestimating the impact that the development would have on chinook, which are protected by the Endangered Species Act.
A study to preserve the wetlands was prepared in August 2005 to comply with settlement agreements.
The study, which includes conceptual plans, was prepared by The Watershed Company of Kirkland – the same company that prepared plans for Narbeck.
City spokeswoman Reardon said the project should take shape well before the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, B.C.
Walking along the Narbeck trail, where beaver dams dotted small streams and snags used by osprey and bald eagles towered above native grasses and trees, she said the project should strike a balance between nature and urban development.
“It’s probably the best combination we could have imagined,” Reardon said.
Reporter David Chircop: 425-339-3429 or dchircop@ heraldnet.com.
