Developer eyes Japanese Gulch in Mukilteo
Published 11:08 pm Wednesday, April 22, 2009
EVERETT — History and casual hiking trails in Japanese Gulch could make way for a commercial center if plans reviewed last week by Everett officials come to fruition.
Representatives from Latitude Development LLC, of Auburn, met last week with planning officials to discuss a proposed 915,000-square-foot warehouse complex on the western edge of the privately owned Japanese Gulch, according to Everett city spokeswoman Kate Reardon.
The April 14 meeting raised concerns in Mukilteo, where people have spent two years gathering donations in hopes of turning the steeply sloped, heavily wooded ravine into parkland.
Those who are trying to make this happen put up strong opposition last year to a different proposal to build a light industrial park in the area. That proposal ultimately stalled.
Any new developer will also face heavy resistance, said Mukilteo City Councilman Richard Emery, the vice president of a preservation group called Save Japanese Gulch. Keeping the land undeveloped was part of Emery’s pitch when he was seeking the appointment to fill a vacant council seat in 2008.
“The community intends to let the developer know that this is more than just a potential parking lot and office buildings,” Emery said. “It is a place of bald eagles, blue herons and beautiful cedar groves.
“A lot of people care deeply about it, and it might not be good public relations for them to go ahead,” he said.
The proposal is “in the very early stages of due diligence,” said Dave Kessler, a principal owner with Latitude Development.
Kessler confirmed that his company was working with Metropolitan Creditor’s Trust, a Spokane-based company that owns nearly 100 acres in the gulch. He also said that Latitude was working with other landowners in the area.
The preliminary plan submitted to Everett proposes putting a number of buildings on about 121 acres of land, Reardon said.
Only about 41 acres of that property is developable, the application shows.
Emery’s group is planning a community meeting regarding the Gulch for 7:30 tonight at Mukilteo City Hall, at 11930 Cyrus Way.
Most of Japanese Gulch’s nearly 200 acres are within Everett city limits, but Everett officials have said they would be willing to let Mukilteo have the area if that city could turn the ravine into parkland.
Last year, Mukilteo purchased a relatively flat 8.7-acre parcel in the area for that purpose. This year, Sen. Paull Shin has proposed $1 million in the state budget to continue expanding public ownership in the Gulch, which was home to many Japanese immigrant mill workers in the early 1900s.
While officials work to secure land for a park, locals have been using Japanese Gulch for public recreation for decades.
People who use property not publicly owned are technically trespassing, but that hasn’t stopped the creation of extensive bike jumps and maintained trails.
Trespassers have put hundreds if not thousands of hours of labor into the property, estimated Debby McGehee, secretary and treasurer of Save Japanese Gulch.
“People in this area want a park in Japanese Gulch so much that they have built themselves one,” McGehee said.
Chris Fyall: 425-339-3447, cfyall@heraldnet.com.
Gulch meeting
Save Japanese Gulch plans a meeting to discuss potential development in the area at 7:30 tonight at Mukilteo City Hall, 11930 Cyrus Way.
