A good portion of last night’s City Council was taken up talking about selling an 80-foot swath of land off Grand Avenue. It’s land that technically belongs to everybody who lives in Everett, but that has sat unused — at least by the public.
I want you to weigh-in on this one. Here’s the situation:
Apparently, the chunk of land at the end of 11th Street was given to the city when the area was first developed in 1892. The chunk of land is on the edge of the bluff, directly between two old Everett homes. Anybody who walks or drives by can catch views of the waterfront beyond.
It’s not clear why this was allowed but in the 1960s, the people next door were allowed to build a carport and driveway on the city land. Now, the homeowner wants to sell his house and the new buyer will only buy if he can acquire the city land too. The city says the land would be sold at fair market value.
People who live elsewhere in the neighborhood have expressed concerns that it’s not in the public’s best interest to sell the land. They don’t want to lose that spectacular view window onto the sound. At least one person who lives nearby has brought up that the city’s own Shoreline Master Program holds that the city is supposed to preserve access to the waterfront, including views, on street ends.
The city proposed allowing the homeowners on either side to buy it with the condition that a 20-foot view corridor remain — a solution that would allow the next door neighbors to use the land and preserve a slice of a view for the public. The matter still hasn’t been fully settled yet.
It’s technically your land if you live in Everett. What should city leaders do?
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