EVERETT — It is now likely a planned 70-unit apartment building for homeless people will be located on City of Everett property in the Pinehurst/Beverly Park neighborhood, the city said.
The selection of the site was first announced in May, but at the time, city officials stressed the decision was preliminary. The property at 6107 Berkshire Drive also houses the Everett Fire Department’s training center.
In June, residents from the neighborhood came forward to protest the decision to the City Council.
Again, city officials stressed that the location hadn’t received final approval, with Mayor Ray Stephanson saying, “Council has significant oversight and will have a vote on this site. We need to get Catholic Housing Services on the site to see if it’s feasible.”
Catholic Housing Services, which the city selected to manage the project, now has been to the site and determined that, yes, the project is feasible there, said Hil Kaman, Everett’s director of public health and safety.
Several sites were considered in addition to the Berkshire Drive location, but all the others had problems: The property would be too expensive or couldn’t be built on, converting an existing building was too expensive, or a landowner didn’t want to sell.
“We went through that whole process and identified this as a feasible site and the rest of the sites were not feasible,” Kaman said.
The desired property also had to be located close to transit, shopping and other services, and had to be large enough to hold a 70-unit apartment building. The site is just off Evergreen Way, where there is a cluster of stores, auto shops, restaurants and the Kush Mart marijuana shop.
Some residents of Berkshire Drive have put up signs in the neighborhood in opposition to the project.
“It’s already bad enough because of the pot store that opened over here,” said Olga Garanin, who lives next door to the city’s property in a rented duplex.
Garanin said she didn’t want to have to explain it to her children. “I don’t want them to see this,” she said.
Her neighbor, Abby Gavit, said she didn’t have a strong opinion about the project.
“I feel like it needs to go somewhere,” Gavit said. “If this is the best place for it, then OK, because Everett needs more low-income housing.”
The neighborhood has been nice since Lester Green moved in a few doors down about a year ago, he said. He said he’s concerned that the housing project would bring more traffic through the neighborhood.
“These guys walk all through here now, just from the weed store,” Green said. He said he was thinking of buying the house he was renting, but would think twice if the housing project went in.
“Crime is certainly going to go up,” he said.
Among other locations, the city considered buying an undeveloped lot from the Snohomish County Public Utility District near the corner of Broadway and 13th Street, Kaman said. It turned out that the neighborhood already had so many lower-income people living there that the city wouldn’t be able to qualify for Section 8 vouchers for project residents.
“It had to be in a census tract that could not have too high a poverty concentration,” Kaman said.
That parcel sold in August to a developer for about $495,000.
Another option was the former Village Inn Pancake House on Evergreen Way south of Casino Road, but there were some restrictive covenants on the property.
The City Council has not taken any official action related to the Berkshire Road site, Kaman said.
The project is part of the larger Safe Streets Plan, which includes actions such as the city’s work crew program for some minor offenses, the newly enacted Alcohol Impact Area, and a mental health court program designed to steer some offenders into treatment in lieu of jail.
The housing project is called “low-barrier” because the residents would not have to be in treatment in order to qualify for housing. In fact, the model in use across the country shows that people are more likely to enter treatment or obtain needed social services if they have stable housing first.
Many of those social services will be available on-site, and the building will be staffed around the clock with a secure entry.
In order for the housing project to be built, the city will have to go through a land transfer and sign a contract with Catholic Housing Services to operate the site.
Both actions require the City Council’s consent and trigger mandatory public hearings.
Catholic Housing Services is expected to give the council more information at its meeting on Wednesday.
“It’s really just a briefing for them and a chance for Catholic to talk about the project and what they’re going to be doing next,” city spokeswoman Meghan Pembroke said. No action is scheduled to be taken at that meeting.
An additional public meeting has been scheduled for Oct. 4 at Evergreen Middle School.
Kaman said that both he and Mayor Ray Stephanson have been attending neighborhood association meetings in Pinehurst and View Ridge/Madison, and have knocked on doors in the neighborhoods. They’ve met with supporters and opponents.
“We tried to focus on those individuals who expressed concerns with us,” Kaman said. “Some of those conversations lasted half an hour.”
More information about the project is available on the city’s website at https://everettwa.gov/housingfirst.
Chris Winters: 425-374-4165; cwinters@heraldnet.com. Twitter: @Chris_At_Herald.
Presentation and public meeting
Staff from the city of Everett and Catholic Housing Services are scheduled to present plans for a low-barrier housing project to the City Council at 12:30 p.m. Wednesday, in council chambers, 3002 Wetmore Ave. In addition, a community meeting focused on the project is scheduled Oct. 4, from 6:30-8:30 p.m. at Evergreen Middle School, 7621 Beverly Lane. More information about the project is online at https://everettwa.gov/housingfirst.
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