EVERETT — The Everett City Council is considering a change in parking regulations that could cost Snohomish County a lot of money.
The focus is the planned new Snohomish County Courthouse, a $162 million project. Construction is scheduled to begin next year and last 22 months.
The problem, as the city sees it, is that the courthouse design doesn’t include enough parking.
The current proposed design for the courthouse includes only about 35 parking spaces for eight floors and a basement, which include 250,000 square feet of office space.
“We’ve made it a priority that large government organizations won’t create hardship on the private sector,” Mayor Ray Stephanson said in introducing an ordinance at the Dec. 10 Everett City Council meeting.
Government office buildings experience heavy usage, said Allan Giffen, the city’s director of planning and community development.
“There was some discussion between the (Snohomish County) executive’s office and the mayor’s office about doing more, and that had fallen apart,” Giffen said.
The city’s Central Business District zone, which was designated in 2006, doesn’t require off-street parking for non-residential buildings.
The council on Wednesday will consider adopting the ordinance, which would require large government or other public service buildings to install one off-street parking space for every 800 square feet of office space.
For the 250,000 square-foot courthouse, that means the county would have to provide 312 off-street parking spaces.
Deputy County Executive Mark Ericks said the county staff is studying the proposed ordinance and talking with city staff.
It’s uncertain, Ericks said, if the new ordinance would apply to the courthouse or if the building would be grandfathered under current zoning rules. Another question concerns the county’s existing parking garage — and whether that would fulfill any new city parking requirement.
“The property we acquired is based on the footprint of the design and no additional parking because we have a parking garage across the street,” Ericks said.
“We have a good relationship with the city of Everett, and we know they need parking down there, and we need a courthouse,” Ericks said.
The budget of the planned courthouse has been set, and any new parking requirement or other change could raise the cost.
Chris Winters: 425-374-4165; cwinters@heraldnet.com. Twitter: @Chris_At_Herald.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
