Everett council votes to rezone Waits Motel property

EVERETT — The Everett City Council voted last week to rezone the former site of the Waits Motel to increase density, the first step in clearing the way for a developer to build townhomes on the property.

The council voted 5-1 in favor of the rezone. Council member Liz Vogeli, who previously raised concerns with the rezone process, was the lone dissenting vote.

Now, the council will vote on whether to declare the 0.55-acre property at 1301 Lombard Ave. as surplus, selling it to the highest bidder who will be required to build townhomes, with a number of conditions laid out in a covenant — a binding agreement for the new property owners — written by the city.

For over 30 years, neighbors said, the Waits Motel was a hub for criminal activity in an otherwise quiet neighborhood in north Everett. A new manager had taken over the property in early 2023 and improved conditions, but the city voted to condemn the motel last year, citing a blight statute in city code. In January, the city purchased the property for $1.85 million and have been looking to find a use for it since. The motel was demolished eariler this year.

The city was looking to move quickly to put the property to use and get new housing built, Mayor Cassie Franklin and Planning Director Yorik Stevens-Wajda said in previous meetings this month.

As part of the city’s conditions, the new property owners will be required to build 14 to 16 townhomes with a maximum height of three stories. The city will also specify the buildings must “resemble the character of the existing residential neighborhood,” the rezone ordinance states, serving as a transition between the neighborhood’s single-family homes and the 4- to 6-story developments along Broadway.

Two residents provided public comment at Wednesday’s meeting. Both supported the rezone, saying it would allow for home ownership opportunities without straining the neighborhood.

“It’d be wonderful if we had homeowners that lived there, that were residents,” said Nancy Hecht, a 50-year resident on Lombard who called herself “the grandma of the block,” at the meeting. “I think it could hold the 16 that people have talked about, but it could not hold a high-rise apartment house. That’s why we need to have this rezone.”

The council will vote on whether to declare the property as surplus at Wednesday’s council meeting. That resolution contains general conditions for the sale of the property, but the final covenant is yet to be set in stone. A finalized document will be voted on by the council, once the city finds a buyer for the property. It’s too early to tell when construction could begin.

“The surplus authorizes the process, the process is conducted, a sale is begun, and that comes back to the council for confirmation before it can proceed,” Stevens-Wajda said.

Will Geschke: 425-339-3443; william.geschke@heraldnet.com; X: @willgeschke.