EVERETT — Two environmental groups have dropped a lawsuit against the city that halted construction of a railroad overpass on 41st Street near the Snohomish River.
The settlement helps pave the way for development of 220 acres of riverfront property. The City Council approved the settlement Wednesday night.
The city is hoping for a mix of offices, multifamily housing, stores and perhaps cinemas and cafes on about half the site. It plans to preserve the wetlands and estuary on the other half and build walking and bicycle trails. The site used to be home to the Simpson lumber mill and a landfill.
In its lawsuit, the Pilchuck Audubon Society and Washington Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility accused the city of underestimating the impact the development would have on chinook salmon, which are protected by the Endangered Species Act. Young salmon spend up to a year in the estuary on their way from rivers to Puget Sound.
"I felt like we came to an agreement that lays out a foundation that helps protect salmon on the site, and that was our main intention," said Lea Mitchell, director of Washington PEER. "Through this agreement, we’ve given the city an opportunity to be good environmental stewards, and we look forward to them fulfilling that opportunity."
The agreement is an expansion of a settlement reached with the Tulalip Tribes in February. The tribes were a separate plaintiff in the case.
The settlements do not spell out what the city must do to preserve the site’s wetlands and estuary so the project minimizes the effect on salmon. But they require the city to make sure development on the site protects wetlands and includes natural buffers that prevent runoff that could contaminate the river.
The city must also study the possible impact of the project on wildlife and look at ways to restore wetlands in the area.
As it prepares the study, the city must consult with Washington PEER, Pilchuck Audubon and the Tulalip Tribes. In addition, the city must seek input from an advisory board comprised of two members chosen by Pilchuck Audubon, two by the city, one by the city’s Council of Neighborhoods and one by the Everett Area Chamber of Commerce. The study must be finished by June 2005. The study will cost the city at least $50,000, city engineer Dave Davis said.
The city was planning some type of environmental study before the lawsuit was settled, he said.
"Regardless of what happens to the site, we have an interest in having the wetlands and streams function in a way that promotes clean water and fish habitat, and improves the natural environment," Davis said. "When it came down to it, their interest and ours were pretty much the same."
The agreement also mandates quarterly monitoring of storm water runoff from the overpass to determine whether it is harming the river.
Although the city did not say exactly what it will do to protect the salmon, the agreement increased trust between the environmental groups and the city, said Kristen Boyles, a lawyer with Earthjustice Legal Defense Fund, which represented the two groups in court.
"We can now go forward together on this project," Boyles said. "There’s good faith on both sides."
Construction on the 1,600-foot bridge, which will extend 41st Street over the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway tracks, is expected to resume within 60 days.
The city began building the $18 million overpass in May 2001, but the Federal Highway Administration stopped construction in December 2001 in response to the lawsuit. The city now hopes to finish the bridge in summer 2005, more than two years behind schedule.
The overpass will funnel traffic into the proposed riverfront development and eliminate what the city views as a dangerous grade-level railroad crossing at 36th Street.
Reporter David Olson:
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