Everett takes steps to redevelop Waits Motel property

EVERETT — After the controversial teardown of the Waits Motel in north Everett earlier this year, the city is making steps to redevelop the property into townhomes.

A proposed rezone would allow a three-floor maximum building height on the 0.55-acre property at 1301 Lombard Ave. that officials had called a “blight on the surrounding neighborhood.” This decision, Mayor Cassie Franklin and Planning Director Yorik Stevens-Wajda said in a City Council meeting earlier this month, would allow the city to move quickly and sell the property to the highest bidder with a binding agreement.

The binding agreement, currently in draft form, the city said, would limit the design to three townhomes up to 16 units with pitched roofs, as well as a requirement to make them available for home ownership.

Some City Council members, however, raised issues with the process, saying they did not have adequate input on the decision and are now being asked to “rubber-stamp something the administration has already decided,” council member Mary Fosse said at the Oct. 9 meeting.

Council member Liz Vogeli agreed, later saying her opinions on the rezone were only solicited in a May phone call.

“I do not believe my opinions were taken into consideration as viable,” Vogeli said. “I mentioned a public park and land trust as at least two options on that phone call. I was also quite taken aback that this was even being worked on, especially since it was presented as an idea, not a certainty.”

Jennifer Gregerson, the city’s government affairs director, said at the Oct. 16 meeting that council members were notified in May about the rezone application the city planned to file the following month. She and the mayor said the council had ample opportunity to provide input.

In August 2023, the City Council voted to condemn the Waits Motel following years of complaints from neighbors who said the property was a hub for criminal activity, drug use and prostitution. A new manager who took over the property just months prior, Emily Simpson, had made changes, including bringing in private security, doing additional maintenance and starting a community garden. Emergency calls to the motel decreased significantly following the change in management. Simpson adamantly opposed the condemnation.

Vogeli was the lone vote against condemnation last year.

After purchasing the property for $1.85 million in January, the city began searching for a use for it. Moving quickly was the goal, city staff said, as the property has now been cleared and fenced for months.

“I think our goal in this is to get it back into private ownership, the intent would be some home ownership opportunities, and either way, get it into productive use as soon as possible,” Stevens-Wajda said this month.

The proposed rezone is only a recommendation from city staff — the City Council still has the discretion over the final decision concerning the land’s usage.

Changes to the proposed plan could delay work by months, Stevens-Wajda told the council. Starting from ground zero would require additional environmental review, while implementing any density higher than what’s being proposed would also require an amendment to the city’s comprehensive plan.

One possibility council members raised was a community land trust — a private nonprofit organization that can create home ownership opportunities for low and middle-income families.

“We didn’t take that into consideration with this property,” Franklin said of this option at the Oct. 9 council meeting. “It’s something that we’re very interested in, I think with this property my direction was to move as quickly as municipalities can, as we’re typically very slow.”

Franklin added the city is looking to work with community land trusts in other parts of the city, particularly around future light rail stations.

While Vogeli and Fosse raised concerns, other council members have voiced their support for the proposed rezone in two public discussions, citing the urgent need for housing in the city.

“Right now, we don’t have a whole bunch of single-family opportunities, and we aren’t doing condos much, really at all,” council member Ben Zarlingo said. “This kind of townhouses seems like the best home ownership opportunity I can see.”

The City Council will hear public comments and vote on the proposed rezone at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday.

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