LYNNWOOD — Some proposed changes in the city’s zoning and comprehensive plan could clear the way for eventually wiping out some mobile home parks and replacing them with cottage-style homes.
The City Council tonight will consider that and several other zoning changes, as well as amendments to the city’s comprehensive plan.
The most controversial alteration on the table is the zoning change for the land where some mobile home parks now exist to allow for cottage-style developments, which feature homes located on smaller-than-usual lots of about 4,000 square feet.
Some mobile home park residents, many of whom are seniors and have lived in the parks for many years, are afraid that their homes will be forced out to make way for the new developments. But city officials say nothing will change quickly.
"The change (if approved) means that should the property owner decide he wants to build a project like that, he can go ahead and do that," said Lynnwood planning director Jim Cutts. "But he has to give the residents a one-year notice, and there’s a ton of administrative work to do."
A proposed change in the city’s comprehensive plan, though, establishes the long-term goal of eventually getting rid of the mobile home parks and replacing them with cottage housing. There is no set timeline for when that goal should be accomplished.
Another zoning change on the table is one that would allow some land owned by Michael Raskin, a Kirkland-based developer, to be changed from business park zoning to high-density residential, which would allow apartments and condominiums.
The property, more than 14 acres, is along I-5 near the Sound Transit Center west of 44th Avenue W.
A business and technology park was approved for the land, but with the office market drying up over the past two years, Raskin is asking that the city allow the zoning change.
Cutts and city planners are recommending that the City Council deny the change because the property is adjacent to the Sound Transit Center, a park-and-ride, and another business park. More apartments or condos also would conflict with the City Council’s goal of achieving 60 percent home ownership in the city.
"We have a problem in plopping down multifamily residences in the middle of an industrial area," Cutts said.
Another zoning change, which the planning staff recommends the City Council approve, would allow Alderwood Community Church to expand.
Have your say
The Lynnwood City Council is considering changes in zoning and the city’s comprehensive plan that could, among other things, clear the way for mobile home parks to eventually be turned into cottage-style housing developments. The meeting starts at 7 tonight in City Council Chambers, 19100 44th Ave. W.
The Lynnwood City Council is considering changes in zoning and the city’s comprehensive plan that could, among other things, clear the way for mobile home parks to eventually be turned into cottage-style housing developments. The meeting starts at 7 tonight in City Council Chambers, 19100 44th Ave. W.
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