EVERETT — Snohomish County planners will recommend that an examiner deny a proposal for thousands of high-rise waterfront condos at a hearing expected in May, they informed the developer in a recent letter.
Separately, the county’s Design Review Board on Thursday drew up a list of observations about the appearance, layout and accessibility of the 3,081-unit development proposed on what’s now an industrial site. The three board members at the hearing said they liked aspects of the project, but noted that they lacked enough detail to comment on several key issues. They also conditioned their advisory findings on developer BSRE Point Wells signing an agreement with Sound Transit over building a future commuter rail station as part of the project. Sounder trains run on BNSF Railway tracks that bisect the property.
“It would be tough to make a final comment on something when we don’t know the final outcome,” board member Nick Bautista said.
Among the unresolved issues is whether BSRE has satisfied code requirements to build up to 180 feet, including demonstrating access to high-capacity transit. If they haven’t, the project would be limited to 90 feet. In the current plans, 19 of the 45 buildings are 90 feet or taller, with the highest reaching 17 stories. If the lower limit applies, the design board said they would like to see the developer retain a tiered layout with shorter buildings closer to the water and taller buildings back toward the 200-foot bluff to the east in Woodway.
Board members liked the designs from architects at Perkins + Will that all but eliminated street-level parking in favor of underground garages. There were concerns, however, that there would be enough parking, restrooms and other facilities for visitors from outside the community who wanted to visit the beach or other public areas at the future development. Those areas are closed to the public now.
Board members liked the overall look in BSRE’s presentation, but noted a lack of specific designs or materials for the proposed buildings. They agreed with Woodway town planner Bill Trimm that a future development there should follow Woodway’s example by adopting a “dark sky policy” to minimize nighttime light glare.
Thursday’s meeting mostly addressed the project’s appearance. A bigger battle is brewing over its overall fate.
BSRE is trying to buy more time to finish its permit application. On Wednesday, county hearing examiner Peter Camp is set to consider BSRE’s request to extend the application deadline. The county has asked him to deny it. It’s unclear whether Camp has the authority to change the deadline.
BSRE’s permit application is set to expire June 30.
The county had hoped to have all of BSRE’s application materials in hand in January, to make an informed recommendation to Camp at a hearing during the latter part of May. Without the complete materials, county officials have said they will recommend that Camp turn down the project.
“Based on a review of the application materials submitted by BSRE to date, PDS will be forwarding a recommendation of Denial Without an EIS (environmental impact statement) to the Hearing Examiner,” project manager Paul MacCready wrote in a March 6 letter.
Representatives for the developer have said they could submit all outstanding materials by April 30.
If the examiner denies the project, instead of granting more time, it’s possible that new plans could be resubmitted later.
Permits have been pending for Point Wells since 2011 and the county has already granted BSRE extensions. BSRE’s representatives contend they deserve more time, because they spent more than three years in legal fights with opponents of the project.
In addition to transit access and building heights, other questions remain about parking, landslide hazards and traffic.
For now, the 61-acre unincorporated site remains industrial, with storage tanks for marine fuels and an asphalt plant. It’s only reachable now by a two-lane road through Shoreline. BSRE has suggested building a secondary public road to Point Wells off of 116th Avenue West in Woodway.
If approved, the condo development could take 15 or more years to build, after a lengthy environmental cleanup.
BSRE Point Wells is part of Blue Square Real Estate Ltd., which does business in the United States, Europe and Israel.
Noah Haglund: 425-339-3465; nhaglund@herald net.com. Twitter: @NWhaglund.
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