MUKILTEO – Mukilteo will take the next steps in reshaping its waterfront in the coming weeks.
Today, the Mukilteo City Council will talk publicly for the first time in nearly a year about what they want to see built on the site of the former tank farm east of the ferry dock.
The discussion will help prepare for a meeting with the Port of Everett’s commissioners on May 23. The port is in the process of acquiring the land, and ideas discussed for the property include public space, shops and condominiums.
“It’s time to get to work and set what our expectations are for getting this project accomplished,” City Councilman Marko Liias said.
The 20.9-acre, 3/4-mile-long strip of prime waterfront real estate is being transferred to the port from the U.S. Air Force. The tank farm, which the Air Force used to store and transfer jet fuel, was closed in 1989. The property is assessed by Snohomish County at $9.8 million.
Part of the land has been set aside for the planned relocation of the state ferry dock to the tank farm site, expected to cost between $140 million and $171 million. The size and configuration of the new terminal, to be built between 2008 and 2010, will partly determine what the port will propose next, deputy director Ed Paskovskis said.
So far, the port and city are at opposite ends of the spectrum on what they’d like to see on the site. Two years ago, the port solicited ideas from consultants, who laid out scenarios that included between 55 and 421 condominium units up to 55 feet high.
Last year, the City Council was unified in opposing any more than 100 condos.
The city’s mixed-use zoning for the site would allow only about 50 condos, Council president Jennifer Gregerson said. The city’s height limit for the area is only 40 feet. Whatever is built there will have to be approved by the council.
Port officials said the consultant told them that only the largest number, 421 condos, would enable a developer to turn a profit.
By comparison, the port has started clearing space in Everett for a $300 million development that will bring more than 600 condominiums, shops, offices and restaurants to the waterfront. The condos are priced from $400,000 to $1.5 million.
In Mukilteo, the port isn’t necessarily sticking to the consultants’ ideas, Paskovskis said.
“I think that was just the first cut to see the possibilities of what could be done down there,” he said.
The City Council has three new members since last year, and they’re even less enthused about condos than their predecessors. Councilman Marko Liias said his ideal scenario would include only public space and walkways with no residential development.
“I don’t think it should be one person’s domain, it should be the public’s domain,” he said. “It’s been boarded up behind ugly concrete walls for the last 50 years.”
Short of that, he’d like to see the council “accept as few condos as we can and still get the project accomplished in a timely time frame.”
Another new member, Kevin Stoltz, said “based on what I know right now, I’m not in favor of condos, period.”
Councilman Randy Lord was softer in his stance.
“I don’t want it to turn into a condo zone completely,” he said. However, “you’ve got to have some way of funding it.”
Liias said he’d like to see a agreement on a concept before the end of the year. But the port, before presenting any more plans, is waiting to see how much land the new ferry terminal will need, Paskovskis said.
If the state builds the holding lanes on a platform over the water, it would need roughly three or four acres on land for the terminal. If the holding lanes are on-shore, it would need more than 10 acres.
| Redevelopment discussion
The Mukilteo City Council will discuss redevelopment of the citys north waterfront at its regular council meeting today. The discussion is a prelude to a meeting the City Council will have with Port of Everett commissioners on May 23. The former tank farm property on the waterfront is in the process of being transferred to the port by the U.S. Air Force. No official action on the matter is slated for tonights meeting. The meeting is scheduled for 7 p.m. at City Hall, 4480 Chennault Beach Road. For more information call 425-355-4141 or go to www.ci.mukilteo.wa.us. |
State officials say they’d prefer to build over the water. Mukilteo officials agree, though it is the more expensive option. A decision won’t be made until sometime next year.
As to how much land the port would need, “we haven’t even approached that subject,” Paskovskis said.
Reporter Bill Sheets: 425-339-3439 or sheets@heraldnet.com.
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