New wave of plans for waterfront

By Brian Kelly

Herald Writer

EVERETT – Water, water, everywhere, but what do people think?

Everett is ready to get its feet wet on the topic of public access to the city’s waterfront. The city council unanimously approved a $40,000 consultant contract Wednesday with Makers Architecture &Urban Design, a Seattle firm that will help develop a waterfront public-access plan for Everett.

The plan follows work that wrapped up in March on the city’s shoreline master plan, which designates possible land uses for properties near the city’s shorelines and management policies for those areas.

The newest version of the shoreline master plan, which is still awaiting approval by the state Department of Ecology, was swamped with controversy when it was taken to the council for review last spring. Saying the plan focused too much on development of the waterfront, some citizens vigorously opposed it and picketed City Hall.

Others said the plan gave short shrift to public access to the water.

“They said, ‘Where’s the beef?’ ” recalled Paul Roberts, Everett’s planning director.

Public access was the No. 1 issue that concerned residents, Roberts added. “The community has said, ‘We really want to get waterfront access back.’ “

But that shoreline master program was really meant to set the larger framework for the use of Everett’s waterfront, he said. Specifics on how public access could be provided, and details about possible projects, construction and costs, were better suited for a subsequent access plan, Roberts said.

The work won’t start at square one, though.

Makers Architecture helped develop a pedestrian and bicycle access plan for the land along the Snohomish River in Everett in 1987. The company also helped prepare an access plan for the Port Gardner harbor shoreline in 1989.

A citizens committee will also help craft the new plan. That committee will include representatives from the city’s planning commission and parks boards, as well as other citizens. The Port of Everett, which is working on a redevelopment plan, will also help pull the access plan together.

Two open houses will be offered on the plan, the first tentatively scheduled for February.

A draft report is expected sometime in May or June, with the report being presented to the city and port in July.

The access plan is expected to generate much interest. Waterfront access was a hot issue last year, even beyond the hubbub surrounding the city’s work on its shoreline master program.

In September, the Port of Everett announced details on its plan to redevelop a roughly 100-acre area at the port’s north marina. A key component is public access, and the redevelopment strategy includes a public walkway encircling the marina, a bikeway along 13th Street, and roughly two acres for parks and plazas for plays, concerts and other public events.

And talk often turned to the topic during the election campaign season last year, with candidates for mayor and council seats vowing to improve waterfront access.

Mary Ehrlich, co-owner of the Harbor Hill Inn bed and breakfast, said she gets guests from all over the world who gush about Everett’s waterfront and natural environment. But opportunities for public access are limited to several parks and Jetty Island in the summer, she said.

Everett has about 40 miles of shoreline. It’s a great resource that could be improved to benefit many in the city, Ehrlich said.

“It’s really a wonderful, wonderful treasure that needs to be acknowledged and made available for the citizens,” she said.

The real test for the city will be hearing – and taking to heart – what citizens have to say about access, Ehrlich said, because public comments on past issues has been given little credence.

“I hope that this will include a lot of input from the neighborhoods, and not just the neighborhoods on the shoreline, but all the neighborhoods in Everett,” she said.

“The shoreline belongs to all of us.”

You can call Herald Writer Brian Kelly at 425-339-3422 or send e-mail to kelly@heraldnet.com.