Opponents of the proposed condominium development at Point Wells in southwest Snohomish County believe that the developer will soon seek to be excused from requirements for a second road to and from the development.
Opponents expect the developer to request what is called a “deviation” from that requirement in the county planning code and from a similar provision in the county fire code.
A recently discovered provision of the planning code requires at least two routes into and out of any development expected to produce 250 average daily automobile trips or more. The fire code requires two roads to and from any development of 250 housing units or more.
The proposal calls for about 3,100 housing units and 150,000 square feet of commercial and retail space. Traffic impact studies project about 10,000 average daily trips. Currently, the only access to the site is by a two-lane road through the Richmond Beach area of Shoreline.
The proposed development is on the site of a former oil-shipping terminal at Point Wells in unincorporated southwest Snohomish County.
The developer owns a strip of land where a former road was vacated more than a half century ago. The long-vacated road crosses a muddy hillside into Woodway.
The owner has made no attempt to build such a road.
Opponents say that the proposed development needs more than one road for emergency access particularly because of its location near a muddy hillside prone to slides and near railroad tracks that sometimes carry hazardous material.
In a recent note to county officials, Richmond Beach resident Tom McCormick said that the county should require the developer to demonstrate that it can deviate from the two-road requirement and still build a safe development.
McCormick and fellow Richmond Beach resident Tom Mailhot have asked that county planners delay the issuing of a draft environmental impact statement until developers comply with the two-road requirement.
Evan Smith can be reached at schsmith@frontier.com.
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