EVERETT – The City Council has approved a zoning change on the former Asarco property that opens the way to the biggest housing development in north Everett in at least four decades.
“We’ve recaptured a neighborhood that we thought was lost forever,” Mayor Ray Stephanson said. “That’s huge.”
As council members voted in chambers downtown on Wednesday, farther north an Asarco Inc. contractor continued clearing arsenic-laced dirt from the old smelter site.
In June, the Everett Housing Authority bought 18 acres from Asarco, including 4.7 acres that had been fenced off because of severe contamination. The agency plans to sell the land to a private developer for up to 85 houses, duplexes and townhouses.
“In a built-up older neighborhood like Delta, most of the housing was built prior to World War II, and it’s unusual to see development of that scale,” city planning director Allan Giffen, said.
Except for some large multifamily buildings, it would apparently be the largest development in north Everett since shortly after WWII, Stephanson said.
The council voted 6-1, with Councilman Ron Gipson casting the lone “no” vote, to increase maximum density in the area from 10 units an acre to 12 units.
The site had been zoned for single-family homes and duplexes. The zoning change also allows townhouses, which are defined as more than two units attached at the sides. Housing authority officials said the change was necessary to make its plan financially viable.
George Deane is happy that big apartment complexes won’t be built on the Asarco site, which is next to his house. But Deane said he wants only single-family homes in the area. The housing authority’s plan would lead to too much density, increased traffic and other problems.
“We’re just trying to maintain our sense of community and keep our neighborhood together,” he said.
Deane and 13 other members of the Delta Neighborhood Association voted in July to oppose the rezone. Association president Tim Dean cast the lone vote in favor. He said the new housing would help rejuvenate the neighborhood.
“This is something we’ve always dreamt about,” he said. “It gets the place cleaned up and puts homes in there so more people can use businesses in our neighborhood.”
Gipson said he voted against the rezone in part because of concerns about density.
The zoning change comes with requirements for open space and design guidelines so the housing blends in with the neighborhood, Giffen said. For example, homes must have roof slopes similar to what now is predominant in the area, and garages cannot be near the street.
Asarco has removed nearly half the tainted dirt and is on schedule to finish the cleanup by the end of the month, said Clint Stanovsky, a consultant for Asarco. Housing authority officials will soon solicit potential developers and hope to sell the land by the end of the year.
Reporter David Olson: 425-339-3452 or dolson@heraldnet.com.
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