WOODWAY — Neighbors and local governments are appealing a zoning change to allow a dense mixture of luxury condos and businesses to replace a petroleum depot at Point Wells.
The appeal could vanish, however, if those groups, Snohomish County and the developer can all agree on a plan for the 61-acre site on Puget Sound in the far southwestern corner of the county.
“We’re proposing a collaborative process involving the county and the town to arrive at the standards,” said Wayne Tanaka, a Seattle attorney representing the Town of Woodway.
The Snohomish County Council voted in August to change the property from industrial to urban-center zoning as part of its annual land-use docket. The land is in unincorporated Snohomish County, but can only be reached by driving through Shoreline in King County.
Woodway, Shoreline and the Save Richmond Beach community group filed petitions last month asking the Central Puget Sound Growth Management Hearings Board to overturn the County Council’s decision. The petitions have been rolled into one case.
Paramount of Washington LLC, a subsidiary of Dallas-based Alon USA Energy, owns the property and has been trying to develop it.
The county’s zoning change would have allowed up to 3,500 condo units at the site immediately north of the King-Snohomish county line and only accessible by two-lane Richmond Beach Drive. The 6,000 new residents it would add is about equal to the current population of Shoreline’s Richmond Beach neighborhood and more than five times Woodway’s population of just over 1,100.
That’s too much, say the neighbors.
For Shoreline, transportation is a sore point. The city’s growth management petition argues that there are not enough roads or mass transit in the area for such dense development. The city also does not want to provide police or fire service to an enclave across the county line.
Woodway has particular concerns about the height of the buildings and how densely the site is developed. The town suggested limiting it to 800 homes and a maximum building height of 65 feet, but the landowner’s representatives say that isn’t practical.
“We couldn’t do a project under those constraints,” said Gary Huff, a Seattle attorney representing Paramount. “We want to leave as much open space as possible. We think there are some appropriate places for some taller buildings, but we just want to make sure we understand the rules.”
Normally, the state board would have to reach a decision within 180 days. That timetable could be pushed back because the sides are discussing whether they might be able to reach an agreement without resorting to the hearings process.
A big factor in whether they can agree will be what happens at a public hearing scheduled before the County Council at 1:30 p.m. Dec. 9. The council plans to hear testimony, and possibly vote on rules for urban centers, the new type of zoning the council put in place at Point Wells. The issues that could be decided are building heights, maximum densities and what types of transit options these areas require.
Noah Haglund: 425-339-3465, nhaglund@heraldnet.com.
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