EVERETT — The Snohomish County Council unanimously passed an ordinance Wednesday to eliminate the Design Review Board to streamline the permitting process for new developments in urban growth areas.
The county’s Design Review Board has three members who meet twice a year. Their job was to make recommendations after a project overview and public input.
Most meetings had no public attendance, county planner Jennifer Cao wrote in a January 2025 report. When there was an audience, public comment tended to be “more subjective and unpredictable.”
This could possibly deter developers and prevent densities from reaching full capacity, the report said. The state has strict population deadlines under the Growth Management Act, making it “all the more important to increase permitting efficiencies.”
Removing the board will help speed up the process for developers, council member Megan Dunn said in an interview after the meeting.
“Remove administrative burdens for routine permitting,” she said. “There are adequate checks and balances now for what’s submitted would meet code.”
The ordinance also changes design standards to promote the pedestrian experience and mixed-use hubs, which align with the county’s Urban Core Subarea Plan.
The Urban Core Subarea sits in the middle of Everett (north), Mukilteo (west), Lynnwood (south) and Mill Creek (east) with I-5 running through it. It is part of the Southwest Urban Growth Area, for which the council passed a rezoning plan in December to allow more single-family units in some areas and apartments in others.
The subarea was created to prepare for the arrival of light rail in the 2030s and promote mixed-use hubs. As of 2019, almost 16,000 people lived in the subarea, and three areas were identified for light rail stations — Ash Way and 164th Street, Mariner and 128th Street, and Airport Road and Highway 9. By 2044, the population is expected to exceed 45,000.
The original ordinance also removed townhomes as an option for developers, which was an inadvertent error, according to Senior Legislative Analyst Deborah Evison Bell.
“The intention was to always keep that in there. At least that is my understanding of it,” she said in an interview after the meeting.
The County Council unanimously passed an amendment during the meeting that added townhouses back as a possibility for developers.
Taylor Scott Richmond: 425-339-3046; taylor.richmond@heraldnet.com; X: @BTayOkay
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