Snohomish mulling what to do with plot of land on Avenue D

SNOHOMISH — The landscape of this historic town might be changing in coming years.

City leaders hope to bring in more housing and businesses at some point. Studies for future development could begin this year in an area near the center of the city, zoned now for commercial use.

Construction likely wouldn’t happen for years. Historic districts and areas with single-family homes wouldn’t be included in the survey.

The section of land to be reviewed includes about 9 acres owned by Snohomish County. The property is on the west side of Avenue D, between 10th and 13th streets.

The county’s public works yard was there until it moved to Cathcart Way in 2008. After that, crews demolished the buildings and did environmental cleanup on the old lot.

Years later, there was a spill from a laundry business in a strip mall across the street. Chemicals leaked into the ground water. That’s since been taken care of.

Now, the county is waiting for the state Department of Ecology to say nothing else needs to be done. The county plans to sell the land once it receives that report.

No decisions have been made, but the plot could be put up for sale or lease sometime this year, said Steve Dickson, the county’s transportation and environmental services director.

“We want to do that to create revenue for the county and other public works purposes,” he said.

The county plans to work with the city to decide how the parcel could be used, he said.

The city might spend 2019 thinking about what direction to go in the future, said Steve Schuller, the city administrator of Snohomish.

“We are trying to look ahead,” he said. “What will life be like in the Puget Sound region and Snohomish County into 2030 and 2040?”

Schuller hopes to see more affordable housing, restaurants and retail shops. He believes the former public works yard could be a key piece in the city’s layout someday.

Stephanie Davey: 425-339-3192; sdavey@heraldnet.com. Twitter: @stephrdavey.