By Eric Stevick
Herald Writer
ARLINGTON — At least one Arlington City Council member would like the city to consider turning a controversial piece of property in the Gleneagle housing development into a tennis court.
What makes it controversial is a question aboutthe developer’s involvement in the homeowner’s association that gave the land to the city.
The Gleneagle Homeowners Association turned the land over to the city in July. In March, at the request of developer Randy Wood, who served on the homeowners’ board, city staff proposed declaring it surplus.
The city council voted to hold onto the land, and asked the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office to investigate whether Wood was trying to use the city to obtain land to build on. The council complaint remains under investigation, said Jan Jorgensen, a spokeswoman for the sheriff’s office.
Wood, who developed housing next to the land, said he merely wanted to improve the aesthetics of the area by planting trees on the property. Wood described the city council complaint as "much ado about nothing."
The vote to turn the land over to the city was only a housekeeping measure for the homeowners association, he said, adding he didn’t even vote on the measure.
Wood said there was no guarantee that after the land was appraised he would have been the one to acquire the property.
"All I had done was stay within the standards … of what they had asked me to do," he said, referring to city staff.
Wood said he no longer has any interest in the property.
The land in question is known as Tract A-32, which is part of the Woodlands plat in the sprawling Gleneagle development. It was initially planned as an access road to multifamily housing that was never built. Instead, the property leads to a retention pond.
Council member Dan Anderson, who lives in Gleneagle, said he has heard from homeowners who want a tennis court and thought it would be built as part of the Gleneagle development.
"I would like to put the (tennis court proposal) to the public," Anderson said. "A tennis court was promised years ago by the Gleneagle developers and not delivered. Would they like this property to be built into a tennis court?"
You can call Herald Writer Eric Stevick at 425-339-3446
or send e-mail to stevick@heraldnet.com.
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