During the April 16 Snohomish City Council meeting, the city planning director proudly announced that the first developer to take advantage of the council’s recently enacted multi-family property exemption ordinance will build a six-unit market-rate building at the former car wash site on Lincoln Avenue, across the street from Snohomish Co-op.
Here’s the impact:
1. The developer/owner gets the rest of us property taxpayers to pay all his property tax bills for the next eight years, absolutely no strings attached.
2. Not even one unit will be set aside for affordable housing.
In addition, the planning director asked each council member to list their preference for developing the county-owned former public works shop site between Bonneville Avenue and Avenue D either with current zoning or spot rezoning.
The City Council is hellbent on gentrification and city staff has already floated ideas of restaurants and boutique retail shops at the site. Thankfully, the County Council has the final say on how to develop its land.
The County Council should should ignore city staff and City Council’s goal of gentrification and instead develop its property for very low-income housing along with corollary medical clinics and social services.
City property taxpayers and advocates for affordable housing should keep in mind these issues during council elections this year.
Morgan Davis
Snohomish
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