LYNNWOOD – The question is who will pay for about $120 million of new infrastructure — mostly streets and roads — when a roughly 300-acre, intensely urban City Center is built over the next 20 years. It is a key question as the city council changes land-use rules so that mixed-use buildings — some as high as 30 stories — can be built over the next 20 years in the City Center.
The answer will take about 18 to 24 months of study for the city to reach. That is a long time for developers and property owners to be uncertain about the outcome or what it will mean for their investments, said David Kleitsch, the city’s economic development director. Time is big money for developers.
“We are trying to do that in such a way so that development is paying their fair share and we can go forward with projects that are ready to happen,” Kleitsch said. “We are trying to put in a system in place to do that.”
The city council is considering an interim mitigation program, which would outline how developers and the city will share costs in the near future. The interim program would allow developers – if they so choose – to start building while the city finishes the long-term study, which could take about two to three years.
During the interim period, the city’s goal, which the city council picked, is for developers and the city to share the costs equally, a 50-50 split, explained Jeff Elekes, a city engineer who has been working on the interim program. Depending on how a particular property is used, the fee can vary from $6.75 per square foot to $14 per square foot.
The mitigation fees would only apply to new development, Elekes said. Property owners who do not redevelop do not have to pay the interim fees.
A public hearing about the City Center infrastructure costs and the interim mitigation program is set for 7 p.m. Monday, Nov. 28, at the Lynnwood Council Chambers. The public is encouraged to review the documents, attend the hearing and share their comments.
The city council needs to make a decision by Dec. 12 so that the interim program and related land-use rules can take effect. If approved, the new rules can become law in as little as a few weeks if the council so chooses.
“We will see if we can make it,” Kleitsch said. “We are pushing hard for it.”
The deadline has already been extended once, from June 27 to the December date. A committee of city workers, developers and property owners participated in discussions that led to the interim mitigation program.
“They have done a good job putting together a formula for these impacts,” Kleitsch said. “We are just trying to put the legislation together to make it work so we can capture the public improvements.”
The core of City Center is a wedge-shaped neighborhood located roughly west of Interstate 5, south of 194th Street and east of 48th Avenue, according to city documents. There is a rectangular-shaped addition, known as the north end of City Center, that is south of 188th Street, east of 36th Avenue and west of Interstate 5.
If the interim mitigation program is approved, there will be a way for developers and property owners to negotiate the fees for a particular project. The city has not decided who or what group will negotiate on behalf of the city, but it will not be one person, Kleitsch said.
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