The Lake Forest Park city council will be holding a public hearing on the proposed ordinance of the Gateway Senior Housing Overlay at its 7:30 p.m. Feb. 13 meeting at Town Hall.
Citizens are invited to give comments on the proposed ordinance and the administration’s recommendation regarding the overlay.
Mayor Dave Hutchinson asked the Planning Commission to develop an ordinance for the Gateway Senior Housing Overlay area for land adjacent to Bothell Way NE and NE 145th streets owned by the Elks that includes the Lake City Kidney Center, formerly Rite-Aid, the Lake City Elks Lodge, a large parking lot and several single family residences.
He asked the commission to develop a proposed ordinance that did not increase the number of units that are currently allowed to be built on the site, a city press release stated.
After several meetings and a public hearing, the Planning Commission developed and approved language for the Gateway Senior Housing Overlay. Because of a 3-3 split vote Jan. 29, the commission could not agree on whether they should recommend adoption of the overlay to city council. The Planning Commission is forwarding the ordinance to the City Council without a recommendation.
Concurrent with the overlay being forwarded to the City Council, the proposal is being reviewed under the State Environmental Protection Act, said Ty Peterson, Lake Forest Park Planning Director.
“Because it is a land-use or zoning amendment it goes through a state environmental review to determine if and what environmental impacts might be associated with the adoption of new regulation or policy,” Peterson said.
The city plans to issue a “determination of non-significance” Feb. 7, meaning adoption of ordinance is not likely to have a significant adverse impact on the environment and would not require the city to conduct an official environmental impact statement, Peterson said. Once that determination is issued on Feb. 7 a 14-day comment period begins. Citizens can send written comments on the environmental impacts of the proposal, to the planning department at 17425 Ballinger Way NE Lake Forest Park, WA 98155, or speak about the issue at the Feb. 13 public hearing, Peterson said.
The City Council won’t be taking final action on the overlay ordinance on February 13 because the SEPA comment period will not be complete, Peterson said. After the Public Hearing, the council will determine a schedule for further consideration of the overlay.
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