LYNNWOOD — The city has taken its biggest step yet toward replacing the pervasive strip malls in the center of town with a real downtown of midrise buildings, parks and walkways.
After five years of discussion and planning, the Lynnwood City Council unanimously approved the zoning March 14 that would allow the changes to take place.
Market forces and city funding will determine how quickly the vision of a downtown will materialize, officials said. It won’t happen overnight.
“This is a 20-year plan,” City Councilman Jim Smith said.
The City Center plan, as it is called, would allow for buildings up to 350 feet tall or about 26 stories in the central part of the designated area between 44th and 36th avenues W. and I-5 and 194th Street SW. The strip-mall buildings there now are one-story structures.
Buildings in the entire City Center area would house retail businesses, offices and homes. Heights of buildings abutting single-family residential areas would be limited to 35 feet.
Design guidelines will encourage and in some cases require open space, landscaping and walkways, and will govern the appearance of buildings, signs and parking areas.
The city estimates its long-term costs for parks and improvements to streets and utilities at $120 million. The council has yet to approve any funding.
“I think the real big issue here is we need to actually adopt a long-range funding plan so we know where the money is coming from beyond the initial stage,” City Council President Loren Simmonds said.
The City Center area, covering about a third of a square mile of private property, is divided into three sections. Each would include a park; the largest would be a town square in the central area along the south side of 198th Street SW. A pedestrian promenade would run along that street and connect all three sections.
The central area would have the highest density, with a focus on retail and office space. The western area, bordered on the west by 48th Avenue W., would have a height limit of 140 feet and focus on residential and mixed uses.
This height limit also applies to the northern area, which will focus on office space. The council made a change to this area, originally targeted for the area east of 36th Avenue W., south of Alderwood mall and up to 188th Street SW. Residents west of 36th Avenue W. expressed concern to the city about midrise buildings blocking their views of the Cascade Mountains to the east.
The council set aside part of this area, north of the projected 194th Street SW extension and east of 36th Avenue W., as a study area that could either be left in the plan or taken out.
The city will buy the land for the parks and a promenade, then allow the zoning and market forces to drive development, city planning manager Kevin Garrett said. Street and utility improvements will be made as necessary, he said.
Current buildings and businesses will be allowed to stay either until the property is sold or the owner decides to make a change, Garrett said.
Bill Sheets is a reporter for the Herald in Everett.
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