Not in their backyard

The congregation of Advent Lutheran Church in Mill Creek expected by now that construction of a new classroom center and renovations of existing facilities would be nearly complete.

Planning and fundraising for the near $4 million project began more than five years ago, before the church was lifted off its foundation and hauled several miles to its current location along 132nd Street Southeast.

The site is among several commercial properties the city intends to rezone for a mixed retail and residential development called East Gateway, similar in concept to the very successful Town Center.

Before that can happen, however, the Planning Commission and City Council must approve amendments to the comprehensive plan, establishing zoning guidelines for urban villages.

The process began in June about the same time Advent Lutheran Church’s building permit application was submitted to the city

Six months later, a partially built steeple surrounded by a chain link fence is all that’s come of parishioners efforts to develop their campus. Church leaders blame the city, saying Mill Creek planners dragged their heels reviewing the church’s building permit application for fear the project would interfere with future development of East Gateway.

“That is absolutely untrue,” Community Development Director Bill Trimm said. “They submitted their application and we turned that permit around in a normal period of time.”

Among the projects listed in the church’s application was an alternate extension to the requested classroom center — alternate, because it was unclear at the time how much money the church would be able to invest towards the project.

“(The city) just decided because it was called an alternate that we didn’t need it and they refused to issue a permit for that portion of the project,” Church Council President John O’Brien said. It turns out the city’s master site plan for East Gateway shows an access road cutting through the middle of Advent Lutheran’s campus over the same spot church leaders identified for the alternate classroom extension. As permitted, the church’s classroom center would sit just 8 feet from the proposed roadway, though city officials say developers will only have access to the right-of-way if the church agreed to sell it.

“That road will run right by our day care,” church council member Neil Hoopingarner said. “When I addressed this with the planning commission, their answer was to put up a gate. That might work for a traditional child care center or a school, but we’re a church. Putting our facilities behind bars kind of sends the wrong message.”

The proposed roadway, however, is not intended to be a busy thoroughfare.

“It’s going to be a safe, slow street with trees on both sides,” Trimm said. “It is only intended to provide access to the properties. The church is not the only property that will be affected by this road. It cuts through all the properties in a way that allows for development on both sides of the road.”

But parishioners say they don’t want the roadway — that they don’t intend to give up that right of way.

“We’re not planners. We don’t anything about the city codes or zoning. At church we try to avoid bureaucracy,” O’Brien said.

He and other church council members are fearful that support for East Gateway from surrounding property owners and residents will be enough for the city to acquire the right-of-way through eminent domain.

“At the last planning commission meeting when everyone told us, ‘No, no; the city can’t just put a road through your property,’ I asked for a letter saying the city wouldn’t exercise eminent domain,” church council member Carleen Lorenz said. “I have yet to receive that letter.”

Trimm says it’s more likely that developers — not the city — will negotiate with the various property owners to get the necessary rights-of-way.

The point of the development is to benefit the whole community with a cohesive, well-planned urban village, he said.

“I think it’s important to mention all the positive things that will come from East Gateway,” Trimm added. “We’ll have neighborhood and community parks, trails and other services. There is enormous interest from several developers and we need to treat every property owner fairly and equitably.”

Early for Advent Lutheran’s construction project were approved by the Snohomish County Council in 2003, but the property along with dozens of others was annexed by Mill Creek about three years ago.

Parishioners say they’re not opposed to the type of development the city is proposing for East Gateway. They’re happy the city got a hold of the land before the county could develop it bit by bit into box stores and strip malls. They’re frustrated, however, by the city’s apparent failure to address their concerns.The planning commission and community development department hosted several meetings between September and November to get feedback from residents on site plans for East Gateway. But none of the revisions included changes to the proposed road configuration.

“They keep telling us they won’t put a road there if we don’t want one,” O’Brien said. “Why, then, in every site plan they’ve presented is there a road cutting our property in half? They’ve presented no alternatives.”

After years of planning and fundraising, the congregation of Advent Lutheran agreed in 2003 the property on 132nd Street was the best place to relocate and expand church services. The expectation of new and improved facilities was the only motivation for moving.

“We planned on breaking ground in July on 2007,” O’Brien said. “By the time we got our permit it was way too late. Now, we’re stuck in the rainy, cold season still waiting to start the foundation.”

Trimm said Advent Lutheran’s building permit was treated the same as every other permit application submitted to the city. “There’s no conspiracy,” he said. “We gave them a permit for their classroom center. Obviously we didn’t approve the alternate, we never approve alternates.”