EDMONDS — Walk along the waterfront and traffic gives way to the sound of waves, screeching seagulls and ferry horns and the scent of salty air.
Just a short distance away, the city’s center offers a different world.
It’s a classic downtown with banks and real estate offices and boutique shops with wine, cheese, specialty clothing and other goods.
Getting between these two can be a challenge.
First, there’s the daily line of cars waiting for the Edmonds-Kingston ferry. Get past that and you have to cross the railroad tracks.
City leaders would like to find a way to better connect the downtown to the waterfront. They also want to see more unified development in a collection of properties that sit in a sort of no-man’s land between the two.
But shaping the future of this area is proving contentious.
Some argue that the city needs to allow higher buildings to attract investment. Others argue that would destroy the city’s character.
One plan was put on hold with the economy devastating the state’s budget.
Political and economic obstacles continue to block a consensus.
“I’ve never heard one person say I want zero development,” said Stephen Clifton, the city’s Community and Economic Development director. “(The struggle has been) creating a unified vision for what these properties could become.”
Dreams postponed
This isn’t the first time Edmonds has attempted to make over this part of the city. A 12-year study led to one of the grandest plans, Edmonds Crossing, which in 2005 called for moving the ferry terminal, the train depot and bus stops to a single point nearly a mile south.
That project went into hibernation last year because of the state’s tight budget. Now, it likely won’t happen for another 20 to 30 years, Clifton said.
Another attempt occurred four years ago, when the city and the Port of Edmonds looked at how to develop two prominent properties near the waterfront: the Port-owned Harbor Square, a 14.6-acre collection of offices, shops and a restaurant; and the Antique Mall, a strip mall on 4.3 acres that is largely empty.
A former city councilman and a Port commissioner held a series of meetings and provided information to residents and businesspeople, but nothing came from the discussions.
Fear of heights?
Building heights have always been a lightning rod issue here, particularly when it comes to buildings on or near the waterfront.
Al Dykes is managing partner for ESC Associates, which has owned the Antique Mall for 25 years. Dykes says he’d love to improve his property but the city’s height restrictions, which limit buildings next to the waterfront to two stories, make it financially unworkable.
“Nobody in their right mind would tear down a one-story facility and replace it with a one-story facility,” Dykes said.
Dykes proposed building Sunset Landing, a 30,000-square-foot complex of two condominium buildings, one six stories and another seven.
The city is reviewing his request.
Mayor Gary Haakenson thinks it goes too far.
“There needs to be some compromise … and if they were to do so, I believe they would get a reasonable hearing,” he said.
Karen Wiggins, owner of a three-story condo and office building on Second Avenue South, fears Sunset Landing would block her view.
“You’d come down the hill, you wouldn’t even see water or maybe mountains, just buildings. It takes away everything we have, everything we treasure,” she said.
Nothing to the north
When the Skippers property came up for sale this year, it offered the city a chance to take control of one of the properties that divides the waterfront and downtown.
That’s why a 5-2 majority of the City Council decided to make a $1.1 million offer for the land. The deal fell through last week, but some council members hope the city can still get the land.
Meanwhile, the state Department of Transportation, which operates the ferry, would like someone to build a pedestrian bridge or underpass to get passengers past the train tracks. In exchange, they’d offer the parking lot they own next to the Skippers property.
City Council President Steve Bernheim said despite all the good ideas, the council has yet to see a formal proposal from anyone interested in redeveloping properties near the north waterfront.
“I think that the Port has the highest responsibility,” he said. “It’s the public entity that can exercise its power for the public benefit.”
For now, the Port’s focus is on the future of Harbor Square.
Commissioner Bruce Faires said the Port’s experiences four years ago left it wary and with a sense that, “Hey, we ain’t touchin’ that with a 10-foot pole.”
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