Politics & Government

Point Wells Decision Requires Developer, Snohomish County to Make Changes

Project can move forward but Shoreline, Woodway have to be included more.

Monday’s decision by the state Growth Management Hearings Board will force Snohomish County and the Point Wells developer to do more work before proceeding but it seems unlikely that it will halt the project.

The developer of the Point Wells project and Snohomish County will have to go back to revise amendments to its comprehensive plan and redevelopment regulations for Point Wells. They will have to include the cities of Shoreline and Woodway more in the decision-making process to comply with those cities comprehensive plans as the plans go forward.

“There’s a lot of work the county has to do comply with this order,” Joe Tovar, Shoreline Planning Director, said. The cities of Shoreline, Woodway and neighborhood group Save Richmond Beach filed a complaint to put the matter under review.

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A hearing was held March 2, and the decision was made by a three-member panel, Margaret Pageler, the presiding officer, and Board members Dave Earling and William Roehl.

The county, Shoreline and Woodway are already working on establishing agreements on how to study and eventually mitigate traffic impacts on Richmond Beach Drive. The two-lane road is the only way in and out of Point Wells and would be the main access point for a 3,000-plus condo development with retail and professional offices that Blue Square Real Estate wants to build by 2030.

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“The areas where they want more work done are the same topics that we’re meeting with Shoreline and trying to negotiate a mutually acceptable project,” said Gary Huff, Blue Square’s lead attorney. “To me it keeps us moving in the same direction that we already were.”

Save Richmond Beach, meanwhile, declared victory.

They emphasized the Board stated that adequate urban services and infrastructure are not currently available or planned for Point Wells, making it inappropriate for Urban Center development.

Among other problems with the proposed scale of development, the Board noted: serious deficiencies in road and intersection capacity along the access road; lack of transit access or transportation links to the regional network; and lack of adopted plans for the necessary water and sewer infrastructure. The Board also agreed with Petitioners that Snohomish County's environmental review for the project was inadequate, and remanded the project back to the County for further environmental review in accordance with the State Environmental Policy Act.

 Blue Square Real Estate filed its application for the project March 4.

 “I don’t think anything in that decision precludes us from proceeding and obtaining approval for the application we made,” Huff said. “That’s not to be said that we don’t have work to do in the meantime t0 justify the basis for the application.”


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