Shoreline Declares Intention to Annex Snohomish County's Point Wells

The city of Shoreline is officially pursuing annexation as what it feels is the best way to address the impacts of future Point Wells residents who would use the city's roads, parks and services.

Although Point Wells lies in unincorporated Snohomish County near the town of Woodway, the only access to the site is through a two-lane road in Shoreline's Richmond Beach area, which is in King County. Developers hope to transform Point Wells, which has expansive Puget Sound views and has served as an asphalt refinery, into a mixed-use urban center with 3,000 housing units.

The city of Shoreline has issued a letter of intent to the owners of the , saying it plans to negotiate an agreement to protect the city from what it views as the project's impacts. It added that it expects the city of Shoreline, the Shoreline Police Department and the Shoreline Fire Department to provide governmental services to the property.

In the letter to BSRE Pt. Wells, the city says staff has met with BSRE to discuss an agreement to avoid avoid a potential lawsuit.

The city proposes to calculate actual and projected traffic counts by project phase as they are built, and to prohibit subsequent phases if the traffic impacts would exceed the city’s adopted level of service for intersections and road segments in the Richmond Beach Road corridor.

“The only access is through Shoreline, so they are going to be driving through our city and using our parks, libraries, roads and police services,” said Shoreline Mayor Keith McGlashan. “It’s only fair that future residents of Point Wells share, with city taxpayers, the burden of paying to maintain our shared high quality of life.

“We recognize that this site is going to be redeveloped and we believe that the city is the most logical provider of services to the development,” he added. “The best way to protect the city, to address the demand for increased services and the long-term impacts is through annexing the property into Shoreline.”

If BSRE agrees to the principles and expectations described in the letter, the city said it could avoid the cost, uncertainty and risk of having to pursue further litigation to protect the city’s interests. 

“While the LOI is not binding, it does provide a structure for developing an agreement that the city council would formally act upon,” said City Manager Julie Underwood. If a satisfactory agreement cannot be reached, the city said in the release that it is committed to pursuing other methods, including lawsuits, to protect the interests of Shoreline’s citizens and taxpayers.

In exchange for BSRE signing an agreement consistent with the principles and expectations set forth in the letter, Shoreline would recognize the current permit application in Snohomish County as a vested permit, and support the provision of urban governmental services to Point Wells by the Shoreline Fire Department and King County Sheriff’s Office.

Shoreline City Council will have a meeting to hear feedback from residents and update them on the current status of the Point Wells project Aug. 31 from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at Shoreline City Hall. 

In addition to the community meeting, staff will provide an update of the Point Wells negotiations at the council’s Sept. 6 study session. During this meeting, the public is also invited to provide comment either at the beginning of the meeting or in writing to the council. 

To view a copy of the letter, visit the City’s Department of Planning and Community Development webpage. Citizens may provide written comments to the city council at Council@shorelinewa.gov.