Point Wells update from the City of Shoreline

Point Wells, an unincorporated island of land in the extreme southwest corner of Snohomish County, is accessible by vehicle only by traveling through the Richmond Beach neighborhood of Shoreline. The portion of Point Wells that is owned by Blue Square Real Estate (BSRE), formerly owned by Paramount NW., Inc., is within both the Town of Woodway’s “Municipal Urban Growth Area” and the City of Shoreline’s “Future Service and Annexation Area.”

In spring of 2009, Snohomish County processed a request from then owner Paramount Northwest, Inc., then the owner of the petroleum and asphalt plant at Point Wells, to designate their waterfront parcel as an “Urban Center,” which would allow up to 3,500 residential units and 80,000 square feet of commercial uses.

The City of Shoreline expressed opposition to the “Urban Center’ designation, argued that it did not comply with the State Growth Management Act, and pointed out flaws in the County’s Environmental Impact Statement. The City expressed strong concerns about the underestimated likely impacts of such a large project on Shoreline’s roads and parks. Because sole access to the site is through Shoreline, any project at Point Wells will also place demand for urban services on the Shoreline Fire and Police Departments.

Despite these objections, the Snohomish County Council approved the Point Wells Urban Center Plan designation in August of last year. This prompted the City of Shoreline, the Town of Woodway and the citizens group Save Richmond Beach to appeal that County action to the State Growth Management Hearings Board. That appeal is still pending.

In April of this year, the City adopted its own Point Wells Subarea Plan which identified Point Wells as a City of Shoreline “Future Service and Annexation Area.” The Subarea Plan describes a vision for Point Wells as a mixed-use waterfront community, with a public park and public access trail along the Sound. Significantly, the City’s Subarea Plan calls for development at a much smaller scale than the County’s Urban Center designation, and proposes a cap on vehicle trips going to or from a project at Point Wells.

In May of this year, the Snohomish County Council adopted Urban Center Zoning which would apply not only to Point Wells but also to five other sites in unincorporated Snohomish County. While maintaining objections to the County’s Urban Center Plan designation, the City of Shoreline and Town of Woodway argued that any County zoning should give our two communities some role in determining the ultimate size, configuration and design details of development at Point Wells.

The County responded to these city concerns by adding language that invites interested cities to propose Development Agreements with a property owner/developer and Interlocal Agreements with the County. The County zoning text does not obligate B.S.R.E. to sign a proposed Development Agreement, nor obligate the County to agree to a proposed Interlocal Agreement, however, these provisions do provide a potential avenue to address Shoreline’s concerns and possibly settle the current and pending litigation

Meanwhile, BSRE has scheduled two “community open houses” to provide an opportunity for interested people to meet the project’s architects, learn about some of BSRE’s objectives, to ask questions, and provide input directly to the developer’s representatives. The first meeting is set for Tuesday, July 27 from 6:30 pm to 8:00 pm at the Edmonds Conference Center, 201 Fourth Avenue N, Edmonds. A second meeting will be Thursday, September 23 from 6:30 pm to 8:00 pm at the Shoreline Center.

As further actions are taken regarding Point Wells, the City will post updates on its website.

Information from Joe Tovar, City of Shoreline PaDS Director