Mayor Keith McGlashan testifies to limit residential density at Point Wells

from the office of the Shoreline City Manager

The City of Shoreline is actively working on several fronts to address concerns arising from the proposed development at Point Wells. Based on the developer’s presentation to the community on January 27 of this year, the Point Wells property owner, Blue Square Real Estate, is proposing a development that would have roughly 3,150 residential housing units. A development of that size would substantially impact the number of autos traveling on the roads throughout that part of the City. Preliminary computer modeling done by City staff in 2009 suggests that it would be extremely difficult, if not impossible, to mitigate the impact of such auto trips, particularly on Richmond Beach Drive.

On Friday, February 11, City of Shoreline Mayor Keith McGlashan testified before the Washington State House Committee on Local Government in support of House Bill (HB) 1265. HB 1265 would limit the maximum residential density of an unincorporated portion of an urban growth area to that of the immediately adjacent areas of an abutting city or cities. Point Wells lies in unincorporated Snohomish County and has been designated as an “Urban Center” area by the Snohomish County Council. The density proposed for Point Wells is completely at odds with the densities of the surrounding neighborhoods in Shoreline and Woodway.

HB 1265 is sponsored by Representatives Ruth Kagi and Cindy Ryu. A companion bill will be heard in the Senate Committee on Government Operations and Tribal Relations and Elections on Tuesday, February 15. SB 5421 is sponsored by Senator Marilyn Chase.

Due to the difficulty of mitigating traffic along Richmond Beach Drive, the Shoreline Planning Commission recently developed a recommendation to the City Council that would limit peak hour auto trips on Richmond Beach Drive to approximately 400, unless a study is done that shows how the impact of additional traffic can be adequately mitigated. The City Council will be taking action on this recommendation at its meeting on February 14.

The City will continue to pursue every avenue possible to ensure any development at Point Wells is in alignment with the City’s vision. While development of some kind at Point Wells is most likely inevitable, it must be reasonable in comparison and compatible with the surrounding communities.