City of Shoreline re the agreement with Sno County on Point Wells

City of Shoreline and Snohomish County Agree to a Process to Address Concerns over Point Wells Development

The City of Shoreline has agreed to a process with Snohomish County to communicate and share information regarding potential impacts of the proposed Point Wells Development on Shoreline’s road network. This agreement outlines the framework for a respectful, constructive, and transparent communication process between the City and the County.

The City worked with Representatives Ruth Kagi and Cindy Ryu to sponsor House Bill 1265 in the current legislative session, which would have assigned to the City the responsibility for preparing the Transportation component of the future Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Point Wells project. This bill was initiated to address the City’s primary concern about the traffic impacts to the Richmond Beach neighborhood, which provides the only vehicle access to the proposed development site. However, Senator Craig Pridemore, Chair of the Senate Government Operations Committee, urged the City and County to reach agreement rather than have the legislature intervene.

“While the Council was disappointed that the legislation did not move forward, we remain committed to advocating our concerns with the proposed development,” said Shoreline Mayor Keith McGlashan. “This agreement provides a positive forum with Snohomish County to work through those concerns.”

The agreement specifies that the City and County will communicate on a regular basis, copy one another on related emails and correspondence, and that the City will be asked to consult on the selection of the traffic consultant to be retained to prepare that portion of the EIS. In addition, the City has committed to post relevant documents on the City website and to work with the County to provide opportunities to inform the public about the likely project impacts on Shoreline.

The City adopted a lower level of service for Richmond Beach Drive to 4,000 average daily trips, which is the only access to the site, as the road narrows to a two lane road. The ordinance adopted by Council indicates that raising the traffic threshold to the original maximum of 8,250 will be reconsidered when a transportation corridor study is completed, impact mitigation is identified, and funding is committed.

The City will continue to work to ensure that any development at Point Wells meets our traffic thresholds and includes mitigation to address the city’s concerns.

--from the Office of the Shoreline City Manager