Point Wells Environmental Review Process begins
The City will host a series of workshops beginning Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2014, to ensure that the community has an opportunity to provide input in the review process and identify capital investments that will make for a safer transportation corridor.
Snohomish County will start the environmental review process for the proposed development at Point Wells in January 2014. The review will look at the development’s impacts and determine how to address them. The City of Shoreline will host a series of workshops beginning Wednesday, Jan. 15, to ensure that the community has an opportunity to provide input in the review process and identify capital investments that will make for a safer transportation corridor.
Snohomish County’s environmental review process
Through Washington’s State Environmental Policy Act, when a proposed project is likely to result in significant adverse impacts, the lead agency is required to prepare an environmental impact statement (EIS). In the case of Point Wells, Snohomish County is the lead agency. The EIS reviews the project’s impacts and provides reasonable alternatives and possible mitigation. The first step in the process is to conduct “scoping” which is the community’s opportunity to comment on the impacts, identify alternatives, and how to address the impacts.
Snohomish County and BSRE have agreed to a 30 day scoping comment period, which is longer than the minimum 21 day requirement. The process will begin in early January and Snohomish County will hold two public meetings during that time, including one in Shoreline.
Shoreline’s Point Wells Community Workshop Series
Workshop: Preparing for Snohomish County’s Environmental Review Process
Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2014, 6:30 to 8:30pm
Shoreline City Hall Council Chambers
The City will submit official scoping comments on the Point Wells project’s impacts to our community. Join us for an overview of the environmental review process and to review and comment on the impacts we have identified.
Learn more about this workshop on the City's calendar.
Transportation Corridor Workshops
Six workshops between February 12 and April 16
Shoreline City Hall Council Chambers
As part of the agreement between the City and BSRE, the City will conduct a Transportation Corridor Study to focus extensively on the project’s transportation impacts to the Shoreline community. This study will allow the community, City staff, and BSRE to examine the effects of additional traffic on Richmond Beach Drive, Richmond Beach Road, surrounding side streets and other major intersections along N 185th Street and to I-5. This includes looking at time spent waiting at intersections, the ability for residents to safely access their driveways , and safety concerns for pedestrians and bicyclists. To ensure the process is objective, the City has hired a third party facilitator. The process includes a series of six workshops that will give residents an opportunity to explain and show on maps exactly the kinds of capital investments that will make for a safe and efficient transportation corridor.
More information
Visit the Point Wells project page for more information and project background.
For questions about Snohomish County’s environmental review process, contact Shoreline Planning Director Rachael Markle 206-801-2531.
For questions about the City’s Transportation Corridor Study, contact Transportation Planning Manager Kirk McKinley 206-801-2481.
(Thanks to Richmond Highland Neighborhood Association)
I have a feeling the third party facilitator isn't thinking about the real life experiences te residents will face with this gargantuan development being forced down on us.. Sham.
ReplyDeleteThe City Manager issues her feel good weekly reports and doesn't include the Point Wells meetings? If you don't pay attention you might miss the very bottom line that notes the Richmond Highlands Neighborhood Association was the source of this story, not the City of Shoreline. That makes the City Manager reports and press releases published by the City on behalf of the City Council a complete joke, they only tell you what they want you to know.
ReplyDeleteThis information was in the last city manager's update: http://www.shorelineareanews.com/2013/12/shoreline-city-managers-weekly-update.html. In the section "Point Wells Update."
ReplyDeleteI've always wondered why the historic transportation corridor from 238th SW can't be resurrected? It seem more logical to connect with Woodway Park Road than travel the narrow, high density streets of Shoreline.
ReplyDeleteWoodway has proposed building a new road, but it doesn't serve the City of Shoreline's purpose to let the residents of Richmond Beach to let them know that.
ReplyDeleteThis is all pre-planned noise for the last half of December, to distract citizens from the fact that December 31 is the deadline for submitting proposed amendments to the City of Shoreline's Comprehensive Plan for 2014. If you recall, last year the City proposed amendments dealing with Point Wells traffic after the deadline. Then, just prior to finalizing the 185th St Station Area (an obvious outfall for future Point Wells traffic) scoping document, the City dropped the proposed amendments from the 2013 docket. Then they revised the Comprehensive Plan to crop Point Wells out of the Light Rail map. Of course, after the plans had been submitted to Sound Transit, they "corrected" the map, restoring Point Wells.
ReplyDeleteYou will note, there is no reminder to readers of the amendment proposal deadline, which was today. Nor is there any reminder in this or any other article about Point Wells since the infamous August 2011 Letter of Intent that the City is not pursuing discussion with the developer of any of the numerous impacts to the community other than traffic.
Look for the proposed traffic amendments to return soon.
Correction: The City's Comprehensive Plan webpage does give the December deadline.
ReplyDelete