During its regular meeting May 25, Bothell City Council gave preliminary approval to a revised plan for the rebuilding of downtown and the planned development on adjacent former school district property along Bothell Way Northeast.
After extended discussions and debate, Mayor Mark Lamb and others said the issue will be back before council July 14 for what could be a final vote.
Apparently at least partly in response to resident comments, Lamb said the new plan includes more height restrictions in the downtown and enhanced buffer requirements in so-called transition zones.
Those zones sit between proposed new development and existing residential areas and have attracted plenty of public comment.
“The key is this is going to be something that will not harm our neighborhoods,” Lamb said, while adding the proposal still will allow future commercial development.
Deputy Mayor Sandy Guinn said what she wanted to see, and what she voted in favor of, was a unified development document. She said the council had numerous proposals in front of it, some from the city planning commission, some from consultants, some from city staff.
“We wanted one document that we could come back and discuss,” Guinn said, adding that no parts of any plan should be considered finalized at least until council votes again next month.
Even if plans aren’t written in stone at this point, Lamb said highlights of the current proposal include a call for a 65-foot height limit downtown. But Lamb added the proposal greatly decreases the area where the maximum height limit will be allowed. He also said the changes moved the tallest potential buildings further away from residential areas.
Hitting on a separate issue, Lamb talked about using “form-based codes,” which among other considerations, should, in his opinion, result in the use of higher quality building materials, enhancing the overall development.
During past hearings on the development plans, height limits and zoning issues in the transition zones attracted by the far the most attention from the general public. The comments of resident Pat Pierce were typical.
“Bothell is not Bellevue or Seattle,” Pierce said. She spoke out against the height limits set for the downtown zone and talked about protecting the charm and character of Main Street.
Pierce said the old adage of “it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” might apply.
In a related move, the city approved agreements to purchase the last three properties needed to bring about the realignment of state routes 522 and 527 along with Main Street.
Known as the Crossroads project, the realignment is seen as a key to the redevelopment of downtown. Now that the city has acquired all needed properties, officials say the next step is demolition of existing buildings currently sitting in the way of the new street alignment. Bulldozers should arrive later this year, with actual road construction slated to begin in 2010.
The latest land purchases will affect several businesses, including the Hertz Equipment Rental outlet, Tina’s Nails and the McDonald’s restaurant, all along Bothell Way Northeast. The total combined purchase price for the properties was given as roughly $7.4 million.
In a press release, city Public Information Office Joyce Goedeke said funding for the Crossroads work is coming mostly from the state, with about $32 million awarded through at least two different programs so far. Goedeke said city officials project the realignment could generate up to $670 million in private mixed-use development over the next 20 years.
