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Post by Admin on May 10, 2010 12:03:49 GMT -8
The Everett / Snohomish County Development News Thread will focus on developments, urban issue's, and community planning within Snohomish County. Discuss, share photos, have fun.
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Post by Admin on May 14, 2010 8:39:56 GMT -8
Mukilteo's purchase of Japanese Gulch property hailedPublished: Friday, May 14, 2010 By Oscar Halpert Yakima Herald
MUKILTEO — Preservationists hoping to keep a large stretch of forest out of the hands of developers just got an assist from City Hall.
And it didn’t cost the city a penny of its own money.
The City Council this week unanimously agreed to purchase 16 acres of Japanese Gulch, a forested ravine of nearly 300 acres that lies within Everett and Mukilteo city limits.
“It’s fantastic news,” said Joe Elsholtz, president of the Mukilteo-based nonprofit Japanese Gulch Group. “The city’s been very supportive in doing this for a while now.”
With its $980,000 purchase from Washington Federal Savings of Seattle, the city now owns 36 acres of the ravine.
Money to buy the property came from a 2009 state capital grant.
State Sen. Paull Shin, D-Edmonds, pushed for the money. He had help from Rep. Marko Liias, D-Edmonds, who is a former Mukilteo city councilman, and Rep. Hans Dunshee, D-Snohomish who is chairman of the House Capital Budget Committee.
Mayor Joe Marine credited Shin for his efforts on the city’s behalf.
“Without him, there’s no way we could have gotten this,” Marine said.
Other Snohomish County cities over the years have received money for a variety of projects from the capital fund.
Richard Emery, the council’s vice-president, said the city had long sought an opportunity to buy more property in the gulch, nearly all of which lies within Everett city limits.
The door to that opportunity opened late last year, after developers backed away from purchasing the Washington Savings Bank property.
After that, the only question, Emery said, was whether the bank would be willing to sell the property.
“It’s astonishing progress, actually,” said Emery, who also is a member of the preservation group. “In the past year and a half, we’ve secured just over 25 acres in the gulch, something previous councils have talked about for decades and never were able to quite manage.”
The latest city acquisition is wedged between an 11.4-acre parcel the city owns on the north end of the gulch, near Old Town and a 97.7-acre parcel owned by Metropolitan Creditor’s Trust, which is holding the property to sell as part of a bankruptcy.
Mukilteo also owns 8.7 acres on which the Mukilteo Garden Club maintains a community garden.
Last year, Latitude Development of Auburn expressed an interest in the 16-acre site but eventually pulled out, said Debby McGehee, membership chairwoman for the Japanese Gulch Group.
Her group, which formed in 2008, has worked to prevent warehouses and condos from being developed in the gulch, a popular yet mostly privately owned forest.
The Boeing Co. owns most of the gulch.
“It would be terrific if we could garner support from the city of Everett and Snohomish County for the remainder of the property,” McGehee said. “It is used regionally.”
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Post by Admin on May 18, 2010 10:23:56 GMT -8
Monroe can’t name big-box store yet By Andy Rathbun The Everett Herald
MONROE — Residents may have to wait a bit longer to find out the name of the big-box store being planned for town.
The City Council could decide tonight to give a Seattle developer a six-week extension to submit plans for land on North Kelsey Street.
Those plans, connected to the $9.6 million sale of the city property, originally were due this Thursday.
The delay stems from an old environmental review. The city told the developer, Sabey Corp., that it had up-to-date documents on the land. Turns out, it didn’t.
“That was our fault,” said Police Chief Tim Quenzer, who is guiding the land deal, which developed during his time as interim city administrator.
Quenzer said the city is now finishing a fresh review of the property for about $22,000.
The findings could affect the developer’s plans, so city staff would like to give the developers more time.
Quenzer said the council will decide if the delay is justified.
“The council could always say, ‘No, we’re not going to agree to an extension,’ but I would be somewhat surprised,” Quenzer said.
The land deal has been coming together since October, when the city and Sabey signed a letter of intent. The City Council signed off on initial terms for the sale in January.
The deal isn’t done, however. The city could walk away if it’s not pleased with the developer’s final plans, just as the developer could walk away if issues arise with the property.
Most believe the developer will attract a big-box store such as Wal-Mart, Costco or Target. None has locations in Monroe.
The land deal is a big issue for the city, which still owes $11.3 million on a nearby piece of land it bought from the county a few years ago. That payment is due on Oct. 25.
The $9.6 million sale could help settle most of that debt.
If the sale falls through, however, the city will need to come up with another way to cover the tab. It could end up issuing bonds, director of operations Brad Feilberg said.
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