Point Wells project impact statement delayed again

Planning for the proposed Point Wells condominium project along Puget Sound in southwest Snohomish County has been delayed again.

County planners now say that the draft environmental impact statement will come out in October rather than in July as reported earlier.

That means that the 45-day period for comments about the draft statement has advanced from summer to late fall.

The delay in the draft EIS came about because of errors by a contractor hired to write the section on traffic impacts, errors that forced the contractor to redo its work.

Principal planner Ryan Countryman said Friday that the traffic study was the main missing piece of information needed for the draft statement.

He said that the draft statement would include discussion of engineering of a road through Woodway. Such a road would be the required second road to the proposed project.

Currently, the only road to or from the development is a narrow, two-lane road through the Richmond Beach area of the city of Shoreline in northwest King County. The road, Richmond Beach Drive Northwest in Shoreline, crosses the King-Snohomish County line into the southwest corner of the town of Woodway before reaching Point Wells.

Developer Blue Star Real Estate has proposed building 3,081 condominium units along with 125,000 square feet of retail and commercial space on the industrial site, a site that is within the urban growth area of Woodway.

After the comment period, another contractor working for the county planning department will write the final environmental impact statement, something that may not come until 2018.

Planner Countryman said that developer BSRE has decided not to comment before the draft statement but to comment before a final EIS.

In addition to the environmental impact statement, the project needs approval from a county design review board.

The latest delay is part of a long series of delays to planning for the Point Wells project. Gary Huff, a representative of the developer had been quoted in an April 2014 Herald article as saying that he then estimated that completion of the environmental impact statement would come by the end of that year.

To write the final environmental impact statement, Countryman said in early February, planners need responses from the developer to requests for several pieces of information.

He said in February that the developer hadn’t replied to questions about the correct number of units and the correct number of parking spaces in addition to questions about a second road.

Countryman said then that planning officials first had asked for the information in 2013.

Countryman sent a letter to Huff last summer asking for clarification on the number of units, the number of parking spaces and plans for a second road.

Once county planners finish the final environmental impact statement, they can make a recommendation to a county hearing examiner for planning and zoning matters.

Countryman says that, without the missing information, county planners could not recommend approval of the project.

The hearing examiner will consider written and oral testimony before deciding whether to approve the plan, reject the plan, approve the plan with conditions, or remand it to the planning department for further revisions.

A hearing examiner’s decision can be appealed to the county council, with a further appeal to the Snohomish County Superior Court.

In addition to getting a permit from Snohomish County, the developer needs to get approval from the state Department of Ecology of an environmental cleanup on the site, which for decades has been used for petroleum shipping and storage. The operator of the oil facilities has yet to start the environmental-cleanup process.

Evan Smith can be reached at schsmith@frontier.com.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Local News

Frank DeMiero founded and directed the Seattle Jazz Singers, a semi-professional vocal group. They are pictured here performing at the DeMiero Jazz Festival. (Photos courtesy the DeMiero family)
‘He dreamed out loud’: Remembering music educator Frank DeMiero

DeMiero founded the music department at Edmonds College and was a trailblazer for jazz choirs nationwide.

Provided photo 
Tug Buse sits in a period-correct small ship’s boat much like what could have been used by the Guatamozin in 1803 for an excursion up the Stillaguamish River.
Local historian tries to track down historic pistol

Tug Buse’s main theory traces back to a Puget Sound expedition that predated Lewis and Clark.

Archbishop Murphy High School on Friday, Feb. 28 in Everett, Washington. (Will Geschke / The Herald)
Former teacher charged with possession of child pornography

Using an online investigation tool, detectives uncovered five clips depicting sexual exploitation of minors.

A person waits in line at a pharmacy next to a sign advertising free flu shots with most insurance on Thursday, Feb. 27, 2025 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Have you had the flu yet, Snohomish County? You’re not alone.

The rate of flu-related hospitalizations is the highest it’s been in six years, county data shows, and there are no signs it will slow down soon.

City of Everett Principal Engineer Zach Brown talks about where some of the piping will connect to the Port Gardner Storage Facility, an 8-million-gallon waste water storage facility, on Thursday, Feb. 27, 2025 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Port Gardner Storage Facility will allow Everett to meet state outflow requirements

The facility will temporarily store combined sewer and wastewater during storm events, protecting the bay from untreated releases.

Founder of Snohomish County Indivisible Naomi Dietrich speaks to those gather for the senator office rally on Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2025 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Membership numbers are booming for Snohomish County’s Indivisible chapter

Snohomish County’s Indivisible chapter, a progressive action group, has seen… Continue reading

Flamingos fill the inside of Marty Vale’s art car. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Lynnwood’s party car: Hot pink Corolla is 125,000-mile marvel

Marty Vale’s ’91 Toyota has 301 pink flamingos and a Barbie party on the roof.

Perrinville Creek historically passed in between two concrete boxes before the city of Edmonds blocked the flow constrictor in 2020. (Joe Scordino)
Examiner to decide route of Perrinville Creek

Closing arguments were submitted last week in a hearing that could determine if the creek will be passable for salmon in the next three years.

A bus bay on Monday, March 17 at Mall Station in Everett. (Will Geschke / The Herald)
Everett council awards $2M contract for Mall Station relocation

Everett Transit is moving its Mall Station platform to make room for a new TopGolf location.

Percy Levy, who served 17 years for drug-related crimes, outside his new business Redemption Auto along Highway 99 on Thursday, Sept. 21, 2023 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Everett community advocate arrested on drugs, weapons charges

Police said Percy Levy, who had his sentence commuted by former Washington governor Jay Inslee, possessed a half kilogram of fentanyl.

Logo for news use featuring the municipality of Snohomish in Snohomish County, Washington. 220118
Fracture in water pipeline east of Lake Stevens causes outage

The outage affects a section of pipeline that serves as many as 22,000 people. But customers are not likely to lose access to water.

Lynnwood
Police: Man fired gun into Alderwood Mall to steal $20K in sneakers

The man allegedly shot through mall entrances and stole high-end merchandise before reselling it

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.