Seizing opportunity? Snoqualmie OKs zoning, preannex deal, turns to county negotiations

Published 5:46 pm Thursday, October 27, 2011

Members of the Snoqualmie City Council unanimously approved the future zoning and an agreement with landowners that define how the former Weyerhaeuser Mill site will enter city boundaries.

“We have to err on the side of the city seizing opportunity,” said councilman Jeff MacNichols, who moved to approve the pre-annex agreement with Snoqualmie Mill Ventures, Weyerhaeuser Real Estate Development Corp. and Ultimate Rally LLC. He broke the argument down to control.

“Ultimately, we have to make decisions that are best for our city,” said MacNichols, who told the audience that he’s tried to remain on the fence regarding annexation.

The city has spent a lot of time listening to concerns over the annex, and has done its best to address them in the pre-annexation agreement, he said. MacNichols added he trusts the owners to not take advantage of loopholes.

“If we make a decision, we can own it, control it, do what’s best for the city,” said MacNichols. He told residents that they can expect to get more results from the city council than King County.

Comment and discussion

Discussion that evening revolved around two issues: strengthening language on noise protections and a talk about the how the shoreline would be defined and protected.

Citizen comment came from two critics of the annexation, downtown business owner Wendy Thomas and Warren Rose, a county neighbor of the site.

Thomas again urged caution, saying the agreement “creates entitlements that I would expect whoever uses this property would want to enjoy.” Her concern was that development of the site would lead to buildings that displace water, potentially increasing flooding on both sides of the water.

“You’re going to make a decision that’s going to have an extremely negative impact on our city,” Rose said. He said the change would be detrimental to residents.

“Stop this process now. There is absolutely no rush,” he said. “Give it some time.”

In response to a council question about asking the Mill Adventure Park operators about the language, Rose called from the audience, “What about the people who actually live there?”

During discussion, Charles Peterson called for and passed a motion strengthening language over mitigation of DirtFish Rally School noise levels. The language originally stated that DirtFish may be required to mitigate noise if it interferes with a neighbor being able to hold a conversation. Peterson had it changed to “will be required.”

Rose, who is a member of the Your Snoqualmie Valley grassroots group, told the Record that he feels like he and his neighbors’ concerns have not been adequately addressed by language in the annexation agreements. He said they are seriously considering a legal appeal.

Former Weyerhaeuser land manager Dick Ryon had urged the city to apply rural shoreline standards in the annexation. In a letter to Snoqualmie officials, he argued that the rural standards were best, as they reflect the man-made nature of much of the mill-site shoreline, and also allow for more flexibility in flood control projects.

City Planning Director Nancy Tucker defended the city’s conservation designation for a part of the mill site shoreline, saying that it was appropriate to conditions and that strict FEMA floodway designations already apply. Flood control projects could also be written in as allowable uses at the site, City attorney Pat Anderson said.

What was passed

The Snoqualmie City Council passed a resolution adopting the pre-annexation agreement with landowners in the Mill Annex Area. The council also passed an ordinance on zoning in the site effective upon annexation. Both votes were unanimous.

Under the zoning ordinance, the mill site becomes a mix of open space in the floodway, commercial and industrial space above it, and a small strip of residential.

The pre-annex agreement spells out conditions for site use and development. The city also applies conditions to the operation of the DirtFish rally driving school, which include street-legal, fully-muffled cars, 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. regular operating hours, and a ban on alcohol  at the school. No more than two rally cross race events can be held per year; other special events will be permitted on a case-by-case basis.

The landowners have agreed not to build a race track or speedway. The landowners, the city and the county will coordinate to protect or re-use historic structures at the mill. Within 30 days of annexation, Snoqualmie Mill Ventures must provide the city with a sensitive areas study for review.

The business license for the school may be revoked, and any special event permit may be revoked for conditions.

Interlocal agreement

Now, the city turns toward the interlocal agreement with King County. Both sides must agree on the conditions attached to transfer of the 600-acre mill parcel and adjacent infrastructure, which includes Mill Pond Road, portions of Reinig Road, and the Meadowbrook bridge. That infrastructure, and the low likelihood of county financial support to the city for it, could end up as a sticking point.

MacNichols was among city council members who expressed grave reservations about the interlocal agreement with King County.

He said he was very reluctant to vote for it given the risk of liability for Meadowbrook bridge maintenance.

“I want to make it perfectly clear that I have strong reservations when we move to the interlocal agreement,” councilman Kingston Wall said. “My voting ‘yes’ doesn’t close the door on my future decisions.”

“The biggie, financially, in some members’ minds, is the future cost of the bridge,” City Attorney Pat Anderson said.

That bridge could cost millions, years or decades from now, to replace. The bridge also carries recurring maintenance costs, one large example being the $300,000 repainting that must occur roughly every 17 years.

Anderson said the council will ultimately have to weigh the costs of infrastructure and maintenance with the potential benefit of control of the largest remaining commercial development site in King County.

A public hearing on the agreement with King County is planned for 7 p.m. Monday, Nov. 14. An official notice will be published this week and next in the Valley Record’s legal notices section.