Resolution 7700 - Laserfiche WebLink

2. Development on Urban Corridors Everett Housing Action Plan 19 2. Development on Urban Corridors INTRODUCTION Providing multi-story housing on urban corridors such as Evergreen Way and North Broadway is an attractive concept for several reasons, including:  Residents will have excellent access to high frequency transit leading to Downtown and other regional urban centers.  There are development opportunities on sites in which buildings have reached the end of their useful life and could be demolished for redevelopment.  Sites are large enough to accommodate multi-story buildings and impacts to surrounding uses are minimized.  Increase in housing supply can have a positive effect on affordability consistent with available evidence.  Access to transit facilitates less reliance on private vehicles which contributes to lower household transportation expenses. Given these advantages, encouraging residential development on urban corridors appears to be a valuable element complementing other measures in an over-all strategy to support housing access and affordability. Consequently, this strategy pursues the following State legislative policy objective: Authorize development in one or more areas of not fewer than two hundred acres …. that include at least one bus stop served by scheduled bus service of at least four times per hour for twelve or more hours per day with an average of at least twenty-five residential units per acre that require no more than an average of one on-site parking space per two bedrooms in portions of the multifamily zones that are located within the areas. (RCW 36.70A.600(1)(b)) The corridors in Everett which meet the high frequency standard in the statute include Swift bus routes into Everett Station and along the Swift corridors. These transit corridors within Metro Everett do not have limitations on density and, on average, meet the average of no more than one on-site parking spaces per 2 bedrooms in the statute. However, the high frequency transit routes outside of Metro Everett, where 1.125 parking spaces are required for a 2- bedroom unit when the 25% reduction is applied for high-frequency transit. Parking requirements, as well as dimensional standards along noted transit corridors merit a review. The 2012 Evergreen Way Revitalization Plan provides a multifaceted approach that combines rezoning and design guidelines with transportation and public realm improvements. While the redevelopment emphasis is placed on the properties abutting the highway, the plan acknowledges that it is important that properties within a block or two of the highway or arterial streets are also important to consider. Additionally, intersections allowing pedestrian and bicycle traffic across the street are key for access. Attractive pedestrian and bicycle connections on cross streets are also necessary to connect the corridor to adjacent neighborhoods.