2005/12/05 Council Agenda Packet

outlined. Mr. Zlab's proposal is purely speculative since he does not own all of the property in the proposed rezone. He did not say it, but his proposal is conditioned on receiving the Multi - Family Tax Abatement; with R4 zoning he could not achieve the required density of 20 units. Increased density places more burden on Fire, Police and other City services — Mr. Zlab will not bear the cost for 10 years. I drove past the subject property today and saw children playing on the front lawn. How many children will his project accommodate? This question is underscored by his emphasis on profitable re -development — not on re -development that contributes to the overall quality of life for Everett's North end. Mr. Zlab frequently referred to lack of water view, but conveniently omitted the excellent, mountain and valley view his units will have. Pleasant views of any sort, typically bring higher prices. One of the intents of the Comp Plan is to preserve neighborhood character and provide affordable housing. How will this be accomplished? The glut of new multi -family housing has placed an unfair burden on existing property owners. Not only are they picking up the tab for property taxes, but in some instances they have to lower their standards in order to pay the bills. If they can't pay the bills, the property goes into decline and urban blight gets a stronger toehold. 60 — 70 percent of impervious surface may affect the springs that are common in this area and produce flooding on another property. A 5 story building will definitely affect sun/shadow on adjoining property. Mr. Zlab made the fatal error common to many developers of not communicating with the neighborhood association during the early stages of his proposal. I encourage the Zlab proposal to be denied at this time. It may be appropriate to revisit his proposal but only after the Station Area and the West CBD / West Slope are rezoned and action plans are in place. PROVIDENCE EVERETT MEDICAL CENTER EXPANSION DOCKET ITEM I've heard comment on the Providence Everett Medical Center Expansion Docket item is not due until February, 04 2005, but I am not feeling very trustworthy of the public process, so I will make my comments now. One of the most helpful elements in the 2 inch thick Comp Plan document is the extensive use of detailed maps. Thank you for providing them. One only need look at any map of Everett and see that the present location of Providence Hospital is incompatible with long term growth. Not only is it in the middle of an historic residential neighborhood it is at the extreme North end of a bottleneck and is not easily accessible to most of the people it is meant to serve. Its present location requires emergency vehicles to navigate heavily congested streets and is a fair distance from the nearest freeway. It is not convenient to the dense population centers in the Southern part of the City and rest of the County. The destruction of 22 homes (1/4 of the total Donovan District) on Everett's Historic Register to support a parking lot and a cancer care center is in direct contrast to the spirit and letter of the Comprehensive Plan's Historic preservation element. Moving the Donovan homes is a poor alternative. I am a cancer survivor and I am desperately in favor of cancer care and research. FA