2009/03/25 Council Agenda Packet

The portion of the south Simpson site that the City sold to the Washington State Department of Transportation for I-5 stormwater facilities will be rezoned to Open Space. The area encompassed by the Project has five distinct geographic areas(See Figure 2): 1)Tire Fire/Landfill Site: This area is bordered on the north by 36th Street; on the west by the BNSF mainline/right-of-way; and on the east and south by the diagonal created by the former Milwaukee Road railroad right-of-way. 2) Simpson Pad: This area is generally south and west of the area described below as the Simpson Category 1 Wetlands and Riparian Corridor; and north of the area described below as the South Simpson Site. This area is identified in the Everett General Plan and related documents as the"Developable Portion of Simpson Site". 3) Simpson Category 1 Wetlands and Riparian Corridor: This lies between the Tire Fire/ Landfill site,the BNSF Mainline on the east,and between the Snohomish River and the upland area known as the Simpson Pad or the Developable Portion of Simpson Site. This area is comprised entirely of areas that are or will be aquatic or riparian habitat and public access. 4) South Simpson Site: This area lies between the BNSF mainline on the west, the Snohomish River on the east,the WSDOT water treatment property on the south and the Simpson Pad on the north. This area is comprised entirely of areas that are or will be aquatic or riparian habitat and public access. 5)Eclipse Mill Site: This area lies north of the easterly extension of 36th Street,east of the BNSF `C'-line track and right-of-way, west of the Snohomish River and south of Pacific Avenue. Project Detail: The proposed conceptual master plan includes the construction of a mix of commercial space, hotel space, and single-family and multi-family residential units. The range of uses to be analyzed in the EIS will be a combination of commercial uses up to 1,200,000 square feet;up to 1,500 residential units; and up to 150,000 square feet of hotel use. The project is intended to provide a balance of the uses such that the maximum development limits cannot be met simultaneously; as the intensity of one use increases the others generally decrease. (For example, as the amount of retail/office use increases,the total number of residential units decreases.) The types of uses in the description of"commercial" include, for example, retail, restaurant,theater, office and professional uses. Public amenities included in the proposal are wetland enhancements,trail extensions,multi-use public spaces for indoor and outdoor gathering, and possibly a multi-purpose boat dock. Residential uses are a mix of single-family and multi-family residential units. The project is proposed to attain, at a minimum, a certification level of Silver from the U.S. Green Building Council's LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Green Building Rating System. The Council's Core Purpose is to transform the way buildings and 2