Ordinance 2021-94 - Laserfiche WebLink

EVERETT COMPREHENSIVE PLAN LAND USE ELEMENT 110 The following activity centers are designated would be connected to other centers with by the Land Use Element (See Land Use improved public transportation. Some would Map). be oriented to freeway related use or focus on a unique location, such as along the 1. Downtown Core Activity Center: Snohomish River, but most would become Everett's downtown core and surrounding neighborhood centers for the surrounding neighborhoods epitomize the mixed use residential area. Although size of individual activity center, and form the largest of the activity centers will vary, each center would be activity centers designated by the Land Use expected to accommodate an average of Element. Although downtown has exper- approximately 200 to 500 total residents. By ienced a serious decline from its earlier doing so, a significant portion of the future position as the major retail center for housing needs could be met without having to Snohomish County, many other activities will extensively rezone single family neighbor- continue to desire a downtown location. hoods to multiple family zones. Many recent commercial and residential redevelopment projects in the downtown area 3. Challenges of Mixed Use Activity have begun a reversal of this decline. While Center Development: There are several downtown will not become the retail center challenges for the city to be able to implement that it once was, it has always been and will the goal of the mixed use activity center. First continue to be an area where a lot of different is that most areas designated as mixed use activities co-exist. Downtown can be viewed activity centers are located in commercial as a conglomeration of individual activity zones which have been previously developed centers, with retail, government, office, as single use areas, like shopping centers or services, medical, residential, and other office buildings, or as commercial strip areas miscellaneous activities. The residential re- with a multitude of ownerships and businesses. development goal for the central business Integrating a variety of uses, in many cases, district is the accommodation of up to 3,000 will require re-development of existing additional dwelling units. commercial uses. Re-development can be quite successful in integrating a mix of uses 2. Other Activity Centers: The Land Use into a commercial area, but developers and Element designates a number of other, smaller lenders must be willing to try something that activity centers within the Everett Planning may be viewed as experimental or a risky Area. These are located at the intersections of investment. Mixed use requires greater arterial streets and most are presently creativity, and also greater investment than characterized by low scale commercial uses, single use developments. Re-development usually single story, and in some cases, minor occurs more slowly than development of amounts of residential use. Most have been vacant land parcels. built to easily accommodate the automobile. The Land Use Element envisions these areas Since most of the mixed use activity centers gradually redeveloping. As undeveloped land are located commercial zones, developers may grows increasingly scarce, land values rise, not consider residential activity as a mix to be and population increases, these areas will viable or marketable. Traditionally, appraisers 1110 evolve into denser, mixed use districts that assigning value based upon "highest and best contain a variety of residential, retail, office, use" place higher value on commercial entertainment, public facility and consumer potential than on residential. Educating service uses. These mixed use activity centers property owners that residential use mixed LU-15