Council affirms ruling against Point Wells condo project
EVERETT The Snohomish County Council has once again sided with the county hearing examiner, who rejected a high-rise condominium proposal that has for years drawn criticism from neighbors and government authorities.
The County Council voted 4-0 this month to uphold Hearing Examiner Peter Camps January ruling against the Point Wells development proposal, a mix of homes and businesses planned for an industrial site between Puget Sound and a steep hillside near Woodway. Council Chairwoman Stephanie Wright was absent and excused.
Camp, who rejected an earlier version of the project, gave county planning officials permission to deny the proposal because of substantial conflicts with county code, including buildings that would be too tall and too close to landslide hazard areas.
Representatives for the developer, BSRE Point Wells, argued in its most recent appeal to the council that the county Planning and Development Services department recommended against the proposal without giving the project team a chance to respond to the issues at hand.
But department staff have maintained that the developer has had years to fix problems with its plan to build the cluster of high-rises, designed to reach heights of about 17 stories.
Nearby residents opposed to the project have also raised concerns about landslides, traffic and the costly environmental cleanup that would need to occur at the site before construction could begin.
https://www.heraldnet.com/news/council-affirms-ruling-against-point-wells-condo-project/