The community vision derived from the planning process
is an integrated form of development or “urban village” where a vibrant
people place can be developed that is economically and environmentally
sustainable, well designed and accessible to surrounding residential
neighborhoods. Specifically, the East Gateway Urban Village plan is intended
to create a new high-quality, mixed-use neighborhood, designed consisting of
single-storied retail and multistoried mid-rise buildings organized along an
internal street network. The mid-rise buildings would consist of a mix of
residential units constructed over ground-floor retail and office uses. The
plan also incorporates low-rise townhomes and a neighborhood park that will
complement the existing surrounding residential neighborhoods. To meet the
community’s vision for the East Gateway Urban Village, implementing
development regulations required the preparation of design guidelines to
provide a framework for guiding the physical development of the site. These
guidelines will ensure design quality and consistency between multiple
developments and/or phases within the East Gateway Urban Village.
City Helps Stimulate Development to East Gateway AreaIn July
2008, the City Council also approved the Capital Facilities Plan with
funding programmed in 2009 for the East Gateway Urban Village Spine Road
Study (CFP Project No. T‑41). As a result of the early interest expressed by
the development community in the East Gateway Urban Village Plan and to help
stimulate economic development in the City, staff recommended initiating the
Spine Road Study to define the location and design criteria of the critical
public infrastructure, namely the road, and drainage systems.
The
roadway and stormwater elements can be defining factors on any land
development project. The City should be able to provide guidance to any
potential developers in order to maintain control of how the public
facilities are designed. For
example, the alignment of the spine road and the proposed traffic signal at
39th Avenue SE will affect the site layout of future building pads including
any anchor stores. In addition,
a regional drainage facility may be an efficient way to handle stormwater
for the entire site, as opposed to numerous on-site facilities for
individual parcels.
To
quantify and address these and other issues, Council authorized staff to
hire a qualified consultant to prepare a preliminary engineering study for
the East Gateway area. The
study would address four main issues, roadway alignment, access points,
drainage and utility coordination.
East Gateway
Urban Village Update
Work continues on the implementation of the East Gateway Urban Village
Master Plan for the 50 acres located south of 132nd Street SE and
east of 35th Avenue SE.
Implementation measures that the City of Mill Creek is working on
include:
- Coordinating the installation of a traffic signal at 39th
Avenue SE with Snohomish County, which is scheduled to be installed in
2010.
- Preparing an alignment study for a new public road through the site
from the 39th Avenue/132nd Street intersection to
Seattle Hill Road. The study also
addresses facilities for the treatment and storage of stormwater.
The study should be completed this summer.
- Securing State Revitalization Finance monies from the Department of
Revenue for up to $330,000 a year for 25 years for the purpose of
installing infrastructure improvements, which include the roadway,
stormwater facilities and traffic control structures.
The intent of these implementation measures is to encourage
quality development within the City of Mill Creek consistent with the East
Gateway Urban Village Master Plan, which was adopted in March 2008. Should
you have any questions regarding the City’s progress on the development of
the East Gateway Urban Village, you can contact Christi Amrine, Senior
Planner at
Christi@cityofmillcreek.com or Scott Smith, City Engineer at
Scott@cityofmillcreek.com or
by phone at
425-745-1891.
