Published November 2001

Officials: Community, government support key
to urban-center success

By John Wolcott
Herald Business Journal Editor

Developing new urban centers used to be the work of developers who owned large parcels of land on the edge of metropolitan areas. But now Snohomish County government, the Economic Development Council and private developers are showing great interest in working together to create new urban centers.

Speakers at an EDC-sponsored Urban Partnerships workshop at the Embassy Suites in October said the most successful urban-center developments are being assembled by developers and multiple landowners with public sector coordination and citizen input.

Already, the Snohomish County Council has unanimously adopted an Urban Centers Demonstration Program to guide future development at key sites in unincorporated areas of the county adjacent to Everett, Lynnwood, Mill Creek and Bothell.

“There are more than 20 cities in the county, each with different visions (for growth and development),” County Council Chairman David Somers said. “Usually, we think of urban centers as a city problem. It is now a county problem. To manage these developments we need to strengthen ties between citizens, the county and developers.”

Linked to the EDC’s quarterly update meeting, the workshop was sponsored by the Puget Sound Regional Council, Washington Association of Realtors, Pilchuck Audubon Society, Opus Northwest, Kirtley-Cole Associates, EverTrust Bank, the Snohomish County PUD and the Federal Home Loan Bank of Seattle.

Keynoting the session was Michael Freedman, founding partner of Freedman Tung & Bottomley, a San Francisco urban design firm involved in more than a dozen urban-center projects.

“Elements of success in developing urban centers include strong political and community support for a community vision. Never begin with a budget. Talking about money first can kill a project. Find out what the community really wants. That’s what develops the excitement and momentum that’s necessary to loosen up dollars and staffing to make it happen,” Freedman said.

Along with presentations by Renton Economic Development Director Sue Carlson and Gresham, Ore., Private Development Division Manager Terry Vanderkooy, Mill Creek Director of Planning William Trimm detailed that city’s urban-center development.

“Our plan was visionary but not revolutionary,” Trimm said. “We formed a steering committee, talked to citizens, hired an urban designer and met with property owners, the county, city officials and others to create it.”

Today, the city’s Town Center plan — developed with partnerships from all major community sectors — is well under way.

North of the town’s retail center at the Everett-Bothell Highway and 164th Street SW, the Jefferson at Mill Creek already has brought a modern apartment complex to the area with nearly 500 units.

South of that development, more residential areas will be created adjacent to the Town Center project, which will include a new city hall and community center, an array of retailers, pedestrian and bikeway amenities, and preserved wetlands and environment areas that include North Creek and Mill Creek.

The city’s new urban-center comprehensive plan calls for higher-density and mixed-use development; pedestrian and transit-friendly environments; a strong identity and focal point; a design that meets the needs of a diverse, multi-generation population; integration with existing commercial development; and a blending with the surrounding natural environment.

Sue Adams, Director of the Pilchuck Audubon Society’s Smart Growth Campaign, said in one of the program’s handouts that although her group and the EDC have often been on opposite sides of growth issues, “we have to work together to promote development in the right places. ... Higher-density, mixed-use developments help us protect environmentally sensitive areas and reduce our reliance on automobiles.”

EDC President Deborah Knutson said, “Well-designed urban areas with good roads and parks are vital to our efforts to attract new jobs for people already living here who often commute long distances to jobs in King County.”

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