By MICHAEL WHITNEY
Published March 17, 2021

City plan for more density along Avenue D proceeds

SNOHOMISH — A task force on shaping far-out future development along Avenue D finished its work last week.
The Midtown Task Force wants to allow taller buildings, but not without losing Snohomish’s unique character, along a section of Avenue D between Sixth Street and the state Route 9 overpass.
The plans reclassify the area for mixed-use development; a good example of this would be storefronts on the bottom with apartments on upper floors.
Midtown’s centerpiece is the nearly 10-acre former county public works yard near the Snohomish Square shopping center, which will be for sale sometime in the near future. Guiding development at this spot is a primary reason why the city convened volunteers for the task force.
The recommendations allows denser residential buildings, but no towers here: The cap will be 55 feet, or about four to five stories tall. Developers will not receive tax breaks if they build here. The task force removed setting up tax breaks for development.
The recommendations support bicycle and pedestrian-friendly improvements and locating parking lots away from the front of future buildings. The plan calls for a traffic study for Avenue D. It suggests adding more trees, too.
The City Council will hear a presentation on the task force’s recommendations at its Tuesday, April 20 meeting.
The city’s planning commission will pore over the material this summer before sending a final plan to City Council for final approval.

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