After careful consideration, the Lynnwood City Council unanimously voted at its March 25 business meeting not to proceed with an agreement to purchase the Rodeo Inn motel.

The decision was made after the results of a property inspection conducted by a city-hired architect showed a complete demolition and reconstruction of the building was the best option to include the maximum number of units. Since the cost to tear down and rebuild was greater than the initial estimated cost, the staff recommended that the city not proceed with the purchase, said Mayor Nicola Smith.

“The purchase price of this building for a demolition is just not a good use of city funds, or those of our partners,” Smith said.

In January of this year, the City of Lynnwood entered into a tentative purchasing agreement with the owner of the Rodeo Inn motel located in the 20700 block of Highway 99 in Lynnwood. The city had an interest in repurposing the building to house some of the more than 500 homeless students of the Edmonds School District and their families. The agreement included a 60-day “due diligence” period, during which the city hired Dykeman Architects to conduct an inspection of the building’s condition.

During his presentation, Dykeman architect Tim Jewett offered three redevelopment scenarios for the building. Of the three, two required a remodel that would result in too few units available to house students and their families. The third, which was deemed “the most feasible” by Housing Hope CEO Fred Safstrom, required a complete demolition of the building and a reconstruction that would result in 45 units.

Housing Hope has been identified as the lead agency to manage such a project. Other partners involved included the Edmonds School District, the City of Edmonds, Verdant Health Commission, the Lynnwood Human Services Commission, Snohomish YWCA, the Hazel Miller Foundation, Snohomish County Council and the Alliance for Housing Affordability.

According to Jewett, the project’s new estimated price was between $14.3 million and $15.8 million. The city had previously approved $4 million in the city’s 2019-20 biennium budget to purchase the property, estimating that additional costs would bring the total project budget to $5.1 million.

“Although this is a disappointment, our commitment to the needs of our homeless students and their families continues,” Smith said. “We’ve learned so much from this process and we’ve garnered enthusiasm and support from our neighboring cities, Snohomish County, service providers and the community as a whole.”

Also at its March 25 meeting, the city council decided to reopen the public testimony portion of the public hearing for the Whispering Pines apartment complex rezone project. Some Lynnwood residents who live near Whispering Pines — located at 18225 52nd Ave. W. — have continued to express concerns about the proposed comprehensive plan amendments, which includes changes to the city’s official zoning map and the future land-use map.

A remodel is required for the 50-year-old building, owned by the Housing Authority of Snohomish County (HASCO), due to failing sewer and fire alarm systems in the current structure. HASCO is requesting amendments be made to zoning regulations to accommodate a taller building, capable of housing 350 affordable and market-value units. The current building has 240 housing units, all of which are described as “affordable housing.” Should the zoning changes not be approved, the new building will only accommodate 219 units — a decrease of 21 units due to new parking regulations. Some residents said a taller building would reduce the natural lighting to their homes, decrease the availability of neighborhood parking and affect access to public transit.

The decision to reopen the public hearing on the Whispering Pines project came in response to an email and letter sent by HASCO Executive Director Duane Leonard to members of the city council and city staff, including the mayor. The email and letter contained general information about the housing project, previously unanswered information about parking spaces and a reminder that a rezone is needed – from HASCO’s perspective — to accommodate the desired number of housing units.

But the council decided to reopen the public hearing — which occurred March 11 — after determining that nearby residents did not have access to HASCO’s responses and were not able to comment on them prior to the council vote.

“It seems like we missed out on quite a bit of this process and here in the last couple of minutes we’re finally coming into a lot of good information,” said Lynnwood resident Dave Mesford.

Council President Ben Goodwin said he agreed Lynnwood residents should have more time to seek information about the rezone before a decision is made.

“I think that allowing that the public be able to trust that this is an open process and to question or rebut any of the statements they feel they need to do so is in order,” he said.

The date for the continued public testimony for the Whispering Pines rezone will be announced at a later time.

The city council also unanimously voted to approve the appointment of two applicants to vacant commission positions:

• Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Commission  — Ashkan Amouzegar
• Planning Commission — Adam Segalla

–Story and photos by Cody Sexton