Planning commission recommends denying east Monroe rezone

It's been nearly two years since the Monroe City Council passed the east Monroe rezone ordinances, and now councilmembers will again decide whether to rezone the 43-acre parcel of property from Limited Open Space to General Commercial.

This time, however, things are a little bit different. On Monday, Oct. 26, the Monroe Planning Commission issued its recommendation to the city council that the east Monroe zoning map change and comprehensive plan amendment be denied. The decision was made after hearing more than three hours of public testimony, followed hours of additional discussion.

Commissioners were tasked with reviewing the supplementary environmental data supplied by Kirkland engineering firm PACE Engineers. After the rezone ordinances passed in 2013, they were overturned by the Washington State Growth Management Hearings Board (GMHB), which sided with a group of petitioners that found the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) to be deficient.

This necessitated a Supplementary EIS (SEIS), in order to fill the gaps found in the initial document.-á -á

Commissioners voted 5-2 in favor of a recommendation to deny the rezone denial, which is the same margin by which the commission favored the rezone in 2013. The planning commission's recommendation does not mandate council action. Council will be provided with the formal recommendation to use as a tool in making its decision.

PACE Engineers attended Monroe City Council on Tuesday, Oct. 27, presenting council with an overview of the SEIS, including information from various contributing agencies. Wetlands Resource owner Scott Brainard talked about the wetlands and habitat study, Larry Karpack from Watershed Science and Engineering discussed hydrology on the site and Craig Erdman from GeoEngineers discussed the study related to landslide hazard.

Council action on the two east Monroe rezone ordinances is scheduled for Tuesday, Nov. 10, and Tuesday, Nov. 17. A public hearing has not been scheduled, but residents who wish to speak on the proposal are welcome to address the council during the time set aside for public comment. Should the council vote to move the rezone ordinances forward, the city will have to defend its action before the GMHB, which will determine if the SEIS remedies the deficiencies found in the EIS.

Current city council candidate Kirk Scarboro addressed council after the presentation by PACE and reported he has not heard support for the rezone during recent campaign doorbelling.

"I've been walking around the town now for five weeks, and I've talked to a lot of people,GÇ¥ Scarboro said. "I have not found one person yet who is for east Monroe.GÇ¥

For more information on the east Monroe rezone proposal and to view the SEIS, visit www.monroewa.gov/index.aspx?NID=419.

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