|
West I-90 interchange
remains the center of retail debate
By TRAVIS
HAY
Twenty months after Ellensburg's comprehensive plan
update process and nearly two weeks before possible approval one hot
topic remains: Big box retail.
“It’s been frustrating for us
because over the last few weeks people not close to the process
think regional retail has been approved in Ellensburg, when in fact
the comp plan hasn’t even been approved yet,” said Randy
Lamb.
Lamb has been one of the key players in the debate
surrounding whether large-scale retail comes to town. His family
owns land at the west interchange, which is one of the city
council’s preferred locations for retail development. The other
location included in the plan is the south interchange.
Lamb believes his family’s property has an edge over its
southern counterpart. The family has financed transportation
studies, demanded surveys, site analyses and done other studies
examining the feasibility of retail development on their land. The
Lambs also created a DVD titled “Ellensburg’s Retail Future” and a
Web site, www.retailforellensburg, supporting its cause. The film
and documentation was submitted to the council in a several-hundred
page binder near the beginning of the comp plan update
process.
“We did our own homework, and every time it seemed
like our property came to the top and that’s the only reason we’ve
gone through with all of this because we think this is the best
situation for the city,” Lamb said.
This initiative shown by
the landowners is one reason some council members support the west
interchange.
“The property is there and the ambition is there
by the landowner, so why shouldn’t we take advantage of that,” said
council member Shannon Carlson.
Another factor that has made
the Lamb family favored in the eyes of some council members has been
their willingness to work with the city throughout the comp plan
process. The Lambs initially proposed their land, which was annexed
into the city in 1993, be rezoned to accommodate commercial growth
during the annual comp plan amendment process two years ago. The
council denied the amendment and requested the Lambs hold off on
their proposal until the update process began.
“When they first came to us with their proposal I wasn’t
too sure about it and neither was the rest of the council because
they wanted to do a comp plan amendment,” said council member Ed
Barry. “Then they said they would go through the whole process with
us, and I think that is very commendable. It wasn’t a fly-by-night
thing.”
While the south interchange is not a new land-use
scenario for the plan, the council recently voted it into the final
draft of the plan. Previously the west interchange was the sole
land-use scenario, but an effort by supporters of the south
interchange as well as a recommendation by the city’s planning
commission convinced the council to include it. Groups such as
Citizens Against Sprawl and the Downtown Task Force, both of which
were at one time against development outside of downtown, also threw
their support behind the south interchange.
A public hearing
involving the plan is on the agenda for the March 5 council meeting.
At the meeting, the council could approve the plan. After approval,
the city will develop design and development regulations, which will
open the door for possible development.
“There is still many
more months left of city process to go before we know who would
qualify to be there and what the site would possibly look like when
all is said and done,” Lamb said.
Steve Merwick, a retail
development consultant hired by the Lambs, said he anticipates the
site housing two large-scale retail stores of at least 100,000
square feet, which is slightly smaller than Fred Meyer. Those
retailers would act as anchor stores and would attract smaller
retailers and create a retail hub that would include gas stations, a
bank and motel at the interchange, Merwick said. He added that he
expects it to take at least two years after the city creates its
regulations for one of those anchor stores to open.
Lamb said
although there are some ideas of what he would like to shopping
center to look like, the Lamb family has not spoken directly to any
retailers about developing on his family’s land.
“Right now,
we don’t have anything to offer. It would really be a fruitless
discussion,” he said. “Regional retail will locate somewhere in
Kittitas County and if Ellensburg wants it we have a wonderful area
for it. We want to help the city create an attractive gateway,
something that is well designed, landscaped and something that the
city can be proud of.”
|
 One day will appear blank due to
no Sunday paper. |
|
       |
|
Copyright © 2007 |
|
