City planning staff told the Monroe Planning Commission on Aug. 11 that building and planning activity in May and June 2025 included a mix of commercial and residential work, pre-application meetings, and several ongoing land-use projects.

The department reported 29 residential permits, seven commercial tenant improvements, seven single-family permits and 174 inspections combined for May and June. Staff highlighted ongoing construction at the Wendy’s site, which followed a binding site-plan process and moved from permit review into building construction; deferred submittals for mechanical and sign work were under review.

Staff summarized several pre-application meetings: a metal workshop on Taddy Avenue; a Chick-fil-A proposal to demolish and replace the former Red Robin with a drive-through restaurant; a naturopathic clinic remodeling on East Main Street; and a proposed coffee shop using the former Matthew House building near 170th Avenue and Main Street. A June pre-application was noted for a subdivision and commercial condominiums on 1609 Drive SE; staff said they did not have details on proposed lot counts for that submittal.

Planning staff also reported project-tracking updates: the Monroe West preliminary plat (a 39-lot subdivision on 1304 Street SE in an R-7 zone) was in review; Wendy’s had advanced to active building construction. The department said it had filled a vacant plans examiner position and continued to work on the new permit system to reduce backlog.

On code projects and annexations, staff said the unit-lot subdivision effort was paused after legal review raised concerns, and that the department received a public-initiated comprehensive-plan amendment from the public utility district regarding the First Airfield property. The Connor annexation remained with the Boundary Review Board owing to concerns over multiple legal descriptions in the application; staff said Snohomish County and state agencies had coordinated on right-of-way inclusions and that the annexation appears to meet an exemption criterion for the Boundary Review Board. Staff also described the Davis property annexation proposal near Chain Lake Road, noting that a development agreement was expected to address council priorities such as multimodal trail connections and mixed-use development.

Staff said they met required deadlines for earlier required updates and that additional code cleanup and “phase 2” work (including middle-housing and comprehensive-plan updates for downtown/US-2 areas) were scheduled later in the year; timing would depend on staff capacity and other applicants with finite timelines. Kate and other staff described forthcoming work on critical-area regulations following meetings with the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife and a planned review trip to Stanwood to examine their recently adopted code.

Commissioners asked about vacant downtown storefronts and potential new businesses; staff said there were inquiries about Sky River Bakery and other spaces. Code enforcement activity was summarized: May opened two cases and closed 18; June opened five and closed 25. The staff report also noted temporary-sign outreach to campaign managers given the political season and routine enforcement of sign permit rules.

The commission received the report with no formal action requested and moved on to other business.