Medical Lake hearing on Fox Ridge monument sign spotlights safety concerns and missing plat records

Hearing examiner Carl Granrath held a public hearing on May 14, 2025, in Medical Lake City Hall on a variance application (file LU2024-032VA) from the Fox Ridge Homeowners Association to locate a subdivision entrance monument sign in the center median of North Fox Ridge Road at its intersection with North Graham Road.

The variance request asks the city to allow a monument sign in public right of way where Medical Lake’s municipal code generally requires subdivision entry signs to be on private property. Eliza Rodriguez, the city planner, told the hearing examiner the application was submitted Dec. 20, 2024, deemed complete Jan. 17, 2025, taken off hold March 13, and that the public comment period closed May 7. Rodriguez summarized the approval criteria and the site: an 80-foot right of way at the subdivision entrance, a roughly 10-foot-wide median, 5-foot sidewalks on each side and a median tip about 12–15 feet from the intersection stop bar. She said, “the variance does not constitute the granting of a special privilege inconsistent with the limitations upon other properties,” and…