Planning Commission studies Juanita zoning code amendments; staff to return with code options for two site proposals

The Planning Commission held an extended study session March 13 on zoning code amendments tied to the Juanita neighborhood plan and two community‑initiated requests: the Goodwill site (three aggregated parcels in North Juanita / BC‑1 study area) and the Michaels/Michael site in the JBD‑4 zone.

Senior planner Leandra Baker Lewis summarized staff's recommended approach and background, noting both requests were included in the city's comprehensive plan modeling. For the Goodwill site staff described a 4.2‑acre combined parcel where the applicant has proposed higher density (staff cited a developer estimate of 500–600 residential units across conceptual scenarios and 10,000–15,000 square feet of ground‑floor retail) and a requested height up to roughly 70–75 feet. For the Michaels site (a constrained parcel affected by a critical area/wetland and buffers) staff said applicants and modeling have varied over time but noted a figure of about 170 units on the Michaels parcel and that earlier modeling had assumed up to 300 units across the JBD‑4 study area to be…