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Council discusses Sound Transit parcels downtown; staff urged to seek joint land‑plan MOU
Summary
Federal Way — Community Development Director Keith Niven urged the City Council to consider partnering with Sound Transit to prepare a joint land plan for two downtown parcels not yet in an RFP, giving the city more influence over future uses amid contamination and remediation work.
Federal Way — Keith Niven, the city’s community development director, told the council that Sound Transit has issued a request for proposals for parcels 1 and 2 near the future downtown station but that parcels 3 and 4 — sites with known contamination from a past gas station and a dry cleaner — represent the principal opportunity for Federal Way to shape future uses.
Niven said Sound Transit is already moving parcels 1 and 2 through an RFP process and that the city would be disadvantaged trying to intervene midway, but added that parcels 3 and 4 remain on a longer timeline because of remediation questions. “One of the things you asked me to look at…is what we want to do with the property,” he told councilors. Niven recommended three options: do nothing; hire a designer to develop a master land plan (he estimated roughly $150,000); or partner with Sound Transit and split the cost 50/50 in a memorandum of understanding that would give the city more direct influence over the site plan.
Contamination timeline: Niven said Sound Transit has been monitoring the sites; parcel 3 (former petroleum contamination) is being remediated with owner BP involved in cleanup, while parcel 4 (dry cleaner) remains under a longer assessment and may require remediation or capping. He said a full testing and remediation conversation will take months and that capping a property can restrict residential uses under Ecology/EPA rules.
Why it matters: The parcels sit at the heart of the planned downtown station area, and councilors discussed whether to pursue affordable housing, senior housing, a public market, or mixed‑use ownership near transit. Niven presented a pie chart of existing housing within the downtown area, showing concentrations of senior and affordable units in current stock and arguing for targeted public engagement and a land plan to guide future development.
Council direction: Council asked staff to draft an MOU approach and to bring a proposed memorandum to the Land‑Use/Transportation Committee (LUTC) so the council can decide whether to commit city funds to a joint study. City staff will also clarify remediation timelines with Sound Transit and request cost estimates for a designer-led land plan.
Bottom line: Niven urged that an early, collaborative land‑plan process with Sound Transit will give Federal Way a stronger voice — and possibly leverage — over what gets built on the parcels once remediation permits are resolved.
Selected quote: “If we are a fifty‑fifty partner with Sound Transit, we become a fifty‑fifty partner in deciding the outcome,” Niven told councilors.
