Planning commission sides with staff recommendation to deny private comp‑plan docket request for Canyon Park parcel

City staff recommended the Planning Commission deny a site‑specific request to amend the comprehensive plan designation for a Canyon Park parcel so it could be redeveloped for multifamily housing; at the Feb. 5 meeting the Planning Commission did not approve the applicant’s proposal and the matter will be forwarded to City Council with the commission aligned with staff’s recommendation.

The applicant, represented during public comment by Josh Bridal of City Office REIT, asked the city to docket a site‑specific comprehensive plan amendment for a roughly 10‑acre site the company owns (applicant cited "2300" as the property identifier in materials provided to staff and the commission). Bridal said the site is now occupied and leased to Seattle Genetics (Seagen), which Pfizer acquired December 2023. Bridal told the commission that the acquisition and regional office market vulnerabilities make it prudent to add an option for future multifamily housing at the site so the city could allow rapid conversion to housing in the event the tenant vacates. He asked the commission to docket the private amendment so the standard process could determine whether the site should be redesignated.

Staff evaluated the application and recommended denial. Planner Megan Rigney and other staff explained the site is subject to an Urban Conservancy shoreline designation and critical‑area buffer that, staff said, would constrain redevelopment: the city’s shoreline/critical‑area mapping places a 100‑foot buffer that encroaches about 70 feet into the parcel under review, staff said. Rigney also noted that Canyon Park Subarea Plan (adopted 2020) and the Imagine Bothell comprehensive plan generally preserved employment zoning in that area to meet the city’s employment targets; rezoning a parcel from employment‑oriented land uses to mixed‑use residential would require revisiting transportation, employment and capital‑facilities analyses to understand cumulative impacts, staff said.

During discussion commissioners were divided. Supporters of allowing the docketing argued the region’s office market has weakened and that creating the option for housing at the site would help the city meet housing demand and avoid long‑term vacancy. Opponents said Canyon Park is critical to Bothell’s employment capacity and that a site‑specific change could set a precedent undermining employment goals without a comprehensive, area‑wide review. Several commissioners asked for more robust scenario analysis—market trends, housing mix and employment impacts—if the city were to consider a reclassification.

Procedurally, the Planning Commission heard a motion to oppose staff’s recommendation (which would have supported the applicant’s proposal). The motion was moved by Commissioner Sills and seconded by Commissioner Gustafson. After debate an amendment to the motion—to oppose the staff recommendation but table the item pending additional information—failed. On the final vote the Planning Commission did not approve the motion to oppose staff. Chair Kiernan concluded the commission’s vote was consistent with staff’s recommendation to deny the proposed comprehensive‑plan amendment. The item will advance to the City Council for their review and final decision.

Staff warned that even if a parcel is rezoned to mixed use, shoreline and critical area regulations could still constrain or prevent certain kinds of redevelopment; if the wetland/shoreline area had been publicly owned, staff said, a park/open‑space rezoning could be more straightforward. Rigney told commissioners that a comprehensive plan redesignation would be only the first step: a subsequent zoning amendment and project‑level analyses would be required before any redevelopment could occur.

Council will consider the private docket request as the final decision‑maker after the Planning Commission’s recommendation, staff said. Commissioners requested staff supply additional scenario analysis and scheduling/cost implications for adding the docket item to the city’s work program; staff said those resource and scheduling questions would be discussed with Council during an upcoming joint meeting.