Bothell planning commission reviews draft vision, scope for Downtown Subarea Plan update

City of Bothell planning staff on Feb. 5 presented an initial study session on updating the Downtown Subarea Plan, asking the Planning Commission for feedback on the plan’s preliminary vision, goals, and an extensive list of potential scope items ahead of public outreach. No formal action was required.

Senior long‑range planner Eric Jasewski summarized why the plan is being updated and what staff expects the update to address. The downtown plan adopted in 2009 has guided large public investments and redevelopment—about $200 million in public improvements since 2009—and staff estimate roughly 3,000 new downtown residents and nearly 150 new businesses in the downtown subarea since the original plan. Jasewski said the Imagine Bothell comprehensive plan adopted in December requires downtown to accommodate an additional 1,890 housing units and about 730,000 square feet of commercial space, and staff want the subarea plan aligned with those targets and with anticipated high‑capacity transit investments.

Jasewski asked commissioners to comment on a draft vision and a long list of possible scope topics, saying staff view the materials as a starting point for community‑driven work and that the formal community engagement strategy will be presented to the commission at its Feb. 19 meeting. Planner Megan Rigney told the commission the downtown plan update will be phased: background and outreach in 2025, drafting and impact analysis to follow, then adoption and monitoring; the schedule is preliminary and may shift depending on resources.

Commissioners repeatedly urged staff to sharpen the plan’s goals into action‑oriented language (start with verbs), to make the equity language concrete and defensible in a polarized public environment, and to spell out how success will be measured. "Start with what are we trying to achieve," Commissioner Lever said, recommending SMART goals and measures for monitoring. Commissioner Lehi asked staff to avoid jargon in equity language so the public engagement is not derailed by charged terms. Several commissioners, including Sills and Robson, urged staff to maintain and strengthen support for existing small and local businesses as the city plans new growth.

Commissioners pushed for targeted outreach to populations who often are undercounted in surveys—multifamily residents, students, seniors, immigrant communities and people with disabilities—and for the outreach strategy to coordinate across City projects so the same communities are not repeatedly asked the same questions. Jasewski and Rigney confirmed public outreach would include strategies to reach downtown residents, workers and businesses, including those not engaged when the 2009 plan was drafted.

On land‑use and housing topics commissioners discussed micro‑apartments and other small‑unit types, flexible parking requirements, and the potential to encourage smaller, fine‑grained lot patterns that are friendlier to independent small businesses. Commissioners noted the city’s forthcoming Housing Action Plan as a relevant related process.

Transportation and parking drew extended comment. Commissioners asked staff to explore pedestrian connections, curb management, drop‑off and pick‑up areas, and how to align downtown parking supply with transit service changes. Several commissioners raised the King County Metro park‑and‑ride near downtown as an asset to be studied rather than assumed for removal; staff noted the rapid‑transit alignment is shifting and that the utility of some surface parking may change. Commissioners and staff agreed parking enforcement and shared area‑wide parking strategies should be part of the discussion.

Public‑space topics prompted discussion of temporary and permanent street closures, shared slow‑street designs, and fully pedestrianized streets. Jasewski presented three typologies (standard street with occasional closures, shared slow streets, and full pedestrianization) and showed local and regional examples used to prompt community comment about Main Street and other downtown streets. Commissioners suggested piloting closures and placing attention on privately provided public space (PPPS), including a map and signage to make those spaces more inviting and legible.

Design, utilities and operations were another theme: commissioners asked staff to test whether current design rules create unintended operational constraints (for example, locating utilities, solid waste collection, and recycling access) and whether updates could improve day‑to‑day functionality while retaining design quality. Historic and cultural resources, including outreach and partnerships with Tribes and institutions, and UW Bothell/Cascadia College integration were raised repeatedly; commissioners would like stronger, explicit plan language linking the university area and downtown and exploring student housing or other connections in the area between the campus and downtown.

Climate and resilience considerations (mitigation and adaptation), incentives for green building, and coordination with the city’s Climate Action Plan and Urban Forest Management Plan were also noted as items the downtown update could address.

Jasewski and Rigney told commissioners staff will revise the draft vision and scope to reflect comments and will return with the community engagement strategy on Feb. 19. Commissioners asked staff to provide concrete measurable goals and outreach metrics as the draft evolves so the commission and council can evaluate tradeoffs and schedule implications. The study session closed with staff reiterating that the materials presented were a starting point to be shaped by community engagement.