Kenmore council keeps Bastyr master plan on 2025 planning docket after close vote

The Kenmore City Council on Tuesday voted 4-3 to approve the 2025 Planning Commission docket, leaving the proposed Bastyr University master-plan and related comp-plan and zoning amendments on the commission's 2025 work program.

The motion to remove the Bastyr master-plan from the docket failed in an earlier roll-call vote, 4-3, after public speakers urged council to preserve forested land and protect the park's habitat. Supporters of review on the docket argued council and staff should examine a submitted master plan rather than preemptively block review.

The docket approval matters because placement on the planning commission docket starts the formal review process for comprehensive-plan and zoning amendments. Staff told the council that the city had not yet received a submitted Bastyr master plan or the environmental documentation that would specify locations and unit counts; staff recommended any docket action be contingent on submittal of that material.

Public commenters raised environmental and equity concerns. Sandy Schettler of Tree Action Seattle described the Bastyr parcel as 50 acres with roughly half in contiguous native forest inside St. Edward's Park and warned that development near the forest could trigger a cycle of ecological decline for remaining trees. Elizabeth Mooney and others said they feared loss of protected educational and open-space land.

Council members debated procedure and substance. Councilor Marshall moved to exclude the Bastyr master plan from the docket, arguing the proposal would not meet the city's stated environmental stewardship goals and would likely produce market-rate housing rather than affordability. Other council members said they wanted to see the master plan and supporting documents before making a policy decision and favored review by the Planning Commission.

After formal roll calls, the council voted to approve the docket, keeping Bastyr on the 2025 work program. Staff said if and when Bastyr submits a master plan and supporting environmental documents, the planning commission process will make clear where housing would be sited and what environmental impacts would need analysis.

The council also agreed to return later in the meeting to further planning items, including STEP housing and other code updates. The planning commission's docket now lists middle-housing code updates, the Bastyr master-plan and zoning amendments (contingent on submitted materials), a parks comprehensive-plan amendment and other items.

What happens next: When the applicant submits the Bastyr master plan and any environmental documentation, staff will forward those materials to the planning commission for public hearings and technical review; any subsequent code or comp-plan amendments would come to council for final action.