Council briefed on Lynnwood Public Facilities District master plan; officials outline parking, heights and amendment rules

City of Lynnwood officials gave the City Council an update Sept. 15 on the Lynnwood Public Facilities District master plan and the finalized development agreement, focusing on how event parking, building heights and future amendments will be managed if the PFD project moves forward.

Ben Walters, development and business services director, told the council the development agreement had been finalized and "There's been no material changes" from the packet materials previously provided. Walters said the agreement remains under public input and that the Planning Commission held a public hearing on Sept. 11 where several issues were raised.

Sarah Cho, city center program manager, described how the agreement would handle overflow parking for large events. "For larger events that may need additional parking outside of the existing parking that would be provided on the site, we would require both a special event permit and an additional requirement that the PFD would need to negotiate with property owners outside of the property of the PFD," Cho said. She said those agreements would have to be with commercial or private owners, not residential property owners, and that the city could require a residential parking program to protect nearby neighborhoods.

Cho and other staff described a planned parking garage of about 550 spaces on the site and said the expanded event center could host indoor-outdoor concerts of roughly 2,000 attendees. Council members asked whether off‑site lots, shuttles, or transit-center parking could provide overflow capacity. Walters and staff said the Transit Center garage primarily serves transit riders but that attendees could use it if space is available, and that the PFD's special-event permit would include traffic, parking and noise controls and could require on-site flaggers or police for intersection control.

The council discussed a proposed deviation from city code on maximum building height and setbacks adjacent to residential zones. Staff said the development agreement would reduce the maximum height allowed on the property to 100 feet (down from 130 feet in the existing code) and reduce the setback from 150 feet to 100 feet, while maintaining the code's required roughly 60-degree view angle. City staff said those changes were intended to increase feasibility for approximately seven-story multifamily development while mitigating visual impacts through lower heights.

Staff outlined three amendment levels for the development agreement: a level-1 letter-of-concurrence negotiated between city staff and the PFD; level-2 administrative amendments requiring city staff approval (but not changes that would increase maximum capacity or net new trips); and level-3 formal amendments that would require approval by City Council and the PFD board. Walters said this three-level approach mirrors other Lynnwood development agreements.

The Planning Commission asked for periodic updates and had specific questions about Ring Road design and estimated cost; staff said the city currently estimates about $18,000,000 for the Ring Road and that the PFD has agreed to loan the city half the cost of the initial engineering effort to reach a 30% design level. Walters said the interlocal agreement for that loan would be brought back to council for briefing on Oct. 6.

Council members raised neighbor-safety concerns tied to event parking and sight-line issues at driveways. Options discussed included expanding the radius of potential off-site parking agreements to a half-mile (the DA would allow consideration up to that distance), shuttle services from other lots, residential parking permits, and stronger curb-control enforcement. Several council members emphasized that any off‑site parking agreements must be voluntary and negotiated with private property owners, and that the city's special-event permit would be the tool to ensure neighborhood protections.

If the PFD proceeds through schematic design and subsequent phases, staff said the city will review parking accommodations at building permit and design review stages, and will ensure required parking for residential and hotel uses remains compliant with code when those uses submit permits.

The development agreement briefing closed with staff saying they would provide the abbreviated or full presentation per council direction and that the related interlocal for Ring Road design funding will be scheduled for future briefing.