Continued Broadmoor annexation hearing draws broad neighborhood opposition over Burns Road capacity and notice

The hearing examiner conducted a continued hearing (previously opened July 9) on zoning determinations connected to a Broadmoor-area annexation and received extended public comment on Aug. 13.

City staff previously placed the subject parcels on the comprehensive-plan land-use map as medium-density residential and presented maps showing the planned roadway network, including a future Sandifer Parkway corridor. Several residents and nearby homeowners objected to a recommended higher-density zoning in areas they said are not adjacent to the planned main corridor. Speakers repeatedly raised three main points: (1) Burns Road and its intersection at Kohler Road lack the physical right-of-way and existing improvements to function as a primary arterial as shown on master-plan maps, (2) the traffic analysis and level-of-service assumptions in the Broadmoor master plan rely on roadway classifications that may be infeasible in the present topography, and (3) many residents said they did not receive timely notice of the July 9 hearing and cited differences between county notice practices (which, they said, can use a larger radius) and the city’s 300-foot notification threshold.

Resident Nathan Grama reviewed the transportation assumptions and said the proposed 100-foot Burns Road right-of-way could not be implemented in many locations because of existing topography and parcel lines. He cited RCW 36.70A.070 (the Growth Management Act concurrency provisions) and told the examiner that zoning ahead of definitive transportation improvements could make meeting level-of-service standards unattainable. Other speakers — including residents of the Solstice/Polish Solstice and nearby developments — described safety concerns for children walking along Burns Road, existing congestion on Road 100 and Kohler Road, and potential property-value impacts if higher-density zoning proceeds.

Applicant and property-owner representatives told the examiner they had reviewed staff analyses and believed the proposed zoning aligns with the comprehensive plan and allows the range of medium-density zones authorized by the Broadmoor overlay. The examiner said he had received more than 50 written comments and had reviewed the majority of them; he reopened the record to allow anyone who missed the July 9 hearing to testify. After hearing augmented testimony the examiner closed the record for ZD2025-001 and said he will review remaining written comments and issue a written decision in due course.