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Council approves infrastructure-waiver for 1801 Woodland Drive short plat
Summary
The City Council adopted Resolution 1076 July 9 approving a waiver to required street-frontage improvements for a two-lot short plat at 1801 Woodland Drive, following a hearing examiner recommendation and support from Development Services and Public Works; council concluded the isolated 150-foot improvement would be premature.
After a closed-record public hearing July 9, the City of Mount Vernon City Council voted to adopt Resolution 1076, granting an infrastructure waiver that exempts a two-lot short plat at 1801 Woodland Drive from installing required street-frontage improvements prior to final plat approval.
Senior Planner Stacy Clawson presented the hearing examiner’s recommendation and described the site: roughly a 29,000-square-foot lot with approximately 150 feet of Woodland Drive frontage and an existing residence. Clawson said the street currently lacks curb and gutter, a landscape strip and a sidewalk and that under the subdivision regulations, the board could require installation of frontage improvements or approve a waiver. Staff, including Development Services and Public Works, and the city engineer recommended approval. The hearing examiner’s written findings concluded the proposal met the waiver conditions, in part because the stretch is separated by about a half mile from streets that meet the required frontage standards and because constructing an isolated 150-foot section now would likely need removal or replacement when a later capital project extended improvements.
Council members asked whether future development would trigger sidewalks or other improvements and whether the waiver could be made administrative going forward. Staff replied that future mechanisms include local improvement districts or city-initiated capital programs to construct missing frontage and that making waiver decisions administrative would require municipal-code changes, SEPA review and hearings before the Planning Commission and City Council.
Council member Andrew moved to authorize the mayor to sign Resolution 1076; the motion was seconded and passed on a voice vote.
The waiver authorizes completion of the short-plat finalization without the immediate street-frontage upgrades; it does not prohibit future city-led capital projects or property-owner-funded improvements when the broader corridor is improved.
