Kenmore council approves ordinance authorizing temporary access and potential condemnation for NE 160th Street culvert replacement

The Kenmore City Council unanimously approved Ordinance 25-0634 authorizing city staff to continue negotiating temporary access easements and, if necessary, to file a condemnation petition to obtain access for data collection related to replacement of the culvert under Northeast 160 Ninth Street.

Environmental Services Director Richard Sawyer and surface water capital project manager Andrew Silva told the council the culvert has a long maintenance history, is identified by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife as a fish-passage barrier, and has caused recurring flooding and clogging on the roadway. Staff said the culvert was prioritized in the citys culvert study and included in the adopted capital improvement program.

Silva described the specific field work the city needs to perform on both right-of-way and private property to develop design, permit applications and cost estimates: a critical-area assessment and tree inventory, a cultural-resources survey (including limited shovel probes), a geotechnical investigation (hand auger probes and soil sampling), and land survey. Silva said those studies are…