The Redmond Planning Commission continued review of a proposed land‑use and zoning map amendment for a 5.82‑acre parcel in Southeast Redmond (the former Cadman Quarry) on Dec. 17, 2025. Staff recommended redesignating the site from Business Park to citywide mixed use and rezoning from Business Park to Corridor Mixed Use to allow residential uses on the entire parcel. Glenn Coyle, senior planner, told commissioners the technical review finds the amendments meet the criteria in Redmond zoning code 21.76 and described next steps, including a continued study session in January.

Supporters of the amendment, including the applicant’s land‑use counsel Rachel Mazer, said the owner is coordinating with the Washington State Department of Ecology and that the property is enrolled in the expedited Voluntary Cleanup Program (VCP). Mazer said cleanup will be required by law as part of future residential development and that the applicant is working with Ecology “to resolve this as soon as possible, complying with all law” (public comment).

Several commissioners and a resident, David Morton, pressed staff and the applicant on contamination and remediation. Morton cited Ecology correspondence (Dec. 10) and stated the department’s letter indicates residential development likely would require full removal of PAH‑contaminated soils rather than the capping approach that Ecology has previously accepted for business park uses. Morton argued that full soil removal could require excavation and off‑site disposal of large volumes of contaminated material, substantially raising development costs and increasing the likelihood that a developer would pursue high‑density residential development to recoup remediation expenses. Morton asked the commission to deny the rezone and requested the matter be added to a future agenda to consider stronger aquifer protections.

Staff and planning‑division speakers described the contamination question as a site‑specific regulatory matter administered by Ecology and Public Works environmental staff. Staff said they consulted Public Works to interpret Ecology’s comments and that those staff did not view the Ecology letter as a fatal flaw to the map amendment. They emphasized that land‑use and zoning decisions do not by themselves alter Ecology’s cleanup requirements and that any cleanup obligations apply to future development actions.

Commissioners debated broader policy tradeoffs: the city’s Redmond 2050 goals call for distributing job growth across centers while retaining manufacturing and business‑park capacity in Southeast Redmond. Staff noted Redmond 2050 allocated about 450 jobs to the larger BP area and estimated the parcel’s share at roughly 58–60 jobs by acreage. Several commissioners asked staff to document the parcel’s development‑agreement history and the origin of the split zoning, and to add that history and any data on underused BP acreage to the issues matrix for further deliberation.

The commission did not vote on the map amendment at the Dec. 17 meeting and directed staff to include additional clarifications in the issues matrix and to continue the study session in January. The written record on the docket remains open.

Next procedural step: staff will return with the updated issues matrix and additional background at the commission’s next meeting (scheduled Jan. 14, 2026), where commissioners expect to refine their recommendation to the city council.