Photo by Kara RothProject site plan (Photo courtesy of City of Woodinville)
The City of Woodinville is seeking public input into the proposed 87 townhomes and 7 detached homes on the horse farm at 14312 132nd Ave NE. The public is invited to submit written comments on the project to the Development Services Department at Woodinville City Hall (17301 133rd Avenue NE).
The application, supporting documents and studies are all available for review at Woodinville City Hall.
The King County Planning, Rural Service and Environment Committee (PRSEC) latest hearing on December 4th was a standing room only event in Seattle. The main agenda item was Proposed Ordinance Number 2018-0241. This proposed ordinance was developed to respond to King County’s 2016 Sammamish Valley Wine and Beverage Study. King County Executive Dow Constantine and his staff developed a set of recommendations and action items to undertake based on this study. The proposal was given to the County Council in April 2018 for consideration and adoption. The proposal was then referred to the PRSEC. There have been four meetings in 2018 looking at the proposed ordinance.
The Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission has accepted a transfer of nearly 10 acres of undeveloped woodland property from Daniels Real Estate LLC of Seattle to expand Saint Edward State Park in Kenmore, WA.
The 9.77-acre property includes 600 feet of undisturbed shoreline along Lake Washington and has significant ecological and recreational value. The property had potential for development of private, residential lakefront homes, when Daniels approached the owner, offering to purchase the land. The land will add forest habitat and trail continuity at the park.
Masters Swim Team says goodbye as Gold Creek Athletic Club Closes Pool -- Submitted by Sandy Laurence
On November 29th, the Gold Creek Masters Swim Team enjoyed one final evening at the Gold Creek pool. In the last 18 years, this one-of-a-kind sports club spawned many Ironman competitors and National and World Championship triathlon athletes. Most of the team had never been "swimmers" but they ended up learning how to circle swim, bilaterally breathe, do a race start and even do flip turns!
The team was started by member Susan Amott, whose idea came to life when she convinced Age-group swim coach, Dave Leonard, to take on these older, inexperienced, athletes-to-be. When Dave turned the lane lines over to Mariana Canon, the team was well-established and even participated in local Masters competitions. Mariana, a competitive swimmer and ironman triathlete herself, passed the baton to Lisa Worthington (a local triathlon/swim icon) who quickly became the face of Gold Creek Masters.
When Gold Creek Tennis Club was sold in 2017, the new owners asked Coach Lisa to find a way for the pool to pay for itself. Lisa created Eastside Swim School, enrolling 400 students......task done, only to learn it just wasn't enough. The pool is in need of costly repairs and upgrades that the new owners just aren't able to support. Now Eastside Swim School needs a new home.
So after 18 years Gold Creek Masters says Goodbye...….it was a great swim!
Amidst lengthy discussions about letters to King County over the winery issue and an array of budget approvals, the Woodinville City Council handily passed a handful of business items during its December 4 meeting, including designating The Woodinville Weekly the city’s official newspaper for next year.
The resolution, prompted by a state law requiring each code city to do so, will primarily be used to provide Woodinville with a general circulation newspaper to publish legal notices and ads. Other matters were not so easily passed, however.
The council’s draft of a letter designed to respond to the King County Council’s anticipated action regarding winery use of agricultural lands prompted lengthy discussion as to the tone and content. Eventually three council members were appointed as a subcommittee to revise the letter stating the city’s input to the county. The revised letter will then be presented and acted upon at a future meeting. King County has postponed action on the issue as well.
Other approvals during the session included approval of the labor agreement with Teamsters Local 117 representing public works and maintenance employees. The approval came after the council met in closed session for 30 minutes to discuss the collective bargaining strategies. When they reconvened, the measure passed unanimously.
The bulk of the remaining action taken by the council involved budget items, including approving the biennial budget for 2019 through 2010. Several other budget amendments and ordinances followed to round out the process for the new budget.
A civic campus code amendment passed after the council agreed to eliminate a customary second reading. Robert Grumbach, Deployment Services Director, recommended the early vote because there were no responses to a previously held public hearing on the matter. The amendment allows residential use on ground floor buildings abutting a street in Woodinville’s central business district zone, and also amends the commercial design standards to allow alternative design based upon the Downtown Vision and Illustrative Guide.
The council has cancelled scheduled meetings on December 11, 18, and January 1, 2019. The next meeting will be January 8, 2019.
Photo by Kara Roth 
Project site plan (Photo courtesy of City of Woodinville)