Richland Mayor Theresa Richardson asked councilmembers for their “wish list” for development of the surplus property at 24 Lawless Drive so Richland Economic Development Manager Amanda Wallner could write the request for proposals (RFP) accordingly.
The discussion was part of the Richland City Council’s monthly workshop meeting on Tuesday night.
Everything from a cemetery to condos
Wallner reminded the council that the property, that is next to the Hwy 240 bypass, had been zoned for commercial development (C-2).
The C-2 zoning allows cemeteries, nursing homes, hotels, convention centers, restaurants, and offices, and three or more condominiums or apartments “on upper stories of multistory buildings, if main floor is used for commercial or office space.”
The zoning matches the undeveloped, adjacent, two-acre property owned by Tim Bush.
Councilmembers seem to favor mixed use
Newly elected Councilmember Kurt Maier, one of two councilmembers who live in north Richland, where the property is located, pointed out that the city has empty commercial property and needs more housing. He supported mixed use for the property.
Councilmembers Sandra Kent and Ryan Lukson seemed to agree with Maier. Kent noted the nice views from the high point on the property.
Kent had two wishes on her list and also mentioned that the National Park Service was looking for a site for a visitor center. The 6-acre lot at 24 Lawless could be a good place for that, she said.
Councilmember Shayne VanDyke was assured any new development at 24 Lawless wouldn’t interfere with the bypass “flyover,” the proposed road improvements that would eliminate a stoplight bottleneck on the bypass.
Neither VanDyke or Councilmember Ryan Whitten expressed an opinion about the type of development they wanted on the property.
Councilmember Jhoanna Jones who had said at an earlier meeting that she felt the property was unsuitable for residential development due to the noise, was absent for this one.
Noise concerns
Richardson seemed more concerned about noise on the site than the other members of the council at the meeting saying that, “residential would be difficult because of the noise.”
Maier pointed out that modern sound blocking could make the inside of buildings soundproof. “Not so great if you’re sitting in a yard,” he agreed but noted that apartments would be a good use of the property.
Lukson described apartments in Seattle built “right up to I-5.”
The Observer emailed all the councilmembers and asked if the city had measured the noise at the site of the new apartment complex being built next to George Washington Way or the apartments on Columbia Point Drive that back to I-182. There has been no response.
Richardson knows how wish lists work.
In May 2022, city staff wrote an RFP for the sale of surplus land at 350 Thayer next to Richardson’s church. The RFP only allowed a single-family home or a parking lot to be built there, writing that anything else in the single-family zoning was “spot zoning.” Two doors over the city had already rezoned a lot from single-family to multi-family and the property adjacent to that had been rezoned from parkland to multi-family.
The restrictions put Richardson’s church in the best position to buy the property by claiming that it would be used for a parking lot. Richardson’s husband led the church’s negotiations and obtained favorable terms from the city.
Thayer sale process will be followed on Lawless
Wallner outlined a sale process that was similar to that used for the sale of 350 Thayer. The Richland Municipal Code includes the procedures.
Wallner explained that after the staff writes the RFP, the property would be widely advertised for a month. That period could be extended if there isn’t a good response. After proposals are received, a committee composed of a mix of councilmembers, staff and a member from both the planning commission and the economic development committee will score the proposals and recommend a buyer.
Richardson’s son, Jet Richardson, chairs the planning commission and could become a member of the scoring committee
The recommendation will be presented to the full economic development committee and members will vote on approving it without seeing any information about the other bids.
The staff will negotiate with the chosen buyer like they did with Richardson’s husband. The final contract will be presented to the city council, likely on the consent calendar with multiple other items, and there will be one vote for all of them.
Are there really no mandated rules? No open discussion required?
Hi Jan, Hi Jan,
Thank you for pointing out something that I should have included in my story on the land sales. There are procedures included in the Richland city code for land sales. I added it to my article. I believe that the city has not followed this procedure, particularly the parts about “public information.” In the case of the church sale, most of the information was kept from the public unless they made a record request and emails that I received through a record request indicates that city staff deliberately withheld information to me and hid the name of the winning bidder. Thank you for reading the Observer, Randy
Seems like there should be a problem with having a relative, especially son, on the planning committee when you are the mayor.
I know you have pointed out once that the majority of council members are in northern Richland. people should go look at their bios, see who they work for, that is also interesting to me. For example, suppose a new company moving to this area was beneficial to a company already here, and the new company wanted a lot of freebies from the local government. If there were a majority of employees, from the company already here, on the council, would they vote to give the company freebies if it harmed the city?
Hi Renee, I appreciate your comment. Jet Richardson is on two committees, the Art Commission and the Planning Commission. I question why we would have ANYONE on two committees. In addition, we have committee members who have served for almost 20 years. Institutional knowledge is valuable but I question this practice.as well. As for conflicts of interest, Richardson has demonstrated that at least some of the councilmembers don’t worry about that. Thank you for reading the Observer, Randy