Viana Garcia, UEPP 457

Memorandum of Agreement
Land Use Scenario #2

Background: Much bad blood and distrust between Merchants and a Neighborhood
Association over Merchants’ desire for development versus Neighborhood’s desire to leave
things the way they are – or address issues with existing development. The conflict has
devolved into name calling and entrenched disagreement of how to proceed. Neither trusts the
City: long-standing feelings of betrayal; feeling the City is unreliable; and disagreements on the
City’s rights and responsibilities (zoning, questions over the City’s loyalty to Merchants v.
Neighborhoods, taxes on both, City’s projects without involving Merchants or Neighborhoods.)
Current Situation: City Council places update of area plan on City’s priority list. City
planners agree it needs to be done. Development pressure is increasing. Commercial area is a
great place for development/infill, but current zoning restricts developability. Good housing
locations are not readily allowed in this area. Concerns about noise/light/parking are realistic.
This area is a National Register Historic District, which is viewed in three different ways
(Economic by the merchants, don’t-change by the neighbors, City feels insufficiently skilled to
analyze development impacts.)

Representatives Included: the Neighborhood Association, the Merchant’s Association, the

City.

The City, the Neighborhood Association, and the Merchant Association participated in a
negotiation on February 29th, 2024. The purpose of this mediation was to find mutual
satisfaction between all parties involved regarding the increasing development pressure in the
city. We have resolved and fully settled all issues. We hereby agree to each issue as follows:

Issue 1: Mitigating Development Impacts

a. All of the following to be put into action by January 31st, 2025.
b. Construction will only be permitted during the hours of 8 am to 5 pm to reduce the
amount of noise and light creating nuisance for the neighborhood.
c. Within the revised zoning, the city will implement restrictions on the types of businesses
allowed to limit evening light and noise for residents. This includes setting a curfew of 10
pm for businesses in the area and limiting the amount of late-night and noisy businesses
within a city block.
d. The city will encourage Low Impact Development in the area and incentivize developers
to implement LIDs such as green roofs, biswales, and permeable surfaces.

Issue 2: Keeping Current Residents Satisfied with their Neighborhood

a. All of the following to be put into action by January 31st, 2025.
b. Residents living near the construction zones will receive a 2% property tax rebate during
the time of construction to ease some of the nuisance that this new development may
cause them, which is expected to take about 5 years.
 c. The neighborhood association hereby agrees to not input any complaints about
construction noise or light unless occurring outside of the designated daytime hours in
which construction is permitted.
d. The new building codes will limit the building heights with the rezoning to maintain the
character and feel of the neighborhood. Additionally, we agree to require in the building
codes that developers must maintain a similar design style in the architecture of the new
buildings.
e. With the new development, we agree to honor the history and character of the
neighborhood by hiring local artists to incorporate municipal art and create signage and
information stands kiosks with pictures and stories of the neighborhood.

Issue 3: Promoting Economic Growth in the City

a. All of the following to be put into action by January 31st, 2025.
b. Change only the most economically viable land to more relaxed zoning restrictions. This
would include having single-family zoned areas to allow for more housing variation, such
as ADUs or multiple houses on one single-family lot. This is similar to what the city of
Minneapolis has started and some other cities are following.
c. With the rezoning, the city agrees to allow for the commercial areas to include mixed-use
buildings that can provide both more commercial and office space while also creating
more housing units for residents who are interested in walkability.

Public Presentation:
a. By September 1st, 2024, the City, the Neighborhood Association, and the Merchant’s
Association will jointly organize and sponsor a public presentation for the members of
the community on these agreed upon terms.
b. The City will provide a location for this public presentation to take place.
c. The Merchant’s Association will have an opportunity to showcase their products and talk
about their businesses' contributions to the neighborhood.
d. The Neighborhood Association will provide refreshments for the event.
e. The city will provide a scribe who will create a written summary of public comments.

Effective date: This agreement is effective as of February 29th, 2024.

Dispute resolution: If conflict or change in circumstance arises that we cannot resolve

ourselves we will hire a professional mediator to assist us. We will notify each other of our intent
to go to mediation via email. The City will be responsible for mediation expenses. If any party
violates any of the provisions contained in this Mediated Settlement Agreement, that party will
be solely responsible for any damages to enforce this Mediated Settlement Agreement.

Jurisdiction: The State of Washington has jurisdiction to resolve any disputes regarding the
interpretation and/or enforcement of this Settlement Agreement.
We have had the opportunity to obtain legal advice prior to reaching this agreement through
negotiation, and advised to have independent legal counsel review this agreement before my
signing below. I understand that by signing below, this agreement may be construed as a legally
binding and legally enforceable agreement that can be submitted to a court for enforcement.

Dated this 29th day of February 2024.

_______________________________________________________________________
Signed:
The City
The Merchant’s Association
The Neighborhood Association