Wenatchi Landing Zoning Amended for Flexibility

The East Wenatchee City Council recently voted to give developers more flexibility in the Wenatchi Landing area by amending the existing city code regarding mixed-use zoning in that location.

The Wenatchi Landing area is about 80 acres from north of Goldcrest Street to just past the Odabashian Bridge.

Principal Planner Curtis Lillquist said developers can now choose one of three options for how they will blend commercial and residential space in their projects, including vertical mixed use, like in the Riverside 9 apartments, and horizontal mixed use, where each structure is strictly residential or commercial.

"What we did to add a little bit more flexibility is instead of focusing on the number of dwelling units, (we instead) focused on the total number of residential square footage." Lillquist said, "So if developers want to develop smaller square footage residential units, that would allow more residential units to be built in this area."

Planning for the Wenatchi Landing began in about 2013, although the property has been part of the city's Urban Growth Area for roughly 20 years with no real development. About $8 million in improvements were identified for the large swath of property.

Last year, the state legislature came up with about $4 million to extend sewer lines out to the Wenatchi Landing. However, county commissioners were concerned that, as a result, there would be projects that wouldn't bring the development officials were hoping for. As a response, commissioners implemented an interim regulation that created the Wenatchi Landing Overlay Zoning Designation. The designation amended some requirements in their list of uses allowed in the area.