Dollars & Sense: Whither Woodinville?

Annie Archer (Editor) April 3, 2012 at 12:00 pm

It is interesting how Woodinville is surrounded with cities poised for development. Will Woodinville be able to keep a rural feel as surrounding municipalities develop. Even rural areas need business. It will be interesting to see if a vision for Woodinville's future is created.

Tony Bussert April 3, 2012 at 03:11 pm

The city really needs to get their act together in this regard. I would love to see a detailed plans that go further into how they want to address some of the core issues that the city is facing. Growth, Development, Tourism.
Personally I see the city of Woodinville changing from the sleepy rural community that many longtime residents want to hang on to. We should be embracing some of the change while working to keep a hold of what's truly important to us and what sets Woodinville apart from other cities around here. Woodinville has some amazing things to offer folks if we could just get our act together in terms of planning on what we want, setting an action plan to get there and then working diligently to make these plans reality. As I research into the city and it's workings I'm more than a little concerned about the state of the city and it's future.

Al Taylor April 3, 2012 at 06:59 pm

Like the wine that is manufactured here, Woodinville's success requires patience and time to prepare--short cuts will adversely affect the end product. I don't recall anyone ever raving about a big box wine or extolling a vanilla city like Lynnwood. Take your time Woodinville, please, take your time!

Sharon Peterson April 3, 2012 at 08:57 pm

The City of Woodinville and the City Council are actually doing the right due diligence by planning zoning and growth carefully. I echo Al Taylor that we DO NOT want "another Lynnwood" with big box stores everywhere. Studies like the Sustainable Development study, the careful wine district and downtown zoning planning and the fact that the City won a 7-year battle with a developer at the WA State Supreme Court level which gives it the right to self-determination are helping to set the city up well to foster growth in the right way (instead of sloppy, urban sprawl.) I applaud leaders like Jeff Glickman, Mayor Bernie Talmas, and Susan Boundy-Sanders who think about the long-term future. I encourage the city's leadership -- both staff and Council -- to make sure Ordinance 532 is written in a way that respects what the citizens have clearly stated re: how growth should occur so that areas of "country living" in Woodinville remain truly that while the downtown is transformed into a bustling, modern environment in the way the new downtown master plan has set forth. After all, Rome wasn't built in a day either!

evb April 6, 2012 at 04:09 am

That actually gives me hope. I like it when towns/cities keep the character intact, creating a walkable downtown with unique stores and preserving old buildings when it makes sense.

Randy Koetje April 10, 2012 at 12:01 am

The downtown plan has been in work for over eight years, no positive results yet. Residential construction does not exist. The city has failed to embrace the wine culture, agricultural and rural community just beyond its borders; officials often state that non city residents “don’t count”. The city prefers the status quo, a “not in my back yard” approach. When I cast my vote to become a city I did so with the understanding that we as a unified community would BUILD something meaningful. Instead we are a city in conflict, with limited resources that are disproportionately spent on “protecting” the R1 at the expense of the R4 and R6 zones, and a hope that multifamily housing downtown is the only option for meeting growth targets. What we observe is a process run amok, with unlimited schedule and wasted budget. The city must start making decisions as a unified community. We must engage the non R1 residents who represent a 2/3rds majority. City elected officials need to be visionaries that are effective in formulating end results, without getting bogged down with every minor detail. Like any successful business, the Council should establish a scope, schedule, budget and expectations for every assigned task. The City Manager should insist on this!

Jeff Thomas April 10, 2012 at 12:00 pm

Insightful analysis, Randy - from where does our leadership come?