Light Rail Stations Subarea Plans Update

On December 4, 2025, the Planning Commission received a presentation from City staff on the history of light rail station subarea planning work done to date.

You can read the staff report here: Staff Report - Light Rail Subarea Plans.

You can watch the video of the meeting here: Video - Light Rail Subarea Plans.

A summary of the material presented at the meeting is summarized below.

Light Rail Subarea Plans

• In 2015 and 2016, the City adopted subarea plans for the 145th Street Station and the 185th Street Station.
• Each plan details the community engagement process, describes the existing conditions and future market forecasts, the long-term vision, the benefits of the plan, and the incremental implementation strategy.
• The long-term vision for both station areas are to create livable communities where walking, biking, and transit are the best choice for most trips.

Environmental Review (SEPA)

• The Washington State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA) requires the evaluation of environmental impacts for proposed development and for plans that enable development, like these subarea plans.
• Prior to the adoption of each subarea plan, the City completed environmental analysis for each station area.
• When a proposal or plan may result in large, negative environmental impacts, SEPA requires an environmental impact statement (EIS). An EIS identifies environmental conditions, growth alternatives, potential impacts, and ways to reduce or mitigate any large, negative impacts.
• The City studied four growth alternatives in each EIS, and then selected a growth threshold for each station area.
• Through 2035, the environmental analysis planned for up to 2,214 housing units in the 145th area and 2,190 housing units in the 185th area.

Planned Actions

• A planned action environmental review is a tool that prepares “upfront environmental review” within a defined area and adopts growth thresholds in its Planned Action Ordinance.
• The City did this for both station areas. If proposed development projects are consistent with the planned action ordinance they generally do not need project-level review under the SEPA.
• The planned actions were written with about 20 years of growth in mind. Ten years into the planned actions, we’re more than half-way through that anticipated growth.
• To support continued growth in the subareas, the City needs to review and update the original environmental analysis.

Planned Actions Update

• To support continued growth in the subareas, City Council authorized approval of a contract to update the station area planned action ordinances in November 2024.
• The contract consists of two phases.
• Phase I concluded May 30, 2025, and included a development capacity analysis, SEPA options and a recommendation.
• Connectivity was identified as an issue that needed more planning.
• To do this necessary planning requires updating the subarea plans themselves, not just the planned action ordinances.
• Phase II began August 2025.

Subarea Plans Update

• The plan update will look at how to get more connectivity for people from their homes to places nearby they want to go, like parks, churches, shops and restaurants.
• The plan update will also evaluate the area north of NE 185th Street between 1st and 5th Avenues NE for a zoning overlay that may provide greater flexibility for non-residential land uses. The goal of the overlay would be to allow flexibility for certain types of land uses that may want to co-locate in this area such as other sports, entertainment, and hotel uses.

Project Schedule

• Winter 2026: Begin public engagement, particularly around the connectivity piece and the 185th overlay.
• Spring and Summer 2026: Developing the draft and final SEISs.
• Fall and Winter 2026: Updated subarea plans and code proposals to the Planning Commission and City Council.