By Brian Beckley

The Courier-Herald

Landowners and stakeholders from Bonney Lake's "east town" area heard an update last week about the progress of infrastructure improvements to their section of the city.

Led by Assistant Planner Elizabeth Chamberlain and Mayor Bob Young, approximately 25 residents attended the meeting, which focused on four areas: water, sewer, road improvements and zoning.

The area, stretching along state Route 410 from 214th Avenue to 234th Avenue, was annexed into Bonney Lake in November 2001 and has been zoned for commercial and light manufacturing. According to Young, the strip of highway is the next "logical step" for continued growth in the city.

"This is the last part of commercial that can be developed in the city under the current zoning," he said.

According to Young, the "main question" surrounding the area deals with the road, which narrows to two lanes just east of 214th. Though the Washington Department of Transportation has plans to widen the highway to four lanes, trouble with funding for the project has put improvements on hold.

"The main concern as I see it is working with the Department of Transportation for widening the highway," agreed Roger Watt, who owns the Emerald Links Driving Range on the north side of SR410.

"It seems like any developer is going to run into roadblocks until the Department of Transportation is able to say when they're going to widen the highway," he said.

According to DOT officials, the first step will be to re-align the intersection at 233rd Avenue/234th Avenue, but that project will not be completed until at least 2007. Widening the remainder of the road, a project estimated at $20 million, is yet to be scheduled.

According to Chamberlain, discussion at the meeting focused on a conceptual road network envisioned either as a grid system or frontage roads, like those at the Market at Lake Tapps, running parallel to the highway. Chamberlain said a grid system would probably involve public roads an the taking of additional land by the city.

"They kind of like the Market at Lake Tapps scenario best," Chamberlain said.

Chamberlain also said the city agreed to create an alternate road network in order to get two additional cuts through the planned landscaped median for the center of 410.

Sewer construction was also a major focus of the meeting. According to city code, all new construction must be hooked into the city sewer system, but pipes end at 214th. Council policy is that a developer must pay for infrastructure improvements, but the cost of running pipes would be several million dollars.

"It would take a couple of big boxes," Young said, referring to the cost of installing the lines.

A latecomer agreement could be set up providing for secondary developments to pay the first developer for the cost of laying sewer lines.

The terrain of the area also means a pump station will have to be installed instead of gravity mains. The city has hired Parametrix to do a capacity analysis for a lift station in the area.

Young said the issue of creating a Local Improvement District for the building of sewers would be revisited if no developers build the line within a year, though he added several stores are "seriously looking" into the area.

Water is less of a concern. City water stretches into the "east town" area, but ends on the north side of the road before Emerald Links and west of that on the southern side.

However, the rest of the area is served by either the Valley Water District or Tacoma Water.

The biggest concern is that the Valley Water mains are not the 12-inch mains required to provide the necessary fire flow to commercial properties.

Chamberlain said she hoped to schedule a meeting with representatives with Valley Water to discuss their improvement plans.

Chamberlain said a draft Parametrix report is expected by June with late July targeted for final adoption.

As to zoning, Chamberlain said the city has received some pre-applications for town house-style homes in the area. Though permitted by the current zoning, Chamberlain said the city hopes to move any residential development away from the highway.

"We probably don't want residential adjacent to 410," she said.

Reach reporter Brian Beckley at bbeckley@courierherald.com.