Covington is proceeding with the second phase of its Northern Gateway study in an effort to plan for future development of land that the city could potentially annex.

Two main conclusions came from the first phase of the study which was conducted earlier this year, explained Covington’s Community Development Director Richard Hart in an email interview.

First, the city met five of the six criteria required by King County to move the Urban Growth Area boundary to include a portion of the study area, known as “the Notch,” and eventually allow the city to annex the land.

Second, Hart wrote, the first phase of the study concluded it would be not only possible but wise to develop the Hawk property, presently home to gravel extraction and asphalt operations, but where residential, office and commercial retail development could be built.

With that in the mind, the city is now working on the second phase of the study.

The goal of the study was to find out if it’s a good idea to move one section of land from rural to urban in order for the two sites — both located off the 256th exit of state Route 18 on either side of the freeway — to be developed in the future by their respective owners.

The entire Northern Gateway Study area, which is bisected by SR 18, takes in 484 acres and is surrounded on three sides by the city of Covington.

Known for years as the Northern Notch, the 275-acre chunk of land bounded by state Route 18 and Southeast Wax Road to the south and north then 180th Avenue Southeast on the west, has been on the city of Covington’s potential annexation area list known as PAA No. 4.

In late April the city hired Seattle-based economic consultant Stalzer and Associates to put together a study to evaluate a number of things.

It included an economic and fiscal analysis as well as a buildable lands update, which are the primary concerns for King County.

The countywide policies that such decisions are based on were what drove the study, specifically six criteria, Hart told the Reporter earlier this year. The study found the city met five of the six criteria.

The reason the Notch portion, which is outside the UGA, won’t be brought into the boundary, Hart wrote, is because there is enough land available within the city limits for commercial and residential expansion based on the county’s threshold standards.

Hart wrote that the county’s decision not to consider bringing the Notch into the UGA did impact the direction of the second phase to a degree.

“The study in phase two focuses more of the attention next year … to the planning and future development of the South Subarea (Hawk Property) which is already within the UGA and city limits,” Hart wrote. “However, the North Subarea or ‘Notch,’ which King County declined to add to the UGA will still be studied to a limited degree for a concept plan, hoping that King County will at some future date consider adding this area to the UGA so it can be eventually annexed to the city of Covington. That decision still remains with King County.”

There is still a significant amount of developable property in the Northern Study area, however, and the city wants to evaluate how to proceed.

Hart wrote that the city has divided the second phase of the study into two areas: the North Subarea, or Notch, and the South Subarea, or Hawk Property.

“The North Subarea or ‘Notch’ portion will involve a shorter and more simple study to develop general land use categories and intensities along with transportation access possibilities for the developable land portion of the ‘Notch’ near the Highway 18 interchange, as well as the environmental and open space preservation potential for the Jenkins Creek drainage corridor that preserves that critical resource,” Hart wrote. “The South Subarea or Hawk Property will involve a longer and more complex study to develop a very detailed subarea plan, with proposed zoning districts and zoning and design regulations governing future development of the gravel pit and asphalt operations.”

The South Subarea is within the UGA boundary and mostly inside the city of Covington with about 80 acres — which are vacant — to be submitted for annexation into the city in 2013.

All of the Hawk property, Hart explained, is zoned for mineral extraction currently.

“The owners intend to eventually submit a zoning request to the city after the Subarea Plan is complete to rezone that land most likely to a new mixed-use classification that involves retail commercial and office uses near the Highway 18 interchange and a variety of residential uses on the remaining land that includes the existing ponds as water features within that residential development,” Hart wrote. “The development should also have extensive open space corridors along the stretch of Jenkins Creek, other pedestrian trails systems, and an important new roadway connection between Southeast 256th Street and 204th Avenue Southeast which eventually connects to Kent-Kangley Road.”

Details of the potential development as well as zoning will be hammered out during the second phase of the study and subarea plan process, which Hart said should take about a year.

During the course of the second phase of the study for both subareas both the Planning Commission and City Council will hear input from anyone who wishes to offer it during public hearings as part of the process.

Hart wrote that the expected result for the North Subarea will be a simple concept plan which could be used if the county at some point approves bringing the Notch into the urban growth boundary.

Meanwhile, a details South Subarea plan is expected to come out of the study process, Hart added, which will outline for future development, which would probably happen in a number of phases, of the area over a 15 to 20 year period. This plan will likely involve retail commercial and a variety of residential types on the 220 acres of what is currently a gravel pit operation and vacant forested land which is east of the Hawk property.

An extensive environmental analysis will be included as part of a Planned Action Environmental Impact Statement, or Planned Action EIS, which “will identify all environmental impacts over the entire project phasing and identify all necessary mitigation measures, including those for earth, soils, plants, animals, surface water, air quality, land use intensity and assessment, transportation-both motorized and non-motorized, trails, public utilities and facilities, and cultural resources, as well as land reclamation measures approved by the State Department of Natural Resources (DNR), which must approve reclamation efforts of gravel extractions operations,” Hart wrote.

The Planned Action EIS will have a public review and comment period, Hart added.

The Covington City Council supported this approach at its Nov. 27 meeting.

“City staff will bring back contracts with our consultant and the major property owners involved in this public-private effort at a future council meeting in December or January for council action,” Hart wrote. “The funds for both of these studies are being paid for by the private property owners, with the city being the project manager for the planning study with our consultant, Stalzer and Associates.”