It won’t be long before property owners and Covington officials know what the next step will be for land just outside of its limits known as the Northern Gateway.

The goal is 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. There has been talk of building more big box stores there but homeowners who live nearby have their share of concerns.

Known for years as the Northern Notch, the 272 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, explained Community Development Director Richard Hart, the city hired Seattle-based economic consultant Stalzer and Associates to put together a study which will evaluate a number of things.

There will be an economic and fiscal analysis as well as a buildable lands update which are the primary concerns for King County, which will consider bringing one of the parcels into the urban growth boundary as part of its comprehensive plan update.

“King County will make the decision this fall, by the first of the year, so this is just the preliminary analysis,”  Hart said.

In early May the city hosted a public house to which officials invited everyone within the Northern Gateway as well as anyone within 500 feet of it. Hart said staff sent out 850 postcards and about 50 people showed.

“The majority of the people expressed a lot of concerns about reclassifying it from rural to urban, having it annexed to the city and being developed,” Hart said. “We told them this was their first opportunity for input. Their next opportunity will be to express their concerns to King County and then if it’s added to the UGA there will be a whole process with the city for subarea plans, there will be a whole process for proposed zoning, and there will be a whole process for potential annexation.”

But, even if the portion owned by Barry Anderson’s group BranBar which is outside of the urban growth boundary, is redesignated from its current zoning, any further steps Covington may take wouldn’t happen until next year.

BranBar lobbied the County Council in September 2008 to bring the area into the urban growth boundary but the effort was voted down.

In December 2007, the Andersons were looking at putting big box businesses on the site, maybe a home improvement store or other large commercial ventures. Over the course of the next year BranBar tweaked its proposal but the amount of opposition among other property owners in the Northern Gateway area was enough to persuade the County Council to not bring it into the urban growth boundary area in 2008.

BranBar initially purchased its 60 acres in two chunks, one in 2002, the second in 2003.

BranBar and YarrowBay, which has negotiated an agreement in recent weeks to purchase the property owned by the Hawks that is currently leased out to Lakeside Industries, have paid for the cost of the study, Hart said.

Hart added he expects the study to be complete in late July.

“We’ll probably present it to the Planning Commission at their first meeting in August and we’ll probably take it to the City Council at their first meeting in August,” Hart said. “Then depending on the results of the study the council will decide what action they’re going to take.”