Addressing the concerns of business owners in the West Plaza shopping center, the Mountlake Terrace City Council amended the city’s Economic Development Strategic Plan during its Sept. 19 meeting.

The Economic Development Strategic Plan provides a roadmap for the City of Mountlake Terrace to strengthen its economic momentum and improve the quality of life in the city over the next five years and beyond. The plan was developed in concert with the Vision 2044 Mountlake Terrace Comprehensive Plan.

Part of that plan is widening the sidewalks on 56th Avenue West in Phase II and extending 57th Avenue to 236th Street during Phase III.

The city’s plans for West Plaza have business owners worried about how the project will affect their businesses, from day-to-day operations to the loss of building space.

West Plaza is home to Diamond Knot Brewpub@MLT, Espresso Break, Double DD Meats and Snohomish Pie Company.

The proposed changes to 56th Avenue West would remove Espresso Break. Although Double DD Meats’ building would remain unchanged, its neighbor Diamond Knot would lose a significant portion of its restaurant for the 57th Street extension.

West Plaza owners Kirk Ishizaki and his sister-in-law, Erin Ishizaki, spoke during the meeting’s public comment period, asking the council to amend the development plan to “accurately reflect their intentions.”

Councilmember Laura Sonmore said she wanted to understand the plan thoroughly and find a compromise that would satisfy the needs of both business owners and the city.

Mayor Pro Tem Bryan Wahl agreed with Sonmore and said that more time should be spent fully exploring the impacts of extending 57th Avenue on the business owners and community.

The council agreed this includes studying the traffic patterns through Town Center.

The council amended the Economic Development Strategic Plan as follows:  “Complete implementation of Main Street Project Phase 2 improvements along 56th Avenue West to maintain the city’s commitment to redevelopment in the area through improvements to the public realm and evaluate other future Town Center investments identified in the Town Center Subarea Plan, such as traffic, for their alignment with other economic development goals and the city’s role in them.”

Wahl said that the amendment addresses West Plaza’s concerns and “gives the council time to consider alternatives” and other improvements that could be made.

In other business, the council received a report from Police Chief Pete Caw on the Mountlake Terrace Police Department’s first and second quarters. More details on that presentation can be found here.

Caw said that vehicle prowls and vehicle thefts have decreased. Both categories had seen higher-than-normal numbers for the past year.

To learn more, click here.

The city council proclaimed Constitution Week, which started on Sept. 17, to honor the 237th anniversary of drafting the Constitution of the United States of America by the Constitutional Convention.

Accepting the proclamation from Mayor Kyoko Matsumoto-Wright was Sally Buckingham of the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution.

The next council meeting will start at 7 p.m., Sept. 26, at Mountlake Terrace City Hall, 23204 58th Ave. W., Mountlake Terrace.

To attend the meeting online, visit zoom.us/join and enter meeting ID 810 1113 9518; no passcode is needed.

To make a public comment remotely, complete the registration form within 24 hours of the meeting’s start at cityofmlt.com/FormCenter/City-Council-17/Remote-Public-Comment-Request-Form-12.

To listen via telephone, call 1-253-215-8782 and enter the same meeting ID.

You also can view live-streamed meetings and past video recordings at www.youtube.com/cityofmlt.

The agenda can be viewed here.

— By Rick Sinnett