At a special city council meeting Aug. 29, Woodinville City Council unanimously agreed to enter into a development agreement with the Kirkland firm of MJR Development. The agreement will regulate key elements of the proposed 18-acre mixed-use project known as “Woodinville Village.” The project is planned for undeveloped land at the southwest corner of Northeast 145th Street and 148th Avenue Northeast, within the city’s tourist business district.

Woodinville Village will feature several production wineries, tasting rooms and a wine courtyard, or garden, as well as other open public spaces. There will be high-end boutiques and tourist-related retail, restaurants, coffee shops and residences built above first-floor commercial space, all designed to a village scale, all designed to meet architectural standards approved by the city. There will also be a central pedestrian mall and an internal trail system with pedestrian and bicycle connections to the Sammamish River Trail.

Another aspect of the project is the traffic solution to fix the city’s southern choke point at the Hollywood School intersection of Northeast 145th Street and Woodinville-Redmond Road. Understanding the crucial importance of traffic circulation to economic development, the city, other neighboring property owners and the developer agreed to work together to design and construct a system of three roundabouts and associated road improvements to reduce traffic congestion and improve traffic flow.

Besides the Hollywood roundabout, two additional roundabouts will be built at village access locations along the Chateau Ste. Michelle / Columbia Winery leg of State Route 202 and the Woodinville-Redmond Road leg of SR-202. Roundabout designs are currently being reviewed by the state, as is an application for funding assistance.

Forging the development agreement was no small feat. According to a city staff report prepared for the Aug. 8 public hearing on the topic, it includes “a binding site plan, shoreline development permit, environmental review documentation, legal description, operational agreement, master plan and design standards; in addition to conditions that assure the project complies with the city’s vision, goals, policies and standards.”

And the agreement brings the project one step closer to reality. It has been talked about by city officials since last year when the city council, with much deliberation, changed the Zoning Code and updated the Comprehensive Plan to include residential uses as part of a mixed-use development within the city’s tourist business district. One of the concerns at the time was that a developer could come in and “paper the valley with apartments.” So the council stipulated that residential uses in this district would only be obtainable by means of a development agreement approved by them.

Extensive discussions about the agreement began in January of this year. On April 6, MJR formally submitted its development agreement draft. Since then, it has been reviewed by the city’s technical review committee and revised in several joint meetings between city staff, MJR and legal counsel. The planning commission and the city council also considered the document. Both the commission and the council held public hearings. In addition, MJR conducted meetings with the Woodinville Chamber of Commerce, adjacent business and property owners and with area residents to seek input and reaction to the proposal.

“This is a fairly major project in town,” said Director of Community Development Ray Sturtz. “We wanted to go into it with certain assurances. This agreement spells out what the developers are bringing to the community.”

“This is a strong development agreement,” said City Councilwoman Gina Leonard. “Citizens’ interests were protected.”

“We are very happy with the agreement,” said MJR partner Mike McClure. “It is a major milestone for us. Our goal all along was to make the city feel as comfortable as possible with the project. Now we can move forward.”

“Now the real work begins,” said Sturtz. “This agreement sets in motion other approval processes. ... Design review goes on in earnest. There are things to work out on the transportation agreement. Building permits must be obtained. The work is only beginning. The onus is on everyone from this Director of Development to staff at the permit counter to make sure conditions of the agreement are implemented.”

Sturtz said once a grading permit is obtained, structures on the site – buildings, fences – could be removed and utility work and preliminary roadwork on the site could begin.

Phase 1 of the project will include installation of interior streets, the main plaza area, public restrooms and trail connections.

In addition, McClure said he hopes to have wineries as well as specialty retail and housing encircling the central plaza completed in the first phase. He said he does not have permission to disclose the names of retailers who have committed to or who are considering becoming village tenants.

For information about living at Woodinville Village or obtaining commercial space, access www.woodinvillevillage. com.

“If we start moving dirt in January or February,” said McClure, “optimistically and following an aggressive schedule, we could be open with Phase 1 by December 06.”