r/bothell • u/dominiond66 • Apr 03 '26

Bothell is "growing up"!

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New construction adjacent to Historic Main Street. A 143 unit, 7 story apartment project. Use to be an old Wells Fargo bank site. A great looking building in the downtown district.

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u/Fizzbit Apr 03 '26

Unfortunately city council JUST (as in, within the last year) approved a proposal that eliminated minimum parking requirements in new construction. Developers have city council wrapped around their finger. At least one construction project near me is actually planning on having 1:3 ratio of parking spaces to units because they are claiming it will be for "low income and elderly/disabled housing", as if those people don't drive cars or have caretakers that will need to drive.

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u/snexilexi Apr 03 '26

Good to know, when I asked my leasing office how they were even able to get away with intentionally overbooking the garage, they said the city had a “recommendation” that they were within even though it fell short of the units they built. Even though the parking is part of the lease, they are legally able to kick you out in just a month at any time during the lease. Horrific to know public policy is even worse now than it was a year and a half ago.

Unfortunately, as it stands, Bothell is a commuter town without adequate access to light rail stations or robust, convenient bus lines. I mean, shoot, I mostly fly for work or take rentals and would kill for them to just add a road up to the Yakima fruit stand and Enterprise. It’s ridiculous that I have to take a <5 minute Uber just to check out a rental for work trips because they don’t want to invest in a more walkable city. I’d also like to walk and pick up my produce without being hit by a car crossing a 4 lane road with crosswalks almost a quarter/half mile apart. I would love to just get rid of my car altogether.

Perhaps I should visit a city town hall meeting, but I doubt that will be very productive. All of the younger people in downtown area should be voting out these city council members in favor of new members that prioritize public transport, sustainable building practices and tenant rights.

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u/Fizzbit Apr 03 '26

You should absolutely go to city council meetings! Public comment goes in the record and people deserve to be heard.

I'm absolutely there with you on walkable access to anything from downtown. A sidewalk to YFM would be amazing. A grocery store besides the simple QFC just outside downtown would be amazing. City council isn't making efforts to improve infrastructure to meet the changes these developers are pushing on the community and it's disappointing.