Committee wants to lift retail cap

Tim Newcomb
Tribune assistant editor

  LYNDEN -- The ball is rolling on the city’s consideration of lifting its limit on the size of retail stores.
  The Zoning Review Committee, made up of community members, city staff and City Council members, has recommended to the Planning Commission and City Council that the current 65,000-square-foot cap be lifted, with restrictions.
  The issue will go to a public hearing with the Planning Commission on Oct. 9 and then later to the City Council for another public hearing.
  The committee suggests lifting the limit on general retail stores in the area west of 19th Street.
  Any approval for building would also come with design restrictions and other parameters.
  Buildings that meet the “major retail or large format retail” would be subject to design restrictions that maintain a sense of the community’s “aesthetic values and European character,” according to Amy Harksell, city planning director.
  There would also be landscape requirements.
  The city would require demolition bonds or other similar assurances for the removal of a building if it is vacated.
  Harksell said that the committee agreed in principle to the recommendation at its Sept. 16 meeting and finalized the wording by this week Monday.
  She said discussion has been ongoing on whether this change would positively or negatively impact Lynden and its business community.
  A recent retail market analysis indicated that Lynden could support the additional square footage in a larger retail store, Harksell said.
  “This wasn’t an easy decision and there is a lot of work to come if the council agrees,” she added.
  The first hearing is simply to discuss lifting the cap and to what maximum square footage, if any.
  The design and other restrictions are not open for discussion.
  No matter what the Planning Commission’s recommendation, the issue will go before the full council.
  Currently, Safeway is the largest retail outlet in Lynden at approximately 59,000 square feet and the current cap effectively limits the addition of any regional or national chains.
  The Planning Commission meeting is at 7:30 p.m. at the City Hall Annex, 205 Fourth St.
  If the City Council decides to raise or eliminate the size limit, the Zoning Review Committee will complete the detailed work on the ordinance to enact the conditions, Harksell said.
  The Zoning Review Committee includes three members of the City Council (David Burns, Gerald Kuiken and Gary Bode), three members of the Planning Commission (Brent Lenssen, Teresa Reed-Jennings and Diane Veltkamp) and three community members (Gary Vis, Robert Libolt and Kevin Pawlowski), as well as Mayor Jack Louws, City Administrator Bill Verwolf and Planning Director Amy Harksell.
  E-mail Tim Newcomb at tim@lyndentribune.com.