Sound Transit Hosts Everett Link Open House
Officials from Sound Transit gathered at Mariner High School on Tuesday to discuss the draft environmental impact statement regarding the Everett Link light rail extension. The agency provided details on the project and addressed inquiries from the community during the event.
The draft environmental impact statement, often abbreviated as DEIS, outlines and evaluates potential impacts associated with various route alignments for the planned extension. Voters approved the 16-mile, $11.6 billion project in 2016, which will connect Lynnwood and Everett.
Spanning approximately 200 pages with more than 7,000 pages of appendices, the document represents the most comprehensive overview to date of the extension's potential appearance. However, Sound Transit officials noted that the proposal remains subject to revision. They are actively seeking input from residents living near station sites to identify optimal locations.
"We hope it's here for a really long time, so we want to get it right," said an engagement specialist at Sound Transit regarding the planning process.
The planning timeline is expected to extend for years, with the agency aiming for federal approval of a final route alignment by 2028. Sound Transit's board plans to select a preferred alternative as early as January 2027. This selection would outline the likely route, station locations, and the site for a large maintenance facility required for light rail operations. While the preferred alternative may change before the planning process concludes, the vote would indicate the board's current direction.
During a question-and-answer session, Sound Transit staff addressed concerns regarding the project's timeline, property acquisitions, and potential neighborhood impacts.
Questions also arose concerning potential displacement around station locations, particularly at the SR 526/Evergreen station at Casino Road. A transit-oriented development manager at Sound Transit explained that the DEIS examines how different station options would directly displace businesses or residents through property acquisition for construction.
Residents could also face displacement through indirect forces, such as rising rents, driven by the desirability of living near high-capacity transit.
"Indirect displacement is a market force. Unfortunately, it's not something that Sound Transit can prevent," the official said. "But in working with all of our partners at the jurisdictional level, they have more levers they can pull."
The city of Everett approved major zoning changes last year, allowing for increased housing density in the area around Casino Road. Planning officials indicated that these changes would reduce pressure on the housing market. The city's updated comprehensive plan also includes an inclusionary zoning policy requiring developers constructing buildings with a large number of units in the Casino Road area to reserve a portion for residents with lower incomes.
The official also noted that the agency can surplus excess land after construction for affordable housing development.
Multiple questions were related to what Sound Transits property acquisition process would look like. Property owners along the 16-mile extension have already received letters from the agency advising them that their properties may be acquired, but exactly which properties and how much of each property Sound Transit may need for the project is not yet known.
If one alignment is selected over another, or some part of the design changes and it moves a few feet, it can change how your property is impacted to a great degree, said Taylor Clawson, a real property project manager at Sound Transit.
Sound Transit has said the property acquisition process involves hiring two independent appraisers to determine the fair market value of the property, which the agency would pay for any acquisitions needed. The agency also can also provide referrals to other similar properties in the area and pay for costs like moving expenses and temporary storage.
Exactly which properties will need to be acquired wont be known until 2028, when the agency completes the planning process. Property acquisition work would start then, officials said.
One question also asked about why the proposed station in southwest Everett near Paine Field doesnt get closer to the airport terminal. The preferred alternative for the station is closer to the Boeing factory north of the airport, and the closest station to the Paine Field terminal listed in the planning document is about a half-mile away.
Eric Widstrand, the planning director for the Everett Link project, said that a half-mile walk is as close as Sound Transit could get to the terminal without having to dig a tunnel or block any planned expansions of the airport in the future.
Its a challenge because we would have to go in a tunnel or really impact how the airport develops, Widstrand said. Itd be very cost prohibitive to build a tunnel, that would be preventing the airport from developing and expanding further, and were not even sure if the FAA would allow that to happen.
Widstrand said that the three options for the southwest Everett station would include spaces for shuttle buses that could run to both the Paine Field terminal and to the Boeing factory.
During the meeting, Sound Transit also took comments from the audience. Many in attendance were from Sonrise Christian Center, a church on the east side of Airport Road that could be acquired as part of the light rail extension, urging Sound Transit to choose the alignment on the west side of the road.
That station is only being studied and isnt yet funded for construction. In an email Wednesday, Sound Transit spokesperson Amy Enbysk wrote that Sound Transit plans to only acquire property needed for the guide way itself in the Airport Road area and would not acquire the entire property needed to build the final station. That acquisition would only happen if the agency gets funding at a later date to build the station itself, she wrote.
The Everett Link Extension is expected to open in two segments. The first segment, as far north as the southwest Everett station near Boeing, could open as early as 2037. The second segment reaching downtown Everett is set to open by 2041. Shovels could be in the ground working on construction as soon as 2030.
Sound Transit will conduct two in-person public forums to review input on its draft environmental impact statement.
The first session is scheduled for Thursday at 5:30 p.m. at the Carl Gipson Center, situated at 3025 Lombard Avenue in Everett. A second meeting will take place on October 21 at the same time in the Lynnwood Neighborhood Center, located at 19509 64th Avenue West in Lynnwood.
Residents and stakeholders may submit feedback through multiple channels. Online submissions are accepted at soundtransit.org/everettlink-deis. Those preferring to speak directly can call 425-243-6255, while email comments may be sent to [email protected].
Property owners potentially affected by the project also have access to detailed resources via everettlink.participate.online/property-owners, where they can find information on how the proposed developments might relate to their holdings.