Marysville considers Downtown Master Plan update

The city of Marysville is considering a revision of their Downtown Master Plan to shape how the future of the residential and commercial areas of the downtown look.

City officials are asking for public comment and community members can provide their input at marysvillewa.gov/358 until Oct. 30.

The downtown area being considered is the land south of Grove Street, between I-5 and 47th Avenue with some additional area around Marysville Middle School.

"There are several subarea plans for places around Marysville," said Chris Holland, planning manager for the city of Marysville.

The plans, such as the Downtown Master Plan, are meant to help guide what development the community wants to see, including but not limited to single family homes, apartments, commercial buildings or nonprofit uses.

The current plan is from 2009 and the city hopes to update it.

"We've received a grant from the Department of Commerce to look at different housing types," said Holland.

In 2019 the Washington state legislature passed a bill to provide grant funds to assist in planning that will bring in more affordable housing types.

Holland said the city hopes to bring in "missing middle" type housing, which includes options like duplexes, triplexes, cottage housing, townhouses and small-scale apartment buildings.

That type of housing is commonly called the "missing" middle because most modern city zoning plans don't leave much land where they are allowed to be built.

"Typically, right now the downtown area is single family zoning mostly," said Holland.

To bring changes to the area the city is considering a form-based code.

"That focuses more on the form of the building and how it fits in the community rather than the land use of the building," said Holland.

Owners have more options on how to use their building as long as the physical building fits into the neighborhood.

Most zoning code is instead designed to restrict based on how the building is used, not the form of the building.

The city hopes to gather online feedback about the potential changes.

"It's difficult to engage with the community right now because of COVID regulations," said Holland, but they hope to provide an online platform for community members to voice their opinion.

"We worked with a consultant who set up a social pinboard where we can talk with citizens," he said.

A link to that tool is available at marysvillewa.gov/358.

Holland hopes to hear from community members about what they want the Marysville downtown to be.

"We want to consider what different aspects of the plan will look like," he said. "What do people think the area does well? What do people think could be better? What different types of land use do people want to see."

After gathering feedback Marysville city planners will make a draft and bring it to the planning commission, who will make a recommendation to the Marysville City Council.

The ultimate decision of what direction to take with the plan lies with the council.