Enumclaw’s ever-expanding housing inventory continues to grow.
During the City Council’s second meeting in April, members gave final approval for a subdivision that will turn 17 acres of farmland into 85 residential lots.
The latest housing proposal, identified as Phase 2 of the Suntop Planned Unit Development, received preliminary approval in 2014. It is part of an original proposal that called for 116 lots, with the first 31 homes in Phase 1.
The area bounded by state Route 410 on the north and Warner Avenue on the south has a long history with city planners. The original 150-acre Holdener Farm Area PUD was approved in 1992 and, as part of that plan, the Elk Meadows and Suntop Farms subdivisions have been substantially completed.
The issue before the City Council in April was to determine if all terms of the preliminary plat approval had been met. Agreeing that all had been completed, the council issued its final blessing.
Also during their second meeting in April, members of the City Council:
• agreed that Ellenson Park, on the city’s eastern edge, will be home to a dog park. The recommendation was based on the fact that the park has plenty of open space, is largely underutilized, has sufficient parking and has few adjacent homeowners.
The notion for a dog park first came in early 2017, when the city’s Park Board was approached by a group operating as “Bring a Dog Park to Enumclaw.” The board researched dog parks, read recommndations from the American Kennel Club and conducted an open house in March.
Options were narrowed to three sites, including Ellenson Park. Others were MacFarland Park and Elk Meadows Park.
City Administrator Chris Searcy later noted that money was placed in the 2018 budget for construction of the dog park.
• allowed an emergency contract that will result in repairs being made to a handful of vertical support columns in the Enumclaw Expo Center livestock barn.
In March, it was brought to the city’s attention that a number of columns were bent, apparently after being struck by a fork lift or tractor. After inspection it was determined that four were damaged to the point of being unable to carry the weight of the roof.
