Little more than six months ago the future of the donut hole, known now as Summit Place, was murky but the picture is beginning to clear up.

Maple Valley was fighting to get a place at the table while YarrowBay and King County, which owns the 156-acre piece of land that is surrounded by the city of Maple Valley, worked out a purchase and sale agreement that would transfer ownership to YarrowBay, a developer based in Kirkland.

In October the county agreed to allow Maple Valley to annex the property prior to development, a major victory for the city, and it developed a memorandum of understanding with YarrowBay to begin a joint planning process.

YarrowBay managing partner Brian Ross said his company recognized the importance of including Maple Valley in discussions as it headed into the planning process for the site.

“The memorandum of understanding outlined a process to get from the beginning … up to an annexation,” Ross said. “Book ends, if you will. That joint planning agreement has now largely been completed.”

City staff and the Maple Valley Planning Commission have spent countless hours working on a draft document that was presented to the City Council two weeks ago.

“There’s still a lot of work to do but we’ve come a long ways,” Ross said. “We’re just excited to engage with the people in Maple Valley on what the project itself will be. We’re anxious to really start talking about the land plan and the uses and the mix between residential and commercial and how can we come up with a neat, neat place for the people of Maple Valley.”

Ross said “the site is going to change a lot.”

For Erin Weaver, who is chair of the Planning Commission, it’s important to get that message out to the residents of Maple Valley. And that folks with questions or concerns as well as suggestions are welcome as the three entities work to shape the vision for Summit Place.

“It’s really important for the citizens of Maple Valley to understand we’re in a very unique situation,” Weaver said. “It’s been great for Maple Valley to be at the table for this. We don’t own the land, we don’t have any governmental jurisdiction over this. I know that most people in Maple Valley would prefer that nothing would happen there but unfortunately that’s not going to happen. So, the fact that we’re going to be a part of the process at this stage is important.”

As the joint planning agreement is developed, Weaver said, the first step of the process for the land is wrapping up, but there’s still much to do before anything goes up.

“All three parties are meeting and discussing our vision for the site,” Weaver said. “These are very broad goals. What type of residential development occurs there, what the maximum capacity for what the residential development can be.

“Commercial development, what would that look like. Trails, parks, and how all that would fit.”

From here the joint planning agreement will get wrapped up into an interlocal agreement between King County and Maple Valley, Weaver explained, with the final document being a binding agreement once it is approved by both councils.

“That document forms the basis for what future development will look like,” she said. “There’s many more steps ahead. The ultimate goal for the city of Maple Valley and what King County and YarrowBay are also working toward is annexation into the city of Maple Valley.”

Once that interlocal agreement is in place then Maple Valley will need to amend its comprehension plan and then “eventually we get to the nitty gritty of what does this look like.”

Weaver said there are a number of planning tools at the city’s disposal which can be used to create a blueprint for Summit Place including a subarea plan or overlays zoning, among other things, but “those decisions haven’t been made yet.”

Members of the Planning Commission are starting to think ahead a bit by pondering what tools to use as well as what the city will need to do in preparation for annexation.

There is a deadline of December in the Memorandum of Understanding to complete the joint planning process. Weaver said the hope is to have the preannexation and comprehensive plan pieces complete in November.

Throughout the process the Planning Commission and the City Council will hold public hearings, Weaver added.

“We haven’t had enough people come to our meetings and participating,” Weaver said. “This is a big issue for Maple Valley. This has the potential to really change the flavor of Maple Valley so I think people really need to get involved. Going to the planning commission meetings is almost the more effective way to get your opinion heard.”

Ross said YarrowBay also plans extensive public outreach as planning continues on Summit Place, which he said is a working name at the moment.

“This is going to be a long process and there’s going to be ample opportunity for public input,” Ross said. “We plan to engage the public in an outreach project … to make sure we get the right project designed. That’s how we get a successful project.”

Ross said he understands the City Council is cautiously optimistic about the joint planning process thus far.

“We’re working on a proposal for the city of Maple Valley where we come up with public-private partnership,” Ross said. “How can we take this new money that this project is going to generate and funnel it into making those improvements that the folks in Maple Valley will see.”

While the revenue generated by the project is important Ross added that he understands the way Summit Place develops will last longer than the money will.

“It’s important that we get this right,” Ross said. “If done well it can really, really have a positive impact. If done poorly it can have just the opposite effect and we’re very mindful of that.”

Reach Kris Hill at khill@covingtonreporter.com or (425)432-1209 ext. 5054.