In March, Ideal Option leased space at 2808 Hoyt in order to expand their services. Two days after signing their lease the City of Everett enacted a moratorium on all new clinics of any type within the B-3 zone. In August Ideal Option asked the City to “grandfather” or exempt them from the moratorium. City of Everett officials declined.
As the Metro Everett public hearings went on principals with Ideal Option and supporters told Everett City Council members of the need for their services and that they were not disruptive to the neighborhoods where they operate and in fact are helping by providing needed services to people already there who were causing issues.
On the other hand numerous business owners in downtown Everett testified that there were a disproportionate number of social services in downtown Everett as compared to the rest of the city and the people drawn to those services were hurting the quality of life for residents, workers and businesses in downtown Everett.
Last night during the final public hearing on the Metro Everett plan a representative from Ideal Option was the first to speak and told the council Ideal Option was withdrawing their request to open at 2808 Hoyt. The speaker said Ideal Option had found a suitable location to expand outside of the downtown Everett core. Lease negotiations were ongoing so the location could not be revealed yet but Ideal Option hopes to open in their new space in October.
Meanwhile as part of the Metro Everett Plan the city council approved a prohibition on any new clinics or social services from opening on the ground floor in any street within the Metro Everett area designated as “Pedestrian” or “Transit Oriented Development”. That covers most of the downtown Everett core. They also prohibited “grandfathering” any new clinics or social services into spaces currently serving as such. Any current social service, clinic or other business not allowed under the new rules is not affected and can operate as usual.
Ideal Option tells MyEverettNews.com they will identify the location of their new facility as soon as all of the real estate transactions have been completed. Ideal Option also thanked the Mayor and city staff for working to help find them a suitable location. In addition to the Everett location, Ideal Option has recently opened treatment centers in Monroe and Arlington and is in the process of opening a new location in south Snohomish County.
August 30, 2018
Everett Government