Woodway tract getting established

WOODWAY — In April, the first new families to move into Woodway Highlands were charmed by the lack of streetlights and noise in the town that bills itself "The Quiet Place."

Eight months later, the upscale housing development that was imposed on Woodway by the Central Puget Sound Growth Management Hearings Board after a five-year legal battle shows all the signs of becoming an established suburban neighborhood.

Portable basketball hoops bracket driveways leading to three- and four-car garages. The instant landscaping of nursery heather and rhododendrons shares front lawns with Christmas lights and cutout snowmen.

Woodway's sign ordinance allows only one sales sign — and only during operating hours — on the road leading to the Highlands, where the houses are listed for $700,000 to $1.3 million. On weekends, a second sign at the entrance to town is allowed, but it must be taken down by Sunday night.

"It's frustrating, but we don't focus on that," said Windermere sales agent Carolyn Black, who said home sales are continuing at a "fast pace."

In all, 94 homes on 40 acres will be built by 2005. Fifty-three, including 10 high-end estate homes, have been sold.

Maureen Lico and her husband, Jim, a Fluke executive, moved into the development's first estate home in June with their three young children. The family traded its home in Mill Creek for more-convenient freeway access and the proximity to Edmonds' downtown shops, beaches and ferry terminal, Maureen Lico said.

The Licos had looked at other homes in Woodway, she said, but didn't like the isolation of single houses on multiacre lots.

"We love the neighborhood and the sense of community," she said, a day after hosting the Highlands' Christmas party, where even people waiting for their homes to be built joined the festivities.

Woodway, which once argued that it shouldn't have to accept an urban-level density, is now adding the real-estate excise tax — 0.5 percent — from each home sale to the town coffers. Based on the list prices, that's about $3,500 to $6,500 per home.

Mayor Carla Nichols said the revenue already is being spent. The town has added police coverage and plans to use some money to repave roads affected by growing traffic.

And what about the town's darkness ordinance, which allows the stars to shine out at night but little else?

Lico said out-of-town visitors tell her, "It would be a lot easier to find this place if there were some lights."

Lynn Thompson: 425-745-7807 or lthompson@seattletimes.com