Everett, Wash.
Published: Saturday, May 31, 2008

GUEST COMMENTARY

County planning should look long-term

By Vern Little

 The Snohomish County Council will deliberate on two competing land-use requests on June 9. One request was submitted by a developer, proposing to add land north of U.S. 2 to the Snohomish Urban Growth Area (UGA). The other was submitted by the city of Lake Stevens, requesting the same land be added to Lake Stevens' UGA.

The City of Lake Stevens asks that the County Council delay the decision on both proposals and work with both cities to develop a comprehensive, long-term growth plan for the entire Rural Urban Transition Area (RUTA), much like the municipal urban growth area boundaries between the county's southwest cities.

Under the state's Growth Management Act (GMA), cities are expected to annex their UGA. Lake Stevens has actively pursued annexations in recent years, but annexation is becoming an economically challenging proposition due to the county's planning of its UGA.

In order to provide quality services to its residents, a city needs a healthy tax base. Lake Stevens is no different. However, the city was allocated relatively little commercial and industrial lands, and future annexation areas within its UGA are predominantly zoned and vested as single family development.

Compared with 15 Puget Sound jurisdictions of similar size, Lake Stevens ranks last in annual per capita sales tax revenues at $70.25. The median is $206.41. Moreover, county figures show that Lake Stevens ranks near last among all Snohomish County cities in jobs per household at 0.42. Only Woodway, Gold Bar and Brier have fewer jobs per household.

When you combine lands zoned for industrial use in Lake Stevens, Snohomish and Monroe, Lake Stevens has just 8 percent of the total. When it comes to land zoned for office space, Lake Stevens has just 22 percent. The lack of commercial and industrial tax base will leave Lake Stevens facing future financial issues if the county approves the Snohomish proposal.

Having a small employment capacity and limited zoning for commercial, office and industrial development means that Lake Stevens exports its people and tax revenues elsewhere, exacerbating our regional traffic problem and limiting the quality of services the city can provide its residents in the long term.

Without comprehensive, joint planning for the RUTA lands between Snohomish and Lake Stevens, the county will be setting Lake Stevens up for failure. Preliminary figures show that by annexing its remaining UGA, the city will be more than $1 million in deficit each year within 10 years. This problem can be addressed in planning the RUTA, which could account for more than $2 million per year in new tax revenue from commercial development.

The County Council should make planning decisions that ensure the economic vitality and sustainability of every city as part of meeting the long-term goals of the GMA and the county's comprehensive plan. The County Council should delay action on both docket proposals and encourage a joint planning effort that ensures Lake Stevens continues to be a viable community with a high quality of life.



Vern Little is the mayor of Lake Stevens.
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