Published: Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Reardon says county needs mini-city option
The Snohomish County executive vetoes the County Council’s decision to eliminate the proposed land use.
EVERETT — A battle over whether to allow mini-cities in rural parts of Snohomish County rages on after the county executive on Monday vetoed the County Council’s decision to get rid of them.
The County Council voted 3-2 to do away with mini-cities on Aug. 12 with councilman Dave Somers and others calling them a waste of taxpayer money.
Executive Aaron Reardon said removing mini-city zoning without offering alternatives did nothing to improve the quality of life in the county.
“I think this decision was made very quickly and somewhat in haste,” he said after his veto.
The controversial zoning, also known as fully contained communities, would have allowed dense developments in rural areas. In return, developers would have to provide jobs and services nearby.
The issue has been hotly debated for years. Dozens of rural residents testified against mini-cities during hearings this summer as part of the county’s land-use docket.
In the end, council chairman Mike Cooper and councilmen Dave Somers and Brian Sullivan voted against allowing mini-cities. Councilmen John Koster and Dave Gossett, like Reardon, said they should be allowed.
Gossett argued that without fully contained communities, an unfair share of the new population growth would be funneled into his district on the county’s south end.
Neither Gossett nor Koster returned a call for comment.
Somers said lower state estimates for population growth make mini-cities unnecessary in the county. He called Reardon’s decision “a slap in the face of the public.”
What particularly rankled him was the suggestion that the council’s decision was hasty.
“That’s absolutely absurd,” he said. “We’ve been working on this for three years.”
Currently, the only proposed mini-city would have put up to 6,000 homes near rural Lake Roesiger, east of Lake Stevens.
The council can try to override Reardon’s veto or work on modifying current mini-city zoning rules to make it more restrictive.
Noah Haglund: 425-339-3465, nhaglund@heraldnet.com.
The County Council voted 3-2 to do away with mini-cities on Aug. 12 with councilman Dave Somers and others calling them a waste of taxpayer money.
Executive Aaron Reardon said removing mini-city zoning without offering alternatives did nothing to improve the quality of life in the county.
“I think this decision was made very quickly and somewhat in haste,” he said after his veto.
The controversial zoning, also known as fully contained communities, would have allowed dense developments in rural areas. In return, developers would have to provide jobs and services nearby.
The issue has been hotly debated for years. Dozens of rural residents testified against mini-cities during hearings this summer as part of the county’s land-use docket.
In the end, council chairman Mike Cooper and councilmen Dave Somers and Brian Sullivan voted against allowing mini-cities. Councilmen John Koster and Dave Gossett, like Reardon, said they should be allowed.
Gossett argued that without fully contained communities, an unfair share of the new population growth would be funneled into his district on the county’s south end.
Neither Gossett nor Koster returned a call for comment.
Somers said lower state estimates for population growth make mini-cities unnecessary in the county. He called Reardon’s decision “a slap in the face of the public.”
What particularly rankled him was the suggestion that the council’s decision was hasty.
“That’s absolutely absurd,” he said. “We’ve been working on this for three years.”
Currently, the only proposed mini-city would have put up to 6,000 homes near rural Lake Roesiger, east of Lake Stevens.
The council can try to override Reardon’s veto or work on modifying current mini-city zoning rules to make it more restrictive.
Noah Haglund: 425-339-3465, nhaglund@heraldnet.com.
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