| HeraldNet - Snohomish County's online news source |
 TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 2010 8:43 pm |
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Local News 
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County officials' spat over veto puts mini-cities in doubt EVERETT — Rural mini-city developments are off the table again after some of Snohomish County's top leaders began accusing each other of deceit and duplicity.The heated words were traded Wednesday amongst county politicians who favor mini-cities as a helpful development tool, but disagreed sharply over how the issue was playing out in public. The controversy centered on whether County Executive Aaron Reardon was asked by some county councilmen to veto an ordinance that blocked mini-city developments. “My position is that I vetoed that ordinance in part because I was asked to do so by two councilmen,” Reardon said. “I will not engage in this duplicitous political game. These are important issues that we are working on.” The veto on Monday overturned a recent county council decision to eliminate zoning for mini-cities, which would allow developers to build dense housing in rural areas if they also provided facilities for businesses, shopping and other services nearby. The council's vote to ban mini-cities was 3-2. A 4-1 vote would have been necessary to override Reardon's veto. Councilmen John Koster and Dave Gossett voted in favor of keeping mini-cities, which also are known as fully contained communities. On Monday, Reardon issued a letter saying that Koster and Gossett asked him for the veto. On Wednesday, the two councilmen sent Reardon a letter demanding the executive correct the public record: “At no time did we ask you to veto the proposed legislation related to (fully contained communities).” Before the day was out, Reardon accused the councilmen of “a bald-faced lie.” He released a voicemail message from Koster to Brian Parry, an executive director on Reardon's staff. In the message, Koster asks for a chance to talk to Parry “about encouraging Aaron to veto” the council's decision against mini-cities. “He doesn't have to worry about me running away from the issue. I'm about as tied to that as I can get, I guess,” Koster said in the phone message. Reardon on Wednesday said he told council Chairman Mike Cooper that he wanted to rescind his veto because of what he called “false statements and duplicitous tactics” by Koster and Gossett. Asked about the phone message, Koster on Wednesday said he was not seeking a veto and blamed any misunderstanding on a lack of clarity on his part. All he meant, he said, is that he would not change his position on fully contained communities. He believes they are a valid tool for planning for future growth in the county. “In the end, this is Aaron's decision,” Koster said. “If he thinks the veto is the right thing to do, then he should veto it, regardless of what councilman Gossett tells him or I tell him.” Gossett said he spoke with Parry, and told him he would vote to support Reardon's veto. That is different than telling the executive what to do, he said. “Mr. Reardon is lying,” Gossett said. “For him to try to basically hang this around our necks when we don't fall for his deceitful tactics is disgusting.” So far, a single mini-city has been proposed: a 6,000-home development near Lake Roesiger. Supporters have said mini-cities could help relieve development pressure on other areas as the county tries to absorb up to 300,000 new residents by 2025. Critics have said these type of developments could waste taxpayer money by, among other things, dumping more traffic onto rural roads. That, in turn, would put those roads in competition with other thoroughfares, such as U.S. 2 and I-5, for federal and state dollars. Noah Haglund: 425-339-3465 or nhaglund@heraldnet.com. |
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