Some near Snohomish say they have no interest in being part of the city of Lake Stevens
Published 10:33 pm Thursday, May 21, 2009
SNOHOMISH — A group of neighbors caught in the middle of a land dispute between Snohomish and Lake Stevens want to send a message.
They don’t want to be a part of Lake Stevens.
The neighbors met Wednesday night to express frustration over what they describe as a deliberate attempt by Lake Stevens officials to press forward with adding their land to the city, though they say virtually no one living in the area wants that.
They don’t identify with Lake Stevens and they don’t like the idea of Lake Stevens preserving its lakefront community by adding an industrial park to the neighborhood, which has been mentioned as a possibility, said Coby Dilling, president of the Joywood Neighborhood Association, located in part of the disputed area.
“We’ve spoken out loud and clear,” Dilling said. “We’ve gone to meetings and public forums and sent letters. Why is the mayor not listening to us?”
Lake Stevens officials say they’ve also heard from people in the area who want to be part of Lake Stevens.
The area has been part of Lake Stevens’ comprehensive plan for more than 15 years, Lake Stevens Mayor Vern Little said Thursday. He said the cities and Snohomish County should come up with a plan together for the area. The city feels it’s smarter to develop the land as a whole rather than divvying it up piecemeal.
“The planning should start for the future,” he said. “I just think it needs to be done together. We offered that up a long time ago.”
Snohomish has a different view.
“I believe they’re being obstinate and they want everything and they are unwilling to share or compromise in any way,” Snohomish city manager Larry Bauman said Thursday.
Snohomish and Lake Stevens have haggled over a wedge of land north of U.S. 2 since 2006. Each city would like the right to add the area to its boundaries in the future. Both say they need the land for commercial developments that would supply jobs and tax revenue.
The cities tried to work out the problem last year with the help of a mediator, but talks failed after six months. The closed-door mediation process cost both cities and the county about $6,000 each.
Most of those who attended public meetings held by Lake Stevens and responded to a Snohomish survey said they’d prefer for the land to remain rural.
It looks like it won’t stay that way. Snohomish County, which makes final decisions about where cities can grow, has designated the disputed land as a rural urban transition area, said Corbitt Loch, planning director for the city of Snohomish.
“That’s a signal to everyone it’s rural now but it won’t be forever,” Loch said.
If property owners are forced to choose between the two cities, many say they’d prefer Snohomish.
At the meeting Wednesday night, about 50 property owners showed up to a Snohomish fire hall to express frustration over not knowing what will happen to their land. Owners are putting off home improvements or wondering if they should sell while their fate is in limbo, Dilling said.
“We realize development may happen in this area,” said Jeff Bongard, who owns half an acre off Tom Marks Road. “We want to have a say in what happens.”
The county should step in and resolve the matter, he said.
The mediator said a boundary should be drawn between the two cities and suggested the county play a more active role in making that happen.
Not long after the mediation process failed, the Snohomish City Council laid claim on the land anyway by voting to make it a city planning area.
Lake Stevens responded by filing a motion with the state Growth Management Hearings Board, challenging the validity of the move by Snohomish. A date for the hearing hasn’t been set.
County Councilman Dave Somers, who represents the area, would like the county to come up with a plan with which both cities can agree. He said he’ll ask for money in the 2010 budget to hire a consultant to start working on such a plan.
Major changes in the county Comprehensive Plan won’t be done again until 2015, so it wouldn’t take effect until then, but the process could begin soon, Somers said.
“I think bringing in a neutral third party to do some planning would be good and we would certainly invite the cities of Snohomish and Lake Stevens to participate,” he said.
“They both have legitimate interests in that area,” Somers said of the cities. “I think we have some time to plan the area right.”
Debra Smith: 425-339-3197, dsmith@heraldnet.com.
