Snohomish, Lake Stevens renew efforts to claim land

Published 11:05 pm Wednesday, June 17, 2009

SNOHOMISH — City leaders in Snohomish are pushing back in the feud with Lake Stevens over a chunk of land between the two towns.

Both cities want to claim land north of U.S. 2.

The stakes are high for the two cities that say they need more sales tax money to pay their bills. The disputed land is prime for commercial development that could supply much-needed revenue and jobs.

When mediation failed in January, Snohomish laid claim to the land anyway by designating some of the disputed land as a city planning area.

Lake Stevens fired back by filing a petition with the state Growth Management Hearings Board, challenging the validity of the move.

“I see it as a nuisance,” Snohomish city manager Larry Bauman said. “I don’t think there’s any legal basis for what they are contending. I think they are throwing dust in the air to cloud the political environment.”

Now Snohomish wants the hearings board to drop Lake Stevens’ petition. City leaders filed a motion to dismiss with the state board. The hearings board has a set a July 6 date to decide the motion to dismiss.

At the heart of this latest exchange is whether Snohomish is trying to circumvent the process for expanding its borders. Each city in Snohomish County has its own comprehensive plan that includes where it may expand its borders. Changes happen once a year, and the county has to approve any expansions.

Lake Stevens is arguing Snohomish’s planning area amounts to a change in its comprehensive plan without public input.

Snohomish, in its petition to dismiss the matter, says that’s bogus. All Snohomish leaders want to do is plan for possible growth in the disputed area.

“We are arguing that all it’s doing is signaling our future interests in planning for growth in that area,” Bauman said.

Lake Stevens says in the appeal that it first targeted the area as a planning area in 1993 and has never heard any objection from Snohomish.

Lake Stevens held public hearings when it changed its comprehensive plan at the time, city administrator Jan Berg said. Snohomish, on the other hand, did not, she said.

“They didn’t go through the comp plan process and the public process and environmental review. They told their staff to prepare the amendments and to do it,” Berg said.

Lake Stevens Mayor Vern Little has said the area should be jointly planned by the two cities and Snohomish County.

“It may be something that eventually goes into the city of Snohomish anyway,” Little said, but if so, it should be as the result of an agreement between the three parties.

Debra Smith: 425-339-3197, dsmith@heraldnet.com