Mukilteo looks to expand

Published 10:22 pm Friday, June 26, 2009

It took an extra year, but Mukilteo’s ambitions for annexation are on track.

The Snohomish County Boundary Review Board unanimously approved the city’s plans to annex 11,000 people south of its city limits on Thursday.

In February 2008, the same board unanimously rejected Mukilteo’s plans for annexation.

“I am very happy,” Mukilteo Mayor Joe Marine said.

The only obstacles that remain are the approval of Mukilteo’s City Council, which will take up annexation at its July 6 meeting, and the approval of the majority of residents in the annexation area.

Voters there could see the annexation issue on their ballots as soon as November.

Areas that could be annexed include the upscale Picnic Point neighborhood and a commercial district on Highway 99.

The city doesn’t need to win approval from its own residents, but many in the Mukilteo community have expressed opposition to annexation.

Their concerns include the belief that annexation could burden city finances and a fear that Mukilteo’s charm could be lost.

Marine said he hopes the City Council pushes past those worries.

“I can’t imagine the council not moving forward now, only because why put everybody through this?” he said.

The city has worked hard in the last 16 months to win approval, Councilwoman Jennifer Gregerson said.

When the Boundary Review Board rejected Mukilteo’s request in 2008, members said the city’s plans for continued fire and police services were insufficient. Since then, the city has worked to solidify those plans, she said.

“We wanted to follow the road map of things that they said we needed to do better (this time),” Gregerson said. “They basically told us that we did it.”

One of the most high-profile issues regarding Mukilteo’s annexation plans has been fire service.

As part of its proposal before the board, city officials detailed their relationship with the Lynnwood Fire Department, and their joint effort in exploring a partnership for fire and emergency services.

Chris Fyall: 425-339-3447, cfyall@heraldnet.com.