Marysville gets OK to grow by 19,000

Published 10:43 pm Tuesday, July 14, 2009

MARYSVILLE — The way has been cleared for Marysville to become a lot bigger.

In a rare joint meeting of the Marysville City Council and the Snohomish County Council on Monday, each governing body voted to shift city limits so 19,000 people will go from living in the unincorporated county to the city.

If the move receives final approval, it will bump Marysville’s population from 37,530 to more than 56,000. The city would move past Edmonds to become the second largest in the county after Everett, pending the outcome of a possible addition to Lynnwood next year.

The plan now goes to the county Boundary Review Board, where a 45-day period will be set for public comment. If no one objects to the annexation, or if a complaint is registered but not upheld by the board, the addition to the city will be cleared for final approval, probably between December and March 2010.

The city is making the move now to take advantage of a state law that allows cities to keep one-10th of a cent more per dollar in sales tax for every 10,000 residents added to the city at one time. The city would get the money every year for 10 years. The law expires in 2010.

The city expects to get about $1 million per year for the 10 years.

The annexation, in the works for more than two years, has drawn little objection from people who live in the 4 ½-square-mile area. Three people who spoke before Monday’s vote, however, said they resented the move.

“We live where we live because we didn’t want to live in the city,” said Bruce Steinmetz, whose home is at the far north end of the annexation area. “Now we’re going to be forced to live in the city. A lot of us don’t like that.”

Marysville is making the addition without an election or a petition. State law allows a city to annex any area by agreement with the county if 60 percent of the area’s boundary touches the city. In this case, it’s 75 percent.

“This is being forced down our throats,” said Lisa DeGreave, who also lives in the north end of the area.

Marysville City Councilman Lee Phillips was sympathetic to that concern and cast the City Council’s only vote against the plan.

“The foundation of our government is that we have the right to elect the people who represent us,” Phillips said. “I don’t think it’s appropriate to do it in the way that we’re doing it.”

The Marysville council voted 5-1 to approve the plan, with Councilman Jeffrey Vaughan absent. The County Council voted 4-0 for approval, with chairman Mike Cooper absent. Both absences were excused.

Marysville Councilman John Nehring noted the annexation comes with an agreement for the improvement of 88th Street NE. The county will pay the city $6 million toward the $40 million cost of improving the road and help the city find grant money for the rest.

“This is something that’s been looked at for a number of years,” Nehring said.

Bill Sheets: 425-339-3439; sheets@heraldnet.com.