SULTAN — The state Court of Appeals on Dec. 17 upheld a recent annexation into the city of Sultan.
A neighborhood group had asked the court to reconsider an earlier decision from the Snohomish County Boundary Review Board.
The board’s decision to allow the annexation was within the law, the court found in a 19-page ruling. The 80 acres, most of it owned by four parties, falls within the Urban Growth Area set by the state.
The city held four public hearings on the annexation before approving it in 2016. The board review followed later that year. A county judge also weighed in and affirmed the board’s decision in May 2017. It then went to the appeals court.
Those in opposition said they wanted the city to do more planning for how it would provide services to that area, including police and firefighting. They also said they were worried about protecting rural lifestyles.
The annexation area is adjacent to Rosewood, an existing city neighborhood to the north of downtown.
Development timelines will depend in part on resolving planning questions, such as those around traffic and sewer.
New housing will be needed as population increases, the ruling found. Snohomish County’s population recently tipped past 800,000. Sultan’s is around 5,130.
In its recent decision, the court added: “This is an area designated for growth.”
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