MARYSVILLE – This time next year, about 1,200 Snohomish County residents could have new addresses without having to move.
And most of them are extremely pleased.
“This community has been wanting a city for many years,” resident Becky Foster said. “I’m just really looking forward to Lakewood being part of Marysville.”
The Marysville City Council approved a petition to annex the Lakewood area into the city, except for the Lakewood School District, which would require a separate petition. The area is about 500 acres, including 521 parcels of land, and adjoins a part of Lakewood west of I-5 already added to the city.
About 60 people spoke to the council Nov. 8 in support of the annexation.
“It’s really refreshing to see a group that’s for annexation,” City Councilman Jeff Seibert said. “We usually get booed and hissed at.”
The area’s path to annexation has meandered through various petitions, elections and decisions since the mid-1990s, when Snohomish County, Arlington and Marysville divided up the cities’ urban growth areas. The Smokey Point area was annexed to Arlington, and the Lakewood area was reserved for Marysville.
With one portion of Lakewood already annexed, a ballot measure to annex the second portion failed in November 2003. But after the state Supreme Court restored the earlier petition method, property owners initiated a new petition, with more than 60 percent seeking the change.
Some residents had concerns about how the change would affect them. If annexed, they would pay substantially lower water and sewer rates, but also pay a 5 percent utility tax for electricity and telephone service that county residents don’t pay.
Marysville already provides water and sewer services in Lakewood, and those properties are bound by covenants to annex to the city, Marysville planning and community development director Gloria Hirashima said.
If the Lakewood School District pursues annexation, it will remain intact and will not become part of the Marysville School District, she said.
Developers say the area is primed for commercial and residential development once the annexation is complete and city zoning is adopted. Until the zoning is in place, all projects are on hold.
The City Council sent the petition to the state’s Boundary Review Board, which will review it for 45 days and could decide to hold another public hearing. If the board approves the plan without another hearing, it would likely refer it to the council for adoption, which could happen in the spring, Hirashima said.
The city is updating its comprehensive plan, and staff likely will recommend that the council approve the annexation with interim zoning until the comprehensive plan is completed.
The area includes 301 single-family homes, a 168-unit mobile home park and a recreational vehicle park with 97 hookups. It also includes Twin Lakes Park, which will remain a regional county park, Hirashima said.
The annexation is the primary reason why the city agreed to pay up to $400,000 for improvements to the I-5 overpass on 172nd Street NE.
In the future, the city likely will add two officers to its police force to maintain the current level of service there.
“It’ll obviously have some challenges for us to meet,” Police Chief Bob Carden said.
Plans are to provide an officer in the Lakewood-Smokey Point area more often, he said.
In 2003, the area accounted for about 1,200 calls for service, a number that wouldn’t require an officer there constantly, Carden said. However, police would like to have a satellite office where officers could meet with residents and write reports without having to drive all the way to Marysville.
Police will work with residents in public meetings to make sure they know about city codes. Anyone who has questions is urged to call the department at 360-651-5050.
Reporter Cathy Logg: 425-339-3437 or logg@heraldnet.com.
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