EVERETT – The Snohomish County Council this afternoon decided to stop spending taxpayers’ money on environmental studies that could’ve eased floodplain development rules for Harvey Field and other businesses in the Snohomish River Valley.
The council’s vote was 4-1. All but County Councilman John Koster voted against spending money of the studies.
The council’s decision means that businesses including the private airport in a floodplain will continue to be bound by strict development regulations set by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
During a public hearing today, some Snohomish residents urged the council not to spend about $210,000 for the floodplain studies, saying that further development in the valley would worsen flood damage in the future.
Business owners in the area told the council that they can’t survive under the existing federal regulations, which came in effect in 2005 when federal officials revised floodplain maps in the area. Businesses have been located for decades in the industrial area, they said.
County officials said that they plan to explore a way to help those businesses without changing the federal floodplain maps.
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