SNOHOMISH – Business people in Snohomish are urging Snohomish County to use its political power and money to change federal floodplain rules, a move that would allow the airport at Harvey Field and other businesses to grow.
The county has already spent about $25,000 and 19 months trying to ease development restrictions on properties in the Snohomish River Valley. Additional studies are needed to pursue the change. County officials estimate that the process would cost $272,000 more and take an additional four years.
Owners of Harvey Field in the valley want to build new hangar space, a runway and other facilities to meet growing demand at the 148-acre private airport over the next 20 years.
The airport’s growth plan piqued emotions in town. But the issue affects many other businesses in the valley, said Kandace Harvey, the airport’s owner.
Lorene and Lin Hill started an auto repair shop in the valley in 2003 before a federal agency changed floodplain regulations. They recently learned that the current regulations prohibit them from expanding their business.
“None of us received a notification,” Lorene Hill said.
The couple sees their shop as their retirement and inheritance for their children.
“If you can’t grow your business, you will die,” she said.
The current rules, set in 2005, keep business owners in the area from expanding and upgrading their businesses, said Craig Ladiser, director of the county’s development and planning services.
About 30 businesses including the airport and the Seattle-Snohomish Mill, a lumber mill, exist in the valley, the Hills said. Those businesses are in the county’s jurisdiction, just south of the city limits across the Snohomish River. The area is in the city’s urban growth area. That means that it could be part of the city in the future.
The County Council has yet to decide whether to continue to pursue changing the floodplain regulations.
The Snohomish Chamber of Commerce on July 30 urged the County Council to stay on course and clear regulatory hurdles for local businesses.
That’s opposite of the city’s stance on the issue. The city decided in April to side with opponents of a plan for Harvey Field’s growth. They want the county to quit paying for studies that would help the airport grow.
George Swartz, who owns an electronic manufacturing shop in the valley, said he worries that strict development limits on his business would lower his property value.
“I’m concerned about my retirement,” Swartz said.
The plan for Harvey Field’s growth, handcuffed by floodplain rules, has been controversial.
Supporters, including pilots, believe that the airport, an essential public facility under state law, boosts the local economy and brings in tax revenue.
Opponents, including area residents, say the airport growth would build up land and send off floodwaters to adjacent properties, which they say would worsen flooding damage in the area. They also believe the work would increase traffic and noise problems.
They urge the county not to spend more tax dollars trying to initiate development in a floodplain, said Rick Reed, spokesman for a grassroots group of opponents.
“We favor existing regulations,” he said.
Opponents have mounted pressure on the county not to clear regulatory hurdles so that the airport won’t expand, Swartz said. But that hurts other businesses in the valley, he said.
“We are innocent bystanders,” he said.
The issue has also split city leaders in Snohomish. In April, the City Council passed a resolution to urge the county to stop pushing changes in federal flood regulations in the valley.
The process would consume a lot of taxpayer money, Mayor Randy Hamlin said. He supports the airport and other nearby businesses, but they happen to be in a floodplain, he said.
“Significant development in a floodplain doesn’t make business sense,” he said.
City Councilman R.C. “Swede” Johnson abstained from voting on the resolution. He said the city didn’t notify business and property owners in the area before voting on the issue. The city could revisit the issue depending on the outcome of this fall’s council election, Johnson said.
“It was a slap in the face for property owners. It was an error on the side of the city of Snohomish,” Johnson said.
Reporter Yoshiaki Nohara: 425-339-3029 or ynohara@ heraldnet.com.
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