ARLINGTON — For all the hubbub, this contested triangle of ground just south of the Arlington exit on I-5 looks pretty humdrum.
From the freeway, which abuts the property’s western flank, drivers can see flat grass fields, farmhouses and some wooden cutouts of cows left over from last year’s celebration of Arlington’s centennial.
Walking around and looking at the dirt, you can almost see the metaphorical line that Arlington car dealers, Silvana farmers, Everett and Seattle environmentalists, developers and even Gov. Gary Locke have all drawn here, a place known as Island Crossing.
Arlington’s gateway has become the state’s battleground for flood-plain management.
Some businesses want to build on flood plains because land is cheap and can be in prime, visible locations, such as near I-5. But because the land is prone to floods, opponents say the water will only be displaced elsewhere. That could increase damage to roads and bridges, costing taxpayers money.
In the middle is government, which has a hard time saying no to private property rights.
The resurrection of the controversial and long-sought Island Crossing rezone that would allow development could pave the way for more than just Dwayne Lane’s Arlington car dealership. Another car dealer, John Henken, owns properties to the north and south.
An I-5 location could earn "$3 million a year, minimum," Lane has told the Arlington City Council.
Other dealerships have substantially increased revenues by moving to more visible locations.
"Business is visibility," Lane said.
Many officials favor annexing the land based on a city study that concluded Lane’s business could generate $638,000 in net sales tax revenues by 2008.
The new rezone could allow other businesses, too. The fields and barns could be replaced by a 43,000-square-foot car dealership, a 200-room hotel, a 168,000-square-foot outlet mall and a 164,000-square-foot discount superstore, according to assumptions made in Snohomish County’s environmental impact statement. John Mauro of the Pilchuck Audubon Society said environmentalists and other opponents of the zoning change have drawn the line at Island Crossing because they fear a domino effect. They see the rezone proposal as a direct assault on the state Growth Management Act, one that could reverse decades of evolving rules designed to steer most development out of flood plains.
"If a bad land-use decision is made there, the effects could ripple across the state," Mauro said.
John Burkholder, a planning consultant for Lane, disagrees. He said Lane’s proposal should be seen as an exception.
"Normally, in the 100-year flood plain, I don’t think that it’s advisable to do that — except at Island Crossing, because that’s a done deal," Burkholder said.
He was referring to the urban services that have been in place for decades at the I-5 interchange at Island Crossing. Those services — a few gas stations, restaurants and a motel — are on Highway 530 less than a mile from where Lane and Henken want to build. "I could understand if this were a domino, but we all have an obligation not to let that happen. It’s already happened at Island Crossing," Burkholder said.
For most floods, Burkholder said I-5 would act like a dam and therefore minimize flood damage to people downstream along the Stillaguamish River in Silvana and Stanwood. Water only funnels through three places: culverts at Portage Creek and South Slough, and under the I-5 bridge.
Even the 1990 flood, then the biggest on record, sent water on only parts of Lane’s property for less than an hour, he said. But Burkholder admitted a bigger flood could send water over the freeway.
Stopping momentarily while giving a tour of Lane’s Island Crossing property, Burkholder held his palm flat at about the height of his neck.
"In some cases, the 100-year flood plain is 5 feet higher than we’re standing right now," he said.
Flood managers use a 100-year flood level as a model. That means experts think such conditions have a 1 percent chance of happening in any given year.
Many farmers downstream around Silvana question the wisdom of making an exception at Island Crossing. Mike Ashley, a former dairy farmer who lives in Silvana, said developing Island Crossing would make flooding for him and his neighbors worse.
"Eventually, we’re going to have a catastrophe worse than what happened in 1990," Ashley said. "The costs will be huge."
Flood engineers keep track of new development in the flood plain because raising a building requires trucking in fill dirt to bring the buildings above the 100-year flood level. Doing that displaces floodwater onto other properties.
The triangle of land at Island Crossing that Arlington is trying to annex is 105 acres. If it all is developed, that means as much as 1 million cubic feet of fill dirt would have to be trucked in, said Bill Blake, Arlington’s environmental coordinator.
That would push a lot of floodwater elsewhere.
Max Albert, a volunteer with various agricultural groups, has consistently criticized the Lane proposal. He said farming is more compatible with floods.
"The flood plain serves as the hydrologic shock absorber," Albert said. "If you go putting cities out there, you’re just asking for trouble.
Dave Nelson had the podium, and he worked the standing-room-only crowd like a preacher.
Nelson, a commercial real estate agent in Smokey Point, was one of many people who testified at the Dec. 15 Arlington City Council meeting on whether the city should allow the Island Crossing annexation to proceed.
"We have several big-box companies looking for a place to go," Nelson said. "We could use some more land for commercial real estate. This land isn’t farmable. The people who think it is should step up to the pump and pay for it."
At one point, Nelson slammed 1,000 Friends of Washington, an environmental group he said were "no friends of mine." He questioned the Seattle-based group’s motives in opposing the annexation, characterizing them as well-heeled out-of-towners. "They have lots of money," Nelson said.
Kristin Kelly, a Snohomish County representative of 1,000 Friends, laughed out loud in disbelief.
Robert Grimm, a lifelong farmer, took the podium with similar assurance. A vocal opponent of the annexation, Grimm said a friend who rents Lane’s land was able to bale three cuttings of grass in one year there.
He said adjacent fields have wheat, peas, hay and potatoes, "so it’s still farmable." Grimm also showed photographs of some of the Island Crossing land under water during the 1990 flood.
During his turn, Lane grabbed the microphone and pulled it off the lectern, one-handing it so he could talk directly to the crowd. Lane said the farming income from his Island Crossing land ended up being about $800. "How are you going to live on that?" he asked.
Lane bought the property in the mid-1990s from Roberta Winters, whose family farmed there for 40 years. As a commercial property, the land could be worth millions. As a farm, it’s barely viable.
"This whole thing is not about farming," Lane said. Opponents of his proposal "like the green. Well, where does property rights come in? Now, the property rights should have something to say about this."
Mauro spoke in more legalistic terms.
The annexation would violate state flood-plain laws designed to protect health and safety and preserve farming, Mauro said. He also challenged Nelson’s assertion that the city needs more commercial land. He said the county’s latest buildable lands report indicates Arlington still has room for new businesses.
"This area has considerable flooding risk," Mauro said. "That’s the highest concern."
Reporter Scott Morris: 425-339-3292 or smorris@heraldnet.com.
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