Frontier Village annexation wins county’s backing

LAKE STEVENS – The city has cleared a major hurdle in its effort to annex Frontier Village, the 708-acre area on the west side of the lake.

The Snohomish County Council approved the annexation last week without further review.

Now, the City Council must vote once more to give final approval to the annexation, Lake Stevens annexation coordinator Carl Nelson said.

That vote is planned for late November. The annexation is likely to be effective in mid-December, Nelson said.

Lake Stevens has been trying to extend its city limits through annexations since 2005.

The city successfully brought in the north lake area in January, adding 855 acres and about 2,600 residents.

Frontier Village will add about 3,700 people, including major businesses along Highway 9.

Now, the city will focus on the 292-acre Soper Hill annexation and the 438-acre Eastlake annexation, Nelson said.

Volunteers are walking those neighborhoods collecting signatures, he said.

From there, the city hopes to continue the annexation efforts and unify the lake.

City officials are meeting with residents in the southwest area of the lake. They want to begin determining what the people there would want in order to become part of Lake Stevens, Nelson said.

For now, though, city officials are excited that the Frontier Village annexation effort is moving forward.

Teamwork among local residents, city staff, county officials and area businesses has helped the city reach its goal, Nelson said.

“It’s the result of a lot of hard work,” he said.

Reporter Jackson Holtz: 425-339-3437 or jholtz@heraldnet.com.