LYNNWOOD – The wheels are turning toward large annexations that could add thousands of people to Lynnwood’s population during the next three years.
The City Council on Monday adopted a resolution authorizing city planners to start on the necessary preparations for annexations to occur.
The long process includes studying which areas to annex and setting up meetings with residents and representatives from the county, neighboring cities and other jurisdictions, such as school and fire districts.
“This sets out the fact that the city of Lynnwood does want to go down this road of looking at annexations sooner rather than later,” Councilman Mark Smith said.
In the end, residents will decide on whether their neighborhoods will be annexed.
Lynnwood’s population is about 35,000, according to recent state figures. The council is considering annexations to gain control over development in the city’s municipal urban growth area, Smith said.
Lynnwood is one of several cities in Snohomish County that has declared opposition toward so-called “air condos,” a controversial type of housing development that’s sprung up in unincorporated areas. The developments don’t meet Lynnwood’s building codes.
“We want to control our own destiny in the city,” Smith said. “City zoning codes and building regulations sometimes differ with the county.”
The city may qualify for a sales tax rebate if more than 10,000 people are annexed into the city by 2010, Lynnwood Community Development Director Paul Krauss said.
Much of the development inside the city’s municipal urban growth area is housing, which doesn’t generate sales tax revenue.
The incentive of a sales tax rebate makes it more feasible for cities to expand their borders and services, Councilwoman Lisa Utter said.
The state’s Growth Management Act encourages annexations, because it puts cities in charge of services to urban areas, she said.
“Counties aren’t really designed to deal with urban areas,” Utter said.
Past efforts to annex some of the areas in the city’s urban growth boundary have been unsuccessful.
It could take months, or years, before residents are willing to consider it, Krauss said.
“You basically have all the impacts but none of the benefits of having these people in our communities,” he said.
Reporter Scott Pesznecker: 425-339-3436 or spesznecker@heraldnet.com.
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