MILL CREEK – Yes to being part of the city, no to Wal-Mart.
Those were the prevailing sentiments among residents who spoke before the City Council at a hearing on a proposal to annex areas to the north and east of the city and to allow a Wal-Mart store.
Wal-Mart has applied with Snohomish County to build a store on 132nd Street SE east of 35th Avenue SE in the area to be annexed, Mill Creek officials said.
Most of the residents who expressed a preference said they wanted their areas to be annexed.
“We think it’s kind of a neat idea,” resident James Oakley said.
The council delayed action on the annexation until Tuesday so all seven council members could be present.
The Tuesday meeting was attended by an overflow crowd of more than 60 people. Some said they were against Wal-Mart building a store in an area that would become part of the city.
“I am adamantly opposed to Wal-Mart,” Mill Creek resident Kathy Carroll said.
County planning officials and a Wal-Mart spokesman could not be reached for comment.
Mill Creek Mayor Terry Ryan said neither the city nor the county can stop Wal-Mart, and that whatever happens will be done regardless of whether the area is annexed.
“If there’s a piece of land that’s zoned a certain way, you can’t tell someone they can’t build on it,” Ryan said.
Residents could benefit if the Wal-Mart store is governed by the city rather than the county, the mayor said. The store would be subject to city design standards, and the city has reached agreements with other stores in the past to reduce noise and lighting, Ryan said.
He said later that Wal-Mart would bring $290,000 to $400,000 a year in tax revenue to the city.
Council member Mary Kay Voss told the crowd that when stores change their minds about coming into an area, it’s because people tell them, “‘We don’t want you here, and we’re not going to shop at your store.’
“I wish you good luck in that effort,” she said.
The proposed annexation area runs along the south side of 132nd Street SE, straddling 35th Avenue SE, and includes the Thomas Lake shopping center.
Many residents in the small, northeastern tip of the area, between 132nd, 47th Avenue SE and Seattle Hill Road, signed a petition saying they didn’t want to become part of the city.
“Nobody wants to be annexed into the city. There’s nothing for us,” said James Boyce, a resident of that area.
Another resident of the area, however, told the council he would like the area to be included.
“I’m thinking you need to annex our little neighborhood for our own good,” Bill Coleman said.
The City Council can include the area in the annexation or leave it out. If it votes to continue with the annexation process, the measure would go to the county, and opponents would have 45 days to file an objection.
If the county approves the annexation, it can add to the area to be annexed, reduce it or leave it as is. The proposal would then go back to the City Council for final approval.
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