EVERETT — A proposed interlocal agreement between Snohomish County and the city of Snohomish to annex 241 acres is now in the hands of the Snohomish County Council.
It was back on Aug 19 that the Snohomish City Council finalized its part of an interlocal agreement with the county to annex the North Lake Urban Growth Area into the city. North Lake resides north of 22nd Street in Snohomish, east of Highway 9, and is home to more than 200 people.
Next is a County Council public hearing, which has yet to be scheduled. Also, the agreement will go to the state boundary review board which will have 45 days to respond.
Once approved, North Lake will be part of the city and the residents will be Snohomish citizens.
On Aug. 19, North Lake residents offered public comment about the interlocal agreement Snohomish completed with the county on July 11. Afterward, the council voted unanimously for Mayor Linda Redmon to sign the agreement.
North Lake resident Nina Celestine opposed the interlocal agreement process to annex the territory because it is “being advanced without the support of the very residents that it affects,” she said. “Moving forward with an interlocal agreement rather than a public vote silences the residents and the people who you intend to serve.”
For cities to annex territory in Snohomish County, the usual methods include a petition or vote. In 2021, the state allowed cities to collaborate with the county to form an interlocal agreement to annex unincorporated territory within the city’s urban growth area.
An urban growth area is territory set aside by the state as part of the Growth Management Act of 1990. The act manages city population growth and requires cities to expand into their urban growth areas to hit certain growth benchmarks.
Celestine also said that North Lake does not need city sewer and water services.
“I urge you to respect our autonomy and remove North Ridge from this plan,” she said.
North Ridge resides within North Lake, and the neighborhood has its own independent water district, for which Celestine is the vice president, she said.
Also, Celestine believes the city’s ability to maintain roads and sidewalks is poor, she said.
Public Works Director Nova Heaton explained that the city is “not interested” in taking over existing water systems in North Lake. “They don’t meet our current standards,” she said. Only new developments would need to connect to city water systems.
Also, the city has no intention to put sewer systems in North Lake, according to City Administrator Heather Thomas-Murphy. Again, only new construction is required to build sewer lines connected to the city.
The city will only require residents connect to sewer if a septic system fails and the home is within 200 feet of an existing sewer line, Heaton said. If a property changes ownership, an existing septic system does not need to be replaced.
Homeowners in Washington State are required to maintain their own sidewalks and landscaping, Heaton said. However, the city understands that its maintenance work would increase.
“There is an assumption that we would need to add a position that would come as part of a budget process,” Heaton said.
Tax revenue is expected to increase by approximately $90,000 a year, Thomas-Murphy told The Herald in July. However, Snohomish won’t see that money until 2027. Until then, the county will continue to maintain roads.
Not all public speakers were against annexation.
“The cost of housing in Snohomish is just nuts,” North Lake resident Roy Nye said. “This will not help very much in the public housing crisis, but every little bit will help, and so we need to create some more areas where we can have some higher density and potentially help people to have housing.”
For Council President Tom Merrill, his vote came down to the responsibilities of the city and the expectations from the state and county, he said.
“I understand the concerns of the people living in these areas that what you bought into earlier is going to change,” he said. “The boundaries of that UGA is already predefined by state law, so that part is basically not under much jurisdiction of the city anyway. And we do need to fill into this area. It’s just a part of what we need to do as a city.”
Taylor Scott Richmond: 425-339-3046; taylor.richmond@heraldnet.com; X: @BTayOkay
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