SNOHOMISH — Can the city keep growing and maintain its small town feel?

Yes, the City Council decided Tuesday night.

The council passed new design standards and guidelines on a 4-3 vote. The council members who voted against were Larry Countryman, Doug Thorndike and Cameron Bailey.

The document sets requirements and recommendations for future residential and retail development outside the city’s historic district. The historic district has its own design standards.

"I’m very happy. We are extending our design standards beyond the historic district," Councilwoman Melody Clemans said.

The ordinance’s overall goal is to maintain the city’s landscape, heritage and character as it grows beyond its current population of about 8,500.

The standards wouldn’t affect existing residents and businesses.

In the future, the city needs to increase sales tax revenues, its biggest revenue source, by attracting businesses, city officials said. The city doesn’t expect a big boost in property tax revenue, its second largest revenue source, because state law allows cities to increase the property tax by up to 1 percent a year.

This year, the city is expecting to get about $2.26 million from sales taxes, an increase of $363,000 from 2003, and about $1.73 million from property taxes, an increase of about $76,700. The city’s general-fund budget is about $6.95 million.

The new design standards could cost businesses more money to come to town, but would protect Snohomish from indiscriminate development, Clemans said before the meeting.

That would keep the town distinguishable from other communities and attractive to businesses, Clemans said.

"I just don’t think we’re building a hostile environment. I think we’re building a healthy environment to attract businesses," Clemans said.

The downtown historic district has already preserved the city’s character, Countryman said.

That’s enough, said Countryman, who ran last year for the council opposing the new design standards.

"All I see it does is it just hinders any development," he said.

The city has some development that doesn’t comply with the new ordinance, such as the 34-foot-tall digital electronic sign at Kla Ha Ya Village, Countryman said. The new standards prohibit any kind of digital electronic signs.

"I just don’t believe they are necessary," he said.

Countryman, who served two terms on the council about 20 years ago, said he helped the city write the design standards for the historic district. The original document wasn’t mandatory, but it became so about a decade ago, he said.

"It makes it very difficult to make any changes," he said. A citizen board must approve any changes in downtown landscaping, and the whole process could take months, he said.

The city hasn’t implemented the old design standards well, Countryman added. The downtown area has signs with lights inside even though the ordinance prohibits those signs.

The new standards apply to a broader area, Countryman said, and he will keep an eye on how the city implements them.

Reporter Yoshiaki Nohara: 425-339-3029 or ynohara@heraldnet.com.