EVERETT – Snohomish County should pursue passenger air service at Paine Field, approve routine building permits quicker and raise the property tax that improves roads.
Those are some of the proposals outlined in an advisory committee report to Snohomish County Executive Aaron Reardon. The 35-page document was released Thursday.
“This is a game plan, a blueprint for Snohomish County’s future,” said Reardon, who appointed the Snohomish County Citizens Cabinet on Economic Development in January. “Snohomish County is growing up, and we have an opportunity right now to choose the direction” we grow in, he said.
The plan was unanimously endorsed by the 19-member committee, whose members represented business, schools, government, the Tulalip Tribes and environment interests.
The panel was given “a significant degree of freedom” and didn’t shy away from controversy, Reardon said. For instance, it endorsed the concept of adding passenger air service at Paine Field, saying it would help attract and retain high-tech businesses.
People who live near the airport have long argued that opening the airport to passenger service would hurt their quality of life due to noise from passing aircraft and more traffic.
“Mukilteo is not going to like to see that Paine Field is being recognized as a great economic generator,” Reardon said.
“It’s an asset that the county owns, and it is not being utilized to its potential,” said Greg Tisdale, a committee member and owner of Tiz’s Door Sales in Everett.
Reardon said the plan also identifies the strengths and weaknesses of doing business in Snohomish County.
Some changes could occur quickly. For example, an executive order could expedite routine building permits. Others are long-term possibilities, such as making higher education more accessible to the work force. The committee recommends developing a strategy to locate a four-year university in Snohomish County.
The panel wants a study to determine the need for a four-year institution. The effort would include an oversight committee of county residents, state lawmakers and educators to determine the kind of campus the county should seek.
Some proposals dealt with land-use issues, such as providing a risk assessment on proposals to change policies and regulations.
The committee also recommended finding ways to prevent the county from violating the state’s Growth Management Act.
The recommendations also aimed at improving roads, particularly in congested areas.
“We talked at good length to go to the choke points first,” Tisdale said.
Michael Martino, co-chairman of Sonus Phamaeuticals, a biotechnology firm and member of the committee, said the report recognizes that private businesses are key to expanding the tax base.
The report offers ways to make the county a more competitive place to do business while improving the quality of life, he said.
Ray Gould, an Edmonds resident and a member of the environmental group 1,000 Friends of Washington, said the report sets tangible goals and requires following up to make sure they are met.
“It’s not something that is going to be set on the shelf,” he said. “These things are really going to happen.”
Reporter Eric Stevick: 425-339-3446 or stevick@heraldnet.com.
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