Like two poker players competing for a big pot, Lake Stevens and Marysville are engaged in a high-stakes quest for 411 acres of unincorporated land between their cities.
Marysville bid first earlier this year by asking Snohomish County officials to add Whiskey Ridge to the city’s urban growth area.
Lake Stevens officials admit they came to the table late. They upped the ante by soliciting support from other jurisdictions, such as the Lake Stevens sewer, fire, drainage and school districts.
In October, the County Council voted to allow urban development on Whiskey Ridge, which means it could be zoned commercial as well as residential, adding tax revenues to the city that it joins.
A final vote could come this month, but for now the two cities are coming to the table for talks that could result in a deal.
| Some Snohomish County cities have grown quickly since 1990. Growth in Lake Stevens is expected to increase even more in the next year:
Population19902004 (est.) Lake Stevens3,4357,135 Marysville10,32828,800 Lynnwood28,63734,540 Edmonds30,74339,620 Everett69,97495,840 Snohomish County465,628644,800 Unincorporated area259,796309,418 Source: State Office of Financial Management |
With homes being built all around both cities, the potential commercial land between 83rd Avenue NE and Highway 9 from 64th Street NE to Soper Hill Road is extremely valuable.
While cities have to provide police services, utilities and street maintenance as soon as annexations are completed, they won’t receive property tax revenue for 12 to 18 months on residential land.
Annexations of commercial land, however, provide sales tax and other revenues much faster, which help cities fund services.
In addition, both cities are annexing areas built under the county’s development codes, which aren’t the same as city codes, particularly with regard to streets and sidewalks. That leaves cities to pay for upgrades.
Both cities want to shape the development of Whiskey Ridge according to their standards.
Marysville sees Highway 9 as the logical boundary to divide the two communities. The city also has invested millions of dollars in infrastructure all the way to 83rd Avenue NE, so it’s in the best position to serve Whiskey Ridge, said Mary Swenson, Marysville’s chief administrative officer.
“We have been talking with Lake Stevens,” she said. “I think each city understands better where they’re coming from. We hope to keep talking and work out something to benefit both cities.”
Lake Stevens Mayor Lynn Walty said: “Marysville wants and has planned for it all. They have been proactive, while we have been kind of dormant. Asleep at the wheel is about the best way you could describe it.”
Lake Stevens didn’t notice when Marysville included Whiskey Ridge in its future plans while updating its comprehensive plan, so raised no objection to its request to add it to its urban area, Walty said.
But Lake Stevens views that area as critical to its future, and Walty thinks there’s room for a compromise by splitting the area between the two cities.
Walty said Lake Stevens doesn’t want to extend its boundary up to 64th Street NE – only to the Lake Stevens school bus barn at 42nd Street NE.
Lake Stevens has two main reasons for wanting Whiskey Ridge, Walty said. One is environmental concerns over sensitive areas, some of which drain into the Lake Stevens watershed. The second is the commercial tax revenue.
A Wal-Mart proposed on the west side of Highway 9 at 64th Street NE in Marysville and other potential business development in the area could take away sales at Frontier Village and Lake Stevens businesses.
To balance that, if Whiskey Ridge is added to Lake Stevens, residents could help shape development so that it complements local businesses, Walty said.
“It basically gets down to who should determine what that actually should look like: Should it be the people down in Marysville, or the people who actually live there who consider themselves part of Lake Stevens?” said Jan Larsen, Greater Lake Stevens Chamber of Commerce president.
“The people that who there go to Lake Stevens schools. They’re served by the Lake Stevens fire and sewer districts,” Larsen said.
“Marysville is … expanding in every direction very aggressively. We’re saying, ‘Hey, that should be ours by rights because those are Lake Stevens people there.’ To have Marysville snatch some of the commercial tax base away isn’t a good thing,” he said.
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