Suggestions that Everett has become an inhospitable place to do business are so far off base that they’re in a different ballpark.
After Sierra Pacific Industries scrapped plans last week to build a sawmill and power plant along the Snohomish River in Everett, the company’s president indicated he had a problem with some of the permit conditions set by the city. Port of Everett Commissioner Jim Shaffer, clearly disappointed by the loss of 200 new jobs and a buyer willing to pay $24 million for 78 acres of port property, laid it on even thicker by telling a reporter, “I don’t know how you bring business into this town with all this crap.”
Please. Let’s keep some perspective.
City government has an important role to play in facilitating job growth by walking potential employers through the permitting process to help them understand it. Having senior officials who are specifically responsible for economic development, as Everett does, gives businesses an easy point of contact, someone who can quickly get answers to specific questions.
City government also should help businesses by streamlining the permit process as much as possible without overlooking code requirements and environmental laws. The City of Everett is more than competitive on that score: The Building Industry Association of Washington put Everett on its short list of “Good Guys” for its performance on permit timelines. (Marysville also made that list.)
When Sierra Pacific built its mill in Aberdeen, it took about a year to get permits after it found a site. Everett was on track to complete the process faster than that. The city also had addressed specific issues the company had raised regarding a buffer between the mill and a housing development, and about a public-access trail.
The reality is that locating a noisy, 24-hour-a-day industrial plant in a growing city has its challenges. Sometimes, upon closer inspection, it doesn’t pencil out for the business owner. That appears to be what happened in this case, and it’s unfair and inaccurate to blame the city.
Indeed, just days after the Sierra Pacific announcement, StockPot Inc. announced it will move its soup production plant – and 400 jobs – from Maltby to Southwest Everett next year. Company President Kathleen Horner praised city officials for making the decision an easy one. The city has a file of complimentary letters from business owners – even from the Port of Everett – praising its fair and even-handed permit process.
Anyone considering setting up business in Everett can be certain of this much: City government is here to help you.
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