On Sept. 18, the Paine Field administration, Snohomish County Council member Kirke Sievers, four Mukilteo City Council members and 40 Mukilteans met in a hallway for a poorly announced open house. Mukilteans had to stand for two hours to listen to a presentation about the development that is planned for the east side of Mukilteo Speedway.
The plan calls for building the largest Safeway store in North America for Mukilteo across from the north entrance of Harbour Point Boulevard. The development will remove all the trees, which are our noise and sight barrier from Paine Field. The purpose of this development is to support the Snohomish County Airport, taking business and dollars from local businesses in Mukilteo.
The Paine Field administration calls this a good thing for Mukilteo. Yeah, we get more traffic on the Speedway, more noise and light pollution, fewer trees and yet another area that may draw our police force away from our neighborhoods. Snohomish County Council wants to vote on Oct. 4 to award lease options, a mere 16 days after our public open house in a fire station hallway. There are other businesses, like medical services and a centrally located post office, that could provide more of a tax base for the airport. A strip mall is not the answer.
Mukilteans like their green spaces. The airport should build behind a tree buffer and preserve the serenity of Mukilteo.
Mukilteo
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