Snohomish County has just turned our community into a strip mall. I attended the planning commission’s last public hearing on the issue of approving a new Clearview Rural Commercial District. The truth must be known, as one commissioner said. Let’s call it what it is: urban. It was approved despite the county’s awareness of the horror this community confronts on Deadly Nine – that is, Highway 9.
The county was made aware of so many issues, including no sewer being available. Then there’s inadequate water availability in case a major fire erupts, not to mention the fact that no public facilities have been planned.
I have also been involved in the issue about the overcrowding of our schools. I submitted a letter from Superintendent Neal Powell of the Snohomish School District, explaining the need for the district to acquire land in Clearview for a new high school and elementary. That’s because the county failed to follow their master plan from 1989 for four schools within the urban Snohomish Cascades development. The county instead has implemented more planned residential developments to be built. Two new developments were just given the rubber stamp. As I told the county council, the Snohomish School District will pick up the children who move to Clearview and put them on a bus, but it appears that the bus will have to go around and around because there is no room left for any new students.
I wish to praise Dr. Powell for taking a stance with the county, but the county council would not accept his letter. The council would not let board member Kathryn Deierling testify. The council buried the district’s concerns, right along with the need to address the problems that Clearview now faces.
I say let’s incorporate Clearview, we must take control of our destiny.
Clearview
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