Everett School District officials have announced what parcels of land they are looking at for possible purchase in the southern end of the district. The land would be used for future schools.
Following months of study and evaluation, the district has identified 24 individual land parcels totaling about 68 acres for potential acquisition. The land is east of Sunset Road between 164th Street Southeast and 180th Street Southeast, just outside Snohomish County’s Urban Growth Area boundary.
One group of parcels is bounded by 164th Street Southeast on the north, 169th Street Southeast on the south, a Seattle City Light transmission line on the west and the Olympic Pipeline on the east.
The Olympic Pipeline is Western Washington’s major refined fuel transportation arterial, shipping about 5 billion gallons of fuel a year, according to 1998 figures.
Another group of parcels is about 20 acres, bounded on the north by 174th Street Southeast, by the Seattle City Light transmission line on the west and the Olympic Pipeline on the east.
If the district buys the land, it could build new schools on the parcels any time in the next 20 years.
“These sites rose to the top of our list because they are near where future growth is expected,” said District Facilities and Planning Director Mike Gunn. “As we studied sites in this area, we considered whether they had wetlands or steep slopes which would increase construction costs or prohibit construction.”
The district also looked at the public roadway system and potential access to future public sewers, water, natural gas and electricity.
The district’s offers to purchase the properties have been structured around legal requirements set by the state, which include market-value property valuations prepared by state-certified appraisers, officials say.
Officials have offered to pay up to $750 to each property owner to help pay for the cost of a property appraisal or a professional evaluation of the district’s offer.
The state Office of Financial Management predicts population increases of 15 to 20 percent over the next 20 years. That means that the district will need to build three new elementary schools and more classroom space for middle and high school students, officials say.
In February 2006, Everett School District voters approved a capital bond that included funding for land purchases for future schools.
For more details and a map, see http://www.everett.k12.wa.us/facpla/landaquisition/Home.
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