The magical city in the sky

September 11, 9:42 PMSnohomish County Progressive ExaminerChad Shue

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 The latest battle over sound growth management practices and unchecked development in Snohomish County has just been launched with a full frontal assault against Snohomish County Council Chair, Dave Somers. According to this post from Jerry Cornfield on his “Petri Dish”:

Developer Dave Barnett teamed up with powerful consultant Ron Dotzauer of Strategies 360 to mail a flier to homes and launch the Web site Keep Snohomish County Affordable. Both accuse County Council Chairman Dave Somers of backing urban sprawl by opposing high-density developments known as "fully contained communities."

At issue is Barnett’s proposed 6,000+ home development he would insert into the rural country side around Lake Roesiger and a pending vote by the County Council that might establish a moratorium on accepting applications for these so called fully contained communities (FCC) until further study can be done to determine their viability in the county.

While the “concept” of the FCC is a reasonable one, the practical application is far from proven – and the risks to the environment and the potential burden to existing infrastructure are too great to simply experiment with. For those who are not familiar with fully contained communities, imagine a small town just dropped into the middle of nowhere (most likely pristine forest land close to a water source - like a lake); with schools, retail and recreational opportunities and yes, even jobs (or, at least access to all of these things). Now look around and ask yourself what happens when all the houses don’t sell, the population isn’t adequate to support anything more than a Wal*Mart and a couple of taverns, oh and you actually end up having to add your car to the 60 mile commute to the only decent paying job in the area because, again, the only employer for 30 miles is that Wal*Mart. You see, while the developers want you to believe that they are required to show all of these things in their plans, no one will or can be held accountable for what happens after the environmental devastation begins and the project is under way.

 Obviously I am not a fan of the “fully contained community.” However, my argument with this particular attack piece is the absurd claim that Somers’ opposition to un-regulated rural development equals support for urban sprawl. Quite to the contrary, Dave Somers has long been a champion of responsible growth management in both the rural and urban communities. Unlike the developers and builders in the area who are pretty much looking after their bottom line, Somers understands the importance of maintaining a balance between economic growth and sound resource management. It is Somers’ position that there is “more than enough useable space in the existing urban growth areas within the county to absorb the projected growth in the county over the next 20 years.” He cites the lack of enforceable regulations in the current FCC plan (pushed through in 2005 with a much more pro-growth; pro-development council) as his reason for seeking a moratorium on applications. 

Dave Somers - Under Attack

While the Barnett/Dotzauer hit piece is just the first jab in this round, it has not gone unanswered. Upon hearing about the mailer and website, Somers has launched his own website – creatively called Keep Snohomish County Affordable (after discovering that Dotzauer had failed to secure the dot com extension). Somers intends to use the site to counter the false and misleading information being spread around by the developer and the consultant. According to the website:

An FCC at Lake Roesiger WILL:

·                                 raise your taxes

·                                 cause horrendous increased traffic on our rural roads, Highway 9, and Highway 2.

·                                 compete for scarce funding with our existing towns and cities

·                                 destroy 2000 acres of world class commercial forest land

·                                 destroy our rural communities

·                                 CREATE SPRAWL

So the battle is engaged. It promises to be bruising and, regardless of the outcome of the upcoming county council vote, is sure to extend beyond the end of the year. Somers seeks re-election in 2009.

Peace,

Chad Shue