Overview – Annex South Mukilteo

The current southern end of Mukilteo, at Beverly Park Road & 47th Place W in Lake Serene

Introduction

Located next to Puget Sound in Snohomish County is Mukilteo, a city of more than 20,000. First located at what is now the northern end of the city, it gradually expanded southward, and the last annexation involved the city annexing the Harbour Pointe area in 1991. To the south of the existing city limits are unincorporated areas designated by the city and county to be potential annexation areas.

In 2005, the city began studying annexing these unincorporated areas, which include areas in Picnic Point, Lake Serene, Fairmount, Paine Field, Lake Stickney, and North Meadowdale. The latter three areas were removed from annexation consideration by 2008, due to Paine Field not wanting some of its land annexed, Mukilteo’s study concluding that Lake Stickney would be unfeasible to annex, and conflicts with Lynnwood’s plans to annex North Meadowdale.

On August 6, 2009, Snohomish County Fire District 1 filed a lawsuit against the Boundary Review Board and Mukilteo over concerns about fire service, which effectively postponed the official decision of the BRB. On April 15, 2010, Mukilteo pulled its annexation boundary request from Snohomish County. In November 2010, Mukilteo residents rejected an annexation proposal in an advisory vote.

Over the next several years, additional development has occurred in the unincorporated areas of Mukilteo, with some of the development being poorly designed without regard to their surroundings, and located in suboptimal locations. Additionally, local infrastructure and transportation has not kept up with the pace of development throughout the unincorporated areas. This will continue while these areas remain unincorporated.

Additionally, residents and businesses in unincorporated areas aren’t represented by politicians and government entities as well as those inside cities. They also have to share strained tax revenue and public resources, while not having an adequate amount of public amenities such as parks.

To ensure current and future livability, ensure neighborly and well-placed development, and ensure adequate public services and resources in unincorporated South Mukilteo, it is imperative that these areas are annexed.

Introduction

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