Sustainable Lands Strategy Opposes Proposed Annexation of Harvey Airfield by the City of Snohomish
During a public hearing on September 29, 2021, the Snohomish County Council considered two “competing” ordinances containing updates to the Countywide Planning Policies (CPPs). One set of CPPs (Ordinance No. 21-057) was recommended by Snohomish County Tomorrow (SCT) and the other set of CPPs (Ordinance No. 21-059) was recommended by the Executive. The only difference was that the Executive-recommended ordinance removed the following “local control” CPP proposed by the City of Snohomish and recommended by SCT:
CPP JP-3: Consistent with the GMA and Vision 2050, and recognizing that local governments retain ultimate authority for land use and development decisions within their respective jurisdictions and the police powers vested in them by law, the County shall facilitate the annexation of unincorporated Urban Growth Areas (UGAs) and Municipal Urban Growth Areas (MUGAs) by:
Working collaboratively with cities and towns to identify strategies, incentives, and approaches that enable annexation to the extent feasible as envisioned by Vision 2050; and
Adopting Comprehensive Plan policies and supporting other mechanisms that promote the predictable transfer of urban services and that acknowledge the city’s/town’s land use authority over newly annexed areas.
The outcome was that the County Council unanimously denied Ordinance No. 21-057 and unanimously adopted Ordinance No. 21-059, which did not include CPP JP-3.
See the public hearing agenda and meeting minutes for links to relevant documents, including the Hearing Packets. Click HERE to view letters opposing CPP J-3 from the Ag Board, the Marshland Flood Control District, and SLS, all of which were submitted individually to the County Council for consideration as well as collectively by local farmer Barbara Bailey.
Letter written by SLS opposing the annexation of Harvey Field in Snohomish