Positive talking points for LS site
may help citizens

The State announced last week that Lake Stevens will host a town hall meeting October 29 at 6:30 p.m. at Cavelero Mid High in order to discuss the Lake Stevens/Snohomish UW site proposal. We'll be talking about this a lot more as the date approaches, but I thought I'd take this opportunity to publish some positive talking points I've been working on in regard to our proposal. Take a look, and feel free to email me with additions/questions, and also be sure to visit www.lakestevensjournal.com to sign a petition of support for the Lake Stevens site.

Key Message Points for UW North Lake Stevens/Snohomish site:
Multi-modal access: The site is accessible from US-2, SR-9, 20th Street SE and is less than two miles from I-5. I-5 is directly accessible from the site via the Hewitt Avenue trestle.

University planners need to be aware that SR-9 will be a major multi-lane transportation corridor a la 405 within this generation.

Lake Stevens features a Community Transit Park and Ride lot within one mile of the campus, and further Community Transit access is possible.

Both 20th Street SE and the Hewitt Avenue trestle will be widened by the time the university reaches ultimate capacity (2025)

In a nutshell, the site has excellent current access, and the access is scheduled to be improved significantly before the university reaches capacity. In comparison with the Everett site – where streets and access is currently built out, this is an advantage.

The ultimate mix of rural and urban benefits: The LS/Snohomish sites features the best of both worlds – over 105 acres of clean, flat, developable land with stunning panoramas of the Snohomish River Valley and the City of Everett, coupled with the convenience of an Everett physical address located two miles from downtown Everett.

All of the business and educational advantages offered by the Everett sites are accessible from our site, but without the space constraints.
Our site offers the opportunity for the development of a park-like campus featuring natural vegetation, open spaces and room for the university to expand over time.

Student life/recreation: The site offers the joint benefits of access and support from Snohomish and Lake Stevens.

Historic riverfront Snohomish offers recreation/shopping and dining while Lake Stevens offers the resources of the County’s largest lake. Both cities are connected by the Centennial Trail.

Strategic Development of University:
The campus site is located in close proximity to future commercial development currently in the planning stage.

Our proposal outlines several large chunks of developable land designated for commercial and university support services, allowing for the university to work in concert with local developers supporting our proposal to design a commercial facility out of the vein of University Village.

Such development could house the technical firms that will be encouraged to open satellite offices in proximity to what will be the State’s premier math and science institution.

Place Bound Students: Growth in the UGA’s of Lake Stevens, Snohomish and Monroe is estimated to push the population totals of these east county cities past the current population of Everett within ten years.

Currently, this market is completely neglected by higher education, offering the UW access to a virtually unlimited supply of place-bound students with limited higher education options.

Everett, in comparison, already offers university programs from Western Washington University, Central Washington University and Everett Community College, along with several smaller higher education institutions.

Unified Support of East County:
The site is supported by the Cities of Monroe, Lake Stevens and Snohomish along with the Lake Stevens Chamber of Commerce, the Snohomish Chamber of Commerce and the Monroe Chamber of Commerce.

Ideal Interim Site Ready for 2008:
With the knowledge that the university will need interim facilities to house students in 2008, the Lake Stevens School District passed a resolution of support indicating a willingness to utilize the adjacent Cavelero Mid High for the housing of evening UW classes.

The $65 million campus opened last month and offers the world-class learning environment that students of the University of Washington North will expect.

Accordance with GMA: The 105 acre primary site sits completely within an existing UGA and is serviced by the Lake Stevens Sewer District, which has issued a letter of support for the site proposal. The site can be easily zoned for university buildings and student dormitories.

Expansion opportunities: In addition to the 105-acre primary site, the coalition contacted property owners of over 180 additional acres of property within a 3-mile radius that are interested in selling land to the university. This includes a 46 acre plot at the corner of 20th St SE and SR-9, located approximately two blocks east of the primary site.

Community Support for Education:
The Lake Stevens and Snohomish school districts support education with more dedication than any communities in the state. The Lake Stevens School District has successfully passed every levy and bond measure it has ran over the last 20 years. The $65 million Cavelero Mid High bond passed with a state-high 72.4% yes vote in 2004.

Kevin Hulten maintains the Off the Record blo at lakestevensjournal.com Email Kevin at kevin.hulten@gmail.com.

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