Resolution could create more revenue
Published 4:10 pm Monday, October 19, 2009
Sumner City Council members passed a resolution Oct. 5 which proponents view as an important step toward more revenue and opponents see as a dramatic change to Sumner’s small-town identity.
The region in question is 2,500 acres of the Sumner-Pacific Industrial Area, which when designated a manufacturing/industrial center could qualify for federal infrastructure and transportation funding. Mayor Dave Enslow said it shifts the tax burden away from Sumner residents and spreads it around the county. Designating the land MIC would add family-wage manufacturing jobs to the region. It requires the city to meet a minimum of 20,000 jobs during 30 years.
Councilmembers Matt Richardson and Randy Hynek voted against the ordinance, although Hynek did not share Richardson’s fear of uncontrolled growth. Another concern involved the effect the designation would have on other aspects of Sumner, such as whether accepting federal funding would mean Sumner would lose independence from other jurisdictions.
One fault Richardson mentioned at the meeting is the requirement to limit retail in the MIC to less than 20 percent.
Sumner Community Development Director Paul Rogerson said Sumner is free to expand retail as it wants because the current restriction is below 20 percent.
At the council meeting, Richardson said he is concerned about the restrictions on housing in the area.
Housing is currently prohibited in the land which will be designated MIC and the change does not affect the construction in the area.
Richardson said at the Oct. 5 council meeting he feared the MIC designation would cause Sumner to depart from its comprehensive plan and change the appearance of the small town to one of larger industrial cities such as Fife and Tukwila.
Rogerson later said Sumner already meets requirements for an MIC and the designation of the land as MIC formalizes the status. Designating the land does not mean Sumner will take the direction toward other MICs. The reason for the buildup in other examples is due to what is written in an individual city’s comprehensive plan. Comprehensive plans vary from one city to another and Sumner’s plan does not include the big-box stores and large-scale construction of other cities’ plans, he said.
Rogerson said there’s an underlying fear all MICs have the look of other large industrial centers, Rogerson said.
Sumner hired a consulting firm to assess the effect of the MIC on the city. The firm determined the land in Sumner already meets the criteria for being designated MIC.
“The consultants’ report means that we could meet this and stay the same,” Rogerson said.
He said the concern about Sumner being pressured or required to make physical changes to the city at the demand of the source of funding is unfounded.
“We don’t need to make any promises to the decision makers,” he said.
He said an amendment is being made to the MIC, but it is the addition of a map to show the MIC area and MIC goals and policies and does not change any zoning.
Sumner City Planning Manager Ryan Windish said the ordinance does not entail any clause requiring Sumner to undergo any changes.
Rogerson said Sumner already meets requirements for an MIC and the designation of the land as MIC formalizes the status.
City Attorney Brett Vinson said the MIC designation is an overlay, meaning the land maintains the same zoning restrictions, but qualifies for more funding. Vinson said Sumner missed out on funding in the past because the land in question was not eligible due to its designation.
