Sultan eyes its more-crowded future

SULTAN — The city's consideration of a 24-acre residential development could be the precursor to a population boom that some fear will alter the area's rural character.

The city has designated Sultan Basin Road — from its intersection with Highway 2 to the city's urban-growth boundary — for all of Sultan's future residential growth because of available farmland there. Commercial and industrial areas are being extended east along Highway 2 toward Gold Bar.

But residents and city officials say they want to maintain the small-town flavor that makes Sultan attractive to many urbanites. Housing is cheaper in Sultan than in cities to the west, and mountain views and horses leave one feeling close enough to the country.

How to balance the two is the question. City officials say Sultan doesn't yet have the answers. The planned 62-lot subdivision called Sky Harbor is an indication of what's to come, City Administrator Rick Cisar said.

"There's quite a transition going on here," Cisar said. "Residents want to maintain a rural character, but that's hard when the (state) Growth Management Act requires smaller lot sizes in growth areas (than typically found in the area)."

About five years ago, Sultan was almost devoid of subdivisions. During the past four years, a few have popped up, including 50-home Eagle Ridge.

As other developers consider land north of 138th Street Southeast — the northern border of Sky Harbor — projections show the city gaining 1,200 residents by 2012. The current population is about 3,500.

The city's urban-growth area, which is an area intended for annexation, is likely to grow to about 5,200 residents by 2012, with a 2020 projection of more than 11,000 people living in the area.

"It's huge, what's coming," Councilman Mark Raney said. "I don't think we're prepared for it. We have a history of not being prepared for it."

The city has worked quickly to tighten codes for residential construction, Raney said. Sky Harbor, which was approved by the City Council in 2001 but not built because of funding problems, has been changed to allow for better protection of wetlands on the property, Cisar said. The City Council will consider the new plan.

Almost half an acre of wetlands would have been affected under the original development plan, but that would be reduced to less than a 10th of an acre now, according to the city's project description. Sky Harbor's vice president for development, Malcolm McNaughton, declined to comment on the project.

The city is planning another look at wetland areas along the ridge for when other projects come forward, possibly within the next two years, Cisar said.

And city infrastructure is being re-evaluated and overhauled to account for quick population growth, Raney said. Monroe — Sultan's neighbor to the west — had a difficult time maintaining sewage capacity when housing development caused its population to triple during the 1990s.

Sultan officials have worked quickly to extend a water line to Everett's drinking-water supply, but Cisar said the city's wastewater-treatment plant is nearing capacity, meaning an expansion is needed.

Traffic congestion at Highway 2 and Sultan Basin Road continues to increase. Though Cisar said Sky Harbor and other developers will pay mitigation fees to make up for the additional traffic, many of the improvements to Highway 2 must be approved by the state in order to go ahead.

Finally, finding money for infrastructure expansion is the largest problem because the city has used up its reserves on growth issues in recent years. Questions over who receives permit fees for county land inside the urban-growth area have city officials worried they'll be left in the lurch.

"If the county gets all the building money but we have to provide the infrastructure, we don't have the funding to do that," incoming Mayor Ben Tolson said.

That means the City Council and Tolson need to find the answers to the development questions, he said.

"We get one shot at (developing this land)," Tolson said. "If we don't do it right, then we're putting Sultan in the hole."

Christopher Schwarzen: 425-783-0577 or cschwarzen@seattletimes.com