Cities growing by leaps and boundaries

State population numbers show new Snohomish County residents are following the least expensive housing and that cities are annexing unincorporated areas faster than they have since at least 2000.

Estimates released last month say Snohomish County, as of April 1, had gained 16,000 people in a year. The vast majority of that increase was in the cities, which annexed nearby residential areas.

Everett saw significant growth the past year, picking up 3,600 residents through annexations in the southeastern part of the city. Everett also topped 100,000 people, reaching 101,100 residents, a milestone for the county's largest city.

Cities that had pursued annexation, particularly Marysville, Lake Stevens and Mill Creek, saw the biggest population increases, according to the state estimates. Bedroom communities such as Marysville and Lake Stevens, where land values are lower than in South Snohomish County and King County, also grew because of home construction.

Lake Stevens had the biggest percentage jump in population, picking up 2,465 residents, a 34 percent increase over April 1, 2005.

Carl Nelson, the annexation coordinator for Lake Stevens, said most of the increase was from a north-lake annexation that had added 2,300 residents and brought the city to 9,650 people.

Lake Stevens had modest growth the previous five years, picking up no more than 270 people in each of the state's yearly estimates, but the city has a six-year plan to add thousands of residents who live on nearby land that's designated for urban growth, Nelson said.

To make the annexations happen, the city has been using the petition method, which allows a city to annex an area if it's able to get enough property owners to sign up. City Council members and other volunteers walked streets and knocked on doors to get those petition signatures, Nelson said.

The city also has seen steady growth as people have moved there because of relatively low home prices compared with south-county cities, Nelson said.

"There's a price differential that makes Marysville and Lake Stevens a place you want to move to," he said.

It was through a combination of annexation and "natural growth" that Marysville grew 9 percent, to 32,150 people, said Doug Buell, a spokesman for the city. Annexations planned for 2006 will add a few thousand more, he said.

The increased populations of Marysville and Lake Stevens have had little effect on city residents, but if a city annexes an area where there's construction or retail businesses, it can boost city revenue.

Buell said Marysville is keeping an eye on transportation to make sure it's able to get residents from their homes to Boeing and other workplaces.

"There seems to be no shortage of people who want to back the truck up and move in," he said.

Brian Alexander: 425-745-7845 or balexander@seattletimes.com