As an economic development enterprise, the Port of Everett is always looking into how the tools and resources unique to ports can create new economic opportunity and add value to the communities it serves. As special purpose districts, ports have unique tools and authorities that a city, county or other jurisdictions do not; however, they are limited in their ability to operate or in­vest in projects outside their boundary lines. This significantly restricts how the Port of Everett can help advance economic and community priorities across Snohomish County, which is one of the fastest growing counties in the state.

While many large port districts in Washington state are county-wide — including all other ports in the state that operate international seaports — the Port of Everett is not. Currently, Port of Everett boundaries cover most of Everett (not all), portions of Mukilteo, and small parts of Marysville and unincorporated Snohomish County — a total of about 110,000 residents. To put this into perspective, with nearly 830,000 residents and growing, only about 15% of the County has access to the Port’s tools and investments.

The topic of boundary expansion has come up many times in the Port’s more than a century of service, yet there has never been a formal opportunity since the formation of the Port for residents to weigh in. Given the Port’s limitations, the challenges and opportunities before us, and the general interest heard during recent outreach on the topic, the Port Commission believed it was time to send it to the ballot.

The proposition is proposing the enlargement of Port District boundaries to include all of Snohomish County, excluding City of Edmonds, Port of Edmonds, Town of Woodway, Point Wells, and Esperance limits, respectively (see map).

Within its current boundaries, Port of Everett operations and capital investments already support key economic assets in Snohomish County, including:

• The Port of Everett’s international seaport – Snohomish County’s only global gateway
• Everett’s destination waterfront – the largest public marina on the West Coast and major County tourism attraction 
• Management and development of 3,400 acres of waterfront property – more than half of which is dedicated to public access and habitat

These existing Port operations and assets support more than 40,000 jobs and contribute $433 million into state and local tax rolls annually to fund local services from schools to life safety.

Expanding the Port District would allow the Port to continue to support and grow the economic vitality and benefit of these assets, while also allowing it to invest in new economic opportunities across the County in areas it cannot today.

Ports have unique tools, authorities, and funding sources to offer its district that cit­ies, counties, and other jurisdictions do not. About 15% of the County has access to these benefits today. Expanded Port boundar­ies would extend these benefits to most of the County. This would result in more resources –including increased funding and bonding capacity – for the Port to reinvest in more economic and community projects that strive to create quality local jobs, keep the county and surrounding region competitive and directly benefit the economic health and overall quality of life for more residents and businesses across Snohomish County.

Ports are special purpose districts with the sole statutory purpose of economic development. They have a range of authorities and tools that facilitate economic development with the end goal of creating jobs and enhancing the quality of life in their district and region.  

As a Port District taxpayer, your public investment collected via Port property tax is reinvested back into the Port District to ONLY help fund the Port’s capital projects, public access, and environmental cleanups. Unlike general-purpose governments, ports are self-funded, meaning taxpayer dollars are NOT used to fund Port operating costs, including staff salaries or benefits.

NOTE: Port taxes are not collected on tribal trust lands.

Port of Everett operations, including all staff salaries and benefits, are self-funded. All public investment collected via property tax is reinvested back into the Port District community ONLY to fund capital projects, public access, and environmental cleanups.

If the ballot measure passes, the Port would reopen its Strategic Plan — a document that guides strategic pri­orities and future investments for the Port — and gather feedback from residents and businesses across the enlarged boundary. This outreach would inform a Strategic Plan up­date that aligns with the economic and community priorities of the larger Port District. This would be a public process with opportunities to provide feedback in a variety of ways prior to Port Commission adoption.

Boundary enlargement is treated like an annexation, mean­ing it is only voted on by registered voters within the proposed boundary expansion area (see map). While existing Port District residents would receive the same benefits of an expanded Port District, they do not have the opportunity to vote.

Note: While Port taxes are not collected on tribal trust lands, registered voters residing on tribal trust land within the proposed boundary enlargement area would have the opportunity to vote.

 

If the voters of the proposed Port boundary enlargement area approve the measure by a simple majority (or 50.01% or more), the following steps would take place:

The topic of Port boundary expansion has come up many times over the course of the Port’s more than century of service, particularly as the current Port District and greater Snohomish County area have experienced significant growth and evolving economic needs over the past century.

During the Port of Everett’s Strategic Plan outreach in 2018/2019, the Port sought public feedback to help set a roadmap for the next decade of Port initiatives (2020-2030). During various public engagement opportunities intended to inform the Port’s 2020 Strategic Plan, the Port heard general interest in expanding Port District boundaries, linked to a desire to see the Port’s strategic investments and infrastructure improvements stretch into other parts of Snohomish County.

The Port Commission tasked staff to take a more formal look at potential boundary expansion and conduct an economic value study and legal assessment. An exploratory effort took place last year, which engaged stakeholders across the county through informational briefings, community presentations, and a community survey to gather feedback from leaders, partners, business owners, and residents across Snohomish County. 

CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE ECONOMIC VALUE STUDY & LEGAL ASSESSEMENT (2023)

Through this feedback, the Port heard general interest in exploring ways the Port could partner with neighboring communities beyond the current Port District bounds to support economic and community priorities. This effort informed the Port Commission’s decision to move forward with sending the opportunity to the ballot for voter consideration.  

Yes! A primary purpose of a port district in Washington State is economic development – and you do not need a navigable waterway to do that.

The Legislature has given ports broad authority to promote economic development. For example, ports can build and operate airports, marine shipping terminals, marinas, railroads, industrial parks, commercial and mixed-use developments, among other economic development ventures. Most recently, the Legislature added promotion of tourism and broadband to the list.

Each port focuses its lines of business and operations in ways that mirror their community and the specific economic development needs of their district.

CLICK HERE TO VISIT WASHINGTON PUBLIC PORTS ASSOCIATION WEBSITE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT PORTS

CLICK HERE TO SEE RCW 53 GOVERNING WASHINGTON PORT DISTRICT

The Port continues to engage with community members to share information and answer questions on the upcoming Port boundary enlargement measure. Various public information opportunities will be available through August, including informational public open houses located throughout the County.



CLICK HERE FOR PRINTER-FRIENDLY INFORMATIONAL OPEN HOUSE FLIER

CONTACT US!
You can also contact the Port of Everett team with inquires or questions on the topic.

CLICK HERE TO SEND US AN E-MAIL