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ip , <br /> AD.M/NISTRAT/DN <br /> .7 J 4 e <br /> To: The Everett Planning Commission <br /> From: Lanie McMullin, Director of Economic Development <br /> Subject: Methadone Treatment Center <br /> Date: October 30,2017 <br /> Out of ultimate respect for the public process and full awareness of the required diligence of a planning <br /> commission,I have rarely weighed in on the many important decisions that come before you. In fact,in twenty <br /> years of service to the City,I have added my opinion only four times. This will be my fifth. In my opinion,the <br /> allowance of a methadone treatment facility in the downtown core would significantly set back the emerging,but <br /> fragile development progress of the last decade. The siting of such a clinic could trigger a "tipping point"effect <br /> . where the downtown core experiences the decline and loss of important amenities such as the Imagine Children's <br /> Museum,decisions currently being made to invest in the core are cancelled,and established businesses suffer <br /> revenue loss due to real and perceived safety issues. <br /> The economic vitality of the downtown core comes with challenges. Although a robust regional market is doing <br /> its best to push us towards our eventual goals,success is still a very tenuous ideal. We are most challenged by <br /> three issues: <br /> 1) Our downtown core is a peninsula.A successful downtown core must have critical mass of residents, <br /> office dwellers,and jobs to support the amenities citizens require in a place they want to call home. <br /> Flanked by water and agricultural land,density in the core is imperative. Development density in the core <br /> is challenged by hard to assemble land parcels,perception of unsavory elements,and the realities of <br /> market economics. <br /> 2) Market realities dictate the investment into the downtown core. The cost of construction materials and I' <br /> labor are the same in Everett as in Seattle or the Eastside. Yet a finished project in Seattle and the <br /> Eastside will draw a much higher return. There are efforts we can make to try to mitigate that shortfall, <br /> such as Residential Property Tax Abatement,and high job numbers...but if investors do not have faith in <br /> the desirability of the downtown market,we are set back significantly in our progress. <br /> 3) The overwhelming presence of social services and justice facilities located within our small core overrides <br /> the balance of normal market composition. Every city needs services for their citizens in need. It is a vital <br /> part of being a livable,functional city. But, because we are a County Seat,a city of many generous faith <br /> based organizations,combined with very little market rate density...the imbalance provides potential <br /> businesses,workforce,and investors with a perception and therefore the reality of unacceptable risk. <br /> The addition of a methadone treatment facility undermines further each of these issues in a circular way...creating <br /> what I fear is an eventual downward economic spiral in a community barely making its way up after decades of <br /> struggle. With great respect to your dedicated diligence and the public process, I appeal to this Commission to not <br /> allow a proposed methadone clinic in the B-3 zone. <br /> Sincerely, <br /> Lanie McMullin <br /> CITY OF EVERETT• 2930 Wetmore Ave., Suite 10A • Everett, WA 98201 • 425-257-8700 • Fax 425-257-8729 <br /> 1 <br />