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Lake Stevens is a city in
Snohomish County Snohomish County () is a county located in the U.S. state of Washington. With a population of 827,957 as of the 2020 census, it is the third-most populous county in Washington, after nearby King and Pierce counties, and the 75th-most populous ...
,
Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...
, United States, that is named for the lake it surrounds. It is located east of Everett and borders the cities of Marysville to the northwest and Snohomish to the south. The city's population was 28,069 at the 2010 census, but has since grown to an estimated 33,911. The lake was named in 1859 for territorial governor
Isaac Stevens Isaac Ingalls Stevens (March 25, 1818 – September 1, 1862) was an American military officer and politician who served as governor of the Territory of Washington from 1853 to 1857, and later as its delegate to the United States House of Represen ...
and was originally home to the
Skykomish Skykomish is a town in King County, Washington, United States. The population was 198 as of the 2010 census, down from an estimated peak of "several thousand" in the 1920s. Located in the Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest, 49 miles east ...
in the
Pilchuck River The Pilchuck River ( lut, dxʷkʷiƛ̕əb) is a river in Snohomish County in the U.S. state of Washington. It is a tributary of the Snohomish River. The name is derived from Chinook Jargon ''pilpil'' ("blood", "red") and ''chuck'' ("water"), or " ...
basin. The first modern settlement on Lake Stevens was founded at the northeastern corner of the lake in 1889. It was later sold to the
Rucker Brothers Brothers Wyatt J. Rucker (1857–1931) and Bethel J. Rucker (1862–1945) were pioneering entrepreneurs who helped to found the city of Everett, Washington. Originally from Noble County, Ohio, in 1888 the Rucker brothers moved to Tacoma, Washin ...
, who opened a
sawmill A sawmill (saw mill, saw-mill) or lumber mill is a facility where logs are cut into lumber. Modern sawmills use a motorized saw to cut logs lengthwise to make long pieces, and crosswise to length depending on standard or custom sizes (dimensi ...
in 1907 that spurred early growth in the area, but closed in 1925 after the second of two major fires. The Lake Stevens area then became a resort community before developing into a
commuter town A commuter town is a populated area that is primarily residential rather than commercial or industrial. Routine travel from home to work and back is called commuting, which is where the term comes from. A commuter town may be called by many o ...
in the 1960s and 1970s. Lake Stevens was incorporated as a city in 1960, following an exodus of businesses from the downtown area to a new
shopping center A shopping center (American English) or shopping centre (Commonwealth English), also called a shopping complex, shopping arcade, shopping plaza or galleria, is a group of shops built together, sometimes under one roof. The first known collec ...
. The city has since grown through
annexation Annexation (Latin ''ad'', to, and ''nexus'', joining), in international law, is the forcible acquisition of one state's territory by another state, usually following military occupation of the territory. It is generally held to be an illegal act ...
s to encompass most of the lake, including the original shopping center, and quadrupled in population from 2000 to 2010. A revitalized downtown area is planned alongside new civic buildings in the 2020s.


History

Lake Stevens was named in 1859 for territorial governor
Isaac Stevens Isaac Ingalls Stevens (March 25, 1818 – September 1, 1862) was an American military officer and politician who served as governor of the Territory of Washington from 1853 to 1857, and later as its delegate to the United States House of Represen ...
and was originally listed as "Stevens Lake" on early maps. The area around the lake was used for
berry A berry is a small, pulpy, and often edible fruit. Typically, berries are juicy, rounded, brightly colored, sweet, sour or tart, and do not have a stone or pit, although many pips or seeds may be present. Common examples are strawberries, raspb ...
gathering by the indigenous
Skykomish Skykomish is a town in King County, Washington, United States. The population was 198 as of the 2010 census, down from an estimated peak of "several thousand" in the 1920s. Located in the Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest, 49 miles east ...
, who also used most of the
Pilchuck River The Pilchuck River ( lut, dxʷkʷiƛ̕əb) is a river in Snohomish County in the U.S. state of Washington. It is a tributary of the Snohomish River. The name is derived from Chinook Jargon ''pilpil'' ("blood", "red") and ''chuck'' ("water"), or " ...
basin for hunting. The first homesteads around the lake were established by emigrants in the 1880s, beginning with Joseph William Davison's claim along the east shore filed in 1886. A two-
block Block or blocked may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Block programming, the result of a programming strategy in broadcasting * W242BX, a radio station licensed to Greenville, South Carolina, United States known as ''96.3 ...
townsite at the northeast end of the lake named "Outing" was claimed on October 8, 1889, by Charles A. Missimer and
plat In the United States, a plat ( or ) (plan) is a cadastral map, drawn to scale, showing the divisions of a piece of land. United States General Land Office surveyors drafted township plats of Public Lands Surveys to show the distance and bear ...
ted the following year. The construction of the Seattle, Lake Shore and Eastern Railway along the eastern side of the Pilchuck River Valley in 1889 spurred the creation of more settlements in the area. Among them were Machias in 1890, which was followed by Hartford (originally named "Ferry"), later a major junction for the
Everett and Monte Cristo Railway The Everett and Monte Cristo Railway was built to transport gold and silver ores from mines in the central Cascade Mountains to a smelter in Everett, Washington. After the first mining claims were staked in 1889, entrepreneurs began exploring th ...
completed in 1892. Outing was later vacated and sold between various investors before the townsite was acquired in 1905 by the
Rucker Brothers Brothers Wyatt J. Rucker (1857–1931) and Bethel J. Rucker (1862–1945) were pioneering entrepreneurs who helped to found the city of Everett, Washington. Originally from Noble County, Ohio, in 1888 the Rucker brothers moved to Tacoma, Washin ...
, who planned to build a
sawmill A sawmill (saw mill, saw-mill) or lumber mill is a facility where logs are cut into lumber. Modern sawmills use a motorized saw to cut logs lengthwise to make long pieces, and crosswise to length depending on standard or custom sizes (dimensi ...
after a previous venture by
Jacob Falconer Jacob Alexander Falconer (January 26, 1869 – July 1, 1928) was a one-term congressman from the state of Washington, elected at-large in 1912. Early years Born in Ontario, Canada, Falconer moved with his parents to Saugatuck, Michigan, in 18 ...
had failed. The Rucker Brothers constructed a railroad spur from Hartford and redirected the flow of Cassidy Creek, the main outlet of the lake, to prepare land for their shingle mill, which opened in 1907. A plat for the town of Lake Stevens was filed by the Rucker Brothers on February 8, 1908, including a business district and residences to accommodate the mill's 250 workers. The sawmill, one of the largest in the United States, was partially destroyed in a 1919 fire and later rebuilt. It was permanently closed after a second fire in 1925 and dismantled, causing many residents to leave the area. One of the remnants from the old mill was a locomotive that sunk in the early 1910s and was rediscovered in 1995 by a
U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage o ...
training team, following a request from the local
historical society A historical society (sometimes also preservation society) is an organization dedicated to preserving, collecting, researching, and interpreting historical information or items. Originally, these societies were created as a way to help future gen ...
. By the mid-1920s, the entire shoreline of Lake Stevens had been divided into small lots and tracts for summer homes and resorts. Following the demise of the Rucker mill, Lake Stevens was primarily a resort community that drew 3,000 visitors on busy days to fish, swim, and water-ski on the lake. While the major lakeside resorts were successful, the Lake Stevens area saw little residential and commercial development for several decades as the downtown area stagnated. The first Hewitt Avenue Trestle was completed in 1939, providing an elevated highway over the
Snohomish River The Snohomish River is a river in Snohomish County, Washington, formed by the confluence of the Skykomish and Snoqualmie rivers near Monroe. It flows northwest entering Port Gardner Bay, part of Puget Sound, between Everett and Marysville. The ...
floodplain between Everett and Cavalero Hill, with onward connections to areas around Lake Stevens. Suburban development around Lake Stevens began in the 1950s, shortly after plans were announced to build a large
shopping center A shopping center (American English) or shopping centre (Commonwealth English), also called a shopping complex, shopping arcade, shopping plaza or galleria, is a group of shops built together, sometimes under one roof. The first known collec ...
named Frontier Village at the intersection of two state highways west of the lake (later State Route 9 and State Route 204). Business owners in downtown Lake Stevens proposed incorporation in 1958 to prevent retailers from relocating to the new shopping center, offering local control of policing and street maintenance with no increase in taxes. On November 19, 1960, Lake Stevens voted 299–40 in favor of incorporating as a city, which was certified by the state government on November 29. The town boundaries were set around downtown and included an estimated 900 residents. The city government purchased a former
post office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letters and parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post offices may offer additional serv ...
building for use as a
city hall In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or a municipal building (in the Philippines), is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses ...
, which included a
jail A prison, also known as a jail, gaol (dated, standard English, Australian, and historically in Canada), penitentiary (American English and Canadian English), detention center (or detention centre outside the US), correction center, correc ...
that was never used due to a change in state laws. The development of resorts around Lake Stevens also caused water quality to deteriorate, necessitating the creation of a voluntary drainage district in 1932 to manage runoff and pollution. It was replaced in 1963 by an independent sewer district, which mandated vegetation buffers for homes and later installed a large
aeration Aeration (also called aerification or aeriation) is the Systems engineering process, process by which air is circulated through, mixed with or solvation, dissolved in a liquid or other substances that act as a fluid (such as soil). Aeration proces ...
system to slow the growth of
algae Algae (; singular alga ) is an informal term for a large and diverse group of photosynthetic eukaryotic organisms. It is a polyphyletic grouping that includes species from multiple distinct clades. Included organisms range from unicellular mic ...
in the lake. Frontier Village opened in 1960 and later expanded as State Route 9 and State Route 204 were improved through the area. A new highway bypassing downtown, State Route 92, opened at the end of the decade. The area around Frontier Village was developed into a suburban
commuter town A commuter town is a populated area that is primarily residential rather than commercial or industrial. Routine travel from home to work and back is called commuting, which is where the term comes from. A commuter town may be called by many o ...
in the 1970s and 1980s with the construction of several residential
subdivisions Subdivision may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Subdivision (metre), in music * ''Subdivision'' (film), 2009 * "Subdivision", an episode of ''Prison Break'' (season 2) * ''Subdivisions'' (EP), by Sinch, 2005 * "Subdivisions" (song), by Rush ...
.
Hewlett-Packard The Hewlett-Packard Company, commonly shortened to Hewlett-Packard ( ) or HP, was an American multinational information technology company headquartered in Palo Alto, California. HP developed and provided a wide variety of hardware components ...
won approval from the county government to build a manufacturing plant northwest of Lake Stevens in 1983, despite opposition from local residents looking to preserve the area's rural character. By the late 1990s, the city had over 5,700 residents and was among the fastest-growing cities in the state. The unincorporated areas to the west of the lake also grew to over 20,000 people, adding
multi-family housing Multifamily residential (also known as multidwelling unit or MDU) is a classification of housing where multiple separate housing units for residential inhabitants are contained within one building or several buildings within one complex. Units ca ...
to its existing inventory of single-family neighborhoods, and rejected an attempt to build a second shopping center and commercial complex on Cavalero Hill. Lake Stevens unsuccessfully attempted to
annex Annex or Annexe refers to a building joined to or associated with a main building, providing additional space or accommodations. It may also refer to: Places * The Annex, a neighbourhood in downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada * The Annex (New H ...
the western neighborhoods in 1993, but adopted plans to create "one community around the lake" and revitalize its downtown. The first major annexations were completed in 2006, adding around Frontier Village and the north end of the lake. From 2000 to 2010, the city quadrupled in population to nearly 30,000 people and added . The largest annexation, consisting of in the southwest corner of the Lake Stevens urban growth area, was completed in December 2009 and added more than 10,000 residents. Further annexations of areas to the southeast of the lake are planned to complete the full encirclement of Lake Stevens. The city government adopted plans in 2018 to redevelop downtown Lake Stevens with denser housing and commercial use, including mixed-use buildings and walkable streets. The former
city hall In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or a municipal building (in the Philippines), is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses ...
in downtown was demolished in 2017 as part of an expansion for North Cove Park, with city services temporarily relocated at an adjacent building until a permanent replacement is built. The police station was relocated to an abandoned fire station and will open a new headquarters building on Chapel Hill in the 2020s. An earlier plan to combine city services, the police station, and a new
library A library is a collection of materials, books or media that are accessible for use and not just for display purposes. A library provides physical (hard copies) or digital access (soft copies) materials, and may be a physical location or a vir ...
at a civic campus on Chapel Hill fell through after the failure of a library bond measure.


Geography

Lake Stevens is located northeast of
Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...
and northeast of Everett, between the cities of Marysville and Snohomish. The city's boundaries are generally defined to the north by State Route 92, to the east by the
Centennial Trail A Centennial Trail is either a trail created to celebrate a centennial, or the memorialization of a path or trail that has endured for a century. These can be, but are not necessarily, rail trails. Centennial Trails in the United States * Centen ...
, to the south by 28th Street Southeast, and to the west by State Route 204. According to the
United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...
, the city has a total area of , of which is land and is water. The eponymous lake is not part of the city, but is part of the unincorporated urban growth area that also covers several neighborhoods on the southeast side of the lake. The urban growth area has been sought for annexations in the early 21st century. The city lies on a plateau between the
Snohomish River The Snohomish River is a river in Snohomish County, Washington, formed by the confluence of the Skykomish and Snoqualmie rivers near Monroe. It flows northwest entering Port Gardner Bay, part of Puget Sound, between Everett and Marysville. The ...
delta, which separates it from Everett and Ebey Island to the west, and the foothills of the
Cascade Mountains The Cascade Range or Cascades is a major mountain range of western North America, extending from southern British Columbia through Washington and Oregon to Northern California. It includes both non-volcanic mountains, such as the North Cascades, ...
. It surrounds the north and east sides of Lake Stevens, the largest and deepest lake in Snohomish County, with an area of and an average depth of . The lake has of shoreline and is fed by Lundeen Creek, Mitchell (Kokanee) Creek, and Stitch Creek. It drains into Catherine Creek, which then flows to the
Pilchuck River The Pilchuck River ( lut, dxʷkʷiƛ̕əb) is a river in Snohomish County in the U.S. state of Washington. It is a tributary of the Snohomish River. The name is derived from Chinook Jargon ''pilpil'' ("blood", "red") and ''chuck'' ("water"), or " ...
. The lake's relatively small watershed, at , minimizes the effect of upstream pollution but reduces flow to remove pollutants. Lake Stevens installed aeration system in the 1990s to control the release of
phosphorus Phosphorus is a chemical element with the symbol P and atomic number 15. Elemental phosphorus exists in two major forms, white phosphorus and red phosphorus, but because it is highly reactive, phosphorus is never found as a free element on Ear ...
from lake sediments, which caused unwanted algae growth. Most of the shoreline is heavily developed, with little remaining native vegetation, and Lake Stevens is used for recreational fishing, swimming, boating, and skiing. Lake Stevens has two major commercial centers: downtown and Frontier Village. Downtown Lake Stevens is located on the northeastern arm of the lake and has been undergoing redevelopment since the 1990s. Frontier Village is located west of the lake at the intersection of State Route 9 and State Route 204 and is a traditional suburban shopping center with strip malls and
big box store A big-box store (also hyperstore, supercenter, superstore, or megastore) is a physically large retail establishment, usually part of a chain of stores. The term sometimes also refers, by extension, to the company that operates the store. The te ...
s. The city government also has several designated neighborhoods and planning areas: Cavalero Hill, Frontier Village, the Hartford Industrial Area, and Machias.


Economy

, Lake Stevens has an estimated workforce population of 23,393 people, of which 15,084 are employed. The largest sectors of employment are manufacturing (18%), followed by educational and health services (17%), retail (13%), and professional services (11%). The majority of workers in the city commute to other areas for employment, including 20 percent to Everett, 13 percent to Seattle, and 4 percent to
Bellevue Bellevue means "beautiful view" in French. It may refer to: Placenames Australia * Bellevue, Western Australia * Bellevue Hill, New South Wales * Bellevue, Queensland * Bellevue, Glebe, an historic house in Sydney, New South Wales Canada ...
. Approximately 6.3 percent of Lake Stevens residents work within the city limits. Over 81 percent of workers commute in single-occupant vehicles, while 2 percent take
public transportation Public transport (also known as public transportation, public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) is a system of transport for passengers by group travel systems available for use by the general public unlike private transport, typical ...
and less than 10 percent use
carpool Carpooling (also car-sharing, ride-sharing and lift-sharing) is the sharing of car journeys so that more than one person travels in a car, and prevents the need for others to have to drive to a location themselves. By having more people usi ...
s. The city had 1,553 registered businesses with 4,202 total jobs, according to 2012 estimates by the U.S. Census and
Puget Sound Regional Council The Puget Sound Regional Council (PSRC) is a metropolitan planning organization that develops policies and makes decisions about transportation planning, economic development, and growth management throughout the four-county Seattle metropolitan a ...
. The largest provider of jobs in Lake Stevens came from businesses in the services sector, at 1,595, followed by education (991) and retail (696). The city's largest employer is the Lake Stevens School District, followed by aerospace manufacturer Cobalt Enterprises, which is headquartered in the Hartford industrial area and expanded its facilities in 2016. Over 20 percent of people with jobs based in Lake Stevens live within city limits, while the rest commute from nearby cities in northern Snohomish County.
Hewlett-Packard The Hewlett-Packard Company, commonly shortened to Hewlett-Packard ( ) or HP, was an American multinational information technology company headquartered in Palo Alto, California. HP developed and provided a wide variety of hardware components ...
opened a large manufacturing facility on Soper Hill northwest of Lake Stevens in 1985 for its test and measurement division, following a planning dispute with the county government. The test and measurement division was later spun off into
Agilent Agilent Technologies, Inc. is an American life sciences company that provides instruments, software, services, and consumables for the entire laboratory workflow. Its global headquarters is located in Santa Clara, California. Agilent was establi ...
and shared its Lake Stevens facility with
Solectron Solectron Corporation was an electronics manufacturing company for original equipment manufacturers (OEMs). It was the first electronics manufacturing services (EMS) industry in 1977. Solectron's first customer designed and distributed an electr ...
. The plant had 1,000 employees at its peak, but was closed in 2002 after several rounds of layoffs. The site was later redeveloped into a suburban housing complex in the mid-2000s. Lake Stevens is home to a large retail district anchored by Frontier Village, a shopping center located at the intersection of State Route 9 and State Route 204. It was developed beginning in the 1960s and now encompasses more than of retail space, spread across several
strip mall A strip mall, strip center or strip plaza is a type of shopping center common in North America where the stores are arranged in a row, with a sidewalk in front. Strip malls are typically developed as a unit and have large parking lots in front. ...
s. A
Costco Costco Wholesale Corporation (doing business as Costco Wholesale and also known simply as Costco) is an American multinational corporation which operates a chain of membership-only big-box retail stores (warehouse club). As of 2022, Costco i ...
store opened in December 2022 at the intersection of State Route 9 and 20th Street Southeast with a building, a gas station with 30 pumps, and 800 parking stalls. A development agreement was approved by the city government in December 2019 after a year of planning and several lawsuits from residents over impacts to the environment and traffic conditions.


Demographics

Lake Stevens is the fifth-largest city in Snohomish County, with an estimated population of 33,378 in 2018. The city is the fastest growing in Snohomish County since 2000, increasing by 18 percent from 2010 to 2018 through new residential development in the southwest and annexation of other areas. The city was originally the 11th largest in the county, but jumped to fifth by annexing 10,000 people in December 2009.


2010 census

As of the 2010 census, there were 28,069 people, 9,810 households, and 7,250 families residing in the city. The
population density Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPopul ...
was . There were 10,414 housing units at an average density of . The
racial makeup A race is a categorization of humans based on shared physical or social qualities into groups generally viewed as distinct within a given society. The term came into common usage during the 1500s, when it was used to refer to groups of variou ...
of the city was 85.1% White, 1.7% African American, 0.9% Native American, 3.6% Asian, 0.4% Pacific Islander, 3.2% from other races, and 5.1% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 8.6% of the population. There were 9,810 households, of which 45.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.3% were
married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between t ...
living together, 11.9% had a female householder with no husband present, 5.8% had a male householder with no wife present, and 26.1% were non-families. 19.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 5.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.86 and the average family size was 3.26. The median age in the city was 32.5 years. 29.9% of residents were under the age of 18; 8.5% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 32.2% were from 25 to 44; 23% were from 45 to 64; and 6.5% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 49.9% male and 50.1% female.


2000 census

As of the 2000 census, there were 6,361 people, 2,139 households, and 1,683 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,951.8 people per square mile (1,142.3/km2). There were 2,234 housing units at an average density of 1,036.7 per square mile (401.2/km2). The
racial makeup A race is a categorization of humans based on shared physical or social qualities into groups generally viewed as distinct within a given society. The term came into common usage during the 1500s, when it was used to refer to groups of variou ...
of the city was 92.31% White, 0.60% African American, 0.91% Native American, 1.10% Asian, 0.31% Pacific Islander, 0.90% from other races, and 3.87% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.55% of the population. There were 2,139 households, out of which 49.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 65.5% were married couples living together, 9.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 21.3% were non-families. 15.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 5.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.96 and the average family size was 3.30. In the city, the age distribution of the population shows 33.9% under the age of 18, 6.5% from 18 to 24, 36.3% from 25 to 44, 17.6% from 45 to 64, and 5.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females, there were 101.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.0 males. The median income for a household in the city was $65,231, and the median income for a family was $68,250. Males had a median income of $51,536 versus $30,239 for females. The
per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...
for the city was $22,943. About 3.8% of families and 4.4% of the population were below the
poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for t ...
, including 3.9% of those under age 18 and 9.0% of those age 65 or over.


Government and politics

Lake Stevens is a non-charter code city with a mayor–council system of government. The
city council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural counc ...
serves as the legislative body of the city government and has seven members who are elected
at-large At large (''before a noun'': at-large) is a description for members of a governing body who are elected or appointed to represent a whole membership or population (notably a city, county, state, province, nation, club or association), rather than ...
to four-year terms in staggered elections. The council holds regular meetings twice a month at the Lake Stevens School District administrative headquarters and a work session during other weeks as needed. The
mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...
is a full-time position that is also elected by Lake Stevens residents and serves as the executive of the city government during a four-year term. Former city councilmember Brett Gailey, who was also employed by the Everett Police Department, was elected as mayor in 2019. The city government has budgeted expenditures of $50.4 million and revenues of $43.4 million in 2020, largely funded by
sales Sales are activities related to selling or the number of goods sold in a given targeted time period. The delivery of a service for a cost is also considered a sale. The seller, or the provider of the goods or services, completes a sale in r ...
,
property Property is a system of rights that gives people legal control of valuable things, and also refers to the valuable things themselves. Depending on the nature of the property, an owner of property may have the right to consume, alter, share, r ...
, and
utility As a topic of economics, utility is used to model worth or value. Its usage has evolved significantly over time. The term was introduced initially as a measure of pleasure or happiness as part of the theory of utilitarianism by moral philosopher ...
taxes. It has 85 employees organized into departments of
economic development In the economics study of the public sector, economic and social development is the process by which the economic well-being and quality of life of a nation, region, local community, or an individual are improved according to targeted goals and o ...
,
finance Finance is the study and discipline of money, currency and capital assets. It is related to, but not synonymous with economics, the study of production, distribution, and consumption of money, assets, goods and services (the discipline of fina ...
,
human resources Human resources (HR) is the set of people who make up the workforce of an organization, business sector, industry, or economy. A narrower concept is human capital, the knowledge and skills which the individuals command. Similar terms include m ...
,
parks and recreation ''Parks and Recreation'' (also known as ''Parks and Rec'') is an American political satire mockumentary sitcom television series created by Greg Daniels and Michael Schur. The series aired on NBC from April 9, 2009, to February 24, 2015, for 125 ...
,
planning Planning is the process of thinking regarding the activities required to achieve a desired goal. Planning is based on foresight, the fundamental capacity for mental time travel. The evolution of forethought, the capacity to think ahead, is consi ...
, policing, and
public works Public works are a broad category of infrastructure projects, financed and constructed by the government, for recreational, employment, and health and safety uses in the greater community. They include public buildings ( municipal buildings, sc ...
. Lake Stevens has several non-elected executive positions, including the city administrator, city clerk, police chief, planning director, public works director, and community programs planner. Several regional agencies provide other services, such as
fire protection Fire protection is the study and practice of mitigating the unwanted effects of potentially destructive fires. It involves the study of the behaviour, compartmentalisation, suppression and investigation of fire and its related emergencies, as we ...
,
library A library is a collection of materials, books or media that are accessible for use and not just for display purposes. A library provides physical (hard copies) or digital access (soft copies) materials, and may be a physical location or a vir ...
access, and water management. In addition to elected and executive positions, Lake Stevens has seven boards and commissions that advise the city council on a variety of specific issues. They are composed of volunteer citizens who are appointed to set terms by the mayor with the approval of the city council. The boards and commissions are tasked with managing arts, civil service and police, the public library, parks and recreation, planning, city salaries, and veterans' rights. At the federal level, Lake Stevens is part of the 1st congressional district, which includes the northeastern areas of the
Puget Sound region The Puget Sound region is a coastal area of the Pacific Northwest in the U.S. state of Washington, including Puget Sound, the Puget Sound lowlands, and the surrounding region roughly west of the Cascade Range and east of the Olympic Mountains. ...
and is represented by Democrat
Suzan DelBene Suzan Kay DelBene (née Oliver; ; born February 17, 1962) is an American politician and businesswoman who has been the United States House of Representatives, United States representative from Washington's 1st congressional district since 2012. ...
. The city was part of the 2nd congressional district until a redistricting in 2012 that split most of Northwestern Washington. At the state level, Lake Stevens shares the 44th legislative district with Snohomish and Mill Creek. The city lies in the
Snohomish County Council The Snohomish County Council is the legislative body of Snohomish County, Washington. The county council was created in 1979 and consists of five members serving four-year terms. Members ;Notes History The county council was created on No ...
's 5th district, which also includes Maltby and the Skykomish Valley.


Culture

The city's annual summer festival, Aquafest, is held at North Cove Park in downtown Lake Stevens over a three-day weekend in late July. It was founded in 1960 and includes a boat parade,
carnival Carnival is a Catholic Christian festive season that occurs before the liturgical season of Lent. The main events typically occur during February or early March, during the period historically known as Shrovetide (or Pre-Lent). Carnival typi ...
rides, a car show, and a
circus A circus is a company of performers who put on diverse entertainment shows that may include clowns, acrobats, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, dancers, hoopers, tightrope walkers, jugglers, magicians, ventriloquists, and unicyclist ...
. The 2018 festival was attended by 30,000 people. An annual
Ironman 70.3 An Ironman 70.3, also known as a Half Ironman, is one of a series of long-distance triathlon races organized by the World Triathlon Corporation (WTC). The "70.3" refers to the total distance in miles (113.0 km) covered in the race, consisting o ...
triathlon A triathlon is an endurance multisport race consisting of Swimming (sport), swimming, Cycle sport, cycling, and running over various distances. Triathletes compete for fastest overall completion time, racing each segment sequentially with the t ...
was added to Aquafest in the 2000s and features a course with swimming, cycling, and running segments. The triathlon also serves as a qualifier for the
Ironman World Championship The Ironman World Championship has been held annually in Hawaii since 1978, with an additional race in 1982. It is owned and organized by the World Triathlon Corporation. It is the annual culmination of a series of Ironman triathlon qualification ...
.


Parks and recreation

Lake Stevens has of parks and open space managed by the city government, Snohomish County, and the
Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) is a department of the government of the state of Washington, United States of America. The WDFW manages over a million acres of land, the bulk of which is generally open to the public, and mor ...
. The city government owns and has nine parks that are categorized as community parks, neighborhood parks, mini-parks, and other facilities. In addition to public facilities, the Lake Stevens area has of private parks and open spaces that are owned by
homeowner association A homeowner association (or homeowners' association, abbreviated HOA, sometimes referred to as a property owners' association or POA), or a homeowner community, is a private association-like entity often formed either ''ipso jure'' in a building ...
s and other entities. The largest city-owned park is Eagle Ridge Community Park, located on near the northwest shore of the lake, but largely undeveloped. The county government owns three community parks in the Lake Stevens area. Cavalero Community Park opened in 2009 and consists of two fenced
dog park A dog park is a park for dogs to exercise and play off-leash in a controlled environment under the supervision of their owners. Description Dog parks have varying features, although they typically offer a 4' to 6' fence, separate double-gated ...
s, an open field, and a planned
skate park A skatepark, or skate park, is a purpose-built recreational environment made for skateboarding, BMX, scootering, wheelchairs, and aggressive inline skating. A skatepark may contain half-pipes, handrails, funboxes, vert ramps, stairsets, qua ...
on . Lake Stevens Community Park is located east of downtown and includes several
soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...
and
baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...
fields on of former timber land. Davies Beach (formerly Willard Wyatt Park) lies at the foot of Chapel Hill on the western lakeshore and includes a beach,
boat launch A slipway, also known as boat ramp or launch or boat deployer, is a ramp on the shore by which ships or boats can be moved to and from the water. They are used for building and repairing ships and boats, and for launching and retrieving small ...
, and a
boathouse A boathouse (or a boat house) is a building especially designed for the storage of boats, normally smaller craft for sports or leisure use. describing the facilities These are typically located on open water, such as on a river. Often the boats ...
for rowing teams. Several city parks are located along the shore of Lake Stevens, providing beaches with swimming areas and fishing docks. Lundeen Park is the largest of the city's beaches and was developed out of a former resort that opened in 1908. It also offers
paddleboard Paddleboarding is a water sport in which participants are propelled by a swimming motion using their arms while lying or kneeling on a paddleboard or surfboard in the ocean or other body of water. This article refers to traditional prone or kneel ...
and
kayak A kayak is a small, narrow watercraft which is typically propelled by means of a double-bladed paddle. The word kayak originates from the Greenlandic word ''qajaq'' (). The traditional kayak has a covered deck and one or more cockpits, each se ...
rentals, a
visitors center A visitor center or centre (see American and British English spelling differences), visitor information center, tourist information center, is a physical location that provides tourist information to visitors. Types of visitor center A visit ...
, and a
concession stand A concession stand (American English, Canadian English), snack kiosk or snack bar (British English, Irish English) is a place where patrons can purchase snacks or food at a cinema, amusement park, zoo, aquarium, circus, fair, stadium, beach, swim ...
. At the northeast end of the lake is North Cove Park, a downtown park that is planned to be developed into an urban gathering space. A
disc golf Disc golf, also known as frisbee golf, is a flying disc sport in which players throw a disc at a target; it is played using rules similar to golf. Most disc golf discs are made out of polypropylene plastic, otherwise known as polypropene, which ...
course was opened in 2000 at Catherine Creek Park, a small park with hiking trails and natural areas. The county government also owns
Centennial Trail A Centennial Trail is either a trail created to celebrate a centennial, or the memorialization of a path or trail that has endured for a century. These can be, but are not necessarily, rail trails. Centennial Trails in the United States * Centen ...
, an inter-city hiking, bicycling, and equestrian
rail trail A rail trail is a shared-use path on railway right of way. Rail trails are typically constructed after a railway has been abandoned and the track has been removed, but may also share the right of way with active railways, light rail, or streetcar ...
. It travels between Arlington and Snohomish, passing through the east side of Lake Stevens. The city has several short trails that are owned by the Lake Stevens School District and private housing subdivisions, along with informal trails along a
transmission line In electrical engineering, a transmission line is a specialized cable or other structure designed to conduct electromagnetic waves in a contained manner. The term applies when the conductors are long enough that the wave nature of the transmis ...
corridor. The city government also manages a
community center Community centres, community centers, or community halls are public locations where members of a community tend to gather for group activities, social support, public information, and other purposes. They may sometimes be open for the whole co ...
near the city hall and library. Several local
rowing club A rowing club is a club for people interested in the sport of Rowing. Rowing clubs are usually near a body of water, whether natural or artificial, that is large enough for manoeuvering the shells (rowing boats). Clubs usually have a boat house w ...
s use Lake Stevens, including the in-city Lake Stevens Rowing Club that was founded in 1997.


Historical preservation

The local
historical society A historical society (sometimes also preservation society) is an organization dedicated to preserving, collecting, researching, and interpreting historical information or items. Originally, these societies were created as a way to help future gen ...
operated a
museum A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or scientific importance. Many public museums make these ...
adjacent to the city library that opened in 1989 and included exhibits with fixtures from historic buildings and a collection of documents and photographs. The museum grounds also included the Grimm House, a historic house that is listed on the
National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...
. The house was constructed in 1903 for a mill worker and moved to the museum grounds in 1996, later undergoing extensive renovations before opening for public tours in 2004. The museum was closed and demolished in June 2017 as part of the North Cove Park redevelopment, which also included moving the Grimm House to a new location adjacent to a future museum site.


Notable people

*
Travis Bracht Travis Bracht is a Seattle-based singer and guitarist best known for his work with the post-grunge band Second Coming (band), Second Coming.Stav, StevThe Second Coming of Second Coming "Intermittent Signals" September 1, 2001. Retrieved on June 8, ...
, singer *
Jacob Eason Jacob Henry Eason (born November 17, 1997) is an American football quarterback who is a free agent. He played college football at Washington and Georgia and was drafted by the Indianapolis Colts in the fourth round of the 2020 NFL Draft. Eason ...
, professional American football player * Cory Kennedy, professional skateboarder * Kathryn Holloway, Paralympic volleyball player *
Chris Pratt Christopher Michael Pratt (born June 21, 1979) is an American actor. He rose to prominence for playing Andy Dwyer in the NBC sitcom '' Parks and Recreation'' (2009–2015). He also appeared in The WB drama series ''Everwood'' (2002–2006) an ...
, actor


Education

The Lake Stevens School District operates a system of public schools within the city and surrounding areas, including a portion of southeastern Marysville. The school district had an enrollment of approximately 8,838 students in 2016, with 436 total teachers and 239 other staff. It has one high school, Lake Stevens High School, which opened at its current campus in 1979 and was approved for renovation work in 2016. The renovation cost $116 million and began construction in June 2018, opening its first phase in November 2019. The school district also has one mid-high school for grades 8–9, two
middle school A middle school (also known as intermediate school, junior high school, junior secondary school, or lower secondary school) is an educational stage which exists in some countries, providing education between primary school and secondary school. ...
s, and seven
elementary school A primary school (in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and South Africa), junior school (in Australia), elementary school or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ed ...
s. The newest elementary school, Stevens Creek, opened in 2018 alongside an adjacent early learning center. The city's nearest post-secondary educational institutions are
Everett Community College Everett Community College (EvCC) is a public community college in Everett, Washington. EvCC educates more than 19,000 students every year at locations throughout Snohomish County, Washington, with most students and faculty at the main campus in E ...
and
Edmonds College Edmonds College, formerly Edmonds Community College, is a public community college in Lynnwood, Washington. More than 17,000 students annually take courses for credit toward a certificate or degree at the college. The college employs more than 1 ...
. During the late 2000s, Lake Stevens was a leading candidate for a proposed
branch campus A satellite campus or branch campus or regional campus is a campus of a university or college that is physically at a distance from the original university or college area. This branch campus may be located in a different city, state, or countr ...
of the
University of Washington The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seattle a ...
(UW). The city government presented a site on the southwest side of Cavalero Hill that was among the four finalists in 2007, but attracted controversy from neighbors for using land promised for a county park. The Lake Stevens proposal scored the lowest in a survey of the finalists and the project was abandoned entirely in 2008 due to a state budget shortfall.


Library

The city's
public library A public library is a library that is accessible by the general public and is usually funded from public sources, such as taxes. It is operated by librarians and library paraprofessionals, who are also Civil service, civil servants. There are ...
is operated by
Sno-Isle Libraries Sno-Isle Libraries is a public library system serving Island and Snohomish counties in the U.S. state of Washington. The system is among the largest in Washington state and has an annual circulation of 11 million materials. The library's 23 bra ...
, an inter-county system that annexed Lake Stevens in 2008. Prior to the annexation, Sno-Isle was contracted to provide library service to the city-owned library, which opened in 1985 at a former pharmacy building. The downtown library building was the smallest in the Sno-Isle system and was determined to be unable to support the community's needs, necessitating plans for a replacement in the 2010s. Sno-Isle proposed a larger library with of space as part of a civic campus on Chapel Hill near Frontier Village, which would cost $17 million and be financed by a
bond issue In finance, a bond is a type of security under which the issuer (debtor) owes the holder (creditor) a debt, and is obliged – depending on the terms – to repay the principal (i.e. amount borrowed) of the bond at the maturity date as well as i ...
paid through property taxes. The bond was approved by voters in the February 2017 election, but fell 749 votes short of meeting the turnout requirement to pass. A second attempt in February 2018 was also rejected after failing to meet the 60 percent threshold for bonds. The library was demolished in June 2021 as part of renovations to North Cove Park and was replaced with a temporary library at Lundeen Park. The proposed library attracted further controversy in January 2022 after the city's mayor proposed leaving the Sno-Isle system and privatizing it, citing an increase in potential bond debt for funding construction of the civic campus; the idea was subsequently scrapped, with the city and Sno-Isle agreeing to continue their partnership.


Infrastructure


Transportation

Lake Stevens is traversed by three state highways that connect the area to other parts of Snohomish County: State Route 9, running north–south through the west of the city and continuing to Snohomish and Arlington; State Route 92, which continues northeast to Granite Falls; and State Route 204, which connects Frontier Village to
U.S. Route 2 U.S. Route 2 or U.S. Highway 2 (US 2) is an east–west United States Numbered Highways, U.S. Highway spanning across the northern continental United States. US 2 consists of two segments connected by various roadways in southern ...
(US 2). The intersection of State Route 9 and State Route 204 and several roads around Frontier Village are planned to be replaced by a series of
roundabout A roundabout is a type of circular intersection or junction in which road traffic is permitted to flow in one direction around a central island, and priority is typically given to traffic already in the junction.''The New Shorter Oxford En ...
s after a proposed interchange was scrapped. The Hewitt Avenue Trestle, which carries US 2 to Everett, is a four-lane freeway that is frequently congested and is planned to be rebuilt to fix capacity issues. The city is also served by
Community Transit Community Transit (CT) is the public transit authority of Snohomish County, Washington, United States, excluding the city of Everett, in the Seattle metropolitan area. It operates local bus, paratransit and vanpool service within Snohomish C ...
, which operates bus routes between cities in Snohomish County. The agency provides all-day bus service from Lake Stevens to Everett, Granite Falls,
Lynnwood Lynnwood is a city in Snohomish County, Washington, United States. The city is part of the Seattle metropolitan area and is located north of Seattle and south of Everett, near the junction of Interstate 5 and Interstate 405. It is the four ...
, Marysville, and Snohomish. The city has a small
park and ride A park and ride, also known as incentive parking or a commuter lot, is a parking lot with public transport connections that allows commuting, commuters and other people heading to city centres to leave their vehicles and transfer to a bus, Rail t ...
that opened in 2004 and is served by direct commuter routes to the
Boeing Everett Factory The Boeing Everett Factory is an airplane assembly facility built by Boeing in Everett, Washington, United States. It sits at the northeast corner of Paine Field and includes the largest building in the world by volume at 13,385,378 m3 (472,37 ...
and
Downtown Seattle Downtown is the central business district of Seattle, Washington. It is fairly compact compared with other city centers on the U.S. West Coast due to its geographical situation, being hemmed in on the north and east by hills, on the west by ...
during peak hours.


Utilities

The city's
electric power Electric power is the rate at which electrical energy is transferred by an electric circuit. The SI unit of power is the watt, one joule per second. Standard prefixes apply to watts as with other SI units: thousands, millions and billions o ...
and
tap water Tap water (also known as faucet water, running water, or municipal water) is water supplied through a tap, a water dispenser valve. In many countries, tap water usually has the quality of drinking water. Tap water is commonly used for drinking, ...
are provided by the
Snohomish County Public Utility District The Snohomish County Public Utility District is a public utility agency providing power to over 367,000 customers in Snohomish County and on Camano Island, Washington. It provides water service to about 23,000 customers in the northeast sectio ...
(PUD), a consumer-owned
public utility A public utility company (usually just utility) is an organization that maintains the infrastructure for a public service (often also providing a service using that infrastructure). Public utilities are subject to forms of public control and r ...
that serves all of Snohomish County. The PUD sources its water from the City of Everett system at
Spada Lake The Culmback Dam (also known as the George Culmback Dam or the Snoqualmie National Forest Dam) is a large rockfill hydroelectric and water supply dam on the Sultan River, a tributary of the Skykomish River, in Washington. Built in 1965, the dam is ...
and Lake Chaplain, which is delivered to Lake Stevens and Granite Falls. The city is also bisected by a pair of north–south electrical transmission lines operated by the
Bonneville Power Administration The Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) is an American federal agency operating in the Pacific Northwest. BPA was created by an act of Congress in 1937 to market electric power from the Bonneville Dam located on the Columbia River and to constr ...
that travel towards
British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...
.
Natural gas Natural gas (also called fossil gas or simply gas) is a naturally occurring mixture of gaseous hydrocarbons consisting primarily of methane in addition to various smaller amounts of other higher alkanes. Low levels of trace gases like carbo ...
for Lake Stevens residents and businesses is provided by Puget Sound Energy. The city government contracts with
Republic Services Republic Services is an American waste disposal company whose services include non-hazardous solid waste collection, waste transfer, waste disposal, recycling, and energy services. It is the second largest provider of waste disposal in the Unite ...
and
Waste Management Waste management or waste disposal includes the processes and actions required to manage waste from its inception to its final disposal. This includes the collection, transport, treatment and disposal of waste, together with monitoring ...
to provide curbside collection and disposal of
garbage Garbage, trash, rubbish, or refuse is waste material that is discarded by humans, usually due to a perceived lack of utility. The term generally does not encompass bodily waste products, purely liquid or gaseous wastes, or toxic waste produc ...
,
recycling Recycling is the process of converting waste materials into new materials and objects. The recovery of energy from waste materials is often included in this concept. The recyclability of a material depends on its ability to reacquire the p ...
, and
yard waste Green waste, also known as "biological waste", is any Organic matter, organic waste that can be composted. It is most usually composed of refuse from gardens such as grass clippings or leaves, and domestic or industrial kitchen wastes. Green wast ...
for different areas of Lake Stevens. The Lake Stevens Sewer District, established in 1957, operates the city's sewer system and is planned to merge with the city government in 2032. The sewer district built a treatment plant in 2013 at a cost of $100 million, and the debt payments on the project have caused disputes with the city.


Healthcare

Lake Stevens has two
urgent care center An urgent care center (UCC), also known as an urgent treatment centre in the United Kingdom, is a type of walk-in clinic focused on the delivery of urgent ambulatory care in a dedicated medical facility outside of a traditional emergency department ...
s that also provide medical services: a branch of
The Everett Clinic Optum, Inc. is an American pharmacy benefit manager and health care provider. It has been a subsidiary of UnitedHealth Group since 2011. UHG formed Optum by merging its existing pharmacy and care delivery services into the single Optum brand, ...
(part of UnitedHealth
Optum Optum, Inc. is an American pharmacy benefit manager and health care provider. It has been a subsidiary of UnitedHealth Group since 2011. UHG formed Optum by merging its existing pharmacy and care delivery services into the single Optum brand ...
); and a
MultiCare MultiCare Health System is a not-for-profit American health care organization based in Tacoma, Washington. Founded in 1882, MultiCare provides health care services at dozens of locations, including eight hospitals, across Washington state. The s ...
Indigo Urgent Care Clinic that opened in 2017.


References


External links

* {{Authority control Cities in Washington (state) Cities in Snohomish County, Washington Cities in the Seattle metropolitan area Stevens