Snohomish County resident urges county to reacquire undeveloped park, cites traffic and housing pressure

Holly Hernandez, a resident of southwest Snohomish County, told the Snohomish County Council on April 1 that growth in her neighborhood is creating pressure on long‑time residents and urgent infrastructure needs.

Hernandez said the area has seen “a lot of the density development” in recent years and that a new transit center “coming there” is increasing development pressure around her home of 35 years. She said a development permit for 57 houses includes two new entrances onto Maple Road, which she described as unimproved and lacking safe pedestrian or bicycle access.

The matter, she said, involves a neighborhood park that has remained undeveloped for roughly 25 years and was promised by the county and the city of “Littler” at the time of earlier agreements. “I'm hoping that the county will follow through on their interest in moving forward to reacquist this, from buying it back or getting it back from the city,” Hernandez said.

Hernandez also raised traffic concerns, saying arterial roads near her neighborhood are at capacity and that local streets are bearing cut‑through traffic. She told the council that developers' traffic analyses appear to measure impacts only on main arterials, leaving local roads without needed improvements.

The comments were part of the meeting's public comment period and did not prompt a council vote during the session. Chair Peterson closed public comment after multiple speakers and moved the agenda to administrative assignments and committee reports.

Why it matters: The neighborhood concerns Hernandez raised touch on county land‑use and transportation planning, local implementation of regional growth policies, and long‑standing promises about park acquisition. Residents said the combination of new transit infrastructure and nearby housing permits is accelerating changes in the area.