Council grants alley vacation in Laurel Heights and approves EMS levy measure for August ballot

The Everett City Council on April 22 granted a petition to vacate the northern portion of an unopened alley in the Laurel Heights plat adjacent to 1810 52nd Street SE and directed staff to prepare an ordinance and necessary documents.

Paul McKee of city real property staff described the vacation as a roughly 1,563‑square‑foot correction of a 1950s carport encroachment. McKee said the city and the adjacent property owner will complete a boundary line adjustment transferring the city's half of the vacated alley to the private parcel; the owner will pay the appraised value of the vacated right‑of‑way and a joint access and turnaround easement will be recorded to preserve vehicular access.

After McKee’s presentation, no members of the public spoke on the item, council closed the hearing and moved to grant the petition. Council member Bader moved the motion; the clerk recorded affirmative roll‑call responses from present members. The council directed staff to draft the ordinance and implement the boundary and easement documents.

Also at the meeting the council approved a resolution to place an EMS levy lid‑lift on the August 4 primary ballot. Fire Chief Dave DeMarco said the resolution would restore the EMS property tax levy rate from 36¢ per $1,000 of assessed valuation back to the 2018 voter‑approved rate of 50¢ per $1,000 to meet growing demand and rising costs. "Annual department call volume in 2025 is 11% higher than it was in 2018," DeMarco said, and he added that labor and equipment costs have increased substantially. The council voted to transmit the measure to the county and to recruit community volunteers to author voters' pamphlet statements for and against the measure.

The meeting also approved routine consent items and the minutes for April 15, 2026.