By MARK HIGGINS
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER

Competition for land is likely to increase here. A greater worry to the town may be how to handle the growing numbers of people the community is attracting.

Many think the lack of sewers, one of the forces that kept the town small, is working to its detriment. Sandy Hansen, owner of the espresso stand, had to limit the expansion of her business because of sewage-disposal restrictions.

Pete's Club has remained closed since last summer over expansion of its septic system. Owner Randy Zeigler wants to add a kitchen and serve meals but is undergoing painful negotiations with county health officials.

"What the Health Department wants is for someone to address the sewer problem," Zeigler says. "Well, we'll never get a sewer system. (The town) is in a flood plain."

But people are coming. New homes are popping up alongside strawberry fields and streams. The farm where Larson and Jones grew up is now part of the Swiftwater subdivision, one of several small developments recently annexed to the city as housing demand has grown.

Even given those developments, real estate broker Keith Garcia at Tolt River Realty says there's a dearth of homes in the $150,000-to-$200,000 range, affordable for many middle-income buyers.

Some think that given the steady population growth the town may have no choice but to install sewers and accept more growth. City Administrator Suko says the growth could expand the city's tax base, too, but citizens are divided over whether to build a sewer system.

The town plans to hold a series of public meetings and may hire an engineer this year to begin designing a system. One option may be to build sewers for the commercial district along the highway, to help businesses expand enough to attract more tourists. If that works it could put more sales tax dollars into the budget of a city that must pass special property tax levies just to maintain its police force year to year.

To help draw tourists and shoppers, the city plans a new town center, complete with a fountain, landscaping and benches, across Tolt Avenue from city hall. Whatever it does, most agree Carnation's biggest challenge will be controlling the numbers of new people who will want to come.

The community "is waking up after a lot of years," Suko says, and a big challenge "will be waking up in the right way."