By MARK HIGGINS
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER

Mukilteo isn't at a standstill, however. Local builder Mike Daffron created a cozy cluster of well-landscaped shops with overhead apartments just up the street from Mukilteo's busy ferry dock. His wood-trimmed buildings with peaked roofs and a shared plaza are the closest thing Mukilteo has to the kind of seaside ambience that many residents say they want for the community.

The ferry landing itself is a mixed blessing. Though it brings in some shoppers, most are impatient tourists who opt to sit in their cars and wait for the next boat rather than get out and explore the little downtown.

The Mukilteo ferry run to Clinton on Whidbey Island is the shortest in the system -- it takes about 15 minutes to cross Possession Sound. It's also the state's busiest ferry crossing, with boats arriving about every 10 minutes.

More cars and trucks use the terminal than any other in the state. Almost 3 million vehicles passed through the portal last year.

At the opposite end of town is Harbour Pointe, the master-planned community that began to take shape a decade ago. Here, homes on One Club House Lane start at about $300,000.

It also has an industrial center, home to a number of employers, including Boeing, Alliant Tech and Fluke Corp.

The Harbour Pointe neighborhood also has four new schools, including Kamiak High School, which cost $48 million and offers one of the most technology-infused curriculums in the county.

Kamiak also has a 500-seat performing arts center, beautiful classrooms, a swimming pool and weight room and a state-of-the-art library that is equipped with a satellite dish that can beam programming -- even foreign-language classes -- into classrooms.

The school is so popular that parents from outside the Mukilteo School District have been falsifying home addresses so their children can attend. Nine students who were caught this year have been asked to leave the district because of overcrowding.

The AAAA high school was built to accommodate about 1,500 students, yet the district is forecasting a student population next year of almost 2,000. Ten portable classrooms were in use this year, says Principal Bill Sarvis.

Continued:

• New meets old in this waterfront town
• Railroad, shoreline helped city grow
• Harbour Pointe's growing influence worries some
• Most residents happy with tranquil lifestyle