New meets old in this waterfront town

By MARK HIGGINS
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER

It is Friday and the honorable mayor of Mukilteo, Brian Sullivan, is wiping the condensation off several barrels of fermenting ale in the basement of his pizza parlor.

Sullivan is one of those Type-A personalities who owns a restaurant and brewery and, at age 39, is mayor of one of Snohomish County's fastest-growing cities.

Sullivan's ability to juggle careers as mayor, restaurateur and brew meister says something about Mukilteo, a waterfront town that is trying to right itself after years of topsy-turvy growth.

"This community will come together. It has all the right ingredients," says Sullivan, who will not seek re-election this fall after 12 years in office.

It was Sullivan who dragged the city in 1991 "kicking and screaming" into annexing nearby Harbour Pointe. The master-planned development south of downtown is as different from Mukilteo as Sullivan's amber ale is to Bud Light.

The annexation gave Mukilteo its split personality. It grafted a community of cul-de-sacs, condos, apartments and contemporary homes with three-car garages onto one of the oldest cities in Snohomish County.

Overnight, Mukilteo's population jumped from 6,900 to 13,000, and it has been growing since. Between 1991 and 1996, Mukilteo's population rose 19 percent, compared with an average of 11 percent countywide.

Last year, Mukilteo issued building permits for 380 homes and apartments -- more than any other city in the county except Everett and Marysville.

Much of the new housing is being built on the hillside west of Snohomish County Airport, known as Paine Field. The airport is the third busiest in the state and serves The Boeing Co., which employs about 31,000 workers at its Everett plant.

While the airport accommodates mostly small planes, Horizon Air will begin daily round-trip flights to Portland this fall. Because of its proximity, Mukilteo has long fought any commercial expansion of the airport.

Continued:

• Railroad, shoreline helped city grow
• Commuter hub hardly at a standstill
• Harbour Pointe's growing influence worries some
• Most residents happy with tranquil lifestyle