Symbiotic relationship
Stanwood, Camano Island residents share many commonalities
by Dana E. Blozis


Off the beaten path between Bellingham and Everett rests the sleepy city of Stanwood. Stanwood is situated about five miles from the I-5 corridor, along State Route 532. It is the northern most city in Snohomish County and, with population growth of 6.1 percent between 2004 and 2005, is the fastest growing city in the county. With a current population of 4,500, the city expects to grow to 5,000 by July 2006.
With a history of agriculture and timber as its economic base, Stanwood is known for its rural beauty and its quiet convenience, located close to the Seattle metropolitan area. Despite its charms, this small town and its loyal residents face the challenges of burgeoning growth with limited resources.
Across the bridge, visitors to the area will find neighboring Camano Island, an unincorporated stretch of Island County surrounded by Skagit Bay, Port Susan and the Saratoga Passage. Situated next door to Snohomish County, many Camano Islanders feel a close kinship to Stanwood despite the difference in each area’s character and their governing bodies.

Area governance
Last November, the city of Stanwood elected Dianne White to her first term as mayor. White was born and raised in Stanwood, returning to the area from Spokane several years ago to care for aging relatives. Supported by a bipartisan city council, Mayor White said the city has a small staff and a limited budget, but she is determined to make progress in spite of those challenges.
“We have to be creative,” White said.
As an incorporated town, Stanwood receives local tax revenue in addition to its share of Snohomish County revenue. Because Stanwood serves residents in outlying areas as well, however, funds are not always sufficient to serve the city’s needs.
Down the road, Camano Island faces its own challenges. As an unincorporated area, it does not have a dedicated government of its own. Instead, it defers to the Island County Board of Commissioners, comprised of three members each serving a four-year term. Located in Coupeville (Whidbey Island), some Camano Island residents feel like their concerns are often overlooked by the county. This is particularly true in the service arena. While Camano Island does benefit from some of Stanwood’s services, like fire protection, it is lacking in other areas, including police protection and parks.
Despite these governmental differences, the City of Stanwood and the residents of Camano Island work closely together to care for their connected communities while attempting to balance the priorities of each.
“This city is just a tiny 4,500 person area, but we serve a much greater area and we want to serve them effectively,” Mayor White said. “So I’m very open to people from Camano Island and what they have to say.”
In fact, since she took office on January 4, she has had the opportunity to meet a number of Camano Island residents both at a QFC open house and at her first town hall meeting where 60 or so Camano Islanders came to share their concerns. Many told her, “Stanwood is our town.”
Camano Island businessman Jeff Ericson, owner of Camano Island Coffee Roasters and the 2005 Businessman of the Year, also feels like the communities work together and he appreciates the business Stanwood brings to the island.
“Stanwood is a vibrant community,” Ericson said. “We like everybody.”

Business climate
Described by Mayor White as “exceptionally good,” the Stanwood-Camano School District is the area’s largest employer with 612 employees, measured in full-time equivalents. Providing schools for students in Stanwood and on Camano Island, the school district has nine schools, serving more than 5,000 students each year.
Stanwood’s Twin City Foods is another major employer with 150 year-round employees and hundreds of additional seasonal staff. With more than 50 years in the area, the company is one of the country’s largest independent processors of frozen vegetables and potatoes.
Other major employers include the Josephine Retirement Center, Haggen Food and Pharmacy, and Schenk Packing, which has its corporate headquarters in Stanwood. Conveniently located near Everett and Seattle, many residents make the commute to Boeing, the Everett Naval Station and Microsoft.
As the city’s new mayor, White cited economic development as one of her top priorities. Noting that the city successfully fought off Wal-Mart last year, White said the city invites quality retailers to the area who do not threaten the livelihood of existing businesses. While the city does not welcome big box stores, the mayor said the city would love to have clothing retailers, a small appliance store, boutiques, and other small businesses join the community.
Of particular interest to retailers is 16,000 square feet of new space available in the Village Commons near Haggen in Stanwood. The city is currently working with a commercial realtor and the developers to bring new businesses to the area.
According to an article in the February issue of the Snohomish County Business Journal, the developers of the Village Commons have transformed 55 acres of farm land into a $75 million mixed use, urban village, complete with retail, residential and industrial areas. At 80 percent completion, the village houses more than 50 businesses, bringing more than 500 jobs to the community. More businesses are expected to fill the remaining space.
From a building perspective, it seems that the town will continue to grow, with 114 housing permits currently on the books. White said these include three- and four-bedroom homes, along with a fair number of “starter homes.” These, she said, are most likely being filled with those who are moving north from south Snohomish County and King County, whose own housing costs are rapidly rising.
Ericson said the business community in Camano Island is also alive and well. In fact, Ericson recently moved his five-year-old business Camano Island Coffee Roasters from the north end of the island to a new, innovative area of the island called Camano Commons.
Ericson, who was instrumental in getting the land developed, said this triangle of the island is known as Terry’s Corner. In addition to housing several professional businesses like Coastal Community Bank and several realtors, the Commons was developed to be the residents’ vision of what downtown on an island should look like.
“It was an experiment in listening to the community,” Ericson said of the project.
Terry’s Corner contains the 3.5-acre Freedom Park, donated by Brown & Cole stores of Bellingham and maintained by several civic organizations, as well as a park and ride center allowing commuters to more conveniently travel off the island. Camano Commons also offers a variety of attractively built, complimentary, environmentally friendly and sustainable businesses.
Patterned after Fairhaven’s Village Green in Bellingham, Camano Commons houses the European-style coffee roasting company; Brindles, which features wine, meat and seafood, gelato, snacks, fish and chips, a local art gallery, and organic women’s clothing; two restaurants, Islanders and Alfy’s Pizza; and two additional retail buildings that are currently the home to a local yarn shop, a local Edward D. Jones representative, and Evolution Fitness.
A proud Ericson said the development is unique in that each building has its own design and color scheme, and each is locally owned and operated. In addition, when the complex was built, the owners used as many local contractors and tradesmen as they could find. Although he is thrilled with the development of the complex, Ericson said the best part of the complex is yet to come – a centralized grassy knoll with an amphitheater designed to show movies and serve as a community gathering-place.
“It’s all about finding common ground,” Ericson said of the project. “We’re all Camano Islanders.”
“It’s a fantastic development,” Ericson added. “It has become a real downtown.”
Across the street sits the new Coastal Community Bank, which celebrates its first anniversary in April. Run by veteran bankers like Bill Keller and Laura Byers, the bank moved to the area to provide Camano Island residents with a community-based financial center where they could establish personal banking relationships. Offering a full range of banking and loan services, Coastal Community Bank serves individuals as well as business start-ups and established businesses in the area. Currently with a full service branch on the island and a drive-up facility in Stanwood, the bank plans to add a full-service branch in Stanwood later this year.
As members of the community, the bank encourages its employees to actively participate in the support of Camano Island. Vice President and Branch Administrator Laura Byers, for example, serves on Design Stanwood, the board of the Historical Society, and is in charge of the February Port Susan Snow Goose Festival. Assistant Manager Myra Reinhardt is also active, assisting the Camano Island Chamber of Commerce and the Stanwood/Camano Island Food Bank.
Byers, who has lived on Camano Island for the last eight years, is particularly interested in helping the Stanwood/Camano Island area grow in a carefully managed way. To that end, Byers and dozens of other concerned citizens have formed Design Stanwood, a group partnering with the City of Stanwood to plan future growth and to set design standards to help maintain the unique character of the area.
“We’re not opposed to growth,” Byers said. “But we want community-minded growth.”

Winds of change
Stating her desire to serve the community, Mayor White has a number of goals on her political agenda. First and foremost, she explained, is her plan to create a parks and recreation taxing district. Not only will this district help to maintain existing parks but it will help to pay for new parks and other capital projects. In partnership with Design Stanwood, the city has hired a consultant to help prepare this proposal for the ballot.
“A small city like this can’t finance great things,” Mayor White said. “But we can partner to make great things happen.”
Simultaneously, White is rallying to bring a four-year college to the north Snohomish County area. The proposed four-year, state-supported school is under review by a 13-person panel who is studying sites for such a school. Situated midway between four-year schools in Bellingham and Seattle, White believes Stanwood would be an ideal location for the new school, bringing needed revenue and jobs to the area while providing a conveniently located university for students.
Alongside these major initiatives, White hopes to assist the Snohomish/Island bond district to fund a badly needed library. Although they currently have a library, White says it is “grossly undersized” for the population. She also hopes to make additional infrastructure improvements, as well as refurbish outdated buildings including city hall.
How will she get it all done?
“There’s a lot going on,” Mayor White said. “It’s a balancing act.”

Unique charms
In spite of the economic and governmental challenges the area faces, residents and businesspeople alike are passionate about Stanwood and Camano Island, citing its unique charms and rural character as significant attractions.
Those who live in the area enjoy the ease of which they can travel between Stanwood and Camano Island. Unlike some of the other islands in the Puget Sound, residents and visitors can drive onto and off the island, rather than having to take a ferry ride. Restaurants, stores, and bed and breakfasts are conveniently located in both spots, making them convenient while sufficiently away from the congested hustle-and-bustle of the Seattle area.
In addition to being cyclist-friendly communities, the area boasts a number of parks, including Church Creek Park and Heritage Park in Stanwood and Camano Island State Park on the island. For those who like to golf, fish or hunt, the area is ripe with outdoor recreational opportunities, offering several golf courses, rivers, lakes, the Puget Sound, and wildlife areas. Surrounded by exceptional water and clean air, area residents and visitors are cognizant of their environment, striving to keep it pure and pristine.
Originally a Scandinavian community, the local population has evolved into one of diversity, bringing people of all ages and backgrounds together. While some are year-round residents, others enjoy the cottage communities primarily during the summer months. Boasting a vibrant artist community, the area has a family-like feel to it as residents on both sides of the bridge frequently travel back and forth.
Of particular interest to tourists are the area’s summer celebrations, including the Mother’s Day Studio tour, the Fourth of July Ice Cream Social and mini-parade and, of course, the annual three-day Stanwood/Camano Island fair, held during the first week of August, bringing tens of thousands to the area.
For those looking for arts and entertainment, Stanwood and Camano Island will not disappoint. From The Pavilion at Stanwood Cinemas and the Floyd Norgaard Cultural Center in Stanwood to the History of the World Fine Arts Gallery and the David Maritz Studio on Camano Island, there are dozens of artistic and entertainment venues to suit any taste.
Most importantly, perhaps, visitors to the area will enjoy the close-knit community atmosphere offered by Stanwood and Camano Island.
“One thing that is so interesting about Camano Island is that we are so diverse and such a great mix of people. We all get along phenomenally well,” Ericson said.