LAKEWOOD — Residents of the still-rural Lakewood community or not too crazy about the city of Marysville’s plans for their future.

The “urban village” concept of mixing business and residential communities was shot down by the majority at a community meeting at Lakewood Middle School March 24.

“I don’t think they can even relate to us,” Gary Buhr said of city officials. “Why do they think people choose to live out in these rural parts of the county anyway? We like having some land between us and our neighbors. It’s like they’re taking their urban city values and trying to transplant them here.”

Buhr, who has worked real estate in the area since 1989, specifically didn’t like the city’s plan to deal with trains crossing 27th Avenue west of I-5. Buhr favors having the road go over the tracks rather than widening it to five lanes.

“We’ve already got seven trains a day crossing that street,” Buhr said. “Adding lanes won’t diminish the massive backup from the freeway, especially when the road will still narrow right back down to two lanes just west of the railroad crossing.”

He added that more roads should precede any development, but acknowledged the city only receives money to build those roads as a result of such development.

Other residents suggested that the city’s plans would force them to move. Some folks pointedly asked what the timeframe was “to remove the present residents,” since they asserted that few would choose to use the urban village concept that city officials envision for the stretch of 27th Avenue west of I-5, near Lakewood schools.

Rachel Miller of MAKERS Architecture and Urban Design assured them that no one would be forced to move, but rather new developers would be required to build according to the plans.

Locals also voiced their disapproval with plans to install median boundaries on much of 172nd Street east of I-5, saying that would only add to the transportation nightmare in town. Miller proposed roundabouts as a possible solution.

Adam Parast, a transportation planner with The Transpo Group, explained that redundant routes would be created to take pressure off 172nd and 27th, along with additional bicycle and pedestrian connections, including more trails, to make the neighborhoods more walkable.

Nancy Nolf, a longtime local resident and Realtor whose mother has lived in the area for more than 40 years, questioned planners’ priorities twice over. First she asserted that there aren’t enough trails in the 55-and-over community development in Lakewood, and then she argued against trails along much of 172nd and 27th.

“Rather than bothering with laying down trails all the way through, why don’t they widen the road more?” Nolf asked.

City of Marysville community development staff had called the meeting to inform locals of their long-range plans for land use, open space and parks, business development and transportation management in the Lakewood and Smokey Point areas.

Gloria Hirashima, chief administrative officer and community development director for Marysville, said the information isn’t new.

“We’re trying to accommodate the growth we’re already anticipating coming to this area,” she said. “We’re not expanding the urban growth boundaries. We’re following the same lines from the comprehensive plan update ten years ago.”