A 'master plan' guides the city

By DEBERA CARLTON HARRELL
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER

Neatness, uniformity, security, tranquility, education and excellence are top priorities, say residents and city officials. But these values also serve the essence of Mill Creek's master plan: enhancing property values.

"The CCR's (conditions, covenants and restrictions) are very much a defining element of the community. The object is to keep the aesthetics and appearances pleasing and protect property values," said Mark Beales, a 17-year resident and former member of the Mill Creek Community Association and the architectural control committee.

Real estate and other commercial signs are restricted; motor homes and junker cars are banned from driveways. Fencing (wood only) and home paint colors (neutral tones, please) must be approved by the architectural control committee. A covenant committee "educates" citizens and enforces the rules.

The conditions, covenants and restrictions are both the reason people want to stay and the reason some want to leave. One resident, who did not want his name used, was disgusted with the tight restrictions, saying they have turned neighbor against neighbor. He says his former neighbor moved to Woodinville after other neighbors threatened litigation when a new boat was not parked according to the restrictions.

"My wife and I would move," he said, "but our kids like it here too much."

Others insist that lawsuit-happy neighbors are in the minority and that most residents respect and abide by the spirit of the covenants.

Beales said while house uniformity is valued, the citizenry is "diverse."

"Mill Creek is definitely an upper-middle-class neighborhood, but it is multinational and multiracial," Beales said. "I have an Argentinian living up the street from me, as well as neighbors who are Japanese, black, Korean and even from Ballard."

The 1990 census shows Mill Creek's population is nearly 92 percent white. Three-year-old Jackson High School, which will graduate its first senior class in June, had 566 white students in the 1994-95 school year, 64 Asian American students, 22 Hispanics and nine blacks.

Mill Creek residents are retirees, single parents, homemakers, merchants and professionals. They don't all dress the same, drive the same cars or vote the same.

"I'm really high on Mill Creek," said Bud Bakker, a technician at a ski and bike shop. "People here are connected with the community. They're nice people, with candor and patience. There are a few who expect to be treated like the king of France, but most people are not into conspicuous consumption."

Continued:

• Clean, tidy community a 'suburban nirvana'
• 'Pride in home ownership' is city's motto
• Even paradise has growing pains
• It began with a clear vision
• Safety and schools top list of concerns