Dollars & Sense: Whither Woodinville?

Buying local is important for many reasons. One is keeping sales tax here to help pay for needed local services. Less local business means less local sales tax which can bring unwanted tax increases on our homes and property.

That's why all around us the competition for local retail sales is fierce.

Redmond has completed its new downtown core. Kirkland is going vertical with multiple high-rise towers off the lake. Bothell couldn't move the river, so it's moving downtown to a new waterfront. Even Duvall has authored a recent renaissance.

This leaves one question: whither Woodinville?

The question is more complex than appearances or extreme voices would have you believe. We have at least three separate retail areas, transportation challenges, parking problems, empty storefronts, limited government resources, nearly 2 million tourists, a schizophrenic civic personality, a poor regional reputation, and, except for Woodinville Way Commercial Center and Hilltop Center, virtually no new development in the last decade. And that's just within the city limits.

So I ask you, yes or no, whither Woodinville? And most importantly, how best do we plan ahead?