Fire and police stations will be easier to build in rural Snohomish County under a zoning change the County Council approved 5-0 on Sept. 9.

Ordinance 26-039 makes fire stations and sheriff precincts a permitted use in more rural zones. It also cuts the number of approval steps fire districts must clear before construction. Some zones will still require additional review.

The ordinance amends four chapters of county code (30.22, 30.23, 30.91f and 30.91g) and adds two new sections.

Councilmember Jared Mead, whose district includes parts of Everett, made the motion to approve. Councilmember Nate Nehring seconded it. Council Chair Dunn, Vice-Chair Sam Low and Councilmember Peterson also voted yes, according to county meeting records.

Low told Snoho.com that fire districts pushed for the change after the 2022 Bolt Creek Fire, which burned more than 10,000 acres east of Gold Bar and forced evacuations. He identified the Highway 2 and Highway 522 corridors east of Monroe as a coverage gap with few fire stations outside city limits.

Low described a community of 44 homes near Ben Howard Road that was cut off several years ago when a road washed out. Snohomish Regional Fire & Rescue had to deploy off-road vehicles and designate a helicopter landing zone to reach the neighborhood.

"That fire station's coming from Monroe, coming a long way to get all the way out to that section," Low told Snoho.com.

He said having the ability to place stations closer to those communities for emergencies is very important. Low added that the ordinance does not move permits to the front of the line but makes the process smoother and quicker now that fire and police facilities are a permitted use in every zone.

Brian Mills, a retired deputy fire chief serving as Fire Commissioner of Fire District 4, testified in support at the Sept. 9 public hearing.

No specific new stations are planned under the ordinance. Individual fire districts will decide where stations are needed based on their communities and response demands.

Mead and Low had co-championed the measure after fire districts contacted them about the difficulty of siting stations in rural areas, Low told Snoho.com.

Fire districts can now begin working within the updated zoning code to identify future station locations.