Pete Lewis changing the face of Auburn

Dec. 2004 -- One of the things that Auburn Mayor Pete Lewis is most proud of is his city ‘s ability to work together to get things done. "There ‘s a whole new spirit of cooperation and service in the city of Auburn, " says Lewis.

That includes the city ‘s efforts to plan for growth.  With 45,000 residents, the city of Auburn ‘s population has grown by more than 40 percent since 1980, and more growth is on the way.  According to the King County Annual Growth Report, the city is expected to add nearly 6,000 new households by 2022.  Under Lewis ‘ leadership, the city council has come together and worked cooperatively toward creating a vision for the future.  A vision map hangs on the wall in the Auburn City Council chamber, showing where new streets, parks, trails and development will occur.  The map helps illustrate the city ‘s 10-year comprehensive plan, which passed the council unanimously. 

Lewis also helped the city enact permitting reforms that resulted in a one-stop permit shop.  To accomplish this, the mayor pulled together a range of stakeholders to provide input into the process and hired a consultant to interview all sectors doing business with the city.  Ultimately the stakeholder group developed a list of recommendations to streamline the permit process, make it more efficient and speed up processing times.

In addition, the city recently agreed to a 10-year property tax abatement for qualified new development in the downtown area that includes multi-family residential units.  The idea, says Lewis, is to help encourage multi-family development and revitalize the downtown area. 

"Through these efforts, we ‘re reshaping the downtown, and we ‘re helping the business community go where they need to be, " said Lewis. 

The city still has its challenges, though, such as paying for the infrastructure needed to support annexation. Lewis believes the cost of bringing annexed areas, such as Lea Hill and the West Hill, up to urban standards should not be born entirely by local residents.  King County, Lewis argues, should help pay for needed upgrades to streets and storm drainage there.  Auburn, like other cities, has been negotiating with the county over this important issue.

With his roots in construction financing, Lewis understands the homebuilding industry well.  He spent 23 years in the banking industry prior to serving in public office and is also a former member of the MBA.

Lewis was first elected the to Auburn City Council in 1998, and he became Mayor in 2002.  A strong believer in community involvement, he has always been active in a variety of local organizations and encouraged others to do the same.  Currently he is the Chair of the South County Area Transportation Board, Chair of the South King County Human Services Forum and a member of the Suburban Cities Association Executive Board Committee, the Puget Sound Regional Council and the Economic Development District Board, among others.