The Reporter's view: A little longer for Legacy is okay

No one can claim that development of the Legacy Site in Maple Valley has gone too fast. In fact, it hasn’t gone much of anywhere. And that isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

The property that the city bought in 2000 for $6.7 million is bordered by Maple Valley Highway, Lake Wilderness and the Tahoma School District headquarters. City and economic development-minded officials and advisors roundly view it as a centerpiece some day of life and commerce in Maple Valley.

That day isn’t coming fast enough for some members of a citizens’ committee that the city created seven years ago to help put potential uses of the prized property into a coherent, long-range plan. Among other things, the committee recommended that half of the land be developed and half be kept as open space in one form or another. So far, nothing much more concrete than discussion and brainstorming has occurred.

One committee member, while respectful of the need to study Legacy carefully, has gone as far as to suggest the City Council, which ultimately will make decisions, doesn’t “trust” the committee’s recommendations. That’s one take. Another one, though, is that a sizable chunk of Maple Valley’s future is under debate. Given that, plus the economy and other variables, proceeding slowly is quite possibly better than the opposite. A solid, consensus-filled plan is what’s needed – now and later.

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