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Cluster 3

Tourism Hubs

Overview | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14

Burlington, Chelan, Cle Elum, Friday Harbor, La Conner, Leavenworth, Long Beach, Ocean Shores, Port Townsend, Sequim, Stevenson, Westport, Winthrop	Size – Small Property value – High Commercial activity – High Growth – Moderate Geography – East and west	Cluster Characteristics Population Other Community Characteristics Fiscal Conditions General Financial Outlook Major Revenue Base City Services Community Conditions Economic Conditions
Proximity to mountains, rivers and the ocean defines these cities and attracts people from near and far. These tourist-based economies provide some additional resources, but service levels can also be more demanding at times. These smaller cities have fought to sustain a variety of services over the past few years including police, streets, parks, planning and business recruitment. The lack of affordable housing is a key community condition that will need to be addressed in the future. All data is recorded as an average for all cities in the cluster. Data for individual cities may vary significantly in some categories.

Community Conditions

Population

• Average Population Size:

Year	1990	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008
Pop.	2,344	2,949	2,998	3,013	3,045	3,105	3,179	3,296	3,374	3,445

• Population Density, 2007: 1,245 persons per square mile

• Population Growth Rate, 2000-2007: 13.3%

Other Community Characteristics

• Date of Incorporation: 1909

• GMA-Planning Cities: 69%

• Number of Housing Units:

  2000	2008	Growth- 2000-2008-
  1,636	1,957	18%

Fiscal Conditions

General Financial Outlook

• Ability to Meet Needs Compared to Current Year:
  

	(% of Respondents)
	Less Able	Same	Better Able
Four Years Ago	43%	0%	57%
Next Year (2009)	57%	43%	0%
In Next Four Years (2012)	71%	29%	0%

Major Revenue Base

• Per Capita Assessed Value, 2007: $143,557

• Per Capita Sales Tax Revenue, 2007: $418

City Services

Services Most Difficult to Sustain	% of Cities in Cluster		Services Most Improved	% of Cities in Cluster
Business recruitment	46%		Police	64%
Police	36%		Sewer	36%
Planning	36%		Planning	36%

 

Community Conditions

• Top Community Issues:
  

	(% of Respondents)
	Major Problem	Moderate Problem	No Problem
Availability of affordable housing	55%	46%	0%
Public transportation	36%	27%	36%
Availability of employment opportunities	27%	55%	18%

• Most Important Community Conditions to Address in Next Four Years:

Local Conditions	% of Cities in Cluster
Availability of affordable housing	73%
Vitality of downtown/retail corridors	55%
Availability of employment opportunities	46%

Economic Conditions (2000 US Census Data)

• Median Household Income:

Year	1999
Median Household Income	$32,101

• Poverty Rate, 1999: 15%

• Major Local Employers by Industry:

Major Local Employers	% of Cities in Cluster (w/ Industry as 1 of 3 Top Employers)
Retail trade	85%
Accommodation and food services	85%
Health care and social services	62%

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