M'ville hires new community development director

Haylie Miller has roots in the Marysville area and is happy to have the opportunity to serve the community

Marysville has a new community development director who hopes to encourage businesses and housing to come into the city. The new director, Haylie Miller, began work on March 29.

A community development director helps guide the processes around new development in a city.

Miller said the biggest goals for the city going forward will be focusing on attracting businesses and housing to the community.

“It’s a position that helps business applicants through the process,” of establishing and starting in the city, said Miller.

“We have to think about housing as well,” said Miller, particularly about how to encourage a diverse range of housing to be built.

“Some of the biggest challenges will be addressing housing and helping facilitate the incoming business development for the city,” said Miller.

She wants to work to make sure the business licensing and application process is simple and efficient, and not a barrier for incoming businesses.

“With housing we just have to work to make sure there is more flexibility,” so that new housing and new types of housing can come to the city, she said.

Updating the long-range plans for the city is another one of Miller’s goals.

City officials use master plans to help guide their decisions on how different areas of the city should develop and what should be focused on.

The city is currently working on its Downtown Master Plan and has completed the public comment portion of the process.

The Marysville City Council will consider it and potentially approve the update of the old plan.

“It’s a big update now that expands the area of the plan and helps to incentivize development in that downtown area near the Ebey Slough,” said Miller.

Miller comes to Marysville after working for a few private consulting firms and for the city of Ferndale. She began work for Ferndale in 2013 and was eventually promoted to the community development director position there.

“I saw this posting and decided to apply because it was the town I grew up in,” said Miller, who grew up in Tulalip and is a graduate of Marysville-Pilchuck High School. “I’m really excited. I liked growing up in this area and I think that experience gives me a sharp eye about what is good and what can change for the future.”

Miller said she’ll take a lot of pride in helping shape the development of this area because of her roots here.

“I think it means more to move to a city I grew up in,” she said. “I’m just happy to be back in hometown.”