Compare that to Seattle, where fewer than half the residents are homeowners. The plateau also is predominantly white, though that is said to be changing slowly. The county estimates that about 14,000 more people will move to the plateau by 2010, drawn by the belief that they are moving to a safe, quiet, semirural community. But no community can change as fast as the plateau has without suffering from major growing pains and a clash of values. The plateau's country roads and intersections are overwhelmed during peak commuting hours.
Traffic can back up for miles, and parents say they worry about their children crossing main roads.
Bus service is virtually non-existent, in part because of the sprawling nature of the plateau's housing. Its public schools, many of which are new and given high marks by parents, are filled to capacity. The Eastlake High School opened several years ago, and already a new high school is being built less than a mile away. And despite all the money it generates in property taxes, the county has yet to come through with its promise of a branch library, which voters agreed to fund in a 1988 countywide bond issue. But many plateau residents are still waiting for replacement siding.