There aren't any to live in. I think that was the straw that broke the camel's back. All residents had to do was look at Kent, where a disproportionate share of the housing consists of apartments, to know what they didn't want. They didn't want Covington to be another extension of the apartment complex of Kent. They didn't want apartment after apartment.
Residents are a lot happier about new plans for the site of the dreaded apartment project.
Scheduled for construction soon are a new post office and a 14-screen theater. But only time will tell whether Covington will succeed at blocking apartments and urban sprawl. The community's proximity to the intersection of heavily traveled state routes 18 and 516 and the state's Growth Management Act probably guarantee the city will see steady growth in the coming years. King County growth planners, in fact, say the population in the Covington area is likely to reach 41,500 by 2010. And Nevins says some of that growth will come in the form of apartments, although the city is working with residents to minimize their impact.