Newcastle to Postal Service: We're not Renton!

Newcastle to Postal Service: We're not Renton!

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By Bryan Johnson & KOMO Staff

NEWCASTLE, Wash. -- Beverly Hills has a famous one, but this King County town of 10,000 just wants one to call their own -- a zip code.

The city's only two postal zip codes are both listed as Renton.

"I think it's like living in Lake Woebegone, where you can't really put it on the map," said Newcastle City Manager John Starbard.

This is no laughing matter. Newcastle wants its own zip code, and one reason is a city councilman learned those Renton zip codes are in accident-heavy areas.

"Because the zip codes are Renton-based, (the councilman) is paying about a 20 percent premium on his auto insurance," Starbard said.

The Independent Insurance Association says that could be true.

"It can work that way, insurance companies historically look at geographic regions and definitely zip code is that," said Kim Southworth with Washington Independent Insurance Agents.

It also hits business people like Gina Masoero. She found out zip code confusion sometimes delays a shipment of shampoo or gel two or three weeks.

"Most of us here, my neighbors and I, because it is such a mess, we all pay to have a mailbox at the UPS Store," Masoero said.

All mailboxes have Renton zip codes. All the homes have Renton zip codes. When you order online, guess what happens?

"The sales tax that should be going to Newcastle on those Web-based sales is probably going to Renton," Starbard said.

He guessed the zip code confusion is costing his city $250,000 a year in lost revenue.

So what are the chances Newcastle will get its own zip code? It's not a slam dunk. The city has asked twice before and the Postal Service has said no.

Cities can apply for a postal zip code once every five years. Newcastle has been a city just long enough to apply three times.

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