We have won the first battle! Get ready for the next one.
The members of our organization are somewhat up to date on the status of our battle with developers in our neighborhood, but now that we have gone through the entire process and won (for now) it's time to bring the casual visitor to our Blog up to date.
This battle started over a year ago, when a local developer, Cimmaron West, filed an application to put in a Rural Cluster Subdivision, Panther Lake Ridge, on a ridge next to the BPA Power line that crosses Three Lakes Road west of 163rd, about a mile north on 163rd. As per the process, signs were posted and a notice was sent by the Snohomish County Planning and Development Department to all the neighbors adjacent to the proposed development.
What usually happens in a situation like this is that a few of the neighbors comment on the development plans, the developer makes a few cosmetic changes, a public hearing is held, and the developer eventually gets a permit for the development.
In this case, however, more than a few neighbors became concerned about this development. We already have more than 60 properties that are accessed via 163rd, which is probably a higher than normal number because the entire west side of Panther Lake is platted into smaller lots left over from the old town of Three Lakes, which was in existence for around 30 years at the beginning of the 20th century. Although the the area is zoned as R5, which means that lots should be 5 acres, the new Panther Lake Ridge (PLR) development would place 32 homes on small lots in one corner of 107 acres and and increase the traffic on the lower end of 163rd by 50%.
The nearby neighbors and residents of lower 163rd cried Foul! This didn't make sense. So they put out flyers at every residence in the culdesac and called a public meeting at the Three Lakes Community Church. Bev Setzer and Rick Wertz-Whitman outlined to the packed hall the details of the planned development and revealed to all of us that this was to be a Rural Cluster Subdivision, which at the time didn't mean much to us.
The result was that we held a series of meetings, did a lot of research on the laws affecting this, gathered names, and got organized. We formed a non-profit organization. We started an e-mail list and a phone tree for commuications. We all sent in our comments on the development, pointing out the things about it that did not meet the legal requirements that the County Council has set up for RCS's.
As a result of our inputs and involvement, the Planning Department paid more attention, and the developer was forced to revise the plans several times. It seemed clear to us that he had tried to sneak through with minimal compliance, and we demanded complete compliance. Eventually, as part of the process, the Planning Department decided that they were more or less satisfied with the plans, and it was time to move on to the official Public Hearing. They also issued a Determination of Non Significance under the State Environmental Protection Act (SEPA). We decided it was time to hire a lawyer.
In preparation for the Hearing, we worked closely with our lawyer, providing information, ideas, and a lot of drafts of briefs. We took a lot of pictures of the area, drew maps, did research on the Internet, made numerous trips to the Planning Department office to review and get copies of the public record. We started a Web page so we could exchange information. Then we started another web page to help us raise money to pay for the lawyer.
I'll go into details in a later post. The bottom line was that on the most important issue, the location of 31 lots on the Ridgeline, the Hearing Examiner agreed with us that their was other buildable land off the Ridge, and thus per the County law, houses had to be built there instead of on the ridge. So he denied the application, (without Prejudice, which means that the developer can apply again with a modified proposal).
However, we weren't done yet. The process allows a request for reconsideration from either party, and both of us did make requests. However, the Hearing Examiner left Snohomish county for a better job in King County, and they had to hire a new one. This delayed the Reconsideration hearing for 5 months. The new Hearing Examiner upheld the findings of the first one. We had until today to file an Appeal, but both sides decided not to Appeal.
So as of today, the Development is dead. However, it probably hasn't gone away. The developer will probably make some changes to the plans and try again. The whole process starts over, however, so there will be a new notice, and new comment period, and new Public Hearing.
During the first battle, we told the developer several times what would satisfy us. He chose to ignore that and offer some trivial mitigation. We hope that the next time around he will modify his proposal be more in accord with what we feel is appropriate, and we can be more cooperative. But don't hold your breath . . .
In my next Blog, I'll talk more about our Community, or organization, and what I think we have gained from going through this process.
This battle started over a year ago, when a local developer, Cimmaron West, filed an application to put in a Rural Cluster Subdivision, Panther Lake Ridge, on a ridge next to the BPA Power line that crosses Three Lakes Road west of 163rd, about a mile north on 163rd. As per the process, signs were posted and a notice was sent by the Snohomish County Planning and Development Department to all the neighbors adjacent to the proposed development.
What usually happens in a situation like this is that a few of the neighbors comment on the development plans, the developer makes a few cosmetic changes, a public hearing is held, and the developer eventually gets a permit for the development.
In this case, however, more than a few neighbors became concerned about this development. We already have more than 60 properties that are accessed via 163rd, which is probably a higher than normal number because the entire west side of Panther Lake is platted into smaller lots left over from the old town of Three Lakes, which was in existence for around 30 years at the beginning of the 20th century. Although the the area is zoned as R5, which means that lots should be 5 acres, the new Panther Lake Ridge (PLR) development would place 32 homes on small lots in one corner of 107 acres and and increase the traffic on the lower end of 163rd by 50%.
The nearby neighbors and residents of lower 163rd cried Foul! This didn't make sense. So they put out flyers at every residence in the culdesac and called a public meeting at the Three Lakes Community Church. Bev Setzer and Rick Wertz-Whitman outlined to the packed hall the details of the planned development and revealed to all of us that this was to be a Rural Cluster Subdivision, which at the time didn't mean much to us.
The result was that we held a series of meetings, did a lot of research on the laws affecting this, gathered names, and got organized. We formed a non-profit organization. We started an e-mail list and a phone tree for commuications. We all sent in our comments on the development, pointing out the things about it that did not meet the legal requirements that the County Council has set up for RCS's.
As a result of our inputs and involvement, the Planning Department paid more attention, and the developer was forced to revise the plans several times. It seemed clear to us that he had tried to sneak through with minimal compliance, and we demanded complete compliance. Eventually, as part of the process, the Planning Department decided that they were more or less satisfied with the plans, and it was time to move on to the official Public Hearing. They also issued a Determination of Non Significance under the State Environmental Protection Act (SEPA). We decided it was time to hire a lawyer.
In preparation for the Hearing, we worked closely with our lawyer, providing information, ideas, and a lot of drafts of briefs. We took a lot of pictures of the area, drew maps, did research on the Internet, made numerous trips to the Planning Department office to review and get copies of the public record. We started a Web page so we could exchange information. Then we started another web page to help us raise money to pay for the lawyer.
I'll go into details in a later post. The bottom line was that on the most important issue, the location of 31 lots on the Ridgeline, the Hearing Examiner agreed with us that their was other buildable land off the Ridge, and thus per the County law, houses had to be built there instead of on the ridge. So he denied the application, (without Prejudice, which means that the developer can apply again with a modified proposal).
However, we weren't done yet. The process allows a request for reconsideration from either party, and both of us did make requests. However, the Hearing Examiner left Snohomish county for a better job in King County, and they had to hire a new one. This delayed the Reconsideration hearing for 5 months. The new Hearing Examiner upheld the findings of the first one. We had until today to file an Appeal, but both sides decided not to Appeal.
So as of today, the Development is dead. However, it probably hasn't gone away. The developer will probably make some changes to the plans and try again. The whole process starts over, however, so there will be a new notice, and new comment period, and new Public Hearing.
During the first battle, we told the developer several times what would satisfy us. He chose to ignore that and offer some trivial mitigation. We hope that the next time around he will modify his proposal be more in accord with what we feel is appropriate, and we can be more cooperative. But don't hold your breath . . .
In my next Blog, I'll talk more about our Community, or organization, and what I think we have gained from going through this process.
posted by Earwicker @ 10:20 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home