Edmonds-Mukilteo Action Committee

An Important Message from Citizens for Greater Norma Beach Neighborhoods (CGNBN)

Show your support for an adjacent neighborhood!

“Seabrook Heights” is a Planned Residential Development (PRD) of 69 single family residences located directly above steep slopes leading to Lund’s Gulch Creek, a salmon stream within Meadowdale County Park. The typical proposed lot size is 3,200 square feet. The plan calls for cramming eight houses onto each of nine acres in a neighborhood where the median density is about two houses per acre. This dense development would double the number of homes which are accessed from Fisher Road.

The proposed development (Snohomish County file number 05-121365) is sited on the south side of Fisher Road across from 66th Ave. W. Much of the 13.2 acre site is sloping, forested land; one third of which slopes downhill with gradients between 33% and 78%. About nine acres of the site is to be clear cut for construction. There is also a wetland on the site.

The developer proposes that storm water flow through a collection tank to be distributed above a hillside draining into Meadowdale Park. Also proposed is a sewage pumping station and pressurized sewage pipe to be located in the southwest corner of the property, where any overflows would drain directly into Fisher Creek. We believe that the proposed management of waste water does not adequately address the risk of failures and resulting damage to the park.

Foreseeable problems to the park include:
• Increased water runoff into the park causing erosion and slope instability. Clear cutting over nine acres of densely forested woods and replacing it with 70 roofs, driveways, roads, etc. will greatly increase the average runoff. This water drainage will be contaminated with soaps and fertilizers adversely affecting the park’s water quality. The park already has a history of unstable soils as evidenced by periodic landslides.
• Potential sewage overflow into the park. The proposed location for the sewage pumping station is in a region where any overflows would discharge into a tributary of Lund’s Gulch Creek, a salmon bearing stream, polluting it and Puget Sound. The water district’s own documents indicate that between 1 and 4 pump station failures have occurred annually since 2002 resulting in sewage overflow.
• Additional risk of erosion due to the undesirable location of the sewer line. The proposed force main sewer line is sited on a steep slope with high slide and erosion potential. This sewer line will require substantial clearing of public forested land for installation and maintenance access.

These storm water drainage and sewage overflow issues have not been adequately addressed in the proposal. Increased volume of contaminated run off, landslides, sewage overflows from pump failures and elimination of wildlife habitat would significantly degrade the environmental quality of the park.

Currently, this problem is occurring in our neighborhood. A few months from now, a similar development may be in yours. At this time, in the Meadowdale/Picnic Point area alone, there are four proposed high-density projects located within low-density zoning areas. If approved and constructed, these projects will have substantial negative environmental impacts on our neighborhoods.
Text taken from: http://www.cgnbn.org/AffectYou.htm

We urge all who can to attend to the Public Hearing on Friday, December 19th @ 9:15 am to hear and/or provide public testimony on the proposed Seabrook Heights PRD. The hearing is being held at the Snohomish County Admin Bldg: 3000 Rockefeller Ave – Administrative-East Bldg. 1st Floor Hearing Room #2, Everett, WA.

Please tell your friends and coworkers and other Snohomish County residents to attend with you. Thank you for reading this.

Citizens for Greater Norma Beach Neighborhoods
http://www.cgnbn.org/

Note from E-MAC: Horseman’s Trail is one of the four proposed high-density projects within low-density zoning areas. Please support our neighbors by attending this important Public Hearing on December 19th. Thank you!