The message below is from another nearby neighborhood group: Citizens for Greater Norma Beach Neighborhoods (CGNBN). They are trying to help save Meadowdale Park from a proposed 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.
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!
Help Save More Trees In Our Urban Areas!
As more growth and development is directed into our urban areas, we need to do all we can to preserve our livability, and help reduce impacts of global warming. It is vital that Snohomish County code saves significant trees and ensures replacement trees that protect our existing neighborhoods from just a sea of buildings and pavement.
The Snohomish County Council will be holding a public hearing at 10:30 a.m. on Wednesday, October 15th to consider changes to the Urban Residential Design Standards, which includes codes for tree retention and replacement, in working towards more livable and sustainable urban communities.
But the current proposed codes for trees do not go far enough. Please CLICK HERE and tell them that you want stronger protections for retention of existing significant trees and a replacement schedule that actually will put trees in our neighborhoods.
There is no better time than today to fix our county codes that will provide a better quality of life for existing residents. Retaining trees reduces noise, glare, cleans our air, reduces surface water runoff and is the cheapest way to protect out neighbhorhoods from the impacts of urban growth and development.
Dear Picnic Point Area Neighbors and Other Concerned Citizens,
You are receiving this email because you sent a letter, fax, or email in the past 3 years regarding the proposed Horseman’s Trail 112-home development. I wanted to first update you on what’s going on, and request a few minutes of your time.
Bob Pemberton is no longer the county’s project manager for the Horseman’s Trail project. The new project manager’s name is Darryl Eastin, and I recently spoke to him. He told me that the developer is almost done with the draft Environmental Impact Statement which was required by Snohomish County, indisputably due to the impact of over 400 letters, faxes, and emails sent to Snohomish County regarding our concerns over the proposed Horseman’s Trail subdivision. He also mentioned to me that he had not read a single letter from the file. Please contact Darryl, either by mail, phone, fax, or email, and let him know that we would appreciate it if he were to educate himself on the concerns of the people that he represents, and take the time to open the file and read our comment letters.
Snohomish County Planning & Development Services
Attn: Darryl Eastin/File #05-123050-SD
3000 Rockefeller Avenue, MS 604
Everett, WA 98201
Phone: 425.388.3311 x1068; Fax: 425.388.3670
Or send an email to: darryl.eastin@co.snohomish.wa.us
If you have a copy of your original letter, then I suggest you forward that to him. If you need a copy of it, we have copies of all the letters in the file and we can email a copy to you. It is very important that he understand all our concerns regarding the clear cutting of 19 acres of an urban forest which is located uphill from a salmon-bearing stream, the grading of over half a million cubic yards of dirt on steep slopes, and the subsequent impact of building 112 homes (10 homes/per acre) on our quiet neighborhood, our schools, our roads, our safety, our water, our air, etc.
Thank you so much for your time!
Julie Meghji
Board Member
Edmonds-Mukilteo Action Committee
P.S. We will be sending out another email in the near future asking for donations so we can have our attorney and hydrogeologist review the draft Environmental Impact Statement once it’s been submitted to the county. Over the past three years, the board members of the Edmonds-Mukilteo Action Committee have paid over $4,500.00 out of pocket for legal, expert review, and copying expenses, but we will need your financial help if we are to continue this effort. If you have experience with fundraising or grant writing, or would like to lend a hand in another capacity please contact us!
Hello Horseman’s Trail Neighbors!
Snohomish County has finally decided to require an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for Horseman’s Trail; however the EIS that they are currently requiring is not a full EIS, despite requests from hundreds of local residents for a full EIS. It is very limited in scope. Snohomish County has identified only one area for discussion in the EIS: “EARTH – Grading in the amount of 285,000 cubic yards of cut and fills in a steeply sloped area adjacent to existing residences.”
We urge you to send a letter or email to Bob Pemberton requesting that the scope of the Environmental Impact Statement for Horseman’s Trail be expanded to include other critical issues, for example the effect of the proposed 116-home subdivision on Picnic Point Creek, a salmon-bearing stream that is in danger of losing its salmon population, and the impact of adding 1,100 plus car trips on our already crowded narrow roads. We have included some sample text below for your use. Please use your own words or cut and paste selected text into a new email or letter and send it to Bob Pemberton @ Snohomish County.
The deadline for written comments is May 30, 2007.
Snohomish County Planning and Development Services
Attention: Bob Pemberton
3000 Rockefeller Avenue
Everett, WA 98201
Email: robert.pemberton@co.snohomish.wa.us
Bob Pemberton’s fax: 425-388-3872
Bob Pemberton’s phone: 425-388-3311, ext. 2764
Thank you for helping to save our neighborhood and our environment!
SAMPLE TEXT FOR LETTER:
Dear Mr. Pemberton,
I understand that the Environmental Impact Statement for Horseman’s Trail is very limited in scope and only addresses one issue: grading. I request that the scope of the Environmental Impact Statement for Horseman’s Trail be expanded to include the following areas for analysis: natural environment, transportation, and public services and utilities.
Picnic Point Creek flows directly into Puget Sound and is a salmon-bearing stream. It needs to be protected from surface runoff, sedimentation, and other development hazards. Horseman’s Trail is surrounded by Native Growth Protection Areas and a designated wetland. How will these be affected by the clear cutting of 19 acres of trees? The road capacity of 60th Ave W and Picnic Point Road needs to be further studied. There are few sidewalks on Picnic Point Road and there are two elementary schools located on the road to Horseman’s Trail. How will an additional 1100+ car trips on local roads affect traffic and safety during rush hour and drop-off and pick-up times at the two elementary schools? How will the current congestion at the intersection of Picnic Point Road and Beverly Park Road during rush hour be addressed? There are limited bike lanes and no transit facilities nearby. There is currently a sewer moratorium in the area. All of these issues need to be discussed in the EIS.
Thank you for considering my comments. I wish to be a “party of record” for Horseman’s Trail.
Sincerely, Your name and address and your email address (optional)