ISLAND
COUNTY COMMISSIONERS - MINUTES OF MEETING
The Board of Island County Commissioners met in
Special Session on Wednesday, November 12,
2003, at 6:00 p.m. at the Camano Country Club (Clubhouse), 1243 S. Beach
Dr., Camano Island, WA. Wm. L.
McDowell, Chairman, William J. Byrd, Member, and Mike Shelton, Member, were
present. The purpose of the special
session was to conduct a public hearing, having been continued from October 7,
2003, to consider Ordinance #C-84-03/PLG-019-03 in the matter of adopting an
Interim Official Control that designates Division 1 and Division 2 of the Plat
of Thunder Ridge as a Critical Drainage Area.
Approximately 45+ members of the public were
present. County Staff attending were:
Bill Oakes, Public Works Director, Gwen Maxfield, Assistant Public Works
Director, and Phil Bakke, Planning & Community Development Director. Jeff Tate, Planning & Community
Development Assistant Director, Phil Cohen, Island County Engineer Surface
Water Manager. Press was represented by Kelly Ruhoff, Stanwood/Camano
News . An attendance sheet was
circulated [placed on file with the Clerk of the Board].
Chairman McDowell opened the public hearing,
and requested a progress report from Public Works concerning the drainage
issues.
Mr. Oakes reported having met on site with
the larger lot holders in Thunder Ridge to discuss items to be completed
to control drainage from the lots
and road network. Builders have been working on the
improvements. Public Works
Department held two open houses to
receive additional input. The list of outstanding items to be
completed was read for the record:
Repair or Improvements Outstanding as of
11/112/03 per ICPW
Thunder Ridge
Division
I
Lucky Lane
install 4 catch basins in Lucky
Lane to capture run-off
install 200 feet of 12 in. dia.
pipe under Lucky Lane to connect catch basins
install 140 feet of 12 in. dia.
pipe in side lot line from Lucky Lane to Thunder Road
install 240 feet of asphalt
curbing to keep water on roadway to reach new catch basins
repair 60 feet of asphalt curb
at Shamrock, & Lucky Lane (asphalt is crumbling)
Shamrock Lane
clean 100 feet of ditch just
downstream of the water system on west side
install 200 feet of asphalt
curbing on east side to get water to Lucky Lane
Fisher King
clear 120 feet of ditch on west
side of Fisher King
Thunder Road
install 220 feet of riprap of
along north side of Thunder Road between Fisher King & Shamrock
Division
II
build conveyance to reverse
flow within Division II
resolve conveyance to carry
flow to East Camano
Commissioner Shelton inquired about the plans in the
meantime for Division II proposed
conveyance system through adjoining property while waiting for agreements,
easements, and surveys, etc. to be completed.
Mr. Oakes outlined two options being considered: a temporary pipe on the surface of the
ground, or waiting until the new subdivision was built to place the pipe. There is no formal agreement between the
County and property owners at this time, but the property owners seem agreeable to enter into such an
agreement. He was in favor of continuing to work with the landowners
and securing a plan for conveying water safely before removing the Critical
Area Designation. The issues could be
resolved in the near future, including the letter of agreement from the
downstream owners for Division II and proposed to present the completed package
at the December 3, 2003 Staff Session.
The Chairman asked for clarification on the repair
list with regard to “resolve conveyance to carry flow to East Camano”. Mr. Oakes explained it meant a
commitment from the downstream property owners to accept the water at a
given location coming from Division II.
Negotiations have not been
resolved regarding installation and cost of the improvements.
Barbara Kitchens, Association of Realtors, 525 W.
College Way, Mr. Vernon, representing both the Whidbey Island Association of
Realtors and the North Puget Sound Association of Realtors, submitted a CD into the record [filed with the Clerk of the Board]. She
referenced two documents on the CD:
“Critical Areas”, and “Duty to
Accommodate Growth”. She requested that
the Critical Area Designation be lifted that evening and was concerned about
procedures, protocol, and compliance
with Washington Administrative Codes (WAC) 365195905, 365195915,
365195925. She was unable to locate or
identify “Best Available Science” as required by the WAC for this process. There are
concerns about the liability of the distinction based on Western
Washington Growth Management Hearings
Board Case 96-2-0025, Friends of
Skagit County v. Skagit County. WWGMHB Case 95-2-0071 [Whatcom Environmental
Council v. Whatcom County] documented
and verified that local municipalities must include “Best Available Science”
documentation when adopting procedures to do distinctions for critical
areas. WWGMHB Case 95-2-0073, March, 2000, John Diehl et al v. Mason County, had the same conclusion. She asked the Board to review the
documentation provided and remove the
Critical Area Designation.
Brenda Guthrie, 1006 Lightning Way, wife of David
Platter, developer of Thunder Ridge,
mentioned that they were asked
to post a bond on Friday, assuming it was the last part of finishing what the
County had asked them to do in Thunder Ridge.
They spent thousands of dollars and many builders were waiting for the
Critical Drainage Area Designation to be lifted, and are now concerned that
more improvements are being required
and that they have to wait for the developers of Cavalero Hills for the agreements
to be completed before the designation is
lifted.
Dennis Sakowski, 1010 Shamrock Lane (Lot 15, Div. 1)
was interested in whether the
moratorium had been lifted, and was in favor of setting a time limit
when the drainage requirements needed to be finished and allow the builders to
continue to work under supervision by county code. If the improvements
are not finished, the County could
establish a moratorium at that
time.
The Chairman clarified there was no official moratorium, rather a Critical
Drainage Area designation which requires
drainage stay on the
individual’s lot. The designation does
make building more restrictive and
expensive because the drainage issue must be
addressed with each building permit.
Commissioner Shelton noted the Board was trying to
determine what improvements had been done and if enough progress had been made
to lift the Critical Drainage Area designation. He asked the property owner to the west of Division II to come
forward and address whether a delay of 30 to 90 days to secure the necessary
easements from the downstream property owners to receive the drainage water
would be a significant issue.
Kyle Geiger, 1263 Lawson Rd., indicated it would not significantly impact him
because he was more concerned about the long term solution. He asked for clarification what building a
conveyance to reverse the flow within Division II meant, and also about how
much it would cost and who would pay for it.
Mr. Oakes explained the grade of the pipes flowing toward
Mr. Geiger’s property would have to be reversed and directed through downstream
properties.
Sean Guarrity, 1014 Fisher King Way (lot 29), asked if a
berm was proposed for Lightning Way.
He requested clarification whether there was a plan to transport the
drainage water to Thunder Road, and if so, he
was in favor of it.
As pointed out by Mr. Oakes, there had been discussion among the builders to install a
drainage pipe on the downhill side of lots on Lightning Way. They were working to get easements from the
lot owners and that was acceptable to the County.
John Washo, builder, indicated that all but one lot owner had signed easements. A letter had been mailed to the one remaining lot owner requesting the
easement be signed, but had not heard back yet.
Miki Katcher, 1051 Coho Lane (Lot 88), noted at the last meeting the displayed map
indicated lot 88 had identified drainage problems, yet they have had no drainage problems and was interested in
seeing a correction to that map. Mr. Oakes confirmed that the Department did
not see any significant drainage
problems there.
Mr. Washo asked about the Outstanding Repair List
and noted from a meeting a week
ago, understood there were only four
major issues. He felt the major issue
was getting the water conveyed across down to East Camano Drive. Although there had been a big rain on
Monday he did not see any drainage
water out of control. He was concerned
that the builders were waiting on easements or someone else to comply, and he was anxious to get it resolved.
Ms. Guthrie
walked through the whole plat with three people from Public Works and
identified the things that needed to be done.
She pointed out they had done the work they were asked to do and posted
a bond for any additional work that still needed to be done. She wanted to know why they didn’t receive
the repair list a month ago and was
concerned what it would take to get the Critical Drainage Area
designation lifted.
Responding to Kim Nesje, builder, about where the 120 feet of ditch on Fisher King
Way was located that needed cleaning, Mr.
Cohen stated he did not have the exact lot numbers, but there were trees
there and the ditch was almost level with the roadway. Since the roads were private, it was hard to
tell where the right of way line was.
The ditch needed to be cleared so the water could flow into the pipe
before going downstream to a gravel
area without catch basins.
Mr. Nesje walked through the plat last month,
yet now there is a new list with more repairs or improvements
needed. It takes time to complete all the improvements, and they still need
to work on their own projects in addition to helping out. He noted during the heavy rain last
week everything was flowing well. He felt the Platters had really improved the plat and were doing the
best they could to complete the repairs.
Ms. Maxfield clarified the itemized list handed out
that evening was not an additional list to the items that were discussed a
month ago. In particular Lucky Lane and
Division II were discussed in detail at that meeting. She noted the items under Shamrock Lane, Fisher King, and Thunder
Road were clean up items that have not been finalized.
Dwight Nobles, 1060 Coho Lane, (Lots 81-83), did have a drainage problem that has been
taken care of, but was concerned about property values. He was concerned about the whole situation,
and felt it had the potential for adversely affecting his investment. He would like to see a significant bond
posted to assure the project would be finished properly.
The public portion of the hearing was closed.
Chairman McDowell recalled from the last
hearing that reversing the flow of the drainage in Division II was
discussed and felt it was probably the most expensive item on the list. He asked if a recommended dollar amount for
the bond had been discussed with TR
Camano.
Ms. Maxfield suggested $15,000 for a bond amount,
but Mr. Platter felt it was excessive and provided a cashier’s check for
$5,000. A rough engineer’s estimate to
do the project indicated between $16,000 to $20,000 was a more likely figure if
the County were to do the project. It
would cost the County more than private enterprise. The Chair noted it would cost government 30 percent more than the
private sector because of the requirement to pay certified wages. He inquired as to how many feet would be required to reverse the flow of the
water.
Mr. Cohen stated there were 250 feet of pipe that
needed to be reversed and 200 feet of new pipe would need to be placed to get
it off site. He clarified it would
require 1,900 feet of pipe to get the drainage water to East Camano Drive. The County has been trying, without success,
to get the downhill property owners (Cavalero Hills) together with Mr. Platter
to enter into an agreement.
Ms. Guthrie explained Mr. Platter had been busy
doing all the construction work himself, so he was having a hard time
connecting with the Cavalero Hills representative.
Commissioner
Byrd saw two major projects to be accomplished before proceeding: 1) Reversing the flow of Division II at the
top; 2) conveyance of the water from Division II across Cavalero Hills
properties. He felt if there was some
assurance or a bond to support the completion of those two projects he would be
in favor of going forward.
Mr. Oakes and staff reviewed the work done that day,
and would have the dollar amount of the bond needed very soon.
Mr. Noble wanted assurance that the County would oversee completion and inspection of
the projects, such as the inadequate berm on Shamrock Lane.
Commissioner Shelton wanted to make sure the work
gets done, but was also concerned about the situation causing a hardship for
the builder’s livelihood.
Chairman McDowell was not in favor of keeping the
Critical Drainage Area designation in force any longer than needed, but was
concerned the cost of placing the 250 feet of pipe would cost more than the
$5,000 cash in lieu of bond. A bond is
only used if the work does not get done
and the County would be required to pay full price, thus the bond needs to be sufficient to cover the full cost.
Commissioner Byrd suggested that perhaps each
situation could be handled separately.
Mr. Oakes noted that the downhill property owners
(Cavalero Hills) were not objecting to receiving the drainage water.
Mr. Cohen spoke with the property owner’s
representative who indicated they would prefer their own firm to install the
pipes, but the cost still needed to be negotiated, salvage rights, etc. for a
temporary drainage system to be used later in their development. First system would be temporary for the
next six months, after that a permanent drainage system installed by the Plat
of Cavalero Hills.
The Chair noted that as a downhill property
developer they have the responsibility to accept water from above them and move
it across their own property, therefore why would they think TR Camano should
pay for that. In response, Mr. Cohen stated it would be a “point
discharge” where none had existed before, or a sheet discharge, which would be
an unnatural discharge to the property.
Commissioner Shelton questioned whether it was
reasonable to require TR Camano to post a $15,000 - $20,000 cash bond, or based
upon their performance to date, would it be reasonable on the basis of a signed
agreement without bonding to complete the projects in a timely matter. He understood that government normally
required bonding to cover the cost if they had to complete it. A cash bond would be the only way to proceed
since there were no signed agreements and TR Camano did not own all the
property.
With regard to one comment from a citizen about an
oversight, Mr. Oakes stated they are
inspecting to insure the drainage work is getting done.
Chairman McDowell noted the downhill property owner
(Cavalero Hills) would be benefiting since the County would be taking
responsibility for the water downstream of them, so they should be willing to
negotiate for the problems uphill from them.
He questioned if the County
should wait until a signed easement was in place before lifting the designation.
Commissioner Byrd was concerned whether that would
be a fair thing to do since they would have to work based on someone else’s
time schedule.
Commissioner Shelton noted that Mr. Geiger indicated
he would not be impacted by a 60 to 90 day delay. He was interested to hear
whether all agreed that the $5,000 cash in lieu of bond that was
submitted would cover the issues in Division I. He suggested for Division II, the County secure a signed agreement
with TR Camano including everything that was agreed upon in their letter. He understood that it was contrary to what
government considered to be good government, but because of the impact it was
having on the builders, and the good faith effort that has been put forth to
date by TR Camano, he was willing to take that chance.
The Chair asked if TR Camano had agreed in his
letter to the same conditions as outlined in the Repair List dated
11/12/03. Commissioner Shelton noted
in the Lucky Lane issue TR Camano’s letter states “Install a drainage culvert
at the east end of Lucky Lane and carry water across the west corner of lot 6
to Thunder Road drainage ditch”, while
Public Works has a list of things such as 4 catch basins, 200 feet of 12
in. diameter pipe, etc. He felt the
$5,000 cash bond would cover the issues.
Commissioner Byrd
saw different approaches to
correct the problem and asked Mr. Cohen’s
opinion. Mr. Cohen’s instructions were to solve flooding problems
and build this to the standards of a 1969 plat. In his opinion, the amount of pipe and catch basins were the
amount necessary to pick up water on Lucky Lane to keep it from coming down
people’s driveways.
Commissioner Byrd asked if the method proposed was
adequate. Ms. Guthrie interjected the
method proposed came about as a result
of the walk-through in Division I and
II. They did not have this list and she
didn’t believe every catch basin was discussed. If that was what needed to be done, then she stated that was what
they will do. Mr. Platter’s letter was based upon the walk-through
meeting last month, and that does not mean he is ignoring what is in today’s
list.
Commissioner Byrd asked for Mr. Cohen’s
recommendation. Mr. Cohen recommended
following the latest list.
Commissioner Byrd was sympathetic with the builders, but wanted
something in writing that would take care of the Division II problem. Chairman McDowell agreed that the $5,000 in
lieu of the bond would be sufficient for Division I and a signed agreement for
Division II for the work to be done.
The Board unanimously moved to lift an Interim
Official Control designating Division 1 and Division 2 of the Plat of Thunder
Ridge as a Critical Drainage Area with
conditions: dedicate the current
$5,000 cash bond to final completion of issues in Division I of Thunder Ridge;
In Division II establish a signed agreement with TR Camano in terms of
reversing the flow from the west to the east; TR Camano to be responsible for
reversing the existing pipe and agree to work with the downhill property owners
to get it completed [a conveyance system from Thunder Ridge to East Camano
Drive] in a reasonable amount of time [time in agreement was set for February 12, 2004].
Commissioner Shelton commented the cost of the
improvements would be between two private companies. The Chairman noted on the new plat the developer would be
required to build to today’s standards and to accept a certain amount of water
from the plat uphill from them.
A citizen in the audience raised concerns about the
drainage on Lightning Way and the Board clarified that the issues had been
addressed by the builders. Commissioner
Shelton asked whether the builders would be agreeable to providing an easement
and a plan for those lots prior to issuance of building permits on those lots,
and Mr. Washo explained all except one
lot had signed and recorded easements.
He stated the owner of Lot 41 was the only one who had not responded to
his letter.
The Chairman asked Mr. Oakes to prepare a letter on
county stationary and ask for a response. If no response then, they would have
to pursue working with the downhill property owner.
A citizen asked what would the consequences be if
the improvements were not completed by the agreement date. Another audience member inquired if it would
be possible to see the agreement, once
it had been signed, and Commissioner
Shelton noted that a copy would be on file at the Camano Annex.
There being no further
business to come before the Board at this time, the meeting adjourned at 7:20 p.m.
The next regular meeting of the Board is scheduled for November 17, 2003, at 9:30 a.m.
BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
ISLAND COUNTY, WASHINGTON
______________________________
Wm. L. McDowell, Chairman
_____________________________
William J. Byrd, Member
_____________________________
Mike Shelton, Member
ATTEST:
_______________________
Elaine Marlow, Clerk of the Board