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UPDATED Sat 7/30- U.S. 2 ROAD CONSTRUCTION UPDATES

Update on COUNTY ROAD construction (Our thanks to Monroe Councilman Chad Minnick, who sent us this link)

WILD SKY UPDATE (as of 8/21)- Obviously, the key to finally moving the Wild Sky issue out of the Richard Pombo-controlled House Resources Committee (in which he has sat on it for the past three years) is removing Cong. Richard Pombo from office. Congressman Pombo has served in Congress since 1992. For his 2005/06 reelection campaign he has raised $554,000 for this year's re-election bid, 91.2% of which has been received from business interests. Some other interesting web links: dKosopedia stories (The front page statement of dKosopedia website: "The dKosopedia is written from a left/progressive/liberal/Democratic point of view while also attempting to fairly acknowledge the other side's take.")....A SNAPSHOT of Pombo, his legislative work and other background info (a link from congress.org)....Washington Post article, "Bush policy gets a ride [re allowing snowmobiles in Yellowstone] from Rep. Pombo (the article asserts Pombo used taxpayer funds to pay for a lobbying mailer on this issue. This brings up a question I had earlier this week about who paid for his Sultan Helicopter and Fundraising jaunt disguised as a Wild Sky-scoping trip? Anyone out there know the answer to that one?). And a San Francisco Chronicle article that gives a detailed, fair and balanced look-see at Pombo, his policies and his background. (After researching some of this, my take on Pombo is that he's a dream come true for aggressive pro-property rights folks.

NEWS

CURRENT & LOCAL INTEREST

 
SCHEDULE & EVENTS

NEWS SOURCES:
Everett Herald, Seattle-PI, Seattle Times, Sacramento Bee, Wall Street Journal, NY Times, Chicago Tribune, Wired Magazine, Associated Press, LA Times, Washington Post, Drudge Report, Yahoo, G.R.I.T. Updates

NEWS ARTICLES

New

Snohomish County Council to consider ordinance restricting where most at-risk-to-offend sexual predators can live (Similar to Issaquah's new law)

What do we REALLY pay for a gallon of gas?

Seattle Times article - How Barclays North has taken over Sultan

$110 million in WSDOT funding slated for final leg of 522 to Monroe may go further south

Taskforce Hearings on NEPA draws strong support Republican leaders of the U.S. House of Reps Resources Committee formed the task force to study the future of NEPA, but their first hearing in Spokane drew a slightly different crowd than anticipated. READ PI's Joel Connelly opinion on federal hearings at a local level.

Other info related to NEPA hearings:

Also of interest related to the Sultan-Pombo connection, are the true grass roots efforts by Sultan UGA resident Ed Husmann (including the FORESTS FOR PEOPLE,***with which he is at least closely affiliated and includes a good deal of anti-Wild Sky info). Mr. Husmann has been stumping for Pombo's efforts to block Wild Sky, as evidenced by his local contacts through ORV (off-road vehicles) and snowmobiler clubs. Among them is the Boeing Employee's Stump Thumpers 4x4/ORV club and a Washington snowmobiling club (click here for details as webpage or in Word) via newsletters and message board activity.

***Interestingly, nowhere on this website is: a phone number, an address or an owner's(s') name(s). A search for it in the Wash. St. Secty. of State Corporation's database reveals nothing.

OTHER "STUFF"

DISCUSSION, OPINION & MESSAGE FORUM


RECORDING WARS
(When the City tried to stop G.R.I.T. from recording public meetings)

FOOD BANK: Put a pre-addressed food bank envelope in your "bills to pay" folder and send a check monthly: $5, $10, whatever you can spare!
For more info, click here.



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

CITY AGENDA PACKET TARDINESS: The packet was distributed by Laura Koenig on Monday (8/22) afternoon. We wrote to Mayor Tolson on the increasingly-tardy nature of these packets and received a less-than-satisfactory response. Because that response was an "informal" explanation to me in answer to a question on this subject, I have thus requested a public statement. Friday afternoon is little enough time for council members and citizens to attempt review of this vital information, but when the agenda is published only 53 hours before the meeting, and is PACKED with significant, complicated and long-term-impact subjects, as is this agenda, if I were sitting on the council I would be quite upset at the short lead time available for review. Three workdays is precious enough time to review such matters (essentially, if the agenda is published by C.O.B. on Friday, which it normally is, that leaves Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday), even if being on council was a paid position and they had an assistant to help review some of these issues, but 53 hours? I don't think so. If packet agendas are going to be delayed beyond C.O.B. on the Friday before a meeting, then items should be REMOVED rather than trying to squeeze everything into a single meeting. (Packet in Word, Acrobat) There are too many important items to select only one or two as highlights....

"Mini-Cities Man" Barnett has been lobbying for years to develop his property near Lake Roesiger as an FCC (Fully Contained Community). We have a better, more appropriate name for it: Future Community Catastrophe. The idea is to "contain" all growth impacts within the community, a concept that runs contrary to our very natures. Until, and if such time these communities can ONLY be accessed (in AND out) via foot, manual wheel -- i.e., bikes -- or MASS TRANSIT to a transportation distribution area (such as a parking area where residents can store their cars), this is a VERY bad idea, indeed. Mr. Sax: How do you believe such a community, which would be located far outside major transportation areas and existing roadway infrastructure, could FIX the gridlock on county roads? Please explain. Your constituency is listening... (At least until the November election when you will, thankfully, be voted OUT of office.)

 

Last week - Aug. 17 Seattle Times article about a "900 lb. gorilla," otherwise known as Barclays North (Sultan is the focus of this story, with comments by David Toyer, Mayor Ben Tolson, Loretta Storm and Sultan Councilman Jim Flower highlighted.)

Recent - Audio files of 8/10/05 VAN WYNGARDEN ANNEXATION MEETING in two parts in MP3 format: Part 1 (4.5 mb) - mostly public comment); and Part 2 (5.1 mb), remaining public comment and questions and discussion from council. (This does not include council's questions, discussion and vote on this issue during the council meeting.) In a surprising result, the annexation was denied. For now...

OTHER ACTIONS DURING 8/10 COUNCIL MTG: Moratorium on PUDs was passed, hearing will be held within 60 days (but the number of pipeline development exclusions pulls much of its teeth); council support for FD #5 Levy lift (recent astounding assessor tax increases does not affect, or help, the FD); Ordinance 882 (Binding site plans) and 823 (budget amend for WWTP dump truck) passed unanimously.

LEGAL NOTICES...

UPDATED (Thursday, 8/11) - See link to road construction report above, right. Original Posting tuesday 8/9: VALLEY RUSH HOUR EASTBOUND TRAFFIC TRAPPED: With road closures on Old Owen Road (closing 8/10 for repairs because of the Barclays North developments) and Ben Howard Road during the entire month of August, and construction on Highway 2 between and through both Sultan and Monroe, COORDINATION by WSDOT, the County Sheriff's office, Monroe and Sultan police and cities' public works departments is critical. The need for a Valley-specific traffic coordination taskforce is now beyond debate, certainly before a major life-and-death situation occurs, where emergency equipment is "trapped." But severe back-ups are increasingly frequent and serious -- with or without Highway 2 accidents. The culminating example was a total gridlock during the evening rush hour commute on Monday, August 8th when Monroe eastbound traffic was diverted from Hwy. 2 onto Old Owen Road, which shortly became a parking lot. It took 90 minutes to travel 6 miles. Apparently, Highway 2 was opened sometime between 5 PM and 6 PM,, but the line of cars on Old Owen were trapped, and the Old Owen Road/Hwy. 2 traffic signal near the Red Apple restricted cars from Old Owen to only two to four within a given cycle. Legislators Beware: More initiatives like I-912 are coming your way: If you cannot resolve the financing for transportation improvements, then you surely must find a way to achieve, at a minimum, coordination and "special forces" to redirect traffic flow. Shutting down all access for construction in a single-access area like Sultan and eastward is not an intelligent solution.

This should be good reason for people to become involved in the Highway 2 Safety Coalition meetings (last Monday of each month, except this August) and WORK for future improvements and become educated about the future possibilities of improvement for our only "RIVER" to the westward world. The picture is not bright. (We also ask that the Sultan Council keep this very real problem in mind when giving carte-blanc approval to annexations and developments; lack of available rapid transit or effective transportation corridors is a viable rationale for initiating growth moratoriums and GMA-mandated controls and increasing traffic impact fees.

COUNCIL PACKET (in Word, Acrobat) for August 10th (meeting begins @ 6 PM with Van Wyngarden Annexation: This will be an IMPORTANT MEETING: Highlights include the 60-acre Van Wyngarden annexation request from Barclays North (starts at 6:00 PM), an Ordinance to approve a 6-month moratorium on PUDs. Of signficant note is PW Director Connie Dunn's staff report is a "must-read" due to its content, which contains a specific and detailed (if slightly confusing) update on where the City's sewer connections stand. (Nice job, Connie.) It's not a pretty picture. We have extracted this three -page report in Acrobat format only.

Recent - NOTICE OF BLA for another Garth York development (in Word, Acrobat) AND A MAP indicating the substantial revisions to property lines (315 kb Acrobat file) Also: Here is a file showing the County Assessor's parcel and aerial maps which indicate topo/steep slopes [inWord, Acrobat] and the current property lines. (BY THE WAY, we never received a copy of this notice from the city, as they are supposed to do, although once we saw the posted signs, Cyd Donk was quick in supplying us with the notice and map at our request. Unfortunately, the deadline for comments on this land use action was the same day (7/26) we were supplied with the information, barring any opportunity for input.

Recent -Derek Boyd incurs $150 PDC fine for late filing of financial info

Recent - Does a strong police presence deter crime and have a positive financial impact on a city? Here's an article from Civic Strategies and the study on which it was based. With the traditional financial guillotine hanging over Fred's Head as the annual budget process nears, we thought this was a timely subject. This budgetary process is particularly important, considering ..... (click)

And while we're on ths subject of LEVELS OF SERVICE mandated by the Comp Plan (a financial exercise that, according to the GMA, needs to be performed annually in concert with the budeting process), here are a couple of key service levels as published in Sultan's 2004 Comprehensive Plan:

  • Firefighters/EMTs (these are lumped together as a single job function in the CP (FD #5): 1/2 FF/EMT per 1,000 population (or a total of 8.8 FF/EMTs)
  • School Students (K-12) - ratio per dwelling unit: existing and future LOS (per CP) is 0.603, with the "existing supply" at 1,675. (I honestly do not know what "existing supply" means. However, luckily, there is a Sultan School District special meeting on MONDAY, 7/25 to discuss the budget, with a Board of Directors meeting following to adpt the School's 2005/2006 budget (see info on meetings at right.)
  • Parks: LOS is 42.6 acres per 1,000 population. The "existing" figure in the CP states the "supply" (or existing "Parks" which includes all city-owned buildings and property, including city hall, the fire station, schools, public works facilities buildings, etc.) is 162.4 acres/7,074,144 s.f. although the LOS should be 174.7 acres/7,609,932, a deficit of 12./3 acres/535,7888 s.f. The LOS for next year looks even worse: With an estimated 4,400 population, the city should have a total of 187.4 acres of "park" (again, remember this category also includes all city-owned buildings and structures). This means the City will register a DEFICIT in this category of 25 acres, or 1,089,000 s.f. next uear. Note: These figures do not include any new "parks" being provided by the Sky Harbor development, and it is our understanding that both Stratford Place and Denali Ridge did not provide any park or recreational areas, choosing instead to pay a fee in lieu of providing an actual park or recreational area, a code that was successfully appealed by Planning Commissioners Josie Fallgatter and Jeff Kirkman earlier this year.

Recent - Audio of 6-yr Road Plan Hearing (will be continued 7/27), and complete audio of JULY 13th COUNCIL MEETING (NOTE: The audio from the June 22nd council meeting will be posted later this week; the audio for the closed record hearing on Timber Ridge, which occurred during the 6/22 meeting, will not be posted until expiration of the appeal period for that decision.)

Recent - Audio and council summary of June 8, 2005 Meeting (Also: Transcription of Fallgatter and Kirkman's public comments concerning the City's broken Settlement Agreement with them, and comments from Jim Flower, Mayor Tolson, et al., re same subject (in Word, Acrobat)

Mayor Tolson and the Sultan Council have approved in concept a detailed evaluation and review of the various positions held by City staff. HERE IS THE PROPOSAL from the Prothman Company to perform this study and evaluation. It was agreed in principle (to be approved in fact through either a consent agenda or action agenda action) that this project would begin with a brief and inexpensive $1,000 overview report and project scoping, with future approval and costs to perform a full-blown study. (Mayor Tolson and the council should be commended for taking this first step to increase/enhance the level of professionalism within City Hall.)

AN UPDATE ON THE STATUS OF THE CITY'S WEBSITE reveals that the site is down again. The ultimate final solution is (supposedly) to transfer the city's website from its current Sultan School-hosted servers to servers that will be maintained by the wireless broadband service infrastructure recently approved by the council (by Mr. Spott). No estimated date as to when this server capability will be implemented, however. But based on the City's poor track record of maintaining the three websites they have allowed to atrophy, this could take a long time, despite Tolson's interest in having this communication tool operational. (Three websites have been designed: 1999/2000, Maryann Nasland designed one; SPD Lt. Cmdr. Becker created a splended website, circa 2002/2003; the most-recent, "current" iteration was designed at the request of Mayor Tolson, but has fallen prey, apparently, to inaccessibility to the School District servers.)

ONGOING & VITAL FUTURE PROBLEM REQUIRES IMMEDIATE ACTION by Sultan Council:

SULTAN BASIN ROAD STUDY/EIS REQUIRED FOR FUTURE IMPACTS FROM DEVELOPMENTS

This 10-car back-up waiting to turn westward onto Hwy. 2 from Sultan Basin Road (there were 2 cars behind me not shown in this photo) will look oh-so-tame once in-construction build-out occurs (62 homes in Sky Harbor, 15 in Denali Ridge, with several hundred more homes in the offing, as stated gleefully by City Admin/Planner Cisar. Even with the new channelization improvements progressing, and new plans for traffic signalization at SBR/Hwy. 2, not much will change, insofar as capacity on the Basin Road is concerned. HOWEVER, when asked about the need (wisdom) for the Council to adopt the old June, 1999 "Sultan Basin Road Concept Plan" ( how to address capacity-related problems caused by too-fast growth on the Basin), or better yet, perform a NEW capacity study (a no-brainer) or an EIS (more appropriate) on this endangered roadway, Rick Cisar simply said there was no need for one. (And, Rick, could you remind me again "On what planet are you living?")

Just a small taste of Sultan's future (Even WITH planned improvements to U.S.2 and SBR):Sultan Basin Road on a typical Sunday afternoon..... There was no accident, no distracting events on this day; nothing but lots and lots of typically-heavy Sunday traffic.
  • During the July 5, 2005 PC meeting... Commissioner Dalmasso requested that the PC approve non-existent ordinances: What's more expedient than trying to slip through a zoning overlay to benefit a property you represent for sale? Why, passing ordinances onto council for disposition without even having an ordinance prepared or reviewed by the PC! It's such a time-saver. (Hey, we all know this "Follow the Process" stuff simply gets in the way of the "real" business of Sultan's PC: With its current mix of a real estate broker (Dalmasso), a past and previous developer who is married to a real estate broker (chairman Ray George), and a property owner whose property, we understand, is once again under contract to Barclays North (Tom Green), the Commission cannot be bothered with something as trivial as adhering to professional process.
    • Commissioner Dalmasso asked to move the 9-lot short plat and wetland banking ordinances -- which do not yet exist -- from the Discussion to Action agenda so they can be given to the council to act upon. His reason? "The attorney is going to write the ordinance anyway." Hel-LO???? This man is so-o-o out of control, Mr. Mayor. His removal is long overdue.
    • Other things that happened during the 7/5 PC meeting:
      • Commissioner Dalmasso (and Chairman Ray George, too, to a certain extent) objected to Commissioner Fallgatter's insistence that when development regulations requiring consistency with the Comp Plan are proposed (by either the council/planner/city, a property owner or a PC member), that the legal petition process be used. (Our understanding is that a procedure has been written, but it has never published or used by the City.). In a private discussion with me following the meeting, Mr. Dalmasso argued that the process should not be followed because, "This city needs to grow. We must grow or die!" My response: "Make up your mind, Bart. One night you're arguing to the County Council that Sultan has become a ghost town, and the next week you're arguing to local corporate Bank of America folks stating they should not close the Sultan branch because of how fast it's growing."
      • Commissioner Tom Green would not recuse himself from the Binding Site Plan hearing (or discussions or the decision), when requested by me. Mr. Green and his partner own property within the Sultan Scenic Business Park, and the development implementation tool for those properties is the binding site plan. My opinion is that, as a man of honor, Mr. Green would prefer to eliminate any appearance of conflict by voluntarily removing himself from these proceedings to avoid any hint of special interests. So we're a bit confused at his reaction.
      • Former Councilman Jimmy Porter showed up, along with Dan Barmon of Barmon Lumber, to testify. Neither were aware of the requirement to financially contribute to required future infrastructure needs (i.e., the east-west-running North Wagley Connector Road). They were also unaware that residential properties contained within the Scenic Biz Park (i.e., ALL properties within the LID 97-1 area), specifically Timber Ridge and an approx. 40-50 additional acres, are NOT required to do so, because Mr. Cisar removed residential zoning from the current configuration of the Binding Site Plan. Timber Ridge has been given a free ride, while Barmon and other commercial property owners must join a "no protest" LID to pay for necessary infrastructure improvements in the LID 97-1 area, along with the Sultan taxpayers, who must pick up Timber Ridge's financial burden for this future roadway. Regardless of how many times this situation was explained to Mr. Porter, he simply did not "get it."
  • Ongoing Issue: Did Jim Flower(and Bart Dalmasso) break the City's settlement agreement with Fallgatter/Kirkman when he testified at the June 1, 2005 county comp plan 10-year update hearing? This letter from Mayor Tolson pretty much puts paid to that question.
  • UPDATED (6-17) - BARCLAYS NORTH HAS WITHDRAWN THE PROPOSED VAN WYNGARDEN PETITION ANNEXATION to annex 60-plus acres. If annexed, it would have resulted in 199 new S.F. homes, adding 617 (min.) new people to Sultan's population. The reason for the withdrawal is because they could not achieve the additoinal 4% in property valuation required for the petition. (Our question, of course, is why was it ever brought before the council in that condition?) Don't get too excited yet, folks: BNI will simply try Door #2 or #3 to achieve their goals. Available Documents on this issue.
    City's Agenda Cover Sheet from May 25, 2005 council meeting (as Acrobat file, as Word document). The council vote on whether or not to accept this petition has been delayed until the June 22nd council meeting)
  • NEW 6/15/05 - In the midst of personal harassment and constant and overwhelming criticism, and without an attorney, a safety net and without any legal training or background, Josie Fallgatter and Jeff Kirkman appealed decisions made by a City without a clue.
    Fallgatter & Kirkman recent appeal of the Rick Cisar-recommended Sultan Comprehensive Plan, which was approved by council based on his advice, resulted in a City-requested settlement agreement (which Councilman Jim Flower and PC member Bart Dalmasso promptly broke). Their appeal of City ordinances 853-04 and 854-04 (park fees "in lieu of") has resulted in a Final Order and Decision by the Growth Management Hearings Board (in Word) which validates their appeal of these ordinances.
    Fallgatter/Kirkman have been subjected to extreme criticism by city officials because of the taxpayer funds expended on "attorneys' fees." To this we say, "Poppycock & Bull feathers." These were City Administrator/City Planner Cisar-recommended actions. If Fallgatter and Kirkman can represent themselves in their appeals of incorrect legal decisions by the City, why does the City need to hire an attorney to argue its case? If the original advice from Cisar was solidly supportable on legal grounds, why didn't Cisar represent the City in these appeals? (The answer to that question raises a nasty set of competency questions, as far as we're concerned.)
  • Ongoing - Info on yet another weapon in the developer's arsenal to decimate taxpayers' (and Nature's) quality of life and simultaneously increasing taxes along with development density: WETLAND BANKING (as presented during Sultan's June 7, 2005 PC meeting, which fulfilled "half" of the request by Commissioners to "hear both sides" of this story.)
  • AUDIO (MP3) of 6/1/05 Joint County PC/council Hearing Testimony by Sultan officials: Mayor Tolson, Councilman Flower, and Planning Commissioners Fallgatter and Dalmasso (Councilmember Flower, in his comments on adding Sultan's watershed to the UGA, broke the City's settlement agreement with Fallgatter/Kirkman.)
  • As part of the City-requested Fallgatter/Kirkman GMA appeal Settlement agreement (approved by the Sultan Council 5/25/05) an opinion that outlines the majority view of Planning Commissioners as well as one representing the minority opinion of Plng. Commissioners was granted. Here is the MAJORITY OPINION authored by Bart Dalmasso, representing the views of Planning Commissioners Ray George, Tom Green, Janie Botting and Dalmasso), and here is the MINORITY OPINION of Commissioners Fallgatter and Kirkman. (Which report, based on its content, reflects your opinion of how Sultan's future planning should occur?)
  • Recent & ongoing: Documents related to the City-requested mediation of the Fallgatter/Kirkman appeal of the City's 2005 comprehensive plan. These are all in a .pdf Acrobat format:
  • Thom Graafstra May 13th letter to Mediator Margery Hite, plus attachments:
    • Attach. A & B: emailed discussions re mediation
    • Attach. C & D: email re mediation (Att. C) and copy of SMC 16.134, Annual Comprehensive Plan Amendment Procedures (Att. D)
    • Attach. E: Copy of "Development Regulation Amendment Procedures and Public Hearing and Participation Process" (a "public" document that was unpublished and has never, to our knowledge, been used, despite numerous code (comp plan) amendment actions.
    • Attach. F: Index of Comp Plan Update documents
    • Attach. G: Feb. 27, 2004 CTED letter to City re comp plan
    • Attach. H thru J: various
  • Fallgatter/Kirkman Mediation Presentation (2 mb file)
  • Settlement agreement (accepted and approved May 25, 2005 by city council)
  • Ongoing - SULTAN'S REMAINING SEWER CAPACITY: The answer is contained within a letter from Berryman & Heniger's John Wilson to the City, which helps explain that (in acrobat), which includes a more detailed summary of the remaining, and Cisar-estimated capacity, property-by-property. (summary only as webpage,, in Word or in pdf)
  • Ongoing - Transcription (as web page, as Word) of Cisar Presentation to Sultan's Planning Commission May 3, 2005, on the subject of Sultan's Future Growth, which answers the following questions:
    • What is Sultan's current and future sewer capacity?
    • Why is the City organizing a contingent of city officials and private economic development interests to shout out loud to the county council that it needs to support the Cisar- and city council-recommended comp plan UGA (regardless of the appeal by Planning Commissioners Josie Fallgatter and Jeff Kirkman at the Growth Management Hearings Board currently in mediation at the City's request)?
    • Why is City Administrator/Planner Rick Cisar recommending that a Sultan sewer line expansion be tunnelled southward under the BNSF Railroad to service 20 acres in a crtical area (an action that is not included or even mentioned in either Sultan's Comp plan or CFP)?
    • Why is City Administrator/Planner Cisar engaging in detailed discussions with a property owner about annexing his land into the city limits (located in Sultan's UGA north of Pleasant View), when the comp plan and CFP has not even been approved?
    • Why is City Administrator/Planner Rick Cisar urging that another 1,200 single family homes be built in the next few years (3,240 new people, almost doubling Sultan's current population), with no financial plan on how the city can support such growth?
    • We will be posting a representation of the map Cisar presented during this meeting (as well as the one at the 4/30 Council Retreat), which was pock-marked with red dots showing an epidemic of proposed growth areas. Mr. Cisar identified properties and offered explanations for projects that are inside the planning pipeline already (i.e., Stratford Place, Timber Ridge, Denali Ridge, etc.), or soon will be, as he continues to let the developers run the show, rather than the other way around. Despite the poor audio quality (Rick felt obliged to use the City's noisy overhead projector to display his "measle-marked" map, despite the absence of any citizens that evening), this transcription represents our best effort at capturing Mr. Cisar's words.

SULTAN PLNG. COMMISSION ANTICS (as predicted):

The Commission discussed Bart Dalmasso's unnanounced and unnoticed action agenda additions, including the following:

With the Planning Commission meeting only once a month, and with no one looking and no agenda being either posted, noticed or sent to us or others, why, just about anything can, and WILL happen, as these Cisar-Dalmasso-Green-George-Botting-Developer-led code changes slip-slide their way through with no public oversight whatsoever. Slick as, well, you-know.... SOMETHING FOR CITIZENS TO KEEP IN MIND: It's not necessarily the lack of enforcement of the building codes that is the problem, it's the continual degradation and watering down of the codes themselves that eats away at Sultan's future quality of life. And downgrading the short plat code is a perfect example. (Although we have less problem with the GMA-mandated in-fill development like that, than with some of the infrastructure degradation that continues to occur. For instance, were you aware that the planting strip between the curb and sidewalk is only 3.5 feet? Once the soon-to-be over-sized trees planted in that teensy-tiny little strip begin stretching out their root systems, why, the sidewalks and streets will be no match for them.)

OLDER STORIES/ITEMS....

  • More "Developing News"
  • PC AGENDA (in Word) - Although we did not attend the 1/4/05 PC meeting, during which the "relevance" of the Sultan Planning Commission was discussed, we have ordered a copy of the audio tape. The "relevance" of the Commission, the newest pet subject of Commissioner Dalmasso, is outrageous. And if you are not mad at the very concept of discontinuing this advisory body, then that is indeed part of the problem. The leadership at City hall -- both mayoral, the City Administrator and city council -- is to blame, . First, because of their silence during the harassment of Josie Fallgatter and Jeff Kirkman, and secondly due to their "encouragement" of this, and other, city government positions; indeed, public participation in general. If the city would put forth the same PR effort and encouragement of public participation as they do for, say, Sultan's Centennial, the Annual Sultan Photo, the Shindig, the numerous grants the city receives, and other "positive" City events, perhaps people who value Sultan's future quality of life would be anxious to step up to the plate and serve, rather than hide in the shadows. Or, indeed, hear of the opportunity in the first place.
  • IN THE "IF ONLY" Category: If only the city leadership would expend as much energy encouraging people to get excited about becoming involved in their government as they do on the city's "feel good" or "Aren't we the greatest?!" promotional activities, one can't help but wonder how much more taxpayer-friendly some of the City's decisions might be.
  • Recent (& Updated 8/27 with Exhibit A, courtesy of BNI's David Toyer) - During 8-25's council meeting, a surprise action item was added to the agenda. And following an executive session, the City signed this Memorandum of Agreement with MBA (Master Builders Assn.) and BNI (Barclays North, Inc.) . This document now contains Attachment A, referred to in the Agreement (our thanks to BNI's David Toyer for sending this to us). This scene is being played and replayed throughout Snohomish County, where these two BIg Guns, using their Big Gun Bank Accounts, intimidate cash-strapped cities in which they want to develop by threatening litigation, whether on a sound legal footing or not. But, hey, BNI/MBA did accomplish one thing: They managed to get the city to "legally" agree to follow certain GMA-mandated public process statutes, something we've been attempting for years to get the city to agree to, with little success; specifically, creating and using a "master distribution list" for public hearing notices which would include "known parties of interest," Despite my endless requests to the city to adhere to this legal mandate, during Rowe's Administration the city just blew me off, and has still remained hit-and-miss during Tolson's.
  • Why do Barclays North and the Master Builders Association (MBA) have such a deep interest in Sultan's Annexation policies?
  • New! Notice of MBA's appeal to Snohoco superior court of the below decision by the Growth Mgt. Hrg. Board on whether to provide city services (sewer, water, police, fire, roads, etc.) outside city limits.
  • Here's a Central Puget Sound Hearings Board decision that explains their oversight of the Sultan Plng. Commission review of Sultan's annexation policy. The MBA appealed a City of Arlington code which essentially excluded ewer service into its UGA-designated areas (except in specific instances). Interestingly, however, MBA lost their appeal, yet submitted it with other propaganda to be considered by Sultan 's Planning Commission when reviewing/revising the city's annexation policy.
  • LEGAL NOTICE: Determination of Non-significance on Sultan's Annexation policies, which have not yet had a Planning Commission Hearing to gain input. (We agree with BNI on this point; this issue requires public input.. The City's reluctance to hold such a hearing raises nasty questions such as Jeff Kirkman's famous statement a co8uple of years ago, "What are afraid of?"
  • Why do Barclays North and the Master Builders Association (MBA) have such keen interest in Sultan's sewer rates? Below are two letters which give two reasons: (1) More money; and (2) more profit (to the developer). If the City keeps losing money on its hook-up fees, who, then, will continue to foot the bill? Yep. The Sultan Lil' Guy ratepayer.
  • Barclays North June 8, 2004 letter to the Sultan City Council (Acrobat, 75 kb), and
  • Master Builders' Association (MBA) June 9, 2004 letter to the City Council (Acrobat 103 kb)
  • Barclays North and Sultan's Annexation Policy: They want CITY SERVICES extended into UGA (County) areas:
  • Duplicate letters (except for copies sent) dated July 20 and June 15 to Planning Commissioners ("Re: Considerationa nd Potential Adoption of a New Annexation Policy")
  • May 18, 2004 Ltr. to PC ("Re: Annexation Policies")
  • February 4, 2004 Ltr. to Rick Cisar ("Re: Utility Service Conditions")
  • BNI is Calling the Shots in East County. Just drive around, especially north of Hwy. 2 in Monroe. They changed the face of Lake Stevens (which used to be a beautiful town), and we heard last night that they're giving Stanwood fits. There are construction stops, detours and "Another Quality Project By Barclays North" signs everywhere, it seems. Also, no code seems to be lenient enough for them. They're constantly looking for holes through which they can filter more money to increase their bottom line. Can't fault them for that, I guess. Then again, why should Sultan buckle under to their pressure to write them "Cinderella Codes" ("Ill just MAKE it fit!")? Money is the driver, but Barclays' insistance on having it their way or no way will quite simply decimate the quality of life in our area. Read the letters above re annexation, then those below, to see what I mean:
  • What happens when "good" impact fees go "bad"? - Read Barclays North's May 12, 2004 letter to the City of Monroe (scroll down a bit to the "Monroe" header), which represents over $100,000 in "lost" funding for schools; Developers shill, taxpayers foot bill.
  • Barclays North Appeal of City's 5/28/04 Administrative decision on roadway standards, as applied to BNI's Sky Harbor development. This appeal will be held before John Galt, City of Sultan Hearing Examiner, on Monday, July 20th.
  • Something in common with Barclays North: They feel as we do on public participation issues; Here's their 6/15/04 letter on making the draft annexation policy available for public review BEFORE the PC discusses it. (You're humming our tune.)
  • "Asphalt by Default" - Green Space going, "Lynnwood" is coming: Two well-intentioned ordinances designed to build a fund for a large-scale recreational facility for Sultan, are up for a 2nd reading at this Wednesday's council meeting. These ordinances will eliminate all open space areas and recreational facilities in new developments, allowing developers to "buy" Sultan's green heritage that belongs to future children and families. We are joining with Derek Boyd (Yes, folks, believe it or not, right here in River City), at his request, to ask Sultan residents (and, yes, non-Sultan residents, too!) to speak against these ordinances during the public comment period of the city council meeting. You're not a good enough speaker, you say? Well, then, just say whatever's in your heart. Our primary concerns are (1) these ordinances will eliminate any recreational, green or open spaces in new developments; and (2) these fees, if not used within a six-year period, will be returned with interest earned to the developer in question, a tricky proposition for a city that has not performed or published any capital facilities plan since 1994. For your reading pleasure:
  • A compilation of applicable codes regarding impact fees (in Word, Acrobat)
  • Agenda cover sheet and proposed ordinances (in Word, Acrobat) from June 23rd meeting. (The vote: Derek Body and Jeff Everett voted nay on these issue, but Dusty Boucher, whom we understand might have voted nay, as well, was absent. Therefore, assuming everyone is present at Wednesday's meeting, only one more vote is required to kill these scary ordinances. YOUR VOICE is needed to help win that remaining vote.
  • Remember: Do nothing....get nothing.
  • Ongoing: HERE'S A March 26, 2004 letter to City Administrator Rick Cisar from the State CTED on the requirement of a CFP in Sultan's comp plan, draws a colorful, broad-stroke picture in crayon which even the most slow-witted Sultan official is able to clearly understand. I mean, really, folks: How can any city official mandated to plan under Washington State's GMA, not know this stuff? And an even more pertinent question is, how is it possible that Sultan has operated for so many years without a capital facilities plan, an issue that those "truoblemakers" Ron Kraut and Josie Fallgatter (along with Jeff Kirkman) have been pounding Rick about for months during the PC's review of the city's comp plan. The city has, in fact, operated without a legal CFP since 1995. Is it any WONDER that it's broke?
  • June 23rd: Sultan council held a hearing on three ordinances, two of which will destroy open space in new developments, the third of which will negatively affect Main Street's future by changes proposed in the "Pedestrian-friendly" UC zone (in Word), which will allow incompatible automotive uses such as car lubes, in the downtown core and will totally change the direction in which Main Street is headed. There are alsoi two other proposed ordinances by which developers will be allowed to "buy out" required open spaces (in Word) in their planned developments, as well as elminating the requirement to provide tot lots ( Rick Cisar stated last night that tot lots "just haven't worked in conventional subdivisions"). Instead, developers can "buy" open space, the funds for which can ostensibly be used later by providing bigger and better recreational facilities. That's the idea, anyway. But as we all know, "ideas are cheap and easy: it's the implemention that's the challenge. There are a few major problems with this, the most important of which is the 6-year set-aside of funds; if they haven't been expensed within six years, they must be returned to the developer. But the scary part of this process is it assumes both ethical and financially-competent leadership within city hall (a hasty assumption that, sadly, taxpayers historically have not been able to count on).
  • Durng the hearing, Plng. Commissioner Josie Fallgatter raised the concern that the City needs to factor in future commercial, industrial and retail sewage flows, in addition to the ERU's (Equivalent Residential Units) presented in the City's Study of connection fees (Scroll down for that study and other documents and details.). Here's a sample of uses, by application, that the State's DOE uses... Also, here's a list of monthly sewer flows from the City of Sultan's STP.
  • Transcription of Barclays' Donnie Belk's reading of their letter of frustration during the May 12th council meeting (in Word, Acrobat)