The Area Council held its regular monthly meeting on Monday, August 3, and a Special Meeting on Monday, August 10. Topics discussed were: the King County Comprehensive Plan 4-Year Mid-Point Update, the US EPA’s proposal to delist the soils at Queen City Farms Superfund site, and a proposed up-zone on a large parcel in Ravensdale.
Tahoma School District (TSD)
TSD Board member, Val Paganelli, provided an update. TSD will use a 100% remote schedule for re-opening in the fall through at least the first quarter. Internet hot spots are being provided and laptops issued to all students in need. There is ongoing work to develop and implement Re-Opening Plans. The budget approval for 2020-2021 is imminent with emerging impacts of planned changes still being formulated.
Queen City Farms Superfund Site
On July 14 the US Environmental protection Agency (EPA) published a Notice of Intent to Delete the Queen City Farms Superfund Site. A 30-day comment period runs through August 13.
A copy of the Notice can be found at: https://www.epa.gov/superfund/queen-city-farms
The Area Council’s Environment Committee conducted research on the site and prepared a draft set of Comments, which were discussed by the full Area Council. The Comments included two major recommendations:
1. The deletion document should note the likely presence of dioxins and furans in undisturbed soils near the Final Containment Cell (FCC) is a significant unknown. Should residential use ever be allowed in this area, even far into the future, these areas near the FCC should be evaluated for dioxins in near surface soils before such a land-use change is approved.
2. Before finalizing the deletion, EPA should evaluate whether the Record of Decision cleanup level for Polycyclic-Aromatic-Hydrocarbons is still protective. If it’s not, the confirmation sampling results from the Buried Drum area outside the FCC should be re-evaluated to see if that area still meets risk-based cleanup levels.
The Area Council agreed on a final set of Comments and voted to have a formal Comment Letter sent to the EPA prior to its August 13 deadline. The Comment Letter will be posted on the Area Council website’s Correspondence/Letters page under the 2020 block: http://gmvuac.org/letters/.
Ravensdale Property Up-Zone
An application to up-zone from RA-10 to RA-5 has been submitted by Ravens Corner LLC to the King County Permitting Division. The parcel (No.: 302207-9009) is located at the NE Corner of SE Kent-Kangley Road & Landsburg Road SE [Lot “Y” per KC Boundary Line Adjustment (BLA) No. L02L0030; Recording No.: 20021029900005 (being a portion of south half STR 30-22-07 and north half STR 31-22-07)].
The Area Council discussed a Comment Letter drafted by its Growth Management Committee to be submitted to King County Permitting Division that opposes the up-zone. Specific concerns include: (1) the legal basis and justification for upzoning this parcel from its RA-10 to RA-5; (2) the precedent this would set for owners of 10- and 20-ac parcels to also apply for up-zones to RA-5, so they could further subdivide their properties; (3) continued preservation of the rural character; and (4) degradation of the key wildlife connectivity corridor from the Forestry-zoned lands of the Cedar River watershed, to the Forestry-zoned lands of Ravensdale Ridge, and on to the Forestry-zoned lands of the Green River.
The Area Council finalized and approved a Comment Letter calling for the up-zone request to be denied. It will be submitted to King County’s Permitting Division by August 11. The Comment Letter will be posted on the Area Council website’s Correspondence/Letters page under the 2020 block: http://gmvuac.org/letters/.
King County Comprehensive Plan Update
After a ~18-mo process the 2020 King County Comprehensive Plan (KCCP) Mid-Point Update (4-yr mid-point between 8-yr Major Updates) was approved by the King County Council on July 24.
Throughout June and July the Area Council lead a team of seven King County Rural Area Unincorporated Area Councils (UACs) and Unincorporated Area Associations (UAAs) in review of various proposed amendments to the Update and submission detailed comments to the King County Council.
The King County Council proposed multiple sets of “Striker” Amendments (S1, S2, S3, S4, and S4.1) to the King County Executive’s Recommend Update. These proposed Amendments called for changes to the following items of interest to the Rural Area: 4:1 Program; Transfer of Development Rights; Non-Resource Industrial Uses; Agricultural Production Districts; Accessory Dwelling Units; Mineral Resources; Pathways/Sidewalks; and Transportation.
The Area Council-led submitted detailed comments on June 3, June 8, June 26, July 13, and July 23, as the King County Council continued to release Amendments to the Update. Since the latter two sets of Comments were developed and submitted after the July 6 Area Council Monthly meeting, which required for the Executive Committee to approve the submittals, the full Area Council discussed and voted to approve those decisions.
All the efforts of the Area Council-led team paid off with major Amendments defeated on: 4:1 Program; Transfer of Development Rights; Non-Resource Industrial Uses; and Agricultural Production Districts. The Area Council has identified continuing work to be done on some key Transportation issues and industrial-scaled Materials Processing Facilities in the Rural Area.
All Area Council-led team Comment submittals can be found on the Area Council’s website: Correspondence/Letters page under the 2020 block: http://gmvuac.org/letters/; KCCP page (accessed from the Planning drop-down menu): http://gmvuac.org/kc-comprehensive-plan/; 2020 KCCP Mid-Point Update page (accessed from the Current Issues box on the Home page): http://gmvuac.org/kccp-mid-point-update/. The King County KCCP webpage provides links to all the proposed Amendments and other related information: https://www.kingcounty.gov/council/CompPlan/2020compplan.aspx
Upcoming Area Council Meetings
The next Area Council regular monthly meeting will be held on Monday, September 14, (the first Monday of the month is a holiday, Labor Day) which is expected to be another “virtual” meeting.
All regular monthly meetings are held on the first Monday of the month, from 7 – 9:30 PM. When State restrictions are lifted, the Area Council will again meet face-to-face with members of the Public invited to attend and continue to invite Guest Speakers on topics of key local and regional interest. Meetings will be held at the Maple Valley Fire Station (SE corner of SE 231st St & SR-169 intersection directly across from the Police Precinct). All are welcome with each meeting beginning with an open Public Comment period.
Area Council Membership
Your Area Council serves as an all-volunteer, locally recognized advisory body to King County on behalf of all rural unincorporated area residents living in the Tahoma School District. The Area Council’s Vision Statement is:
“Our community’s Rural Character will be supported by facilitating strong local ties and communication between the public, organizations, and government; promoting locally owned businesses and supporting quality education; protecting the environment, and maintaining landowners’ rights and responsibilities; promoting controlled and well-planned growth with appropriate infrastructure; ensuring proper representation for rural interests and needs; and supporting the health and safety and the privacy of our vibrant community.”
The twelve-seat Area Council currently has open seats. If you have an interest in joining please send an e-mail to: info@gmvuac.org or attend a monthly meeting and express your interest.
Citizens who are not members of the Area Council or do not live within the Tahoma School District still are eligible to join and serve on any of the Area Council’s three major subject-matter Committees: Environment, Growth Management, or Transportation, as well as the Ad Hoc Economic Committee. The Area Council welcomes your participation. For information on each of these committees please see the Area Council’s web site: www.gmvuac.org and use the drop-down menu under Committees. Thank you.
