On Monday, May 1, the Area Council held its monthly meeting at the Maple Valley Fire Station at 22225 SE 231st St and online via Zoom. Guest Speakers were from the: (1) Maple Valley Fire Protection District #43 and (2) City of Maple Valley. Also discussed was the ongoing 2024 KC Comprehensive Plan (KCCP) Major (10-yr) Update.
Maple Valley Fire Protection District #43
Puget Sound Fire Deputy Chief, Mark Jones, discussed facility planning. Also, present were Maple Valley Fire Protection District #43 Commissioners John Herbert and Camille Walls. Puget Sound Fire is a regional, full-service fire department serving 260,000 people. Its coverage is 118 sq mi and includes the cities of Kent, Covington, SeaTac, Tukwila, and Maple Valley, as well as unincorporated areas of King County Fire District #37 and King County Fire District #43—our District.
Deputy Chief Jones presented information on recent Fire District #43 station location analyses. Currently, three stations cover 51 sq mi, but all are located within 6 sq mi of each other, which makes serving the more outlying areas difficult. Consequently, a Station Relocation Plan has been developed. Maple Valley Heights Station 84 will be remodeled to support 24-hr staffing. There will be a future Station 87 at 244th Ave SE and SE 216th St across form the historic school. This would result in each home being within 5-mi radius of station which save homeowners on fire insurance costs. Finally, a future Station 83 will provide service within the City of Maple Valley.
To execute this plan would require a levy lift lift, as funding has not been able to keep up with the fast rising assessed values in the district. A potential increase would be ~$175 per yr on a $500K assessed home.
City of Maple Valley
City of Maple Valley Mayor, Sean Kelly, accompanied by the Deputy Mayor, City Manager, Communications Specialist, and a representative from the Police, discussed the past and upcoming Ironman Events.
The Area Council had expressed concerns with the logistics with last year’s event where many local people could not reach their homes as roads were blocked throughout parts of the Hobart area. City Manager, Laura Philpot, gave a presentation describing the logistics and the changes that have been made. The Police representative explained the communications breakdowns last year, which they have tried to eliminate for this year’s event.
The Area Council expressed thanks for the changes that have been made and wished the city a successful event, which will be held this Fall on September 17. Please see: https://www.ironman.com/im703-washington.
KC Comprehensive Plan (KCCP) Update
Since the beginning of 2022 the Area Council has been coordinating a Joint Team of ten King County Rural Area Unincorporated Area Councils, Associations, and Organizations in a wide-ranging effort to provide scoping ideas, comments, and final detailed review for the ongoing 2024 KCCP Major Update (Update), now done every 10 years.
On April 17, the Joint Team submitted detailed Comments to the KC Growth Management Planning Council (GMPC) concerning its “Four-One Program Review” as part of the Update. The major thrust of those comments dealt with the Urban Growth Boundary (UGB) line that could be affected.
The Joint Team recommended using the combined 1994 UGB and the Joint Planning Agreement (JPA) UGB, where it exists. JPAs were a tool used in the 1990s to finalize the UGB following the States’ passage of the Growth Management Act (GMA). There were three Joint Planning Agreements: Grand Ridge/Issaquah Highlands, Issaquah Highlands Expansion, and the City of Black Diamond. Consequently, the JPA UGB is what the cities recognize. Using the JPA UGB would provide opportunities in those three locations to use the 4:1 Program to buffer the UGB. The Joint Team does not support using the current UGA, as it includes 4:1 projects, negotiated 4:1s, and miscellaneous places like road abandonments.For further information please see:
•KC 4:1 Program: https://kingcounty.gov/en/legacy-en/depts/executive/performance-strategy-budget/regional-planning/king-county-comprehensive-plan/amend/4to1.
•Area Council’s work on the Update: http://gmvuac.org/kccp-major-update/.
•Entire Update process and schedule: https://kingcounty.gov/sites/depts/executive/performance-strategy-budget/regional-planning/king-county-comprehensive-plan/KingCountyComprehensivePlan.aspx.
Next Area Council Meeting
The next Area Council monthly meeting will be held Monday, June 5, from 7 – 9:30 PM at the Maple Valley Fire Station at 22225 SE 231st St (across from the KC Sheriff’s Precinct). As a hybrid meeting, members of the public will be able to attend either in-person or virtually via Zoom.
Meetings are held on the first Monday of the month (except for Holidays, when they are held on the second Monday), from 7 – 9:30 PM. Meeting announcements, Agendas, and Zoom information are published in the Voice of the Valley, the Area Council’s website (www.gmvuac.org) and local NextDoor platforms. You can also find us on our FaceBook page: https://www.facebook.com/GMVUAC/. Each meeting begins with an open Public Comment period where anyone can voice concerns, comments, etc. to the Area Council.
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 works to keep the Rural Area rural. The Area Council also works regionally with other King County Rural Area organizations through both Joint Planning and its Joint Transportation Initiative.
The twelve-seat Area Council has four open seats. If you have an interest in joining, please send an e-mail to: info@gmvuac.org or attend (either in-person or virtually) a monthly meeting and express your interest. To be eligible to join the Area Council as a member you need to live within the Tahoma School District. Residents, even those who do not live within the Tahoma School District, are eligible to become Associate Members who can serve on any Area Council Committee: Environment, Growth Management, Transportation, Public Relations, or Train Show. Each committee votes for its own Chair and Vice-Chairs and Associate Members are eligible for those positions. 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.
