Archived
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I was alerted to the fact that proponents of no  growth  had
written to a local paper citing flooding in the North  Creek
valley during the last  major  rain/storm  event  that  took
place late in the Fall -  2007.  I  was  unable  to  respond
because the paper which was once delivered to our  dead  end
(Critical Species Habitat locale) 39th Ave  S.E.  no  longer
arrives and I have to get a copy from friends  (which  is  a
good thing in  that  it  saves  paper)(And  no,  the  online
presence of the paper at that time was not helpful).

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My Thoughts And Experience

I've lived in the North Creek Valley since 1970. I was  born
and raised in north Seattle.  I've  been  watching/observing
the region for a long time.

Opposition once stated that  we,  the  land  owners  in  the
Critical Species Habitat, wanted "to have our cake  and  eat
it too". Over the years our proposals and hard work to  help
create   a   responsible   LID   (low   impact   development
standards) for the subarea apparently represent  greed  to
some individuals.

The  LID  (low impact development standards) as proposed and
professionally guided with the consulting expertise of David
Sharrard, Parametrix, is proving to be  a  very  responsible
solution to the perplexing condition of existing development
and planned development that surrounds the proposed  LID  of
the subarea, an area that is diverse in land types.  As  Mr.
Sharrard stated to the council in  2007,  the  council  must
create "standards" for implementing the LID that will  allow
planners, engineers and development to "succeed". Because of
the vast development around the subarea that is outside  the
jurisdiction of Bothell it is paramount that water  entering
the LID be environmentally engineered  responsibly.  Efforts
by proponents of no growth have been hampering the  progress
of the LID's completion.

Case In Point

Years ago when the lower North Creek  valley  contained  the
Monte Villa dairy, the Vitulli "Crisp V" farm and the  Truly
cattle ranch movement of creek water was expedited to  avoid
flooding. That was a common farming practice which is not  a
sound environmental  practice  but  was  done  for  economic
reasons.

Years later when development of the existing business  parks
had just begun  ground  work  a  flood  event  proved  quite
serious in exstenively flooding  the  valley  floor  because
work had begun to slow down  the  movement  of  creek  water
through the region. We  didn't  immediately  understand  the
goals of this environmental work as we do now. The work  has
proved to succeed. The flooding that I've cited here, before
the  business  park  buildings  were  built,  was  far  more
extensive than the flooding - recent.

Because of what I witnessed as testimony at the last council
hearing, for the year 2007, it seems to me  that  proponents
of no growth are trying to prove that  the  recent  flooding
seen  in  the  valley  is  caused   by   development.   

The vast amounts of work done to slow  the  descent  of  the
creek, to create natural wet-land environments,  is  working
but at the same time is expected to flood in  the  event  of
major storm events. If it didn't flood somewhat  expansively
the waters passing through would  simply  be  rushing  in  a
straight line to the Sammamish slough  and  the  sea  beyond
with less incidence impact and acting  less  environmentally
favorable, exactly what farmers were trying to achieve years
ago. When there are breeches in  the  current  system,  when
bridges wash out, it is the result of vast amounts  of  rain
reaching earth in short periods of time. You  can  see  that
flooding is to be expected and for environmental reasons  is
not all bad. Incidently, the .9 mile  east  shore  of  North
Creek adjacent to the Critical Species Habitat is not to  be
altered extensively, ever, and will not  contribute  rushing
water in the same manner that impervious surfaces will.  And
obviously the impervious  surfaces  created  by  surrounding
county development and by  Bothell  development  through  19
miles upstream need to be dealt with responsibly, and again,
even more responsibly.

To target, solely, the land owners of the  Critical  Species
Habitat as  the  end-all  --  save-all  for  the  region  is
ludicrous and nonsense. The subarea is not expansive  enough
or even strategically placed to stop flooding in the  region
and my hope, for clarity, is that this is  not  the  hopeful
dream that proponents of no-growth are  betting  our  future
lives on.