MN News

February 24, 2010 Maltby Alliance Notes

Earl — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 03:10:00 GMT

County council rep Dave Somers and two county staff members met with six Maltby residents on February 24, 2010

Role of the Council

Mr. Somers reminded the Maltby residents that the County Council’s role is a legislative role, not an enforcement role. While the budget and policy is set by the Council, it is the Executive branch under the County Executive that enforces the policy.

The council does set the comprehensive land use plan. It is important that Maltby residents get their input into the plan.

As our Council representatitve, Mr. Somers can inquire on our behalf and advocate for us when needed. It is OK, however, to contact County staff directly.

Enforcement

We had a long discussion of the enforcement of current laws. There does not appear to be a consistent method of enforcement. The current system seems to favor developers and the County’s desire not to be sued.

Buffer Clarification

The process for clarification of the existing landscape buffer seems to be proceeding

Waste Management

Waste Management has appeared to have put their plans for the Maltby site on hold for now. Word is that they have dropped the idea of doing yard waste transfer and am now looking to do natural gas fleet fueling. However, little to no action is expected in the near term.

Pacific Landscape

No application submitted, given an extension to 1-April. Have shared plans to build a 5,000 sq. ft. building and remove a small building on the site

Emerald Paving

a.k.a LDK Associates. Permit extension until 31-March. No real compliance movement noted

Hooper Tow Yard

Still trying to get a change of use. County to do a bio review

Ralph’s Cement Pumping

No real movement. Their consultant says they are waiting for input from the County. County planning officer has changed again.

Making (sp?) Property

Fined $87,000 which the court reduced to $2,500 with the stipulation that the wetlands that were graded over be restored. No sign the wetlands are coming back.

Next meeting tentatively scheduled for 23-March @ 5:30 pm

Nov. 23, 2009 Maltby Alliance Notes

Earl — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 18:17:00 GMT

A County planning staff member met with 7 Maltby area residents to go over the status of several complaint issues.

Emerald Paving

Still in process. The June 30 date has passed but the County was slow in review so permit compliance date now scheduled for 30-Dec. That date is likely to be extended again.

Ralph's Pumping

The fence is probably within the easement of the street and is likely to be moved. The Maltby residents believe it is better that landscaping (trees, etc.) to block the view of the fence would be better than widening the street and adding sidewalks in that area. The target date for permit compliance is also 30-Dec but, as above, that date may be extended again due to County response time.

Hooper Two Yard

The grading permit is closed but the conditional use permit is still open. No change noted.

Pacific Landscaping

Compliance data is also Dec. Noted that we need to look at traffic closely as it has grown from roughly 6 to 40+ vehicles a day.

Sicut (sp? Like correction on this one, corner of 180th & Broadway)

Currently in code compliance but goes in and out. Appears to be constantly adding fill to regrade land.

NOTE: County pointed out that it is very difficult to prove grading issues. Take photographs when you notice it.

Waste Management

Not a permit issue at this time but County noticed people working on the site and wondered why. The traffic issue appears to be the main holdup on WM progress on this site.

General discussion

Maltby residence questioned the deterrent of the current fine system. Nobody seems to be getting fined.

Noted the recent layoffs and County Planning has "musical chairs" going again about which planner is on what project.

Planned to meet in January with Dave Somers.

August 31, 2009 Maltby Alliance Notes

Earl — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 21:42:00 GMT

Several Maltby residents meet with County representatives

Traffic

County rules are to place load limits where there is structural deficiencies
- Something needs to be fixed
- Not to be used to limit traffic (though other counties may do differently)
Traffic calming measures are more common
- Speed bumps, stop signs, round-abouts, etc.
- Used when traffic volume is 35% more than road design
  - 206th/86th/78th/201st design based on standard formula
    - 10 trips per house per day
      - 700 houses so 7,000 trips
  - Traffic study (counters) are at about 1,200 trips/day
  - Both numbers (10/700) seem unrealistic to Maltby residents
- Traffic calming would NOT be paid for since it doesn’t meet formula
  - 60% of the houses on the route would need to agree to pay for the traffic calming measures
- DECISION: Postpone looking into traffic calming measures
Police enforcement
- Only a short term solution and most people caught on previous patrols are residents speeding
Permit agreements
- When a permit process goes through, the county can request a “haul route agreement” with the permit requestor
- REQUEST: Make the haul route agreements a public document and enforce

Urban Growth Area

Need to start considering what position Maltby residents want to take in regards to the 2015 Growth Management Act Update which will start in 2010.
- Staying unincorporated may keep taxes low but leave all control on local matters to the County
- Incorporating would give local control but create some level of costs to bear
A Maltby resident will post to MaltbyNow any new permits in the works
REQEST: That the county planners keep more of the conversation record in the public file so that it can be reviewed by citizens
That we find a way to enforce the existing code regarding permitter buffers between the Urban and Rural zones

Will meet again in a couple of months

Please add any corrections or additions in the comments

Maltby Alliance Meeting Notes, August 10, 2009

Earl — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 23:57:00 GMT

On Monday, August 10, 2009 an alliance of Maltby neighbors met at the Maltby Community Club with representatives of Snohomish County code enforcement.

The County code enforcement gave a overview of current permit application process, local permit status and those under code review status. Movement may appear slow as the group is overworked at present and needs to prioritize. Judy Wahl will be a primary contact point for Maltby neighbors though individual code enforcement will be handled by available staff.

A new permit process was established January 1. If there is a permit violation, there is first an attempt for the landowner to voluntary come into compliance. About 85% of all issues are resolved voluntarily. If there is no voluntary compliance, the landowner is issues a Notice of Violation (NOV). At that point, fines start accruing in tiers until the fine cap is reached. If the landowner still does not comply, then the case may be turned over to the County prosecution office.

The County code enforcement can only issue a code violation on items visible to the enforcement office. Typically this will be change of use, grading, or new buildings/trailers (commercial coach) on the premises. The permit application will then trigger, if required, environmental and traffic studies.

Code enforcement, except in rare life safety cases, is only initiated by a complaint.

Once a complaint is made, it is important that citizens become a party of record to any permit application to raise issues like traffic and environmental impact. This can help make sure these are addressed in the permit process.

Local citizens monitor what permits are in process on the County interactive map and permit site. It is updated in near real time as it ties into the same database as the application process. They should become a “party of interest” on permits that they want to be notified on if it goes before the hearing examiner.

The current status of several permit applications is

Pacific Landscape Enterprises

Investigated July 30
  Allowed use of property but needs permitting
  Violation of permit process/not having permits
  Landscape frontage issue

Hooper Tow Yard

Case is under older procedure
Violation of grading, out-building remodeling is still open from a previous complain
Conditional use permit being reviewed

Emerald Trucking

Case has been assigned
Compliance date is September 30
Violations of grading, occupancy

Ralph’s Pumping

Violations for fence, grading, fill tank, drainage
September 1 deadline for all compliance measures

Hilltop Automotive

No complaint at this time
Potential issue with grading

Please feel free to post comments to clarify or correct these notes.

Maltby House Burns

Earl — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 18:41:13 GMT

The early morning July 17, 2009 fire is reported by King5 and KIRO. Nobody hurt but the owner is displaced. Fire Marshal has not determined the cause but it does not appear like arson at this time.

Dave Somers Meets with Maltby Group June 22

Earl — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 16:50:15 GMT

A group of Maltby neighbors meet with Snohomish County Council member Dave Somers Monday evening, June 22, 2009. The group from Maltby were mostly volunteers from the April 2, 2009 meeting. With Mr. Somers were two members of his staff. The agenda for the meeting was:

Recap concerns raised at the April 2, 2009 meeting
Modify the list of concerns if needed
Recap possible solutions from April 2 and add/modify as needed
Approach to future meetings

The issues identified on April 2 and by the group were:

Cement pumper truck site (razor wire, grading, traffic)
Noise generated by industrial equipment
Cement walls
Large trucks taking shortcuts on residential streets
Speeding traffic
Waste Management site (traffic, plans)
Lack of Sheriff’s presence
Vandalism
Clarity of communications (changes, permits, process)
Tow yard permit request
Brightwater smell mitigation if needed

The group talked about their concerns over these issues. Some of the information shared includes:

Cement pumper truck site is currently in a permitting process to cover what they already did

County biologist review is not favorable at this point

Waste Management telling employees that they are not moving to Maltby (but planning is still going on)
Waste Management has put the Maltby move on hold due to economics (not verified)
Being a party of record to a permitting process only alerts you to when a hearing will be held, not status updates
Next major update to the Urban Growth Area (UGA) will be in 2015, but action is starting now
The County is primarily a COMPLAINT driven organization. If nobody complains, not much is done

County staff are instructed not to site non-compliant activity if nobody complains

Dave Somers’ staff briefly explained three levels of the permitting process

Big changes (like changing the UGA) are legislative
Medium changes that ask for an exception to permitted use go through a hearing examiner (helps to be a part of record on this kind)
Small “Admin” changes are permitted uses that MUST be approved if all the conditions are met. These can be commented on and appealed but there is no requirement for a hearing.

Mr. Somers also shared that as a County Council member, he has no authority of the actions of the County staff. The Council sets policy and direction. Think of it as the legislature to the County Executive. Mr. Somers also noted how the Planning Development Services (PDS) staff has been cut over the years and is, in his opinion, understaffed.

The group then decided that there were five main categories of concern

Aesthetics for industry
Growth planning
Traffic
Law enforcement
Education on permit process

Dave Somers advised that it would be wise to focus community efforts on one issue at a time. The group decided that the cement pumper truck site would be good to focus on first. They are currently in a permit process to get a permit to do the grading that they completed some time ago. Mr. Somers suggested that

Petitions with multiple signatures do NOT get much attention. Signing a name does not show much thought
Form letters also do NOT get much attention. Again, not much thought
An email with three sentences does show thought. The more the better
Emails sent to the county staff planner should be cc’d to the Council Rep and the Executive offices

Dave Somers then offered to meet with the Maltby group again in about a month. The group itself decided to meet again prior to the next meeting with Mr. Somers to talk about how to get the Maltby community more engaged in the “complaint” process that drives County decisions.

Feel free to comment your concerns or corrections to this posting.

Notes from Dave Somers April 2, 2009 Meeting

Earl — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 04:12:58 GMT

About 50 people joined Dave Somers in a community meeting at the Maltby Community Club on April 2. Mr. Somers opened up the meeting a bit after 6 pm. He brought with him a team of county staff representing

Public works
Planning and development
Parks
Sherriff

The session ran as a question/comment guided by four main topics

Code changes/comprehensive plan issues
Traffic issues
Law enforcement
Park acquisition

Code changes/comprehensive plan issues

Unique situation created in 1995 with a creation of an industrial area
Never really had a plan for Maltby
Have industrial usage butting up against residential/rural
Many comments on existing issues
Suggestion received to set up a standing community/county group to relate issues and work on plans (short and long term) through Mr. Somers office
Current law does not allow moratoriums or other tools to stop uses allowed by law/regulations
Best if we can work with the business to find common solutions
Where a business is in violation of the codes, action will be taken within the existing regulations
Will continue to work the issues but can’t make any big changes until 2015 when the next revision of the growth plan comes due

Traffic issues

Mostly people expressing forcefully their particular traffic concerns
County has documented issues of truck traffic through 206th to 201st
Survey results also showed high concern with truck traffic
County traffic permitting process focuses only on designated arterials (Broadway)
Residential streets are based on studies and community actions
Primary tool on residential streets is “traffic calming” (speed bumps, traffic circles, etc.)
Sixty (60%) of area residents must approve of traffic calming measures

Law enforcement

While vandalism was listed as an agenda item, not a lot of reports from this area in the system
Need citizens to report (call 911) with all law enforcement issues, even small ones
Want citizens to work with the Sherriff’s office to be the “eyes and ears”
There is a cross agency task force focused on car theft

Parks acquisition

County is watching the Rinker/Cemex site as a possible future park site
County purchased “Hole is the Sky” among 10 acres across Hyw 9 from 201st
April 22nd will open 800 acres in Paradise Valley

The meeting closed a bit after 8 pm with promises to follow up on some of the individual issues (Ralph’s cement pumper trucks leading the pack) and on these four main areas.

Please add more observations as comments to this post.

April Meeting with County Councilman Dave Somers

Earl — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 00:26:00 GMT

Hi Everyone,

I was contacted by Dave Somers on Friday with the first meeting notice. The meeting will be held on April 2, 2009 at 6:00PM at the Maltby Community Center. Please spread the word. I have attached the agenda so that we can focus on the agenda only for this meeting. We will add issues to the agenda for future meetings. Dave is expected to be ready to discuss the following with us and have or suggest resolutions.

Here is the agenda for the first meeting;

Enforce or Change Codes For Industry Locations In Maltby and Residential Street Use By Industry Traffic

(this is about forcing industry, old and new, in the area to make their locations visually, odor and noise pleasing as well as assuring that industry will not use residential streets as a through street - ever!)

Maltby Traffic Flow

(this is about the ability to move traffic to and from SR522 especially when Waste Management begins operations and how to change the flow to fit the plans for the future SR522 overpass now)

Assure That Waste Management Is In Step With County And Residential Desired Traffic and Location Codes

(WM is the newest and probably the largest of the industry in Maltby. We need them to be on board with us.)

What Will The County Do To Stay Close To the CEMEX (formerly Rinker) Site And Assure That a Park Goes Into That Site

(We all know what we went through in the motocross issue and the unbearable consequences to our neighborhood from noise, dust, dirt and exhaust grime. We and the county must remain vigilant about this location.)

Thanks,

Dale Barringer

Eastside Rail Corridor Deal Delayed

Earl — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 15:31:39 GMT

Credit market difficulties lead to delay

Port of Seattle CEO Tay Yoshitani announced today that the Port will not finalize acquisition of the BNSF Eastside Rail Corridor that goes through Maltby until the first quarter of 2009. The two agencies agreed to the delay because of ongoing difficulties in the nation's municipal bond markets. The Port intends to sell municipal bonds to finance the $107 million acquisition.

“Many local governments across the nation are delaying or postponing projects because they can't sell the bonds to finance them right now,” said Yoshitani. “The Port remains committed to placing the corridor into public ownership. BNSF understands the situation and agreed to this short delay. We look forward to finalizing the deal next year.”

The Port of Seattle announced final plans to acquire the 42-mile corridor in November 2007. Currently, the transaction is before the Surface Transportation Board, which must approve the transaction. King County will contribute $2 million for an easement to develop a trail along the property. Once the deal is final, the Port will host a public process to determine how the corridor will be used for both transportation and recreation in the future.

For more information about the Port's plans, please visit http://www.portseattle.org/business/realestate/eastsiderail.shtml.

CT Bus Expansion Defeated

Earl — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 16:00:36 GMT

The expansion of Community Transit to the Maltby area appears to be defeated. As of the morning of Nov. 5, the vote totals were

Yes – 3,326 votes (44.52%)
No – 4,146 votes (55.49%)

100% of precincts reporting.

In a related note, Sound Transit prop one appears to be passing. This may impact the Maltby area as the railroad tracks that cross 524 and Yew way have been identified as a possible light rail corridor.

Waste Management Shares Plans for Maltby Sep/08

Earl — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 22:55:44 GMT

Penny Mabie of EnviroIssues and Susan Robinson, Director of Public Sector Services for Waste Management Northwest along with seven other Waste Management staff met with about 30 Maltby area residents to talk about Waste Management's Maltby facility. The meeting was held September 17 at the Maltby Community Club on 206th, just west of the old Calvert site that was purchased by Waste Management in 2006.

The format of the session was a brief review by Ms. Robinson of Waste Management's plans for the Maltby site followed by Q&A. Briefly the plans are

No garbage stored, processed, or transferred at Maltby
No processing of any materials at Maltby
No storage of any waste materials at Maltby
Transfer of "greenwaste" (yard waste, scrap food) from collection trucks to long haul trucks, not to be kept overnight at the site
Parking for 200 collection trucks (garbage, recycling, yard waste)
Sixteen slot maintenance depot working on a swing shift
Northwest administrative offices for about 130 staff

Ms. Robinson acknowledged that while nobody wants a garbage company for a neighbor, Waste Management has a good track record of working with the communities that surround their sites. She offered the Woodinville and Houghton (Kirkland) neighborhoods as evidence. She stated that the two biggest concerns heard so far through comments on county permit process, direct feedback, and items posted on MaltbyNow were around the areas of traffic and noise.

Ms. Robinson pointed to steps Waste Management has done to limit noise by enclosing major operations within buildings, staging the working hours of the operations, and the placement of buildings. The working hours would be

Parked trucks exiting the facility primarily from 4 am to 7 am
Trucking backing in to dump "greenwaste" from 10 am to 3 pm
Trucks returning to the facility from 2 pm to 5 pm
Administrative working on flex time mostly between 8 am to 6 pm
Refueling of trucks by tanker from 5 pm to 7 pm
Maintenance work on trucks on "swing shift" (5 pm to 1 am ??) though later discussion suggested all night

Ms. Robinson stated that the primary reasons for choosing the Maltby site were that the majority of Waste Management Northwest's employees resided in Snohomish County, the need for a new facility required by the growth of Waste Management operations, and the belief that the Maltby site provides the least amount of traffic across all Snohomish operations for Waste Management. Ms. Robinson suggested that Waste Management's costs are directly related to fuel and labor. Any thing that shortens the time staff are running trucks, the better for Waste Management.

The timeline for the development has building work beginning in 2010 with occupancy in 2012. See at the end for artist's drawings of the finished site.

Following Ms. Robinson's presentation, Ms. Mabie lead a question and answer session where many Maltby residents challenged Ms. Robinson's claims. Of primary concern was the impact to traffic. Waste Management predicts that about 70% of the 200 trucks will use the Broadway/Yew/Paradise Lake Road route to SR 522. Residents pointed out the existing traffic backups at the Yew/SR 524 intersection and the Yew/Bostian/Paradise Lake Road intersection a block south. Of large concern was the increase in traffic on 206th/78th/201st (connection of Broadway and Highway 9) as Waste Management staff and locals attempt to get around the log jam of trying to get to SR 522.

A Maltby residence stated a desire for a "contract" between Waste Management and the community to keep traffic off 206th/78th/201st. Ms. Robinson stated that Waste Management has not done that before but will work with the community, the county, and the state on traffic. It did not appear that this promise made many of the residents happy. Waste Management has only done a preliminary traffic estimate and will hire an outside engineering firm to complete the required traffic plan. The plan will be reviewed by the county planners and ultimately require approval by the county Director of Planning. It is unclear what the county can require given the existing land use designation of the property.

The other issue, noise, was briefly talked about. There will be some site noise there most of the time depending on maintenance work. Most of the noise will be between the house of 4 am to 7 pm with "backup beeps" mostly between 10 am and 5 pm.

Waste Management was also faulted for not getting notification out to enough of the Maltby neighborhood. Waste Management stated that they will hold another meeting in about a month and also present a proposed traffic map.

Waste Management to Hold Community Meeting Sep 18

Earl — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 23:01:00 GMT

Waste Management is in the process of setting up a community meeting at the Maltby Community Club, September 18. First rumored by Peter S. in a forum posting at MaltbyNow, Waste Management has confirmed and has put a meeting on the Maltby Community Club calendar starting at 6:00 pm.

The agenda and content of the meeting is still TBA.

September 10 update. Waste Management has sent out a flyer with the agenda. The meeting starts with an open house at 6:30, a staff presentation at 7:00, Q&A at 7:30, and ends at 8:30. Light refreshments will be served.

Rural Lands Planning September Meetings

Earl — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 18:52:27 GMT

Just in from email (8/26/08)

Rural Lands Planning Project Public Meetings

Please Join Us in September for our Second Series of Rural Lands Meetings

· What is the common vision for our rural lands? Find out what we learned from public comments collected in June and July.

· Is this vision supported by our current policies and regulations? What are the opportunities, and process, for change?

Please join us as we continue this important conversation with citizens and rural residents.

If you participated in the June and July meetings, we hope you’ll be back to talk with us again. If you were unable to attend before, please come and give us your opinion on the future development of rural lands in Snohomish County.

The meetings will be held as follows:

1. Wednesday, September 3, 6:30 – 8:00 p.m.

Maltby Community Club

8711 206th St. SE, Snohomish 98296

2. Wednesday, September 17, 6:30 – 8:00 p.m.

Evergreen State Fairgrounds Longhouse

Hwy 2 and 179^th Avenue SE, Monroe 98272

3. Tuesday, September 23, 6:30 – 8:00 p.m. Note new date

Pioneer Hall

20722 – 67th Avenue NE, Arlington 98223

4. Thursday, September 25, 6:30 – 8:00 p.m.

Public Meeting Room #1, Robert Drewel Bldg.

Snohomish County Campus, 3000 Rockefeller, Everett 98201

Accommodations for persons with disabilities or language barriers are available upon request for any of the meetings. Please make arrangements in advance by calling Mary Hurner at 425-388-3258.

For more information on the Rural Lands Planning Project, please:

· Check the project website by going to www.snoco.org and typing “Rural Lands Planning Project” in the Search Box.

· Contact us by email at RuralLandsProject@snoco.org

Snohomish County Planning and Development Services

Lori Lollis, Office Supervisor

Snohomish County Planning & Development Services

3000 Rockefeller Avenue, M/S 604

Everett, WA 98201

(425) 388-3311 ext. 2206

CT Bus Expansion to go to Ballot Nov. 4

Earl — Sat, 09 Aug 2008 01:00:00 GMT

The Herald reports that Community Transit will place a November 4 ballot measure to raise the sales tax 0.9% to extend bus service to Cathcart, Clearview, and Maltby.

Bus Service to Maltby?

Earl — Sun, 27 Jul 2008 18:17:51 GMT

Snohomish County's Community Transit is holding public meetings to talk about offering bus service to the Maltby area. The first of three area meetings is on Wednesday, July 30 at 4 p.m. at the Park Ridge Community Church Farmers Market
3805 Maltby Road (intersection of 524 & 35th). It is to wrap up by 8 p.m.

The second meeting is at the Clearview Foursquare Church on Thursday, July 31. The address there is 17210 Hwy 9 SE. The meeting is from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.

The one many Maltby residents may be most interested in is on Saturday, August 2 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Snoqualmie Gourmet Ice Cream store at 86th and Maltby Road/524. Not a bad excuse to go to an ice cream store.

There is a brief story about the possible bus service in the Everett Herald a couple of weeks ago. An expansion would require a public vote as it increased the business tax in to help pay for the bus service. The increased tax zone is shone in this picture from the article.

How would you want bus service in Maltby? Share your ideas in MaltbyNow's forum area as well.