Minutes of the July 11, 2004 Special Meeting on the Critical Areas Ordinance (hereafter CAO)

The meeting was called to order at 7:03 PM. Oscar J. Bandelin, member of the public, volunteered to take minutes in the absence of Gwendolyn High; President Edie Jorgensen accepted him as a volunteer. Councilmembers present were Edie Jorgensen, David Rockabrand, Grant Smith, Kelly Faoro, David Dahlin, Marshall Brenden, Vern Rettiger [Edie-please verify this roster. Thanks, Oscar.] The Hon. David Irons, King County Council, was also present. About twenty members of the public attended; this number varied as people came and went during the course of the meeting.

David Dahlin asked Oscar Bandelin to read the letter he had prepared for consideration. Mr. Bandelin did so, and David Rockabrand declared that Mr. Dahlin had done a "good job." Mr. Rockabrand also expressed that he was encouraged by the fact that the meeting was so well attended.

Marshal Brenden declared that, because it was the "eleventh hour," the UAC needed to deliver its statement to the County Council "as is." He asserted that, even though many had been affected by the CAO, it was such an intricate document that even those well acquainted with it found it difficult to deal with. He declared that this was even true of him although he had attended some thirty official meetings regarding the CAO. Members of the public took exception to that remark; one woman said Mr. Brenden was in no better position than she to assess her experience with the county bureaucracy. Mr. Brenden accepted the criticism, apologized, and clarified his position: It would be impossible, he said, to express the entire range of criticism of the CAO in a brief missive to the County Council. Furthermore, he was frustrated that he had recently had to resort to national media in order to draw attention to a local issue. Mr. Brenden's motion for summary adoption of the current letter was defeated; a major purpose of the meeting was to accept further input from councilmembers and the public before adoption of a final draft.

The next fifty minutes were devoted to comments from the general public; the initial half hour, provided on the motion of Grant Smith, was extended by ten-minute increments twice, by motions from Mr. Dahlin and Mr. Brenden, respectively.

Mr. Smith started the discussion by asking the extent to which E-mails from the general public had been accounted for; he also asked what could be done at the eleventh hour. Mr. Brenden and Ms. Jorgensen both replied to the effect that the response had been overwhelming, and there was simply too much material to consider thoroughly. Ms. Jorgensen, however, assured everyone that we could nevertheless remain effective by focusing on the key points of our concerns. She proceeded to lead and facilitate public discussion by jotting those concerns down on a large marker pad mounted on stage.

The overwhelming and unanimous theme of the public remarks was dissatisfaction with the CAO; no one spoke in favor of it. People complained about the unreasonableness of the buffers, inability to perform basic property maintenance, decreased property values, taxation despite loss of use, abuse of easements on the part of the county, the indifference of the DNRP and other county officials, and so on. People from outside the Four Creeks area also attended, in part due to their general interest in the issue but also to share the practical problems of the CAO or similar legislation in their own locales. Some speakers applied politically charged adjectives to the CAO, branding it as "socialist," "fascist," and "Nazi," to express their profound disdain for the ordinance. In discussing the impact of the CAO, Mr. Irons declared that its implementation would amount to taking fifty percent of the buildable land in King County off the books.

The discussion then turned toward what could be done about the CAO. Ms. Jorgensen reminded everyone that despite the concerns of rural residents, the Four Creeks area had a mixed constituency, and that fact had to be taken into account in any statement drafted by the UAC. Nevertheless, she reiterated, the DDES Web site was accepting comments from the public; and she stressed that individual letters, in hard copy, were the most effective means of getting the attention of officials, far more so than general letters written on behalf of a group. This was followed in importance by individual faxes and E-mails.

Mr. Irons confirmed Ms. Jorgensen's remarks on how to make the most effective impression on officials, and announced that he had available with him in CD and hard copy a "striker" document concerning the CAO prepared by Dow Constantine, King County Council Chair. In discussing the politics of the County Council, Mr. Irons said that at least two Democrats would need to vote with Republicans against the CAO. He said that the Democrats most likely to listen to rural concerns were Dow Constantine, Julia Patterson, and Bob Ferguson. The address of the Council is 516 3rd Ave., Room 1200, Seattle, WA  98104. In addition, it might help if letter writers requested that cross copies of their letters be provided to other councilmembers.

Mr. Rockabrand moved that the UAC produce a letter before adjourning for the evening. Mr. Smith moved to adopt Mr. Dahlin's letter. Ms. Jorgensen suspended the motion pending resolution of Mr. Rockabrand's motion, which passed. Mr. Bandelin again volunteered to produce the typed text, and Ms. Jorgensen accepted him as a volunteer. Mr. Dahlin's letter was rejected, though parts thereof were noted as useful. By way of general guidance, both Ms. Jorgensen and Ms. Faoro stressed that in order to be effective, we must emphasize logic over emotion, conciseness over haphazard protest. It would not do, declared Ms. Jorgensen, simply to insist that the county not adopt the CAO. After some discussion over the content of the new letter, Mr. Rockabrand produced an updated version of the letter released earlier in the day to the public for discussion at the special meeting. Although it had only been released the day of the meeting (July 14, 2004), that letter had been dated June 4, 2004. Mr. Rockabrand's update was fresh, bearing the current date of July 14, 2004. Mr. Rockabrand declared, and all agreed, that it would be simpler to incorporate any additions and/or modifications into that letter, of which Mr. Rockabrand already had an electronic copy. At this, Mr. Bandelin asked to be excused. Ms. Jorgensen thanked him for his time and granted his request. He left at 8:24 PM.

THE MINUTES OF THE REMAINDER OF THE MEETING MUST BE APPENDED HERE.

Respectfully submitted on July 19, 2004 by Oscar J. Bandelin

Additional Notes Submitted by Edie Jorgensen follow.

FCUAC members present at the July 11 special meeting: Dave Dahlin, David Rockabrand, Marshall Brenden, Grant Smith, Vern Redecker, Edie Jorgensen and Kelly Faoro

David Dahlin moved use of David Rockabrand's draft from among several proffered drafts that were produced by various council members as a starting point upon which changes could be made informally during the working discussion. Grant Smith seconded. All voted yes.

Through discussion and informal agreements, modifications were made to the tone and to the content of the letter.

David Dahlin moved approval of the letter and that it be sent to all King County Council members and to the Executive by July 14. Marshall Brenden seconded the motion. The motion passed with one abstention.

Initially submitted via email to all UAC members and posted on the website August 4, 2004 - gh