Minutes - DRAFT

Four Creeks Unincorporated Area Council

Special Meeting Minutes – May 3, 2006 at May Valley Alliance Church

Submitted by Dellanie Fragnoli.

Attending:

D1: Rick Spence

X

D2: Eileen Lane

X

D3: Bob Davis

 

D4: OPEN

 

D5: Tom Carpenter

X

D6: Dellanie Fragnoli

 

D7: Marshall Brenden

X

D8: Dick Fackenthall

X

D9: Sharon Schimke

 

D10: Grant Smith

 

D11: John Vukov

X

AL: Dave Dahlin

 

AL: Edie Jorgensen

X

AL: Richard Maki

 

AAL:  Bette Filley

X

 

Call to Order:

The meeting was called to order by Rick S. at 7:07 p.m.

 

Main Topic – Issaquah School District’s plans

Working session to discuss plans

 

This was a special meeting of the Council to discuss the plans by Issaquah School District to buy the 80-acre Winterbrook Farms property for future construction of an elementary and a secondary school.  The meeting was to gather input that would be input to the agenda of the next regular Council meeting for possible action and response.

 

Rick S. delayed the start of the meeting to accommodate late arriving invitees.  He reported that he had received a note from Connie Fletcher, one of the School Board members, telling Rick she would not be attending the Council meeting.  No other invitees attended either.

 

Rick S. began the meeting by discussing the plans the School District had for buying the Winterbrook property mentioning concerns that the Council might have with impacts to the Rural Area caused by having the two schools located in the pristine May Valley.  He also questioned why the District would be allowed to build the schools on the property when it appeared that the Farms had turned away from plans to build a riding arena around 2 ½ years ago.

 

Tom C reported that the specific land is the 80-acre Winterbrook Farm, currently zoned RA-5, which lies south of May Valley Road, east of 208th Ave SE, and west of 221st Ave SE.  The site is bounded on the west by the Sunset Valley Farms development, an area also zoned RA-5, which is now populated with mostly 0.8 to 1-acre homes that provide very little that supports the rural character.  Also to the west is a 40-acre undeveloped parcel.  To the east is another residential development zoned RA-5 which is also now populated with mostly 1-acre homes that provide little that supports the rural character.  There is another 40-acre undeveloped parcel to the east of the property.  Directly north of the site is Squak Mountain Road, the main south entrance to Squak Mountain State Park.  West of the park land are the South Firs and High Valley residential areas.  To the south is 940 acres of King County property used for the Cedar Hills Land Fill and Treatment Center.

 

Rick S. expressed concern about why the District would be allowed to construct on the land while we (the valley residents) have not been permitted to do work that had far less impact.  He cited the effort on the part of Winterbrook Farms to build a riding arena with 16,000 square feet of impervious surface (the roof).  The schools, even without the parking lots and roads would have impervious surface far in excess of that square footage.  Members of the council question whether an actual permit request had been made by Winterbrook but no one seemed to know.  Rick S. was asked to get with the consultant that had worked the effort to determine the facts about the riding arena situation.

 

Rick S. mentioned that this questioned the “doctrine of fairness”.  Edie J. clarified that the proper terminology is the “Consistency of Application of Adopted Laws, Rules, and Procedures.”

 

The discussion began to focus on the major areas where the Council might have concerns.  Tom C. proposed a listing of those major areas throughout the meeting to aid in getting agreement from the Council.

 

Tom C. suggested that one area was in the subject of concurrency specifically regarding traffic and wastewater.  It was clarified that concurrency might not be the best word since it would come down to a settlement between King County and the District which could defer dealing with impacts to the region in the areas usually addressed by concurrency for quite some years.  With the pending work on SR 900 and the Cascade Water Alliance’s plan for constructing a pipeline through the area, just such a deferral would be likely.  The question that could be asked is “What is the key negotiated settlement between the County and the District?” including a listing of Impact Fees.

 

Tom C. suggested that the District may pump out wastewater and have it removed from the area in a fashion similar to Liberty High School who pays close to $1M annually for the effort.  Given that the two schools being proposed would likely be larger than Liberty HS, the costs to the District may even be higher.

 

There was a brief discussion on whether fresh water would be available.  The assumption was that it would be since it was expected that the developments that bounded the property already were being provided fresh water by Water District 90.  Tom C. agreed to follow up with WD 90 to confirm.

 

Much of the remaining discussion was focused on the impacts to the character of the area by placing the two schools on the Winterbrook property.  Dick F. mentioned that truck traffic on May Valley Road near the property had increase significantly since Issaquah had banned truck traffic in their area.  He also mentioned that parts of May Valley Road were already showing signs of the increased traffic including some deterioration of the bed supporting the edges of the road.

 

Rick S. wondered what the bicycle clubs might think if they knew that the District planned to add more large vehicles to the road in the form of school busses.  This created a discussion about who the school would serve which led to a clarification of the current boundaries of the District.  To the west, the Issaquah School District extends onto the plateau east of Renton.

 

Dick F. clarified that McDonald Creek, which runs through the property, is an intermittent waterway fed by Lake McDonald, and 18-acre lake 5 miles east of Renton, which has a weir thus contributing to the intermittent nature of the creek.  Dick F. mentioned that that’s where the name “Winterbrook” came from.  McDonald creek feeds into Issaquah Creek.  Dick also mentioned that the property was in a flood plane and had experienced flooding in the past.  Tom C. pointed out that there are also creeks that come into the property from the north and the south.

 

The summary provided by Tom C. was that the major areas of concern that had been discussed were 1) the impacts to the area mostly in terms of noise and traffic, 2) how schools servicing residents principally in the urban areas was inappropriate to the character of the valley, and 3) that the specific property because of it’s water carrying characteristics was not suited to the type of construction, particularly of impervious surfaces, needed by the schools.

 

Edie J. pointed out that the special session was not authorized to make decisions on the topic but could make recommendations to the regular Council meetings.  Tom C. offered to provide an overall summary for that purpose at the May Council meeting with the addition of an agenda item to consider adopting a position regarding the Districts plans.

 

 

Meeting was adjourned.

 

 

Submitted by:

 

                                               

Dellanie Fragnoli, Secretary based on notes taken by Tom Carpenter

 

Dated:  May 10, 2006