Position Statement

POSITION STATEMENT
Of
Foothills Friends
(also known as Friends of Kendall and Columbia Valley)
As of September 12, 2005

AIKI Homes, Inc. is proposing to drop a ready made, high density city into the middle of Kendall, which is a quiet, rural mountain recreation area, through which passes a Scenic Highway to Mount Baker. The mere prospect of a ready-made city is appalling to many residents. It is one thing to anticipate measured growth, in response to actual current needs as they evolve over time, but it is entirely another matter when a community faces a complete and utter change, by fiat of one business entity, to the community's character. Regardless of the County's designation many years ago of this area as an Urban Growth Area, Kendall, Peaceful Valley, Paradise and the Columbia Valley remain today a quiet rural area that is not ready for this instant conversion to a full-blown city. The area does have problems with the existing residential developments, as those neighborhoods do not have the level of urban service which other areas in the County have, resulting in crime and other problems, and there are no jobs within the Columbia Valley. However, Kendall and Columbia Valley do not deserve to have those problems worsened. The area deserves protection for its inherent beauty and protection of its existing citizens, and its citizens deserve a better delivery of urban services.

Regarding the proposed development of AIKI Homes, Inc. in Kendall, Foothills Friends has the following additional comments and concerns:

  1. The residential density of the developer's proposal, of 667 individual homes , plus an unknown number of attached and detached accessory units, on 73 acres, approximately 9 or 10 homes per acre, together with 100 multi-family units on a portion of 25 additional commercial acres, is too dense for the existing rural recreational community and surrounding area.


  2. The developer's Traffic Study should be redone for two reasons:


    1. the traffic counts do not take into consideration that the region is a recreational, vacation area, with increased traffic counts on weekends year round, and increased traffic counts during the summer season. The existing study was conducted primarily in December 2004, and January 2005, and does not reflect the seasonal increases.


    2. The calculations do not follow the State of Washington Dept of Transportation requirements. Per the Department of Transportation's letter to Planning and Development dated July 20, 2005, even using the developer's own traffic counts, the daily trip count should be 14,545 trips instead of 7,193 trips daily.


  3. The 25 acre commercial area proposed by the developer, including an additional 100 unit multifamily zone and a shopping mall, is neither appropriate nor necessary for the rural recreational community and surrounding area.


  4. There is no need for the shopping mall proposed by the developer. Just recently, the corporate headquarters of the existing Starvin' Sam's convenience store has indicated that within the next 12 months it will convert to a hardware store, and will additionally build a 10,000 square foot grocery store at the Mt. Baker intersection with the Kendall Road. An additional grocery store and commercial area is neither appropriate nor necessary.


  5. The 25 acre commercial site specific zoning request by the developer does not comply with the requirements of the Whatcom County Comprehensive Plan. The Comp Plan requires that the existing Small Town Commercial Zone of 40 acres at the Mt Baker Highway intersection with the Kendall Road be completely built before any other acreage be designated commercial within Kendall. The Small Town Commercial Zone of 40 acres has not been completely built, as required. The Comprehensive Plan also requires that a land use survey be conducted, after the 40 acres are fully developed, to identify actual need of additional commercial acreage, before a new commercial zone be designated.


  6. Developer's alternative approach to the 25 acre commercial site, by filing an amendment to the Whatcom County Comprehensive Plan, is similarly inappropriate. Developer proposes deleting in its entirety the protections provided in the Comprehensive Plan for the Kendall Small Town Commercial Zone. The developer's justification for the proposed amendment is it's assertion that the Small Town Commercial Zone cannot be further built upon because there is too much traffic congestion and too little commercial access at the Mt Baker/Kendall Road intersection. However, the Washington State Department of Transportation's answer in its letter dated July 20, 2005 to the developer's assertion in its Comprehensive Plan Amendment request is that the developer's "concerns can be mitigated satisfactorily.." at the existing intersection. "For example, one such measure may be to construct a roundabout on SR 547 with one leg dedicated to serving a road system designed to provide access to commercial development."


  7. The developer's 140 acre site specific zoning request to convert Long Term Growth Area status to Short Term Growth Area status has not met the Washington State concurrency requirements for available municipal services., The local water district No 13, in a letter dated June 8, 2005 to Planning and Development stated that it can handle an additional 300 water and wastewater connections but the proposed development requires an additional 667 individual home connections, an unknown number of attached and detached accessory dwellings, 100 multifamily connections plus an unknown number of commercial connections. "Future expansion improvements to the district's treatment facilities will be required in order to serve the remaining proposed areas of the development?Aiki Homes?has agreed to cover their fair share of the costs of any future improvements." The State of Washington Concurrency requirements require that the services be in place at the time of development, and the Whatcom County Comprehensive Plan requires a detailed list of services in place in order to qualify for Short Term Growth Area status. It does not appear that developer has met those requirements.


  8. An Environmental Impact Study, per SEPA, including formal hydrogeological or engineering study of impact on local drinking water supplies, should be required for this development because of the:


    1. potential impact of contamination of ground water for the many residential wells in the area


    2. impact on salmon and other fish and wildlife; and


    3. alluvial fan risks of stone debris and water damage in high water storms.


  9. An archaeological and historical preservation study should be required for this development given the history of Native Americans and early settlers in the area of Balfour Village.


    10. The solution to the existing problems of crime and lack of urban services in Columbia Valley will not be met by any new development, nor is it a new developer's responsibility. However, adding a new development will compound the existing problems. It is the County's responsibility to address the lack of funding for urban services for the existing developments that were approved by the County without necessary services in place. Simply because a mistake was made in the past of ignoring urban services does not mean imposing a new high density development is justified. Concurrency standards and obligations should have been followed then by the County, and must be followed now for any new development.


Based on all of these points, Foothills Friends believes strongly that the proposed development can and must be stopped or changed until all of these issues have been satisfactorily addressed. If you should have any questions or comments, please telephone 360-599-9432 or mail comments to PO Box 1876, Maple Falls, WA 98266.