Dear Tweeters friends,
We are having network troubles and finding that we may not be able to
post this update to our website as quickly as we had hoped. In the
meantime, here is the updated status about the hearing. It will be posted
to www.heronsforever.org as soon as we are able to do so.

This is a extremely critical time for the Black River heron colony. Thank
you for your support!
Suzanne Krom, President
Herons Forever

************

Hearing Continued
Black River herons need your support
Please plan to attend
Where: Renton City Hall, 1055 South Grady Way in Renton, 7th floor,
Hearing Chambers.


Public Hearing: Tuesday, April 27, start time 9:00 a.m. This part of the
hearing is open to anyone who would to attend or testify. Concludes after
everyone who wants to speak has done so. We recommend that you arrive in
the morning.

SEPA Appeal: Thursday, April 29, start time 9:00 a.m. Anyone can attend,
however, only the expert witnesses can testify. No public testimony will
be taken. Concludes after experts complete their testimony.

See Hearing Status for details.


Hearing Status
Day One of the hearing started Tuesday, April 20, 2004. Our legal brief,
which we had provided to the hearing examiner 12 days earlier, exposed
major deficiencies and flaws in the developer?s application. Just before
lunch, the developer?s attorney announced that he had a few materials he
wanted to distribute to the hearing examiner and us.
Note: Our brief:
http://heronsforever.org/pics/Pre_hearing_Letter__4_7_04_from_David_Mann.
doc

He proceeded to distribute what became a 4-inch+ stack of new reports and
studies. The volume of new information was enormous ? larger than what
had been provided in the original application. In providing these
documents, the developer was admitting that their original application
was sorely lacking and didn?t properly evaluate the environmental
impacts of their proposed 65-house development project.
Our attorney told us that it?s not unusual for new information to be
presented at a hearing, however the amount distributed on Tuesday far
exceeded the norm.

We are now reviewing these new reports for accuracy and completeness.
Next Thursday, April 29, the SEPA appeal portion of the hearing will
address the adequacy of these reports. Check our website for our expert's
reports from their initial review, which will be posted as soon as we are
able to update it. After next Thursday?s hearing, we will post our
experts? reviews of the additional materials provided at the 4/20
hearing.
Tuesday, April 27, is the public portion of this hearing. This is where
you ? as a member of the public ? come in. Please come testify. Your
testimony is most effective when it?s personal. You can tell a story,
talk about how your children responded when they first were shown Black
River, describe the first time you saw a great blue heron, explain why
Black River is one of your favorite parks,
But please come. We
recognize that it takes place during the workday. It makes it even more
important that anyone who can attend even for an hour will help show your
support for this heron colony. We wish the herons could attend. It?s up
to us to be there for them. They don?t have a say. We do.




---- Forwarded Message -----
From: suzanne krom <szkrom at juno.com>
To: heronsupdate at onenw.org
Date: Fri, 23 Apr 2004 00:10:57 -0700
Subject: Update -- Herons Forever appeal of development next to Black
River heron colony. Mark calendars for 4/27

Dear Friends,
We are in the process of updating our website to let you know what
happened at the hearing on Tuesday. In the meantime, please mark your
calendars to attend the continuation of this hearing next Tuesday, 4/27.
It will start at 9:00 a.m. and conclude after everyone who wants to speak
has done so. It will take place at Renton City Hall, 1055 South Grady Way
in Renton, on the 7th floor in the Hearing Chambers.

Please check our website at www.heronsforever.org for details. I will
post the update this weekend.
Suzanne Krom, President
Herons Forever
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