Subject: [Tweeters] Renton City Council's decision re Black River heron
Date: Mar 24 13:32:36 2005
From: suzanne krom - szkrom at juno.com


Here's the latest on the proposed 65-house development next to Renton's
Black River great blue heron colony.


--Here's the story that ran in yesterday's King County Journal (page A-4)
regarding Monday's Renton City Council's vote:
http://www.kingcountyjournal.com/sited/story/html/202056
Renton builder gets limited time to clear land
2005-03-23
by Dean A. Radford
Journal Reporter

"RENTON -- The developers of an oft-appealed 65-home subdivision in
southwest Renton won't have to start from scratch, but they now face
strict limits on when they can clear their land." ...
--And here's Herons Forever's report on the status and what to expect
next:
Amazingly, Monday's city council decision regarding the plat was in our
favor. The council unanimously agreed with the subcommittee's report
recommending adoption of all 15 conditions proposed by the hearing
examiner. The subcommittee met last Thursday (3/17) and listened to
testimony from the developer and Herons Forever. They issued their report
on Monday, 3/21.

We were surprised by the council's action because it is in opposition to
their decision late last year when they overturned the examiner's SEPA
decision. Every hearing of this kind in Renton results two separate
decisions, one addressing SEPA (State Environmental Policy Act) and the
other involving the plat.

In their earlier SEPA decision, the council justified overturning the
examiner by stating that any impacts on the heron colony were
"speculative" (their word, not ours). The anticipated impacts were
discussed at length in last year's hearing by our experts. That hearing
involved four solid days of testimony, making it one of the longest in
the history of Renton. The council overturned the examiner after less
than an hour of deliberation. The developer takes the position that their
65-house development directly adjacent to the colony will have no impact
on the birds.

Yet now, with Monday's decision, the city council agrees with Herons
Forever that the possibility of impacts on the herons is very real, not
speculative.

Here's what we expect next --
The developer is likely to appeal Monday's city council decision to
Superior Court. The City's role with this land use issue is over. Any
appeals now go to Superior Court.
Herons Forever will appeal the council's earlier vote overturning the
hearing examiner's SEPA decision. Thank you to all of you who contributed
to our fundraiser, helping us prepare for this critical moment. Without
you, we would not be able to complete our effort to protect the heron
colony. It appears the developer hoped we would not have the resources to
see this process through to court. He was wrong. It's the only action we
are left with if this heron colony is to survive. It is not what we would
choose, but this developer leaves us with no other choice. We fully
expect to prevail in court. We would have preferred to negotiate to
establish the conditions needed to protect the birds. The developer
contacted Herons Forever within a week or so of last year's hearing with
an interest in doing exactly that but did not follow through. As a
result, he spent hundreds of thousands of dollars and delayed his
development. It was fully unnecessary. And his attorney is happily
reaping the rewards. (Sometimes we don't know who are real friends are.)
Incidentally, our ideal outcome would be to purchase this land and leave
it undeveloped.
Next stop, Superior Court.

Suzanne Krom, president
Herons Forever
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