Greater Maple Valley Unincorporated Area Council Sept. 10 meeting summary | Letter
Published 2:38 pm Monday, September 17, 2012
The Greater Maple Valley Unincorporated Area Council (GMVUAC) held its regular monthly meeting Sept. 10.
Our guest speaker was King County’s Department of Natural Resources and Parks (DNRP) Dennis Burgart who discussed recent acquisition of land on the east side of the state Route 169 and Cedar Grove Road intersection to develop a parking lot to support Cedar River recreational users.
Cedar Grove Road Acquisition and Development
Dennis Burgart of King County DNRP provided details on the recent acquisition of 2.28 acres of land east of state Route 169 and south of Cedar Grove Rd, adjacent to the County’s Cedar Grove Road Natural Area. A 30-40 vehicle parking lot is planned to support water-based recreational users on the Cedar River.
The plan calls for informational signage, an entry gate, and an access trail to connect the parking lot with the existing traffic signal at the intersection of Cedar Grove Rd and state Route 169. River users currently have to park along the narrow shoulders of Cedar Grove Rd and along adjacent Byers Rd which pose safety hazards for users and often congest a local road obstructing traffic. Area Council members expressed several safety concerns for pedestrians crossing Cedar Grove Rd and SR-169 and encouraged KC Dept. of Transportation conduct Traffic/Pedestrian Safety Analyses.
A 2010 Cedar River recreation study estimated 800 floaters put in at Cedar Grove Road Natural Area, 120 floaters took out there, and 500 floated by the site.
To improve habitat a future Levee Removal project at a nearby bend on the Cedar River may require periodic river closure, which would mean increased use of this site as a take-out point.
A State Recreation Conservation Office Grant is being sought, but project funding has yet to be secured. For more information please see: http://www.rco.wa.gov/prism/projectsnapshot.aspx?projectnumber=12-1272.
Community Service Areas
The Area Council decided to submit two Community Service Area (CSA) Grant applications to King County: (1) Bi-Annual Election and Survey and (2) Annual Train Show. It is expected that King County will award Grants by the end of October.
Assistance also offered to citizens in the Green Valley area in organizing under the new Southeast King County CSA which comprises the unincorporated rural area south of the cities of Maple Valley, Covington, and Black Diamond, east of Auburn, and surrounding the City of Enumclaw.
Citizens Survey
Later this year the council will once again conduct its popular and informative citizens’ survey to give unincorporated area residents an opportunity to voice their concerns on a variety of local and regional issues. Our last survey resulted in nearly 800 respondents. More details will be available in future articles and on our web site.
For well over 10 years the council has been conducting these surveys to gain and maintain an understanding of citizens and their opinions on issues of importance to our rural area. We thank all those who have participated in the past and those who will participate in this year’s survey.
A summary of responses from the past three Surveys can be found on our web site. Results of all surveys are shared with county and state officials.
King County Comprehensive Plan Update
The King County Council is in their final review of the 2012 KCCP Update. The council provided both oral testimony and detailed written comments on several revisions of the Update in December 2011 and April 2012.
The King County Council is now holding public hearings on the final version, as well as several Amendments sponsored by County Councilmembers (see: http://www.kingcounty.gov/council/issues/comprehensive_plan.aspx.
One such Amendment dealing with land in Ravensdale currently owned by Reserve Silica would change the zoning for some parcels from forestry to rural residential, removing them from the forest production district, and for other parcels from mining to rural residential.
The council consistently has advocated for these lands to not be converted to residential. Should this amendment be adopted, it would result in an “island” of residences on the Reserve Silica land, surrounded by Maple Ridge Highlands Open Space, Black Diamond Natural Area, and Forestry Production District lands.
This would not be compatible, nor consistent with the adjacent properties.
Train Show
This year’s Operating Train Show will be held the weekend of October 20 & 21 at the Gracie Hansen Community Center gymnasium at 27132 SE Ravensdale Way in Ravensdale. The show includes all kinds of operating model trains and train-related items in a very relaxed atmosphere where people can wander about and enjoy the trains at their own pace. All members of the public are invited.
Next Area Council Meeting
Meetings are held the first Monday of each month. A public comment period at the beginning of each meeting provides citizens an opportunity to voice issues of concern to Area Council members and County and State government officials in attendance. The council’s next monthly meeting will be Monday, Oct. 1, from 7-9:30 p.m. at the Fire Station at 231st St and state Route169.
The council “works to keep the rural area rural” by serving as an all-volunteer, locally elected advisory body to King County on behalf of all rural unincorporated area residents living in the Tahoma School District.
Please visit our web site: www.greatermaplevalleyareacouncil.org for more information on your Area Council and rural issues.
If you live in the Tahoma School District outside the city of Maple Valley, you are eligible to apply to become a member of the council. Interested citizens can send a brief letter of interest to GMVUAC, P.O. Box 101, Maple Valley, WA 98038 or an e-mail to gmvac_chair@hotmail.com. ***
Peter Rimbos,
Corresponding Secretary
