The Greater Maple Valley Unincorporated Area Council discussed starting a newsletter as well as development in Covington and the Landsburg Mine cleanup plan at its monthly meeting on Dec. 2.
Newsletter
The Area Council’s outreach/survey/election committee presented its final plan for the area council upcoming newsletter. The newsletter will be mailed to unincorporated area residents in the Tahoma School District early in the new year.
The newsletter will provide information on the area council and its activities.
Covington Master Planned Development
Covington released its final Environmental Impact Statement for the proposed master planned development to be located between SR-18, SR-516, and Cedar Creek Park.
The area council’s growth management committee is reviewing the statement for resolution of concerns originally voiced in August in its detailed comments on the draft environmental impact statement.
Although several area council concerns have been addressed in the statement, some, such as, traffic impacts still require additional consideration. The committee currently is documenting those concerns. At the Jan. 6 meeting the area council will review a final set of comments from the committee.
In late January the Covington City Council will be holding a public hearing on a planned action ordinance that would approve the proposed MPD based on mitigation outlined in the statement. The area council plans to offer oral testimony at the hearing.
Rural stormwater retention facility
The King County Executive has drafted a development agreement with YarrowBay to permit a 77-unit clustered housing development on 394 acres in the rural area immediately west of Black Diamond.
As part of the draft regional stormwater facility would be built in the rural area to primarily serve the master planned developments in Black Diamond. The facility also would be used to alleviate occasional flooding of nearby Horseshoe Lake, outside the city.
The area council previously has testified, during the Black Diamond MPD public hearings, about the problems with siting such a facility to primarily serve an urban area. The area council also is concerned with the precedent such a facility could present.
The area council agreed to present oral testimony before the King County Council at its December public hearing on the draft. That testimony will request the King County Council reject the draft, while continuing to improve its current process to alleviate occasional flooding of Horseshoe Lake.
Landsburg Mine cleanup plan
The area council’s natural resources/parks committee completed its review of the Landsburg Mine Draft Cleanup Action Plan (https://fortress.wa.gov/ecy/gsp/Sitepage.aspx?csid=60) and presented a set of comments for full area council review.
The committee listed several long-term concerns including long term liability by the responsible parties and lack of specific plans should monitoring show major leakage of contaminants. In addition, the Committee remains concerned the consent decree specifies “indefinite” funding, which courts in the past have interpreted as “temporary.” Because the in-ground contamination is potentially a very long term problem, such language does not guarantee that sufficient cleanup and remedial funding will be there when needed.
The area council authorized preparation and submittal of final comments to the State Department of Ecology by its Dec. 12 deadline.
Next area council meeting
The area council’s next monthly meeting will held from 7-9 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 6 at the Fire Station at SE corner of 231st St & SR-169. Meetings are held the first non-holiday Monday of each month.
Visit www.greatermaplevalleyareacouncil.org for more information.
