Article exposes vesting fiasco

Once again Herald reporter Noah Haglund exposes poor county practices in the Dec. 20 “Slippery slope” exposé. At core is the Snohomish County planning department’s irresponsible policy of automatically vesting all development applications that cross its desk. State vesting law was designed to provide predictability to the builders and provides a 20-day window for county reviewers to accept or reject a proposal. If no decision is made, the application becomes automatically vested. The public has only 21 days to appeal a flawed project, if only it knew about it. The trouble is that at this point there is no public notice to alert anyone that there is even anything occurring in the county coffers, until after another 120-day process. Then people finally get signs and notices that grant them limited say over some environmental issues, often too late to remedy other illegal aspects of the project, from grading and drainage violations, or zoning and title transgressions, or lack of water supply to general mayhem that often goes on illegally to hone the site.

The county’s egregious failure to provide initial application review has littered our landscape with many illegal and ill-conceived development schemes. The consequences have only begun to haunt us all, Oso being just one spectacular debacle. We see in the exposé, how it will affect a major industry, but even the railroad behemoth, BNSF, may be powerless to do anything about a landslide-inducing project with significant impacts to the shoreline and rail transport. The courts could do their job under the State Environmental Policy Act, but per the article seem disinclined to.

We can only hope new management of the planning department under Snohomish County Executive Dave Somers will put an end to the despicable practice of automatic vesting of bad projects by county planning directors.

Laura Hartman

Snohomish

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Opinion

toon
Editorial cartoons for Friday, March 29

A sketchy look at the news of the day.… Continue reading

Initiative promoter Tim Eyman takes a selfie photo before the start of a session of Thurston County Superior Court, Wednesday, Feb. 10, 2021, in Olympia, Wash. Eyman, who ran initiative campaigns across Washington for decades, will no longer be allowed to have any financial control over political committees, under a ruling from Superior Court Judge James Dixon Wednesday that blasted Eyman for using donor's contributions to line his own pocket. Eyman was also told to pay more than $2.5 million in penalties. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
Editorial: Initiative fee increase protects process, taxpayers

Bumped up to $156 from $5, the increase may discourage attempts to game the initiative process.

Schwab: Who was Langerhans? And when’s the ferry to his islets?

The Herald’s resident retired surgeon slices into the anatomy of the etymology of our anatomy.

Comment: Cervial cancer treatable; if you’re screened for it

A screening for cervical cancer can detect cancerous or precancerous cells and direct treatment.

Comment: Framers gave us Goldilocks Constitution; let’s use it

It was meant to be resilient, not perfect, but it has to be used as designed toward workable solutions.

Comment: GOP in Congress isn’t fighting crime; it’s arming it

Budget cuts to the FBI and ATF and other riders have made it easier for criminals to get firearms.

toon
Editorial cartoons for Thursday, March 28

A sketchy look at the news of the day.… Continue reading

Washington state senators and representatives along with Governor Inslee and FTA Administrator Nuria Fernandez break ground at the Swift Orange Line on Tuesday, April 19, 2022 in Lynnwood, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Editorial: Community Transit making most of Link’s arrival

The Lynnwood light rail station will allow the transit agency to improve routes and frequency of buses.

Protecting forests and prevent another landslide like Oso

Thank you for the powerful and heartbreaking article about the Oso landslide… Continue reading

Boeing’s downfall started when engineers demoted

Boeing used to be run by engineers who made money to build… Continue reading

Learn swimming safety to protect kids at beach, pool

Don’t forget to dive into water safety before hitting the pool or… Continue reading

An image of Everett Mayor Cassie Franklin is reflected in a storefront window during the State of the City Address on Thursday, March 21, 2024, at thee Everett Mall in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Editorial: State of city address makes case for Everett’s future

Mayor Franklin outlines challenges and responses as the city approaches significant decisions.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.