Flood control plan for Lochsloy area to be on Aug. 2 ballot

LOCHSLOY — Neighbors who have watched the Pilchuck River devour their back yards get to vote this summer on whether to form a flood control district.

The special district would allow the 16 property owners involved to issue bonds and levy assessments in order to pay for riverbank stabilization projects. There are 15 private property owners along with some county-owned right-of-way within the proposed district.

Homeowners in the Lochaven neighborhood off Highway 92, between Lake Stevens and Granite Falls, petitioned Snohomish County last year to establish the Lochsloy Pilchuck Flood Control District.

The group has proposed two possible projects. The first would be to put in riprap and to plant native vegetation to stabilize the bank where it is now. The second option would attempt to move the bank back to where it was in the past by putting in riprap up to 100 feet out from the bank and filling in the gap.

“The proposed project is essentially a bank protection project to keep the river channel from continuing to migrate,” said Gregg Farris with the county’s Surface Water Management division during a public hearing last week. “It’s been migrating to the west, in toward the homes in the proposed district.”

The Snohomish County Council on May 11 voted 3-0 to authorize a special election for the property owners. They get two votes per property and a simple majority is needed to create the flood control district. The measure will appear on a separate Aug. 2 ballot from the regular primary election and will be mailed only to property owners in the proposed district, county elections manager Garth Fell said.

The council decided to exclude from the district some county-owned property along 152nd Avenue NE and state-owned aquatic lands that fall below the normal high water mark.

In order to grant permission for the special election, the council had to determine that the flood control district would benefit public health and welfare, help the majority of properties within the district and that the proposed projects are realistic.

A county engineer’s report found that the projects would be feasible. It also concluded the financial benefit outweighs the anticipated $1.3 million price tag for the work once expected increases in property value for homeowners are considered.

Stabilizing the bank could increase the value of properties in the district by between $62,000 and $94,000 per lot.

However, the engineer also noted that there is no guarantee the projects could get the necessary permits. That wouldn’t be decided until designs were submitted for review, which likely wouldn’t happen if the district fails in the election.

“Formation of the flood district is important because it’s preserving our properties and our lives,” said Mark Thompson, president of the Lochaven homeowners group. “Right now some of the river is within 40 feet of some of the houses.”

Homeowner Lisa Wasser told the county council that she’s lost trees and vegetation that used to border her lawn. Trees were uprooted and pulled away by the Pilchuck’s current as recently as March, she said. Even when the river isn’t flooding, erosion at that bend is constantly undercutting the bank and working its way closer to her home’s foundation.

“We purchased this not knowing that this erosion was catastrophic,” she said. “We thought this was flood-caused erosion that was a one-time event, and now we’re finding out that it’s not. I’m really concerned because some of my neighbors’ properties … their retaining walls are dropping into the river. We’ve had structures dropping into the river.”

Bill Lider, a private engineer based in Lynnwood, urged the county council to deny an election for the flood control district. He worries the proposed projects would harm fish in the Pilchuck River.

“With salmon runs at historic lows, preservation of stream-side habitat is critically important,” he said. “It’s most unfortunate that the county permitted these homes to be built within feet of the floodway fringe and on the river bend that aims the force of the river directly at these properties. Now these homeowners must seek public assistance to rectify an avoidable problem.”

If the flood control district is approved in the August election, people in the district would need to work with county officials on a formula for assessing how much property owners would pay toward projects. The method of assessing properties would come to the county council for a public hearing and vote. It would need to be approved by Sept. 1 for the district to begin collecting money in 2017.

Kari Bray: 425-339-3439; kbray@heraldnet.com

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Local News

A firefighter stands in silence before a panel bearing the names of L. John Regelbrugge and Kris Regelbrugge during the ten-year remembrance of the Oso landslide on Friday, March 22, 2024, at the Oso Landslide Memorial in Oso, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
‘Flood of emotions’ as Oso Landslide Memorial opens on 10th anniversary

Friends, family and first responders held a moment of silence at 10:37 a.m. at the new 2-acre memorial off Highway 530.

Julie Petersen poses for a photo with images of her sister Christina Jefferds and Jefferds’ grand daughter Sanoah Violet Huestis next to a memorial for Sanoah at her home on March 20, 2024 in Arlington, Washington. Peterson wears her sister’s favorite color and one of her bangles. (Annie Barker / The Herald)
‘It just all came down’: An oral history of the Oso mudslide

Ten years later, The Daily Herald spoke with dozens of people — first responders, family, survivors — touched by the deadliest slide in U.S. history.

Victims of the Oso mudslide on March 22, 2014. (Courtesy photos)
Remembering the 43 lives lost in the Oso mudslide

The slide wiped out a neighborhood along Highway 530 in 2014. “Even though you feel like you’re alone in your grief, you’re really not.”

Director Lucia Schmit, right, and Deputy Director Dara Salmon inside the Snohomish County Department of Emergency Management on Friday, March 8, 2024, in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
How Oso slide changed local emergency response ‘on virtually every level’

“In a decade, we have just really, really advanced,” through hard-earned lessons applied to the pandemic, floods and opioids.

Ron and Gail Thompson at their home on Monday, March 4, 2024 in Oso, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
In shadow of scarred Oso hillside, mudslide’s wounds still feel fresh

Locals reflected on living with grief and finding meaning in the wake of a catastrophe “nothing like you can ever imagine” in 2014.

Imagine Children's Museum's incoming CEO, Elizabeth "Elee" Wood. (Photo provided by Imagine Children's Museum)
Imagine Children’s Museum will welcome new CEO in June

Nancy Johnson, who has led Imagine Children’s Museum in Everett for 25 years, will retire in June.

Kelli Littlejohn, who was 11 when her older sister Melissa Lee was murdered, speaks to a group of investigators and deputies to thank them for bringing closure to her family after over 30 years on Thursday, March 28, 2024, at Snohomish County Superior Court in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
‘She can rest in peace’: Jury convicts Bothell man in 1993 killing

Even after police arrested Alan Dean in 2020, it was unclear if he would stand trial. He was convicted Thursday in the murder of Melissa Lee, 15.

Ariel Garcia, 4, was last seen Wednesday morning in an apartment in the 4800 block of Vesper Dr. (Photo provided by Everett Police)
Everett police searching for missing child, 4

Ariel Garcia was last seen Wednesday at an apartment in the 4800 block of Vesper Drive. The child was missing under “suspicious circumstances.”

The rezoned property, seen here from the Hillside Vista luxury development, is surrounded on two sides by modern neighborhoods Monday, March 25, 2024, in Lake Stevens, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Despite petition, Lake Stevens OKs rezone for new 96-home development

The change faced resistance from some residents, who worried about the effects of more density in the neighborhood.

Rep. Suzan DelBene, left, introduces Xichitl Torres Small, center, Undersecretary for Rural Development with the U.S. Department of Agriculture during a talk at Thomas Family Farms on Monday, April 3, 2023, in Snohomish, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Under new federal program, Washingtonians can file taxes for free

At a press conference Wednesday, U.S. Rep. Suzan DelBene called the Direct File program safe, easy and secure.

Former Snohomish County sheriff’s deputy Jeremie Zeller appears in court for sentencing on multiple counts of misdemeanor theft Wednesday, March 27, 2024, at Snohomish County Superior Court in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Ex-sheriff’s deputy sentenced to 1 week of jail time for hardware theft

Jeremie Zeller, 47, stole merchandise from Home Depot in south Everett, where he worked overtime as a security guard.

Everett
11 months later, Lake Stevens man charged in fatal Casino Road shooting

Malik Fulson is accused of shooting Joseph Haderlie to death in the parking lot at the Crystal Springs Apartments last April.

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.