Merle Ash thought he was being funny and, at times, glib and dismissive.
It was time for some candor, he decided, so the veteran land-use expert didn’t hold back as he answered neighborhood concerns over a housing project.
On overcrowding: “Stop breeding and start a campaign of sterilization at birth.”
On climate change: “I thought the Russians had control of our weather.”
On threatened species: “Where and what plants, the endangered alder tree?”
Neighbors of the proposed Glacier View housing project in south Everett are seething over Ash’s off-the-cuff and philosophical ramblings.
They say Ash is arrogant, condescending and insulting.
“He’s got a right to state his opinion, but he doesn’t have to do it in a way that’s inflammatory or insulting,” said Michael Svob, a neighbor on Larimer Road.
Ash’s comments were filed as official responses to a stack of letters critical of the 40-house project. Snohomish County often requires developers to respond to question and complaints about proposed projects.
“When citizens come in with comments, we sort them and send them all to the developer and say, ‘What’s your response?’” said Tom Rowe, a county planning department division manager. “We’re trying to get that dialogue going.”
What they got back was part technical, part philosophical. Ash admits to strong opinions and felt a need to make a point.
The exchange shows how hot disputes are becoming between neighbors wanting to protect their back yards and developers looking to build on the final pockets of available land in Snohomish County.
From Ash’s point of view, it was the umpteenth time he had heard concerns about overcrowding and possible endangered plants and wildlife. As president of Arlington-based Land Technologies consulting, he has been helping developers get land-use permits in a career spanning nearly 30 years.
“After doing these for 20 to 30 years, we get comments that we’re polluting the world’s waterways and destroying the Lowell-Larimer forest,” Ash said. “If I don’t have a little sense of humor with some of it, I could go quite mad.
“I was probably trying to be candid and comical in some of my responses. I never intended to be rude.”
Ash’s comments have chafed the already raw frustration in the neighborhood, and highlight just how strong feelings run about development in every corner of the county. Neighbors often raise concerns about traffic, the environment and wildlife, as they have for the Glacier View project, Ash said.
Glacier View is proposed on 18 acres off of a dead-end road where neighbors don’t want to see more traffic. The project also sits atop a hillside that slopes down to the Snohomish River valley.
There are several property owners who hired Ash to shepherd the project until it gets the county permit.
Ash admits to strong opinions. When the Glacier View project was criticized for causing overcrowding, Ash said he trotted out his favorite line about sterilization at birth.
“We get so anti-growth, what are we going to do with the population?” Ash said. “I really think if people want to stop growth they’re going to have to do something to stop population expansion. What happens when we get to 12 billion?”
Technical experts, not neighborhood residents, are best equipped for evaluating whether a project should be built, Ash said.
“My responses that were labeled rude were meant to be lighthearted, philosophical, and sometimes dismissive,” he said. “I don’t know if I expected them to be interpreted as rude. I wish people would just come with real serious comments. They probably think they’re serious, but they don’t have a good understanding of land-use and environmental elements.”
Ash was intentionally inflammatory, said Brian Brooks, one of the neighbors who said he wanted more study of the effects. Ash answered that the world was “overstudied.”
“It seems to me they don’t care about the community,” Brooks said.
It isn’t fair to expect the neighborhood to be fluent in developer-speak, said Svob, who is worried about the hillside tumbling on his home.
“We’re all having to sift through information in our own way,” Svob said. “It doesn’t give the developer the right to be dismissive in the way they deal with it.”
The county should reject Ash’s comments as legitimate feedback, he said.
“To me, the comments are symptomatic of a bigger problem,” Svob said. “By and large, the county has treated us like a bunch of insects that need to be swatted rather than addressing our concerns.”
Neighbors deserve to be heard, and public input is respected, said Rowe, the county planning manager.
Ash is a “very responsive and very competent consultant,” Rowe said.
Ash’s comments on the Glacier View project were “flippant” and don’t sound professional, Rowe said.
“Those are interesting responses I would not have expected from him,” Rowe said. “We take all citizen comments seriously and our expectation is that applicants will as well. It would be our expectation for a professional response.”
Ash is unapologetic, but said he will meet with any neighbors who have concerns.
“I’m always available,” Ash said. “If someone thought I was rude, I’ll gladly go someplace and talk to them about it.”
Reporter Jeff Switzer: 425-339-3452 or jswitzer@heraldnet.com.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
