Everett routinely sees people break anti-dumping law

EVERETT — For years, somebody living near Mukilteo Lane did something many people do.

They dumped grass clippings down a steep slope.

Officials say the weight of that water-laden grass pile is partly to blame for a landslide that undermined a portion of Mukilteo Lane.

Kevin Fagerstrom, an Everett code enforcement director, tells this story to illustrate a point.

People are violating Everett law on a regular basis, he says — probably unknowingly. The results could leave them prone to city fines and even lawsuits, if they end up damaging somebody else’s property.

That law, called the critical areas ordinance, is designed to protect environmentally-sensitive areas, including streams, wetlands and steep slopes prone to landslides and erosion.

Everett, with its deep ravines, bluffs and wetlands, has many of these areas.

The state requires that cities set up such laws and update them to reflect the best available science. In Everett, the law has been on the city books in some form since 1990. Today, it’s more than 30 pages long.

When it comes to bluffs, the city has the most problems with people dumping yard waste, clear-cutting and trimming trees, Fagerstrom said. Those activities are illegal on steep slopes prone to erosion or landslides — even if it’s your own property.

Much of the bluff along Grand Avenue and Mukilteo Boulevard falls under the critical areas ordinance.

The fine for dumping and tree cutting is a maximum of $1,000 per incident. If you mess with somebody else’s property, costs could be a lot more.

One Everett couple who live above Merrill and Ring Creek may have to pay tens of thousands of dollars to make things right after the steep slope in front of their home — which they don’t own — gave way.

Their neighbor said the couple cut down trees without permission to improve their view and that contributed to the landslide. The matter hasn’t been sorted out.

The city officials don’t track how many of their code compliance complaints are tree and yard dumping issues. Fagerstrom said he recalls about 10 tree-trimming complaints in the last year. The city gets more complaints about tree trimming than yard waste dumping, but he suspects more people are engaged in the later, he said.

“My gut is there are more dumping violations actually happening — infinitely more,” Fagerstrom said. “It’s so discreet the neighbors don’t see it, we don’t see it and it goes unreported.”

And, he said, people probably think what they are doing is no big deal.

Yard waste can take years to compost. Dumped at the top of a bluff it can destabilize the slope, said Erik Andersen, a geotechnical engineer from HWA GeoSciences Inc., a Bothell-based geotechnical engineering firm.

“Those organic materials burden the soil with extra weight and also absorb rainfall and run-off that would have moved down the slope,” he said.

It also can kill vegetation that’s helping hold the hillside in place, he said.

The rules about tree trimming exist in part to keep slopes from sliding away and to protect wildlife habitat.

The way the law reads now, it’s illegal to trim even a branch off a tree growing on certain steep slopes.

However, it’s unlikely the city would come after a homeowner for a small transgression. The city works on a complaint basis — meaning they usually investigate when someone complains. Or when the violation is so blatant, it can’t be ignored.

“We don’t have the time and staff to be snooping in people’s back yards,” Fagerstrom said.

The law allows for exceptions, such as removing dangerous trees. Property owners need to apply for a permit before the work is done, said Allan Giffen, Everett’s director of planning and community development.

The law is silent when it comes to tree topping and trimming for view enhancement, he said. Other municipal codes sometimes give more latitude for homeowners to trim for views, he said.

Debra Smith: 425-339-3197, dsmith@heraldnet.com.

More online

To see if property is a steep slope prone to erosion or landslides, view maps at http://tinyurl.com/EvMaps and at city offices at 3200 Cedar St. The critical areas ordinance is also available at http://tinyurl.com/EvCriticalAreasOrd.