Bonus density code needs rewriting

I would like to get the word out that Snohomish County has stopped considering or taking public comment on the bonus density issue, which is considered the heart of the rural cluster subdivision code problem. During a lengthy process taking almost a year, the county has held a series of public meetings (as well as closed meetings just for developers) in the effort to revamp this code.

As a member of the Grandview Community Concerned Citizens (GCCC), I know that I am not alone in realizing the need to rewrite this code. The rural cluster subdivision code currently allows developers to build twice as many, or even a bit more, houses as would normally be allowed. This has been turning rural character neighborhoods into urban sprawl blight. There are numerous concerns a majority of rural residents have concerning these cluster subdivisions (failing wells, complaints against farming odors and noises, crime, traffic, increase in property taxes) and they are all directly related to the excessive number of people the county will allow developers to cram into our already maximized countryside.

It is easy to see by the prices that rural clusters are not affordable housing, but short-term profit at the expense of our next generations. Will we have a say in how the code should change — or will a handful of developers continue to dictate what rules the county adopts?

Sarah Blake

Arlington