Comment: Environment needs fairer hand in local development

By Jessica Salazar / For The Herald

Just when will the devastation end? Our neighborhoods, our communities and our county deserve more from us at a time when our planet is at a crossroads.

Global warming has given some of us a much-needed climate conscience, for others it continues to fall on deaf ears. For those of us who are not blind to the impacts of the rising temperatures, it is rather easy to follow the science of rising sea levels, more frequent and devastating wildfires, urban flooding and loss of sea and wildlife populations. Sure, these seem like they are global issues, not local ones. However, I can tell you that they start right in our own backyard.

The unfortunate thing about our backyards is that they are also rapidly disappearing. Rampant and unrestrained development by large and small developers are wiping away the things that we hold dear, overwhelming and polluting our rivers, lakes and streams and killing native wildlife. The urban deforestation that has accompanied just about every local development project in the area where I live, seems to have been done without regard for the impact to the environment, increased traffic congestion, surrounding property damage, and increased drainage and runoff to local water sources like Ruggs Lake in my neighborhood.

When these project elements are questioned or challenged, our cries go nowhere. Perhaps it is because developers carry more political influence than the average resident and the cards are stacked in their favor? A simple public disclosure search will yield a pretty clear picture of just how much influence developers have on local politics, and it is troubling to say the least.

Maybe that is why projects keep popping up in areas that don’t have the critical infrastructure to support their success and are given the green light by the county Planning Department to move forward without meeting all of the established requirements that are outlined in the county code. This is where it is apparent that the developers’ reach extends beyond the standard process of apply and comply.

Developers appear to be allowed to continue to proceed with their projects before they have satisfied all permit requirements in advance of their project initiation. This gives them the ability to clear-cut and destroy the very trees and wildlife that the codes are meant to protect. Once the trees are down and the wildlife has disappeared, there is no longer anything to protect and the “no environmental harm,” box can now be checked.

I am concerned about what I will tell my 4- and 8-year-old children when they ask me why there are no longer any eagles, deer, raccoons, coyote, owls or other animals that we often see in our neighborhood. What do I say when they ask why I will not let them play outside of our backyard because of the unsafe increase in traffic on our already busy street? I am sick of the idea of having to explain to my children that despite their best efforts, their voice doesn’t really matter in the conversation if they don’t have the money to buy their seat at the table.

It is no secret that I oppose the Ambleside development that is being build in my neighborhood. The project aims to bring more than 50, three-story homes to a property that is less than four acres in size and currently has three existing single-family residences will completely disrupt our environment and the surrounding properties.

I don’t oppose development or increasing the housing stock in our community, which is desperately needed, but what I do oppose is cramming 50 $750,000 homes onto a piece of property which can barely handle 20 additional units without overwhelming our roads and further polluting the lakes and streams adjacent to the project. This specific project also requires a unique sewer connection that will erode neighboring properties and significantly impact an existing wetland and property owned by the state Department of Transportation.

I want to make it very clear that this is not a NIMBY argument or an argument about property values; it is a concern for our environment, our children and our collective future. It is a concern that is based on science and countless reports that demonstrate the lack of environmental feasibility for this project to satisfy existing code. If we continue to let developers have their way on projects like the Ambleside development without ensuing that the proper checks and balances exist within our county government, then we will all lose. We will lose our trees, our neighborhoods, our wildlife, clean water, and eventually our voice.

So, I pose the question: Who is looking out for us? Is it the developers who fund the Planning and Development Services Department with the fees that they pay to develop? Is it the planning department who relies on those fees to operate, and benefit from expedited project application approvals? Is it the code enforcement division that doesn’t apply code equally to all residents and developers? Or, are we on our own to hold each of these entities accountable to the voters? I know which one I trust, and so far, it’s only the last one.

We need to stand up and ask our elected officials to protect our future and require all developers to complete the entire permit process and be issued all permits prior to initiating any environmental destruction and projects. We need to halt all current developments that have not met these guidelines, and finally we need to be able to access any project that has had a SEPA review challenge until an independent assessment has been conducted on site to verify the impacts outlined in the SEPA. This will also require a “reasonable right of access,” to conduct this review.

At the very least, the proposed Ambleside development should be halted until they have completed every step in the permit process and demonstrated that their project will not negatively impact our precious environment and natural habitats. These are not unreasonable requests and will protect our communities, our neighborhoods, our children, our environment and our planet. It is time we stand together and stop the devastation before its too late. The chains and no trespass sign have now been placed, so time is of the essence. Hopefully our cries don’t fall on deaf ears!

Jessica Salazar lives in Silver Lake.