No guarantee of safety; so don’t sue
Published 11:41 am Saturday, June 14, 2014
I have the greatest sympathy for the victims and survivors of the Oso mudslide. No person should ever have to endure that trauma, but please, don’t sue me (as a Snohomish County taxpayer). It isn’t my fault. As a letter writer wrote a couple of weeks ago, it “leaves a bad taste in my mouth.”
The stereotypical individual living out in the country is an independent, anti-government regulation, anti-tax, personal responsibility advocate. Victim Thom E. Satterlee was an example of this position years ago in his previous attempts to split off northern Snohomish into Freedom County. As everyone knows, a building permit for Steelhead Drive, or any other location is not a guarantee of safety of the area, only that what you build is to a code that probably insures the safety and function of the improvement, and to get the property on the tax roles to assess the owner’s share of county services, whether you think you think you need them or not. Don’t become a hypocrite now.
No one ever gave that county clerk the authority to deny building in that area, and if they had tried, can you imagine the negotiations, suits, and costs of that action, ala the proposed car lots at Island Crossing. What happened at Oso was an act of nature. When I drive on a road that has been provided, I assume some risk doing so for slides, snowstorms, etc.. Same for a hike in the woods or walking on the beach. If I choose to build, and an earthquake, tsunami, windstorm, etc. destroys it, that is my loss, unless I chose to insure. I assume studies have been done, and no area is absolutely immune to disaster, and you can only be advised as to potential dangers. Can you imagine the suits if one was denied the ability to build, and the potential flood, slide, etc. never occurred?
The federal, state and county governments have spent an enormous amount of money from other taxpayers, some of whom may be “personal responsibility” advocates and probably question the use of the money, and local donors who dug deep for even more to aid in this slide relief. A suit for more would leave a bad taste in a lot of people’s mouths.
Bill Severson
Stanwood
