A walk along Gravenstein and Clover roads and through Rhody Ridge County Park seems like a peaceful stroll through a neighborhood where urban amenities like sidewalks and light poles are nowhere to be found. But there are signs – literally – that those developments are coming.
The signs are actual signs posted by the Snohomish County Planning Department alerting residents of more than 50 homes planned for a pair of subdivisions in a neighborhood where drainage ditches still parallel streets.
And that’s not all – 150 homes are planned in three phases for an area at the south end of Clover Road west of Mill Creek, bringing the total neighborhood impact to more than 200 homes in the next few years.
“The type of development is my concern,” said Becky Johnson, an area resident. “They’re so compact.”
“Initially I saw it as an invasion of my neighborhood,” said April Tillett, head of the new Gravenstein Neighborhood Group, which is trying to stop the development. “My son walks our dog every day along these streets, and I’m worried about the increased traffic. We want to stay here. We love it here.”
Tillett and her neighbors are also concerned because as of right now, there is only one way in and out of the neighborhood – via 174th Street Southwest to North Road.
“The roads in our quiet, dead end neighborhood are not adequate for the many new cars that would be passing by,” Tillett wrote in an e-mail.
The developments are part of a controversial new wave of homes. The full-sized homes are built on small lots, sometimes without sidewalks and little to no on-street parking. Roads and other public amenities in the new developments are maintained by a homeowners association and not any government entity.
One such development in the Gravenstein Road area is Normandie Place, a 28-home development on 4.75 acres. That gives each lot less than a fifth of an acre of land. Johnson’s home, meanwhile, sits on a third of an acre, nearly double the size of the lots the new homes will be built on.
Berry Place, meanwhile, will be built on a downward slope and would abut part of Rhody Ridge County Park, an arboretum that is home to hundreds of plant species. Residents are concerned that the subdivision will cut off sunlight to part of the arboretum and kill plants. Some clear cutting of Douglas Firs and other trees is likely to accommodate the development.
Developers, meanwhile, see these developments as a way to keep affordable housing in the county.
“On the whole, these are quality developments and one of only a few affordable housing options left,” said Mike Pattison, a spokesman for the Master Builders Association of Snohomish County. “The industry is stepping up to the plate and addressing concerns about guest parking, aesthetic issues and more.”
Tillett and Johnson aren’t the only ones concerned about the new developments. In a letter to County Executive Aaron Reardon and the County Council dated Feb. 25, the South County Cities Group – a group of eight cities – called the proliferation of those developments an “escalating crisis” that “Snohomish County has been slow in addressing.”
Since 2004, the county has approved 136 of the developments with hundreds of single-family homes. In 2004 and 2005, the county allowed 72 projects to move forward. The pace increased in 2006, with the county approving 64 projects by June.
The highest concentration of projects is in the south part of the county, where some projects are as dense as 30 lots on less than 5 acres.
Mill Creek City Councilman Terry Ryan, who represents the city on the South County Cities Group, has been an outspoken critic of the developments, having testified against them at county hearings and updating the Mill Creek City Council on the status of the ongoing fight.
“Developers are running the show,” he said at the March 13 city council meeting. “The wolves are building the henhouse.”
The South County Cities Group – comprised of Mill Creek, Bothell, Brier, Edmonds, Lynnwood, Mountlake Terrace, Mukilteo and Woodway – has asked the county council to adopt a moratorium on those kind of developments. The group has also sought stricter design guidelines, such as more open space and architectural design standards, provisions the county has not adopted.
Gravenstein residents also planned a petition drive urging the county council to adopt a moratorium on those developments.
Also weighing in on the issue is the steering committee for Snohomish County Tomorrow, the county growth management advisory panel, which adopted a resolution calling for a moratorium in November and reaffirmed its position in January.
Despite all the outcry, a moratorium isn’t likely, Democratic County Council chairman Dave Gossett said.
“I only think moratoriums should be used in situations which are truly desperate, and I don’t think this is it,” said Gossett, whose district includes Mill Creek and the Gravenstein neighborhood.
There aren’t enough votes on the council for a moratorium, Gossett said.
County Councilman Gary Nelson said the word “moratorium” isn’t in his dictionary because property owners still have to pay taxes even though they can’t use their land.
Nonetheless, the Gravenstein Neighborhood Group is not giving up hope on at least changing the density of the developments. They have begun a letter-writing campaign to county officials and met with state representatives and Mill Creek City Councilmen Terry Ryan and Mark Bond. Residents have spoken out at county planning commission meetings and communicate regularly via e-mail. They even have a Web site, www.gravenstein.org, with links and information on the proposed developments.
Nonetheless, despite their efforts, Tillett and Johnson are frustrated with the county.
“I feel like these guys aren’t listening to the people they represent,” Tillett said.
“The only people who think these are a good idea are real estate (agents), developers, and I guess the county council,” Johnson said.
Jeff Switzer and Jackson Holtz, reporters with The Herald in Everett, contributed to this report.
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