According to an article in last week’s Enterprise, sewer system construction was temporarily stopped on Jan. 14 because of complaints that the contractor was encroaching on a sensitive area (the information turned out to be inaccurate). The contractor states, “There is no official mapping stating this is a wetland. There’s no official flagging showing where the sensitive area is.” (“Sewer system construction temporarily stopped,” Enterprise, Jan. 25)
The contractor is correct. The city of Lake Forest Park relies on a map apparently drawn by high school and college volunteers in 1994, based upon their opinion of what “looks like a sensitive area.” The boundaries are vague and deemed open to interpretation by the city. In other words, a sensitive area is whatever the city of Lake Forest Park says it is (or isn’t, depending on the whim of the planning department).
In any other city, this would have been laughed out of City Hall. Lake Forest Park has adopted it as the gospel (and official ordinance), and anyone who wants to stop a project in its tracks simply has to call LFP City Hall and say, “That looks like a sensitive area,” as they did on Jan. 14.
Contractors know this, and bid projects accordingly. Next time you have a fence replaced or a driveway repaired, the cost of the work will reflect the amateur map adopted as science. Thank your City Council.
Chris Philips
Lake Forest Park
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