Fall ‘23 Update
What’s the status of the sub-divisions?
As of November 1, 2023, we still have seven sub-divisions in various permitting states. The next milestone is in Spring 2024, as FCSG has filed an appeal in King County Superior Court after we lost our appeal to the King County Council on October 3rd. The crux of this appeal is whether a county hearing examiner errs when she approves a subdivision after concluding as a matter of law that the subdivision is not consistent with the County’s Comprehensive Plan.
What’s happened so far?
Since last Spring, the work of our team and community has:
dramatically slowed the pace of development
obtained a moratorium on any new sub-division applications
worked with the State to require further environmental testing
secured funding to conduct more analysis of our drinking water and local hydrogeology
authored an emergency code package for minimum lot sizes and setbacks
partnered with the county to analyze our rural character (minimum lot sizes, no clustering, adequate setbacks, less impervious surfaces, variety of home sizes), which influences new codes
garnered an important legal determination from the Hearing Examiner that these projects are inconsistent with State law and county policies
filed a lawsuit against King County for approving permits erroneously
Whew! Massive effort from everyone. Thank you for the support!
What happened with the County permit appeals?
On behalf of the Fall City community, over the summer of 2023, FSCG appealed the County’s permitting of the preliminary plat (the step where they approve one lot being divided into many lots) for 3 sub-divisions. The basis of the appeal was that the County Hearing Examiner erred in approving the preliminary plats after she had also concluded that these sub-divisions were inconsistent with Fall City’s comprehensive and sub-area policies for maintaining rural character. The legal concept in question was whether the county should permit a project that, while perhaps following the land use zoning, is also determined to violate the comprehensive plan. The King County Council heard the appeals on October 3rd, discussed behind closed doors, and most of the council voted to uphold the hearing examiner’s decision.
Why did the County Council deny the appeals?
We do not know because they did not comment on their decision. We do know that many of the council members met with developer advocacy groups in the weeks before the vote, and other council members have expressed that they find Fall City to be anti-growth during a time when the county is under pressure to create more housing. The phrase “Rural character” is also a hot-button topic with the County, as many groups are working on preserving rural areas from urban levels of development cite character in their platforms. In any case, the Council is an elected body of politicians, not land use experts or lawyers, whose motives are not always known.
What is the new lawsuit and what will it accomplish?
Because the council did not provide any reasoning or basis for their decision, and because there is significant legal precedent from other counties that favor our position, FCSG, and our legal team agree that our best chance for objective review is with a judge. We believe that an impartial review outside of the County’s political system is our best chance for influencing the County to follow their own policies.
Our case against King County and the developer was filed on October 23rd. This case will be heard in Spring 2024. Click here to read the full case (PDF). It is a concise read and provides an excellent outline of how we got here.
In brief, it argues that the County cannot grant sub-division permits that contradict their policies, regardless of codes or building regulations, as state law requires. Since a judge hears the case, the outcome could be many things - we could win outright, the applications could be denied, the case could be sent back to the hearing examiner, or the permits could be upheld. Whatever the outcome, we ensure that King County knows that our small community will not passively watch the conversion of good land into urban sprawl.
Why is this lawsuit important to all of King County?
The attention that this case and the appeals have brought to how King County adheres (or not!) to its own policies is timely and critical - we are in the middle of the once-every-20-year process of writing new land use regulations and policies. Read the draft 2024 Comprehensive Plan here. Even if we can’t save Fall City from irresponsible development practices, our work is shaping and influencing new policy. The more visibility and legal pressure we can create to require the County to hear the needs of all their residents, and not just developers, the better.
How about the moratorium & interim code package?
On November 14th, the King County Council will be voting on an interim code package ordinance that would require sub-divisions in Fall City to use a minimum lot size and more consistent setbacks from the street and neighboring houses. After adopting this code, the county can allow the moratorium to expire. This code does not change the number of homes that can be built, but it does space them further apart and reduce the overall size of the homes. It doesn’t give us everything thing we need to preserve rural character, but it does go a long way in improving the style of development and overall visual impact. This code package was authored in partnership with the Department of Local services and we encourage you to write your council members in support of its adoption!
While only one of the proposed developments is currently in permitting (Hendrickson) would have to conform to this new code, if the sub-divisions being appealed in court are sent back to King County with the expectation that the developer re-apply, this code would be used for replacing the sub-divisions. We would like to encourage you to write to your council members supporting this code package. Be sure to emphasize that Fall City supports the code package and is excited that it helps to preserve our rural character without limiting growth.
What about the septic permits?
Without a septic permit, the developments cannot be built as designed today. Since the septic systems being proposed are so large and specialized, the permitting is handled by the State Department of Health (WSDOH), and not King County. We have successfully proven to WSDOH that our drinking and groundwater is threatened by these additional households being built near community wellheads. The septic treatment plans for the developments are still under review, but the state has required the developer to conduct additional hydrogeologic testing and baselining this coming winter.
You may have noticed drilling and digging at the sites, these are test wells and pits for those studies. Additionally, our water district has proactively initiated further investigation and analysis of the geology and dynamics of our soil. We hope those studies will be completed in time for the State to include in their environmental analysis of the septic permits. Other communities have faced critical drinking water threats when too many skeptics have been built in a small area, and we do not want to be one of those communities.
What can I do to help?
We are in critical need of ongoing fundraising and financial support. Our team is built entirely of volunteers and neighbors working to make sure Fall City is not irreparably changed, either above or below ground, by these developments. Please consider a donation of your time or funds, or if you have fundraising ideas, we welcome them! We have many more months of legal fees ahead of us.
