Stevens24 SEPA Appeal
On March 27th, 2024 FCSG filed an appeal with King County Department of Local Services to the determination of non-significance for environmental impacts of the Stevens24 subdivision. This appeal calls for King County to conduct a comprehensive investigation into the environmental impacts of the subdivision, especially on drinking water. FCSG argues that these developments would have a significant impact on the area and that the applicant has not provided enough information to make a conclusive determination.
Download and read the appeal here. If you are a resident we highly encourage you to grab a cup of tea and settle in for a good read!
This document has an approachable summary of the primary environmental concerns residents have surrounding not only the Stevens24 development, but the cumulative impacts of all the developments in aggregate.
Some citations from the appeal:
Evidence of significant and adverse outcomes
5,000+ Fall City residents obtain their drinking water directly from a series of shared wells that sit within two aquifers that are highly active (meaning that water moves quickly underneath the town), connected and extremely vulnerable to contamination from septic systems and stormwater runoff and meets the highest level of vulnerability to contamination as determined by King County, GMA and EPA.
Today, Fall City’s septic density is approximately 2.6 OSS per acre. Currently, King County DOH OSS policies in CARAs have been updated to more protective sizing, resulting in a density of 1.5 homes per acre for an OSS. What this means is that today Fall City has already over saturated the area with septic systems and the community may already be at risk for contamination events. Adding an additional 7 homeowner managed LOSS supporting 143 homes might be the tipping point that turns Fall City in a groundwater mismanagement case study.
Scope of the Fall City Assemblage
The Stevens24 plat is 1 of 8 plats totaling of 143 homes across 35 acres of development withing the Rural Town boundary of Fall City. 7 plats are currently under permitting and 1 has been completed. The applicant has purchased all but a handful of remaining in the area lots over 3 acres for simultaneous and coordinated development.
The collection of plats are referred to by the applicant as the “Fall City Assemblage” in their permit application materials. The project is functionally and logistically a single project – sharing timelines, construction plans, financing and contractors.
As one of the last rural communities in King County, Fall City is unprepared for the pace, style, volume and pattern of development. The area is unequipped to mitigate the demands on infrastructure, services and conversion of open space into urban style development patterns. The introduction of 143 homes to the existing town’s 480 homes adds roughly 30% homes and up to a 50% increase in population over a 2 year period.
This is a stark transformation to the landscape; homes are substantially larger—twice the size of their modest counterparts—yet sited on lots half as big. This influx of expansive, 5+ bedroom residences marks a drastic shift for the once-rural community, ushering in increased traffic, amplified light pollution, and intensified parking demands, all while significantly reducing open space. In response to the fact that these developments are counter to the GMA and policies protecting rural character, King County has conducted an analysis to document the existing character of the area (see attached report) to help inform upcoming regulatory changes. This analysis clearly shows that the plats do not conform to policies applying to rural towns and rural areas. King County is empowered during SEPA review to take a deeper look at the policies and make sure that the proposed projects conform to both code and policy in their implementation.
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