Community Updates are sent regularly to Illahee residents and other interested parties who have requested to have their e-mail address included on our e-mail list. If you would like to receive these updates and other important announcements regarding Illahee community, please e-mail us and we will gladly add you to our list.
Archives:
August 2008
8/7/08
Miscellaneous Items
Wildlife Report. We received the following report regarding wildlife eating chickens:
Just want to let you know that endangering wildlife is still lurking in the Illahee area. A sole large coyote was lurking under the nut orchard looking for a chicken breakfast today as I drove out at 6:30.
On Monday a month old chick disappeared from a small enclosed wire four by four pen located inside, a six foot chain link fence behind the garage. No evidence of why was evident. Today Vickie went out and found another chicken had met his demise, at the mercy of a raptor. A large hawk was sitting on top of the chain link guarding his partially devoured chicken, that he had partially pulled through the wires.
These chickens were rescued after my 4-5 year old farm hen had hatched six chicks on a Wednesday. On a Sunday morning she was found to be the victim of some unknown type of predator. The chicks were captured with an old salmon net as they hid in the corn field.
Illahee Road Report. The report on the road repairs came out earlier today and is as follows:
Work to repair Illahee road begins August 18th. If we have wonderful fall Northwest weather work should be complete October 17th. This date will be adjusted if weather conditions are such that work can not progress.
Please be aware that heavy truck traffic will increase during the work. I have notified Central Kitsap School District's transportation staff, and they will work with Brownsville Elementary to notify parents in the vicinity of the increased truck traffic. If you have friends who walk on Illahee, or have students that walk to Brownsville Elementary, please caution them about the increased traffic. It's also a good idea to suggest to friends to sign up for The Road Report. Updates for this project are posted there, as well as details concerning all our work on County-maintained roads. Sign up at www.kitsapgov.com/pw/roadwork.htm or call The Open Line at 360-337-5777.
We truly appreciate your patience and understanding as we've worked through this project. It has taken a lot of cooperation on the part of many different people and agencies to get where we are today. Projects like these usually take years, rather than months to complete. We are fortunate to be able to move along this quickly.
If you have questions or need more information please let me know.
Community Plan Survey Post Card. Illahee residents received a post card in today's (8/7/08) mail with a heading "What Does Your Illahee Look Like." It asks you to visit a website and take a survey. Even though this is a county generated survey, we've received calls about the applicability of some of the questions along with those who have had difficulty logging on to the website.
Survey Applicability. As you have probably gathered, if you accessed the website, the survey was adapted from a previous survey. We think from last years Keyport survey. Some had expressed earlier that the Keyport survey was too long and and needed a good review if it was to be used in Illahee, but it didn't happen. Some distinctive Illahee questions have been included, usually at the end of the page. Our recommendation is to ignore the questions that aren't applicable and concentrate on the rest of the questions. We can ask the county how they want people to respond when they come across questions that don't appear relevant to Illahee.
Inquiries Coming In. Many have been asking about the recent letter they received from the County regarding the Mitigated Determination of Non-Significance (MDNS) letter for the Timbers Edge Preliminary Plat and Substantial Substantial Development Permit. If you didn't get one we have included it again as an attachment.
750 SEPA Letters. The county signed the SEPA MDNS letter on July 31, 2008 that was sent out to some 750 residents who had expressed interest in the Timbers Edge development. Most of those were from people who had signed petitions who were concerned about the development along the steep slopes of Illahee Creek.
SEPA Letter Delay. Some in the community were hoping the delay in sending out the letter was because of a community request to meet with the county before the legal process began. Such was not the case as it appears there was some kind of hold up in getting the letter out. Letters were received in the community on Tuesday, August 5th.
Only 10 Days to Respond. The SEPA letter note at the end states that any appeal must be filed by August 15, along with $500. That doesn't give the community much time to look at the file, get together, decide what to do, and then prepare an appeal. It appears to many that "due process" was not accorded to the community in this case.
Request for File Information Delayed. Several members of the Illahee community looked over the files on August 1, 2008, requested copies, and tried to pick them up late in the afternoon on Tuesday, August 5th, and found them not available. These are some of the roadblocks encountered and frustrations community members feel when trying to prepare for a possible appeal.
SEPA MDNS Letter. The SEPA MDNS letter is the most complete we have seen and the project has improved, but the development is still extremely high density (110 homes on approx 15 acres) in the project area, with lots as small as 3,400 square feet. This is just the first phase of other planned developments on the properties.
Infiltration Planned. Infiltration of portions of the storm water is being planned, which is one of the goals in the Illahee Community Plan. The county and applicant are working in some areas to address community concerns.
Does the Community Appeal? That is the question that is being investigated at this time. Because of the short time available and the time it takes to line up witnesses the Community Club is proceeding as though they will appeal the SEPA MDNS. There have been those who have said that an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) is necessary because the project will have a significant impact on Illahee Creek's base flow which in turn could result in its inability to support salmon, which would be a significant environmental impact, and thus should trigger an EIS. Obviously, the county does not see it that way.
Expert Witness Are Being Contacted. Six expert witnesses have been identified as necessary to this case and are being contacted as to their availability to the Hearing Date that has been established by the county, which is August 28, 2008. It is that short time frame that has made it necessary to proceed with witness identification before a complete Timbers Edge file is even available for review by witnesses or the community.
8/5 County Meeting. Kitsap County called a meeting for August 5, 2008 to see if issues could be resolved. There were 6 representatives from the Illahee Community; 5 from the applicant (developer), and 6 from the county. At the end of the 90 minute meeting all had a better understanding of where each group stood. The next step is for the applicant to meet together with 2 representatives of the Illahee Community. The meeting was to be held on 8/6 but was postponed because one of the reps was sick.
Goal for Meeting with Applicant. The goal for the meeting with the applicant is to determine if a win-win solution can be obtained. Legal battles eat up everyones resources and the only ones who seem to gain are the lawyers. The two designated representatives hope to meet soon with the applicant.
8/13 Community Meeting Scheduled. The Illahee Community Club has scheduled a meeting for next Wednesday 8/13/08 at 6 pm at the Unitarian Church on Perry Ave. The club's lawyer for this project, Ryan Vancil, will be there to explain the case and answer questions.
An Expensive Case. This will be an expensive case if it can't be resolved, as expensive expert witness are necessary to explain the issues. This is in addition to the costs of legal representation. Note that after the Illahee Outfall hearings, the reported lessons learned by the Community Club was to skip the appeal the the Commissioners and go directly to Superior Court.
Funds Are Urgently Needed. The Community Club has said that significant funds will be required for this appeal and whereas the SHB request was for $150 gifts, the Timbers Edge case will likely require $200 plus gifts from many more people.
Hopeful? Most of the people we have talked with are hopeful the meeting with the applicant will be successful and that the community can limit its legal costs to just those incurred to the date a resolution is obtained.
The Community Club would like to hear from you!!!! Mail any comments or support to the ICC, PO Box 2563, Bremerton, WA 98310.
Early Tuesday morning from about 2 am to 5 am there was lots of activity along Illahee Road about a half mile north of the Illahee Community Dock. Many fire trucks and aid cars filled the road in response to fire call at 5960 Illahee Road. The road was blocked off as fire hoses stretched across the road and down to the small waterfront house.
The occupant woke up to the smell of smoke and got herself and two dogs out of the house and called 911.
Central Kitsap Fire and Rescue responded and quickly put out the fire that appeared to have started in the basement area.
The occupant eventually went to the hospital to be checked out, and neighbors took care of the two dogs.
When we find out more about the cause of the fire we will let you know.
Jim Aho
8/1/08
Miscellaneous Upcoming Items
Illahee Outfall Appeal the the Shorelines Hearings Board. The two groups are reportedly going to try to work out their issues over the next 30 days which puts the hearings process on hold. More on this in a later update.
Illahee Community Plan Meeting Delayed? There is an Illahee Community Plan meeting showing on the county's website for Aug 6, 2008 that is unlikely to happen since we have not received the Draft County Plan that needs to be reviewed by the citizens advisory group. We presume the county will let us know next week.
Planning Commission Meeting 8/12/08. The Illahee Community Plan is scheduled to be discussed at the 8/12/08 Planning Commission meeting. We are anticipating a possible CAG meeting on Monday 8/11/08 if the briefing schedule for the Planning Commission is maintained. We wanted to give you a heads up as the Planning Commission review will be an interesting evening meeting for the community to attend, presuming the schedule remains.
Timbers Edge SEPA Letter Out. The Timbers Edge project is officially approved by the county staff with the SEPA letter supposedly going out on 7/31/08. It evidently did not get in Friday's mail so we anticipate it will be arriving on Saturday (8/2/08).
File Incomplete? Two Illahee residents went to look at the Timbers Edge file on Friday (8/1/08) and reported the file was not complete with at least one important exhibit still not entered. If those reports are correct, the county appeared to be in a rush to get the SEPA letter out. This makes it hard for the community to get the information they need to determine the impacts of the development, especially with the large size of the file (over 260 exhibits).
Hearing Date Already Scheduled. The county has already scheduled a hearing date of August 28, 2008, which doesn't allow much time (8 working days) from the SEPA appeal deadline (8/15/08) to get prepared for a possible complex hearing. Some of the residents are already wondering if this is allowing sufficient time for due process. We are attaching the county's SEPA letter for your information.
No Time Allowed for Community To Discuss Issues? We have heard the Illahee Community Club wanted to meet with the county to work through some issues before the legal process began, but were not given an opportunity. We have been told they are working on a response and we will possibly hear more on this issue.
Wetland Expert to Look at 3rd Street Wetlands. We have been told that the Department of Ecology's wetland expert for Western Washington will be in town on August 5th to look at the wetland area between McWilliams and 3rd Street that are the headwaters for Gilberton Creek and the North Tributary of Illahee Creek. In addition to looking at the wetlands on the 3rd Street side, he will reportedly be looking at the wetlands on the McWillams side where there is an applicant wanting to build in the wetland area as part of a reasonable use permit.
From your input this is something you want us to keep you informed on. Let us know if you have any other information on this subject.
Illahee Day is Next Weekend.Just a reminder that Illahee Day is next Saturday, from 10-4, in the vicinity of the Illahee community dock.
Keep sending us information and we will keep passing it on.
Jim Aho
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If you have any information, ideas, questions or comments, please feel free to e-mail us - web@illaheecommunity.com.
