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• News - 04/15/2012

Protecting Our R-1 Neighborhoods in the Greater Woodinville Area

Dear Woodinville Friends and Neighbors,

Hopefully you’ve enjoyed the wonderful weather we were blessed with this weekend! Thank you to so many folks who attended and spoke at the April 3 City Council meetings! We’re making an impact—so much so that CNW is mentioned on the front page of the latest edition of the Woodinville Weekly!

The Results of Our Efforts:

We’re very pleased at the attention being drawn to the important work that CNW has shepherded with the City of Woodinville to study and understand the critical areas in the R-1 zoned parts of Woodinville. Without the Sustainable Development Study, for example, the extent to which surface water can be damaged by too much development would not be so well documented!

While the Woodinville Weekly did a nice job in calling attention to the importance of Ordinance 532, they do need to correct several items: 1) CNW is actually in favor of Ordinance 532 – but with necessary changes that clarify the intent of the code changes so that R-1 is actually preserved in the way the neighborhood is currently constructed; 2) Many citizens in Woodinville have asked for changes to Ordinance 532—not just Wellington as the author implies; and 3) The failures in the language of this Ordinance today impact homeowners in Lake Leota, beyond the city limits, and all R-1 neighborhoods. All households in/around Woodinville in the R-1 area ought to be working to ensure that the final wording of Ordinance 532 protects the R-1 area and preserves the neighborhood character, peace, and wildlife refuge that it provides today!

Below is an update on our progress as a team…..

• Wood Trails Application for Development. Formally, the City has informed the developer that the application is not complete and notified the developer that the legal process will have to go to a Hearing Examiner to be further heard. City staff provided a detailed review of the application’s deficiencies to the builder. CNW and many citizens turned in hundreds of pages of pertinent comments as part of the legal record to help inform staff of the many shortcomings of the application and the outdated, incomplete materials that the developer turned in with the application. The work we did as a community in 2004 is proving invaluable as much of this is relevant to the new development and was entirely overlooked in the application that they submitted! However, the status of the application (and next steps) is in limbo as the city claims there is no formal legal process for correcting the mistake the city made in “accepting an incomplete application.” Good News -- we’ve succeeded in “stopping the clock!”
• Next Steps On Wood Trails Application for Development: we need to engage CNW’s attorney to research our options. However, this step is on hold right now given that we are short of funds. We’ll need to raise funds to pay the attorney to assist us with this next step in the process.
• Ordinance 532 – Good News: Action on this has been postponed until June 5, 2012 when the City Council will hold another public hearing. This allows city staff to act on the input they heard from the public during the first two public hearings. A moratorium remains in effect which prevents new applications from taking advantage of this part of the code while it is in effect. There appear to be delays due to legal issues on which the city is advising the council. We have made several recommendation on how the Ordinance should be modified to maintain the character of our neighborhood and avoid building on lots less than 35,000 square feet. From the opposition, the City has received a letter from the attorney for Wood Trails implying various legal risks to the city if they implement Ordinance 532 in its proposed form.
• Next Steps on Ordinance 532: CNW does not believe the issues raised by Wood Trails counsel have merit, but it will be necessary to obtain legal counsel to rebut the concerns raised by their attorney. However, this will require that we raise more funds for legal fees.

What You Can Do:

• Protecting the R-1 zoned areas within the city limits and in the greater R-1 area of King and Snohomish counties is imperative! We need your help to add folks to the email list, reach out to adjacent areas in/near Woodinville that are zoned R-1 today and who can help us protect this invaluable open space! Please invite your neighbors to read this email and to sign up on our web site to be kept up to date!
• Are you able to go door-to-door in adjacent neighborhoods to pass out flyers and help folks understand these threats to our peace and quiet? We need help! If you can help, please reply to this email and we’ll put you in touch with our outreach coordinator.
• Can you give? Even a little helps us all protect the R-1 area! Each hour of legal fees costs are $250. If you and your next door neighbors all help, we can help ensure the legacy of the R-1 area (in a manner similar to how the Bridle Trails area of Kirkland has been left untouched and preserved.)

Thank you again for attending the meetings at City Hall and for your financial support as well! With your help, CNW can continue to vigilantly protect the wooded character of our neighborhoods.

In your service,

Your CNW Board

We Always Need Your Financial Support

Please send your check to:

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CNW
PO Box 2968
Woodinville, WA 98072-2968